Prospectus

Issue date: 8/26/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Alishia Reynolds, Levi Norman, and Isaac Mitchell

Ack! I just drove around for hours looking for a parking spot, I got lost looking for all of the different wings of the school, I don't know where I can find my lunch, I don't know what professors are good, and I have no idea what is going on!

Parkland is a different kind of a college. It is full of nooks and side hallways, and each one seems to harbor something new and interesting. If you take a walk around the campus, you're likely to run across beautiful landscaping, the planetarium, all sorts of athletics facilities, a "hidden" radio station, the student newspaper, a television studio, a student test kitchen, a mechanic's full-sized garage, and the list goes on and on. It's overwhelming, quite frankly.

But here's a list to help you, the new (or seasoned) student, to get a head start of making the most out of your college experience. If anything, find out just a few tips to keep you out of trouble:

-Know your food options

Isolated from the culinary delights that are mostly located downtown and around the University campus, Parkland students are usually forced to find grubbage on the Parkland campus. There are essentially two areas (besides the vending machines): Gulliver's cafeteria, and a dual-restaurant stand that serves subs and pizza. Here are a couple of pointers when ordering from Gulliver's: 1. You need to beware of purchasing food separately. For example, if you buy a salad, French fries, and a drink, you're going to end up paying somewhere over seven dollars! Look for their meal packages to find something affordable. There are also some options to create your own salad or sandwich, and their "hot bar" changes daily. Also keep in mind that the double restaurant closes in the afternoon, so you won't find anything to eat other than the cafeteria-if that happens, and you want just a quick snack, duck into the bookstore right across the hall for a selection on par with a small gas station.

-Take a course taught by Batsie, or some other award-winning faculty

Although he may not be popular among other staff members because of his outside-the-box approach to teaching, Batsie is adored by most students. He teaches psychology and sociology classes with random outbursts and off-subject tangents, and keeps students on their toes. He offers many creative assignments, easy tests, field trips to prisons and a wide variety of knowledge in his field. Students learn but have tons of fun doing it. The key to having a great college experience is to find the faculty that will challenge you, and they are all over the place-just ask some older students about their favorite professors, and look into the courses.

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