The freshman funk

College life is tough at any level, but life as a freshman can be even worse.

Coming off the high of graduating from high school and a summer filled with night after night of graduation parties, suddenly living in a 10x12 foot room with a total stranger and having to forage meals from the dining hall can be a big adjustment.

For sophomore undecided major Aaron Stopa, one of his first days as a freshman became especially memorable after waking up late and barreling into the elevator with a full cup of steaming hot coffee. He didn't quite make it through the doors, was knocked off balance, and spilled his entire cup onto an unsuspecting bystander in the elevator.

"She screamed of course," Stopa said. "I felt really bad, but the girl was actually very understanding. She could tell it was just an accident."

Hours later Stopa was in his dorm room with the window open, working on some schoolwork when he received an unexpected visitor.

"The next thing I know, this huge pigeon flies in through my window," Stopa said. "It did not go away for some time, either."

Stopa rounded off the worst day of his freshman year with a floorshow during his evening Psych 101 class in Knox.

"I managed to trip over my own feet and I fell down almost the entire flight of stairs in front of everyone," he said. "I was all scraped up but got up quickly because I was embarrassed."

Katelyn Keller, a sophomore math major, has her own horror stories from freshman year. Her roommate decorated the room entirely in pink and had the habit of staying in the room all day playing computer games. Her roommate also had a boyfriend who enjoyed extended stays.

To top it off, Keller was without a place to stay one evening. "She locked me out of my room," Keller said. "I had to sleep in the lounge."

Greg Edwards, a junior Spanish and marketing major, was also locked out of his room, only he was fresh from the shower, dripping water all over the hallway floor.

Senior biochemistry major Rachael Brurst said the first few days of freshman year were also a bit rocky for her, especially when she realized she had been sitting in the wrong classroom.

"I realized that I was in Physics 102 or something, and I was supposed to be in Physics 207," she said. "It was like a nightmare."

For some students, the trials of adjusting to freshman life almost led to dropping out of school.

Carmin Gaudinier, now a senior history major, found it difficult to make friends.

"UB is just so big, it's hard to find people to click with," she said.

Things got so bad she went home at Thanksgiving not expecting to return. Luckily, her parents convinced her to tough it out, and college life turned for the better when she joined a sorority.

For some students, their freshman year can be defined in one word - procrastination.

"I would always wake up at the last minute possible and get screwed trying to find a parking spot," said undecided major Michael Menard, adding that he often parked in undesignated parking spaces for which he received two parking tickets.

His first day of classes, Menard ended up skipping his English class because he couldn't find the building, "And then I just never went," he said.

Adding to his typical freshman year of deferring his schoolwork, Menard admitted to frequently writing most of his papers the morning they were due. Once when he didn't hand in a paper, he lucked out.

"The English teacher thought she lost my paper," he said. She emailed him apologizing and requesting that he hand in another copy, telling him not to worry about the bibliography.

Menard's freshman year funk came to a peak when a girl from one of his classes began stalking him.

"She was weird," he said. "I don't think she showered much. I tried to kind of block her out of my mind."

He paused, remembering his own non-showering experiences. "The first week of school my friend and I didn't shower," he said. "There was no reason. Just because we would always wake up late for class."

Those entering UB for the first time - the graduating class of 2010 - should expect bad days, but know that there are just as many good in store. That is, as long as you don't lock your keys in the car, or run out of gas on your way to a final exam.

To avoid flunking out, Michael Menard's advice is this: "Don't wait until the night before to study, don't play apartment hockey until four in the morning, and definitely take showers."