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| November 2007 »
I'm not sure exactly when this change occurred, but I no longer feel like "the little one" in my classes, particularly my English classes. I started on my English major classes in the spring of my freshman year, with English H398 (Critical Writing) and I was definitely one of the youngest people in the class. Now I've always been very outspoken in class, which is particularly good for discussion-based English classes, and up until then I was fairly confident that my abilities were among the highest in the class. Then I started taking 500-level literature classes and I started feeling, sometimes, like the intellectual caboose. That feeling was particularly strong in my 547 (20th-Century Poetry) and 596 (Music and Literature) classes last year, because those were way outside my normal domain of prose fiction. But it was good to stretch my intellectual muscles and I'm definitely rethinking my original plan to take nothing but Victorian-era courses. Next quarter I'm signed up for 575 (Women in Science Fiction) and 567 (Rhetoric and Community Service), both of which I am looking forward to because they are so different from what I'm used to studying and what (I think) my strengths are. I still want to take my Vic- and Brit-lit, but I'm also aware now that there's more out there. Right now in my Shakespeare 520 I seem to have gotten my groove back...I no longer feel completely out of my league, which is nice. Not sure if that is a reflection of my comfort level with the material or true maturation as a scholar.
Wow, that was kind of windy-sounding. Let's go chase squirrels! (P.S. I saw ANOTHER albino squirrel on my way to Kroger yesterday. What is with south campus breeding albino squirrels?)
The Columbus Museum of Art has an exhibition right now called "In Monet's Garden: The Lure of Giverny." I went to see it Sunday with my boyfriend and my friend who happens to be an art history minor. I'd say it's definitely worth seeing, even if you have to shell out $8 for it, since the only other place the exhibition will be held is in Paris. Normally the art museum is free to the public on Sundays and OSU students can get free tickets any time from Explore Columbus in the Union, but this is a special exhibition requiring separate admission. Definitely worth it though.
The museum has changed quite a bit since the last time I went. Alas, the giant barrel sculpture is gone as are several other pieces I remember from previous school-trip visits to the museum. Basically it was a huge barrel, the size of a room, perched on a thick rope. I can't recall the title or artist, but it was awesome.
This was Sunday, before the blast of rain and cold hit the town. Gorgeous.
This entry has been percolating in my head for a few weeks, ever since a biochemistry review session revealed how utterly rude college students can be without even meaning to. I'm focusing on the way students treat instructors. Now, I've probably been guilty of breaking all these, so I'm not claiming any sort of moral superiority, but just some things to keep in mind...
Reciprocate. Don't expect your professor or TA to teach you if you don't come to lecture or recitation.
Engage yourself in class and make an effort to learn.
Study to learn, not to pass a test. Asking questions like, "Will this be on the test?" means you don't regard the teacher's instruction as important beyond a letter grade.
Professors are where they are for a reason. They are likely to be experts in their field, even if teaching is not their forte. This warrants at least a little respect.
Education is a privilege, not a right. Treat it that way. (And remember all you're paying for tuition...get the best bang for your buck!)
Class is not the only place where you learn. Do your homework and study to make the most of your instructional time.
Teaching assistants are people too. People with accented, hard-to-understand English, yes. People who are grading your work, yes. People who are likely hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from their home who are trying to get an education and make a living. Be gentle.
So yesterday I took the most cracked-out midterm ever. It was for Geological Sciences 121, and my professor passed out the exam and gave us 48 minutes to complete it. Then we took a 12-minute break, came back into the lecture hall, discussed the questions in groups, and were given the exact same midterm to complete again. I guess he is going for the whole communal learning thing, and he's not grading on a curve so there should be no competition among us, but what a weird way to give a midterm! He is also making the final into a third midterm and taking the best two out of three, which leads me to wonder how on earth anyone could possibly fail this class. But you'd be surprised...
I just received the wonderful news that my second plant physiology midterm has been pushed back two days due to popular demand and a biochemistry midterm on the first scheduled midterm day which I and many of my classmates will be sitting. This means, instead of two midterms and a paper due on November 5, I have one midterm and a paper, then another delightful geology midterm, and then my plant physiology midterm. The weekend before will still be mildly hellish, but at least I won't have the stress of sitting two midterms in one day.
I just keep telling myself...five more quarters...five...
Today I got to pay a visit to the OSU Center for Automative Research, through the Honors Collegium of which I am a member. It is a gearhead's paradise, and they develop new car technologies with a focus on safety, energy, and environment. The OSU team has built the world's fastest electric car and set the record for the fastest fuel cell-powered car. The technology is completely over my head, but I think it's a step in the right direction. (I'm personally an advocate of serious conservation before pouring resources into developing new technologies, which is an expensive, frustrating, and time-consuming process, but worthwhile nonetheless.) The director, Giorgio Rizzoni, is a fiery little Italian (no joke) and quite a fun man to talk to. He led us on a tour that included a visit to the "cheese room" where they actually "run" cars using a big gizmo in the floor (I am not technological at all, if you couldn't tell!), a very scary-looking room with lots of pipes and wires, and the shop, where all sorts of crazy looking cars are sitting in various stages of assembly. All in all very neat. I have no idea if the place is open to the public, but I'm sure if you ask you can find someone very eager to give you a tour.
This is not a real entry, but I just had to share:
I was walking home from a meeting and as I was crossing the Oval, I saw THE Gordon Gee. He was talking to someone but he said hello to me and asked how I was. I think I floated the rest of the way home. It was almost as cool as meeting Bill Nye. Which I still can't believe actually happened to me.
I'm not sure if this is a new development on campus--maybe I just didn't venture through the South Oval often enough when I lived on north campus. But the South Oval seems to be a favorite place for businesses to set up promotion events. Within three weeks the same patch of land has seen the Cotton Dirty Laundry tour, Victoria's Secret PINK, and today, Swash Rewear-a-thon. These usually involve free swag and product placement out the wazoo. I guess it's nice that corporations think OSU is an important enough market to stop by, but on the other hand, I don't know if I like being seen as nothing but a consumer at a place that is supposed to help me become a better citizen and person. I could go more into the corporate branding of higher education in general, but I have three midterms and a paper calling my name, so that rant must needs be postponed.
I officially have a new job...the official title is Student Assistant in the Department of Chemistry. I'm on staff with Wonders of Our World (WOW), which is a really nifty science outreach program that brings OSU student volunteers to elementary and middle schools in Columbus Public to do hands-on demonstrations and experiments with the kids. Cardboard airplanes, magnetism, simple cell biology for the older kids, stuff like that. You don't have to be a science major to participate; just attend one of the training meetings for each month's different topic, fill in the times you are available, and show up on your assigned date. I did it last year and it was so much fun. As staff I'll be leading visits and updating the web site, which is our main tool for reaching teachers and students around the country. I'm very excited, but kind of apprehensive about adding even more to my twenty credit-hours and two major extracurriculars. This week I am probably going to have to cloister myself in preparation for the following:
PCMB 436 midterm (10/11)
Biochemistry 511 midterm (10/15)
English 520.01 paper (10/15)
Geology 121 midterm (10/16)
Why, oh why, must they all fall so close to each other? And during homecoming week too, seriously...hopefullyt I'll get my major studying done this coming week and it will all be over before most of the homecoming festivities get underway. And now for a delightful Friday evening alone with Henry IV...
I unwittingly conducted a small social experiment today. I had a Chimes meeting at 5:30 this afternoon and planned to meet my boyfriend for dinner afterward. Taking advantage of the opportunity to dress better than my normal jeans and T-shirt, I put on a blue colorblock dress that I picked up at Goodwill over the summer. It is not fancy but is decidedly shorter than my normal wardrobe. And I noticed this as I clicked across campus in my high heels and short hemline: I definitely got a lot more "second glances" than I normally do, from both men and women. Let's face it, you usually don't see that much leg on the Oval unless it's spring quarter, in which you'll probably see a lot more (though not from me...I don't even own a two-piece swimsuit!) So the guys were probably thinking, "Woah..." while the girls were probably thinking, "Tries too hard..." but it doesn't really matter because I was thinking, "I can't wait to get away from campus for awhile." We ended up eating at Ruby Tuesday's since Vicenzo's unfortunately closed at 7:00 pm. Kudos to their never-ending salad bar...great for rabbits like me. (They also have burgers and other entrees, fear not.)
But just try strutting it across campus some time and observe the various reactions. It's very entertaining.
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