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| Repost: Ruel & Sergio's UT Orientation GuideDear incoming freshmen, This week I had the privilege to attend freshmen summer orientation at The University of Texas. Throughout the week I found myself thinking "Gosh, I wish I would have known!". And sometimes, "Gosh, I'm glad I did that!" With so many people from Taylor and other area schools looking towards their future at UT, and planning for orientation Sergio thought it might help to share some "words of wisdom", tips to help you make the best of your orientation: Comments Orientation was a blast. Before attending I was happy to attend UT and looking forward to classes starting in the fall. 12 hours after leaving campus I am suffering from UT withdrawal. The people I met, and the friends discovered made 4 days overwhelmingly exciting! Things to bring Driver's license. Without this, or other official ID you won't be able to get a UT ID. A bit of cash There is plenty of time to visit the University Co-Op, leaving with a souvenir, or a dozen is always fun. Two towels After sweating all day, walking across campus and showering your towel won't quite dry. And drying with a marginally moist towel is never fun. Laptop, laptop, laptop If you have a laptop, take it, take it. You will find that being able to refer to sites and to research whenever you want is supremely useful. Also, if you find yourself at the back of the line during registration you can get a jump-start. Snack foods & fruit There will probably be times where you can't catch a meal for a while. Being able to quickly much on something is a great way to re-energize yourself for the VERY long days. A backpack/bag You will receive a lot of papers and won't want to carry them loose. I carried an expandable and it was super cool, because I could access documents more easily. Note taking supplies Paper, pens, pencils and highlighters. With the mass of information to take-in, the provided materials can't completely cover the depth of knowledge-to-acquire. Blanket The jester ones aren't, well, fantastic. Bringing that littler bit of home helps you to relax as well. VERY comfortable walking shoes/sneakers You will be doing A LOT of walking. I made the mistake of taking casual shoes and developed callouses and a good bit of pain. I ended up buying sneakers. Save your money and bring your own :P Conservative amount of clothing You will surely receive many from organizations and your college. Phone charger & Laptop charger Don't forget them! BIG water bottle The tap water around campus (in buildings) is pretty good, water is expensive, you WILL be VERY VERY thirsty. Laundry & bath Take a bag for your dirty laundry and a shower caddy would be awesome since you will have a community bath in Jester. Things to do Arrive as early as you can Being able to check-in and get your ID early opens up the day for you, and you don't have to wait in endless lines. Get your ID made ASAP You will use your UT ID throughout orientation. Get this done early, get it out of the way and enjoy your time rather than waiting in line! PLAN, PLAN, PLAN AHEAD Create a schedule of the events you wish to attend and refer to it. You will surely have free time, but you don't want to miss the fantastic programs. There is a schedule of orientation available online: http://bit.ly/q2q2g Add locations to your personal agenda ASAP. (You will receive a more detailed schedule at check-in) "Can I have yo' numbah?" When you meet great people, which you surely will, get their contact information. The people you meet are so fantastic, you don't want to lose touch. Attend meeting/seminars There are so many interesting and informational events to attend. Go! You will have plenty of free time. If you can't attend a meeting/seminar thing, ask a friend to get information. You don't want to miss that stuff. Questions Ask a lot of questions, better to bit a bit obnoxious than to make a mistake w/ your registration and such. Be frugal The DHFS card carries value until Aug 25, so you can use it after you move in. Testing If you are taking any tests at registration, make sure you have to take them/want to take them then. There was a lot of confusion about that. Attend Attend as many of the social events as you can. I had a BLAST meeting new people. You are allowed to use the gym, so do so. Not only are there weights, basketball courts and a pool. Get involved Look into joining your college's council. You'll find out more about that. ***Registration*** This is the super-important stuff! Arrive EARLY!!! The day of class registration get there EARLY. I arrived 40 minutes early and there were still ~100 people ahead of me. Many classes have VERY limited availability. Be skeptical of advice Don't take advice about registration and such from other incoming students. Refer to your Student Advisor and OA's (Orientation Advisors) who share your major/college and information you receive from your college meeting. Other sources are just a bad idea. Each college/major has its particular and peculiar requirements. Get ahead! Look at the course schedule early and make a tentative plan. As you learn things adapt your schedule. That way when advising comes around you understand why you can/can't take things and have been working on it for a while. So take the time to prepare. Foot-in-the-door Speak with faculty whenever you can. IF they know you, they are more willing to help you. If you haven't had contact with your advisor yet I would send a polite introductory e-mail. FIG OA's and faculty will tell you: join a FIG. Since they're competitive/popular do it and show interest early to your advisor. $2 Be sure to sign up for the speaker series when you are registering for courses. Plus, it's just $2. Surveys Get your surveys done early. They are 2 scantrons you receive at check-in, you'll see them. And your wing leader thing. Get those done way before registration. Bookmark this webpage You'll access it a lot before registration: http://bit.ly/38Rkmb Check and double-check that you clean any bars before registration. Misc. Stick with a buddy and let people know where you are and where you are going in. Most importantly -HAVE FUN! Be sure to send this to your friends! -Ruel
P.S. If you have any other tips, leave them in the comments and I'll add them!
Links:
1. Registration Information -- You can check for bars at the bottom-ish:
https://utdirect.utexas.edu/registrar/ris.WBX
2. Schedule Catalog -- This is where you check your classes, what professors are teaching them, what time they are, and whether or not they are open:
http://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules/099/index.html
3. Registration -- This is where you'll actually register for classes, but don't get too excited; you can't actually do it yet (registration is currently closed + you should have an 'advising bar'):
https://utdirect.utexas.edu/registration/chooseSemester.WBX
4. Test Results -- If you're testing or have testing credits already, test results will be poasted here:
https://utdirect.utexas.edu/diia/cbe/petition/index.WBX
5. What I Owe -- Self explanatory:
https://utdirect.utexas.edu/acct/rec/wio/wio_home.WBX
6. Wi-Fi Bandwidth -- This site will help you watch it; you've only got 500mb to burn before you're stuck on the crappy guest network, which is REALLY slow:
https://management.pna.utexas.edu/server/graph.cgi
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| A brief note on college decisions (post-edits pending).I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible, lest I start ranting.
1. Here was my mindset when I did college applications, and I stand by it: I would only consider taking out massive student loans for two colleges - Stanford and NYU BPE (both rejections) - so I didn't apply to any other reaches. I applied to UT and USC as "safes" (both accepted). However...
2. College decisions are almost completely arbitrary. Frank and Kevin both told me this, but little did I know how much. I do not dislike nor resent anyone for getting into their university of preference - in fact, I would like to extend a very hearty congratulations to all of you - but some of these decisions leave me baffled, acceptances and rejections alike.
3. I've heard so many rumors about the extent to which undergrad "matters" that I really don't care anymore. I like Austin. I like Los Angeles, too, but it'll probably come down to money. Also, have some good friends in Austin, too, and that's certainly something. (To be fair, I do have some very cool friends in LA as well :] )
4. I know some people would kill to be me. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd kill to be someone else, but I'm pretty envious of some people, no lies.
5. It's nice to be accepted by a college because they want you, not because they are legally required to do so. And to grant you your major rather than shunting you in, undeclared.
6. Inevitable post-edits pending. I just needed to vent a little, and now I need sleep. | | |
| Why Cinco was right.Note: this article was written for The Mane Event at like, 3am in the morning. In hindsight, there was absolutely 0% possibility of it being published, and the editorial staff decided not to run it, which is probably the only reasonable thing to do with it, lol. Anyway, fine print, disclaimer, etc., etc., does not reflect the views of The Mane Event, etc., okay.
High school operates on a weird temporal scale. Some events (like the ending of senior year) seem unnecessarily prolonged. Others (like the controversy with Cinco Ranch High School’s paper, The Country Line) seem fast-forwarded through. What was a moment of intense rage and indignation over an article fizzled out as quickly as it sparked into existence. This, as Einstein explains, is the theory of relativity.
I am disappointed at Cinco Ranch’s newspaper for a litany of reasons. Coming from another high school publication, I think they have a responsibility both to themselves and to the community, and that responsibility is to convey a message as clearly and interestingly as possible. I’ve walked through the halls of Taylor enough to see piles of The Mane Event lying neglected and unwanted. (The solution? Include a frilly review of the Twilight movie - yeah, I said it.)
But The Country Line – they’re so much more ambitious and daring than The Mane Event (as usually is the case when comparing Cinco and Taylor) – they pushed the boundaries of innovative journalism and found a way to fuse relevant reporting AND exciting nonsensical fluff. It’s a shame they messed it up in execution. What could’ve been a surge of literary greatness ebbing from Cinco, acting as a shining beacon for aspiring journalists everywhere, was instead reduced to a rather average patchwork of perfunctorily pieced together insults. The reason? They decided to express their superiority through satire.
I totally understand Cinco’s contempt for the rest of the Katy community, implicit or whatever. That is unquestionably justified. You can tell just by looking at the names of the schools. We are named after only one Mr. James E. Taylor. Mayde has only one creek (and you can hardly call a muddy ditch a creek). Katy doesn’t have anything appended to their school name at all. Morton only has one ranch. But Cinco? They have FIVE ranches. And Spanish ranches at that. (So much more cosmopolitan.) Admittedly, Seven Lakes has, well, SEVEN lakes, and they’re Spartans, so they’re probably Mediterranean lakes, too. (Looks like you might have some competition there, Cinco.)
Regardless, I am absolutely baffled by their decision to use satire as the medium for expressing themselves. I don’t know much about satire, so, as usual, I’ll just take my educational and stylistic cues from Cinco. From what The Country Line has indicated, satire is basically indecision manifest in a literary style, like when you can’t decide whether or not to call someone ugly, do it anyways, and then apologize for it afterwards. Come on. That is not effective communication. That’s just confusing. Nobody likes flippy-floppies (unless you’re on a boat). This is America. We don’t let our politicians get away with contradictions, and we won’t let our high school papers get away with it either! Be consistent!
My suggestion? Since they’re developing gang signs to rep their hood and claim the mad vicious Katy streets in the current turf war, they might as well get together a clique of their toughest emcees and make a posse cut, dissing the rest of the Katy area with some ill battle rhymes. I mean, they’ve already got the fly whips and swagger, so they should just take it all the way. I even have a name for them – “The Cinco Jingoes”. Pretty catchy, huh? Just rolls right off the tongue. I came up with it while passing some Cinco kids shopping for cardigans at the Ralph Lauren Polo store at Katy Mills (official Cougar territory – no Ponies allowed).
Also – POSEIDON, LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE | | |
| "Cinco Territories", aka "People Still Don't Recognize Satire".Here's the order of contents: brief explication, article transcript, scans, "apology", my comments, and an appropriate summary.
Explication: Anyway, for those of you who don't know, this is an article published by a school in my school district, scathingly referring to my school and others in a purely satirical fashion. I didn't think it was especially witty, humorous, or well-written, but I do give the writer props for the sheer amount of RAEG he/she/it was capable of producing. Unfortunately the rage-inducing factor is this article's only redeeming factor, and personally, I didn't find it particularly offensive, but maybe that's because I could care less about "school spirit".
Article first.
Note: this is a rough transcript, and I'm not responsible for it. I'll probably pick out grammatical errors sometime between now and later, but don't get your hopes up.
"Hi, could I get a three count chicken minis with a large sweet tea and a side of bitterness please?" This is not your typical Friday morning order at Chick-Fill-A, but it may be if you get stuck in line behind two Taylor girls, a Katy mom, and a rather large group of Seven Lakes sophomores. We have all been there. You can't help but be a little bit angry when you're stuck in the Whataburger drivethru behind an unimaginably large caravan of Katy cars, eachsporting at least 12 stickers reminding you of their accomplishments. If they're so great why can't they go to their own Whataburger?
There's this feeling in our little corner of the world that just says: This is Cinco; Some believe there is a sense of ownership to the neighboring businesses and restaurants ... Cinco's Mission Burrito. Cinco's Target. Cinco's Taco Bell, Whataburger, Sonic. Seeing anything but maroon clad students and parents roaming the aisles seems odd to some. Don't they have their own places togo? It seems we are suffering from a case of Cinco Territorialism. Starbucks is packed with students after school and on the weekends. So why do we occasionally get held up at Starbucks not by band moms or teachers from Cinco, but Morton Ranch students? Morton Ranch. That's a pretty far drive down Mason Road that takes them by at least two Starbucks. So why do they make the drive?
The problem is not that they don't have their own places to go, but they prefer to come to ours. With the surge of greatness ebbing from Cinco Ranch High School this year, maybe other schools are hoping to digest some of that greatness along with the food they grab on the drive down Cinco Ranch Blvd, not to mention picking up a few of Cinco's gorgeous guys and gals along the way. ''The Katy boys come over to our area because the girls are more sophisticated," Security Guard Gus said. ''They just want to hang with the best. We kicked them out of football so what do they have left? They come over to our Chick-Fil-A".
It's true that Cinco reached a new level of accomplishment this year with its Distict Championship in football capped off by a historic victory over Katy, but what's the deal with "the Red School"? If they are such a threat to us, then why do we catch so many Tigers chowing down at Chick-Fil-a before school? It's funny that even though they think themselves superior to all schools, they still frequent common hang outs of the reigning Distict Champs of Katy I.S.D. Senior Colin Buteaux feels the tension and offers some simple words of wisdom. "It's a tough world out there with all these gangs and everything... no red is allowed here in the maroon section. Their peeps should just stick to their school and we'll stick to ours.
Another common perpetrator of crossing enemy lines is the Taylor HS Mustangs. Sometimes we wonder if Taylor kids have the sense to go behind their school to the many commodities located off of 1-10. Have they not seen Westgreen Gardens? Yet they never fail us, showing up at our Sonic Saturday nights and clogging the already slow line at Mission Burrito. This is puzzling, because it's clear that Taylor kids have claimed Qdoba on Mason Rd.as a ''Taylor Territory" and Chipotle on Fry is a common Mustang eatery. They can't have it all, can they? It seems fair that if they can roam through our burrito joints we should be graced with the
same privileges, but brave Cinco students meet awkward, sometimes angry, stares coming from ill-humored Taylor Students. Junior Brad Cernota, and Seniors Ryan Silviera and Fransisco Diaz said "We don't feel safe eating in an environment contaminated and infested with other adolescents from different high schools, especially Taylor kids. We feel like we're dining in a barn with all those ponies."
We know this is not the complete truth, but what's the harm in joking around a little? It cannot be denied that Cinco Ranch is sometimes the center of jokes. "Cinco Stinco" anyone? Due to the elaborate planning of our neighborhood there is a lot for other schools to be envious of the master planners really knew their stuff. Do not be alarmed, this is not an article proclaiming Cinco superior to all and burning the rest of the district for all eternity, for this is high school and such things cannot be printed in the paper. Those bothered by the influx of students from other schools should recognize our blue ribbon excellence, and remember that "Cinco Ranch is the best high school in America". The cure for this case of Cinco territorialism is clear. We shouldn't think of it as a burden, but as an honor. That other schools find our hangouts so spectacular they can't help but stay away. So, next time you see that caravan of Katy moms don't get angry, just smile and say "Thanks."
Apology:
http://kisdwebs.katyisd.org/campuses/CRHS/clubs/newspaper/Documents/Apology_doc.htm
Comments:
I guess this could've been funny had the writer not been incompetent. I mean, this is kind of like "My First Satire Article" in your journalistic scrapbook of nostalgia. Satire is hard - anybody who's tried it can tell you that - so why try something that's beyond your ability? I can understand covers of magazines getting misconstrued, but if you're writing an article, and include IN THE ARTICLE a bit about how you're kidding and people still rage, that means two things:
1. you're not very good at what you're doing
2. people are stupid and not very good at reading
Maybe it's because you quote kids from your school "satirically" saying statements that reflect the same kind of inane mindsets you're trying to parody. That could be your first problem. Or maybe it's because you cap off your article by saying "lol jk but srsly guise we're pretty cool for real lolz." I mean, yeah, people make fun of Cinco, but it's not like there HAS to be a legitimate reason; it's part of the whole "rah rah I've got school spirit, so do you" high school charade that everyone participates in nowadays. Of course it's mindless. By definition, it has to be.
Oh, and if you're getting all worked about this: really? I mean, really? Calm down, dude. It's not worth your time. It's just a stupid newspaper article. All of a sudden you care about high school newspapers? If you paid half as much attention to The Mane Event we wouldn't have to pad it with substance-less crap just to attract readership.
tl,dr;
people are still stupid and other people still can't write decent satires for their high school newspapers. what else is new?
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| Why I'm still trying.You know, as a second semester senior, it wouldn't be altogether odd if I just stopped trying so hard. I mean, I've been accepted to a school (UT) and I'm really in no danger of dropping out of top 10% any time soon. I've submitted all my college apps. I'm not in contention for valedictorian, saludictorian, or any other top 10 slot. I don't foresee myself taking a bunch of AP tests (although I am planning on taking a few).
But why am I still trying? I'm sacrificing, presumably, a lot of my free time. My hair is graying quicker ever year. I'm certainly more stressed than a lot of my other friends - or maybe that's just because I'm not quite as psychologically healthy. I'm so jumpy and agitated and sleepy at the same time that I'm an emotional and physical mess most of the time.
I'm still debating, even though a lot of dreams I had dissipated long ago. Heck, I'm committing two afternoons a month to teaching junior high kids about debate - but how can I tell them about ALL this activity means? Forget all the sappy sentimental crap - the honest, harsh truth is that once you commit to debate, it consumes your life and spits out a product you may or may not be satisfied by. In my case, I couldn't have gone too much further off the map socially (this may not be entirely true, but I horror to think what that would've looked like) so anything was an improvement. It's really a love-hate relationship, but you can't leave it. You just can't. It's somehow special, even though a cynical part of you tries to separate from it at every opportunity.
It would also be, at least marginally, a lie if I included some tosh about how "I'm always driven to do my best" or whatever other crap Asian kids usually feed colleges by the shovelful. Every one of these answers has a hidden impetus behind it that is never explained. I mean, I even put a similar (although slightly more nuanced) answer to a NYU short answer, not because I thought it was the best or most compelling answer, but any other explanation wouldn't have fit in the word cap. How do you explain a culture so easily? Many have tried. The minutiae might vary, but the general theme is always the same.
The truth is, I have my own standards of excellence, but it isn't because my parents always said I can do whatever I wanted (they did, but this double-edged sword actually usually compounded my failure - when your parents think you can do everything if you try, they usually assume you aren't trying hard enough if you don't do everything you try at.) It isn't because I am unusually competitive (although I have a streak of that in me) or because I want to give myself some kind of edge in college (although, admittedly, this would be nice).
No, it's because I have a mother who sacrificed the prime of her life for me and a brother who has an uncertain future in front of him and a father whose failures I should avoid at all costs and whose successes I ought to emulate. It's because once I get into college, the future I'm crafting isn't just mine. It's shared with other people - other people who deserve nothing but the best. Why am I to deny them what is rightfully theirs?
Sometimes my dad and I would fight, and he would say "I get pissed off every time I see you. Get the hell out of here," and I would respond, "I'm working on it, damnit." And this, it appeared, would be my impetus for wanting to get to college as soon as possible - freedom. At this point, it didn't matter what school I ended up at, although preferably one with a good business program. I would be a slightly above average student, and have a decent time doing the typical college thing, and get a decent job, and probably enter into a loveless marriage, have a couple of neglected kids, kids I would shrug off just like my younger brother, who would struggle and be miserable through school, and later, would become full of unrealized dreams and self-hatred, just like me. Maybe there's also a little bit of fear. I don't want any of the above things to become reality. That is probably my nightmare scenario, to be honest. That's not real freedom. Real freedom is looking in the mirror and being able to accept the gaunt, exhausted face staring back at you.
The truth - the awful, beautiful, terrible, truth that I, like so many others, often miss - is that I owe certain people. I owe my mother everything. I owe my brother a chance at a future. She deserves it. So does he. This is my responsibility. This is my "burden", but also my only shot at real "freedom". This is why I'm still trying, now and forever. Isn't this what it means to be a man? I have a purpose that I can never allow myself to forget. Everything else comes second. It's not up to me, but honestly, that's okay.
Also, before you guys take me too seriously, trying usually results in better results. Like right now. I'm a relationship with a beautiful, wonderful girl. I may be failing calculus, but that's okay. She reminds me of the best in me every day (and trust me, that part of me is definitely not adept at integrating inverse trigonometric functions). I have realized the thrill of helping kids realize their potential, and seen their growth into confident young adults. I have lived a life largely without regrets (even the worst bits - the awkward phases where I was searching for identity and community - probably shaped me more than anything else). I couldn't even imagine not trying. I don't know what that feel like. In my own disjoint, mismanaged, unhealthy way, I've always tried hard.
I have nothing else to say. Someday I'm going to forget again, like I always do, but this will always be here, a testament to my debt.
Inevitable post-edits pending.
- jeff zhao | | |
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