Hello There

So the great machine of academia lurches into motion once again, ready to crush everything in its path ... and the town fills up with students again, including a fresh crop of first years. I remember my first year through a glass darkly; I was absolutely inundated with advice -- everything from what kind of sheets to buy to how to ask politely that your roommate not awaken you at five a.m. with Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69." And I ignored the majority of it.

The term "U.Va. experience" gets bandied about around here like it's the name of a new designer drug. There are, apparently, certain classes you MUST take, certain restaurants you HAVE to eat at, and certain activities you CANNOT avoid (think Tom DeLuca and rush) if you really want the most for your parental dollar. Well, phooey, say I. Granted, there are a lot of things worth doing around here that everyone knows about. If you skip DeLuca, you won't understand anyone's jokes for a month. If you can't trade stories of how bad the Newcomb Hall Crawl sucked when you were a first year, what will you say to alumni acquaintaces ten years later? Some degree of solidarity is a good thing. But there are so many things that don't make it into the pamphlets.

And I'm not going to tell you what they are. Go out and find classes and things to do and places to go on your own, suggestions for which can be found in this issue, and your U.Va. experience will be richer for it. Try anything once, within reason. Charlottesville is an extremely cool town, and -- surprise -- now you live here! Don't get stuck in a university-centric mindset; you'll miss the best of everything. There are quite a few off-the-beaten-path places here, well worth investigating. Instead of going to Barnes and Noble or the accursed Starbucks, try one of the myriad local bookstores and coffee shops this town is full of.

The fabled U.Va. experience is, in the end, like any other experience. You'll get out of it what you put into it. Despite the overwhelmingly clone-like appearance of our student body, this university is made up of all different kinds of people, and while some are unsavory, many deserve at least one chance. One.

So go forth, and do stuff, and don't forget why you're here. Um, to learn, right?

-- JLP