Suggestions

first years

In Our Defense: First Years

Envisioning my first year as a college student, I dreamed of going to parties, attending intense sports games, and spending late nights cramming for midterms. When I committed to Swarthmore, I knew I’d have to settle for just the last one. After
October 10, 2024

The Heartbreakers of Willets Hall

To its inhabitants and some select ex-habitants, Willets Hall is infamously known as a den of thieves. Its scratched plaster walls are alive with larceny. Its shady tendencies have even extended to the local wildlife, as rats prowl the dank Willets basement
September 15, 2022

A First Year’s Mathematical Errors

Reflecting on my first year, I remember best the innumerable mistakes I made. Not the times I felt proud of myself, but the times I felt ashamed of myself. This story is inspired by one of my freshman mistakes. I want to
September 15, 2022

Pandemic Freshmen

When you’re a little kid, you have a general idea of what your first day in college will look like. Suitcases in hand and a backpack on your shoulders, you walk across a crowded campus, green as eager upperclassmen shove club posters
April 9, 2021

Reflections On My Arrival At Swarthmore

Imagine for a moment you are in a parachute. You can see beneath you. It looks scary, yet exciting. Landing approaches. The canopy is opening. At any moment you will hit the ground. The anticipation of impacting the earth when you touch
March 19, 2021

Life at Swarthmore is Defined by Uncertainties

How would you summarize your first-year experience at Swarthmore? Would you say it was too academically intense? Would you say it was boring? I will say my first-year experience can be summarized by the word “uncertainties.” The most important lesson I learned
May 2, 2019

First years going on embittered, cynical seniors?

As orientation fades more and more into a distant memory, the class of 2021 finds itself at an important crossroads. The once-chipper and easily discernable first-year faces are already blending in with the usual looks of cynicism that plague Swat’s upperclassmen. This
September 21, 2017

Being a low-income student at Swarthmore

College had always been part of my life plan. My parents were working-class high school graduates. I was the oldest of four and a straight-A student with a love of science and an intense drive to get a college degree. For my
April 27, 2017
1 2

Follow Us

The Phoenix