EMBRACING A NEW EXPERIENCE

from 2021 Cats Guide

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Welcome to Northwest Embrace the new experience

NATHAN ENGLISH Managing Editor @nathan_3nglish

For most of you, the last year in a half has looked very different from normal school. You were stuck in Zoom classes some or all days of the week.

If you were in person, hopefully, you attended high schools that required masks and social distancing. The fall semester could be the fi rst opportunity for some of you to experience regular face to face interactions with peers in 18 months, so don’t waste it.

College is great. It’s certainly better than high school. In this Cats Guide we are giving you all sorts of helpful tips and tricks, but the most important thing you can do is put yourself out there in the beginning. Yeah, it sounds super corny and like some terrible PSA that comes on during Nick at Nite, but it works.

If you are coming in knowing no one, great. Talk to people and make new friends. If you are living with a friend from high school, great.

Talk to people and make new friends. It’s a small school, so be nice to the people in your major; you are going to have class with them for eight semesters.

You should go to football and basketball games, meet people for coffee at the library, go on late night McDonald’s runs — and download the app. It will save you a bunch of money.

The harsh reality is that you will be living in a small town with not much to do — and even if there was a lot to do, you probably couldn’t afford it because you are in college — so, having people you are close with is the best way to pass the time.

One last tip, don’t take notes on your laptop if you don’t have to. It’s a dangerous game, and you don’t want to play it.

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Group Study Sessions- study, have fun, and eat snacks while getting out of the dorm Girl Talks- open discussions to further group understanding and compassion DIY Nights and Movie Nights- socials events

JOIN FLO |Look For Us At The Org Fair! | JOIN FLOJ for fun with friends and communityk For Us At The Org Fair! | JOINFights- socials events ommunity Find us on Instagram @FLO_nwmsu Want more info? Email: nwfl o@nwmissouri.edu President Email: s538986@nwmissouri.edu

a new college experience DURING A PANDEMIC

MADELINE MAPES Assistant News Editor @MadelineDMapes

Provost Jamie Hooyman sent out an email April 20 to faculty discussing expectations for the fall 2021’s return to normalcy, including no social distancing, no requirement to use Zoom and optional masks.

In this email, she lists different expectations University offi cials have in regard to classes and mitigation measures, but nothing is entirely decided upon. Students and faculty will be updated over the next few months.

Hooyman said the University will continue to monitor COVID-19 along with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and Nodaway County’s case numbers as the fall 2021 semester .

“The closer it gets the more likely it’s seeming,” Hooyman said about a semester with less or no mitigation measures.

She noted that the University is anticipating a return to normal classroom sizes with single delivery methods, or in other words, without the requirement of using Zoom. The University also plans on eliminating prep week for the fall 2021 semester, and fi nal exams will be in person.

Hooyman said despite the University planning a return to pre-pandemic class structures with some adaptations learned from the pandemic, things are constantly changing; just because cases in the county are down as of late, it does not mean they will stay that way by the time the fall semester rolls around.

She said the safety of everyone on campus and the learning environment are the University’s top priority when making decisions as the fall semester approaches.

“We’re going to have to do what we have done all along, which is make incremental decisions and base them on the best information that we have at that point in time,” Hooyman said.

The email also stated that the University plans to resume study abroad trips and faculty traveling as well, so long as CDC guidelines say it is safe to do so.

The fall schedule has already been laid out and published on the University website.

TWITTER ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW

NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE | @NWMOSTATE

Offi cial account for the University

NORTHWEST UPD | @NW_UPD

Offi cial account for University Police

DR. JOHN JASINSKI | @PRESIDENTJAZZ

Offi cial account for President Jasinski KENDRICK CALFEE | @CALFEE_KC

Editor in Chief, Northwest Missourian

NATHAN ENGLISH | @NATHAN_3NGLISH

Managing Editor, Northwest Missourian

STUDENT SENATE | @NWSENATE

Offi cial account for Northwest Student Senate

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION OFFICE | @DEI_NWMSU

Offi cial account for the Offi ce of Diversity and Inclusion

NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN | @THEMISSOURIAN

Offi cial account of the Northwest Missourian newspaper NORTHWEST SAC | @NW_SAC

Offi cial account for Northwest Student Activities Council

WELLNESS SERVICES | @NW_WELLNESS

Offi cial account of Wellness Services

10 campus life / northwest missourian Adjusting to CAMPUS LIFE

WESLEY MILLER News Reporter | @wesleymiller360

Living on campus for the fi rst time can be a scary, yet fun experience.

For some, it’s the fi rst time they’ve ever had a roommate. However, a roommate is not something to dread having. Roommates, oftentimes, can be helpful. Sometimes, they’ll even be the only ones that make sure you get out of bed for those god-awful 8 a.m. classes.

Sure, they might snore or even talk in their sleep, but that’s the part you ignore. The part you focus on is the fun times during the day, whether it be going out on the town, going to the recreation center or even just chilling in your room.

Roommates are not the only part of living on campus. This may be the first time some people have gone away from home, and this can be a frightening experience at fi rst.

However, you learn there is more freedom, and you’re free to do things you probably wouldn’t do back at home, like buy a cake all to yourself because why not?

When living in a dorm room, it’s important to be stocked up with food and drinks. There will likely be countless times you want a midnight snack, so be sure that you’re prepared for that. The J. W. Jones Student Union has food you can take with you, but sometimes, you just want something else. Drinks are especially crucial during the warm weeks when the air conditioner has yet to be turned on.

While living on campus, students can see the many activities that happen right outside their room window. There’s events hosted by the Student Activities Council, there’s plenty of pick-up games of any type of sport near the Bell Tower, and there’s other activities that residence halls host, such as game night.

Living on campus can be fi lled with responsibility, but there’s plenty of freedom and fun to be had, too.

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CLOSE. THE. YEARBOOK.

MARYANN JOHNSON Photographer | @

I want you all to recall that really annoying girl in The Magic School Bus who always said, “This isn’t anything like my old school.”

If you haven’t seen the show, or you just don’t remember your youth, in short all she did was talk about her old school and how different it was and how better she was there.

Well, when you get to college and you don’t stop talking about life in high school, that is who you sound like.

I don’t say this to be mean, really. This is in no way, shape or form meant to deter you from being proud of your achievements or fond of your memories. However, there is a time and place, and most of the time, college isn’t either of those things.

If you’re new to the track team, no one cares if you were the fastest in your school; show them. If you plan on doing theater, no one wants to hear about all the fi rst places you got. Just strive to get more.

College is meant for new opportunities, new experiences, new opinions and a new you. Try something new, even if you don’t think you’ll be good at it. Talk to different people than you usually do. Start anew.

Shed away that high school cocoon, and flutter out your college wings. You can miss high school and be proud of who you used to be and what you used to do, but now is the time to make that person better and be the best version of you without the help of high school you. Whether high school was good or bad, it’s over, and you’re in a new chapter of your life, so close the yearbook, and leave it behind.