By: Dylan Abrams

Upon entering the A.E. England building on move-in day, we all had an idea of how college life was going to be.  Some of us dreamed of days full of sleep and nights full of partying. Some of us looked forward to an intense studying environment. And some of us were just scared out of our minds, fearing the walk into this next chapter of our lives.  But what we found as the weeks progress is that our vast images of the college world were greatly skewed, and that college as a whole was nothing like we were expecting.

It is amazing to think how much has changed in our lives over the course of the semester; new friendships, relationships and even major-changes have come into the mix of our small, yet significant community.  With so many changes, it seems like we have been here forever, and yet it seems like only yesterday we were meeting each other for the first time at the PBS studio on the sixth floor of the Cronkite building.

Introducing ourselves with the embarrassing music we had on our iPods was only the first of many adventures we would share together.  Media tours, the State Press, karaoke nights and spontaneous line dancing in the second floor lounge have all become fond memories of living together.  And while we have certainly had drama worthy of being played on MTV, the trials and tribulations that have befallen us over the past four months are nothing in comparison to the good times we have had together.

As we head into winter break and our next semester of CV, more adjustments will inevitably be made; new class schedules, new CV events, and even some new faces will become a part of our lives.  But among all the changes we face come January, one thing will stay the same: we are CV6.  And whether we are chilling in the lounge, heading to class, or wandering the streets of Tempe after partying a little too hard, the spirit of community will continue to resonate on the second floor of Tower I.

By: Isabelle Novak

What is the name on every student’s lips here at the Downtown Phoenix campus? CityScape. It is the city’s new answer to rejuvenating and modernizing the shopping, dining and entertainment scene here in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona. For students at Arizona State University’s relatively small downtown campus, this development is a dream come true. Instead of taking the 30 minute light rail ride to Tempe’s Mill Avenue for entertainment, downtown students are now able to experience exciting new restaurants and stores only a few short blocks away.

CityScape exploded into the lives of Downtown Phoenix residents on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010. Not only was there a free Third Eye Blind concert, but also the opening of an Urban Outfitters, already decorated festively for the holidays with multicolored lights and glittery ornaments. As hundreds of college students and young adults socialized and mingled in the crowded plaza, it became clear that CityScape is the new place to be. With restaurants ranging from Five Guys Burgers and Fries to upscale Silk Sushi opening this winter, there is something to satisfy every appetite and budget. Shops such as Designer District, West of SoHo, and the new Urban Outfitters offer an array of styles and fashions fit for the perfect shopping trip.

“I like the fact that CityScape is so accessible, and we can be somewhere fun and get away from just the school atmosphere,” explained Hannah Button, a Downtown Phoenix campus student living at Taylor Place.

However, there are some drawbacks presented with this new development. Derek Trebesch, also a freshman living at Taylor Place, said that from his experience CityScape is good concept, but not necessarily practical pricewise for the college student. He explained that Lucky Strike, an urban bowling alley with a club-like twist that opened this summer, is expensive and typically for the 21 and up crowd.

But despite some of CityScape’s shortcomings, it remains to be a breath of fresh air in an area typically categorized as a business district without many attractions for a younger crowd. For overworked students looking to leave their dorm room for a few hours and explore the city, CityScape just might be the ticket.

By: Alexis Roeckner

Everything about downtown Phoenix is unfathomable. This much is clear every time we as Cronkite School students attempt to capture it, tag it and pin it down with the words we are being taught to use.

We glance at bits and pieces of the fathomless city during the day, hardly caring, forever hurrying to our next class or wandering in search of coffee, looking at our notes or complaining about lack of sleep to our friends. We function just enough to focus on homework but not to recognize this urban area’s beauty. We live our lives lost among the skyscrapers. But occasionally within the weeks and the months during which we walk too fast down the street to notice anything, there comes a day that we pause to look. And we see.

Phoenix begins to awaken the moment the dark sky has been washed away, lingering as the sun makes its way through the horizon. The air is cool at first, delicate as it can only be in the morning, before the day drags on and the hours turn it stale. There are days when the manmade lights that intertwine shops with restaurants fade gradually as the sun crawls back up to the sky, and there are mornings when all is dark and suddenly sunlight spills across the pavement, brightening the towers of brick and cement and illuminating glass windows. Either way, we who have been sent to the heart of it stand with our pens and paper at our sides, hearts beating, skin tingling, eyes straining to take it all in.

With the sun comes movement. It grows faster as buses hum contentedly and cars honk as they fight one another down the roads. Construction trucks beep below endless planes that are roaring in the sky, touching base, coming home. And the people, the true citizens of America who work for their pay and fight for their rights, they move too. The sound of their footsteps blends with the sounds of Phoenix as they walk. As they walk, we walk together embracing the hum of the town, the energy of what is alive all around us, the energy that keeps us together and pulls us apart and makes us remember what is important in the end.

Photo courtesy of Hayden Harrison.

And we college students, we who call ourselves journalists, walk back down the street to what has become our home, to where we can continue to study and sleep and learn about the immensity of our lives, where we can try to capture the city again.

By: Jordee Kalk

“Sweet Caroline. Bum Bum Bum. Good times never seemed so good!”

Although Neil Diamond may have been the first to sing these lyrics, I like to think that my mom and I perfected the final tuning.

The music came flowing from our basement, from the small screen of a laptop, with the two of us, my mom and I, singing at the top of our lungs. This is the way I spent my final night in Bismarck, North Dakota. The night before I would leave for college at Arizona State University.

My mom and I are about the closest thing to real life Gilmore Girls. It’s always been this way; everything from falling asleep with her during thunderstorms to having my friends alongside her when I walk through the front doors. It’s a bond, or some sort of word that is even more powerful than that, and it’s what we live by.

All of this only added to my nerves about heading off to college. As if the worries of new living space, peers and classes weren’t enough, I was now going to be 1,500 miles from my best friend-my mom.

It didn’t seem to hit me until the final goodbye. It was the Tuesday my flight left. I went to my mom’s work for one last visit. As she walked me out the door she seemed fine; she was as bubbly and confident as ever. I, on the other hand, was beginning to wear down.

Earlier that day I was determined that it wasn’t going to be a “goodbye-crying” meeting, but more of a “oh, I’ll see you around.”. But, as she pulled me in for a hug, it was if the tears from the pile of nerves seemed to pour out of us both.

We stood there for a minute, taking the moment in. Then in just a split second it was back to normal as she said some phrase that was clearly random and inappropriate for the given moment.

Her support means the most to me. Knowing that my mom is only ever a phone call away makes college that much easier.

Already at ASU I’ve made great friends and had unforgettable times. There is so much information thrown at students all hours of the day, it makes it almost impossible to not learn and have a great time. Always though, in the back of my head, will be my mom. There is no one else in the world like her, and I’m so glad she’s my mom.