3 and half years ago I arrived on campus as an 18 year old freshman and was excited to begin the most anticipated experience of college life. I hate to be cliché and say life was so much simpler, but the amount of changes that have gotten made in not only the regular passage of going from an underclassman to an upperclassman but also with the fact that SUNY Cortland has made an IMMENSE amount of changes in such a short time and it has really turned it into a completely different experience living as a senior. Some changes have just been made as a process of growing older, while some others have been completely influenced by the school changing the entire way of life at SUNY Cortland. While it’s essentially up to you to decide if the good out weighs the bad, as a second semester senior, it is undeniable that the last two years at SUNY Cortland have been almost like attending two different schools.

Eating on Campus Then

While the changes made are completely obvious to anyone who enjoyed a chicken wrap from Corey Union, it was a lot quicker and easier to catch a meal on campus. My morning routine, began with a meal swipe for a Dunkin Donuts coffee and I dreaded the days I would have to use actual money in exchange... aka now. Come dinner; you had a lot of homework and wanted a vegetarian sandwich to go to your dorm to study with? You were one MEAL swipe away from a panini with a side of pasta salad from Veggie Patch in Corey Union and were back to your dorm twenty minutes later to relax, eat, and study.

If you were brave enough to man the crowds in Neubig, waiting in line was a more seldom occurrence as you were trusted to pile as much mac and cheese as you wanted on your plate. College students serving themselves? Weird concept I know! How did ASC ever financially keep their heads above water back when we were trusted to put our own adult sized portions on our own plates? The real mayhem actually broke out when there was napkins sitting right on the tables; so barbaric! Come 9 p.m. and you just spent the past five hours studying for Intro to Biology and you got a serious chocolate craving? Off to Friendly’s for a chocolate milkshake in exchange for a meal swipe and you were in luck, but not if you were trying desperately to avoid the Freshman 15.

Eating on Campus Now

I personally avoid Neubig and all that’s “glorious and holy” about Bistro that has encouraged these “wonderful” changes as much as I can now, but from what I do know, ASC believes that college students are not capable of serving themselves and apparently eat as much as budding toddlers. They also know that just like the little tykes we are, we’re going to forget to grab napkins and won’t want to get up for umpteenth time and possibly will use our sleeves…you’re lying if you say you never have tried to sometimes get away without napkins until you got up again.

Friendly’s, Veggie Patch, Dragon Grill, and Dixie Chix are now all a thing of the past despite previously being the nightly hotspots and Subway can only be paid with Dragon Dollars. The Poolside cafe in park center is done for, leaving the Student Life Center as the only inconvenient outlook for food on the lower side of campus. The only plus side in my opinion is how the Dunkin line doesn’t wrap around the corner as often in Corey Union because now we’re all forced to learn how to budget whether we like it or not. It’s difficult to use a meal swipe without sitting down and eating in under an hour and therefore that much more difficult to avoid that awkward hook up from last weekend whose name you're unable to recall.

Going “Out” Then

Back in the day rebel students hopped house to house never knowing whose or what house you’ll end up at but most likely every few, someone had something going on. House parties actually existed and college proved to be the only time that you would have a perfectly wholehearted good time in someone's sweaty unfinished basement. You’d be able to pick your favorite and never actually know who lived there, just that there was going to be an open party. It’s also the only time I believe it was possible that about up to 50-100 people can “hide” and be perfectly “quiet” when cops were outside to kick everyone out…and apparently everyone believed doing that would also work and they would go away peacefully. However, when they didn’t, it was a slap on the wrist for whoever lived there and everyone would be on their merry way. The bars on Main St. were a similar act and “chalking” an ID was a thing that actually proved to work from time to time. I witnessed 94’s became 91’s with just a red colored pencil on an old New York Learner's Permit and as a freshman in college, I truly believed I saw it all. Oh yeah, and the bars were apparently filled with savages who are not from the state of New York and are no longer peacefully allowed into them… oh and the few with fake ID’s.

Going “Out” Now

If you’re not part of Greek life or sports, house parties are merely non-existent just about. If you are lucky to attend to a good one, you’ll pay the $5 to drink all night, start having a great time, and come about midnight, everyone will just want to leave the good time and already paid for beer to squeeze themselves into Dark Horse. However for just a $5 dollar cover charge, there will be so many people there you’ll only probably be able to make it up to the bar for maybe one drink after 30 minutes of waiting, so don’t worry about spending too much more money downtown. SUNY Cortland clearly only accepts people from New York so if you are from out of state and at least 21, you’re about just as bad as a freshman trying to get in with a fake id.

Honorable Mentions:

Rest in Peace

• Beer Goggles
• Zonies
• @SUNYPARTYSTORIES
• Monroe Fest
• Cortaca 2013…

Getting to Class Then:

Roll out of bed, maybe look nice if you’re that kind of freshman. Walk ten minutes in the cold or rain and hope to not bust your ass on ice in the winter. 10 minutes later after a vigorous, adventurous walk from the dorm and you would have braved the feat.

Getting to Class Now:

Most likely you’re living in an off campus house either killing your glutes up James, Prospect, or Clayton to name a few. You’re sweating before you sit down in class and praying you didn’t forget anything because going back home is not option. However if you’re driving to class, you’re entered into the rat race, which is finding a parking spot on the hill or Tompkins. Driving on campus is one of the most irritating tasks and makes me wish I never wished to live off campus. Basic driving rules get thrown out the window and U-turns on Neubig road with lines of people on both sides become acceptable. People will block traffic all day thinking they know how to parallel park which really just provides entertainment to everyone on that wall of the library. Suddenly stopping and blocking the road to pick up and drop off is shameless; and nobody walking actually wants to get their nose out of their phone, to care if you hit them.

Going to the Gym Then :

The gym in Van Heausan was small, sticky, and really just randomly placed. There's really not much else to go with it, except I would personally use it as a lame excuse to not go if the outside temperature was about 70 degrees because you know inside it was a sauna... However it was the prime people watching spot as the view from on top of the stair master gave a view of the whole entire place.

Going to the Gym Now:

It's nearly impossible to find parking near the new Student Life Center, and clearly parking is an issue Cortland never has or will ever seem to care about, but when you are able to make it down there, you see exactly where all the cut backs were put into. The most exciting part is all the important things such as remote control little glass doors that magically open for you to enter and the mini over used clothes drying machines in the locker rooms. All jokes aside, the two-story gym and indoor running track at Student Life Center has been the forefront of the college’s priorities and it is undeniably a huge upgrade. There’s more choices of child portions at Bistro and the rock wall, golf simulator, and mind-body room are examples of things we never had at SUNY Cortland when I was freshman.