I am writing to you from the living room of my brother Padgett’s house, because I am officially moved out. I finished hauling my mountains of belongings down to storage late last night thanks to the help of Padgett and Eleanor. It was brutal packing everything up on Thursday and getting it all down to storage, but thankfully that’s all done. Unfortunately, the time crunch of getting everything academic done and all of my personal belongings out left little time for goodbyes. Everyone had things to get done, and there just wasn’t much time to stop, breathe, and say our goodbyes. Thankfully, I will see many of those friends again next year. Some of them, though, will be abroad all year. I don’t know when we’ll see each other next, but I hope it’s soon.

My high school in Arizona has a tradition in which students all rose to the next grade during the graduation ceremony. Juniors are allowed to turn over their senior rings and became seniors, while the sophomores are declared juniors and the freshmen become sophomores. On Sunday, as I am in the air on my home to Santa Barbara, I will be thinking of this tradition as the Lewis & Clark seniors go through the process of graduating. On Sunday, I will officially be a senior. I will begin the mental preparations and revelations that come with approaching my final year in college. It has been a long, unconventional process for me, and I have trouble wrapping my head around the idea of its being over. As I wrap my head around the idea of college being nearly over, you all are probably coming to terms with the fact that college is nearly beginning. I intend to focus on the excitement of new experiences, new people, and new challenges that come with leaving what I’ve become familiar with and forging a path for myself someplace new. I encourage you all to do your best to fall into a similar frame of mind. There is sadness, absolutely, with leaving what you know and love for uncertainty. But that uncertainty can also hold the promise of something so different and incredible. You may not have thought to choose every part of what your life will be like here at LC… your roommate might not be who you always pictured yourself living with, or your classes might not be what you’d wanted, but I hope that you find (as I often did) that even the parts you didn’t pick are just as they should be.

I’ll admit that my glowing view of this year in retrospect is influenced by the fact that I am no longer at LC. It is already missed, in my eyes. However, I would argue that even as I went through the stress and strain that was this year, I loved Lewis & Clark. Taking away the moments of panic and the all-nighters has simply left more room for the love of this place. My year at LC has ended with an immense sense of appreciation for the school, and I wanted my year of blogging to end on a similar note.

Now, I do hope to come back to this blog periodically over the summer with notes on getting ready for next year and how to approach classes, NSO, etc. However, I think you and I both need the time to really appreciate what we have now and to understand what next year is for us before we can start getting ready for it. Check back when you’re ready for next year, and hopefully I’ll be ready, too.

All the best,

Grayson

It was as great as I could have asked it to be. It started with me and my friends driving to the Hawthorne food carts—in my opinion, they’re some of the best. We immediately flocked to Herb’s Mac and Cheese, which was great to see, because it moved from its previous location and we thought we had lost it forever! I got my usual, mac and cheese with garlic, tomato, and mushroom. So good and so cheap! Some other great carts were there, including an ice cream one that served maple bacon ice cream!

I held off of the ice cream, though, because our next stop was Pix—a great pastry shop/cafe. It was a small place I had never been to, but it had a great ambiance and such good food! I got a mango mousse, but there were some great looking macaroons that I could not resist! The tea was great as well. It was all so perfect, and so Portland. I know that I won’t have nights like that back home, and I really cherished it.

My friends really made the night special, though. I feel like even after 8 short months we’re basically at the point where we can read each others’ minds. In a great way. I’m going to miss them so so much—most live in California, with some Midwest and East Coast scattered in there. Hopefully I’ll get to meet up with the East Coast girls at some point this summer! Four months will be too long to go without bein’ a goof with them!

This year has been great. I’m not sure what I expected college to be like, but I’ve loved my experience. There are going to be rough patches, moving away is a big transition, but they do not outweigh the great. I will always remember my Portland days and nights, milling about Powell’s, finding weird restaurants, blaring Destiny’s Child. I will cherish my Lewis & Clark memories forever, as cheesy as it may be. It’s true.

I need to go to bed now, unfortunately, instead of hanging out until the late late hours. I leave at 5 in the morning tomorrow. Bright and early.
See you later Lewis & Clark. I’ll miss you more than I can say.

Our room went from a warm red to a pale white in about three hours. Our posters and Christmas Lights made the whole room glow, but now it looks empty. Our coffee maker, hot water heater, speakers, maps—everything—gone. I’m getting flashbacks from moving in.  I just want to cover the walls; they look sad and alone.

But the white is soothing, too. It feels clean. It feels like a transition. And it is. I cannot believe that my freshman year of college is over. It does not feel like it’s been an entire year since I decided where I wanted to spend these four years. Now there are only three left. That seems crazy.

I’ve heard upperclassmen say that time goes by faster every year. On May 3^rd next year, will it feel like a year since the end of my freshman year? Will it feel like I’ve been out of high school in two years? Or will it feel like a couple of months?
Actually, I don’t want to focus on that! I just want to focus on packing, and on spending time with my friends. We’re going to the Hawthorne food carts tonight, which will be great! I plan on eating A LOT, since this will be my last fill of Portland food for a while. Then I think we’re going to try to watch a movie in the Platt Main Lounge—there’s a giant TV in there.

After that I can be sad about leaving. The walls and I will grieve together.

Depending on your pop culture knowledge, you may or may not be able to tell that I watched Ferris Bueller this weekend. There was plenty of work to do as well, but I found myself in dire need of a break one night, so I wound up watching a movie with friends. It’s a pretty good movie choice to balance out the desire to not be in school (Ferris) with the utter gloom of having to work so hard in school (Cameron). I usually relate pretty strongly to Cameron’s fusion of fun and wallowing, and the other night was no exception. I’m definitely feeling the stress and pressure of Finals Week. It’s hard to balance everything out and not panic about what’s to come. I’m having trouble focusing on what is at hand instead of bracing myself for something that doesn’t happen until I’ve finished two other things. I have exams in four of my classes (Piano–which was last week, Cognitive Neuroscience, Christian Origins, and Drugs & Behavior). I’ve also got assorted performance requirements to fulfill and papers to write, so it’s a lot to juggle time management-wise (especially when you try and jam reasonable amounts of sleep in there. My schedule is just not having that.)

I had my Cognitive Neuroscience exam today. Blessedly, it was not cumulative, but that did not make it much better. My professor’s last name is Watson, which (unbeknownst to him) sets my brain off with Sherlock Holmes references more often than you’d expect.

Today’s exam, I found myself flashing back to one of the first (if not the first) Holmes/Watson scenes in the first of the new Sherlock Holmes movies. Holmes, in a fragile state, says:

Watson responds with no tenderness whatsoever. Today, as I braced myself for the inevitable horror that was to come, I thought to myself, “Gently, Watson. Gently.” Alas, my fate was the same as Holmes and the exam was anything but gentle. I’ve always had trouble getting ready for these tests and today was no exception. I had studied, but I had not prepared. It’s frustrating to spend so much time and give up so much sleep on something and to not do as well as you’d hoped. I don’t like leaving exams without some sort of confidence, but that was the case today. I’m hoping that the rest of my grade will ease the blow of this exam so that I end up with some sort of middle-to-low B. It’s not the best, but this class was a real challenge for me, and I’m proud to have made it through relatively unscathed. Whatever grade I get, I can at least know I worked hard to earn it. My philosophy on most academic pursuits applies here as it does to just about everything to come this week:

Next up on the agenda are two essays to write with the very little sleep I have in me and preparation for a makeup piano solo performance. On top of that, I have to find some way to ready myself for my non-cumulative (THANK GOD) Drugs & Behavior final by tomorrow night and my cumulative (WHYYYY?) Christian Origins final by Wednesday. Throw in the panic that comes with looking at my quite-full room and trying to wrap my head around how to un-fill it, and it’s a busy week.

I know that many of you who are incoming students are facing similar trials right around now. I hope that you’re all managing the stress alright and finding ways to keep yourselves motivated (like, say, reminding yourself of how awesome LC is and that you get to come here next year). If you’re feeling run down and are in need of a boost, you can always try my secret weapon:

http://youtu.be/btPJPFnesV4

Once again, I wish you all the best and hope the week goes well for all of you.

‘Til next time,

Grayson

I’m generally an obsessive packer. I start at least a week before I need to, and yet I somehow, every time, manage to forget something mildly important. I want to start packing now so that this does not happen this time, since no one will be able to just send me my forgotten object!

It’s crazy how many things I’ve accumulated since I got to Lewis & Clark. A lot of the stuff is junk, it’s true, but it’s junk I want to keep! Of course I’m going to bring home the half-torn poster from The Branx from the time my friends and I saw Dan Deacon! Obviously I’m going to bring home my ticket from seeing Jim Lehrer speak at the Schnitzer!

Besides the memorabilia, I have a LOT of books—an inevitable occurrence when you live so close to Powell’s. Those are going to cost a lot of money to ship, but what if I want to read them (again) over the summer? No way I’ll abandon them!

Packing is the most overwhelming task now that papers and presentations are slipping away.

My obsessive packing is going to be difficult this time around, because I really really do not want to see my room empty. When I take my posters down, when I pack the tea boxes, and the shoes, and the books…what will be left?

It’s weird to think that someone new will have my room next year, but it is something my roommate and I have been thinking about a lot recently. How many people listened to “Help!” in our dorm before? Probably a lot. We weren’t the first, and we most likely won’t be the last.

It’s odd that a short time ago, we were the new kids on campus. Now a slew of new people are coming, and we’ll be sophomores. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an Overnight Host for Admissions. Because of that, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a good amount of people who have been accepted as part of the class of 2016, and let me congratulate you if you are one of those people!! From everything I’ve heard about you, and from every one of you I’ve met, you are making up one of the best classes of Lewis & Clark. Seriously. Every girl I’ve hosted was just so interesting, and so nice, and so COOL. I know I’m bordering on gushing, but I’m really proud of Lewis & Clark for accepting such great people.

I know May 1^st is coming quickly, so if any of you have last minute questions about LC, please don’t hesitate to ask. Which college to attend is a big decision to make, one that you should definitely think about. Hopefully I can help!

It feels kinda groovy to have one year of college under my belt. That’s really all I have to say about that: it just feels groovy. You too will understand this sentiment in slightly over a year from now when you are completing your first two semesters. At that point, I expect an email commending my insightfulness.

Currently listening to the newest Shins album, not really even the shins, just James Mercer with the same band name. Regardless, it is out of control. It was given to me by a friend along with a gang of other music that has been assisting me in neglecting my studies. Music sharing and stealing is so easy in college. I seldom have to even break the law anymore on torrent sites, not that all my old favorite hubs are even still around (RIP btjunkie). Oh SOPA. That reminds me, in the event that any of my loyal followers of this blog care even the slightest about my personal life, I am pleased to inform y’all that I intend to head to law school after my time here. Not something I ever thought I would pursue, but here I am. Lewis and Clark opens up a world of possibilities…

Speaking of stress, the housing lottery process was quite the grueling experience. Of course, I’m being hyperbolic, but still, it wasn’t fun. My three roommates and I all pulled TERRIBLE lottery numbers so we had a poor selection when our time came. First and second choices were out of the question at that point but we ended up with one of the largest quads offered in Forest. I’m pretty pumped on it. We’re going to throw some CRAZY par…. study sessions. Yep, lots of work to be done. Except actually there will be quite a lot of work to do next semester. I just figured out my schedule. 18 credits doesn’t sound like a lot but the time commitment can be out of this world. True, one of those credits is sailing which I am absolutely STOKED for, but, heck that’s four hours out of my week. I have other things to do. At least I’ll be getting a lab requirement out of the way (not by means of sailing, that’s different). Labs are a hefty undertaking. We meet four days a week in addition to a lab once a week. Gr. Again, such is life.

The love you take is equal to the love you make

With an ever-growing fear of mortality and my eventual demise (laugh not, ‘tis true! I spent my adolescent years desperately wishing I could become a vampire. And none of that Twilight crap. I’m talking the original queen of vampires: Anne Rice.  ANYWAY.) I always wonder if I’ve made enough of an impression on people and places. I wonder, will I be remembered? Will I be missed? With the final days of my college years dwindling in number, I find myself looking around an institution that has changed over the past years as I have. I’ve had friends come and go, I’ve come and gone,  and I wonder, will I be remembered by my professors? I hope so. I’d like to think I’m a noteworthy individual, not just a percentage for the school’s retention rate. I’m my own success story, not the school’s.

I’ve taken the education offered to me by Lewis and Clark, and made something more than just a diploma and improved knowledge. I’m a different person than I was when I started,  I don’t know exactly how I’m different, but I’m improved, refined and truer to form. I’m closer to the ideal (but we all know that ideal is unobtainable, RIGHT KANT?!) I’m going to travel the world again, I’m going to TEACH.  The education of young minds will be, in part, my responsibility. I don’t always see myself giving back to the community (I hear that phrase so often…) but this Fulbright will be me doing my part.  And that’s a good feeling.

Graduation is 10 days  and 18 hours away. This is the end of an era, kids. And I don’t just mean my era. It’s our era. We who started our LC journeys in the fall of 2008, those of us who stuck out all 4 years— we are the end of an era. You may not know it, but this school is changing. And not just little things here and there like meal plans and new dorms (though that thing is HUGE. It sticks out like a shiny new monster.) I’m not talking about print balances and big name bands at school-sponsored concerts (that was siiiiickk! Despite what the naysayers say!) I mean change that matters. Not offering beloved, impactful, cherished professors tenure despite overwhelming student approval; a growing emphasis on athletics and the assimilation of “athlete culture” into the LC norm— students at Lewis and Clark College ought to be students first and athletes second, not the other way around; emphasis on ratings, retention rates and donations: I did not go here because of what the Princeton Review told me, I came because being at the school on several visits spoke to me. More importantly, I didn’t STAY because of ratings. Why do we have to pander to the needs of students that leave, instead of harvest and cultivate the wants and needs of those who STAY? RIDDLE ME THAT ADMINISTRATION. LC is losing its identity. Its changing. Its losing what attracted me in the first place: small, very liberal, intellectual, global-minded students, professors that felt more like mentors and friends than employees…

Take it as you will, form your own opinion about this school, just know that old traditions are being replaced by new, an old breed of student is leaving the halls to fill with a new. Am I bitter? Slightly. I look back positively on my experience here, but already I’m filled with a nostalgia I can’t shake, a yearning for better times. Not because of graduation, but because of  the “positive direction Lewis and Clark is heading”  Jeff Feld-Gore. Positive? Does that mean what we had before was negative and undesirable? I disagree with you, Jeff. I disagree wholeheartedly.

Tune in next time for a less philosophical and pessimistic entry.

I’ve spent the past month or so trying to gather responses from a group of fellow students about their dorm experiences so that you can use them to inform your own dorm decisions. I didn’t quite get a perfect, complete set or as many responses for each dorm as I’d hoped (in an effort to give you a nice, broad idea of each dorm from many perspectives), but I’ve done what I can with what I did get. I hope that you find the more in-depth information about each dorm helpful as you make your own housing choices. I wish you the best of luck in choosing your dorm preferences, and I wish you even more luck when it comes to actual roommate/housing assignments.

All photos featured here are provided from the Campus Living web pages, including some taken as screen-caps from videos. Click the photos to view the Campus Living page for each dorm.

Copeland

Shannon B. (’15)

A: Copeland is wonderful!

Stewart

Emily R. (’15)

Q: What has been a pleasant surprise about your dorm?

A: Walk in closets!

Q: If there have been any unpleasant surprises/experiences about your dorm, what were they?

A: Living next to the street it can get pretty loud at night… I remember at the beginning of the school year when it was really hot and I wanted to keep the windows open for fresh air I was often woken up by cars on the street. I’ve gotten used to it as the year has progressed, but it is still somewhat annoying…

Q: How would you describe your dorm to incoming students (what attitudes are there, what types of people, etc.)?

A: Upper Stewart is very quiet. I pretty much only see people when passing in the halls. I usually smile at them, but nobody ever really says hi. It’s strange at times. Lower Stewart I believe is a little more friendly, and a lot of my friends live down there. It’s a little louder, but in general I think Stewart is just a quiet place, which can be good or bad, depending on your personality.

Q: What has been your favorite dorm activity?

A: Waffle Wednesday! Although… I don’t usually end up getting a waffle because there are so many people and I don’t feel like waiting. But I like hanging out with the people that come. Also, I don’t often attend Stewart dorm activities just because I do not hang out with a lot of Stewart people. Those people that I do hang out with from Stewart don’t usually join in the activities either, we pretty much do our own stuff.

Q: How would you say the typical person living in your dorm spends a school night? What about weekend nights?

A: In my dorm I think the people are probably doing homework… but I can’t be sure because I never see them. People usually camp out in their rooms I think, or go somewhere else if they are looking for something to do.

Q: Any additional comments you’d like to make?

A: I would not recommend Stewart for somebody who is looking for a lot of social interaction from their dorm… I don’t mean that to sound mean, because there are times when I am really glad to be in Stewart because it is quiet at night and I never have problems getting homework done. Stewart is good for people who are looking for a laid-back dorm life. I am not saying that if you live in Stewart you will have no social interaction. I have other friends from Stewart, but generally for greater social interactions, I go to a different dorm.

Odell

Unfortunately, I was not able to get a response from an Odell resident (affectionately known by some as an Odweller). However, I will answer on their behalf to the best of my abilities. Out of all the dorms not my own, I probably have spent the most time in Odell. If you have additional questions, send them my way. I’ll answer them as I can, and if anything is beyond my means I’ll nag a friend in Odell until I can get you the answers you need.

Grayson A. (’13), non-resident

Q: What has been a pleasant surprise about the dorm?

A: I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how inter-connected Stewart and Odell are. I hadn’t picked up on that when I read the school’s information on the two residences. They’re actually physically connected to one another by the Stewart-Odell “split”. I think the relationship between the two dorms is really positive for both. Odell’s liveliness and emphasis on inclusion with their activities can be great at encouraging socializing and involvement from Stewart residents, and the respectful and mellow attitude in Stewart can have a helpful effect on the actions of Odell residents.

Q: If there have been any unpleasant surprises/experiences about your dorm, what were they?

A: As a non-resident, I think the only surprise that I would have found challenging as a resident would be that the majority of the students in Odell are freshmen and sophomores, with very few upperclassmen. I imagine that as an incoming freshman or a sophomore transfer student, though, this could be a definite positive.

Q: How would you describe your dorm to incoming students (what attitudes are there, what types of people, etc.)?

A: I think that Odell’s pretty broad in terms of the types of people it draws in. Some traits that I’ve come across with everyone I’ve encountered there is a general willingness to welcome and include people regardless of what dorm they actually live in. There’s a pretty solid effort on behalf of the RAs to engage their residents and have activities. I also think, as I mentioned, that the interaction with Stewart has a really positive effect on the general tone of the dorm. It’s also worth noting that there’s usually a good balance between work and play.

Q: What has been your favorite dorm activity?

A: As a visitor, I’ve joined Odell for activities with crafts, movies, and even an adorably quirky evening in which the SOAA Area Director Charlie Ahlquist read aloud from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as we all munched on Willie Wonka candy and sipped hot chocolate. I think that last one may be my favorite, simply because I loved how tight-knit it all felt. People from all throughout SOAA were sprawled in the Odell lounge and Charlie brought in a fancy armchair just for the occasion. His dog Lux lounged near the chair, often stretching out for better scruffles from students. Each character was given a new voice as Charlie read aloud, and the falsetto for the women was particularly humorous. It was just a cozy, homey evening. That was definitely something I could appreciate in the midst of stress and work, and I especially appreciated that there was that effect regardless of whether or not you were actually from Odell.

Q: How would you say the typical person living in your dorm spends a school night? What about weekend nights?

A: From the information gathered from friends, I can say that this, too, is pretty diverse among Odell. Weeknights seem to usually be a balance of fun and work. My friends typically spend most of the school nights doing homework, with exceptions made for favorite TV shows or interesting on campus activities (plays, concerts, speakers, etc.). Weekends are all over the place in terms of how people choose to spend them. Some students go downtown, others take part in activities on campus, and there’s almost always at least one group of people making use of the lounge area for fun activities, video games, movies, or TV shows.

Q: Any additional comments you’d like to make?

A: I love Odell and would definitely recommend it to incoming students.

Akin

Melanie T. (’15)

Q: What has been a pleasant surprise about your dorm?

A: A pleasant surprise I found living in Akin was the community here. I knew I would find some sense of community with my neighbors, but because Akin is so small, the whole dorm knows each other! We all eat dinner together, hang out together, see movies, go downtown, everything. Living in Akin has given me a family here on campus that I always look forward to coming back to.

Q: If there have been any unpleasant surprises/experiences about your dorm, what were they?

A: None mentioned.

Q: How would you describe your dorm to incoming students (what attitudes are there, what types of people, etc.)?

A: Akin is home to both international students as well as international minded individuals – people who want to explore the world, learn language, and learn about culture in general. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming – people want to know about you and care about what is important to you. Quite literally, everyone’s doors are always open.

Q: What has been your favorite dorm activity?

A: My favorite activity that my dorm has done together is when we get to cook in the Bon kitchens for the Multicultural Fair and the International Fair. We get to cook into the night, get a behind the scenes look at the Bon and have fun together while making delicious ethnic food!

Q: How would you say the typical person living in your dorm spends a school night? What about weekend nights?

A: On a typical night in Akin, people study in each others rooms, listen to music, and some nights people are cooking in the kitchen which makes for a great study snack! Weeknights and weekends, we also watch movies, people play video games in the common room, and granted, there is the occasional party on the weekends. I like to think we have a good balance of work and play!

Forest

I did not receive a response from the Forest residents I contacted, sadly. I believe, but may be misinformed, that Nick (my fellow Real Life Blogger) lives in Forest. I recommend you try contacting him with any questions about the dorm. If he isn’t actually from that dorm, then maybe he at least knows someone who is… So sorry to not have more information for you all.

Howard

Ryan K. (’15)

Q: What has been a pleasant surprise about your dorm? 

A: The location on campus is fantastic! It is centrally located relative to everything on campus and has quick, easy paths to classes and Templeton. Seriously though, the location is excellent and it has bigger rooms than Platt (which is the adjacent, sister-dorm of Howard). 

Q: If there have been any unpleasant surprises/experiences about your dorm, what were they?

A: Not really a surprise, but fellow hall mates do not have the cleanliest kitchen habits. It is not unbearable, but it is rarely completely clean. Probably a common theme among college students though.

Q: How would you describe your dorm to incoming students (what attitudes are there, what types of people, etc.)? 

A: Howard has a pretty good range of students, though I do not know of any international students living in Howard. The Outdoor Pursuits theme offers great opportunities for any Howard dweller, but in no way defines the Howard community. Overall, the atmosphere is laid back and friendly. If you are looking for a happy medium between the rowdiness/liveliness of Copeland and the quite, separated atmosphere of Stewart/Odell/Akin, Howard is perfect for you.

Q: What has been your favorite dorm activity? 

A: Holiday dinner parties together before Winter Break, which included dradle gambling for Mike & Ike candy.

Q: How would you say the typical person living in your dorm spends a school night? What about weekend nights? 

A: Most weeknights consist of hanging around the dorm and/or studying in rooms, the lounges, or outside if the weather is nice. Opportunities for movie nights and television series mini-marathons in Howard or on the big-screen tv in the Platt lounge (which is just across the bridge) exist on any day of the week and can easily be organized or joined. On the weekend, most students are at various activities around campus, off-campus/downtown, or studying in their rooms or the lounge. The weekend nights are usually quieter than weekdays because less people are physically in Howard, which offers peace and quiet or a great place to invite other friends over to for movies, games, and such.

Q: Any additional comments you’d like to make? 

A: Because Howard is relatively small and stands on its own from other buildings (except for a bridge to Platt), there are plenty of windows in Howard, so lots of natural light brightens the rooms and halls. However, if you are looking for a more dungeon-like atmosphere, the Howard basement floor is smaller and offers a comfortable and private escape for some students. As of right now (which may change), a Designated Smoking Area, or DSA, is located between Howard and Platt. This can be a positive for some students, as it provides easy access to a place to smoke or hang out, given that there are almost always people there. It can also be a negative however, because the group of people hanging around the DSA can be loud late at night and sometimes a faint smoke smell carries over to Howard. This can easily be negated by closing your windows, but if could be a serious issue for you, it is worth considering. Generally, the DSA is a neutral to slightly positive part of Howard because it offers a constant social hub and I enjoy the occasional cigar. A good dorm experience is influenced by three aspects in my opinion: your dorm room itself, the floor/community, and the location on campus, all of which Howard is top notch in my book.

Platteau

Alas, the Platteau residents I contacted did not get back to me, either.  Fellow Real Life Blogger Abby has mentioned Platt in her posts, so I believe that is where she lives. Send her your questions and hopefully she can take care of them or at least point you in the right direction.

Hartzfeld

Emily N. (’14)

Q: What has been a pleasant surprise about your dorm?

A: I didn’t realize until I had lived here for a bit just how nice it to have a roomy dorm room–lots of space for clutter to accumulate, but it’s still much better than being cramped and feeling claustrophobic. Suite-style living is also a pleasant change from communal bathrooms. Sharing a bathroom with only three other people feels a lot more like home and gives you more privacy.

Q: If there have been any unpleasant surprises/experiences about your dorm, what were they?

A: The construction noise has been a pain, but that won’t be a problem for students next year, luckily! It’s a also a bit of a walk from Hartzfeld to the other side of campus where classes are, so that’s something to keep in mind if you want to get to and from classes quickly.

Q: How would you describe your dorm to incoming students (what attitudes are there, what types of people, etc.)?

A: As far as I can tell, Hartzfeld is pretty diverse but people seem to respect each other. In my experience, people do tend to keep to themselves here, though…there wasn’t a lot of community, at least in Hartzfeld D.

Q:What has been your favorite dorm activity?

A: N/A…

Q: How would you say the typical person living in your dorm spends a school night? What about weekend nights?

A: I would guess there’s a lot of studying going on, but sometimes people seem to be socializing and having fun too. There’s a band in C, I think, that I hear practicing a lot, so that’s fun!

Q: Any additional comments you’d like to make?

A: Nope! Hartzfeld’s a cool place.

Replace “Residence Inn” with your dorm of choice. Don’t replace the elephant at all, because it is adorable.

‘Til next time,

Grayson

Hey everybody,

As I’d expected, things have been crazy, crazy, crazy since Spring Break. It is, indeed, the final countdown. Every class has assignments that have to be squeezed in before semester’s end, so all sorts of work is popping up out of nowhere. It’s definitely been stressful, but I’ve managed to fit in some breaks now and then (though not as many breaks as my friends would like, since quite a few of them have been hassling me for being such a recluse).

In any case, I’ve wedged out some time now to fill you all in on the goings-on around campus and in my life.

I’ve often recommended that prospective students check out the Pioneer Log online (piolog.com) to take in even more perspectives on the school. This is especially relevant given that last week the PioLog put together a very special issue for Admitted Students Weekend. Some of the articles are available online here, here, and here. The issue is really great. If you were able to visit that weekend, I hope you had the chance to pick up a copy. If not, keep your eyes on the website and check back to see if/when the PDFs of the pages are uploaded (featured in the left hand column of the front page).

In other LC news, one of our alums recently received a Pulitzer! It’s amazing to attend the same school as someone awarded so prestigious of an award. One of the elements of Lewis & Clark that impressed me as a prospective student was all that had been accomplished by students and alums alike. The school website’s News section and the PioLog were both great sources to learn about all of the school’s accomplishments. Currently featured on the school site are the impressive eight Fulbright Scholarship recipients (including Real Life Blogs’ very own Kat) and our recent Pulitzer winner Matt Wuerker, who is a PioLog alum as well. I recommend you poke around the LC website to see some of the impressive work LC community members have done on campus, in Portland, and around the world.

Now that everyone’s living arrangements have been settled for next year, I finally know where I’ll be living! I’ve been planning since March to live with a friend who is going to be an RA in the apartments. As such, we’ve wound up in a four-person apartment in West (the dorm in which I currently live). I don’t know my other two roommates, but the way my friend has spoken about them makes it sound like it could be a really nice fit. We’re planning on having a roommate-bonding voyage to buy some pet fish at the start of the semester. I like the kind of tone and attitude that that activity indicates about how we all want to live.  It’s nervewracking to think of being in any living situation different from the one I’m now accustomed to, but I also think there are some great possibilities in it. I look forward to expanding my social circles while also having a safe place to retreat to when I’m drained of all social capacity. I’m mostly pretty positive about being in West again, too. It’s nice to have the comfort and familiarity that comes with here (and the ease of moving in/out), but I also was excited for the “adventure” of trying out someplace else. I’m pretty happy overall with how everything worked out, though, especially considering the terrifying period of limbo I went through trying to figure out some sort of housing solution. I’d say what I’ve ended up with is pretty close to perfect.

These past few weeks have consisted of a lot of setting up for next year and beyond. I’m all signed up for my classes for next semester. There was some minor chaos due to the sudden changing of course times, leading to my only being able to take one of the two courses that I really, really needed to. I was able to work it out and push one back to my final semester, but it was definitely panic-inducing. I was able to end up with a great schedule anyways, though. I’m signed up for Apocalyptic Imagination, Islamic Origins, Community Psychology, Photography I, and Yoga (in which I may or may not stay enrolled).

Apocalyptic Imagination is with the same professor I currently have for Christian Origins. I’m very, very excited. The course material itself sounds extremely interesting (we’ll be looking at different manifestations of apocalyptic traditions and the contexts that caused them), and I have had such positive experiences with Prof. Kugler. If you have the opportunity to take a class from him, do so. He’s so engaged in the material and is the most communicative teacher I’ve had so far here. He checks in with how students are doing and genuinely cares about your responses. Throughout the semester, he has altered the course trajectory to better fit our needs, and that’s been really remarkable and made such a huge impact. I’ve loved his class and can’t wait to take another. The school offers a program in which students can treat three of their professors to a meal in the Bon. I invited him to lunch and was able to have a really great discussion with him. I’m considering applying for a Fullbright English Teaching Assistantship position in Cyprus, and he was very helpful in informing my decision. It was also fun for me because his daughter will be attending LC as a transfer student next year, and I was able to give him some inside intel. to pass along. It was really just nice to have the chance to talk with him outside of class and get to know each other better. I don’t know that many students take advantage of the Friends in Fields program, but they should. It’s nice to feel like you’re able to give something back to your professors (even they like free food), and I absolutely endorse the program’s efforts to bring students and faculty closer together. Both parties can gain a lot from open communication, and I think this sort of program can really encourage that to happen. So, when you have the chance to bring a professor with you to the Bon, I encourage you to do so. I’m here to tell you that it can be a really positive experience.

Islamic Origins should be really interesting. I’ve heard great things about the professor and have an interest in the material. I definitely see the value in trying to understand a culture and religious practice by really looking at where it came from, and from there we can start to think of what would have to happen for it to become what we think of it as today. I had been planning on taking the class in any case, but it just so happened that I had forgotten I was missing an International Studies requirement. Thankfully, this class fits that need and is something I’ve been looking forward to taking. I love when things work out like that.

Community Psychology is my Senior Capstone course for my major. I had struggled for a while about which capstone to take. I had planned on taking a neuroscience-related capstone, but found out that none of those are offered my senior year. It was difficult to adjust and I was frustrated, but I managed to find something that should suit me pretty well. Community Psychology focuses on learning about ways to implement psychology within the community around you. The large project of the class requires you to assess your community, find a problem within it, and come up with/implement a program to resolve your target issue. I like the idea of actively impacting the community around me, and I like the idea of helping people. I can see myself being far more passionate about this sort of project than a literature review, so I think the class could really work for me.

I was in a bit of a bind once I had to let Biology go to take Community Psych. (the timing dilemma previously mentioned). I suddenly only had 12 credits’ worth of classes I wanted to take and I needed to take at least 16 in order to stay on track for graduation. I had spent a long time looking through the catalog for things that fit my schedule and sparked my interest, but options were pretty limited. There were plenty of classes that I would have liked to take, but they all conflicted with something else I was resolute in taking. Finally, I decided to go ahead and sign up for Photography I.  I took black & white photo in high school and loved it… mostly. I’m a huge fan of shooting photos, developing, and printing. I’m not such a fan of critiques. I guess it’s just hard for me to have something so subjective be treated objectively. I understand being faulted for not doing something right procedurally, but it always bothered me when I would be criticized for my content. It’s a problem I’ve had in many art classes. I don’t have the most confidence in art courses, so lining myself up for judgment isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world for me. At this point, I’m thinking of taking this class for credit/no credit. That way, as long as I’m getting the work done, I don’t need to worry about what everyone thinks of it. As long as it’s decent enough to earn a passing grade, then I can just carry on taking photos the way I like to. I want to do everything I can to make this class for myself, not for my GPA.

A far more pleasant complication to my schedule has come about due to the fact that I have been hired for the position of Copy Editing Chief for the PioLog. It’s a very exciting opportunity that I’ve been preparing all semester for in anticipation. It’s a bit scary to take on such responsibility, but I have faith in myself. I’ve worked hard this semester to learn as much as I could from the graduating Copy Editing Chief, and I think I’ve soaked in as much as I could have. The position will take up some time, for sure. It’s a large factor into why I didn’t want to take four reading-intensive classes. I’m hoping that the flexibility of shooting/developing times for Photo will make my schedule a bit more manageable. I’m expecting busy weekends of receiving stories, busy Mondays distributing them to my copy editing staff (now THAT’S a new thing to say/type), busy Tuesdays going over edited stories, and busy Wednesday nights editing the paper as it’s finalized for print. At the moment, the excitement outweighs the anxiety. We’ll see how the balance shifts once I’m actually working… Speaking of working, any of you with any interest in working for the PioLog should contact them. There’s work available for writers, photographers, illustrators, copy editors, and more. Get in touch to find out what’s available.

In addition to that new job, I’ve also been hired as an NSO Group Leader. So, for those of you who will be attending LC as new students next year, I look forward to meeting you all. It should be a very fun experience for everyone, and I’m so happy and excited that I get to be a part of that again, this time as a Group Leader. NSO was a huge contributor to my life here at LC. Many of the friends I made were the result of NSO activities, so I encourage you all to engage with the community. Even the silly events you don’t really have much interest in can result in long-lasting friendships. NSO is a great chance to get to know the school and your peers when you still have time to really involve yourself in things. This is the best opportunity in the year for you to really focus on your social life. Take this time to get to know roommates, hallmates, and complete strangers. You’ll thank yourself later.

Given the fact that my homework has taken away from some of my blogging, I thought it only fair to share some of my work with you. The endless essays and reports probably won’t be of much interest to most of you, but you might get a kick out of the Outreach Project I put together for Cognitive Neuroscience. Our task was to create an educational book on the brain for children of any age range. Some people worked in groups, but I wound up flying solo and working on much of this over Spring Break. The final touches took place last week, and here’s the end result. My book is called Pat the Brain, and it’s a neuroanatomy book made of construction paper and felt. Enjoy!

‘Til next time,

Grayson

The most stressful things standing in my way of going home are not the papers I have due, I’m used to those—it’s the presentations.

I have this irrational fear of public speaking. It’s not irrational just because it’s not that big of a deal, and I better get used to it, but mainly because I act. I’ve been in dozens of plays. I’m well acquainted with the stage. I don’t get nervous before those except for the very minute before—while I’m waiting behind the curtain listening for my cue.

There are no curtains here. There are no lines to memorize. Perhaps that’s why it’s so scary. I have to wing it.

My French oral is terrifying mostly because I just can’t speak in other languages. I understand them, and I can write them, but I clam up when I’m told to speak it. Even in class, when I know that I know the answer, as soon as I am called on, I freeze. Eventually I’m able to utter the correct words, but they never sound right.

I’m nervous for my E&D presentation because it’s in an auditorium. With a podium. And a stage. Now that I think about it, actually, I’m probably so scared of this because I have to present my own work. Defend it. Admit that it could be better.

I took this section of E&D so that my writing would grow, so my class could workshop it, but when it comes down to it, it’s pretty ego damaging. In a good way, though. I appreciate it once its over. It’s the leading up to it that worries me.

I’m not going to stay in this mindset, though. It’s not helpful! Instead, I’m going to look myself in the mirror and talk in French about what I do to help the environment. I’m going to look myself in the mirror and talk about what makes characters bad or good. And then I’m going to look at my professor, and my peers, and do it all over again.

When I write it out, it’s not so bad, actually. I may even be excited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWHpcKXt-qQ&feature=related

Well, here we are. We are at the finish line. The point in the semester when everything becomes a funnel has come. We’ve spent 3+ months learning everything we are told to learn. Writing everything we need to write. Deriving everything we need to derive. And not, it is time to remember every problem. Remember every note we ever took. It is time to form that study group we meant to form back in February. It is time to review that problem we thought wouldn’t matter.  It is time to ask our professors questions that 4 months ago we never knew could be asked. How do we use the Calculus of Variations to find this ODE? What did Sejanus have to do with the reign of Tiberius? Why do we use printLine(String) instead of System.out.println(String)? This time has come. Next week is finals week. Last week was my Athletic final for the semester. I took 10^th in Shot Put and Discus. Next Week is my Academic Finals week; one final everyday from Monday to Thursday. The following is my finals week for RAship. My residents will be moving out and I will have to make sure everything is in ship-shape. It is crunch time. The time has come to be stressed but I cannot. Too many people are counting on us to perform at our peek. And so is the life of a student at Lewis and Clark College.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSiDLCf5u3s

Until Next Time,

Matt the RA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeKtB2EhdaE&feature=fvst

Living on a small campus cannot truly be appreciated until you are on one.  There are benefits to living on a small campus that you cannot dream of on a larger campus. For me, the most important thing is the ability to get to know a bunch of other people. LC boasts about what great diversity we have on campus culturally, but I think it is more important to think about the different academic we celebrate. At larger schools there are so many people fighting for the required classes that they are filled with 70, 80, 100+ people. It is very difficult to learn about a subject from a grad student who hasn’t taken the class in 3 years. It is very hard to hear in those huge auditoriums they cram students in. One cannot learn when packed like sardines. At Lewis and Clark the largest class I have ever been in was 35 people. A 35 person economics class taught by a professor with PhD after his name is a much better environment to learn than that of a larger school. And this class is an outlier by a long shot. Most of my classes in my two years here have been between 15 and 25 students. We all have our own desks (elbow room) with power outlets in the ground no more than 5 feet in any direction in case you brought a lap top. Another benefit to your education is the availability of professors to talk 1 on 1 with you. With fewer students, professors have more time to help each student. You will understand how important this is when you have you first calculus test or your first essay. Professors here go above and beyond in order to make sure you learn. They want you to learn. I go to football because I love to play; they come to work because they love to teach. They love looking into a student’s eye right after the topic finally clicked. When that light goes on in their mind teachers feel successful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ZJEMvAvsA

The dynamic on this campus is in a period of transition. Though this is not the only definition of an LC student, it can be used to find a separation on this campus: are you a student athlete? Before this single question put you in one group or the other with minimal mixing, but this year there have been motions to shift this. Athletes have, not all but many, moved out of Copeland (which is generally filled with athletes) and into the other dorms complexes. I will personally be trying to bring these two cultures together next year. LC wants students that are open to other people culture. African culture, music culture, Baltimore culture, athletic culture, or snowboarding culture are all things that people here want to value and support. The Campus Living Mission Statement says that it will celebrate the “wisdom of diversity” and that is the truth. This campus will be closer than ever by the time I leave here.

If there are any questions on any of this please do not hesitate to ask.

Until next time,

Matt

Saturday, March 24th

Andrew picked me up from school after my track meet (blog on that later) we turned North on I5, ooops. Turned around… and… now we were headed in the right direction! We were off! We listened to some good road trippin’ music and talked for a few hours until will pulled into our first destination, Beachside State Park! We were right next to the ocean and we fell asleep listening to the waves and croaking frogs

Beachside State Park!

Sunday, March 25th

Awoke, ate some oatmeal (with walnuts, bananas and brown sugar). Then we wandered to the beach. We were so close! We played on the shore for awhile, managed not to get too wet! Then we packed up camp and headed out for the rest of the day’s adventures. We drove south along the Oregon coastal highway and we stopped at Devil’s churn and played by some tide pools. Andrew poked one with a stick but didn’t get his desired results. We headed up to an information place and looked for whales! We sadly couldn’t see any, but someone said that there were a bunch in the bay not too long before we got there. After this, we went on a great run along the Oregon coastal trail and then through some old growth forest. It was gorgeous. Andrew out-sprinted me to the car and won (it didn’t count of course because I had raced the day before and had the excuse of tired legs). We continued south until we got to the Heceta head lighthouse and we hiked up to check it out. It was gorgeous but it was pouring rain. We were just a little soaked but we managed to warm up quickly in the car. We pulled into our campsite for the evening, Umpqua lighthouse State Park, to set up camp. That night made a ton of chili and cornbread. We wandered to the lighthouse which apparently looks like a disco ball and saw a really great sunset. It was a great day.

Sunset at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park

Monday, March 26th

We had a really beautiful morning! The sun was out and we made some really great breakfast quesadillas. After moseying around the campgrounds for a little while we packed up once again and headed south towards Bandon. On our way to Bandon we stopped at Eel Lake and walked a short way around it. SO BEAUTIFUL. The sun was shining and the lake reminded me of small inland lakes back home (Michigan). We saw a little sandbar and a perfect log in the sun so we waded out and soaked up some sun for a little while before continuing with our trip. When we got to Bandon we went for a run in some serious headwinds. The run was saved by the pretty dunes and the fact that it felt so good to stretch our legs. We wanted to go out for seafood while we were on the coast and we found a really authentic place to do just that! The place was called Griffs on the Dock. It was literally “on the dock.” Andrew had his first crab and only flung crab bits around a little. After dinner we were heading to our campsite for the evening but had to stop at Cape Blanco first. Google pictures. It was so incredibly gorgeous. That night we camped in a really windy campsite by Humbug Mountain.

Seafood!

So this is getting pretty long. I will make a part 2 soon.

Spring Break came upon me so suddenly that I had to pack rather quickly, which is not something I like to do. I’m a pretty methodical person, and rushing was kind of terrifying. But I was able to remember everything and hop on yet another 7am plane to DC.

My mom picked me up from the airport, which was unusual. My dad is mostly in charge of that on account of my mom becoming way too emotional, and sure enough, she started bawling at baggage claim. It was oddly reassuring, though, to see that she had missed me so much, for even though it hadn’t been too long, I realized that I missed her the exact same amount.

I had especially missed her cooking. I know a lot of people say that their mother is the best cook, but I legitimately mean it—my mother is the best cook to ever live. It’s just the truth. Last time I was home, she had shattered her shoulder (ahh!), so I missed out on the usual home-cooked food. This time was much different, and all the more delicious.

None of my friends from high school had the same break as me, so I went to visit some of them at a school a couple hours away from home. It was great seeing them, but it was so so weird seeing them in college. They were the same people I knew and loved, but altered. I wondered if they perceived me similarly. Anyways, I had a super wonderful time, but it made me appreciate LC, like a lot. At their school, most of the kids live on campus because it is in a pretty rural area. This means that the parties are all on campus, and that the entire school (basically) goes to the same one. The party that was happening the night I visited happened to be a “Tight & Bright” party. Yikes. The only “Tight & Bright” party that you will see take place on the LC campus will be 100% ironic—just the way I like it. So there were probably 400ish kids trying to get into this tiny cramped apartment that had no lighting whatsoever except for a black light. Everyone was grinding up on each other and I felt so uncomfortable! At Lewis & Clark, parties are not about dancing up on someone, they’re about getting to know people. There have live bands and cheesy games and everyone is so nice and wants to have a conversation. No one wanted to even speak to each other at the T&B party. It was dubstep and silence. Weird weird weird.
Coming back to Lewis & Clark was that much better. It was a deep breath of fresh air. I realized that these are my kind of people; the ones who want to have talks about the Middle East, not the ones who want to bump and grind. I’m so happy to be back here, and it’s sad to see that there aren’t that many weeks left. I suppose I’ll just have to make the most of them.