Sunday, August 31, 2003
High School All Over Again
So, as you may imagine, with only 100 or so people in a class, and everyone having the same classes, professors, schedules and lunch breaks, people tend to gravitate into cliques and/or get tired of each other real quickly. And with all the stress of memorizing a million things a day, sophomoric antics surface amongst the populace of otherwise mild-mannered nerds. I walked into the cafeteria Friday and saw little clusters of people at the long tables, some alienating themselves to gossip, others sitting together but not talking, and individuals looking lost as to who to socialize with, and others studying their notes intently while nibbling at their lunch.
First years are often called freshman, and are treated by second years with an "oh you poor thing you have no idea what lies ahead" and "here, let me show you the way" attitude by the second years (recall that they are the ones who organized the orientation and act as our "big siblings") and indifference by the third years, who are too busy to notice. First and second years still have the same classes together, while third years are taking more electives and see less of each other. Fourth years either work in the clinic on campus or are at other schools, clinics, zoos, or governmental agencies doing clinical externships.
Anyhow, As I was waking through the cafeteria, I noticed we even have our own lunch lady--that brings me all the way back to junior high (and so did the look and smell of the food). When business got slow, she wrote on the cafeteria chalk board (which has the menu written on it):
"SILVERWARE IS
NOT FREE WITHOUT PURCHASE. IT IS 5 CENT PER PIECE."
A few minutes later a couple second year students noticed this and while the lunch lady wasn't looking, erased the "5" and replaced it with a "1" so that silverware now cost 1 cent. Not two minutes later did another pair of sophomores see this and change the "1 cent" to "1 dollar." One dollar for a plastic spoon, I thought. I actually laughed.
Is there an Cow Pie Examiners Club?
Just like high school and undergrad college, a plethora of clubs and organizations lure you to their meetings with offerings of free pizza and pop (I have drunk more soda pop in this past week than I have most of my life). Only these clubs are a little more specific, and way more nerdy. So, here's a listing of most of the clubs:
American Animal Hospital Association
American Association of Equine (horse) Practitioners
American Association of Feline Practitioners
American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association
American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
Christian Veterinary Mission Fellowship
International Association of Aquatic (and marine) Animal Medicine
Illinois Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medicine Association
Illinois Student Chapter of the Association of Avian (Bird) Veterinarians
Illinois Student Chapter of the Veterinary Cancer Society
Illinois Veterinary Herpetological (Reptiles and Amphibians) Society
International Veterinary Student Association
Omega Tau Sigma Fraternity
Production (Meat, eggs, dairy, etc.) Medicine Club
Society for Animal and Veterinary Ethics
Student Chapter of American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners
Student Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society
Wildlife Medical Clinic
Zoo, Exotic, and Wildlife Medicine
. . .and brand new this year: Pathology Club
So, 20 clubs (not including softball and drinking leagues), plus symposia, workshops and conferences--and only 400 students in the whole school. Actually, 300--the fourth year students are off doing externships (similar to medical school internships). I think most students belong to about six clubs. I already joined the Wildlife Clinic and have my first shift of pager duty Monday night to Tuesday morning. I'll also join the Pathology Club, the Aquatic vet club, Herpetological club, and Zoo, Exotic and Wildlife Club.
