Surviving OU:
or 'How I learned to get along at college: advice for new freshmen'



Your freshman year will definitely be a learning experience.  Trust me on this one.  But about 99.6347% of the things you learn will take place OUTSIDE the classroom and have absolutely NOTHING whatsoever to do with your major.   Here's a far from complete list of the various things I learned during my freshman year at OU:

Note: This is all I have for now.  I will be updating as I get the chance.  Also, at the end of each section, you can return to the top of the page by clicking on the Lemming.

Life in the Residence Halls:
If you are living in the dorms (particularly on a freshman floor), and you want to get any sleep at night, BRING EARPLUGS!  Bring them even if you are living on a "quiet floor".  I lived on a "quiet floor" my freshman year.   If that was a quiet floor, I'd sure hate to see what a regular floor is like...

Separate your laundry into different piles.  When I first started doing laundry at OU, I always separated my clothes into two groups: 'whites' and 'everything else'.   Even if you think your clothes are separated, ALWAYS double check.  You would be surprised how much one damage one lousy red towel can do to a load of white laundry.   Towards the end of the school year, you will probably develop your own method for sorting clothes.  The popular method among most students is 'looks clean/smells clean', 'looks dirty/smells clean', 'looks clean/smells dirty', and 'looks dirty/smells dirty'. 

Be careful when rooming with your best friend from high school.  Just because you are good friends does not mean you will be good roommates.  I roomed with my best friend from HS - while she is a wonderful person, we could not stand rooming together.   She is  a neat freak who likes to get up early in the morning (even on weekends!).  I am a self-professed slob and am NEVER awake before 11:00 A.M. (at the earliest) on weekends. 

Actually, in 90% of cases, you will either love or hate your roommate.  Best friends from high school may never speak again after rooming together (trust me).   Total strangers rooming together my end up being inseperable by the end of the year.  It all depends on who you get as a roomie. 

Try to be tolerant of your roommates quirky little habits (everyone has them - including you).  It's not always easy, though.  I would always get annoyed when my freshman roommate tried to talk to me when I was busy on the computer, and the way she would always ask me "What are you thinking about?".  She used to get annoyed at the way I would leave my stuff on HER side of the dresser, the way I spent so much time on the computer, and even the way I ate jellybeans.  I think it was our inability to handle each other's little quirky habits that made us decide not to room together after our freshman year.

Don't wear anything to bed that you don't want to be seen in public wearing.  My first year at college (I stayed in Walker Tower), we had FOUR late night/early morning fire alarms, most of them in the dead of winter.  By late night/early morning, I mean from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM.  Most of the fire alarms were caused by people (usually the yahoos on the National Merit floor) dropping cigarette butts down the trash chute.

Your average latex condom can hold a LOT of water.  But a word of caution: a water filled condom is almost impossible to move from place to place.  You have to transport it on a flat piece of cardboard.  If you're careful enough, you can move it to your roommate's bed or desk chair, and gently slide the cardboard out from under it.   Then watch your roommate try to figure out how to move it.

If you live in the Towers and live below the 4th floor, don't take the elevator.  That was a big pet peeve of mine last year.  In my humble opinion, if you are too freakin' lazy to walk up a couple of flights of stairs, you should get a room on a higher floor (like the 5th floor or above), where you are justified in taking the elevator.

Norman:
Everything you could possibly need will be sold at Wal-Mart. And things are usually cheaper there than at the convenience stores on campus.

The best ice cream place in the world is called the Marble Slab Creamery.  It's located on Interstate Drive in Norman, about a block south of the Olive Garden.

Campus:
Football game days are CROWDED - if you live in the dorms, don't bother waiting for an elevator.  The stairs are much quicker.  On game days, the campus is PACKED with students, parents, and fans.  Game days are generally fun and exciting, just crowded.

On game days, don't move your car unless you are not planning on returning to campus until AFTER the game is over.  The parking lots fill up quickly on game days (yes, even the 'students only' lots).  If you move your car on those days, you risk losing your parking space.  Be forewarned.

Academics:
If you take Chemistry 1315 (and for most majors it is required), be careful in lab to mix up the RIGHT concentrations of things.  Else, you can get concentrations of acid that are WAY too high.  You can tell your acid is too concentrated when it starts dissolving things like plastic cups and Coke cans (or whatever container it happens to be in).  It is fun to watch the acid dissolve things, but it kind of skewers the results of your experiment.

If you are trying to make a good impression on the first day of class, it is usually not a good idea to laugh at your TA's haircut - no matter how goofy it looks.  

In any and all Chemistry lab sections: Always wear your goggles.  You will burn in Hell if you forget your goggles.  (Well, maybe not, but the TA's will get pretty mad at you). 

Get to know your professors - especially the ones in your major.  You can do this by dropping by their office hours, or just starting a conversation if you see them walking around on campus.  All professors like being able to match a face to a name - and it usually works in your favor if they know who you are.  If there is a question about grading on an assignment or test, a professor who knows you is more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.  In the future, they will be able to write letters of reccomendation for you.

If you have declared a major, be sure to get to know the profs in that major.  If you are a computer science major, Dr. Trytten is a good person to get to know - she helped me a lot by giving me advice about courses, careers, etc.

Whatever you do, be careful not to tick off the TA's in your class.  They have a LOT more influence over your grade then you think.  Not only do they grade your homework, but sometimes they even grade your exams. 

If you own a TI, HP, or even a Casio graphing calculator, there are several places on the Internet where you can download math/science/engineering programs and, yes, even games.  But be careful... my Chemistry grade slipped when I spent all my time in the lecture section playing Tetris rather than paying attention. 

Miscellaneous:
The Beaird Lounge in the Student Union is a great place to study, read the newspaper, or take a nap on one of the (very comfortable) couches.  Just a word of warning: The brown couch by the big green plant is MINE.  If you are ever on the brown couch and you see me walk in, remember that the couch is MINE.  I claimed it last year, when I was a freshman. 

Quarters are worth their weight in gold.  You will use them for LAUNDRY (it takes 6 quarters to wash and dry one load of laundry, unless you use Sooner Sense - see below), vending machines, pay phone calls, video games, parking meters, storage lockers (for your backpack) in the cafeteria, etc. etc.  It is probably a good idea to bring about $20 or $30 worth of quarters with you when you arrive on campus. 

A good alternative to quarters, just introduced here at OU in the past few years, is Sooner Sense.  It significantly reduces the amount of quarters you will use on campus.   Basically what you do is go to the Bursar's Office (Buchanan Hall) on the second floor.  You will see an office with a sign in front that says 'ID Cards'.   Go in, give the lady behind the desk a check (or cash, or whatever), and you will have that amount credited to your Sooner Sense account.  Then, instead of, say, paying a bunch of quarters to do your laundry, all you have to do is scan your ID card in a special little machine in the laundry room and it deducts the money from your Sooner Sense account.

Get used to cultural awareness days/weeks/months.  At OU, there is Black Awareness Month, Korean Awareness Week, Asian Awareness Week, Indian Awareness Week, Native American Awareness Week, etc. etc.  Interesting thing is, there is no Regular-Plain-Old-White Awareness week.  And if I were to suggest that we have one, I would be called racist.   Go figure.

Get used to religious awareness weeks.  There is Buddhist Awareness Week, Muslim Awareness Week, Jewish Awareness Week, Christian Awareness Week, etc.  The only one of these that really bothers me is Christian Awareness Week.  During that whole week, I couldn't walk from one end of campus to the other without some well-meaning albeit ANNOYING Christian shoving literature at me and asking if I'm "saved", or if I "know Jesus".  During that week, I am very tempted to hold a little religious awareness week of my own: the "Did It Ever Occur to You That You Might Be WRONG?" Week.  I know, I know, I'm going straight to Hell, just for saying that.   Oh well...we can't all be perfect.

Get an internship if you can.  I was lucky enough to get a well-paying internship (in my major field of study) at a well-known company (with flexible hours and a semi-casual dress code) during my freshman year in college.  An internship will make it MUCH MUCH easier to get a job after college.  If you do a good job as an intern, you can usually go to work for the company you interned for.  If you don't want to work for the company you interned for, you will still have the experience and it will look VERY good on your resume.

If you thought high school was full of cliques, college will be a lot worse.  In high school (at least in MY high school), the typical cliques were jocks, brains, student-government types, potheads, and wierdos - these are the people who wore all black and joined the poetry/drama clubs in high school.  Well, the same basic high school cliques still exist at college, but due to the larger number of students, the cliques become a lot more specific.  So, what becomes of the high school cliques in college?

Jocks:	At college, they know how to throw the best parties.  Sometimes, high school jocks also play sports at college, but it's just as likely that they will not.  In college, they have loads of friends.  Most of them are fraternity/sorority members and have majors like Sports Medicine, P.E., History, Music, etc.  It is rare that you will ever see them studying.  However, for an ex-jock, college years are a blast.   They have more fun than any of the other types.  After college, they will usually work for the brains.
Brains:	In college, they are usually still the brains - mostly found majoring in engineering, computer science, mathematics, business (sometimes), science, and pre-med.  Most of them live for their major.  Of all the groups, brains are the least likely to have a life.  They are the ones you see in the library on Friday night cramming for the big exam in three weeks.  Most of them only have friends who are also brains (usually in the same major).  In college, they are called "nerd".  After college, they are called "boss".
Student-Government Types	In college, the vast majority of them major in business.  A few of them run for student government.  Others join fraternities and sororities.  Others hide themselves in the library studying for five or six years and come out with MBA's.   They form the "middle ground" between the two extremes of the jocks and the brains.
Potheads	It's unlikely that you will ever see one on a college campus.  If you do, you are probably in the campus McDonalds and he/she is the one asking if you want fries with that.
Wierdos	They are still weirdos.  Except now you call them drama/art/dance majors.   'Nuff said.

Transportation:
Lindsey is a difficult and dangerous road to drive on.  Especially if it is pouring down rain.  You will stop frequently.  Be sure to allow plenty of room to stop.  And pay attention to the road - don't be tuning the radio.  Trust me.   Or it is likely you will rear end someone and cause a 3-car pileup.  And it will raise your insurance.  A lot. 

If you have a bike on campus, be sure to lock it up and keep an eye on it.  I got mine stolen during the last week of school.  In all the confusion, with people moving out, it is very easy for someone to steal your bike since no one will really notice them.

If you park your bike outside, you might want to keep one of those plastic Wal-Mart bags over the seat when you are not using it.  That way, if it rains, you can ride your bike and not have to sit on a wet seat. 

If you don't have a car (or even if you do), a good way to get home for the holidays is to carpool with a friend.  But offer to chip in some $$$ for gas (and for the turnpike, if applicable).  It can be expensive to drive home: a round trip drive from Norman to Bartlesville (where I live) costs around $20. 

Food:
If you are a freshman living on campus, you probably have to have a meal plan.  You probably don't want the 19 meals/week plan.  Come on, let's face it - how often are you actually going to eat breakfast in the cafeteria???  The best bet is to get a plan that comes with Dining Sense: 12/200, 10/300, 8/400.  The Dining Sense can be used at all campus food locations - and it can be a lot more convenient than the cafeteria.

Cafeteria foods that are OK: most desserts, most sandwiches, most vegetables, french fries, salad bar items, soups, cereal.
Cafeteria foods to avoid: anything "surprise", anything "casserole", anything moving, anything that 'just doesn't look right'. 

A good thing to do - especially if you stay up late - is keep a refrigerator and microwave in your room.  That way, if you get hungry at 2:00 AM (when everything is closed), you can still have your late-night snack.

Greek Life:
I did not join a Greek organization.  But a lot of people on my floor were Greek, and I have seen a lot of Greeks on campus.  So I think this qualifies me to comment. 

If you are in a sorority, you will most likely have a T-shirt for every occasion: Bid Day, Mom's Day, Dad's Day, the OU/Texas Football Game, Greek Games day, the All-Sorority Slumber Party, The Sorority/Fraternity One-on-One Slumber Party, etc. etc.

If you join a fraternity, expect to spend all of your weekends and most of your weekdays in a drunken stupor.  After you graduate, your friends will assure you that you had 'the time of your life' in college.  Unfortunately, you will not remember most of it. 

**DISCLAIMER**
I exaggerate a lot, OK???  And I use a lot of generalizations and stereotypes that are not exactly politically correct.  So don't get offended if, for example, I portrayed your Greek/religious/ethnic group in a different way than you would have liked.  I didn't mean it personally so don't take it personally.  Life is too short to go around getting offended at every little thing.    Just lighten up, get a life, and move on

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