American University - Talon / Aucola Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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hurry, they say, registration starts next week, and things will really be a mess. So Sandy calls Dean Collins. This is prime-time long distance to Washington, and although she ' s having a dandy conversation concerning Big Bird with the secretary ' s seven-year-old daughter, she really wants to talk to the Dean. Finally, Dean Collins Is on the line assuring Sandy that everything will be fine. Just come down a bit early and the whole thing will be straightened out. Sandy Schwartz, after 3 years of life at American is wise with experience. She comes down three days early with Fred. And to her surprise everything works out just fine. Here it is, September 1976, Sandy thinks, holding a note from Dean Collins tightly in her hand, And I ' m finally headed down the right road. Hey, Fred, Sandy says as they walk out of Ward Circle into the hot sunshine, Remember when we met in line downstairs back in the beginning? Sure thing . . Sharon. They both laugh because Fred managed to remember Sandy ' s name just about the same time the computer did. And Fred likes Sandy a lot more than the computer does. Registration is one of the necessary evils of college life. The larger the school, the bigger the madhouse at the beginning of the semester. But for those who withstand the baptism-of-fire right at the beginning, the maze of red tape and the intricate machinery of organization gradually reveal themselves. And then you have something to fight with when trouble comes. Fall semester went uneventfully for Sandy. By now everything was old hat for her as she sailed through the semester. But Spring semester, beginning cold and getting colder by the day, brought a final trauma. Or, rather, it didn ' t bring a graduate clearance to Sandy. Sandy knew that this could mean a final confrontation. She had visions of the climatic battle between.the forces of Good and Evil, with her on one side and the computer on the other side. But then, perhaps her thinking was influenced by The Lord of the Rings which she just happened to be reading. At any rate, on a cold Sunday night as the wind whistled outside and rattled the louvered windows in the dorm room, Sandy snuggled up with Fred and did a little homework. Then the phone rang abruptly. Actually, it rang the way it always did, circumstances just made it seem abrupt at that moment . . . Hello? Sandy said tersely. Sandy, dear. It ' s Mother. Oh. Said Sandy, quickly putting on some clothes; half-realizing how silly that was. Sandy. I ' ve got your graduate clearance here. They sent it home. Shall 1 mail it to you? Oh, Mom! I ' ve been waiting and waiting for it! Thank goodness! Yes! Send it down. Special Delivery! On a muggy day in May, 1977 Sandy Schwartz stood in the sunshine outside Constitution Hall in her cap and gown. Fred was on her right, dressed similarly in his graduation duds. Each held a diploma in their hands, a certificate attesting to the fact that despite everything somewhere and somehow they had taken thirty-two courses and finished them all. Okay, now just one more, Sandy ' s Dad urged as he adjusted the SX-70, and pressed the shutter. The little motor whizzed and a white card popped out. Sandy took it, and she and Fred watched their images slowly appear on the paper. must ve been my fault ' ys Sandy, After all, the computer can ' t make mistakes. The bill came home Just fine.

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WHAT AM I DOING HERE?! by Karin Ambre It ' s strange to recall people ' s reasons for coming to American. The one generalization that can be made is that however sturdy those reasons seemed to be in high school, they don ' t hold up quite as well after the first semester. As the Christmas shoppers fill the stores and the Salvation Army chimes ring in the decorated streets. American University students finish the fall semester. After the seeminly never-ending nights of pounding the typewriters and speed-reading the textbooks, all of the learned knowledge flows miraculously into the blue books. Students then pack up and go home. Their various modes may involve arguing over taxi cabs, finding out how many people and their belongings can fit into various cars, fighting for the window seat on a plane or waiting for a delayed Metroliner. Upon arrival, the freshman student knows that he has at least three-and-a-half weeks to seek out old high school friends and compare notes on schools. He also has to put up with parental queries and supervision, which after the first semester of freedom can be uncomfortably disconcerting. It involves adjusting to old familiar surroundings all over again. Welcome home. How was school? I really liked it. Dad. No one looked down on me because I ' m a freshperson. The campus is nice and small, but there are enough students to make it the right size. I had some interesting classes and 1 like living in Washington. What are you majoring in? I ' m not sure yet. Either in biology or economics. Biology would probably be better for a career. As the honeymoon newness of the first semester wears off, the American University student of the post- Watergate era finds that the big step of going to a university is not so big after all. After the shock of being on your own passes, the flow of new responsibilities and freedoms finally becomes a part of the everyday routine. It ' s a camp. It ' s hard to study when other people are not studying. I thought that this university would have a more academic atmosphere. I came here because my high school counselor mentioned that American U, has a good school of government. So, far, I have found that the only advantage of going here is that 1 am close to the resources of Washington. That kind of comment abounds among certain groups at American. There is a certain brand of cynacism that attacks American University students early and masquarades under the premise of let ' s be realistic. With so much condemnation of our university to be heard in classrooms, dorms and even in locker rooms, one student offers a direct challenge: I cannot take the prevalent negative attitude. Anyone with that attitude is digging his own grave because the university is only as good as the student makes it. If he does not try to make it better — if he is not willing to accept the challenges of trying to improve A.U. by alerting his fellow students and the administration of its problems, then he might as well be getting his education somewhere else. Another sees a change in the educational caliber. I find that this school is toughening up its academic standards. I know for a fact that I am doing more work in two of my courses than students did in the same courses previously. There is a definite difference in the courses as you get used to scheduling. T he first semester of my freshman year I had gut courses. I though that American University was an easy school. Then I found out that it wasn ' t easy. It is hard to get A ' s. They started toughening up the grades. I don ' t like the general requirements that are being added. I think that we should be free to pick our own courses. I like the Liberal Studies courses which are moderately difficult. Besides the unique Liberal Studies courses, the change of administration on campus has given students and faculty alike new optimism. I think A.U. has a lot of potential. I think Sisco will do a lot. Too bad this is my last year here, aheady I have seen improvements. For freshpersons just entering American, the years ahead will yield subtly to change. Each year is a little different from the last. Despite whatever Sisco or the new