document.write(currentissuedayname + ‘, ‘ + currentissuemonthname + ‘ ‘ + currentissueday + ‘, ‘ + currentissueyear) Carver Diserens: Well, here it is, my last
question for you. For a second, I considered taking it easy on you, but there isn’t too much fun in that. Sorry. Before coming to Trinity, I was told a lot of things about the school. I heard things like “elitism,” “homogenous,” “work hard, play hard,” “town gown relations.” I can say that after four years here, many of these stereotypes occasionally are evinced, but more often then not, I found many of them to be inaccurate. Where do you think these perceptions originally came from How will these perceptions continue to change in the future Jimmy Jones: Carver, since you have “Carv’d me up” repeatedly, week after week, for the hoards of readers who apparently start their Tripod reading each week by turning to your column, I think it is only fair to turn the tables on you. I appreciate the chance. Here is my question, which I hope stumps you just as you have stumped me myriad times. When you are an old geezer as I am now (62 years old and aging by the hour these days), what will mean the most to you from your four undergraduate years on this beautiful campus and why Carver Diserens: When I describe Trinity to prospective students, their parents, or simply outside visitors, one word that I find myself continually using is the word “malleable.” I think that looking back at my time here, that word encompasses all the things that I’ve learned and done. To those who are close to me, it is no secret that the start to my experience at Trinity was quite different from the way it is ending. My first year or so here was not terribly productive and I had difficulty finding my niche. However, with a little bit of luck and the guidance of a few choice individuals, I became much more engaged with everything Trinity has to offer. On a personal level, this second chance is just one instance of the malleability of the school. On a grander scale, the school is malleable because there is an incredible amount of responsibility and opportunity that is dedicated to the students. The transformation of Trinity over my time here has been striking. Some examples of things I have seen during that time are the first International Hip Hop Festival, the creation of Entertainment Activities Council (EAC), the renovations to Jarvis, Seabury and Northam, the construction of the Koeppel Community Sports Center, the creation of common hour, the formation of the Campus Climate committee, the various improvements to campus safety, the renovation of Mather Cafeteria, the creation of The Mill and the other new houses on Vernon Street, countless charity concerts and events, an increase in SGA initiatives, the initiation of The Cornerstone Campaign, our first ever Relay for Life, and, most importantly, a drastic increase in Tripod readership. I could go on, but you get the idea. Aside from the construction projects, those changes were generally initiated by student labors. My point is, the campus looks and feels significantly different today than it did my freshman year. With all these changes, the most important constant is that the powers that be respect the rights and desires of the students and they do their best to allow Trinity students to mold the School into what the students want it to be. When looking at this pseudo-metamorphosis, it all comes back to the people here. I know it’s a predictable answer, but what will mean the most to me are undoubtedly the faculty, staff and students whom I’ve met. Many skeptics of small liberal arts colleges claim that the skills gained here are rather nebulous and do not translate directly into any specific career field. In my time here, I’ve come to realize how superfluous this argument is and why I am so happy with my decision to attend Trinity. Due to our small class size and small community, a Trinity student cannot possibly flourish without developing good interpersonal skills and meaningful, personal relationships. What will make any of us successful in the future will be our ability to accurately portray our ideas in a cohesive, cogent manner for others to absorb. (Though this nostalgic rambling may lead you to question how well I’ve learned those lessons.) For example, I am interested in journalism. Yet, unlike many institutions, Trinity does not offer journalism as a major. While I may lack explicit instruction in the field, what I have gained is a broad background in many subjects and the communications skills to parlay that knowledge into fundamental writing, thinking and planning ability. I have honed these skills in the classroom just as much as I have outside of the classroom. The social environment here is truly the greatest reward of the Trinity experience. As much as certain critics may decry our “work hard, play hard” mentality, I believe it is precisely that mentality that allows us to foster tight-knit friendships, develop strong people skills, and keep us sane in an increasingly stressful world. Although you didn’t ask me to, I’m going to close with two pearls of wisdom for current and prospective students. First, Trinity is a small school that tries to cover the same number of bases that substantially larger institutions cover. While it can be difficult to rally support for a specific club or group because of this wide array, it is this diversity that allows one to grab the reigns of a certain group and take control. I’m usually met with substantial shock when I tell people that I didn’t start writing for the Tripod until my junior year. However, I wrote articles almost every week, made a concerted effort to help out in any way I could, and I am quite pleased with the end result. There is no organization on campus where something like that is not possible. If you want to join a club, plan an event or make something happen, do it it’s never too late. When you reach the end of your undergraduate experience, you’re never going to look back and regret doing too much or working too hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise should be ignored, because they are trying to rob you of the intrinsic value a Trinity education supplies.
Lastly, and possibly a bit more practically, consider your meal plan. Chartwells may hate me for this, but let’s examine the 14-flex and 220-block meal plans. They both cost you $1925 for the semester. If, in a 14-week semester you use all your meals, you are getting 196 and 220 meals, respectively. If you calculate the amount you spend per meal, it equates to $9.82 and $8.75, respectively. If you eat a majority of your meals at the Cave and Bistro, your $5.75 per meal is significantly lower than what you’re paying for. The same is true for other meal plans where the average meal price is slightly under $8. So, my advice is: drop your meal plan and just load $2000 worth of Bantam Bucks onto your card. You’ll be able to buy books, do laundry, make copies and eat, all for the same price.