2008 Woodie Awards
Accepted Students Make Manhattan College Look Real
Brian O'Connor
Issue date: 3/30/05 Section: Perspectives
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Any student can tell you when Accepted Students Day is without needing to look at a calendar, or even leave their dorm room in the morning for class.
They are the two days of the spring semester where, like magic, all of the school's blemishes are given a layer of concealer, and the often-drab campus comes alive with potted flowers and freshly groomed grass. The smiling faces of the Admissions staff and other Administrators greet prospective freshmen as our school upon a hill puts on its finest colors, and whitewashes the typical experience for the Jasper that already bought the image offered on this special day.
For a few moments, current students are reminded of their final days of high school, and the time before they became Jaspers. The mystery, wonder, excitement, and anxiety attributed to the culmination of the college search is something so memorable that the average student's heart could ache at the thought of its highs, lows, and adrenaline-inducing moments.
In memory, it is impossible to forget how nice the college appeared, or how delicious Sodhexo's food happened to be that day, or the way the campus gleaned in a way that made just about anyone feel welcome. Surely, this was a great time to be a Jasper, as Manhattan College became a place of beauty, education, and friendship to anyone upon its quadrangle.
A year after that blissful experience, many of the first impressions made on Accepted Students Day prove false. The reality of disgusting food, moldy ceilings, uninteresting classes, and a sense of deception all settle in. Sodhexo's food becomes less appealing, the college loses its sparkle, and the pristine image presented goes back in the boxes containing the other bells, whistles, and empty promises presented to every future Jasper as they come through the majestic arches of Memorial Hall.
It's hard to forget one's first tour of campus: seeing classrooms with archaic blackboards, small desks, and faded linoleum flooring and looking inside residence halls that boasted community, friendship, and enjoyment within their borders. The anticipation of college life really settled in as eager students saw what could be their home and haven for the next four years of their lives.
They are the two days of the spring semester where, like magic, all of the school's blemishes are given a layer of concealer, and the often-drab campus comes alive with potted flowers and freshly groomed grass. The smiling faces of the Admissions staff and other Administrators greet prospective freshmen as our school upon a hill puts on its finest colors, and whitewashes the typical experience for the Jasper that already bought the image offered on this special day.
For a few moments, current students are reminded of their final days of high school, and the time before they became Jaspers. The mystery, wonder, excitement, and anxiety attributed to the culmination of the college search is something so memorable that the average student's heart could ache at the thought of its highs, lows, and adrenaline-inducing moments.
In memory, it is impossible to forget how nice the college appeared, or how delicious Sodhexo's food happened to be that day, or the way the campus gleaned in a way that made just about anyone feel welcome. Surely, this was a great time to be a Jasper, as Manhattan College became a place of beauty, education, and friendship to anyone upon its quadrangle.
A year after that blissful experience, many of the first impressions made on Accepted Students Day prove false. The reality of disgusting food, moldy ceilings, uninteresting classes, and a sense of deception all settle in. Sodhexo's food becomes less appealing, the college loses its sparkle, and the pristine image presented goes back in the boxes containing the other bells, whistles, and empty promises presented to every future Jasper as they come through the majestic arches of Memorial Hall.
It's hard to forget one's first tour of campus: seeing classrooms with archaic blackboards, small desks, and faded linoleum flooring and looking inside residence halls that boasted community, friendship, and enjoyment within their borders. The anticipation of college life really settled in as eager students saw what could be their home and haven for the next four years of their lives.