When I stepped out of the cab at the entrance to the University of Arizona, I wasn’t prepared for how big this campus actually was. Sprawled over 387 acres with close to 180 campus buildings, it left me quite breathless. On that first day of Spring semester registration the campus was a hive of activity. There were so many young students like myself, scampering about. Fortunately I had a copy of the campus map, so I quickly made my way to my first destination—the International Students Office (ISO). I was lugging a big suitcase plus a carry-on, and the fact that cars weren’t allowed on some of the roads inside the campus made walking a little easier. There was a campus police officer standing nearby so I asked him for directions to the ISO.
OK, I reach the ISO without any problems. And mein gott, there was this long line of international students waiting for their turn to go in. I think every country in the world was represented, lol. Fact #1: foreign students make up almost 10% of the UA’s enrollment of 30,000 students. Soon my batch made its way in into a holding room. We were then given information packets (free of charge) and then told about the registration and enrollment process. When the coordinator had finished speaking, there was a literal barrage of questions from this nervous group—man, it was like a market place! Registration would take at least a couple of hours. I knew this was going to be one heck of a long day.
I must have looked rather lost and forlorn when I sauntered out of that holding room, because this very nice lady (see the picture in my previous post) approached me and said something like “Hi, you must be a new student here. Can I help you in any way?” I admitted to her that I was pretty confused with the registration process, and without any hesitation, she proceeded to explain it to me. Another lady bumped into us, her name was Joan Barrett, and she was an International Student Adviser. Joan was also very kind to me, and after making sure that I knew how to register, I was on my way, with the campus map. I left my luggage with them, intending to collect it after I’d finished registering because the last step was to check into Yavapai Hall, my new home away from home.
Suffice to say that the first time doing this registration and enrollment thingy was a tad confusing for me. There were different buildings to go to, I had to fill and sign out forms, collect funny-looking computer cards which had been pre-punched (it’s probably easier nowadays), proceed to the cashier’s, etc. And all that walking around! At least the weather here was nice, in fact it was a very sunny January day. Around lunch time I stopped at the Student Union building and grabbed a sandwich and drink from a deli—aside from Joan and the other lady, I didn’t know anybody at all, yet.
I pressed on after lunch, making sure that I had signed up for all the necessary courses for my Freshman semester. I was about to proceed to cashiering when I bumped into Joan again. That was very fortunate for me because she asked me whether I had the computer cards. No, I replied, I didn’t know I had to take them with me as well. Joan was about to burst out laughing as I managed an embarrassed smile. Now I had to go back to all the different locations to pick them up! I must have walked 10 miles on that day alone.
Ah, finally got those damn cards. I go to the cashiering area, and this part was nice. Why? Because I had the Fine Arts Scholarship fee waiver. At this time (January 1981) the tuition fees for an undergraduate foreign student were around $2,800 (compare that to $16,000+ now!) That was a lot of money for me, and I was glad it didn’t have to come out of my parents’ pockets. By the time I left cashiering it was late afternoon.
I walked back to the International Students Office to collect my luggage from Joan’s office. I said a big thank you to her and then had to go to Yavapai Hall, the dorm I had signed in for. Before I left, Joan said “Come see me anytime you have questions” which again, was very kind of her. It took about ten minutes to walk to Yavapai, and my gosh, that dorm was busting with activity! There were students with parents bringing stuff in, people were running in and out, it was madness! I went to the lobby area and told them I was “checking in.” They found my name, and I was assigned to a room in Basement East. They gave me a room key together with a set of dorm rules. I head straight for my room, open it, and man, it’s quite small. Never mind, I’ll get used to it. And bunk beds, sheesh. My roommate had checked in earlier and gone out, so I was alone for now. I dump my luggage, get some clean bed sheets and a pillow case from Ralph, the janitor. I explore a little, ah there’s the laundry room, the lobby area had seats with a color TV, there were vending machines, now where are the shower areas and rest rooms? OK, I see it.
Phew! What a long day. This was so different from England. Went back to my room, sat on the one available couch, and I let out a sigh. I was dead tired and allowed myself some shut-eye. By the time I woke up it was evening, and that meant dinner time which surprisingly is pretty early on campus, around 5 PM. I was told that the cafeterias on campus would close around 8, which again took me by surprise. Anyway, I venture out to do some exploration (again with my trusty map) There are people playing Frisbee on the Mall, there are still students walking about, but it’s less busy now. I go to the Student Union where all the cafeterias are located, and settle for a burger and fries at Louie’s Lower Level. There’s also a Spanish diner there, but I’ll try it out another time. When I’ve finished my meal, I go out to the Post Office on the same level to try out my SUPO (Student Union Post Office) box combination. This is where I’m going to get my mail. There’s also an Arcade area nearby and I hear all those game noises emanating from it (Pac Man, Galaxian, etc.)
The bookstore is nearby so I walk in to kill some time (I’ll have to buy my textbooks later too) It’s currently being enlarged and I learn that the campus is always ever expanding, with renovations and new buildings. Notice the Gallagher Theater next to the Student Union. I walk back to my dorm, watch some TV in the lobby, and then go back to my room and drop off to sleep.
Tags: Tucson, University of Arizona
Dorm life! Let the party begin!!!
Doris, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Philip, I must say you do have a good memory! Did you implant a computer memory chip into your brain or somethin’…?
Michelle, you don’t suspect I’m a Terminator, do you? Seriously though, I just added 4GB of RAM into my memory banks
I am sooooo glad I only had to experience dorm life for one year of my life. Yes, the University is ever expanding. I was back there several months ago to see an opera that a friend was performing in and I got lost weeding through all the new buildings and construction. Have you ever been back to visit since you left for home?
preciousrock, I haven’t been back to Tucson ever since graduation in ’84. I did manage a holiday trip to LA in ’97, but never had the time to hop over to Arizona. I checked the UA website and of course you’re right…the university is so big nowadays! Hopefully I’ll get the chance to visit it one day in the future.