Like many students around Penn’s campus, College freshman Elizabeth Argall already has her eye on winter break — with one goal in mind.
“I just want to relax,” she said.
Argall described her plans for break as rather typical — gathering with the rest of her family at her grandparents’ house for Christmas and skiing.
With her three best friends at Penn living near her hometown, Argall hopes to visit both her new college friends and her high school friends while unwinding over break.
Yet before the relaxation can begin, she must beat the infection that has afflicted her — and it’s not swine flu. Argall suffers from procratination.
Wrapping up her final week of classes in her first semester at Penn, she admits that she has not hit the books just yet, even with finals just around the corner.
“While my exam schedule isn’t too crazy, I have procrastinated a lot in general,” she said.
Although many of her peers will be crowded in Van Pelt cramming for exams, Argall said that studying at the library is not her cup of tea.
“I studied with my older brother for a class we were taking together there, but I found it to be more distracting than anything else,” she admits.
Argall’s brother Arthur is a College junior.
Instead, Argall prefers her room in the Quad or one of the study lounges to do her work.
However, one task she did not put off was registration and scheduling for next semester.
“I’m still not certain about what major I am going to pick,” Argall said.
With her job at the Penn Museum still going strong, anthropology is still a possibility.
Argall also plans to take a European history class which is a prerequisite for the International Relations Program, an area of study she is beginning to seriously consider.
Next semester, Argall will continue with her Arabic language classes, something she has enjoyed very much this semester.
Besides history and Arabic, Argall will take economics, a Jane Austen writing seminar and an astronomy class called “The Big Bang and Beyond.”
Argall was especially attracted to the astronomy class.
“It’s a little something different for me,” she said. “I took a lot of typical science classes in high school” but astronomy was not one of them.
Initially a bit wary of the Ivy League workload, Argall said her concerns have been alleviated.
“My high school was kind of easy, so I expected it to be intense here,” she said.
But she added that the Penn academic demands are “very doable.”
Beyond books, Argall said the recent reports of sexual assaults at two different fraternity parties have left her unsettled.
Yet, the incidents have not caused her to feel unsafe on campus.
“I’m not really the type to go party, but it does make you be more careful when you are at these parties,” she said.
Argall expressed sadness over Alex Ryles, a sophomore who committed suicidein November, and indicated that he was in one of her classes, but she did not know him personally.
Nevertheless, Argall remains upbeat about her experience at Penn thus far and is looking forward to next semester.
“I want to find an organization that I can really get involved with,” she said. “My friends are involved in various activities and love them.”
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