Cover Story by Carolyn Stent Sharisa Keim, a senior, recommended coming to college with an openness and willingness to learn.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Send mail to The Voice Returning students recommend essential items for dorm life A bathrobe and bucket are great for dorms. -Tess Chierici, photo Leeann Bay, a senior, still remembers her first dorm section meeting during her freshman year. Several women passed around photographs of their families and friends. Bay realized she had packed no photographs of her parents, sister or friends. During the first weeks of classes, new college students may discover that they failed to obtain numerous useful items. Here are some essential items that may have been absent from your packing list but that upperclassmen highly recommend. Buy a cordless phone. This will allow you to find a private place for a phone call and to avoid waking up your roommate during a late-night call. Buy flip-flops, a bathrobe and a bucket for transporting shampoo and soap to the dormitory bathrooms. Pack some microwave-safe dishes and silverware. A mug, some plates, a pan and a skillet are useful for preparing snacks or for times you can't go to the cafeteria. Shari Ellis, a senior, recommended bringing plastic containers to hold food in the refrigerator. Label these so you don't lose them. Lay in a supply of snacks such as popcorn and hot chocolate. Save money by buying your favorite snacks in bulk at Costco on 138th Avenue or at Winco on 102nd Avenue. Hunt for sales on index cards and binders. Index cards make handy flash cards, and some professors require them for quizzes. Compile a toolbox. For instance, you may find the following tools useful: a hammer, small nails, a screwdriver set, a measuring tape and packing tape. Johnson said her friends often borrowed the tools her father had given her. Store up quarters for laundry money. On campus, students hoard quarters like a treasure. Raid your parents' spare change when you are home. Buy stamps, envelopes and a phone card. Compile an updated list of addresses and phone numbers. Relatives and friends from home will want to hear about your classes, new friends and experiences. A letter from you might encourage a friend to write back in return. Maintaining relationships from home is important even while you make new friends at college. Morrow recommended that students ask their parents to mail newspaper clippings and other news items about people and other news items about people and events from home. Develop a disciplined mind and a healthy attitude. Recent graduate Danny Smith said that new students need to understand they are entering a college environment, which requires discipline. Although as a freshman he did not want to take a study skills class, he said he learned from it how to make a calendar and keep to a weekly schedule. Sharisa Keim, a senior, recommended coming to college with an openness and willingness to learn. Once you find space in your dorm room from all these items, relax and prepare for a year filled with new experiences, friendships and opportunities to learn. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Cover Stories | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2002 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.