Day Twenty-Two

Caitlin H.

April 19, 2010 - 12:00 PM

The following takes place between 12:00pm and 1:00pm:

Condon 206 always feels crowded. Perhaps it's the long tables shared amongst students rather than individual desks. There just never seems to be enough room in this 26-student class.

Professor Pannell, the instructor for my Urban Geography course, is settling his things in the front of the room. I always feel like I need to be on top of my game for this class; Pannell knows how to make the most of his 80 minute lecture periods. Pannell is recently returning to us from some sort of national conference in Washington D.C...I wish I'd understood more about where he was going before he left, but I'm confident he will tell us more about it today.

And as soon as Pannell opens his mouth to speak, emergency sirens of some sort fill the classroom with their unrelenting wails. Condon hall is relatively close to the Sacred Heart hospital; maybe it's an ambulance. Whatever it is, it is certain we won't accomplish anything in our classroom until the noise goes away.

Once quiet is restored Pannell remarks how the sirens remind him of that "character" that rides up and down 13th Avenue complaining about the bus system. Apparently he has heard him a time or two from his open office window. Of course, we all laugh. Pannell is a visiting faculty member so he's still learning about the memorable faces of Eugene, but to us students this character is a daily usual on campus. Not harmful in any way, but a face you never forget since everyday he rides through campus on his bicycle letting his grievances against the LTD bus system be known.

This random tangent sends my mind into a flurry of other unrelated thoughts and sounds of campus. Frog, another local icon, comes to mind. He scared me the other day with his rubber chicken and joke books, but only because he squeaked his rubber chicken from behind and I didn't realize he was there.

Sometimes student voices fill the campus. On the Rocks and Divisi in particular come to mind. I keep meaning to go see them perform in the Fishbowl sometime, and I just have never seemed to get around to it. Each is a student group a cappella choir that sounds simply stunning. I've seen each perform at different events, but never at their weekly free performances in the heart of campus. I'll add it to my list of things to do before I graduate.

ON THE ROCKS VIDEO

DIVISI VIDEO

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Authors Note: This term I've decided to dissect my day one hour at a time to inform you about my college life. My own life set to the Fox Network's hit show "24." ...If only I were as sensational as Jack Bauer. In this ‘season' you can expect a thrilling and innovative drama complete with a few unforeseen plot twists.