As I walked up the broken escalator steps to the 5th floor of the Newman Vertical campus, I was trying to think about what this workshop might be like. I was expecting to put into a group of 30-50 people, walking around to the various advisers who would get their 5 minutes with us. What I got was…something else.
My first thought upon reaching the 5th floor: “Wow, huge crowd!” I was only expecting at most 200 students. I thought that our time in the academic center would be split between classes, or at least groups. It looked like the crowd was well over 500 strong. I had no idea how so many of us were expected to gather in such a small area. If the room had a maximum occupancy number posted, I’m sure it was greatly exceeded that day.
The sheer number of students made it almost impossible to learn much of anything. The faculty had their hands full trying to answer the students’ questions and signing attendance passports. I decided I would just get my passport signed, then leave. I didn’t really have any questions at that time anyway, and I figured that if an issue came up, at least I’d know who to ask and where to go; that was enough for me. Before I left, I took one of the cookies and some lemonade that was being given out. They tasted good.
Looking back on it, I’m not sure why I expected that. This is college, not highschool, after all, and in college, there is no one to lead you around. There is guidance and advice, but at the end of the day, one must make his own decisions.
-Richardson Antoine