Breakfast at the CI

As I arrived at the Campus Center for breakfast, I was surprised to see a long line waiting to get into the cafeteria. Apparently many students go just before closing time. I was delighted to see the variety of breakfast items and students told me that breakfast is the best meal of the day at Whittier. I scraped the bottom of the oatmeal container, loaded up with raisins and cranberries, and found “my” friends (Martina Miles, Lauren Crozier, and Joselynn Cruz). Over breakfast I learned that at least some students’ schedules are not that different from mine. I thought I would encounter students who were up half the night and slept late – not my breakfast mates! I heard snippets of conversation about classes they would have today (lots of talk about Derrida and sustainable food choices), and I heard a story (is it true?) about a time when we were called “the Squirrels” rather than the Poets and when our football team encountered dead squirrels hung up on trees right before a big game with rival Oxy. We changed our name to Poets shortly thereafter, according to this story. I’ll have to look into this tomorrow too.

The Day Begins

In preparation for today, last night I opened my “student for the day” folder and saw that my first appointment was at 9:30 a.m. for breakfast with Caitlin’s friends. I guess I was supposed to sleep in, but that is not possible for me. Awakening as usual by 6:00 a.m., I used the time to do some of my “real job” before heading to the College.

I decided to walk to the campus, just as Caitlin would do. On my walk down from Turner, I found advertising flyers strewn all over the campus left by two local bars. Students at breakfast told me that these are commonly left outside of residence halls and on cars and are "quite annoying." I want to look into this tomorrow.

Student for a Day - Morning

I have been asked about my expectations for this day. I expect to learn more than I can predict about students' lives. I will particularly enjoy seeing students and faculty interact in class, and fortunately I will get to see two “paired” classes in action and thus see something fairly unique about a Whittier education. I also expect to get a glimpse of the pacing of one student’s day and perhaps find out about others’ days as well. Caitlin is a particularly "involved" student. So I will not only go to classes, but will juggle work and Model UN -- and of course, I have to socialize with friends!