Binghamton University - Colonist / Pegasus Yearbook (Vestal, NY)

Page 11 text:

as graduation nears, they can be viewed almost affectionately. Theres been a lot of change; we've changed too, perhaps more than anything else, and that is why there is so much for us to remember. If the past four years have been different for each of us - happy, depressing, hec- tic, boring, overworked or underworked, lost, lonely, frustrating or rewarding they haven't been empty. And now grad- uation is coming, and we've realized it and prepared for it. Our last year has been busy, full of those last minute de- tails which always accompany departure. Yet in the midst of this, we suddenly realize that college is nearly over, that four years that seemed so long have end- ed so quickly. We think about why we came and what we wanted to learn. And we think about how we've changed be- o I rZid , .. perhaps love . . cause of what has happened to us and what we have learned. Some of us have found a great deal here - a goal, a direc- tion, fun, friendships - perhaps love. Others have experienced less describable things, things which may have been unhappy, which may not have revealed a single ?oal. But they have resulted in a kind of personal insight, a subtle under- standing of others and of ourselves. We all have grown. We've all shared similar experiences dur- ing these years. The experiences, the people - and Harpur College, have been central to our lives for so long that leaving is somewhat unhappy. It is also uncertainty ?iced with excitement, a desire to hold on to the security of the school, mixed with the need to face the impersonality of the world by ourselves. Leaving is the realization that Harpur has sheltered us for four years, protected us from what lies beyond its campus. Sometimes it is hard to admit our fears about leaving, and sometimes it is just as hard to admit our relief. Yet all of us, even if we have the security of a job or the acceptance at a graduate school, and especially if we have no future plans mapped out, sense the finality which graduation represents. Mavbe we have a sense of disbelief at the idea that we are through. Yet we know that we can't turn back to Harpur for security. And some of us, having gained a sense of independence, feel ready to disassociate ourselves from the college, feel a kind of release at being free at last. Others, unsure of what may happen, wish we could stay longer in the closed academic community. But no matter how we look toward graduation, we look toward it as changed people. . what lies beyond its campus

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e watched rocks and dirt pile up all over the campus, and we groaned inwardly, and often aloud, about the loss of space, about the overcrowded parking lots and dorms. We immediately missed those outdoor places where we studied and picnicked and played ball. It was easy to resent the intruding construction; it was inconvenient. But the holes were soon filled with trees or with skeletons of new buildings. And just as there were some who were frustrated by the sleep- less mornings and dirty windowsilFs, there were others who were fascinated by the machines, excited by the unex- pected completion of a building. There were other changes which accom- panied the physical change. We could sense the difference in a growing lack of intimacy, combined with a new excite- ment; the change from hootenannies to rock 'n roll dances. We could sense the q N J LTl 4 vy, q FErgg, - Ty T - Ly Tt EASA . a growing lack of intimacy . . . difference in the increased class sizes, the immediate closing of good courses being taught by good men. At times, the whole college seemed amnesic; unable to re- call 1ts former identity and unable as yet to create a new one. Yet while the college is abstractedly strug- gling with its new 1dentity, most of us are much more concerned with our own identities. We feel ourselves a part of the school, and have changed with it and be- cause of it, yet we want to emerge as in- dividuals. Graduation brings these thoughts to a focus. . A i, b 7V Y R S B S S s z - WS 3 fas aar'. n's . increased class sizes eaving Harpur is a frightening and an ex- citing prospect. Suddenly everything beyond the little world we have built for ourselves seems threatening and difficult. Above all it seems indifferent, even more so than the growing indifference of the school we must soon leave. And when we think of this, the mud and the noise and the constant change become less bothersome - as graduation nears, they can be viewed almost affectionately. There's been a lot of change; we've changed too, perhaps more than anything else, and that is why there is so much ?or us to re- member.

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