Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Spring 2017 where the leaves are dead, the student body is drowsy and the DUC’ling is yet to hatch. Returning from holiday comforts (whether you spent break at your family’s house or elsewhere) can leave you with a sense of disappointment — we have to be students again. Nevertheless, the new year and spring semester are also opportunities to reinvent yourself, and perhaps give that resolution you broke last year another shot.
Dear Doolino,
I’m not sure if I want to rush a fraternity or not. I think I meet all the requirements to get in: my academics are fine, I really like the brothers and I know the Greek Alphabet so I can remember all of the frat names. It’s just a question of whether or not I think that the life is for me. Joining Greek life is a massive commitment, and I don’t want to give up the other things I love, like my part in a cooking club. What do I do?
Yours truly,
Fratatouille
Dear Fratatouille,
Like the highways of Atlanta, rush hour can be a taxing time. There are two questions you need to ask yourself. The first is “do I actually need to go into downtown Atlanta?” Decide if there is any actual benefit to joining a fraternity. Each frat has its own flavor and panache that may or may not match your preferences. Given your uncertainty, rushing can be a great opportunity for you to sample the various drinks of frat life. Does the smoky earthiness of ATO pique your fancy, or does the robust vintage of Chi Pi intrigue you instead? All are virgin drinks of course, given that it would be illegal for an underage individual to consume an alcoholic beverage in the United States of America.
Regarding time management, the world does not stop for you. If you are truly passionate about both cookery and socializing in a frat, do both. If you cannot deal with something as trivial as balancing rushing and cooking, then perhaps you do not deserve to enjoy them both in the first place.
To put a long story short, I think you should definitely rush to get a feel for each of the fraternities. Base your decision on your little samples within the next few weeks.
Doolino
Dear Doolino,
Last semester, I was doing mainly science and math classes, but now I am swamped with a whole lot of essays to fulfill two Continued Writing requirements. I am not exactly an expert with the pen (a quality I am sure you can relate to) so it has been a little tough for me so far. Any advice as to how I deal with this cornucopia of Iranian politics analyses?
Quill Bill
Dear Quill Bill,
Wow, nice jab. Is this coming from the same guy who decided to take two Continued Writing requirements in one semester knowing that they aren’t a good writer?
Well you’ve dug your own grave, I guess, assuming that Add/Drop/Swap isn’t an option for whatever reason. Nevertheless, there are still some anecdotes to your current problem. The first cure is making a schedule; you should have all your syllabi, so make sure that you dedicate time (especially on weekends) to not only keep up with your reading, but maybe even get a bit ahead to make up for that day where you’re too busy to read.
Additionally, peer reviewing is surprisingly the most effective way to catch any issues in your prose that you may not have otherwise seen. Even if all your friends are STEM nerds like you, a bystander’s opinion always offers some of the most valuable feedback to a writer. So before you decide to submit anything on Blackboard or Canvas, run it by a friend and see if they have any changes to recommend.
The rest comes from your own effort. Never feel disheartened by your weaknesses; the point of these requirements is to make you well-rounded and better in areas you would have otherwise forsaken.
Doolino
For your day-to-day qualms and minor life crises, send anonymous questions to doolino.emory@gmail.com.
