Prowl is done, First Night is over and now it is time to really get into the swing of things at Eastern; that is right, the first day of classes.

Walking into classes can be nerve racking, and depending on who you are, ice breaker games can either help or hinder.

Most students said they preferred starting their classes with syllabus reading rather than ice breakers.

Will Wood, a junior history education major, said he preferred to avoid ice breakers.

“We’ve done syllabus readings and I like that,” Wood said. “They cut right to the chase.”

Deonte Williams, a freshman majoring in finance, said he preferred reading the syllabus so that he can meet people in a less structured way.

“I’d rather jump straight into class,” Williams said. “If I get to know you, that’s cool and all, but I feel like I’m going to get to know you more as a person during a project.”

Lily Leopardo, a senior art education major, said her preference depended on the people in the class.

“Once I’m in my major and I kind of know everybody, I would rather jump straight into it,” Leopardo said. “But it’s nice every once in a while to go into an icebreaker.”

Rajah Matthews, a senior majoring in kinesiology, said she would rather do an icebreaker on her first day.

“I hate when they just jump in and don’t care about who I am,” Matthews said, “I’m not like the awkward type that doesn’t like to stand up. I’ll definitely stand up and tell people who I am.”

Students have varying ways they prepare for the first day of classes.

Kassondra Graham, a junior special education major, said wanted to wait to find out what she needed to get for classes rather than get it ahead of time.

“I didn’t do much to prepare. I went to Wal-Mart last night and bought a five subject notebook,” Graham said. “I figure most teachers tell you what you need on the first day, so I wasn’t going to spend the money if I didn’t need it.”

Jasmine Conyers, a graduate student studying counseling, said she liked to be prepared for the first day of class.

“Lots and lots of Post-It Notes, multiple multi-color highlighters and plenty of the notebooks with the pocket folders because I have to store all the syllabi together, ” Conyers said.

Students also vary in what part of classes they are looking forward to.

Conyers said students should go into the first day of classes ready for anything.

“Go in open-minded and prepare for being able to take in a lot of information and using that to your benefit to excel in the classes,” Conyers said.

Students also had varying views on what they look forward to getting from their classes.

Graham said she was excited for progressing in her student career.

“It brings me closer to graduation,” Graham said. “I mean I wish they offered more online classes, because I don’t live on campus so I commute everyday. But I don’t know, learning is fun, I guess.”

Conyers said she was excited to learn a lot from her classmates.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know my classmates and learning tactics that I can learn from them that will help me.” Conyers said. “Everybody’s a little different, so it’s definitely a plus to be able to take knowledge from other people that helps you.”

Allison Little can be reached at 581-2812 or at aclittle2@eiu.edu.