The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/freshmen/page/4/)
The City of Ithaca the University’s full site plan for the expansion of North Campus housing, including construction and renovation plans for buildings and facilities, as well as changes in on-campus living requirements and potential increases in class size.
For Emery Bergmann ’21 — the Cornell freshman whose short film on transitioning into college has gone viral — getting acclimated and finding new friends on campus proved more difficult than she had anticipated.
When I was a freshman, every reputable national newspaper had a 40 year-old writing about how to “do college” correctly and effectively. And while crumbs of their advice were useful, I also felt like the prescriptions for how to act and perform were more stressful than anything else.
This is my last column for The Cornell Daily Sun and at first I wasn’t too sure what to write. As a graduating senior, I could do something really sappy and look back at my favorite Cornell memories. I could list out my biggest regrets about my four years here. I could also just treat this like any other column. Ultimately, I decided to do a bit of each of the three. Here’s some advice to the Cornell class of 2021.
Members of the Cornell Orientation Steering Committee and Student Assembly addressed concerns from first year students at a forum hosted during Thursday’s Student Assembly meeting at Robert Purcell Community Center. After concluding the S.A. general meeting, President Jordan Berger ’17 opened the forum by asking members of the community — especially first-year students — to come forward and share what they felt was missing from their transition to Cornell. OSC co-chair Ethan Kramer ’17 — along with OSC members Finn McFarland ’18 and Emily Hunsinger ’18 — fielded questions from the community. After a few minutes of discussion, ILR student Joseph Anderson ’20 sparked a long conversation on the required orientation events Tapestry and Speak About It by recalling a hostile exchange between a student moderator and an audience member during a Tapestry question and answer session. “At least in [my Tapestry event], it got very hostile between the student moderator and the students who were questioning,” Anderson said.
I know you aren’t looking for advice. You probably think you’re some hot-shot who understands life because you’re old enough to buy cigarettes from grocery stores and order Moon Sand over the phone without having to ask your parents. Honestly, I don’t blame you. I thought the same thing. And hey, maybe you are that hot-shot, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Dear Freshman Mel,
There are so many beautiful days, so many amazing people, and so many incredible opportunities at this school. Over the next four years, you’ll meet your best friends and live some of the best days of your life. But this letter is not for those days. This is the letter for the bad days, the times when it seems like exactly nothing is working out. These are the things I wish I knew earlier that carried me through the best and the worst:
1.
With only around three weeks of freshman year left — and that includes the study period and finals — the nostalgia is real. Even though I’m only a freshman and I can’t imagine what the seniors are going through, there’s something special about the first year at a university; there are some things that happen freshman year which will most likely never happen again. Will I miss the lack of air conditioning in my dorm room? The buffet-style dining halls that make me eat far more than necessary to make up for the over-priced swipe? The cramped living quarters that make catching a cold all-year round inevitable?
What to expect during your first year and why Cornell is such a great place to be.
Freshman year is about more than just picking the right classes and meeting new friends.