San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

How to tell that freshmen have arrived on campus

The freshmen are coming! The freshmen are coming!

As August draws to a close, it’s time for one of our favorite beginnings of fall phenomenon: the arrival of freshmen on campus. Though we know it happens every year, it serves as a surprise for us all each year, reminding us not only that we have to return to school, but that we have to do it with several hundred new and bewildered freshmen among us. As we count down to their impending arrival, there are a few signs that we can note.

The large stores can sense before anyone else can that these fresh-faced newbies are on their way. Target ceases to house all ordinary, household items, and becomes an endless display of school supplies and “dorm essentials.” Bed, Bath and Beyond suddenly only carries bedding in XL Twin; Ikea continues to sell products that no one can pronounce, but whose boxes litter dumpsters all over campus, and Pottery Barn attempts to sell “reasonably priced” furnishings for students. We’re not yet sure if the stores all change in preparation for the freshmen, or if the freshmen come in response to these stores.

There are suddenly new populations on campus that you have never seen before. Parents are joining their students, taking last-minute campus tours and checking off all of their final questions before that August deadline hits. Little brothers and sisters join, making the rest of us confused as to why San Diego State now has four and five-year olds wandering around. In the middle of it all are the new freshmen, either wide-eyed and nervous or just ready to get started, searching for their classes, trying to familiarize themselves with the campus, and find their new late-night food (aka discovering if they are Team Trujillos or Team Panchos).

The rest of the school is getting ready for the hordes joining our campus, feverishly going through curriculum, printing out brochure after brochure for their department or organization, training new staff exactly how to deal with the rush that happens the first week of each new year.

The bookstore on campus is now filled with people who choose to buy books the first week of classes and need SDSU emblazoned on all of their school supplies. SDSU shirts and sweatshirts are flying off the shelves, and there are no longer any lanyards available because they are all around the necks of freshmen who are terrified of losing their Red ID.

You suddenly find yourself unable to walk anywhere on campus without bumping into someone, either because they’re holding on to their campus maps like it has the answer to all of life’s questions or because they feel the need to walk in lines of ten down the middle of Campanile with no regard for those of us that are actually trying to go somewhere.

More than anything else, you find yourself mixed with a combination of confusion (they seriously get younger and younger every year) and envy (they have four years left before they have to find a real job), but excited for these new freshmen as they embark on their new journey—as long as one doesn’t take your parking spot in PS4.

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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
How to tell that freshmen have arrived on campus