For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 08, 2023

It caan be a little disorienting.

He’s already completed disorientation successfully.

Journalism education in 1994, when you need a class on photography, editing and microcomputers. The Microcomputers I class is by far the most amusing class on that list.

I once signed up for an orientation course.

But I got lost on the way there.

At job orientation: “Are there any minors here?”

“No, i think we’re all cashiers here.”

its nice to see a comic covering “freshman” first years stuff. the first leaving home thing is a big step for youngsters.

Guys I promise you there’s a pay off to all of this for this week

“Microcomputers I”… (snerk!)

Switching photography classes won’t help Michael fit into microcomputers! Michael would need to shrink his entire body down to less than the size of Tom Thumb to fit into anything that has the prefix word ‘micro’ in it. (For example think of a microscope rather than a jumbo tron.

Hurry, Mike, someone is waiting to meet you.

This has been a good reminder of how it used to be done… everything now is done online; I’d forgotten what it was like when I was in college. (D### I’m old)

Bringing back long buried memories.

How many t’s are in Patterson?

I remember those days!

Photography and Editing sounds like an upper division class not something you would take first semester.

The one thing that still irks me today from my time in college: Being forced to take courses that had no bearing or relation towards my goal (Bear in mind, I attended from Fall 1998 to late 2002.). They had me take Biology, Government, History and many others for a computer major. On top of all that, there was an unavoidable prerequisite of the college experience. It was 0.5 credits and they wouldn’t allow you to skip on it; no refunds and no exceptions. It was just a course promoting the college and other things related to the campus. I think it was just a loophole way for them to eke more money out of you, yet look legitimate enough to avoid litigation.

When they reneged on their promise to approve my FAFSA application, that really hurt the most. I ended up paying for everything out of my pocket. I worked 2 jobs while going to college just to break even. It burned me out in the end and I struggled with the non-computer classes. They didn’t even offer tutoring or compromises in course guidance.

In the end, with my funds in the red and physical exhaustion, I took a break…one that lasts even to this day. Life got in the way. Now, I’m finding myself at a point whether to go back and pick up where I left off or start over…but on MY TERMS. In all honesty, it brings up a lot of anxiety to even think of setting foot back on that campus again. It was a bitter, unpleasant time going then and I can’t imagine it being any better now.

I’m 64, and I still keep in sporadic contact with a few old college friends.

At last! Someone guessed his name’s spelling right the first time!

It gets even worse when……on the first day of classes you meet a professor of English by the name of DR. Kenneth Nixon, who happens to have a ‘Henrik Ibsen’ fetish ! ! ! !

You know, I’m waaaay past college and all that, but I still wake up once in a while panicked that I’m late for class and I didn’t do my homework.

Started college in 1970 you were required to take a PE class your first four semesters, many schools had a graduation requirement that you be able to swim a mile. In California all the public universities required a core of 60 units-2 semester of US history, physical science, natural science…. unless you could place out of them.

Is he registered by mistake as Michael Fatterson? That has two Ts.

This is all too true!

And, one of the bureaucrats finally got the spelling of his name correct…

Gah! I want to go back to college!!

Is this “two T’s” thing supposed to be some kind of incredibly weak running gag?

I’m surprised the schools don’t give the students hallway GPS devices.

My memory isn’t what it used to be.Or is it?

that first week of the first year of college can be so

That’s Orientation with two T’s

Ahhh… memories.

Is the two T’s thing a Canadian gag? Not many Patersons in the US

The college I went to in 1978 if you were an incoming freshman they had orientation during the summer and you registered for classes then insuring that you got the classes and professors you wanted.

I audited a computer class in 1980. We were still working with boxes of cards that had holes punched in them.

Did you know that 70 to 80% of all Christian kids leave the church before the end of their freshman year in college?

‘Obo’ today’s secret message?