One of my most vivid memories of my first semester at LSU is what I now fondly call “the beignet incident.”
Now, normally I am a fairly clean eater, but on that second morning of college, my nerves took over in Cafe Vieux Carre in the French House. Just a warning: shaking hands and powdered sugar are not a good combination. Needless to say, I got more of the beignets on the table, the floor and my clothes than in my mouth.
While leaving the French House to go to my first class and trying to recover from my beignet trauma, I prompty walked right into a massive area of mud, dirtying my brand new Nike tennis shoes in the process. (This was before I discovered the joy of flip-flops).
The residual effects of all this? I tend to walk around the Reveille newsroom barefoot and I’m hesitant to eat in front of people. Other than that, I’m a happy, well-adjusted college student.
Amanda McElfresh
Staff Writer
I had biology in 130 Howe Russell, and I would always fall asleep in class. One day while I was asleep, my professor decided to give a pop quiz. We had to take the quiz on index cards (which he would supply for us).
When I got the handful of index cards, I had to pass them down to some people who were sitting four rows down from me. Still sleepy, I got up and fell off the top step in front of like 200 people.
I fell down four or five steps, and felt a pain shoot up my right leg. Despite the noise and papers flying in every direction, no one really noticed until my professor (who happened to be wearing a microphone) said “HEY ARE YOU OKAY UP THERE?”. When he said that, everyone stared at me, and then he talked some more about falling off of the top step before we took the quiz.
Alexandria Burris
Contributing Writer
I remember how fun it was to spend an hour or two on the Parade Ground during my freshman year. I routinely met a group of high school friends and a couple of their dorm neighbors to waste away my Paw Points. This of course, was during a time when I only spent a few hours per week in the Reveille office locked in my room studying.
But what I’ll always remember about my lunches beneath the Bell Tower are the chuckles we got from watching a couple publicly display their affection day after day.
Stupid freshman–I shouldn’t have poked fun at someone I didn’t know. Of course this guy sitting 10 feet away from me with his girlfriend became a friendly classmate. In fact, he became our Student Government president and a fellow campus leader, Allen Richey. (Sorry Allen. I guess we really do have a small campus despite the 30,000 students who are enrolled here.)
Tracy Simoneaux
Editor-in-Chief
On the morning of the first day of school my freshman year, I boarded the Tigerland bus to get to my first class. I asked the bus driver if I had to pay to ride the bus, and he gave me a look as if I were a nervous first grader asking if the bus would take me to that big scary place Mommy and Daddy are making me go to.
Then, later in the day I went to the bus stop and hopped on the first bus that passed. Aprently, I figured all bus routes led to University House on Brightside. I ended up taking a tour of the east side of campus and all the Greek houses. I watched students get on, off, on, off …
When the bus finished its round, I was the last person on and had the embarassingly uncomfortable task of saying thanks for the ride to the bus driver. That day taught me that the colored cards in the bus windows were there for a reason and that my semester of adventures/near-death experiences would eventually make for a good sitcom.
Benjamin Leger
Revelry Editor
My first semester was marked by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Life on my own suddenly didn’t seem like so much fun.
During those difficult days when I wanted to be at home with my family, I learned what it meant to take care of my friends, and they helped take care of me. That semester was about learning to be part of an extended family.
Adam Causey
Staff Writer
You should always pay attention to what you are wearing before you go to class. Case in point – the morning after Halloween I had an early ROTC lecture with Major Bechtel. I overslept, so I just threw on a shirt, hat, jeans and flip flops. Big mistake. When I got to class, the major was just begining to rant about our low midterm scores.
“Only one person got an A!” he yelled.
After a few minutes of vein-bulging derision, he dropped his head and saw my feet. Major Bechtel nearly had an aneurism.
“Campbell,” he sighed, “get out of my class, and never come back dressed like that again.” It was then that I realized I hadn’t removed the purple toenail polish from my Halloween costume. My hairy, webbed toes were giving the major a beautiful purple smile through my flip flops.
As I walked out of the classroom he handed me my midterm, telling me to bring it back for the next class. I got a 98 percent.
Adam Campbell
Photo Editor
My first fall semester at LSU, I was like most freshmen: I could not wait for football season. I had never experienced the wonder that is Death Valley, so naturally I was very excited and went to all of the games — until I lost my tickets. I am someone who would lose my head if it was not attached to my shoulders. Not only was it my first football season, but it was also the killer season when we won the SEC West title and the Sugar Bowl.
For the last four games of the season, my roommates and I had to scrounge for a replacement ticket for each game so I could go. We paid people, borrowed tickets and spent countless hours searching online ticket exchanges. We managed to always find tickets at the eleventh hour before kickoff.
We watched the final game of the season on television. The game decided our title and sent us to the Sugar Bowl. For some reason later that night, I got the urge to clean my room. I was sorting through my sinkhole of a desk, when four golden tickets fell onto the floor. I had stuck them in a notebook — and forgotten where I put them.
Now I give my tickets to someone else for safe keeping.
Kacie Fuselier
Chief Copy Editor