1. Learn to sleep anywhere.
Breaks between classes are perfect for napping, but unless you feel like slumbering in front the stranger eating his egg salad sandwich on the sofas in humanities (and risk falling asleep on and/or snoring in front of said stranger), your car is most likely the best bet. Just think of the uncomfortable headrests as practice for when you find yourself stranded in a forest overnight and resort to strapping yourself "Hunger Games" style to a big oak tree.
2. Leave nothing to chance.
There’s only so much you can bring with you to school each day, and let’s be honest: the weather reports are seldom spot on. You expect sun, wind and afternoon showers, and BOOM there’s a hail storm. Among the necessary extras should be a rain coat and a change of clothes for any wardrobe malfunctions – such as setting a small fire on your sleeve in chemistry lab or falling in the deceivingly deep puddle outside of the SUB. The lesson here? Mother Nature always has final say.
3. Mark your territory.
Parking lots are tricky situations after about 8:15 a.m. on campus. Shadowing a pedestrian with keys in their hand out to their parking space is a solid idea, but other drivers don’t always accept that since you followed them, you have rights to their space. And like dogs claiming a section of the fence as their own, each inch of pavement is a zone that marks parking permission over the space. The Blinker Battle is rectified only when you have out inched your opponent to the space, blocking all potential areas for them to swing into the space before you.
(Disclaimer: Driving is not a game, nor should it ever be considered one in reality. Drive responsibly.)
4. Learn from those before you.
“You know how to take the reservation, but you just don’t know how to hold the reservation.” Jerry Seinfeld’s spiel in the rental car office is quite applicable to campus parking offices. The parking office can hand out parking permits, but the spaces are few and far between. Literally few and far between. Yes there may be spaces in the southeast corner – a.k.a. the farthest and most remote – of the Rte. 32 lot, but for anyone getting out of class post-sunset, that is not a favorable option. Even though the likelihood of every person with a parking permit coming to campus at the same time is low, there is no guarantee that some days aren’t more frequented by commuters than others. Notice the parking office does not offer insurance on spaces.
The lesson here is geared a bit more towards surviving in the world graced with modern amenities, but still, expect that the system does not always work.
5. Hibernation is still an option.
Snow days can still exist! Especially up here in the northeast, snow can be dangerous and picky. Even though it isn’t snowing on campus, 20 miles south could have eight inches on the ground. I’ve seen it happen. But the ball’s in your court and your safety comes first. So think like a bear and crawl back under those sheets until the storms over.
