Attention upperclassmen: be nice to the freshmen!
Remember what it was like to be a freshman, new on campus and unsure about college life? Now that school is back in session, if you’re an upperclassman tempted to look down on the wave of freshmen students running around campus looking lost, let me point you to an article at StudentSoul.org about what freshmen wish upperclassmen would remember about their first year.
It’s a good reminder that you can be a good Christian witness to your fellow students simply by being patient with underclassmen and occasionally going out of your way to help them acclimate to campus life. Here’s the article’s concluding exhortation:
As you meet new students, remember their inexperience. Remember unknown roommates and more noise in the dorms than you had at home. Remember not knowing anyone. Remember learning to live with cafeteria food. Most of all, remember that freshmen are more than recruits to grow your numbers. They are people you will soon learn to love. Be open to who they are and let them grow into who they are becoming. Avoid pegging new students too soon, and introduce them slowly and clearly to the Christian subculture on your campus.
Be nice to freshmen, because you used to be one: sounds like good advice to me!
