Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Living in a cube So, you thought your first day at kindergarten was frightening? It was nothing compared with the trauma of that first day in a college dormitory. For most students, a common cry linked both experiences: Mom, get me out of here! I just know I ' m going to hate it here. My roommate ' s going to be a strung - out refugee from the 60s. He ' ll smoke foot - long cigars, talk in his sleep, read Dostoevsky and take a shower once a month. How do I act? Is it okay to wear my lettermen ' s jacket? Can I talk to the upperclassmen? Can I talk to the girls? Or, are they women now? Registration is tomorrow, isn ' t it? The main thing is not to panic. Everyone has these fears - no one wants to admit it. So calm down. Try to enjoy it. Chances are it won ' t be half bad. Act natural, that ' s the main thing and oh, that lettermen jacket? Burn it. It ' s like wearing a neon sign that says freshman . As for the girls, just remember they ' re in the same bed, uh, I mean boat, and wondering the same things about you. So you finally meet your roommate. Well, he looks normal. Then you interrogate him to find out if you ' re compatible. Do you smoke pot? Date girls? Read Playboy or Penthouse? Now that that ' s settled, find out if he has a stereo (if you don ' t). Check out his record collection. This can be a good indicator of compati- bility. If anything close to Kiss or the Bay City Rollers shows up, clear out while you ' re still sane. Same goes for Tammy Wynette or Johnny Cash. Dinnertime? Already? Actually it ' s not half bad, despite the grunts and groans from upperclassmen. Their problem is that they ' ve been eating it too long. The best part of the meal is the fact that you can have seconds, thirds, fourths and on and on till you get sick or realize that this isn ' t your last meal. When you get back to the room you ' ve met about ten people already. See? You ' re not alone in your suffering. Now you have friends to party, study, cry or just complain to. Reality sets in soon enough, so enjoy your new environment and friends while you can.

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Recall that first apartment? In your sophomore year at Northeastern, after living in the dormitories, you can get a little restless. After awhile you desire your own room. Lord knows it ' s bad enough to wake up hung over, but to walk into a brightly - lit, sterile, white - tiled bathroom full of giggling girls — forget it! A scene out of Gidget Goes to College. Once you realize this isn ' t the civilized way to live, the task of finding an alternative begins - finding an apartment. The assignment is not easy. There are few places with the comforts of home within the average student ' s budget. The specifications for a student apartment: preferably not on the first floor, a safe neighborhood, close to school, (obvious contradiction) and most important, CHEAP! After living in a dorm, you ' re already familiar with the surrounding colorful neighbor- hood of Symphony Road, Westland Avenue and The Fenway. Allston is a popular alternative. It combines the convenience of city living with the homelike atmosphere of the suburbs. Closer to school, another popular area is Park Drive. Northeastern students as well as BU, Berklee, Mass College of Art and Simmons students can be found there. Once the apartment is found, the furnishings are easy to come by, especially if you beg from sympathetic relatives about your impoverished state. Things you didn ' t need in the dorm and things your mother worried about at home are suddenly essential. Don ' t forget those Roach Motels and rat traps — you ' ll need ' em. But, if you ' ve had your fill of the dorms, you don ' t care about a few rats. With the exception of street noise it ' s actually quiet! And private. For once you don ' t have to worry about having clothes on to go to the bathroom. Everything ' s already there when you go to take a shower. No need to make trips. The toilet paper rips off in a soft handful and also matches the bathroom. Big Deal. There ' s always plenty to do, cleaning, painting, television, and oh, almost forgot, studying. Apartment living is less structured. Eat what you want when you want. No more running downstairs to the cafeteria on Sunday morning to catch a lunch - breakfast that was long gone. The good definitely outweighs the bad. The freedom alone assures that. One can actually smoke a joint without opening all the windows and stuffing a towel in the crack under the door. Parties can be spontaneous. So can relations with members of the opposite sex.

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It ' s almost . . .