HALIFAX, N.S. — Between the recent pandemic, rising cost of living and shifting social attitudes, there are a multitude of reasons that someone may take an extended leave from academia. And it can be a daunting thing to return to school as a mature student, so the Mackerel sat down with several of them to learn how they relate to their younger peers.
“I find the best way to blend in is to really immerse myself in their world,” said Calvin McClean, a mature student enrolled in Dalhousie University’s bachelor of arts program. “You really gotta know how to speak their language.”
McClean decided to spend several hours a day before classes scrolling on Instagram Reels and TikTok to familiarize himself with the slang of his 20-year-old classmates.
“At first I was all okay, so it turns out I’m chopped and also unc,” said McClean. “But all the fine shyt was gagged when I learned how to hop in on the goon sesh, everyone thinking what the helly for sure.”
The Mackerel asked Dev Stuart, a younger classmate of McClean’s, what their thoughts were about sharing the classroom with a mature student.
“He’s only one year older than us…” said Stuart. “He took a gap year and is so dramatic about it. No one would know he is any older than the rest of us if he didn’t mention it all the time. Also, no one talks like that. Sometimes he speaks in class, and I wish the professor would hit him with a rock.”
“He’s not even the oldest student in the class, Sharon Mearle is 67, returning to school to fulfill her lifelong dream of getting a degree,” Stuart continued. “She is such an inspiration; everyone loves her.”
McClean, on the other hand, feels Mearle is left out by the group at large.
“I feel bad for the girl,” said McClean. “I think she’s a bit jealous that she and I are in the same position, but I just really get the kids more than she does.”
By Sam Creighton