College Checkered

Brenda Fiueroa
The Paw Print

Welcome to my weekly column. My name is Brenda Figueroa-Gonzalez and I am a senior at Adams State College. College Checkered will be my way to share my experiences at ASC and to write about topics I find interesting that are relevant to all of us. My hope is that this column will provide you with humor, advice and common interests. I don’t expect you to agree completely with everything I write about and I encourage you all to e-mail me your comments or share your point of view at figueroagonzalezbc@grizzlies.adams.edu
Let’s get to it! I want to share with you all some of the Dos and Don’ts of college that I find pretty valuable:
•Do attend class. Are you really going to stay in your room all day in your underwear playing video games until your eyes bleed while double fisting bowls of cereal and pop tarts? All right, that does sound pretty fun. But, save it for the weekend. You’re paying for your education whether it’s a scholarship, student loans, or your college fund. You have plenty of time to relax and have fun on your days off.
•Don’t get stuck in a clique: From what I’ve noticed, ASC is pretty cliquish. You would think High School ended months (or years) ago. But, we all notice the common cliques around campus. By now, you’re probably used to eating and hanging out with the same people and it’s awesome to make special bonds but challenge yourself to branch out a bit and talk to someone who you wouldn’t normally approach. College is about meeting every kind of person there is. Don’t miss out!
•Do attend sporting events/R.A. events: I will be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest sports fan. But, last year my best friend Catherine LaRoche convinced me to attend a few basketball games as reluctant as I was at first; I ended up having a great time. It’s a good place to meet people and you will get caught up in all the excitement. And if you think sporting events are fun just wait until you attend an R.A. event. I am, indeed, part of the Housing family and I can’t emphasize enough how hard we work to put on fun activities for all of our residents. So, make your resident assistant the happiest person on the planet and attend all the awesome activities they plan for you.
•Don’t sleep around: I’m sure we all want to clock in sexy time with all the attractive people we see but that’s just an STD waiting to happen. College should be a time to have fun and let loose but you also don’t want to become the community bicycle. ASC is a small school and unless you’re planning on transferring, you don’t want to get stuck with a bad reputation. Bottom line? Keep it classy.
•Do attend parties: They’re all about making new friends, great conversations, and who are we kidding? making moves. If you are feeling extra adventurous and decide to drink, be smart about it. Don’t drink too much and know your limit. You don’t want to end up with the reputation of “that drunken a-hole who puked behind the couch.” Parties are definitely part of the college experience; just make sure to make it a good experience. And if you must, puke in the bathtub, not behind the couch.