University of Rhode Island - Renaissance / Grist Yearbook (Kingston, RI)

Page 9 text:

College is where our role as a stu- dent is our primary concer n. It was not mandatory for us to go on with our for- mal education but we chose to. And so we all began the same here ... as confused freshmen trying to make some sense out of this world call- ed Academia. We found ourselves lost in the jungle of pre-registration, angered in the numerous never-ending lines throughout the campus, broke in the money-hungry bookstore, and at the mercy of upperclassmen. We soon began to realize that the education and experience at this institu- tion were not limited to the classroom. No. The learning process had much more in store for us than that. We found ourselves totally independent for probably the first time in our lives. We began to grow, on our own. We soon found ourselves involved, attracted to the lure of Fraternity and Sorority antics, spellbound by the freedom of down- the-line living, drunk at the Pub, locked out of our rooms, sinking in the mire of the Quadrangle, snoozing during mass lectures, and suffering at the thought of another year of campus cuisine. The student on campus soon learned that an education was much more than sitting in a classroom and tak- ing notes, or playing with the computer terminals. In education, the learning pro- cess extends way beyond any classroom. The University of Rhode Island student has the opportunity to get involved in just about anything that interests them through one of the clubs or organizations on campus. This is where a student can learn some of the most important things there are to learn - responsibility, respect towards others, and maybe most importantly, self respect. One cannot sit down in a classroom and sign an actual contract, or put on a show, or write an article that will be published.

Page 11 text:

Involvement in the other aspects of campus life together with academics provide us with the well-rounded education that we find ourselves here for. Oh yes, we found ourselves in the Library, studying because we all began to realize why we came to URI in the first place. We were, after all, students. It was beginning to look as if this ride would never end, but then Senior Year came upon us and we had to begin to plan for new beginnings in the outside world. This senior year began uneventful- ly. Compared to last year, it was the calm AFTER the storm. The University was just beginning to shake off the bad publicity the mass media had seem to press upon us.