Editor’s Note: The Freshman Experience is a monthly column that explores what it’s like to be a freshman student at the university. Freshmen are asked a series of questions related to how their first year has been thus far. In this column, we talk to Mackenzie Knighten and Terrell Atkins.
Entering college as a freshman is an exciting time. With a whole new environment to see and explore, most students don’t know where to begin creating experiences and memories. Some of the biggest questions are: “How am I going to make friends?” and “How in the world am I going to learn this campus?” It was a month in when I finally realized that I could take a two-minute shortcut to get to my class, instead of the 30-minute walk I had been taking. It’s the little things like that I wish somebody would have told me earlier.
Mackenzie Knighten is a public policy leadership major from Sunflower, Miss. She graduated from Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. Terrell Atkins is a journalism major from Amory, Miss. He graduated from Amory High School.
Knighten and Atkins are both Luckyday Scholars, who live in Luckyday Residential College.
Why did you choose Ole Miss?
Knighten: “(Scholarship) money was definitely a factor.”
Atkins: “(I chose Ole Miss because of the scholarship) money and the fact that Ole Miss has the best journalism program in the state.”
How is navigating campus and social life?
Knighten: “The hardest things are navigating people and finding an inner circle. Coming to Ole Miss opened my eyes to how many legacies there are when it comes down to the campus. Everyone has a parent or even both (parents) that have attended Ole Miss and are alumni. As a Black woman, I am searching for a sisterhood on campus.”
Atkins: “It’s good so far. I learn more and more everyday, whether it’s making friends or exploring the campus. It’s such a big space and I meet new people every single day. It is so different from high school. I’m used to knowing everyone since my town is so small.”
How does this experience differ from or compare to your old home life and experiences?
Knighten: “Seeing so many grandparents and parents bring their children or grandchildren to orientation was so new to me. I know people who dropped out of high school in the last few months of senior year due to lack of support within their family. It is like everyone already has a head start whereas people from the Delta don’t have that foundation. Only one of my grandparents went to college, and that is mainly because she’s white.”
Atkins: “I am able to experience life independently, and there is also more to experience. My hometown was so small, so Oxford is really my chance to get out and explore life. I hadn’t even seen Insomnia Cookies before I came to Oxford.”
As a black woman on this campus, how do you feel about navigating the classroom?
Knighten: “My high school, the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (in Columbus) was truly a change of pace. I went from attending a school in the Delta and learning little to nothing to being challenged academically on topics that I never heard about before. It can break your spirit. Now in college my goal is to build my confidence in academic endeavors, especially now, since I have more academic experience. I’m more prepared.”
Is it at all what you expected?
Knighten: “My sister referred to Ole Miss as the ‘racist school.’ Racially, it isn’t as bad as what people back home think, but it also is exactly what I expected. The feelings of imposter syndrome and expecting no faces to look like mine were definitely expected. In my African American studies classes, I even prepared myself to have all white teachers.”
Atkins: “I’m familiar with the experiences at a predominantly white institution because my high school was majority white. The football culture and how fraternity guys and sorority girls act is certainly surprising. Since I’m new to Ole Miss football experience, the traditions are slightly different but I’m getting the hang of it. When it comes down to racism, I stay on my toes, prepared just in case. Racially, it isn’t bad. The friendliness is kind of weird since I’m unfamiliar with it.”
Both students commented on the party culture that occurs on campus and how it affects them in the classroom.
Knighten: “I try to focus on my work, but it is difficult when my peers spend most of class discussing parties. Sometimes, I definitely feel like my life experiences make me more focused on my work, and my peers have the luxury of simply not caring as much.”
Atkins: “I didn’t know Ole Miss was such an intense party school. It could be a Tuesday and drunk girls will be stumbling into their dorm rooms on a Tuesday night. It’s kind of funny because they’ll be in class the next morning hungover and taking notes.”
Any further comments?
Knighten: “Classes are definitely hard for me being a black woman. When we talk about history, I have to remain poise and calm, even though the topics are frustrating. There is also an obvious gap in the playing field. My peers are years ahead in the game and I’m just starting.”
