#OPINION: The best part of my first year in college was not the nightlife or the ideal relationships, but the acceptance of balance in my life. It was just as much coming to terms with my own individuality as it was meeting others.

Sitting by the table, the new dean of students gets to hear students’ stories and experiences at Stony Brook, good or bad. “That's just my way of supporting students,” McClendon said. “My little token of saying, ‘come and chat.’”