You know it’s the end of the semester…


Erin Blasinski

Managing Editor


The end of the semester is almost upon us. In fact, we have just one week to go. I am always amazed at how quickly it comes around. One day I’m at Wal-Mart with my roommate buying toilet paper and food for the beginning of the semester and the next day we’re putting up Christmas lights and packing up everything to go home for Christmas break. I guess time flies when you’re having fun.


Over the past two and a half years of my college experience, I have noticed several landmarks that signify the end of the fall semester. Of course there are always finals and the stress that accompanies studying for hours in hopes of getting an A, but I have come to the conclusion that there are at least 10 ways to tell that the end of the semester is fast approaching.


Maybe you can relate to one or more of these, and I’m sure that you could come up with your own list, but these are just a few of the things that I find myself laughing about at the end of each semester.

1. The cereal options in the cafeteria dwindle to Crispix, Rice Krispies and Fruit Loops for the last week of school. This is an unfortunate thing because if there is nothing that I want to eat on the main line, cereal is the next option.
2. Pre-bills are sent home just in time for Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad. I owe $5,000 before I can register in January.
3. Mass e-mails are sent, begging for rides home to Indiana, Ohio and Florida. Helping to pay for gas is always the deciding factor.
4. No more time for play because studying gets harder. Trying to study for three finals that are on the same day is not an easy thing.
5. The line between asleep and awake becomes blurrier as studying continues into the early hours of the morning. And just in case you didn’t know, this is not a good thing because your brain does not have time to process the information you just crammed into your brain.
6. Items such as macaroni and cheese, generic Halloween candy and ramen are labeled “free” and placed in the hallways for anyone who wants them.
7. There’s a lack of toilet paper in the restrooms around campus because many don’t find it necessary to go buy toilet paper for one week, so instead they take it from the lobby restrooms.
8. Ticket night in the cafeteria turns into Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
9. Students graduating or leaving Milligan add to the number of mass e-mails by selling refrigerators, microwaves and computers.
10. Last, but certainly not least, if it’s the end of the fall semester, basketball season begins. I love college basketball. Go Duke! Oh, and go Buffs too!