September 27, 2024
Keeping in time with the Mills Community since 1917
Opinion pieces, columns, and staff editorials
I received an e-mail from an incoming graduate student who asked various Mills-related questions-one of which dealt with the type of reception he should expect as a man attending a women's college.
I replied that my overall experience so far is positive, but there are times when men are looked upon as party crashers.
Our year began in a unique fashion: we had a brand new structure, constitution, and location. We were also operating with four brand-new members to the Executive Board, 25 brand-new senators and our brand-new advisor, Toni Blackwell. Fortunately, together, we hit the ground running and had a successful year, with all of our goals met.
The combination of the cost of graduation regalia and the constant plea from my own class for monetary donations is a bit like Mills shooting itself in the foot.
My main beef is with the cost of the regalia. And yes, I admit: $83 is not the biggest fee.
Wait! Wait! You can't possibly imagine that I don't hear your whispers! And don't think that I don't see you longingly eyeing your suitcases. You're leaving. Soon, you're going to be packing up all of your things and leaving. But why? We were having so much fun! Sure, you had all of those classes that you had to attend, but that was cool, wasn't it?
I mean, those classes had you coming up with research questions and those research questions had you coming into the library! Now that. that was cool! Every day we got to see you here, perusing the books, flipping through journals, and scrutinizing our databases.
I have searched my heart and mind for what I ought to say to you. Do I share what I wished I had known on the eve of my college graduation? If I had sage wisdom perhaps this would be the moment to share that. However, I am still a humble sojourner on this path searching for guidance as well.
These last few weeks I have been doing a lot of reminiscing about the last four years of my life...all spent here at Mills.
I thought about my freshman year, and about how much I absolutely hated it! There were some fun times along the way, but I had myself convinced that I didn't like it here.
Let The Campanil be the first to say how proud we are that Mills College is located in Oakland. We have written previous editorials opposing Mills' frequent decision to publicize the location of our campus as the "San Francisco Bay Area" instead of simply stating that we are in Oakland.