2008 Woodie Awards
UMass is an economy all to itself. We have a balance of trade with the larger Massachusetts economy (in debt), we have class stratification (administration, teachers, students and workers), and we even have an industrial sector, with the new heating plant coming online.
Ducks can't read. And a lot of college students don't bother to either. When walking across campus with friends, searching for the perfect place for a game of ultimate frisbee, soccer or muggle quidditch, little yellow signs are hardly on our radar. But perhaps they should be.
When I first came to UMass from the active-duty Navy in January of 2007, I was immediately struck by the relatively-poor resources on campus for veterans. From the inept transfer "orientation," to the endless arguments with financial aid over my veteran status, to the cold treatment by the housing assignments office, my transition from the military to the UMass community was anything but smooth.
It's a bit surreal to know that this is the final column I will ever write for the Daily Collegian (and quite possibly the final column I will ever write). As I prepare to transition from the warm light of college's relatively-easy life into the cruel, cold reality of the world, I've found myself sifting through the memories of my college career to try and sort out the blur of the last four years.