my purple pride

{via} It's been several years since I graduated from university and while I may be in denial about the end of those days, I can’t help but relive them and reminisce about all the good times I had while I was there. So you can imagine my delight when I read that my school had rave reviews in The Globe and Mail's Canadian University Report, an annual survey based on assessments by students about the schools they attend. I'm proud to report that the university I attended finished with the highest ranking in seven of the seventeen criteria in which it was graded. Bishop's University was ranked the highest for, among other things, quality of teaching, satisfaction with town/city, campus atmosphere and most satisfied students...not so bad to be at the top of those lists!
Anytime Bishop’s is mentioned in the news, I’m like a proud mother celebrating her child’s achievements. I can’t help but get a little giddy to know that my alma mater did something worth talking about. Even when it’s bad news, like a flood, fire or foolish freshman (which happens all too often!), my heart still warms at the thought of my little university town pushing their way through any tough time or tragedy. Bump into any alum that went to BU and it’s like you haven’t seen each other since being separated at birth but lived on the same street your whole life. You’d think we were being paid to promote the school with the way we can’t stop babbling about our breakfasts at PizzaVille or walks across the arches. The memories, landmarks and school spirit seem to remain the same throughout the years and so reminiscing about life in Lennoxville is something so hard to explain if you’ve never experienced it. Having one small bar in town to raise a toast with your profs but two Greek restaurants for the post-bar poutine is accepted and embraced. Painting yourself purple during frosh week and again for every football game is not unusual...even if it means showing up to an exam that way because you didn't have time to take a shower first. And missing said football game because tailgating takes on a life of its own is a foggy memory for any proud Gaiter fan. Our school song, which is belted out by students every year to serenade the principal at his house, states “we will never graduate” and I don’t think truer words could be sung (…or slurred!). While I may have taken it for granted during those first few days as a freshman, I’ve come to realize that while I can’t go back, those days will certainly live forever in my heart.

Did you go to college? What was the school spirit like at your school?

cool to be in school

With back-to-school happening now, or in the very near future, getting back to class means sacrificing some wonderful summer pleasures that many kids (and adults!) have become used to. Not only do lazy days and staying up late become a thing of the past but the freedom to talk, text and type whenever and wherever becomes a weekend pleasure. With smart phones becoming so smart and so much more than just a phone, kids and teens have access to endless amounts of distractions all while sitting in the comfort of their classroom.
Busted, scolded online, and posted on Failbook, for not only updating but also complaining about class, this student is probably wishing they could erase that one simple status update. I would be so embarrassed if this happened to me...and I’d be dying to get my phone back! I remember when I was in school, Tamagotchi’s were the biggest threats to productive teacher time. Those virtual pets that you were ultimately responsible for keeping alive were banned at certain schools because kids spent too much time worrying about the health of their digital pet instead of the happenings of the real world around them. Much different from these days when kids are not only playing games on their phones but also texting and accessing Facebook along with pretty much anything else on the Web that they wish. It’s amazing how times have changed…I was once distracted by daydreams and doodling and now, although I’m not hip enough to have a phone that lets me do all those fantastic things, I sure get antsy if I can’t check my messages for an extended period of time. With technology advancing all the time, teachers are no longer looking out for people passing notes with paper but through cyber space instead. I’m thinking this makes the job a little tougher but I bet there are some teachers who are always itching to check their emails or updates just as much as some of their students. The summer is full of freedoms that we tend to take for granted but once that bell rings, students certainly have some sacrifices to make and some separation anxiety to deal with. It makes me wonder what I’d be like as a student these days!

And another funny Failbook for any students and all lovers of Anthropologie… What do you think about kids and phones at school? Any teachers with funny/unfortunate stories? Or confessions?