How Second-Year Students Spend Their First Year on Campus
2021-11-07
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1Jheannelle Johnson, a second-year student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was nervous about taking tests known as "midterms."
2The tests cover the first part of her school year.
3Speaking from the school's bookstore, she told VOA that she planned to spend the rest of the day in late October studying for them.
4"It's definitely been a transition because I haven't sat in a real classroom in almost two years.
5So, it was kind of a rough adjustment at first. I took my first in-person test and I had major test anxiety. It was almost like having to re-learn how to walk."
6For first-year students, also known as freshmen, midterms can cause concern, because they are the first big test of their college years.
7Students in their second year of college, like Johnson, are known as sophomores.
8However, this year, some people are calling them "the other freshman class."
9Johnson completed her first year at Howard by taking classes over video from home in Florida.
10She said professors understand that students from her class are still getting adjusted to life at college and life in Washington.
11Mallika Gore is another member of "the other freshman class" at Syracuse University in central New York.
12Before coming to Syracuse, Gore lived with her parents in Mumbai, India.
13She also spent time as a child in Europe, Singapore and the American state of Ohio.
14Gore arrived at Syracuse in January 2021.
15The snow and ice in Syracuse were a big change from the hot weather in India.
16She said it was hard to feel like a part of the college community because she took most classes by video and met very few students.
17This school year, however, has been different.
18She said she feels more connected to the university with in-person classes and activities on and off school grounds. Even the weather was better!
19"You're in-person with the teacher, so you can just ask questions, you can ask for tutors, you can go for their office hours and they can actually sit down and explain it to you and there's a lot more group discussion."
20Syracuse officials said there were about 550 international students who started as undergraduates in 2020.
21The students were from 43 countries, including 300 from China.
22But only about 100 of them had come to New York to study by January 2021.
23Nearly all of them had arrived by August of this year.
24Rob Hradsky is Vice President for the Student Experience at Syracuse.
25He said the university made a special effort this year to connect with second-year students.
26There were trips to shop and eat in downtown Syracuse, pick apples at local farms and attend music performances.
27He said the students enjoyed all activities, including games, movies, ice skating and even Halloween.
28Hradsky said he wanted to make sure international students, who took classes from home last year, learned about the school spirit.
29"How do we introduce folks who are understanding of the academic experience, but not really understanding all that the campus can offer?"
30Gore said she is trying to do as many non-academic activities as possible this year.
31She said she learned what "orange spirit" was when she went to her first football game.
32"There was a band playing, there was Otto the Orange going around. There were cheerleaders and the stadium was huge and packed."
33At Howard University, Johnson said she was excited to feel the school spirit, too.
34Johnson went to a gathering called a "pep rally" during the recent homecoming weekend.
35Homecoming is a tradition in which graduates come back to celebrate their university.
36But in October, Johnson also saw something she was not able to experience last year from home: a student protest.
37The students say the college is too costly and its housing is not in good shape.
38They want a stronger voice and set up camp inside and outside an administration building.
39"We feel like it's almost a responsibility to speak up, so that way, not only our class can benefit but other classes after ours can."
40After two months in Washington, D.C., Johnson said she is happy to be living the college life on campus instead of taking classes from home.
41"There's so much more to do here than there was at home," she said.
42"So, anytime I go outside, I know there's something that I could be doing."
43I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Friedell.
1Jheannelle Johnson, a second-year student at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was nervous about taking tests known as "midterms." The tests cover the first part of her school year. 2Speaking from the school's bookstore, she told VOA that she planned to spend the rest of the day in late October studying for them. 3"It's definitely been a transition because I haven't sat in a real classroom in almost two years. So, it was kind of a rough adjustment at first. I took my first in-person test and I had major test anxiety. It was almost like having to re-learn how to walk." 4For first-year students, also known as freshmen, midterms can cause concern, because they are the first big test of their college years. Students in their second year of college, like Johnson, are known as sophomores. However, this year, some people are calling them "the other freshman class." 5Johnson completed her first year at Howard by taking classes over video from home in Florida. She said professors understand that students from her class are still getting adjusted to life at college and life in Washington. 6Mallika Gore is another member of "the other freshman class" at Syracuse University in central New York. Before coming to Syracuse, Gore lived with her parents in Mumbai, India. She also spent time as a child in Europe, Singapore and the American state of Ohio. 7Gore arrived at Syracuse in January 2021. The snow and ice in Syracuse were a big change from the hot weather in India. She said it was hard to feel like a part of the college community because she took most classes by video and met very few students. 8This school year, however, has been different. She said she feels more connected to the university with in-person classes and activities on and off school grounds. Even the weather was better! 9"You're in-person with the teacher, so you can just ask questions, you can ask for tutors, you can go for their office hours and they can actually sit down and explain it to you and there's a lot more group discussion." 10Syracuse officials said there were about 550 international students who started as undergraduates in 2020. The students were from 43 countries, including 300 from China. But only about 100 of them had come to New York to study by January 2021. Nearly all of them had arrived by August of this year. 11Rob Hradsky is Vice President for the Student Experience at Syracuse. He said the university made a special effort this year to connect with second-year students. 12There were trips to shop and eat in downtown Syracuse, pick apples at local farms and attend music performances. He said the students enjoyed all activities, including games, movies, ice skating and even Halloween. 13Hradsky said he wanted to make sure international students, who took classes from home last year, learned about the school spirit. 14"How do we introduce folks who are understanding of the academic experience, but not really understanding all that the campus can offer?" 15Gore said she is trying to do as many non-academic activities as possible this year. She said she learned what "orange spirit" was when she went to her first football game. 16"There was a band playing, there was Otto the Orange going around. There were cheerleaders and the stadium was huge and packed." 17At Howard University, Johnson said she was excited to feel the school spirit, too. Johnson went to a gathering called a "pep rally" during the recent homecoming weekend. Homecoming is a tradition in which graduates come back to celebrate their university. 18But in October, Johnson also saw something she was not able to experience last year from home: a student protest. The students say the college is too costly and its housing is not in good shape. They want a stronger voice and set up camp inside and outside an administration building. 19"We feel like it's almost a responsibility to speak up, so that way, not only our class can benefit but other classes after ours can." 20After two months in Washington, D.C., Johnson said she is happy to be living the college life on campus instead of taking classes from home. 21"There's so much more to do here than there was at home," she said. "So, anytime I go outside, I know there's something that I could be doing." 22I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Friedell. 23Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 24What would you do to help "the other freshman class" get comfortable at college this year? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 25____________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27midterm - n. an examination given at the middle of a school term 28transition - n. a change from one state or condition to another 29adjustment - n. a change that makes it possible for a person to do better or work better in a new situation 30anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen 31tutor - n. a teacher who works with one student 32undergraduate - n. a student at a college or university who has not yet earned a degree 33folks - n. informal for people or a group 34academic - adj. of or relating to schools and education 35campus - n. the area and buildings around a university, college, school, etc. 36stadium - n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts, etc. 37packed - adj. full of people : filled with as many people as possible 38pep rally - n. an event before a school sports event that is meant to get students and fans excited and to encourage the team to win 39graduate - n. a person who has earned a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university 40benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect