J.L. Bailey is an unclassified graduate student. He can be contacted at [email protected].The first weeks of this fall semester have been interesting.
High school graduation is a distant memory. Many interesting events during quite a few fall semesters at three different institutes of higher learning as both an undergraduate and graduate student form my frame of reference.
And while I did attend MSU during two spring semesters and one summer, this fall semester is my first opportunity to experience campus life during those last sweltering days of August and the transition into autumn.
When roaming around campus, it is now not uncommon to encounter other students who are older, greyer and, like me, have beefed up a little since we were freshmen.
Many of those walking the halls of this campus with receding hairlines worked for many years in business, industry or certain professional positions. I have spoken with men and women who taught school, owned businesses, practiced law and even worked swing shift.
Do students come up to me and ask if I am on the lam from a local retirement community? No.
Do they come up to me and say, “Hey pops, got a light?” Again, no.
What about undergraduates who ask if I’m looking for my son?
Negative on that one too.
There have been a few amusing moments.
During the first week of classes, after settling into a very small desk in Hilbun Hall, a student sitting next to me turned and asked, “Are you a teacher?”
“No,” I said. “I’m just an old guy taking classes.” And I added, “Don’t even think about calling me Pops.”
If that were not enough, the same day I walked into a second-floor classroom in Lee Hall about a minute before starting time, and everyone in the class quit talking and sat straight in their desks.
In retrospect I should have walked behind the podium and stated, “Good afternoon, I’m Professor Bailey, the university philatelist. Would you please pass all your 1991 Limited Edition Elvis Blue Hawaii stamps to the front of class?”
Last week another incident occurred in Lee Hall. A woman approached me before class and asked, “Professor, would you mind if I give a brief informational speech to your class about a study abroad program?”
Politely, I informed this energetic person that the professor had not yet arrived.
Last winter, when I returned to MSU, there were quite a few noticeably older students gracing the classrooms and walking the halls of this fine institution.
Actually, in my experience, younger students seem enthusiastic rather than puzzled to take a class with someone in the same age range as their parent.
On the first day of classes, I met Tyler Stewart, editor of The Reflector. Our conversation evolved to a point when I inquired about any age limits for staff writers. He very calmly informed me that I was not an “old” student but rather a non-traditional student.
Non-traditional sounds much better than geezer.
I’m thrilled with this new classification.