By: Erica Murphy (Syracuse University)
It doesn’t matter if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior; do not walk in packs of more than three. Frat boys will moo at you like a herd of cows and girls will shriek freshman out their window while driving by. Other tips include don’t wear a lanyard around your neck, or proudly display your 2014 class year. These are things that you simply just don’t do at college. By all means, graffiti 2014 all over your dorm room walls! Heck you can even paint a lovely picture of a wide-grinned person with a large (insert college here) lanyard. Just don’t do it in public. But there are other less obvious things that scream freshman. Things that are almost like a right of passage into college. You must make that silly little mistake first before you can truly become a part of that college. If you are one of those lucky ones who previously learned the tricks of the trade, than God bless you. But for those of you who let a little freshman signal slip, you are not alone.
I thought I would share one of those “that must a freshman” signs from my home college, Syracuse University. Way back when in the late 1800’s, Carnegie Hall was built at Syracuse University. It was the first library on campus and its architecture made people stop and stare as they walked by. Great big pillars lined the entrance doors and lavish stone steps led you into the embellished foyer. It was your picturesque library and was what everyone envisioned his or her perfect library to be. But somewhere down the line, this gorgeous entrance was transformed into nothing more than a window that showed the inside of classrooms. The doors were permanently shut and never to be opened again. Instead, hidden doors and the base of this great library led you inside. Every year at about this time, young children attempt to enter the building through this old entrance. Instead of getting inside, they get taunted and laughed at for making a typical freshman mistake. The stone steps that once led to a vast library have become a sitting place for mean folk who prey on those who have not learned of the transformation. Then September ends and things go back to normal, until Carnegie’s next victims come to Syracuse University.
I know Syracuse is not the only college that has these types of stories, so let The Campus Socialite know about your story. It did not have to happen to you (or you don’t have to tell us it happened to you), but we still want to know! How does your college prey on innocent freshman?
