EVERY
THURSDAY
ONLY IN THE
OREGON
DAILY
EMERALD
FRESHMEN
continued from page 1
hangs a collage of photos of her and
her friends; above it is a flower poster
and next to it is one of a tropical
beach. Two stuffed animals sit on the
bed like fixtures.
Both women agree that their tastes
in decor differ drastically, but they
joke that the No Doubt poster on the
back of the door makes their styles
come together. 1 lumphrey is also a
collaborative effort.
"It's lenn's skeleton," Taylor says.
"But he's naked, so I'm putting
clothes on him."
Already he's wearing a button-up
1 lawaiian shirt.
The pain of studies
ihe women have reached the mid
dle of the term, but the past five weeks
have taken their toll. They have lost
much of their initial verve and their
voices are a little flatter, a little less ex
cited. Both say they are tired.
French wanted to find a job in a lo
cal library to make a little extra mon
ey. lust a few weeks earlier she said she
needed part-time work, but now the
reality of her schedule has hit.
"Honestly, I haven't looked that
hard because I've been busy with
school," she says. "1 think I'd die if 1
got a job, too."
School has been difficult for
French. She has already taken a
midterm for one of her three chem
istry classes — Chemistry 221 — and
received a D, but she is still getting a
C- average in the class, she says. That's
Living in a
residence hall
leaves very little
space for
decorating, but
18-year-old
Jennifer French
adds a creative
touch to her half
of the room by
covering the wall
with her favorite
CD cover art.
Lauren Wimer
Photographer
the only class she's worried about. The
other day she turned in an assignment
for the class 15 minutes late and did
n't get any credit for it.
Taylor hasn't found her studies a
piece of cake either.
She has class every day and she's of
ten busy studying instead of going out
to have fun.
Taylor, now taking a break from
clothing Humphrey and studying for
her classes, is curled up in bed with
her stuffed animals. It is 4:23 p.m.
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French says Taylor often does this
when she gets burned out from
studying.
Living together
The women are relaxing in their
room, each in their usual locations —
French in the butterfly chair by her
desk and Taylor on her bed with her
stuffed animals. The television is play
ing a documentary about cheerlead
ing. Taylor, who was a cheerleader in
high school, occasionally comments
on it, saying how the women on the
show are too young to be cheerlead
ing. It takes too much dedication and
concentration, and it's too physically
taxing for women that age, she says.
French notices the show only when
Taylor comments on it but then dis
misses it with a shrug.
Outside of their room the women
rarely spend time together. On week
ends, French sleeps in, takes a shower
and meets up with friends. Usually
she hangs out in H.P. Barnhart Mall,
where most of her friends live. On Sat
urday, they all played "a loud version
of Bullshit," and French taught her
friends how to play poker.
Taylor spends time with her
boyfriend and her friend Tiphani
Handy. She says they enjoy going to
The Break in the EMU.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays the
women do spend some time together
watching "Everwood," "Friends" and
"Gilmore Girls," their favorite shows.
But after five weeks of living together
in the same tiny room, both women say
they get along well. Taylor has really en
joyed getting to know French over the
past few weeks, saying her roommate
was hard to get to know at first because
of her reserved personality. French has
also enjoyed living with Taylor.
"I'm actually kind of surprised be
cause I don't normally mesh well with
other people, because I'm abrasive
and my foul language," she says. "It's
all going well, in my opinion."
Living together inevitably brings
certain conflicts into play, however.
Taylor complains jokingly that in the
mornings her roommate sometimes
wakes her up.
French jumps up and goes to her
closet and pulls the left door open.
There is a crash of metal against
wood. It is the buckles on French's
belts knocking against the door as she
whips the door open.
Taylor emphatically points out the
noise that wakes her up.
"It's really, really loud in the morn
ing," Taylor says, smiling. "But, if she
wakes me up I can go back to sleep,
and vice versa."
Going home
French went home for the first time
Friday to visit her family in Aloha. It
was a relief to the homesick freshman.
"My dog went nuts," she said. "She
got a sock and would not leave me
alone until I kept throwing it for her
for about two hours."
Taylor didn't go home. Instead, her
family drove to Eugene. They tailgated
at the Stanford game and all went out
to dinner together. Taylor then spent
the weekend getting ready for her
midterms. Although she got to spend
time with her family, Taylor said she
wished she could have gone home.
"I want to get attacked by my dog,"
she said. "1 miss my animals. I miss
my house because it has lots and lots
of windows and a pool."
French said it was nice to see her
dog again because the miniature
dachshund is a constant source of en
tertainment.
On Sunday French met up with
a friend from high school who now at
tends Linfield College. She also spent
her weekend at home catching up with
her mother, talking about classes.
On the way back to Eugene, French
caught a ride with some of her friends,
and when they arrived back in town
they went to Common Grounds in
Hamilton Complex to get something
to eat. French then headed back up
stairs to take on her fifth week of col
lege and the stress it will bring.
"It actually felt more normal com
ing back here than it did going
home," she said.
Contact the people/culture/
faith reporter
atjaredpaben@dailyemerald.com.
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