The beginning of a school year brings lots of new things to the University of New Haven’s campus. This year we have a brand new residence hall, a new parking garage, new professors, new friends, and of course, a new freshman class.

What baffles me is why some upperclassmen think it’s okay to make fun of freshmen. Who cares if they get lost on campus? They’re in a completely new environment; it’s expected that they will get lost a few times before they figure out where exactly Harugari is.

Who cares if they wear their lanyards around their neck? Let’s be honest, most of us thought we were so cool the first week of school when we wore our lanyards around our own necks. And to be quite honest, I still see upperclassmen doing it.

Who cares if they act like they’re the best thing to ever walk this campus? They’ll learn soon enough that they’re just one of the thousands of students on campus who pay tons of money to go here. Unless they’re a celebrity of some sort, just let them act out and make themselves look bad.

We were all freshmen at one point, and we all felt the same way they feel. We were terrified of getting lost, and we thought it was okay to wear our lanyards around our necks, and we just wanted to fit in. We all learned though, and they will, too. Cut them some slack.

We all remember how tough it was to be a freshman. It was difficult trying to adjust being away from our families for, probably, the first time ever, and it was incredibly hard sharing a room with strangers, and it just wasn’t easy trying to figure out where we belong. They’re all going through that transition right now, and the last thing they need is for upperclassmen to make fun of them about all of this.

I’m not saying that upperclassmen need to be best friends with them, but just leave them be. Making their adjustment to college harder than it has to be isn’t fair to them. And let’s be honest, all of us have much better things to worry about than the new freshman class on campus.