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College is a place to experiment
College is a place to experiment
by Jason AndersonWhat is the Lewis & Clark experience? Labeling four years of enrollment as simply a diploma quest throws heavy injustice at the potentially—and nearly always—life-altering adventure that is college.
For almost everyone, higher education goes beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. Students flock to universities worldwide not only in hopes of broadening their academic horizons, but with the much-anticipated prospect of encountering new sights and sounds. It is no secret that the most valuable learning seldom takes place in a classroom or lecture hall; most often we find it in fresh faces and soul-searching journeys of this time away from home.
People try new things. Pound for pound, the unifying bond between incoming freshman is raw, unbridled curiosity, matched only by an uncompromising desire to, as senior Adam Forkner puts it, "[Rock] the house." Forkner recalls his opening weeks free from parental restraint with a frosty look of sentimentality. "Yeah, we partied. . . . We partied pretty f---ing hard. Pills, powders, I was pretty much doing all this [stuff] for the first time." While substance experimentation is a common tale for many Pioneers, the process of discovery does not, by any means, limit itself to cheap booze and acid rock.
The student activities fair showcases a plethora of options for those looking to get involved with campus life. Every year, popular groups such as KLC Radio, LCTV, SAAB and the infamous Mother Ruckers recruit dozens upon dozens of eager underclassmen, most of whom do not know their Fugazi from their Atari.
The patient, tolerant attitude of organization veterans sets up a fruitful atmosphere of care and learning for newcomers. With dedication comes experience, and with experience comes expertise. Just where would 104.1 FM be if a bushy-haired frosh named Murray Cizon had not signed up to "purg" way back in 1994?
Sports. When all is said and done, the time-honored cry to athletics might have more pull than anything else. Computer aficionado Ryan Wise confessed that pool and ping pong might as well have been Greek before he arrived in Portland. When asked how his virgin efforts fared, Wise gives both a wink and a chortle. "I pretty much sucked," he says. Sophomore Steve Schroeder shared a similar experience. Schroeder, a Los Angeles man, let it slip that he waited until college to try swimming. The result? Chaotic.
If only one statement could be made of the LC student body, such a description would have to read as follows: these kids are open to just about anything. From kayaking to judo, if it is out there, rest assured someone here has tried it.
