Things to do before you graduate by Jessie L. '07

Every new freshman class gets, in their Orientation folders, a little poster on which are listed “101 Things To Do Before You Graduate”. Out of curiosity, I picked up a copy of this year’s edition, and found that I have done a respectable 51 out of the 101 Things listed. Though I was disappointed that this year’s didn’t include a couple of things on last years that I’ve actually done, including getting published in the Tech.

In general, though, looking through the list, I feel that a lot of the things on it are rather boring (“Get your picture taken with Tim the Beaver”), touristy (“Have your parents take you to the North End”), or non-MIT/Boston-specific (“Go to a formal”). I’ve never understood the attraction of formals anyway, but that’s a separate issue. There are many list items that are worth doing, but…it’s just not that special.

Which is why I’ve decided to make a shorter list of my own, of things to do before you graduate that aren’t on the “official” list. I haven’t done all of these things (and no, I’m not going to tell you if I’ve done each one), but I think they’re all part of the MIT experience. I realize that many people will consider this list biased toward my own subculture. Guess what? I don’t care.

More Things to Do Before You Graduate:

1. Participate in Dorm Rush (or REX, whatever you want to call it)
2. See the live show of Rocky Horror in Harvard Square
3. Go on an Orange Tour
4. Go to Steer Roast
5. Mudwrestle at Steer Roast
6. Go to DTYD
7. Watch (or sing in) Bad Taste
8. Play a club or IM sport
9. Play in an Assassins’ Guild game
10. Run for UA office
11. Watch (or participate in) the UA Presidential/VP debate
12. Sit on top of the Great Dome
13. Contribute to How to Get Around MIT
14. Submit a piece to Voodoo
15. Participate in the annual Voodoo Telethon
16. Participate in a political demonstation at the State Capitol
17. Subscribe to a zephyr class
18. Listen to music on LAMP
19. Hang out at an alum’s apartment/house
20. Create a mailing list
21. Name your own Athena box
22. Write your own script that does something useful on Athena
23. Watch (or act in) an MTG production
24. Participate in Mystery Hunt
25. Talk to a Nobel Laureate
26. Make your own boffer weapon
27. Eat at Deli Haus in the Senior Haus basement
28. Visit all the dorms
29. Tool at the Coffeehouse
30. Eat a house dinner at an FSILG
31. Compete in an IAP robotics competition
32. Watch a movie on the projection screen in an empty classroom
33. Take free sailing lessons at the Sailing Pavilion
34. Pull a hack

Well, that’s a nice reasonable list. In case you’re wondering, I’ve done 24 of these 34 things. Like I said, I’m not saying which ones, but I’ll give you one clue – I have mudwrestled at Steer Roast, where I battled Ross ’05 in an East Campus Senator vs. Random Hall Senator match, and lost horribly.