Lyon College Blog

The only bad thing about beginning a new semester is having to shell out the big bucks to buy books.  I’ve never quite understood why textbooks were so expensive–after all, aren’t they just covers with a bunch of pages stuck in-between?  When it comes to buying books, I have two bits of advice.  First, try to find a fellow student who has already taken the class and has the particular book that you’re interested in.  Make a deal–it’s just about guaranteed that their price will be far lower than what you might encounter in the bookstore.  Secondly, try to buy used books from the bookstore, if at all possible.  Hit the bookstore as soon as you return from summer or Christmas break, while there’s still used books available for purchase.  On a different note, we have a pretty awesome bookstore here at Lyon.  It has practically everything you can imagine.  School supplies, college logo apparel, greeting cards, cool knick-knacks, food items, and books (of course) are stocked in abundance in the bookstore.  And if you need some help finding something, Sandy Michael and the rest of the bookstore staff are more than willing to help!

Freshman dorms.  That phrase alone is usually enough to send you running and screaming in the other direction.  Do visions of dimly lit rooms and the dreaded community bathrooms come to mind?  Well, if it makes you feel any better, the dorms at Lyon really aren’t that bad.  The four freshman dorms (Love, Bryan, Blandford and Spragins) compose “The Quad”, so you’re located within a few seconds of your fellow classmates.  Yeah, the rooms may seem small at first, but you’d be amazed at all the things that can be crammed into closets and drawers.  And community bathrooms are, in my opinion, a blessing rather than a curse.  If you share a bathroom with suitemates, you are responsible for keeping that bathroom clean.  Blandford, Love, and Bryan all contain community bathrooms which are cleaned by the housekeeping staff at least twice a day!

The Intramural Athletic Program at Lyon provides a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in a variety of compepetitive sports.  Coach Tim Servis, director of intramural athletics, is responsible for scheduling the events.  Different sports such as flag football, volleyball, sand volleyball, basketball, and softball are offered each semester.  The fraternities and soroities on campus always participate in intramurals, and team points are awarded for every victory, so competition among the Greeks can, at times, become somewhat intense.  Still, good sportsmanship prevails during the games, as the main goal is simply to have fun.

It’s funny how, throughout life, we learn and grow the most during difficult and trying situations.  In a sense, this same principle can be applied to college course work.  Everyone has classes that, at times, can seem impossible–for me, it was organic chemistry.  Sometimes the material just doesn’t click, or the sheer volume of the material to be learned is unimaginable.  Hours are spent reading over the notes, rewriting notes, and then studying these notes again.  But when all is said and done, you look back and realize just how much you’ve learned.  In addition to possessing a firm grasp of the material, you realize that your work ethic, determination, and self-discipline was also enhanced through this experience.  If you are facing a difficult class, look at it as an opportunity rather than an obstacle.  Work as hard as possible, ask for help–I guarantee that you’ll be successful.

Batesville may seem small.  We’ve got restaurants, a movie theater, and a bowling alley.  But trust me, there’s still plenty of stuff to do here on the weekends.  The Student Activities Council, known as SAC, sponsors some sort of activity every weekend.  Also, there’s always some type of sporting event taking place; you can count on basketball in the fall and baseball in the spring!  And Greek life is definitely not lacking in vitality on campus, as the fraternities always have something planned!

College students on just about every campus everywhere seem to complain about the quality of cafeteria food.  But here, one thing is for sure: Mom’s desserts cannot even compare to those that Brenda makes in the cafeteria!  Words can’t begin to describe the wonderful desserts that fill ‘Brenda’s Bake Shop’–cookies, brownies, pies, cheesecake–you name it, and Brenda can probably make it.  Campus favorites include rice crispie treats, homemade apple pie, cheesecake topped with cherry or strawberry sauce, and the world’s most delicious sugar cookies.  Oh, how could we forget about the ever-so-popular Brownie Bar days?  And, if all this delicious dessert talk has made you think about those the dreaded “Freshman 15″, don’t worry–we have a fitness center!

There’s just something about fountains that brings out the mischeevious side of college students.  Maybe it comes from our childhood fascination with bubble baths–perhaps that could make a good case for a child psychologist.  Regardless of the source of motivation, putting soap into the fountain located by the Mabee Simpson Library seems to be an all-too-typical prank for students.  Maintenance probably gets tired of dealing with this bubble-spouting fountain, but at least it adds a little bit of excitement on walks to the dreaded 8 o’clock classes.

I had always heard people say that the college years are some of the best years of your life, but I was never sure how much validity this statement held.  As a freshman, it took a while for me to become accustomed to the whole college life thing.  My mom wasn’t there to get me up in the mornings or pester me about finishing my homework; I even had to start doing my own laundry.  But slowly, as I developed new friendships and began to take on new responsibilities, I started to truly enjoy the college experience.  Even now, I have those days when the courseload seems unbearable and I feel that there’s simply not enough time to do everything.  But, when I stop and look at my accomplishments on both a personal and academic level, I realize that, yes, perhaps my college years really will be some of the best times of my life.

For many science majors, the Derby Center has become a second home.  Between all the time spent on lectures, labs, tests, and lab reports, it sometimes seems like there is no escape from “The Derb.”  The Derby Center provides a quiet place to study, which can be extrememly beneficial in the evenings when noise levels are on the rise in the dorms.  Study rooms are located on every floor, and many students often use the lecture halls and seminar rooms for study areas as well.  If you’re still studying in Derby during the early morning hours, be on the watch for the ghost of one of the “Chapel Children”, who has been spotted on the Chemistry Floor outside of Dr. Hutton’s office…  However, to ease your mind, the security guards make their rounds about 10pm every night and lock the interior doors of Derby, leaving you feeling same and secure in your study room.

           Like many students, I struggle with time management.  It’s not that I intentionally try to be late for things, but somehow the minutes seem to waste away and before I know it, I’m fashionably late.  If you happen to struggle with the same problem, there is still hope for you!  Since Lyon’s campus is relatively small, everything is located fairly close together.  If you live on the Quad (and have a good pair of shoes and quick feet!) you can make it to any class in about four minutes.  ETA for upperclassmen living in the apartments: 4 minutes, 30 seconds.  As for other upper classmen living in Young, McRae, or Rogers, plan on leaving about 6 minutes early.