I guess I was a little brainwashed in high school while playing on the sports teams.

No matter what sport I played, the team and individuals would review a videotape of either the previous practice or game. We did this, wearing out the rewind and slow motion buttons on the VCR, in order to see what we were doing wrong (seldom were we doing anything right) and what we needed to improve on.

The process isn’t new to anyone who has participated in competitive athletics. And, as many concepts are learned through sports and are applied to life after those glory days, this lesson might be the best of all.

Everyone should realize that mistakes, inevitably, will be made. But by reviewing these mistakes, we can look and see what we did right and what we need to improve on. Professors have been saying forever that we learn through history and history is full of mistakes.

So, my kind and gentle readers, with the end of the semester hastily approaching and most of us trying to cram a semester’s worth of work into two weeks, I thought it would be a good time to review the semester. My VCR doesn’t work very well, so I’ll probably miss a few things and the events might be a little blurry and jumbled.

No matter the order, the lesson learned is unique to the reader, and hopefully, at least thought-provoking.

The semester started off colder than usual. Not because DeKalb has the crown for being the coldest place on God’s greenhouse earth, but because a chill hit NIU right in the face as not-everyone returned. Within the first week of the semester, stories about students who died, from whatever cause, stories about an alleged sexual assault at a fraternity, and general bad news made the front pages of newspapers.

The campus warmed up a little though, since so much heat came from the fire we had at the student center and the residence hall and the … Of course, people were warming up with their fevers and the seasonal flu epidemic.

There was enough to get sick about without that pesky little bug floating around.

But humor was not lost in the Student Association. Our fearless campus leaders were “invalidated” because of a squabble over voting districts. But since the SA Supreme Court decided that unseating the senators caused a crisis, the senate was reinstated. It’s comforting to know when the chips are down there is somewhere you can turn for guidance and a much-needed smile.

And, of course, what would the semester be without the REG stamp cases or students in the dormitories breaking another elevator and the ever-proposed separate governing for NIU?

Then there was the ever-increasing confusion of what the SA should do with the Illinois Student Association and how they should do it. Let alone the squabble of who should get paid what amidst their ranks.

And who could forget the greater-than-life employee hired to fill a new job in the Affirmative Action Office? If my class records are scrutinized in the same manner Vivian Hammoud’s job application was, I just might get out of DeKalb in four years.

I’ll leave our sports department to analyze the men’s basketball team and their coaching/athletic board/athletic director questions.

There was some good news, like the lady Huskies and their outstanding season. Congratulations, ladies, and thanks once again.

An alcohol-free floor in the residence halls was given the go-ahead for next semester; I just hope we can find enough college-age people to fill it.

The SA election ran smoother than previously, the late-night ride service seems to be working well and, albeit a shaky start, the SA handicapped transportation got off the ground.

Well, I think I just broke my VCR, but if tuition doesn’t go up, maybe I can get a new one …

Yeah, right.