WebReg is a Piece of Cake.

By: Tia, Chrissy, Georges, & Ashley 

Bye Bye High School

Made by: Monica Fung, Rafelina Contreras, Cole Neal, and Yamila Nicasio

The Freshman Fifteen

 Dan Carballeira, Stewart Hallman, Luke Modzier, Camille Ungco

#OutofStateProblems

Xtranormal video by Tyler P, Steph L, Ray D and Jay Z

Or, National Lampoon's Embracing Adulthood

“You know what I've learned in my seven years here at Coolidge, Timmy? I've learned that you can't treat every situation as a life or death matter. Because you'll die a lot of times. Write that down.”

Wise words. And although they were delivered by a man without pants, they are nonetheless words we would all do well to remember. Van Wilder, of National Lampoon's Van Wilder, is a student at the prestigious Coolidge College who finds himself in the second semester of his seventh year, with absolutely no intentions of leaving. Rather than devoting his time to academics, he spends his time befriending the student body and spearheading organizations and charities such as the Freshman Crisis Group, Save the Swim Team Speedo Spectacular, and the Bloated Beer Belly Bash to Battle Bulimia. He can galvanize the basketball team into overcoming a thirty-point deficit and winning a game, advise freshman on what to do if they feel a burning sensation when they urinate, and pose nude for art classes, but when his father refuses to pay for another semester and instead decides to “cut [his] losses,” Van finds that he must find time between his charities to find a way to pay for his tuition.

This is one of the central conflicts Van faces during the movie (one I myself can relate to). Though he is able to handle it in spectacular fashion – organizing tutoring sessions conducted by beautiful women and being paid to organize parties for the less popular – the struggle of having to pay for one's own tuition while at the same time being a student is a challenge that many young people face today. While the severity of Van's situation is undercut by the comedic way in which he solves, it is important to realize that Van does not allow this hardship to take away from his other, charitable endeavors, just as other working students shouldn't allow it to take away from their academic endeavors. 

Van's daily grind.

However, the larger conflict in Van's life comes to light when a reporter discovers that Van has been eighteen credits short of graduating for the past six semesters, and has been actively avoiding leaving Coolidge College. His inability or unwillingness to enter the real world, rather than his desire to stay and help out the school he loves, is what has been holding him back. This conflict, while not as outspoken as the first, is still central in many young students' lives. Many see life as really beginning after completing undergraduate education, and for many, the idea of that safety net being taken away and being thrust out into the real world is anathema. I myself would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious about what lays beyond my senior year, especially if I don't get accepted into a graduate program. But a wise man once said that you can't treat every situation as a life or death matter. Just as we all were able to survive the transition from high school to college, we will all survive the transition from college to whatever our post-graduation plans may be.

Drumline- A Movie that all college students should see!

Before going away to college, I needed to know what I was getting myself into. I tried talking to my siblings who already went to college recently. I talked to my parents, but college was somewhat different back then. I did not know where to turn. But, then I saw the move "Drumline." I gained a better understanding of what to expect when I got to college. There are many good times, but here are also some struggles in college life. Let's take a look at what this movie shows.

So, did you learn anything? You may be wondering why I showed amovie clip about a collegiate marching band. You may be thinking what does music have to do with college. Well in the movie "Drumline," Nick Cannon's character, Devon Miles is ready to make the transition from high school to college. Some people may think that it is the easiest transition in life, while others may think that it is the hardest. Well Devon was the best in high school and was praised for his talents and the way that he carried himself. So, he thought that being in collge would allow him to have the same mentality. When he stepped onto his college's campus, he was thousands of miles aways from home, he had freedom, and he thought that he would remain the best. He saw the beatuiful girls, the college parties, and being a member of a great marching band. But, soon he would begin to struggle. Some of the struggles that Devon faced were the difficulty in balancing school work and the intense schedule of a competitve collegiate band. He did not have the discipline in his work wthic and tried to fake his way to the top. Devon began to become distracted with everything that college had to offer.

Soon, Devon began to slowly lose everything that he thought was so easy to maintain. He lost his girlfriend, he had to take on more academic work, and sadly he was dismissed from the marching band.

However, positivity started to come into Devon's life. He realized that college matured him. He learned how to have discipline in his life and set morals for himself. He believed that he needed that downfall to make him a stronger person. Devon soon was able to win his girlfriend back, gain bis spot back on the marching band, and won the respect of bandmates and his director. College is a place that prepares you for life. I can relate to Devon's story.

If you watched the video above, I am in there some where. For I am a member of the Rutgers Marching Band. I can relate to Devon Mile's story. Before college I had a great time in high school. I was considered a role model and sometimes one of the best musicians. Even though I practiced humility, sometimes the praises would get to me and make me think higher of myself than I should have. When I decided to go to Rutgers, I thought that making the transition would be a piece of cake. I expected to go there with the same mindset and work ethic. But, I would soon be proved wong. When I stepped onto the campus on move in day, I realized that this was a not what I expected. This was a huge school and something that I was not accustomed to.

As the semester progressed, I did have some really good times. I made some really good friends, I actually enjoyed some of my classes, and I started to get involved at school. I liked having to be responsible for myself and practicing discipline. However, there were some hard times for me. When I started to slack off from going to the library to study, I began to not do to well on exams, my grades were not where I wanted them to be, and I started to become overwhelmed. Then on top of all of that, as a member of the marching band, I had to practice three days a week and perform at football games and other events every week. I started to think that there were not enough hours in the day to do everything.

My experience helped me realize that college is a place that changes people. I had to learn to study, balance my social and academic life, and actually get involved at school. Being a member of the band was hard. In addition to school work, I had to fight every practice to stay up to par with some of the greatest musicians. I had to prove myself on the field at every practice and game to gain respect.

I believe that college has made me a stronger individual and taught me how to have discipline in my life. Like Devon Miles, I needed some bad things to happen to me in order to realize that I needed to make a change in myself.











So my advice to you is to embrace college. There will be things that you love, but there will also be some trying times. Accept those moments and make the best of your collegiate career. If you still want or need some advice, don't hesitate to watch "Drumline."

      

Stuffing, Hearts, and Bear Parts

Build-A-Bear to the nineteen year old college freshman is a social taboo. We do not frequent establishments overrun with snotty nose children and frustrated parents, and we seldom wish to work at places that have these headache inducing features. So when I was first told by Carly that we would be heading there for our excursion, a quick gulp followed by "no benihana's" almost escaped my lips. Please, don't take this the wrong way, I do love bears. My teddies are prized possessions that are run down with years of too much love, but I questioned how this could be fun for my "mature" persona. I never really thought of Build-A-Bear as a workplace, always just saw it as a store that catered to bratty children and nothing more. But once I stepped foot into the door, I realized how terribly wrong I was.

Pictured above is Camo, a new edition to my build-a-bear collection and an awesome memory of the metamorphic experience I had on our excursion. Upon first entering the store we were all directed to the standard bear, but once my eyes caught sight of that sexy hunk, I knew at that very moment I had to make him mine. I quickly turned to Carly and asked, if our attachment with another bear was stronger would we be able to upgrade from the Toyota to the Maybach of bears. Well I didn't really say it in those exact words, but the point was made clear there was no way I could settle. I was a little kid in a candy store reliving the memories of the endless build-a-bear birthday parties that came with the suburban standard of living. She quickly did the math in her heads I hoping the figure would allow for such grace, and said yes.  At that moment I rushed to the bin containing the lifeless and corpse looking sack of a bear and with an enthusiasm I thought had faded with the years, I became a little kid again. Suddenly the store became a magical place and the workers were all angels of patience in my eyes.

At build-a-bear I learned from one of the employees that it's the kids and not the pay that keeps her coming to work everyday. The two people who worked with us were so kind and you could tell right off the bat that they were doing their job with passion. From the moment when they got a bunch of college kids to rub little fabric hearts on our tummies and jump to give them the pulsing needed to keep our bears going, I knew that this kind of joy came with every session. Not once did I see them look bothered or impatient, they welcomed our questions, smiled whole heartedly, and loved how bears made us transition into a child like in the video above. They didn't rush us through the steps of building the bear because we were older and they made sure that we took the time to complete each and every step from the fluffing and stuffing to the cleaning and picking of the Rutgers' threads for our naked teddies. It was in that very moment when I realized that the way they were acting was exactly how we would need to be in every upcoming new student orientation session. As an OL I would have to approach each student like a bear in need of fluffing, rubbing their heads with knowledge of what Rutgers has to offer, stuffing them with the courage to not be afraid to open up and welcome the diversity around them, and ultimately cuddling them and letting them know that at one point I was just like them.

Ultimately, when I look back on my experience at build-a-bear, I am so happy that is where we went. No only was it a great work place to examine but it was a beautiful team building moment for Silverware. I will always have a physical reminder of it through my lovely Camo!