It took only a moment for me to realize that I was not in Kansas anymore, Kansas being better known as Cosumnes River College, a nearby community college. The writing on the bathroom stalls here was different, if there was any writing at all.

Elections, job searches and rooms for rent were common topics addressed on the stalls in the Sacramento State bathrooms. Whereas in the stalls at Cosumnes, the walls are covered with racial slurs, who to call for a good time or who not to call, unless you are looking for an STD.

The commute, fees and a larger campus were all transitions I was expecting to make. However, in that mere second, the first time I had ever been in an university bathroom stall, it was apparent that I was about to make transitions not mentioned on the campus website.

Criminal justice student Ryan. Durling expected transitions most students would expect when he transferred from Santa Rosa Junior College. “A new transition that I had to get used to was learning where everything was on such a big campus,” Durling said. “Coming from a JC, I knew where everything was, and it was fairly easy to get around. It took me forever to get acquainted at Sac State with getting around.”

Some students, such as Kristen Kaplan, who has been attending Sac State for two years, noticed something more when she first became a student. “The people are just friendlier. It seems like the teachers and the students want to be here because everything is treated with respect,” Kaplan said. “The environment is different here.”

While many students expect the more physical of transitions students must go through when transferring from a high school or community college, some seem to miss or even ignore the most obvious and important transition of all.

Why are the bathrooms so clean? Why do teachers show students more respect? And why do the students show more respect for their campus? What occurred that was so drastic it caused this large of a culture shock?

The reason the bathrooms stalls at Sac State do not read of racial slurs and phone numbers is because of … ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to, adulthood. This transition is what keeps the respect for each other as well as the campus alive. No matter where you came from, when you step onto the campus of Sac State, play nice, because we are all adults here.

Angela Rosas can be reached at [email protected]