Pretty Girl, Beware of His Heart of Gold

Second day of orientation weekend. More parental hostility. More "inspirational" lectures (actually, there was a pretty good one or two today). And more Frosh-O.

However, today was...significantly less fabulous than yesterday. We had our first "event" with a boys hall, Keenan. They picked us up like gentleman on the front lawn, and we greeted them traditionally. The serenading was still the best part (no less fabulous by any means). Then they escorted us back to their dorm, where they surprised us with the activity: speed dating. God, it sounds so much better in theory and in the movies. The first few rounds were fun - there were cute guys, good conversations. But eventually things got pretty fuzzy - I can't even remember the name of the original guy who walked me to the dorm, which I feel horrible about because he was legitimately cute and sweet.

And then there was the rave. Keenan walked us to "Domer Fest", which was described in the schedule as games and stuff to meet other freshmen - but turned out to be a really big rave. Like, Project Graduation on steroids, in a club setting complete with strobe lights and dry ice. Of course, there were police and stuff around so it was more or less safe. All freshmen from ND, as well as the two neighboring colleges, St. Mary's and Holy Cross, were there. I can't even tell you how much raves are not my scene. And my introduction to college life was complete once the drunk upperclassmen who snuck in wearing Frosh shirts made themselves known. I realize how sheltered I am when I say that I had never seen, let alone talked to, people who were drunk as mess until tonight. Fabulous, right?

You know how when you have really low expectations, anything higher than what you expected seems incredible? Well, it applies vice versa. I loved everything from last night - and I guess I wanted to buy into the whole "Prince Charming" thing. Even if it is just a part that they play for an hour or two. But once we've done the traditional serenades and cheers and scheduled activities, the knights take off their armor and you're left with obnoxious freshman boys who are already planning when they're going to get drunk this weekend. And some that I just get bad feelings from.

Don't get me wrong, there are also some really great guys here. Good guys, bad guys, awkward guys, eccentric guys. Just no Prince Charmings. But, as someone who might be considered strong-willed and opinionated, I'm a little ashamed to admit how alluring the idea of chivalry is. I realize how old-fashioned that ideal is, and there really is very little solid, logical evidence in the expectation for men to treat women in a certain way.

But now that I actually see that sentence in writing - I'll revise my expectations - I'm not asking to be treated like a princess. I would just like to be treated with respect - not because I'm a girl, but because I'm a human being. And I think I deserve that much.

I've Seen Diamonds Cut Through Harder Men

When I was four or five, I used to spend a lot of time with my dad at Auburn University. I played Disney games on his computer in his office, or I sat in a desk in his classroom and colored while he lectured. I even cleaned the blackboards when I got bored. My dad works on the third floor of Allison Lab. And I would always take the elevator up and down to his office, even though the building only has three stories. (Fun fact: Dr. Fred Allison, of whom the building was named after, is credited with the discovery of the element astatine in 1931 - back when AU was called the Alabama Polytechnic Institute).

For the past few weeks, I've been observing a physics class taught by Dr. Simon. During my down time, I sit in my dad's office like I used to - only now I read Julius Ceasar and A Clockwork Orange (when Shakespeare gets unbearable), as opposed to coloring. Everything about the buildings is the same - from the thin layer of chalk dust that covers pretty much every surface, to the echoey lecture halls in Parker Hall. And one thing in particular that bugs me a little:

Allison Lab has only one women's bathroom in the entire building that's located on the second floor. I vaguely remember always having to go downstairs to get to the bathroom when I was little. But now that I actually stop to think about it - I only know of one female member of the faculty in the physics department. Her name is Yu Lin - I don't remember much about her other than that my dad used to drive her to the airport and that she wears leather skirts, and that she had some medical problem with her neck a while ago. Something about fish. A lack of eating fish.

Anyway. Yu Lin's office is located, of course, on the second floor of Allison. Along with the secretaries and other female employees. So, I wonder: is there really that much of a male prevalence at the university - or the science community in general? And has it been that way for so long that the people who built Allison didn't have reason to build more than one women's bathroom?

Maybe things will be different in ten years - when our generation replaces theirs. But off the record: does anyone know of a girl in our class (or at all) that's majoring in physics? Because I can really only think of Joanna Lucero, that girl from Lindy Focus. And that's not enough.

In other news, I made it through a good part of A Clockwork Orange in my dad's office today. A few points:
1) It's addictive.
2) When I read the first page, I was thrown and confused. I wanted to text Sara and sarcastically ask if any of the words on that first page were real. Anthony Burgess came up with a diction of "teenage slang" that, at first, seems nonsensical. However, after reading more, it's actually pretty amazing how it affects your thinking - you start to piece together what some of the words mean (for example, "sharp" means woman, and "podooshka" is pillow). It's like learning to use context clues all over again. Anyway, chalk it up to one of the random things I get excited over that no one else cares for if you must.
3) Alex DeLarge reminds me of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho - they both have an intense passion for music and equate ultra-violence with their excitement.
4) Why is the Harry Potter series on the Notre Dame reading list under 'fantasy/futuristic novels' and A Clockwork Orange isn't?