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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
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