The constant sunshine, palm tree shade, year-round pool weather and proximity to Mexico, Las Vegas and L.A. can be pretty distracting for the average Sun Devil. But after a few months, as you start to feel jaded from the smell of chlorine, you’re going to start wishing there was something just a bit more to the college life.
And that something is school spirit. No, seriously.
School spirit doesn’t just mean attending home football games, which start Sept. 4 by the way, it also means getting involved with fellow students — be it student government, study groups or one of the 600 clubs and organizations on the four campuses. This is the largest student population in the nation, and although it’s easy to just squeeze into a 400-person lecture without speaking to anyone all semester, it’s also an indispensible sea of people from all over the world to pick and choose from. It really is time to start thinking outside of the comment box.
Think about it, the World Wide Web has been around since the Class of 2011 (and thus all underclassmen) was born. Its creation is like a looming prophecy of a disconnected, Internet-obsessed generation that sends an average of 10 texts an hour and spends four hours a day on social networking sites. Face it, most Millenials find it a little too easy to fall out of touch with actual socializing, as many people actually find phone calls an inconvenience with their intrusive demand for immediacy.
So hike "A" Mountain just to say you did it. Or consider brushing up on that Greek alphabet and rushing a sorority or fraternity on Sept. 3. Or check out the manifest of clubs, which includes Collegiate Quidditch, countless improv and comedy troupes, political and wellness organizations and even a club dedicated to the love of chocolate.
The MU After Dark event is also a great way to get in touch with students outside of your major. MU After Dark takes over the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus every Friday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and offers a variety of free activities from salsa dancing lessons to movie screenings, comedy shows and half-price bowling and billiards.
Also, get off campus. Take the light rail downtown for First Fridays and get to know the Phoenix art scene or catch a Diamondbacks game at Chase Field. College is the time for social experimentation, so go meet the Arizona locals.
Having a social life helps alleviate stress, so don’t make yourself the perpetual buzz-kill and studious spinster. Get out and try something new. Make friends with people in your classes, find an internship, go to your professors’ office hours and start thinking of your classmates as your future colleagues. Because, despite the sinking employment prospects for Generation Y’ers, they’re all going to be your coworkers, bosses and competition.
Finally, check The State Press calendar section for events (page 2), or stop by the Sun Devil Involvement Center on the third floor of the MU.
