College used to be frightening, and while it may be the best time of our lives now, we have to remember those first few moments of freshmen year. Everything was new. Everything was confusing. More often than not, it felt like we didn’t have a clue what was going on.
And yet, freshmen are the class we love to hate. They get teased and mocked by most everyone older than them. Sophomores do it because it was done to them. Juniors do it because they’re upperclassmen now. Seniors do it because they feel powerful as the oldest students.
It’s time to break the cycle. Here are five reasons to love freshmen instead of picking on them.
1. We Used to Be One
No matter what year we are now, everyone started out in the same place. Picking on freshmen isn’t some rite of passage necessary to become an older student. First-years can’t help their age anymore than we can help ours. They may be inexperienced, but so were we at one point.
Let’s try to remember when we were in their place. It can seem “all in good fun” when we’re not on the receiving end of the criticism, but most of the time it’s just hurtful. Don’t hate on freshmen just to fit in with your own class, have some sympathy, instead.
2. Everything is Exciting for Them
While some of us may be sick of the options in the dining hall, or the view of the mall, these things are new and thrilling for the younger students. Let freshmen reopen your eyes to the beauty of this university. Chances are, they see something in a light that we’ve never even considered before.
Freshmen are likely experiencing so many “firsts.” Nowadays, we think we’re pumped for a football game or school concert, but if we recall our own first couple of campus events, we remember that there is no energy like a freshman’s energy.
3. Hate Accomplishes Nothing
Ultimately, no one wins when you tease freshmen. It doesn’t improve our reputations, and it surely doesn’t make them go away. But of course, we shouldn’t want them to go away. If schools did away with all of their freshmen, it would only be a short time before there were no students left at all.
Let’s think of what we’re trying to achieve, because right now, we aren’t gaining anything. They can’t change that they’re freshmen, but we can change that we’re picking on them.
4. They Look Up to Us
To a freshman student, we are all-knowing gods/goddesses of a world that is still a little foreign to them. These students not only observe the way we carry ourselves from day to day, but they also look up to us to learn their way around. We get to teach them the secrets we were either taught, or happened to discover on our own.
We know what they say about great power. It needs to be followed by great responsibility. The freshmen looking up to us may provide us with great power, but it shouldn’t be mistreated. Instead, we have to set a good example for our new set of peers.
5. They’re the Future of Our School
Freshmen are like our own little protégés. They’ll most likely step in our place in another year or two. So treat them like it, because currently, they make up about 25 percent of your school’s population.
By pledging to love freshmen right now, the cycle can be broken. They can think back in a few years on how amazing their upperclassmen were, and go on to be amazing upperclassmen, themselves. We should be building up the future of our school, not tearing it down.