To Case Western Reserve University’s incoming Class of 2030: Give our community a chance. Before you know it, it’s likely that you will be wrapped up in your textbooks and adjusting to your life on campus from one school to another. The trend for the student body is to employ a sense of apathy toward ongoing political, educational or student issues. However, the Class of 2030 is in a position to break that cycle.
It may take some time before you are fully integrated into the CWRU and greater Cleveland community. But as you begin to spend more time here, you will find a unique community that you can call a home away from home or the people that you can call your family.
This doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, but it can also happen in the most unexpected of ways. Our advice to you, Class of 2030, is to be patient and to show up. Show up for yourself, for your peers, for strangers and for professors. Selfishness is a lonely thing. You may not even realize that the events, clubs, practices or groups you attend could be the reason someone else is showing up, too. Every incoming freshman is bound to experience, to some extent, similar feelings of uncertainty, doubt or loneliness.
You have two primary choices: remind yourself of those feelings and dwell on them, or get out there and unapologetically be yourself. If you choose to do the latter, you are setting yourself up for success. It is easy to get caught up in the heat of exams and ever-approaching burnout. It’s not as easy to stay true to yourself through it all.
One way you can get out into the community is by exploring. The greater Cleveland area has many hidden gems and places to explore beyond campus. Don’t overlook the benefits of the RTA seasonal pass, SafeRide and the shuttle services—the Greenlink to The Quad isn’t the only route available. If your excuse to skip out on exploration is academic commitments, you can combine the two activities into one: coffee shops. Edda Coffee Roasters is located in Ohio City, which is right across the street from West Side Market, the oldest operating market space in the city of Cleveland. Phoenix Coffee shops are sprinkled throughout Cleveland and are another place to go if you are in for a busy day of studying or accomplishing homework tasks. Blue Sky Brews is a welcoming space for all, tucked into a corner on Murray Hill Road. If you are looking to make new connections, Rising Star Coffee Roasters is the perfect place for that, as everyone shares tables with one another. But those are just a few recommendations of many, each of which share their spaces with other equally as interesting places that are worth exploring.
Community involvement means showing up for others, time after time, meeting after meeting. It is possible to float through your college experience and be completely content with your time here. But it is most rewarding to actively take part in a group to build something from scratch. Take, for example, The Observer. If you need proof of the importance of community, flip to the senior farewell pieces in this issue.
What makes one’s commitment to an organization especially worth it is the people you share it with. The quiet moments working adamantly against the strong outbursts of silliness are likely the memories you will remember most fondly when you are an upperclassman looking back on your time here at CWRU. Advocacy for ourselves and others is also important to shaping our time here. Joining The Observer is a great way to do so; all are welcome to write and share their opinions.