Recently, there was an anonymous post on the Facebook page “Stevens Compliments & Crushes” regarding my column:
“Lisa Mendotto,
Please stop writing your depressing articles in the Stute. It makes Stevens look bad to all potentials who read the newspapers. Also, if you do decide to continue writing your “Mind of a Freshman”, change the title to “Mind of Lisa Mendotto” because the majority of freshmen do not feel that way.
Also, you are a very nice person and you should keep your head up because people like you.”
To anyone interested:
The Mind of a Freshman column was assigned in July after The Stute Weekend, when several freshmen visited Stevens to produce the first issue of the semester. During that time, The Stute staff urged anyone interested to write a sample about his/her feelings coming to Stevens. My submission was chosen, meaning that I would be responsible for the column this year. The Stute is published every Friday of the semester, and the Opinion section usually falls on pages two and three.
To be honest, I was a little hesitant to submit something because I felt like I wasn’t a typical freshman. Like I had already known my way around campus, met some faculty, and eaten at Pierce. Also, I know that I don’t usually follow the crowd. However, the staff encouraged me to make the column my own. After all, the column is Mind of a Freshman, NOT “Mind of the Freshmen.” I’m simply a freshman at Stevens writing about anything I want to tell people. You can find my weekly posts online at http://thestute.com/category/opinion/mind-of-a-freshman/ (except for the one from the first issue of this semester).
I have written about my experiences, offered advice, voiced my complaints, told stories and shared my confusion with readers. Now, let’s take a closer look.
First Issue: I’m happy and excited to come to Stevens.
Aug 29: I love Stevens; the location, food, and people are good.
Sept 5: It’s kinda confusing that Stevens has so many different websites as academic tools.
Sept 12: I’m already procrastinating in college and this is how to do it.
Sept 19: I’m already set in a routine at Stevens so this is how you change things up by taking risks.
Sept 26: Slunk is a state of sleep deprivation because there’s so much to do everyday.
Oct 3: Wah I caught the Freshmen Flu and missed class but I’m glad Pierce has tea.
Oct 10: I realized communal bathrooms suck.
Oct 17: I felt bad that I changed in that I didn’t miss my family as much I thought I would have and I wasn’t obsessing about my grades anymore.
Oct 24: Ahhh should I be premed with chembio or BME? I’m not sure what I want to do with my life.
Oct 31: My house may or may not be haunted. It was a Halloween ghost story, so there’s that.
Nov 7: Stevens is a small school and not many people walk around campus at night or have lights on.
Nov 14: I don’t have any good friends at Stevens. I’ve been here three months and I’m social but I’m not close to anyone yet.
Nov 21: It’s almost the end of the semester and I can’t wait to finish projects and finals (obviously, I’m stressed). I want to go home to my own room, and have a month off to relax, and figure out what major I should pursue.
Note: The dates on the website are a little off from the Fridays that we print the paper.
Clearly, my attitude has changed, but I’m just being honest. I’m not bashing Stevens, I’m writing about how I feel and my thoughts. And I think people are confused because they see me happy and outgoing, I’m pretty involved around campus, and I talk to a lot of people – and then I wrote about stressing over my major, being lonely, and wanting to go home. To be honest, the only week I thought was kinda sad was “The Lonely Duckling.” Here’s the deal: I came to Stevens thinking that I would have two best friends and a boyfriend on campus, but I don’t talk to any of them now! So yeah, I was a little sad writing that because I just didn’t expect it to be this difficult to find a good friend. I’ve never even thought about whether or not people liked me here; I’ve just thought about how I haven’t found anyone I really clicked with. I actually thought other people would relate to this because freshmen year is supposed to be a new start: nobody knows anyone and everyone struggles to form friendships during orientation. But I guess that I just don’t connect well with people and that I’m kinda selective letting people into my life so it didn’t work out for me. It’s not a problem with the university or a warning to prospective students that they’re all going to be friendless next year.
It’s really weird how many times I hear “Nobody reads The Stute,” because people constantly tell me that they read my column. Still, I’m surprised by the overwhelming response I’ve received concerning my recent articles. So many people have mentioned that they read my article including my roommate, her friends, TAs, professors, Sodexo workers, campus police, a representative from Student Life, members of different clubs (yes, I’m in clubs other than The Stute), and random people I’ve met. Many of them have seemed concerned, while others commended me for putting my feelings out there, and some have reached out to comfort me. It’s weird because I just wrote what was on my mind and I didn’t think anyone was going to really think about it too much or care at all. On that note, I want to thank everyone who has said something to me. It has shown me that Stevens has people who care about each other.
Lastly, if I wanted to bash Stevens, I’d probably write about how much this school needs to get its shit together. I’d write about the irresponsible students who don’t show up to their shifts at work without consequence, classes so disorganized that professors don’t show up to lecture, and deans that laugh at students concerned about their GPAs. Because these are signs of an unprofessional, poorly-run university. Those are just the beginning of my real problems with Stevens.
If anybody has anything to say to me, feel free to comment here, message me on Facebook, send me an email at LMengott@stevens.edu, come up to me and talk to me, stop by the Davis kitchen, or text or call me. I think anonymous posts are silly.
To the original poster: Spell my name right next time.
Dayum, you go girl