It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about fall (aka pumpkin season), I am talking about registering for classes for the spring semester. I was struggling this past weekend to make my schedule perfect, and stressing over the possibility that I would not be able to get into the class that I wanted. I conveyed my anxieties to my mother, who was sympathetic to my pain (naturally), but whom also told me that my battle with registration was nothing like hers. From there we began a conversation about what college was like for her “back in the day” (she denied my request to use an actual time frame) and I must say, they certainly did things differently back then.
1. Registering For Classes
Then: Back when my mother attended Florida State, she had to register for classes by calling a phone number. If the line was busy, as it often was with hundreds of students trying to register for a class capped at 30, she would have to call back until she was able to get through. Once in, she had to type the course number for each class she needed into the phone’s keypad. Talk about tedious.
Now: In 2016, the methods for registering for class is much easier. We can search for courses by subject and see all available times that the class is offered. Last year schedule planning assist was even introduced, which essentially made making the perfect schedule a walk in the park. Registering for the classes in that perfect schedule, though, is still up to sheer luck and how quickly you can click "enroll."
2. Finding A Book In The Library
Then: Before the time of computers, research was a lot harder. In order to find the right book, students had to flip through index cards with the title of the book, the name of the author, and its classification in the Dewey Decimal system. They then had to scour the library looking for the book, hoping and praying all the while that it had not already been checked out or misplaced.
Now: FSU has essentially made it impossible to have any excuse for not being able to find information for that research paper you procrastinated on for so long. You simply have to type in a few keywords and a plethora of articles, books, videos, and maps are at your fingertips to use.
3. Writing Papers
Then: Typewriters didn’t use to be just overpriced antiques placed randomly in homes. At one point they actually had a purpose! Students used to use them to write papers! If only they had a delete button. Or spell check. One little typo meant that the student had to use white out to erase their mistake before going back over it to correctly spell the word.
Now: While some of us are still procrastinators, at least we can correct a typo without having to manually go back and cover up our stupid mistakes. If I spell "restaurant" incorrectly, spell check is quick to underline it in red and fix it for me with a simple click of the mouse (I actually did spell it wrong. I do every time. Don’t judge.) Thank you, Microsoft Word and thank you, Bill Gates.
4. Scoring Football Tickets
Then: It used to be that every student got to go to every game! All they had to do was stand in line for a ticket after receiving a voucher for one and voilà! I bet that was one large student section. Though this was possible by building the price of tickets into each student’s tuition, so the students really did deserve (and paid for) the tickets.
Now: Now the tickets are first come, first serve, and priority goes to the upperclassman. Here’s the trick, though. Go to all the other sports games—which usually have free admission anyway—and build up the points. In no time you’ll have enough for the Miami, Clemson, and maybe even the UF games!
5. Self-Expression Through The Written Word
Then: When my mother attended FSU, she was known for posting a weekly update on herself on the door of her dorm room. Her neighbors would stop and read it and sometimes even pop in to say "Hi" because she always had her door open. She also used to write stories in the bathroom stalls. I think this method of communicating actually caught on. Every heard of “Toilet Times”, my friends?
Now: In today’s time, we go for a more wide-scale approach. By keeping a blog, tweeting, or even writing articles for online newspapers (yay, Odyssey!) we can share our stories with the world, not just the ladies in the bathroom at Strozier.
6. Parking On Campus
Then: Hard to find parking.
Now: Really hard to find parking.
7. Calling Home
Then: Dorms used to have phones in them so that parents could reach their kids. My mom used to have a set time during which she had to be in her room so that her mom could call her. If my mom wanted to call her mom, she had to either place a collect call or use a prepaid long distance card that her parents had set up.
Now: Thank goodness for cell phones. Nowadays, we can text, call, Facetime, snap, or ping our parents any time that we need them. This comes in handy, especially when we forget how to cook, do the laundry, or are running low on funds. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
8. Getting A Cup Of Coffee
Then: Sadly, Starbucks did not exist. If you didn’t make the coffee at home then you had to go caffeine free during midterm week. Nobody should have to do that. Ever.
Now: I think FSU realized the absolute need for caffeine among its students, as evidenced by all the Starbucks strategically placed around campus. Word on the street is that one of the Starbucks on campus is the 2nd highest grossing Starbucks in the country, beaten only by the Starbucks located in Times Square New York! Which one do you think it is…?
