Beaches, vacations, pool side pleasures and reading a good book while baking under the sizzling sun (while neglecting your skin condition) are a few of the things we indulge in during the summer. So naturally your No. 1 destination for these activities is the Binghamton University campus, where you get to have a glimpse of what you will be experiencing for the next four years of your life. Unfortunately, your experience at Binghamton University will not be composed of going to beach or enjoying any pool-like pleasures; instead you get to pick your classes, walk around campus while it’s scorching hot with 90 percent humidity and be bombarded with minute details about the University, only to be left scratching your head while the dean of Harpur College talks to you. (Sorry to those of you enrolled in SOM, Decker, Watson or CCPA.) If you don’t know what those stand for, you soon will by the time you leave.
While I paint this affair as such a bleak picture, it is actually not as bad as it sounds. I can promise you that your orientation week will probably be the hottest week you will experience in Binghamton. As we like to say here, your first month and last month here in Binghamton will be the nicest and everything else in between is pretty miserable. One day you will complain that you are freezing, so if you think of that now, hopefully you’ll feel a little cooler in the midst of the humidity. The University also has barbecues scattered about campus where you can get a taste of the gourmet food prepared by Sodexho and become a member of the masses who complain about its expense and sub par liking to your taste buds.
The course catalog will become a feast for your eyes as you will come across classes such as the Analysis of Cinema, Plato and Aristotle, or the Dynamic Earth (and ones that sound much stranger and complex). But don’t fret. You will take it in stride and realize that these classes are what college is about. It will not necessarily be about that multiple choice test you always took or about doing those dittos every night, or five minutes before the bell rang for your next class. You will get to use your current skills and learn more, only to realize that even though you thought you knew so much (you did get into this university, after all) you really don’t know anything at all. That’s OK, because you don’t need to know all the answers, but as the semesters go by you’ll come to find out that you do know a little more than you thought. The greatest joy of all will be learning, not for a test, but for the sake of your own curiosity, about the world around you. It is this experience you must savor since there’s a great chance you won’t come across it again.
After a long day on your feet, you should stop by the Nature Preserve to let your brain digest all the information you have been required to take in. Located behind Mountainview College, it is a place I recently discovered and have come to appreciate. Ironically, it appeals to me because it reminds me of a hike in the Adirondacks, nestled among fir trees with the sun glimmering on the pond’s surface around 5 p.m. I recommend you learn to take refuge here since it is the most tranquil place on campus and everything from there on out will be significantly more hectic. After having said all that, welcome to Binghamton University, your home for the next four years. And remember, this will be the first and last time you will have this unique experience.