This being summer, the majority of the people who read this issue of the newspaper will be first-year students and we want to take this opportunity to again hammer into their skulls something that they are probably very tired of hearing: You should get involved in some club or sport during your time here at RPI.
One of the most-quoted college surveys here is the one that puts us right up near the top for unhappiest students. Students can often be heard muttering in classes and around campus about how much they hate this school. Less well-known, however, are the two complementary surveys ranking RPI highly for availability of extracurricular activities, and very, very lowly for participation in offered activities. Students here have opportunities for extra-curricular activities that are far above-average for American universities, but many do not bother to take advantage of this. Rather than counting themselves lucky or just trying to make the most of their years here, they just sit and brood.
Getting involved is the best and easiest way to find the people you will consider close friends for the rest of your time at RPI. For freshmen, it’s a great opportunity to meet upperclassmen who have a good idea about how things work here and possibly a set of car keys as well. You’ll find that freshman year is full of opportunities to socialize between living with everyone on Freshman Hill and all the fraternity and sorority rushing events, but when it comes time to give up the “new kids on the block” status for the next incoming class, the people that will keep your social life alive are those in the organizations or clubs you’ve joined. It’s important to keep your social life alive because it lets you step away from classes and homework for a little while and relax, which is important for your well-being and health.
Join a club, play a sport, join a fraternity or sorority, run for student government, join the student newspaper, do something. With cable TV and a high-speed Internet connection right in your dorm room, it’s easy to get stuck in there and not do anything apart from class. But, as any upperclassman will tell you, life at RPI, or at any college, is much more fun when you’re doing something constructive outside of academics.
