Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 10, 1995 TAG: 9508100013
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JONATHAN HUNLEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Therefore, I had Jami Poff - one of my favorite teachers of yesteryear - pick the brains of her Patrick Henry High School seniors last spring. They told her their concerns about the upcoming march to campus, and she passed them along to me.
Here are some of the best questions and, after a summer of reflection, my attempts at answers.
Some of the curiosities were easily put to rest.
What is the best school in Virginia?
The College of William and Mary.
What is the best school in the United States?
The College of William and Mary.
What school do all the cute guys go to?
The College of William and Mary. And not only are they cute, they're sensitive, well-mannered and intelligent.
(I've gotta promote my school. Mom and Dad send a sizable stack of checks down there every semester.)
Other questions were harder to answer.
nWhat is college like? Is it hard?
College is a place where you can stay up late and where no one hassles you about a dirty room. College is a place - and this is one of my personal favorites - where you can find free food if you look hard enough. College is a place where there's always someone who wants to hang out with you.
It'd be nonstop paradise, if not for one teensy point.
You have to get an education.
This leads me to the next question.
Do you have to go to class in college?
Well, no. It'd probably help the ol' grade-point average if you did, though.
Try to get some sleep, too. It's amazing what you can learn if you don't nod off every time the professor turns around to write on the board.
You never know when that information will come in handy.
"Can you help me with this problem?" that scrumptious beauty or muscular fraternity boy will ask if you appear to have it all together in class.
To which, if you know the answer, you'll reply, "Yeah. I had a hard time with that one, too." Or, if you don't, "I didn't get that one, either. Let's work on it together."
And you didn't think there were any real-life applications to what you learn in class.
How big are some freshman dorms in most colleges?
For those of you who have a dog house in your backyard, gather all your belongings and move right in there with your pet.
This experiment will give you a good approximation of what it's like to live in a dorm. It's not quite as comfortable as your room at home.
Just hope your roommate has fresher breath than the dog, and doesn't have fleas.
And along this same line ...
What are the problems associated with co-ed dorms?
All I'll say about this is always take your door key with you when you take a shower, and buy some big towels.
You don't know who might be strolling down the hall when you walk out of the hall bathroom. If your luck's like mine, it'll be the last person you'd want to see right after you've scrubbed up.
So you definitely want to be covered and able to get back into your room in case the door gets locked while you're in mid-shower.
Are assignments truly difficult?
I didn't have any homework that was extremely long, but it seemed like it all came due on the same week; much of it on the same day.
At first this may not seem important, but it might mean the difference between spending the weekend in your room writing a paper and being out and about tearing up the campus.
My favorite question came from Daymon Robertson:
Who is more popular in college - Beavis or Butt-Head?
Well, Daymon, this inquiry goes beyond my knowledge.
This year our campus will get cable TV for the first time, but I expect a lot of folks will tune in for the show.
Hey, just because the W&M man is cute, sensitive, well-mannered and intelligent doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy stuff getting blown up as much as the next guy.
by CNB