Harry Potter Comes Alive?

Hopefully this post won't frighten away anyone with mental images of crazy kids running around tackling each other on brooms. However, if I portray the sport accurately, that may be just the mental image that results. Quiditch, first imagined in the infamous Harry Potter series, is no longer purely a figment of the imagination. In fact, it's rapidly spreading to enjoy somewhat of a national sensation as a strange and pleasantly quirky game. Transylvania does indeed have a team, and I am very excited to say that I am a part of it.

The game operates as closely as practical to the imagined version of it in the Harry Potter novels. One rather obvious difference is that we, of course, don't fly. Instead, the broom must be held with one hand between the legs as the player runs up and down the pitch. "Bludgers" are represented by dodge balls thrown at players to force them to reset at their own goalposts before coming back into play. The snitch is represented by a person, usually a cross country or track runner, who attaches a small ball to his back and flees from the two seekers, one for each team, trying to retrieve it. However, in this version of the game, catching the snitch is only worth 30 points instead of the overwhelming 150 portrayed in the fantasy.

So, enough about the rules, what's it like to play? It seems like I'm falling into the role of an offensive chaser, or the position that manages the "quaffle" and tries to throw it through the opposing teams' goal posts. In some ways, it's like basketball. In other ways, it's just completely ridiculous, in an eccentric and much loved way. Surprisingly enough however, the stop and go running is actually somewhat physically taxing for a sport which isn't typically associated with competent athletes. Not to mention the physicality of the sport which allows for full contact excepting tackles from behind or use of both hands; can you say rough and tumble nerd play? Aside from the occasional frustrating bludger knocking me out of play, I absolutely love it.

Quiditch isn't just about hanging out and having a good time on campus either. We at Transylvania actually have a traveling team which plays a few other colleges in the region over the fall semester. I hope to be a part of this team, partly because it's fun, partly because it's good exercise, and partly because it's awesome to be involved in a sport where no one is truly proficient through practice from childhood. So, I hope the idea isn't too exclusively eccentric, and I hope to see you at the pitch!

What's The Rush?

1. Transy is a Greek involved campus.
2. Wipe clean your preconceptions of what that means.
3. Now let's start this post.

Rush, or the recruitment process by which the Transylvania Greek community acquires new members, has officially begun for both women and men. As a male, I will be communicating a wonderfully comprehensive insider look at male recruitment, as well as an amusingly confounded outsider look at female recruitment. Plus, there are a few things that I've noticed about Greek life in general here that I'd like to mention.

First and foremost, I am glad, overjoyed, ecstatic, and tremendously thankful that fraternities and sororities here are NOT cults and they do NOT haze. I know, that sounds like a joke. What else is a fraternity or sorority after all? Seriously though, there's just something different about it. I was suspicious coming in, but now I think I understand, at least in part. I'll back up my claim with a little evidence. A couple nights ago, I went to a local late night restaurant with a sophomore friend of mine who is a member of a fraternity here on campus. While we were there, a "pledge" or not-yet-activated member of the same fraternity from a different school came and started talking to my friend in some sort of an attempt to win favor for his activation. It was all I could do not to laugh. The rush process that I have experienced is hardly a period of trying to appease upperclassmen. In fact, in many ways, it's the opposite. Last night one of the fraternities grilled pork cutlets for the freshmen guys, good pork cutlets, it was amazing. I haven't been asked to do anything ridiculous and degrading to "prove" myself; mostly I've just been hanging out and getting to know people. I suppose there's a reason why Transylvania fraternities consistently receive top marks from their respective national organizations.

Of course, that's not to say that fraternities and sororities are all good or perfectly suited for everyone. In fact, I still don't know whether I will end up pledging. I know plenty of independents who still have friends among pretty much all of the fraternities, and regardless of whether I join or not, I'm sure I will continue all of the myriad acquaintances I've made these first couple of weeks here. Also, about the negative actions that sometimes loom over the good reputation of fraternities, I know that the new President Williams is looking to address some of the relevant concerns in his progressive agenda. So who knows, maybe Greek life, which is already in a pretty good spot, will get even better.

So now for a little information on what exactly recruitment has been like for me so far. It doesn't end until next weekend; on Sunday we will receive bids from whatever fraternities extend the opportunity for us to join. Before that (for men) will be "smokers," invite only parties to solidify whom the fraternity wants to offer bids to. Already, I've gone through coke parties and off campus events. The former involves little else but informal meetings in all of the fraternity chapter rooms to get to know the guys in each. The off campus events involve different things, but most include food, (quite a step up from cafeteria food) conversation, and various games of Frisbee, corn hole, football, etc. I've enjoyed all of the above so far, especially getting to know some upperclassmen since it can sometimes be a little difficult to get to know older people outside of Clay hall. I've also enjoyed watching female rush. I'm sure other bloggers will mention what it has been like for them, but from the outside, it's an intense project. I was writing a letter to a pen-pal of mine last night on the steps of the administration building when a gaggle of girls came by for a meeting at 9:30 at night. In fact, I rather feel like a feminist conspiracy is going on all around me, preparing to take over campus. In a way, I can see the appeal of such a more intimate and formal process. It adds a lot more emphasis to the selection and social networking that at heart is the purpose of rush. Seriously though...if they start wearing uniforms, I will flee.

Now however, I'm going to return to the only real negative aspect of rush: the homework I haven't done. Still, I'm glad that I'm doing it. I'm glad that there is a Greek system here; and that it is one I can respect at some level. Now if only they had gyros...

Impressions of Orientation

So, I now live on a college campus. In fact, superior evidence of the fact flashes itself defiantly in the face of any would-be debaters in the form of the preoccupation that has both prevented me from posting until Wednesday of my first academic week, and which forced me to write my post at midnight. I have garnered the intelligence rather quickly that here at least, night is as much a part of the day as morning is a part of the night.

I arrived at Transylvania University Friday morning around 10:00AM, to be greeted by a host of burly and not so burly men ready and willing to carry my compilation of random functional and not so functional items out of my crammed corolla and into my second floor dorm room in clay hall (pictures to come soon!). I must admit, that first day felt a little unreal; almost as if I was moving into an extremely furnished hotel room or preparing for a summer program. It has taken all the time up until now, and in some senses I perhaps still haven't fully felt the gravity of the fact that I LIVE here now.

A question that I had going in, and that I think a lot of students everywhere have, is what this really means. How does living on a campus work? Will I like it? Will it be fun, difficult, demanding, stressful, exciting, or some haphazard compilation of all of the above? Ultimately, I don't think I can answer that question, since all experiences will be different and have a different impact for all people. I can however, share what my experiences have been; and I will do my best in this blog to demonstrate and communicate with this purpose in mind.

So how did orientation go? The entire purpose of the orientation program is to make first year students feel comfortable with 1-The location, and 2-The people. To be completely honest, the first goal isn't a daunting challenge because of where I am. This is Transylvania, we pride ourselves on a small scale. As a result, I recognized the bulk of campus, from the cafeteria to the library, the grill to the dorm, all in a matter of a day or two. Also as a result of its small scale, Transylvania strives to breed a sort of intimacy which allows an expedited, if at times forceful, path towards meeting people. Orientation Olympics, black light party, University 1111 meetings, hall meeting, and even things as simple as meals are all aimed, in some or another, to allow first years to get to know one another before upperclassmen move in and the pressure of studies kick in. I can honestly say that I've met essentially every member of the class of 2014, and while I readily admit I have yet to learn the names of a fraction of that, I still feel comfortable in knowing that I've already made friends with whom I can watch TV at night, go to a restaurant for dinner, or ask for help with homework. More to come on homework, and my first impressions of classes, later.

Overall, orientation wasn't any sort of overwhelming life-changing experience. It was a simple process, with a simple goal in mind of becoming familiar, which is comforting in a way that perhaps some people don't really think of until their bed at night is tens or hundreds of miles away from mom's and dad's. There was never any moment of epiphany where I cried out in glee as Handel struck up the Hallelujah Chorus in the background, rather, upon reflection, I note that in a very striking and remarkable way, I've grown capable of calling this 12x12 concrete slab surrounded by fellow students in 12x12 slabs home. Of course, free pizza was involved in the process, so there's a chance that I'm biased, but still, it's something I take comfort in. Ultimately I'm learning that it's not just about classes, that learning to live is an important part of college as well; and so far, I'm enjoying living here quite well.