OCR Text |
Show Monday, Aug. 27, 2007 Page 8 Making college your home BY COURTNIE PACKER "Guitars & Basses 'Drums & Percussion 'Live Sound & PA. m Music Books & Videos 'Private Lessons "Home Computer Recording KSM Music Your local music shop www.ksmmusic.com 50 W 400 N 435-753-6813 senior writer The boxes are piled and spread throughout the room as garbage sacks, bubble wrap and shreds of newspaper cover the floor. It's moving day - the day students anticipate and dread as the task of organizing and decorating kick into gear. Leaving the Winnie the Pooh or Power Ranger bedroom set behind, many students now get to start from the basics. Some may wonder what to pack besides a year supply of Ramen Noodles and macaroni and cheese. More importantly, others will question how they will make a dorm room feel like home. "Bring pictures," said Tara Paxman, freshman in accounting. "You need them to remind Health insurance Guaranteed Student Issued www.Janetanderson. mvmedicalquotes.com •3 o o r N eei 9-6-LVS-NOIAJ 3>iia AO 3J-niAiiAioo o x aivcd JLBO O X N I SIAIOO 3SDXJO I 3SVHOfcincd /M HOBVI LO/B/Q ILLND aOOO «dn 3NH1ANV _LV"U ddO OL$ , ~nv NO sino3soio N I 31AIOQ it=fi ii—i yourself of what's left at home. College is a culture shock, and you need that comfort." Sherrie Lambert, a sophomore in elementary education, said she agrees. "You need pictures to remind you of all your good memories. They help you feel like you're not completely alone at times," she said. Pictures seem to be a common trend among college dorms. Eighty-year-old grandmas in the pink party hats and little sisters naked in the tub always seem to be good conversation starters. They tend to liven up a room and give it a little more personality. "My roommate and I bought fish," said Hailey Smith, a freshman in psychology. "We have matching fish tanks and even matching fish. It definitely adds a lot more to the room and makes it more unique." Even organizing a dorm room can often turn out more difficult than expected. There is the decision of whether to bring the cardboard palm tree or the Chinese lanterns. "You need the stuff that gives you that comforting feeling," Smith said. "I know, for me, 1 had to bring my clothes, lots of pictures, my own bedding and my pillows." Other students like Josh Ferrer, freshman in electrical engineering, wouldn't be able to leave home without the memories of athletic achievements. "I brought a lot of my karate and bowling awards. Also a chess board because I love chess and it has been one of my favorite games for years," he said. "My awards liven up my colorless room and let my guestS see what type of things I am interested in. It helps them know more directly what I am about." Paxman knew exactly what she wanted to bring when she prepared to move away. "I had to bring my bear my boyfriend gave me, along with my hippo named Lola," she said. For many college students, the idea of decorating a dorm either terrifies or bores them. Decisions on how to take their dorm from drab to fab come into view, and they often become frustrating TRYING TO PERSONALIZE HIS ROOM, Jeramy Johnson, sophomore in biology, hangs up a poster in his fraternity house. Several students bring items from home to liven up where they will be living for the school year. PATRICK ODEN photo and overwhelming. Thoughts on where to hide the stereo to play the ocean wave soundtrack or on what wall to hang the neoncolored Christmas lights can quickly become discouraging. Even the trial of adding bits of all the roommates' ideas can be a struggle. "Remember to use a little of your own decorations," Lambert said. "It gives you that feeling of home. My roommate, for example, has a lot of her own decorations. I like them, but it is not the same as my own. It just doesn'tfitmy personality. So if 1 had to give any advice, it would be to do a little decorating your own way." Don't let the frustrations of interior decorating ruin relationships with new roommates. If objections appear on whether or not to hang the Disney coloring pages, let them know. Each individual has the same right to jazz up the place. College is the place where students can express themselves. Have some fun with it. "Do things you like to do," Lambert said. "Don't be afraid around others. If so, you won't get very far. Express yourself. That is the only way you will get the true college experience." -courtnicp@cc.ustt.edu T A R A P A X M A N shows off her newly decorated room. She said college is a culture shock so to help with the transition, bring pictures from home. TYLER LARSON photo Campuses cash in on students' urge to buy BY NOAH BIERMAN McOatchy Newspapers (MCT) Store Hours: Monday- Friday 9:30 - 8:00 Saturday 'til 6:00 The Diamond Engagement Ring Store. ..since 1896 141 North Main • 752-7149 yvww.seneedham.com Mldtli of the t>!*ck at th* Mign of thw tlock ORLANDO, Fla. - Students bunking in the newest residence hails at the University of Central Florida soon will be tripping over Maggie Moo's ice cream, Subway sandwiches, Starbucks, Red Brick Oven Pizza, Barnes & Noble and other chain stores on their way out of their dorms. At UCF and elsewhere, it's getting harder to tell the difference between the university and the mall. Once content to sell sweat shirts from a generic campus store and meals from a mess hall, universities are entering into increasingly sophisticated arrangements with national retailers, allowing more franchises directly on campus. At UCF, many of the stores set to open in the coming weeks are attached directly to the dorms, across from a basketball arena under construction with its own set of chain stores. "This much impulse buying on the way to class could be hurtful," said Boston Russell, a 20-year-old sophomore from Longwood, Fla., who is among the first living in the new dorms on the edge of a pine forest in suburban Orlando. The design, he said, is "letting these companies have a free shot at us when we walk by three times a day for class." But Cheryl Adams, a senior from Daytona Beach, Fla., said most students are less skeptical: El See DORMS, page 10 |