By Angel Martinez

Greetings ladies and gents! I sincerely hope your first week of college is jumping off fantastically. For those of you living in the resident halls this year, I have a few tips that will help you get through this year.

Leave Your Door Open: In the resident halls people are always coming and going. If you’re in your room but want a little bit of socialization, simply leave your door open. It gives off a welcoming vibe to the people walking by. Even if they don’t stop to chat, they’ll most likely look in while passing (it happens more often than not), and at the very least they’ll start to recognize your face. Next thing you know you’re passing them on campus, or somewhere between the hall and the dinning center, and since they recognize you they’ll be more likely to start talking to you. I met one of my best friends my freshmen year in McNary just from doing this and being open to talking to everyone in my hall.

Utilize the Study Room: It’s noisy! You have a test tomorrow! It’s late enough that you don’t want to walk ALL the way to the library, but quiet hours have yet to activate…. AHHH! Well may I recommend the study room? Every resident hall has one and it…is…quiet. Even if the library doesn’t seem like an impossible option, the pro to the study room is you’re still near the dinning center in case you need some power food, or if you forget that important study guide in your room you don’t have to leave the building to retrieve it.

Don’t be Afraid to Communicate. Neither you nor your roommate wants to spend the next 9 months in a super tense room because one of you does something that bothers the other but they won’t say anything. Talk to your roommate. Find out their pet peeves. Maybe even keep a list around. If something is going wrong, talk it out, and work together. Living with someone and making it work takes communication, compromise, and understanding.

Ears Open and Involved: There is so much happening within your hall every week. One of the best ways to get involved is to join Hall Council. If you don’t feel like you have enough time to commit to being a member you can still attend the weekly hall meetings. The meetings go over plans and events for your hall. They even decide how to spend the money that residents paid, in order to live there (psst.. that’s your money too). If all else fails, pay attention to the posters that are hung up, and go to those events. Get out there, network, make some friends, and learn about the people you live with. Trust me, it can’t be all done on Facebook.

Beat the Rush: Whether you’re trying to take a quick shower, or want to grab some grub before going to class, nothing is much more annoying than encountering a long line. Solution; Figure out when time the rush happens. For me while doing laundry, the room was empty most nights, but good luck finding an empty washer on Saturdays. Once you figure out when rushes happen, you’ll be able to know when the best time is to avoid the lines all together.

Bed Time, What?: I know! You’re an adult, bed times are for children, and with that 24oz cup of Starbucks you can run on 2hours of sleep for a week. There are so many reasons why getting a proper amount of sleep is important for your health, and performance in the class room. But it can be tempting to stay up and watch Avatar with your buddies in the lounge at midnight with an 8am class the next morning. My best suggestion is to start the term off with a set schedule. If you know you have an 8am class, but need to wake up at 6:30 to get ready, plan to get to bed by 10. If you start this pattern earlier in the term it’ll benefit you in the long run.

Living in the resident halls has left a big imprint on my heart, and I will carry memories from that experience with me for a lifetime. I hope that you all will share this feeling at the end of your residence life experience.

By Morgan Willer

College is about choosing your own path, finding your passion, and opening your mind to new opportunities and ideas. Coming to college I’m sure you have expectations about the friends you will make, the classes you will take, and all the opportunities available to you. I would like to open your mind to one opportunity that you may or may not have considered, going Greek.

Just by choosing to go through the recruitment process you will meet ambitious ladies or gentlemen who are already established on campus. Joining a house means a lot more than a few letters on a sweatshirt. It means having a focus on academics and wanting to succeed at OSU and in the future. It means participating in community service and wanting to help your community be successful. It means that you are social, love to meet new people, and you respect the diversity of others. It means coming together as a community when times get tough and knowing that everyone will work together. But most importantly it means you have a support system, not just for four years in college, but for a lifetime.  There will always be someone there to help you, to motivate you, and to laugh with you.

Going Greek will help you become the best version of yourself, and as students, I think that’s what we strive for when we enter college. As a fellow OSU student, and a member of Greek Life, I encourage you to try out the recruitment process. I promise you that it will only enhance your college experience and enhance your life. For more information visit the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life.

By Kerry Thomas, Academic Advisor

Hello and welcome to all of our new Beaver Believers! The CLA advising office is excited to see vans, moving trucks, parents, students and volunteers all over campus getting students settled in for the school year.  If you are new to campus, there are a few things we would like to tell you about Connect week and the first week of class to make your transition a little smoother.

First, print a new copy of your class schedule and walk to each of your classrooms.  Finding your building among all of the trees and brick buildings on campus is only half the battle. Some buildings on campus are a little challenging to navigate, so make sure to identify where each class will be located before the start of the term.

Second, GO TO CLASS! Start off your first term with good academic habits.  Attending classes is one of the strongest predictors for earning good grades.  If you find yourself struggling in your classes, or if you are nervous about starting your first college classes, go over to the Academic Success Center in 102 Waldo Hall and attend a success workshop, meet with an academic coach, get support from the writing center, or identify tutoring resources in order to improve your academic performance.

Third, this is CONNECT week, GO MAKE CONNECTIONS! Utilize the resources and workshops that New Student Programs has prepared for you. Most importantly, come over to the College of Liberal Arts Barbecue this Thursday afternoon on the front lawn of Gilkey Hall.  Free food starts at 12:30 and we will be giving away tons of prizes including shirts, coffee mugs, gift certificates, season tickets to the OSU theater and many other items.  This is also a great opportunity to meet your fellow Liberal Arts peers, your faculty and to say hi to the CLA advising staff!

Finally, have fun! CONNECT week is your first taste of OSU and all it has to offer to you.  Explore new clubs, greek life, attend a football game, buy something orange to wear and figure out what it means to you to be a BEAVER!