I had my column written already. But then, when I opened The Sun today, it suddenly dawned on me that this is the Last Week of Classes for the semester. So, I thought to write about something else and cover a couple things I thought deserved some space in my column before the cold pushes me away to warmer climates with hotter food. Also, considering this is a last column and there were several things I wanted to talk about this semester, I hereby include three points that are worthy of mention before we all leave. These would each have taken a whole column by themselves, so please excuse the brevity …

1. On peanuts and gayness

If you've ever been to the Five Guys on Rt. 13 (and trust me, you should go!), you'll notice a sign on the door that warns on how peanuts are all over the place. For those that are allergic, this is a life-or-death warning, pretty much. Allergies to nuts are, after all, the most common cause of death as far as allergies go. So people with nut allergies need to be really careful about this.

At Belle Sherman School where I taught this semester there are about half of classrooms that are labeled as "nut-free" rooms. In them, no nut or anything that carries nuts or could have been in contact by them is permitted. Talk about me ripping my hair off, trying to find snacks for my kids.

On another topic, we have been reading for a while about the student that came out of the closet and was subsequently removed from his leadership position in a Christian student group. We have heard a bit about how this is discriminatory, and there has been this ongoing debate of freedom of expression, yada-yada-yada. Just this Monday, in The Sun, one of my fellow columnists mentioned how freedom of expression is useless if one cannot act on the things one expresses. Which is, to my belief, quite true.

The way these two things somehow go together? Well. I'm still not sure whether having nut-free rooms in elementary schools is a good idea. Sure, you house kids in a safer, nicer environment where they won't die in the middle of the classroom. But then, you're also somehow letting these students keep their guard down. When these kids leave the nice school they're in right now and hit, say, high school, where nuts will be all around the place, they should be on their guard, always careful, and knowledgeable of what they need to look out for. Sad as it may seem, their being tense about what they eat is important. You're making it more bearable may not be helping the kid at all.

The same goes for the recent incident with the gay student. Of COURSE he'd be kicked out of a leadership position in a Chrisitan organization elsewhere because homosexuality is a sin according to Christian/Catholic beliefs, as much as I disagree with that precept. If he wants to hold a leadership position in a religious organization, well, certainly, there are a number of religions that do "allow" his sexual orientation. If he wants to keep to his religion, he just doesn't need to be a figure of example for the rest of us (that "us" being both whoever else is in that given organization and whoever would consider joining. If I were the typical conservative Catholic, for instance, I would not join the organization knowing one of its leaders was gay). And, you know, even though the world is becoming ever more open to homosexuality (which I'm all for), the illusion that the whole world is open to it is a little off.

The point is: Yes, sometimes life is not as utopic as we want it to be. Are we getting prepared for what the world has in store for us in this wonderful utopia? Isn't it just going to mess us up when we're out of here?

2. On Thanksgiving and deadlines

Most graduate school applications were Dec. 1. So were most of my final papers. Just after Thanksgiving weekend. Now, Thanksgiving is not the big deal for me that it is for most of the people in the U.S., and even I got pissed off by this. It's quite ridiculous. Having a week after Thanksgiving before finals is ludicrous. There just isn't time to get into the mindset of getting back to work. My proposal: Either start two weeks early in August, so we can be done before Thanksgiving recess (at least with classes ... maybe finals could be done after break, and let people study if they need to), or extend the after-break classes for at least another week (I'd be against this in the long run, though. Means a shorter winter break). This is a very disruptive schedule.

And for grad school applications? I have a couple of friends going nuts right now. Why not place the deadline for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving? And that way, we can celebrate with our loved ones that we have finished writing some of the most decisive pieces of paper of our lives.

3. On leaving the Hill for a while, and how it doesn't feel quite right to go just yet …

… Because it doesn't. I don't feel I've learned what I need to learn for my classes, to consider myself knowledgeable in what I needed to feel knowledgeable in. I feel still in October somehow. Finals seem like an illusion. But oh, well. Back to paper writing, hopefully surviving what's left of the semester. See you in January!

Florencia Ulloa is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She may be reached at fulloa@cornellsun.com. Innocent Bystander appears alternate Tuesdays this semester.