Chapters 1 & 2

Chapters 1 & 2: "Welcome to AnyU" and "Life in the Dorms"

Rebekah Nathan in the author of this story. She is also a succesfull professor at an annonomous University in the United States. She has been teaching for a very long time, and she is increasingly becoming disconnected with her students. She is an anthropologist, and she feels that if she can't connect with the students, they will never benefit from her classs. She decides that the best way to reconnect with the students in the institution, is to know what its like on the other end of the spectrum. She signs up for classes the following semester, only this time, as a student.
She started taking classes in the summer of 2002 with an undeclared major, using only her highschool transcripts as evidence of education. She applied to live in the dorms as well, which we all know is a vital part of the college experience. Her university hosted a freshman orientation, that was open to new students and their parents. This orientation was used to acclimate the new arriving students and help to fill their parents in on what to expect. Nathan decided to attend, but only after removing the staff sticker from her vehicle. At the orientation, she was unfortunate to be mistaken for a parent.
She moved into her dorm in a week before classes that the university labels "Welcome Week". This week is used to get students to connect with others by getting involved in activities, joining clubs, going greek, or other special interest groups. Nathan thought it would be best to fully utilize this week as an important part of her research, needless to say she did all she could. Less then a week had passed before she got a verbal warning. She was enjoying a beer in the common room only to be told that alcohol wasn't alowed.
The second chapter is all about her research in the dorm rooms. She notices how big of a role that technology plays in todays young adults. She jotted down all of the toys and gadgets that once were needless, that have now become nesecities. Another thing she talks about is the door decorations across her dorm hall. She notes that the male students more often then not display funny images, sports teams, or alcohol and college related materials on their doors, while girl students opt for collages of pictures that usually contain their friends and themselves. These decorations, she explains, are used by students to identify with eachother, and are a vital part in connecting with other students in the college atmosphere.
Nathan goes onto attend her classes, stay active in her social groups, and branch out for new friends when she can. Wether it be talking to the kids in the common room playing Dungeons and Dragons, or scoring the winning point in an ultimate frisbee game, Nathan had connected with her students for the first time in two decades. This was only a sign of things to come in the future chapters.