Some questions from a perspective student

eryximachus
Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:22:52 +0000

To add another freshman voice, I would agree that I’ve had only positive interactions with upperclassmen. I was the only freshman in one of my classes, and was together with about half upperclassmen in another, and the upperclassmen were helpful and kind, and didn’t really know I was a freshman until I told them, and then they didn’t really care. I also do work study with upperclassmen, and they have been fabulous friends and have helped me a lot to navigate Fordham.

Most, I think, feel that they would have benefitted a lot from upperclassman guidance as a freshman and therefore want to help freshmen as much as possible. That’s the impression I’ve gotten, at least.

As far as taking LC classes as RH student, commuting can be annoying, time consuming, tiring. It’s definitely doable (a lot of my upperclassmen friends do it or have done it), but probably not for lower-division core classes. I haven’t heard of anyone taking, for example, theology 1000 at LC instead of RH and I don’t see why you would want to. But, if you’re interested in doing something like that, that’s a question for the admin, probably.

I took a class last semester at LC (my first semester here) but it was an upper-division language course only offered there. I also had about half LC kids in one of my classes at RH (a class in my intended major). I wouldn’t say that RH and LC kids don’t get along, as I made great friends in both of those courses, but that some administrative hurdles and distance makes interaction between the two groups sometimes difficult.

For example, it might vary from club to club, but I’ve had real trouble getting involved in clubs at LC. Not that they wouldn’t let me go to their events, but that I wasn’t allowed to be covered under their budget for paid-for events or become an e-board member ever. Also, the clubs at LC often schedule events when LC kids don’t have classes (their “activity period”), which is different than the activity period at RH. Also, of course, the often-present “LC students only” on posters advertising socials and other events at LC shuts out the RH kids.

However, I haven’t experienced any actual rivalry between the campuses beyond friendly teasing that LC kids are all some flavor of alternative hippies and that RH kids are “bros”. There isn’t too much interaction between people on the two campuses, not because we don’t want to interact, but just because it’s easier to hang out with the people directly around us. If you are willing to make the effort to make friends and get involved across campuses, you’ll do just fine, I think.