Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Jennifer Lemos Freshman communications studies major Tahirah Rhymer (center) making her transition from Concord High School to dorm life at Sac State. [Click to enlarge]

One of the most popular shows of the nineties was "Saved by the Bell." The cast provided viewers with moments of warmth and humor, and gave America a glimpse of how fun and exciting high school could have been. That's right, it may come as a surprise but high school actually was fun for some people; maybe it would've been better for the rest of us had every school been like Bayside. In the end however, whether you enjoyed high school or not it only lasts four years and before long, just like the cast of "Saved by the Bell," college is the next stop.

Don't be alarmed though you're not alone. According to Edward Mills, the associate vice president for student affairs, new student enrollment is expected be around 6,300 students this semester, which means that quite a lot of you have either finished the marathon that is high school, or worked your way through community college and can now call yourself a Hornet. Mills emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities presented to new students beginning with the summer orientations and ending with some crucial advice.

"There are three main pieces of advice I can give to new students: The first is to attend orientation, which answers many of the questions new students have and helps to give them a good start. Secondly, to get advising early in your first semester on campus and most important is to get connected with the faculty. The earlier you do this, the more likely the chances are to do better. Getting connected and advised is the key," Mills said.

So we all saw what happened to the "Saved by the Bell" crew once they went to college: They had to start growing up. Sure there's no more Mr. Belding to make sure they're going to class and staying out of trouble, but that lack of supervision could end up being a bigger obstacle for new students.

Sacramento State freshman Tahirah Rhymer points out the difference between high school and college. "It's different because there aren't any rules, you're an adult at this point and you need to be responsible for your own thing. Where as high school they watch you a lot, you can't do this, you have to be in class at these times, tardy lock-outs, here it's a lot more relaxed," Rhymer said.

But even though the atmosphere may be more relaxed there are still a fair number of students not making it through their freshman year. According to Mills, the dropout rate for first year students is around 23 percent to 24 percent. The longer you stay in school however, the higher the chances are that you will complete your education. The retention rate for transfer students for instance is around 82 percent, and as those students continue their studies at Sac State that rate increases.

None of the characters from "Saved by the Bell" were transfer students, as all of us who watched the "College Years" will attest to, but there are quite a few of them at Sac State. Of those 6,300 new students roughly 3,634 of them were transfer students, with a majority of those coming from the Los Rios School District. Sara Wolf, a former Sacramento City College student is now attending Sac State and said she has noticed the change in demeanor of her new classmates.

"There is a larger majority of people that are taking school and their classes more seriously, their attitudes are different," she said.

Wolf goes on to say, "I remember at Sacramento City College there would be a bunch of weird people just sitting out, doing dumb stuff and talking about nothing."

While there are differences between the community college crowd, and between transfer students and freshman, both Wolf and Rhymes said they make going to class and participating a priority.

"I'm actually trying to go to class a lot, we're only at like week two, but I'm really trying to come to every class," Wolf said.

Going to class and getting there on time is definitely one roadblock facing new students, but Mary Shepherd, new student orientation coordinator, points out that just getting the nuances of college life down can be difficult as well.

"Some of the trouble facing new students is just getting used to how we do things here because it's different from the community college, and it's different from the high school, it's getting students to understand our policies and procedures that we do here," Shepherd said.

Shepherd continues on to say that the best thing new students can do is just talk to someone.

"Never hesitate to ask a question. I have been working here for 10 years and I learn new stuff every day."

Shepherd relates that for freshman especially, the importance of speaking up and finding the guts to talk to faculty and staff members is one of the biggest steps new students can take.

"A lot of kids are under the impression that it's hard to get to know the faculty, but it's not, they're great. So it's teaching them to get the gumption to go approach them, to go talk to them," Shepherd said.

The importance of finding the courage to attempt all these new endeavors is what college is really all about. Zach, Slater and the rest of the gang all experienced a new life once they graduated from Bayside, but unlike them college is going to prepare us for more then canceled television shows and movies nobody watches.

Matt Rascher can be reached at mrascher@statehornet.com

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