We should return to the precedent of welcoming students to the new school year with fresh planners.
Courtesy | Wikimedia Commons

I thought I was ready for my senior year. And by all metrics of a Hillsdale College student, I was. I’d carefully curated my classes, established what were sure to become lifelong friendships, and secured my own off-campus house.

But nothing could have prepared me for how quickly my life fell apart. I arrived at the Student Activities Office last week and saw a Hillsdale College Student Planner was not there waiting for me. The planner, the presence of which had been as dependable as a freshman cracking a “What is the good?” joke, was gone, and with it went my organization and motivation. 

The annual planner has been with me since my freshman year and has always guided me toward academic success. Each night, I would sit with it to carefully plan the coming day, making to-do lists, goals, and a schedule. Not everything I wrote down got done, but the planner did help me keep my priorities straight and visualize each week. 

Now that I go plannerless, each day is a whirlwind of unfocused efforts and crumpled-up notes: What pages was I supposed to translate for Latin? Did Dr. Gaetano tell me to read Augustine or Aquinas’ treatise on grace? When did I schedule my lunch meeting? 

In my confused stupor, I have walked past the Student Activities Office several times, hoping that a pile of planners would appear on the SAO desk. But alas, none have — just a sad stack of “Women’s Roundtable” pamphlets and “Man Up” flyers that no students have claimed. “The Mentor,” a magazine that claims to help students adjust to college life, sits where the planners should. But how can we succeed if we don’t have planners? 

The annual planner was printed thanks to the generous funding of the Student Federation. As well as a calendar, it included a student handbook with departmental information, contacts for Hillsdale businesses, building hours, and more. This year, Student Affairs published the handbook online, preventing the Student Federation from spending money on the planner. 

But the administration shouldn’t have made the decision alone, especially when they aren’t paying for the planners. If the student body wants planners, which has been the precedent for years, the Student Federation should have had a say. 

Perhaps the reasonable solution to my problem is to buy myself a planner, but I won’t. Until I am provided with my complimentary planner, I will continue to write my to-do lists on spare loose leaf and printer paper from the library. 

To the freshmen, enjoy your blissful ignorance. To my fellow upperclassmen, stand with me in solidarity. To my professors, please forgive the inevitable slip in my grades. 

And lastly, to my editor, I am sorry I got this piece to you late. I would have finished on time if I could have written it down in my planner.