Acorn

Ah, the joys of a small school. So full of intimacy and closeness. So completely familiar and comfortable. So rife with social embarrassment. Smaller schools provide a relaxed environment where you have a chance to get to know your peers and professors, a strong sense of community where individuals can excel with support from their fellow students and a tight-knit society of care and understanding with everyone working towards a common goal.

They are also a breeding ground for awkward moments.

Let�s face it, at larger schools some of the tense dynamics we experience at Drew are nonexistent. There is a great sense of anonymity, a wondrous opportunity to fade into the background if you need to, and slip away from many situations unnoticed.

Because our population is so small, many relationships can get incestuous. There is a limited supply of people here at Drew, so you have to pick your friends and significant others wisely, or else risk the dire consequences.

This little fishbowl of ours boasts one of the most effective rumor mills I�ve ever encountered, and I graduated from high school in a class of 80 hormonal and vindictive girls. At Drew you can whisper a secret to a friend in the Commons and bet your life that it will reach Brother�s College before you can walk to class.

Not to say that the majority of these rumors are really that malicious � or even that interesting. Certainly most of them turn out to be completely false anyway. I have to say I�m really quite impressed with such an advanced and speedy system of communication. If only our mail room had the speed of our tongues.

However, this quick exchange of information does lead to some extremely stressful moments around campus. No sooner do you laugh about somone�s unfortunate run-in with beer goggles and a friend�s visiting sibling than you turn around and see them standing in back of you. Ouch.

You can try to talk your way out of it or laugh it off, but the Drewid Curse has struck again.

Another classic encounter, which is a drawback to our small community is that teachers notice you. This can work wonders in a classroom and really giving students a chance to shine, but it can also be the demise of your great student-professor relationship.

Try skipping class, for example. You can e-mail the teacher beforehand, citing violent illness or unfortunate family emergency, but when they see you lounging outside of Hoyt or driving your car with four 30-packs of Keystone Light in your backseat, nothing is going to save you.

They know your name and they know your face.

The small classrooms are also counterproductive to the student prone to awkward moments. While they can create an intimate environment of openness and free-flowing conversation, God forbid you try to write down anything that doesn�t have to do with the material. I once made a side note on a sheet of paper regarding my promise to pick up Twisted Tea for a friend only to have the teacher lean over me and say �I didn�t say that.� Awkward.

God forbid you make the tragic mistake of nodding off during a particularly boring lecture or sitting in a 9a.m. class after a late night. Teachers need only glance around the room to asses who is paying attention and who is zoned out. And consider yourself extremely lucky if said teacher is benevolent enough to write off your exhaustion to a midnight study session.

The list goes on. You can hook up with someone one night at a party, but be prepared to face them on line for the vegetarian special the next day. You can make a drunken ass out of yourself and fall face forward down the Aztec Stairs, but there is a surefire guarantee that someone � in some cases, Audra Tonero � saw you.

That same public safety officer whose car you jumped on is going to show up at the next suite party you attend.

The bookstore employee you cursed at for not accepting your expired receipt is probably going to help you find your research materials in the library.

The CNS kid you gypped out of the ten cent printing fee is going to be tutoring you in astronomy. Don�t give your RA attitude, because guess what, they live next door to you.

Don�t sass the kids working at the Space, because they will be making your next order of spicy chicken, and believe me, they will remember you.

Small schools offer an overwhelming range of opportunities � some good and some bad.

Just make sure that the opportunities you seize aren�t the kind that will make you blush and stare resolutely at the path on your way to class the next day.

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