Miami University - Recensio Yearbook (Oxford, OH)

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P. Koerwitz Sometimes parents were the ones most eager to get moved in. Freshmen sweat it out at their annual mixer. P. Koerwitz MOVING IN 25

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EEEGEEEEEEEEEGEGEEEEEEEEEEGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEI A NEW PERSPECTIVE STUDENTS SEE OXFORD IN DIFFERENT LIGHT ome things in life are inevitable; death, taxes, final exams and, oh yes, the end of summer vacation. Summer is the ultimate reward, the light at the end of the long academic tun- nel. Each student looks forward to summer like a soft bed at the end of a hard days work. When some reach the soft bed they may choose to sleep soundly until morn- ing, others stay awake to learn and absorb new knowledge. As each summer draws to an end, Mi- ami students leave their three month expe- riences to migrate to Southern Ohio and move into an Oxford environment. For some the environment is familiar, for oth- ers it is new. Regardless, summer experi- ences always greatly affect student atti- tudes toward moving in. As a result, Miami never seems quite the same when August rolls around and the campus takes on a completely new per- spective. For many Miami students, the summer is an international experience which broadens their horizons. Opinions vary, but many student travelers feel that going abroad has made Oxford seem small and 24 MOVING IN sheltered compared to the llrealll world. Senior Jeff Greenberger, who spent a sum- mer in Luxembourg, felt just the opposite. iII think that spending a summer in Eu- rope just made me appreciate the security and stability that we have over here, and I was glad to get back to itf Greenberger related. ilEurope is such a volatile, fickle envi- ronment, and many times Americans are targets rather than visitors? Greenberger enjoyed the comfort that Oxford offers, and returning for one last year was a task that he looked forward to after his European experience. Other stu- dents, who had traveled in different parts of the globe, agreed that exposure to the outside world is necessary, but that therels no place like home. Sophomore Damian Green, upon re- turning from his summer vacation, found his Elliott Hall dorm room small, but se- cure. He spent the summer in Johannas- berg, South Africa, witnessing what he called lithe government sponsored racismli known as Apartheid. lll think that you definitely have to trav- el to other parts of the world to appreciate just how good welve got it over here, he said. llWhen I got back, I just wanted to get down and kiss the ground in Oxford? Green explained that as Americans, we often take for granted our freedom and rights, things that people in places like South Africa canit begin to conceive. llI had mixed emotions when I got back, be- cause I was happy to see my friends and Oxford, but I also wanted to stay and learn more? Despite these students educational ex- periences, it didnlt take traveling halfway across the world to get a changed perspec- tive on Miami. Students who worked at home or in some other part of the country also felt differently about Oxford when they returned. Some students, like junior J oe Leonard, worked all summer, five days a week, eight hours a day to pay for school or just to make some extra cash. llI worked two jobs; as a construction worker during the day, and then as a wait- er at night? he said. llBelieve me, by the time classes started, I was psyched to get back to school? After a hard summer like Leonardis, Oxford seemed like a nice re- laxing place to return.

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For some, moving in was a familiar process, right down to the last bag from the U-HauI. Unpacking clothes and arranging rooms weren ht always priorities during the first few days back. The theme may be different from year to year, but moving in is always the same. 26 MOVING IN P. Koerwitz P. Koerwitz