The Omnibus

Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: In the Spotlight

Media Credit: Jessica Oliver Freshmen Dani Kreuger and Carrie Maloy sit together in Goodson Student Union. They are members of a class of over four hundred currently making the transition into college life at Southwest Baptist.

Three weeks ago about four hundred displaced souls, otherwise known as the freshman class, arrived in Bolivar filled with fear, excitement, doubt and expectations.
Like so many before them, their lives have been forever changed. Many are only a short distance of home, while others are thousands of miles away from all they have ever known.
Some students experience a sort of "culture shock" as a result of this new environment.
Johnny Yesh, of Boulder City, Nev. has experienced a visible difference in the way that people from the Midwest act.
"Nevada people are kind of rude and messed up. Everyone's nicer here, you fit in easily here. It's hard being in a small town though. I miss Starbucks,"said Yesh.
Megan Brown, of Medford, Ore. agrees,
"People are a lot more friendly. Walking on the sidewalk people look at you, they say 'Hey, how's it going?' That doesn't really happen back home."
When asked about the most difficult part of this new stage, the answers are as varied as the people that give them. Yet there are common problems that many can relate to.
"It's hard to discipline myself with organizing time," said Dani Kreuger of Kansas City.
Many long for the comforts of a home environment, like food.
"My least favorite thing is getting used to Mellers," said St. Louis native Carrie Maloy. "I'm used to really good food, and it's just not the same."
For others, expectation of the transiton has made the shock less apparent.
"I don't know if I expected it to be more crazy, but it hasn't really been as bad as I thought," said Mary Cherrito of Excelsior Springs. "I think it helped expecting to be overwhlemed."
Students like Brown, who are unable to visit family often due to the distance struggle with missing their families.
"It's been hard, I"ve lost my support system, it's kind of been ripped from underneath me." Some compare the first few weeks of of school to a vacation experience that they will soon return from.

Continued...

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