Response to: "Freshman Dos and Don'ts"

I saw The Collegian, and the article, "The Dos and Don'ts of Freshman Year" by Kristy Burkhardt caught my eye. As a freshman, I was curious and began reading the article, hoping for some advice that would be useful for the coming year. However, as I read I was greatly disappointed.

While Ms. Burkhardt does manage to come across as rather witty at times, overall her article was bitter, and gave the impression that Ms. Burkhardt is rather full of herself. I understand that the article was written for the opinion section, yet I find it difficult to accept her advice as good advice that freshmen should abide by.

First, Ms. Burkhardt's advice about lanyards, or as she refers to them as, "that thing around your neck or wrist" is just a pathetic attempt to ridicule freshmen. Obviously, she was once a freshman, presumably with her own lanyard, and now is just going with the status quo of hating on a convenient way to carry a SpiderCard.

Second, the advice Ms. Burkhardt gives about "the third treadmill from the right," and how we are not to use it does not come off as humorous, but as cocky, which is not an attractive trait.

Third, while Ms. Burkhardt attempts to give good advice about appreciating university staff, she loses respect by calling freshmen "fat asses." Is there a freshman 15 in Ms. Burkhardt's past that we don't know about?

Finally, Ms. Burkhardt suggests that freshmen should not "try to make their high school relationship work" and that "Love, actually, isn't real."

While I do not currently have a relationship from my high school, some of my friends do, and I hope it works out for them.

Again, it seems as if Ms. Burkhardt is bitter, perhaps from having destroyed a relationship her freshman year. While I appreciate Ms. Burkhardt's attempt to give advice to the freshmen, I think I will look for my "Freshman Dos and Don'ts" elsewhere.