OSU Now vs. Then

After surviving my first two weeks as a returning college student, I'm amazed at how different campus is compared to 15 years ago. Some of it can be attributed to the fact that I'm simply older and my perceptions have changed.

For example, I know that the students aren't really younger than they used to be; they just seem like kids because I'm technically old enough to be mom to a few of them. Some of them stop talking when I approach, which could make me feel ancient; I choose instead to feel all-powerful. I stop speech with a single glance! But overall, most of the kids are friendly and polite. A few even seem to think I have all the answers, being older. Won't they be surprised!

The biggest changes all fall under the umbrella category of technology. It seems every student on campus is glued to a cell phone, an iPod, or both. They whip the phones out as soon as class ends and furtively text message while walking around haphazardly. A few of the ruder ones actually take calls in class. (I love my professor who gives pop quizzes for every cell phone interruption.) Walking across campus is an exercise in dodging the oblivious phone junkies. Dodging skateboards, too, but I remember a few of those from my first collegiate attempt.

But technology is a huge boon to the classes themselves. More than half of my professors use Power Point slides during their lectures; some then post the lecture notes online. A decade ago, I had a history professor who spent the first 20 minutes of every class painstakingly writing lecture notes in cursive on the blackboard. We were supposed to copy them all down during this time. He would erase the notes after every class, even if he had the same exact class immediately following. It seemed a bit bizarre. He may still be doing that, but odds are that he has found the joys of Power Point animations and just pop those sentences onto the screen as needed.

Also, in the days of yore, trying to talk to a professor was nearly impossible. You fought the crowds gathered around in the brief interlude after class, before rushing to the next class, or you waded through the group of students who all showed up during office hours. Now? Email. It's brilliant. The students taking notes on laptops in class? Not so much. The clicking of frantic typing can be irritating. But hey, I can't fault them for seeking convenience.

Sometimes, on the other hand, it seems like I never left. Books are still ridiculously overpriced, students still show up for class with obvious hangovers, and someone is always tossing a Frisbee on one of the lawns. I've survived my first couple of quizzes and a paper already and I'm more and more confident that I can get through the next couple of years. I don't procrastinate the way I used to, which is a plus. I used to save all the reading until the night before a test and stay up all night. Now, I'm actually caught up. That never happened when I was younger. I'm already tired, but I am loving this.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Corvallist...