As you return to ETSU this year, or perhaps go to classes for the first time, take a look around at your fellow students. You may see something you didn’t expect.
Sure, there are always the quintessential “entering freshmen” – fresh faced young adults just out of high school, living on campus and out of mommy and daddy’s home for the first time.
But take another look.
When you do, you may notice that not everyone here fits into the “traditional” student mold.
In fact, 40 percent of students at ETSU are adult students, 23 or older. And when you add transfer students, the numbers are even higher.
I ask that this semester we reconsider the idea of “traditional.”
The idea of a “traditional student” is an outdated one. Here, what people refer to as “non-traditional” is less of a minority and more of an equal. We are the new traditional students.
New traditional students, of course, have slightly different needs and responsibilities. We usually have jobs, sometimes even carrying a full course load and working a full time job. And some of us have families to take care of at home on top of that.
Having to balance the world of school, with work and home, can be a daunting experience. And we bring all of those experiences to the classroom.
Having a new traditional voice in the classroom is enriching.
Don’t discount the views of fellow students simply because you think they may be older than you.
I’ve been very lucky in my experiences here because I look like a “traditional” student, so most people in my classes don’t realize how long I waited to go to college. But other students aren’t always so lucky, and can feel left out simply because younger students don’t think they belong. But new traditional students do belong, and their voices need to be heard.
Outside of the classroom, the voice of the new traditional student has very few outlets. Sure, there are a couple of organizations on campus set aside for new traditional students. But other organizations also need to include our voices – not just set them apart.
Starting with this column, I hope to give the new traditional student a voice in our student newspaper.
Over the semester I will explore what I think are the needs and interests of this sect here on campus.
And maybe “traditional” and new traditional students as well, will begin to understand each other a little more.
But everyone can start opening their eyes each day as they sit in the Culp Center, or in the classroom.
Realize the different backgrounds of your fellow students, and learn from them.
Let go of the outdated notion of “traditional.

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