New Student Convocation

By: Travis

Today was especially fun... Actually, it was kinda boring and really hot, but it is still worth talking or rambling about. I woke up at about 7 today, which was relatively early compared to normal, but I thought that I should at least get used to my schedule as it will have to be during my classes. The first thing was scheduled to be starting around 10. I dressed up in "business casuals" and thought that it was probably too much. That type of clothing was supposedly required, but as our floor went out there, we realized that many of the others weren't dressed as nicely. I decided that I should do the same as Charlie and Tyler, and they both used undershirts and dress shirts. That was definitely a mistake, because as I went outside, I discovered that it was really really hot! We went to one of three blue tents that was handing out Blue AU T-Shirts and received the shirt that fitted us the best. Then, they had some breakfast foods out there that we were encouraged to take, because they were supplied by the Alumni. They had 6 oz orange juice containers which are very frustrating, because just as you get into the orange juice flavor, they are gone. They also had scones and some small donuts. We stood out there in the sweltering heat for quite a while, and then, we formed a very long line, from the quad to the Katzen Art Center, and then down to the Bender Stadium. In the entrance to the stadium, we were greeted by lots of clapping older students and faculty. It felt really weird, just like the "spirit tunnels" at Whitehall High School that we would do for the teams as they went to tournaments or something. So, we then gathered in the mid sized Bender Arena. There the student council president and the other presidents and important people gave us speeches. Basically, they said, "You are the future. You are awesome. We can't wait to see you back here in 4 years when you graduate. That was about it. After that, I went back to my dorm, where Amy met me for lunch.

We ate at the TDR again but this time there was a big line to wait for before we could even enter the dining room. We had lots and lots of food and once again, we were very full. I even wasted a tin bit of food. I'll be more careful next time, because I feel so bad wasting food when so many others don't have anything to eat. We tried something interesting there this time though... Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with bananas and hot fudge. It was really good, and I liked it even though I was a little skeptical at first. We were too full as we climbed the stairs to exit the dining room. It was a little painful.

After that, we went to the Bender Arena again to see the author of "The Moral Underground," Lisa Dodson. Her speech was just about as exciting as the Title of the book, or the book itself for that matter. In other words, it was a little boring. I much prefer the Student Council President's speeches.

After that, we went to the book store to purchase my Physics books. The book store part of the boo store is awesome. It just has rows and rows of text books and you just can go find your class and pick out your book. I found a bundled Physics book and workbook that were used. The new counterpart would have been 242, but the use versions were only supposed to be 181. I brought them upstairs and also bought a planner. The register couldn't scan the bar codes as they were, so the cashier had to go downstairs again to the book section to get the numbers from single copies of each book. As she rang me up, she said that my total would be 62.25. I questioned her and asked what was up with the textbook's price. I had thought that maybe that was the renting price instead of buying them, but if it were renting, I would have had to fill out the waiver and agreement. I just took the books and left. Only 62.25 for a large textbook, workbook, and planner. I sure found a good deal today, but I'm sure I won't be this lucky next time I need to buy books.

After this, I went to a meeting with all of the other students that are in my college, the College of Arts and Sciences. They also have the Kogod School of Business, School of Communication, School of International Service, and School of Public Affairs. I got there late because of the whole textbook buying mishap, but I was in time enough for the Free Water Bottle:) Hooray!

Amy and I hung out in my room and she read out loud the book she was reading at the time. It was called, "City of Thieves." It is a good book, and I was meanwhile looking up some things on the computer. She felt too funny about reading out loud to me though, because Charlie came in after a while:P She stopped reading for a time then.

We went out to get supper, because we heard there was a barbecue starting at 5:15. We looked in the quad and realized that to get into the carnival barbecue, you had to swipe your ID card. We then decided to just look for the soccer field instead, since we weren't that hungry. On the way to the soccer field however, we found a barbecue that was for the Law Students. We figured that out when there weren't any Freshman aged looking people walking around. They had delicious chocolate cookies, and I stole some for tomorrow's breakfast along with the banana that I took from lunch. We found the soccer field after that, and then Amy left. I got my two packages from Anderson and unrolled my poster that my mom sent. It was stuck tightly in the tube and I swung the tube quickly to get it to come out. I did this several times and it appeared to move a little. I swung it harder and harder, and then, doing it one too many times, it flew out and smashed into the dresser wrinkling one end of the poster.