Overwhelmingly excited and feverishly nervous, I rode in the back seat of my dad’s black Toyota Tacoma truck down South High Street admiring out the window the inescapable amount of college students and the forest of white plastic signs with phrases like, “Welcome to DU,” “Proud to be a Pioneer” and “Class of 2019.” Amidst all the mayhem of move-in day, we finally parked, only to be instantly ambushed by a dynamically peppy group of frat boys who suddenly, with no need for assent, began removing all of my delicately packed belongings and taking them into a very tall, old building that I would eventually learn to call my home for the next year.
The chaos of move-in day came to a beautifully decorated close, and the chaos of Orientation Week began. In the thick of being welcomed to DU by receiving a ubiquitous amount of free T-shirts, learning 1300 new freshmen faces, navigating my way around campus and figuring out how to be okay with showering in a public bathroom for the next few months, I couldn’t help but feel the need to ask others their advice. According to this random selection of upperclassmen and DU staff, the following 10 pieces of advices are what freshmen need to to know for their first year at DU.
1. “In the beginning, do everything.”
– Arik Stewart
2. “The tutors on campus are awesome—they are literally like a free teacher. I didn’t take advantage of the them until the end of my freshman year, and I so wish I would have sooner.”
–Hadleigh Seely
3. “Know the schedule for what time the Dining Halls open.”
– Deborah Clement, Cashier at Centennial Dining Hall.
4. “At some point in your DU career, if you try to skinny dip in the ponds by Evans Chapel… you will get away with it. Or so I’ve heard.”
– Tim Longfield
5. “Get lost on the light rail as a freshman. It will help you figure out the city. But don’t get mugged.”
– Haley Osborn
6. “Exams come way faster than you think they will. I still clearly haven’t learned that—here I am at midnight cramming for a test I have tomorrow.”
– Bryce McCall
7. “Don’t travel in herds of 20 or more other freshmen. It’s funny for the upperclassmen though, because we can tell you all just got out of high school.”
– Bryce McCall
8. “Talk to your professors as much as you can. Even if they don’t seem approachable in class, they generally are awesome during their office hours. Plus, the more familiar they are with you, the better.”
– Hadleigh Seely
9. “In the morning at breakfast, when I say hi, say hi back! Don’t give me that dead look… I don’t bite!”
–Benita Foote, Cashier at Centennial Dining Hall
10. “Everything is not as it seems, but everything is as it seems. You’ll understand when you become a senior.”
– Cameron Simmons
