How to Survive Your Freshman Year at BSU
by Kelli Knudsen
Your first year at Bemidji State University is sure to be a fun and exciting experience... it could also be a horrible distaster, but it doesn't have to be. Once you learn the ropes around campus, your freshman year will be a lot more enjoyable. The following are just a few hints and tips to help you on your way to being a truly successful freshman.
Learn to Cook
A few months into your life at BSU, you will come to realize that you can only eat so much brown salad and over-cooked meat at Wally's. Cooking is a skill that will serve you well, even if it's just Easy-Mac and Pop-Tarts. Dorm cooking doesn’t have to be as boring as ramen noodles, though.
Try some of these tasty alternatives to the cliché college kid foods.
- Lipton Sides Noodles come in many varieties such as Fettuccini Alfredo and Sour Cream and Chives.
- Breakfast for Dinner. Eggs, bacon, and toast are cheap, easy, and delicious. Not only that, but eggs are high in protein and low in carbs.
- Anything on a George Foreman Grill. Have a little cookout in the floor kitchen. A Foreman grills anything from steak to grilled cheese.
Learn the Tunnels
Nothing is worse than walking to class in pouring rain, snow, or -40 degree
weather. BSU's tunnel system is a great way to keep warm on your way to
class. The Center for the First Year Experience has developed the first
map of the tunnel system, so that no matter where you are trying to go,
you won't get lost. Knowing your way around the tunnels is only part of
understanding them. Here are some more tips for fledgling tunnel moles.
- Wear warm clothing. There is a 100 foot break in the tunnels between Tamarack and Linden Halls. It only takes about half a minute to get back inside, but in sub-zero temperatures, 30 seconds is enough to give your ears frostbite.
- Get out of the way. Walking through the tunnels is a lot like driving. Some people want to go faster, and some want to walk slower. If you walk slowly, keep to the right-hand side of the tunnel so that other people can get around you if they need to.
- Leave early. If the walk to class usually takes ten minutes, give yourself 15 minutes. The tunnels are a longer route than walking outside. This may mean rushing out of your dorm in pajamas.
Forget your idealistic vendetta against Walmart
Everyone knows that Walmart is an evil corporation that doesn't treat its employees nicely, and sells products made by poor little kids in India for 10 cents per hour, but you can't hold your grudge against "Sam's Fascist Kingdom" forever, especially when it is the only place in Bemidji besides Perkins that is open past 10:00 pm. Here are just a few situations where you and Sam Walton will be best pals.
- Early morning caffiene buzz: When 3:00 am rolls around, and you're strung out on Mountain Dew and Pixy Stix, and it's quiet hours in the dorms, you'll be glad that there is somewhere that you can be as loud as you want and no one will care.
- Midnight snack attack: Not only does Bemidji have a Walmart, it has a Walmart Supercenter, which means that there is a grocery store attached to it. When you are on a tight budget, Walmart is cheaper than Perkins for a late-night meal, and has more to choose from.
- Life Assurance: When you're just feeling really down on yourself and you think that your life really sucks, head to Wal-Mart for some feel-good people watching. It will make you feel better about yourself to see a large woman with a Billy Ray Cirus style she-mullet. You can also smirk at the W.T. cowboy strutting around in Rider jeans and boots wearing a confederate flag shirt dragging his screaming kid (who has a mullet) out the door.
"The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a star."
-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Cooking can be fun, easy and cheap
Recipes especially for the microwave
Becoming a cook means you get to buy lots of really cool gadgets
Winter Fashion
E-how on how to buy warm clothes
Other useful tunnel helpers
Informative article on getting up earlier
Top Five Things to Do in Walmart
5. Drape a blanket around your shoulders and run around saying, "I'm Batman. Come, Robin, to the Batcave!"
4. As the cashier runs your purchases over the scanner, look mesmerized and say, "Wow, magic!"
3. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone, "I think we've got a Code 3 in Housewares," and see what happens.
2. Leave cryptic messages on the typewriters.
1. Get boxes of condoms and randomly put them in peoples' carts when they don't realize it.
Kelli Knudsen © 2004
Contact Kelli Knudsen
Last modified: October 2004