Welcome to the edge
If you’re new to NDSU, there are few things you should know.
First, if you hear yelling and yipping don’t worry.
Trucks filled with facepainted and cowboy hat-wearing college students drive through campus all of the time.
It’s just something we do at NDSU.
Second, sometimes the air smells like cow poo.
It’s normal.
We have animals on campus and they have to do their business.
Third, don’t dress in high heels, skirts, or shorts when there’s snow on the ground.
People will laugh at you.
Plus, you’ll be really, really cold.
Last, but not least, smile.
I see so many people around campus who won’t make eye contact with other human beings, much less smile.
A simple smile to acknowledge a passerby will usually be returned by another smile.
I should introduce myself.
My name is Anna, but my parents call me Red, Annie or Alyssa (Alyssa is my sister’s name. They get us confused.).
I’ve lived in Fargo all 21 years of my existence.
The usual response to that fact is “Oh, I’m sorry” or “That sucks.”
Not really.
I used to think it sucked to live in a “ya-sure-ya-betchya” town, but Fargo has grown on me.
I like it, minus the subzero winters and lack of an ocean.
In the first grade I informed my mom I would become a rich writer with a pet unicorn. I’ve nurtured my writing skills, but I’m still waiting to become rich.
So far, I haven’t found a pet unicorn.
Let me know if you find one.
I prefer white with a purple mane, and maybe a little glitter.
I run most days, partly to stay in shape, mostly to keep me sane.
I just can’t get enough of Paula Deen and her butter-filled recipes
on The Food
Network. I enjoy photography and I wish I were as talented as Mary Ellen Mark.
I’m rarely without my Beatles and Jack Johnson-filled iPod.
I’ve been at NDSU all three years of my college education.
In high school, I swore I’d never go to college in Fargo.
It seemed so uncool.
My senior year I applied to the University of Minnesota, the University of
Wisconsin, Gonzaga University and Washington State University.
After touring the vast campuses, I decided I just couldn’t walk 22.8 miles from class to class in five minutes.
Next, I applied to MSUM and changed my mind three weeks before the first day of class. Suddenly, going to NDSU made sense.
I decided to try it out (sure that I would transfer after one semester) and here I am, the new edge editor.
I’m excited to shape this section into a truly “edgy” section.
During my training session, the former editor Alissa Lick said something that really stuck with me - “My students (readers) are all I care about.”
She’s right.
The students are the most important part of any successful student-run newspaper.
I will carry on her philosophy to deliver the most student-centered Edge section possible. I will write what you want to read.