Backpack load lightens as students move through SU
The easiest way to spot a freshman (aside from the tell-tale orange lanyard around his neck) is to find the kid bent uncomfortably under the weight of his backpack, intently studying an expensive-looking textbook en-route. In contrast, seniors are plainly the students with no materials tucked covertly behind a newspaper in the back of lecture. As students climb the college ladder, their increased intelligence and combined experience result in considerably lightened class loads. Our extremely unscientific study traces the regression of the contents of college backpacks.
Freshman Backpack:Examination of several freshmen backpacks revealed a starling amount of over-packing that included useless daytime trinkets such as textbooks, snacks and condoms. ‘I like to bring my books just in case, and sometimes I study at Bird in between classes,’ said Julie Knapp, an undecided freshman in The College of Arts and Sciences.
This unsettling enthusiasm will soon give way to more practical applications of free time – like the crossword puzzle. As for the condoms, ‘it’s always good to be prepared; you never know when you’re gonna get lucky,’ concluded Knapp. Excess baggage, an act of treason against laziness to upperclassmen, is a widely practiced operation among first year students. As heavy and awkward as all the extra luggage may be, freshman like Knapp would ‘rather be safe than sorry.’ For now.
Sophomore Backpack:’Backpack? What backpack? I carry a shoulder bag,’ said Darcie Fridstein, a sophomore psychology major. Jessie Fish, a sophomore public relations and political science major similarly joked, ‘I only carry a backpack when I’m transporting a 30.’ Commonalities among second-year bags are mostly essentials: pens, cell phones, keys, planners, notebooks and iPods.
‘Too much stuff in your bag is just wrong,’ declared Fridstein, who practices the art of the bare minimum. Charlie Koppelson, an undecided sophomore in The College of Arts and Sciences, says he lugs a backpack to class occasionally, but only when absolutely necessary. ‘I only take a backpack when I have a few classes in a row,’ said the South Campus commuter. To wizened second-years, less is more. ‘I don’t wanna break my back,’ said Fish.
Junior Backpack:Syracuse juniors have learned from the error of their overhauling ways and corrected the problem via enhanced organization and a serious cutback of clutter. Noel Melendez, a junior interior design major, said, ‘I carry a notebook. Sometimes a pen.’
Melendez identified a paradoxical nexus in the decline of his campus cargo amidst a skyrocketing year-to-year workload. Several juniors said this is their most difficult year academically, but they lack the motivation to carry around more than what is absolutely necessary. Heather Tramontana, a junior communications design major, sums up the typical junior’s ideology: ‘Pack light.’
Senior Backpack:Four years of crap-lugging has fine-tuned the contents of Syracuse seniors’ bags. Don’t ask a senior if you can borrow a pen – chances are they won’t have more than the one in their pocket. Indeed, for fourth-year students, bags are mostly a thing of the past.
‘I only carry a bag if I’m not in a hurry,’ said senior computer science major Chris Kane. Kane admitted that as a freshman, he carried half of his life to class and back. ‘My backpack was packed with loads of shit,’ said Kane. ‘Now I just take my notebook and a couple of pencils.’
Television, radio and film senior Heidi Umhoefer concurs. ‘You only need a pen and paper, seriously,’ she said. Fourth-year child and family studies major Caitlin Langan sticks to the basics as well, but also adds, ‘I’m not holding back, so there probably will be a point where a thermos full of beer comes along to my night class with me.’
Kane offers free advice to suffering freshman who aren’t yet privy to the ways of college: ‘Don’t carry that much. You have four years to go and you shouldn’t have a hump after attending (SU).’
