Late the night of the 28th, students gathered in the Honors Forum to register for their spring classes. They were all going to be up late anyway, waiting for 12:01 exactly, hoping the powers that be didn't decide to apply an update to Banner at the exact wrong time. So why not have a party?
HSAC hosted the event and had treats for sale. And even though the steely resolve was obvious in everyone, so was the late hour after a Thanksgiving break. I had imagined that as midnight neared, the crowd would become loud and agitated, sort of like New Years Eve at Times Square. But the mood was calm, and as 12:01 struck, I hardly noticed. Everyone was simply at work.
For most, those were a few good minutes that set them up for the spring semester. Overall the mood was jubilant.
Okay, maybe that one was a little posed. Not my idea though, I promise.
Unfortunately, for some 12:01 was the time when they found out they had a hold of one sort or another on their account, and they would be unable to register for classes that evening. Since most of UNM isn't open when registration begins, there's no one to remove that hold until the morning.
For many classes, this isn't such a big deal since the next group of students isn't eligible until the following week, but for those popular Honors classes, those first five (if not two) minutes are key. Even among those without problems that night, a frequently heard piece of advice was to sign up for the Honors class first because the few seconds elapsing between successive page refreshes would mean the difference between a seat and the waiting list.
All in all, I'd say the night was a success. Look for the registration party again next semester!
