George Washington University - Cherry Tree Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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stage of development. The line has grown so long, that the office is only a dim vision on the horizon. The time is passed by talking to others in your same predicament. The topic of conversation is similar in all schools, whether it is SGBA, Columbian College, Engineering, or SPI A, everyone is thinking to them- selves and saying out loud, “God, I knew I should have pre-registered. Next year I am going to do it for sure.” Having gotten your Dean’s approval, or one of your Dean’s Secretary’s approval, you are ready for the final step in the game of Registration. It is time to pay tuition over at Smith Center. This is probably the only game in the world where the winner is the one that gets rid of his money first! You enter through the main doors and proceed around the maze that leads you to the cashiers desk. There are two guys at the doors screaming, “Make sure you have your Dean’s and Advisors’ signature, or go directly back to the beginning. Do not call Lloyd Elliot, and do not collect $200.00.” Along the maze are all sorts of tables to keep your walk interesting. There is the GWUSA table. Cherry Tree, DC Pirg and other groups. The last one is the table seniors delight in going to, and everyone else yearns for. This table is where you petition to graduate, and get measured for your cap and gown. You then walk through the main gym, and proceed down the line of tables. Here the total amount to be paid is added. The cost of another semester is circled on the bottom of your payment card, and you take a large gulp and head on to the next table. This is where the options are built in. One can go to any number of tables now depending on what method you are using to pay for this semester, be it loans, scholarships or grants. Finally, after getting all the necessary papers signed, it is time to hand over your packet at the cashier’s window, pay your bill, and receive your registration card stamped PAID. At this moment, one is ' declared a winner at the game of Registration, A winner being anybody who has escaped with at least half his mind still intact. You walk out ot the Smith Center relieved by the fact that you will now be able to participate in another year of cerebral enrichment. 17

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Registration completed you rejoin your friends in the many celebrations that are taking place around campus. Everybody has realized that there is a whole weekend left with nothing to do but relax and enjoy the freedom. The options open for partying are countless. There are an infinite number of frat parties around campus. They are easily recognizable by the hords of people gathered out in front of a townhouse with beer in hand. A stranger may wonder what draws people to these parties. The music, if any, is easily supplied by a stereo, there is only beer to drink, and there are no activities planned. Maybe there is a common theme bringing these people together: to try and forget that summer is over and the school year is just around the corner. There are many hellos to be said, as there are many people there who you have not seen for ages. Every- body is asking the same questions. “What did you do all summer, did you have fun?” These questions might seem a bit trite and dull but they are only a lead into conversation; as the parties usually last well into the night. If one doesn’t enjoy this kind of activity there are numerous other activities taking place. There are various individual parties all over campus. Plus, the city of Washington has many hotspots that one can experience. The Kennedy Center, National Theatre, Warner Theatre and the Capital Centre offer many different avenues of entertainment not to mention the countless clubs, bars and restaurants around town. Nightime is only the half of it. Washington is full of things for daytime fun. Only four blocks from campus is the famous three mile long mall. This area includes the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jeffer- son Memorials, the Smithsonian Institution, and is capped off by the U.S. Capitol at the end. The time one can spend here is endless. The Smithsonian oilers something for everyone. The second floor of the History Technology building is packed with memoribilia that will make any Communications buff drool. For the person that wants to relive the late 1800’s the original Smithsonian building is for you. If you want to see the world from a unique angle the movie To Fly at the Air and Space Building will satisfy you. If it is Van Gogh, Picasso, and Renoir you want, the place to be is the National Gallery. But this is only the tip of the iceberg for the wealth of the Smithso- nian is endless. Then again though, if the wealth of the Smithsonian is endless then Washington’s is infi- nite. Away from the mall, there is the National Zoo, The White House, Arlington National Cemetery, The F.B.I. Building and the list can go on and on. It is amazing how ' some of us will spend up to four years of our lives as a student in Washington but almost no time as a tourist. There are students who if placed five blocks from campus would not know where they were but still feel secure in the fact that there is a city out there if they want it. The sightseeing finished, we head back to our liv- ing quarters to reaquaint ourselves with college liv- ing. After four months away from school it is surpris- ing how quickly we can readjust. 19