Ohio University - Athena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

Page 22 text:

Freshmen: class 18 WITH the scarlet of the maples comes the green of the fresh- man . . . enviable in that they are seeing the beauty of the campus for the first time, through unaccustomed eyes . . . keenly thrilling to its color and sweep, even as the jaded seniors once did. The pungent odor of burning leaves rouses nostalgia in the hearts of the new-comers . . . though the hectic, happy-go-lucky first days of college leave little time for homesickness. The rush of registration merges into the confusion of finding the many classrooms. Someone helps out a bewildered freshie and an- other fine friendship has begun. Eagerly the first and most glorious football game is anticipated, and rightly so, for no matter what it ' s like, in memory it is a magnificent affair . . . bands blaring, banners gayly beckoning, and a scarlet airplane touch- ing up the post-card sapphire of the cloudless sky ... in memory we always win that first game by a huge margin. The victory celebration adds another to our college memories. The first dance . . . eagerly little Miss Freshman arrays herself in glamorous bib-and-tuck, anxiously awaits her buzzer signal, hurriedly skips downstairs, happily sallies forth with the blind date which the kind junior arranged for her. I

Page 21 text:

DEAN Irma E. Voigt and Lady greet freshman women in the famous backyard garden (upper left) . . . Campus newcomers crowd the fresh- man mixer . . . Freda Simerka and Charles Weber coke at Registration Hop. DR. BURGER examines all freshmen during the first few weeks of school . . . Logan ' s sell thousands of books . . . Dr. Porter, psychology chairman, fa- tigues students with his college ability tests. 17

Page 23 text:

oi nineteen forty-three SURPRISING, how many blind dates grow into nice little love affairs! More classes, and Freshman learns to his sorrow that this sure is different from high school . . . assignments and more assignments . . . then the shock of the first grades ... a low, grinding sound, audible all over the campus . . . the fresh- man settling down to hard work. The thrill of belonging felt at the first convocation, when the student body gathers together. The gradually diminishing flow of letters home . . . the joyous discovery that college professors are exactly as presented by radio comedians . . . the long walks . . . the first sight of the asylum grounds . . . and all its implications and complications . . . And with all these experiences behind him, by the time Thanksgiving vacation rolls around the green has pretty well worn off. The freshman becomes a campus citizen, having found his interests and formed friendships, and perhaps having begun to realize the opportunities offered him for self-improvement if he wishes seriously to participate in the life of the college. 19