On Saturday afternoon, I will gain a brand-new perspective. No, I won't be changing my views on life, politics or the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but this weekend, Shelby Crutchley, a prospective student visiting the University and staying two nights with me, will give me a new perspective while I try to shape hers.
Once I agreed to accommodate Shelby for the weekend, I immediately did what any good host would do: panicked. What variety of activities would give her an idea of life at the University? How could I cater to her existing interests while still exposing her to the wide range of organizations that make Mr. Jefferson's University a place she ought to seriously consider? What if the sundae bar at Observatory Hill runs out of vanilla ice cream again on Sunday night? There were serious concerns.
The most difficult part of planning the best weekend for a prospective is not deciding whether to turn them loose on Rugby or buy a ticket to an orchestra concert. I had to re-discover those aspects of the University that had attracted me in the first place but now often take for granted. The beauty of the Rotunda, the charm of the Lawn and the lure of secret society symbols on prominent buildings are a given. No student should visit the University without a full dose of the history behind these hallmarks.
I will leave showing her these elements up to the University Guide Service, who no doubt will provide Shelby with an admissions tour and 497 historical facts about the Academical Village, the IMPs and the Zs. What could I provide Shelby that she will not draw from the admissions tour?
Yet all it took in the end was a quick look out my window to see the groups of students tossing colorful Frisbees back and forth on the first day of spring. That's what being a student at the University is all about: Coming together and interacting. While some assembled with lacrosse sticks and footballs, some simply spread out blankets in a vain attempt to study. Note to self: Warn Shelby that Spring Fever is a clinical term at the University, and there is no cure in sight.
The beautiful weather at the beginning of the week also brought students out in droves to read in the amphitheater, on the Lawn and in the gardens. With such beautiful Grounds, no one failed to forsake the Alderman stacks for a day of study outside. Though reading your philosophy book under the statue of Homer might require you to duck occasionally to avoid a football gone AWOL, it sure beats the view from the second floor of Clemons.
While I do intend to impart all of this to Shelby during her visit -as well as bring her along for the Silhouettes concert and the "Music Suppressed by the Third Reich" performance - how could a trip to the University be complete without dinner at the Greenskeeper or a conversation with the list-wielding pledges outside any fraternity house on Saturday night?
I must inform Shelby that the difficulty is not in gaining acceptance into the University but into a frat party where your name does not seem to be on "The List" assembled by an omnipotent higher power.
If she has fully recovered from a late night on Rugby Road, I will take Shelby to Newcomb for Sunday brunch, where the "make-you-own-waffle" station might impress her as much as it impressed me when I visited the University my senior year of high school. Combine the waffle station with a Clinique counter in the Bookstore and a Chick Fil-A in the Pav, and I was sold. And to top it all off, I could swipe my student ID at all of the above places. What is it about swiping a card that makes everything seem "free"?
Of course, my good intentions for the weekend could all be thwarted by rainy weather that keeps the Frisbee teams indoors or a few cases of laryngitis that cancel the Silhouettes concert. It could be a long weekend if we must spend it all making waffles, buying lipsticks and eating waffle fries. But somehow I am sure there could never be a lack of activities to attend at Mr. Jefferson's University. The weather and other factors might just force me to re-discover the elements of this school that shape everyday student life. And I wonder if anyone might be streaking the Lawn on Saturday night.
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