2008 Woodie Awards
RSSIs it a small world after all?
By Martha Miller
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Lifestyle
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You attend your English class. The professor calls on you, by name, to voice your opinion on the main character in the novel you had to read. You're happy you kept up with the reading.
After class you head to the gym. You get on your reserved elliptical and notice that your history professor is on the machine right next to you. You say "hi" and continue working out. Peering over the railing, you see that guy you hooked up with last weekend. You hope he doesn't see you in such a sweaty mess.
That night you go out with your girlfriends to a fraternity party. You tend to always go to this particular house and are greeted with a hug from all of the guys upon entering. That girl from your high school happens to be at the party, too. You secretly dislike her, but you smile and talk to her anyway.
It's a small world.
Lehigh University: Not quite the quaint, private liberal arts school but definitely not a Big Ten university either. It is the middle child of the college education system. With roughly 6,000 students on the campus, size is a factor that affects the entire community.
Unlike many colleges of a comparable size, there are a variety of reasons why students choose to come here and what they become involved in. Some come to be engineers, others to be accountants. Some join the Greek system and others are athletes.
"It's not a tiny liberal arts college, and not a big state school," Lisa Dubreuil, senior associate director of admissions said. "It is right in the middle. Lehigh offers the class size and student-to-teacher ratio of a liberal arts college but the resources of a big state school."
For many students, finding the right balance between too big and too small was a major component in choosing a college.
"It's the perfect size, very good for meeting people and not overwhelming," Emily Becker, '10, said.
No matter where students go, they say there is always someone they know but they are still surrounded by three or four people they don't know.
"I like the fact that I never walk to class without seeing someone I know," Michael Doherty, '10 said. "On a college campus with 50,000-plus students you may walk to every one of your classes in a given day and not see a familiar face at all."
