Whether you are from Escanaba or the East Coast (like me, but I am not from New York or New Jersey, and I don't recommend visiting) the second you arrive you are faced with the daunting task of fitting in. Or, more appropriately, you are faced with the urge to change yourself to feel comfortable in the veritable sea of people that takes over this city eight months of the year.
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Josh White
Fantastic |
The most destructive things a new student can do are to either become reclusive or to try to become someone they are not. Not everything at the University was meant for everybody, and there are certainly people like all of us wandering around this place. It might seem hard to find them at first, but they are there.
And chances are, they are just as confused as you.
What this larger University community is all about is all the smaller communities that lie within. The trick is to find that small community that makes you feel good and allows you to have fun in a way you can appreciate. There are so many people and places out there that you may find perfect, but you have to go out and find them.
Some join fraternities and sororities to find a community of friends who will both support and encourage their efforts at the University. There are plenty of Greek houses to choose from, and chances are, there is one for almost everybody on campus --Êbut joining the Greek system is a responsibility and a commitment not everyone can or should take. It isn't about parties and beer and status as much as it is about community -- and some find it there.
Others find their place through religious and ethnic activities and groups -- a bond many share before they come to the University and a bond that reaches across the globe. There is no shortage of groups like this on campus -- some of them are the largest and most influential student groups -- and all of them would love to have new members. What is incredible about these groups is that they take something that large groups of people have in common, and they create a community with which people can easily identify.
Student activism, no matter how many people claim it has disappeared into apathy, is still a large part of campus life, even if it isn't as overt as in previous generations. By joining activist groups on campus, students are able to unite behind a cause and are able to at least try to effect change. Whether you are interested in promoting equality or encouraging recycling efforts, there are students who share your views and fight earnestly for them.
Publications and broadcasting are also a great way to get involved on campus and provide several unique ways to work in journalism and keep on top of campus news. From The Michigan Daily, the Michiganensian yearbook and the Gargoyle humor magazine in the Student Publications Building to WCBN campus radio and WOLV student television, there are several options for students to explore. And the best part about campus publications is that almost anyone can join and anyone can excel.
Of course for athletes, their involvement in sports will afford them the opportunity to meet and join a community of the nation's top competitors. Like any campus community, here is where the heart of the school is -- in the people we share our time with.
Whether in the arts or music, on the field or in a student group's office, there are countless numbers of ways that students come together and make this place smaller. Because all 30,000 of us donÕt have much of any one thing in common, there are many smaller groups that bring us together and make us enjoy our four, five, six or more years here together.
Make the most of it -- this vast school will seem small in no time.
-- Josh White is an LSA senior and the Daily's editor in chief. He can be reached over e-mail at jswhite@umich.edu.
09-03-97
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