WHEN YOU read this, I will be within hours of becoming a college graduate. I probably will be having the same shiver down my spine I just got writing those words.
POLITICIANS have always had a love-hate relationship with American college students. They love using us as interns, yet they also distrust colleges as hotbeds of dissension, and many conservatives see them as responsible for moral breakdown.
AFTER the horrors of Sept. 11, it was comforting to hear expressions of support from around the world.
I DON'T expect all of you to like all my columns. What makes me mad is when people criticize me without bothering to understand my arguments. Being a columnist has taught me to actually read or listen to people's arguments before criticizing, even if I know we have different perspectives.
PARTY Patrol is perhaps the least popular group on Grounds. Most students don't understand what it does, beyond the fact that it checks up on underage drinking.
FLIERS on Grounds went up right before Spring Break about "End Violence Against Children Week." That sounded reasonable.
ABOUT 90 percent of my mail is junk, so I'm skeptical of anything I didn't solicit. But I open it.
PEOPLE who can't write their own admissions essays don't deserve to be here. Getting your mom, your best friend or your English teacher to look it over is fine, and makes sense.
THE University is in a tight spot financially because the Commonwealth has decided to make us beg for pennies.
I DO NOT belong to either political party. But this does not mean that I share the growing contempt in America for political parties.
