Observations on the first week back in school

Posted by Ms. Babble

January 20, 2007

The first week of school is over and I’m starting to feel incredibly old. My freshman year at Northern Illinois University was in 1997/98. Ten years later, I’m graduating. But I forgot to account for the fact that I’m also ten years OLDER than most of the other students. They all look like little kindergarteners to me! And it’s really obvious that it’s a new generation who’s swarming into the school. I swear that they talk different. Oh! And they’re ruder than I ever was. I can’t count the number of times I was shoved or pushed in the hallway during everyones massive shuffle to their next class. Is it just that I didn’t notice it before when I was that age? Or is it because I don’t have the same patience I once had?

Also, the classes are PACKED. Full to the brim. Spilling with students.

NIU is clearly banking on their recent success in collegiate football. The extremely high enrollment is being credited to the one friggin’ season NIU football was ranked nationally. They suck now, of course. But for one brief shining moment they rocked America’s socks. Now all these newbie high school graduates are begging to come to NIU. Because of a football season?? It really blows my mind. The decision making process of the masses. (I hear they’re asses.)

In all of my classes I have to make a point to show up at least 15 minutes early… just to get a seat! They’ve allowed so many people to enroll that by the time class starts there’s literally no extra seats. IN FACT, there always seems to be 1 or 2 people who either have to sit on the FLOOR or go scavange a seat from another room. People are paying thousands of dollars to sit on the floor???

I’ve been told that come enrollment in the fall, they’ll be turning people away even if they meet all the school’s requirements. Can you imagine? NIU being picky about it’s student body. gasp! But in the mean time, I may just have to strap one of those fold-out chairs to my back in case of emergency.

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