Freshman shares her first impressions of life at the University
Editor’s note: To help illustrate
the changes that incoming fresh
men face, we invited freshman
Erin Foote Pursell to write about
her first week at the University.
Erin will share her experiences
with the Emerald throughout her
first year.
I am 18.1 am a freshman. I am
from Anchorage, Alaska, about
2,000 miles away. I didn’t have a
single friend when I rolled into
Eugene on Monday night. But,
technically, I am an adult and
should not have a huge problem
with this, right? I have had more
moments of insecurity and lone
liness in my life than I can count.
So, why do I feel so out of sync?
This is a day-by-day account of
my adjustment to life at the Uni
versity. Maybe it will sound fa
miliar, maybe it won’t. At any
rate, it’s one more reminder that
you are not alone in your struggle
to make this place home.
Day 1: Monday, Sept. 21
I arrive in Eugene with my
mom and sister on Monday
night. It has been a bittersweet
day. We went to the beach in
Lincoln City and watched the
sunset. In the back of all our
minds, though, was the thought
that we won’t be spending any
more nights cooking together or
going grocery shopping. It is the
little things that I am going to
miss. We know that this is our
last night together before every
thing changes.
Day 2: Tuesday, Sept. 22
I move into the dorms. It is an
unfortunate thing that the dorms
do not have elevators. The cur
tains are funky, and there are a
few mystery stains on the floor
from previous occupants. The
bed squeaks, and it smells a little
rank, hut surprise, surprise.
We spend the rest of the day
searching for the perfect laptop.
Navigating Eugene is not the easi
est task. Alter
finding the right
computer, our
next mission is to
search for ethemet
cards. This is not
too difficult — it’s
the line stretching
from Watson up
the street to the
EMU.
Tonight, we eat
dinner at Track
Town, where my
mom asks random
eirls who look
A Fresh
Look
Erin Foote
Pursell
lonely to please join us. And,
wherever you are out there — I
am sorry. I know that being bom
barded by questions from my
mom was probably more trau
matic than eating alone could
ever be.
I spent this night alone in the
dorms. It is cold and quiet until
about 7 a.m., when the garbage
trucks come. After that it is just
cold.
Day 3: Wednesday, Sept. 23
Today, I learn that being a mu
sic major not only involves a long
walk from Hamilton to the music
building but also saying goodbye
to my hopes of taking any other
classes outside the department.
Do I really want to give up as
tronomy and yoga to sing all
year? Orientation in un-aircondi
tioned Deady is a highlight today
as well.
This afternoon my mom and
sister leave. I feel a little bit guilty
about not being more upset, but
the tears from behind my mom’s
sunglasses still choke me up.
However, 1 think my sister is
more upset that there won’t be
anyone else to share the blame.
After wading through the sea
of cardboard back at the dorms, I
introduce myself to my room
mate who is on her way to her
first rush event. Tonight is also
my first encounter with the food.
My new friend from down the
hall comes to dinner with me.
We meet another lonely girl (I'm
already turning into my mother)
and after dinner, we go for a long
walk. I would like to stay friends
with the girl we met, but there is
something about lonely situa
tions that makes people come to
gether even when they know
they probably won’t see each oth
er again. w
Tonight, we also check out the
dance for new students at the
EMU. We decide to stay for about
five minutes. I apologize to the
people who coordinate these
events, but it is somewhere be
tween Vanilla Ice and the strobe
light assault that I realize this is
why I am glad I graduated from
high school.
Day 4: Thursday, Sept. 24
Today, I register for some
workshops at the EMU Craft Cen
ter. The line is out the door be
fore they even open. I check out
the Outdoor Program as well and
sign up for a trip to the coast on
Saturday.
I spend the rest of the day at
the music school singing badly at
my auditions. I am placed in the
most basic and rudimentary of all
the classes. It is a sad thing. I also
take the placement exam for
math and am glad that I don’t
have to take math to get a BA .
Tonight, I meet the only other
kids from Anchorage. And where
did I meet them? In the EMU
Ballroom. And what was I doing?
Checking out the bad karaoke.
These type of events are not my
first choice for Thursday night
entertainment, but the rendition
of Bohemian Rhapsody was
enough to spark curiosity. I was
just grateful to meet some people
who could talk with me about fa
miliar things.
Day 5: Friday, Sept. 25
I wonder if all the food is as
bad as Grab 'n Go. I also am pro
crastinating when it comes to reg
istering for my classes. Maybe I’ll
change my mind about being a
music major, maybe they will
call and ask me to be in the up
per-level classes where I know I
belong ... maybe, maybe, maybe I
should just get over it and regis
ter.
This evening I check out the
ballroom dance. It is cheap, and
they are teaching swing. I meet a
nice guy. But listen up, girls —
ask them how old they are before
they walk you all the way back to
your dorm and you tell them
your life story. My new friend
turns out to be 30. So, anyway ...
Day 6: Saturday, Sept. 26
Today, I go to the coast with
the Outdoor Program. It is a soli
tary day. The people are nice, but
I am beginning to miss my own
friends. I would like to spend one
night with people who already
know where I am from, whether 1
have brothers or sisters and what
my major is. It is not so much
that I miss my friends as it is the
familiar.
Tonight, I call my mom and get
pizza with my roommate and my
very cool RA.
Day 7: Sunday, Sept. 28
My room is beginning to feel
like home. The girls on my floor
are fun, and someone loans me
change for the laundry machines.
How is it that we spend five
grand to live in the dorms and
still have to pay for laundry?
I play ultimate on the lawn
near our dorm and think I’ll die
of heat stroke. Isn't it suppose to
rain a lot here? Tonight is our
hall meeting. Ninety kids in a lit
tle room with little windows. It is
a frustrating thing, not so much
because the room is a sauna, but
because it takes two hours to re
view courtesy rules ... one more
thing I thought I was leaving be
hind in high school.
So, here I am now. A week of
classes has gone by, and I am still
not homesick. I guess a little part
of me feels like this is camp. But
1 know where to go for decent
food and where to go for an
ATM. I stay in touch through e
mail but am also making some
friendships here that I think will
last.
I find myself eating alone a lot
still, but it is more by choice as
opposed to not knowing anyone.
I like it here, and it is getting bet
ter every day.
Researchers hope to be able to identify potentially chronic lawbreakers
i iic riooutidicu nex>
EUGENE — Researchers are
working to identify characteristics
of juvenile lawbreakers that
would help officials reach poten
tial criminals early on, directing
them into programs that change
the way they think and act.
Within a year, it could be put
into use at Lane County’s new Ju
venile Justice Center, researcher
Michael Finigan said.
“We’re creeping down the road
to that point,” Finigan said.
“Clearly, these tools are helping
us to understand the risk factors.”
As part of work funded by a fed
eral grant, Finigan is developing a
screening tool for the county’s
Youth Services Department that
will help it identify which youth
ful offenders are likely to become
chronic lawbreakers.
Local juvenile crime data show
20 percent of offenders commit 87
percent of juvenile crime.
“The idea is to identify who
those 20 percent are,” Finigan
said.
Juveniles can then get help from
schools, family counselors, drug
treatment, mental health and other
community resources, Finigan said.
Finigan cautions that early
identification efforts are only be
ginning to take shape. Assessment
techniques are bound to evolve
with time and experience, he said.
“As a researcher, I’d never say
we have the silver bullet,” he said.
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