Page 6 Thursday, December 13, 1984 The Capitol Times Juniors show freshman traits By Joseph L. Michalsky The peaceful solitude a sunrise brings will soon be broken. A door is slammed, a hair dryer huriis its one lone song, two students chatter about last night's party. It is the beginning of a new set of escapades by students labeled "Delayed Freshman Syn drome" (DFS) by an instructor here at Capitol. Loosely stated, freshman syndrome is the actions or escapades of a student first ex posed to dormitory living, par ticularly prevalent among col lege freshman or in Capitol's case, juniors. Walking up walls, singing in the shower, blasting music at 2 a.m. all can be classified as freshman syndrome. This freshman syndrome is labeled delayed because many of the students are first experiencing living on their own as juniors, not as freshmen here at Capitol. Clem Gilpin, an instructor in Afro-American studies, feels Capitol's dorm residents along with all dorms at other univer sities behave this way because of the unique dorm environment. "The dorms are a great liv ing experience," according to Gilpin, "the environment is condusive to instant compa nionship, conflict and com promise." Gilpin pointed out four reasons why DFS exists here at Capitol. The first reason is the environment which encom passes 30 to 40 students sharing the same floor and the feelings of living away from home for the first time. Personality is the second reason. The particular way one student acts can be completely the opposite that of another. Inter-group dynamics is the third reason according to Gilpin. This is described as the reason why people gear their actions to accomodate the peo ple they are with. "It feels good," said Gilpin of the fourth reason why DFS exists. Although these factors can be held responsible for DFS, what about age and maturity? "I don't think age is a deter mining variable," said Gilpin. Maturity is not always respon sible for student's actions ac cording to Gilpin. "A student loses an audience when he goes to Meade Heights so he doesn't have anybody to impress," said Gilpin. On the other side of the coin is Ed Beck, counselor and in structor in behavioral science. "Age is a very significant factor," said Beck, "a 25-year old feels very differently than an 18-year-old both physically and physiologically." Beck feels stress also con tributes to DFS. "People react to stress dif ferently at various developmen tal stages in their lives." Beck also believes Capitol represents the real world main ly because of the diverse ages of the student body. "I think this living situation and proportion of non traditional students makes this a microcosm." The microcosm is composed of three groups: traditional, older traditional and non traditional added Beck. These groups are represented by dor mitory residents -- 10 percent, Meade Heights residents -- 25 percent, and commuters -- 65 percent, respectively. The Heights residents, however, can be a combination of the latter two Beck noted. While Gilpin and Beck believe that Capitol represents the real world, Residence Liv ing Program Coordinator Pat Murphy disagrees. "I don't think any college can approximate the real world," Murphy said. She feels that students here need more physical and social outlets to release tension, escape boredom and maybe alleviate DFS. Mur phy would like to see the school `build a community center and a pavillion along the path bet Alcohol guidelines drafted By Beth Horne After nearly five years of vague guidelines, Capitol Cam pus officials and student leaders are designing an alcohol policy for activities held in the Student Center, according to campus officials. An organization wanting to serve alcohol at a function must submit a typewritten request, 30 days in advance, describing the event and reason for having alcohol, said Jennifer Krohn, coordinator of student activities. "It's bulls**t! Two weeks should be sufficient. All it [the proposal] does is sit on desks," said Carl Wunderler, a Capitol student. Wunderler is not alone in his feelings about the 30-day ad vanced request rule. "It's not fair," Louise Kleinknecht, club secretary for SGA, said. "[An organization] might want to plan something and it will only ween the dorms and Meade Heights, although the school lacks the motivation and the money." "The communication skills learned in the dorms are very useful in the diverse world," said Murphy. "They allow the student to be more flexible and open-minded. While Gilpin would like to see the dorms better land scaped, Beck and Murphy would like to see more "cosmetic" changes such as new furniture and better soundproofing. Gary Thorpe, 20, a mechaninal engineering junior also believes that dorm life can be a very positive experience. Thorpe, who resides in Wrisberg Hall, feels Capitol does represent the real world. "It is because the curriculum is geared towards industry ap plications," Thorpe said. Thorpe believes DFS is caus ed by tension, environment, peer pressure and freedom from parental supervision. Learning to compromise in the dorms can be an asset accor ding to Thorpe. "The amount people com promise is affected by their background and personality," Thorpe added. Thorpe agrees with Murphy, Beck and Gilpin that incoming juniors housed in Meade Heights miss out on the oppor tunity to meet new people and be three weeks in advance." According to James South, assistant provost for student af fairs, the students who original ly constructed the policy are gone. Two new campus of ficials, Provost/Dean Ruth Leventhal and Krohn, believe this will clarify the prodedures for administraion and students. "It's not fair." The document -- being writ ten , by Leventhal, South, Krohn, SGA President Peter Mekosh and SUBOG President Jeff Schiller -- will let the clubs and organizations who use the student center know all the restrictions. And, thirty days gives the clubs a chance to organize and have a better party, Krohn said. learning to compromise with them. "Incoming juniors housed at Meade Heights don't have the practice of getting to meet peo ple," said Thorpe. He added that DFS, prevalent mainly in the dorms, does not seem to hinder study habits. "A lot of time people don't take into consideration that you FRANKLY SPEAKING DORM life 14AS REM Gorp 7D rot) NoßtiA. You OP To BE A cREep. Now you'iM dor 4 Sloe © CREATIVE MEDIA SERVICES Box 5955 Berkeley, CA. 94705 The new policy makes it easier for organizations that don't have regular parties to have parties, Krohn added. To approve having alcohol, the request must be submitted to Krohn, who then passes it to South. If South approves the proposal, it goes to Leventhal, Louise Klelnknecht SGA club secretary who makes the final decision. After receiving approval, an organization becomes totally responsible for maintaining all university rules. The present discipline system applies to anyone breaking rules, accor ding to South. There have been fewer alcohol-related incidents this year than in past years, accor have work to do," Thorpe said. Thorpe also suggested the use of the dining hall as an infor mal study room to accom modate students who want to work together in a quiet atmosphere. Although these people agree that Delayed Freshman Syn drome does exist at Capitol Campus, they are divided as to the reasons why. phil frank ding to Chuck Alekshy, chief of campus security. The current book of rules and regulations states that "use, possession, or distribu tion of alcoholic beverages ex cept in individual residence hall rooms is prohibited." On Oct. 13, 1972 the university presi dent gave the deans of all.ram puses the power to change the rule to suit their needs. Leventhal is staying with the old guidelines requiring that an event be a "special occasion" to warrant alcohol. South said that this was so alcohol does not become the primarmeason for having an event Defining what constitutes a special event is a large part of the writing process., A concise definition, according to South, "will clarify for student organization leaders what kind of events they can anticipate will generally be defined as special events."` Neither Krohn or South think that the policy will cause any problems for students.
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