By Miles Bett, Columnist

Since this is my last chance to flood the masses with the vast pool that is my wisdom, I thought I’d end on a reflective, enlightened note.

With the year and academic semester coming to an end, this provides me with the chance to inform you of a few things I have come to appreciate while being in London. No, there won’t be talk of how drinking is better here; that would be petty. Rather, this will be a chance to salute Hofstra for the things it does well, while at the same time offering a small bit of advice.

Spending time away from the “Pride” has given me a chance to realize just how relaxed all things academic are at Hofstra. No, I don’t mean the courses are easy to pass or the teachers are slackers at grading. What I mean is, the stance Hofstra and much of the United States takes towards schooling is much more relaxed than Europe. Again, this isn’t an insult, just a difference. For students in America, missing a homework assignment or two doesn’t really make a difference. They just hand in an essay a few hours late without repercussion.

Here in London, I notice a greater deal of supervision over assignments and scheduling. If an assignment is due at a certain time, whether homework or essay, it is due, full stop. There are no excuses, no late passes. You have either gotten it in on time or you have failed. Of course, this leads to nerves, anxiety, sweaty palms and a rapid heartbeat as you watch the printer decide whether it wants to cooperate 10 minutes before the deadline. None of that extra strictness is conducive to student happiness, but it helps the student learn self-discipline in a way normally not found in the States.

I want to explore this difference in cultural academics, but Hofstra Study Abroad sessions are tragically short. The University does have some great overseas experiences. Students can go to Africa, China, Spain or a number of small islands dotted around the world. It’s fantastic, but it’s brief. In about a month or so, you are back home, back to your routine.

That is exactly what studying abroad for a semester or longer helps change: your routine. For a semester, you quickly learn to adapt to changes in expectations and requirements. This ability to change and adapt to situations, both social and academic, is practiced in the wider world. If you can cultivate this ability while still in school, you will be far ahead of the learning curve required by those who have no experience of a strange environment in which they need to work. The applications for this are clear. If Hofstra can establish these long-term Study Abroad programs it can cultivate students who are more adaptable and worldlier.

If, in years down the line, Hofstra offers longer Study Abroad opportunities, I am sure hundreds or thousands of students would apply. The Study Abroad experience is thrilling, informative and eye opening all at the same time. If Hofstra was more involved in providing the chance to study in London or Prague or Sydney for a semester or a year that would just be, as they say over here, the dog’s bollocks!