This just about made my day. America needs more teachers like this.

Posted by nice_genes at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I probably can't stay overnight at any of the OSU museums, but it might be fun to try! I did a search on OSU's website for "museum" and here's what I came up with:

Museum of Classical Archaeology - 028 Dulles Hall
Jack Nicklaus Museum - 2355 Olentangy River Rd
Orton Geological Museum - Orton Hall
University Museum - University Hall
Wexner Center for the Arts - 1871 North High Street
Museum of Biological Diversity - 1315 Kinnear Road

And that's just on main campus. Looks like I'll have some exploring to do before I graduate...

Posted by nice_genes at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This year OSU revamped its main web site to incorporate some new interactive social media features like the tag cloud and news feeds. Another feature is the O-H-I-O page which invites students (or anyone, really) to submit pictures of the O-H-I-O cheer done in various places around the world. For a day or two my picture was up on the front page of the Future Students web page! You can see it and all the other photos here.

Posted by nice_genes at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In mid-July I jettisoned my entire fall quarter schedule when I saw this class being offered. The class is titled, "Writing About Science" and it is a welcome break from the hair-tearing of my other classes. (No quizzes! No midterms! No final!) It is also possibly the most practical of my classes; it has helped me read my science textbooks and articles more efficiently and (hopefully) communicate more clearly with my biology tutees down at COSI. I'd definitely consider this as a career, maybe for when I retire from teaching. (Because I just can't seem to cut myself a break...my next to last quarter schedule still has...18 hours. What am I, a sophomore?!)

Posted by nice_genes at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is it normal for homecoming to be mostly meaningless until senior year, when I am on the verge of leaving the place that has been home to me for the past four years? The same sort of thing happened in high school, now that I think about, but high school homecoming is more about dresses, dinners, and drama, rather than school spirit.

This year I actually knew enough about the homecoming court to cast an educated vote for two classmates I have had the privilege of knowing through OSU's honorary system. Hope they win! I may also participate in the Stefanie Spielman Step Stride Swim next Sunday.

Posted by nice_genes at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On issues such as abortion, gay marriage and religion, college students shift noticeably to the left from the time they arrive on campus through their junior year, new research shows.

The reason, according to UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute, isn't indoctrination by left-leaning faculty members but rather the more powerful influence of fellow students. And, at most colleges, left-leaning peer groups are more common than conservative ones.

After college, students -- particularly women -- move somewhat back to the right politically. [read more]

I'd say I've moved left in my overall political leanings, but that's not really saying much since I used to be right of Rush Limbaugh. I don't think my professors had anything to do with it, since most of them know better than to mention politics in class and I am distinctly unimpressed with grandstanding of any persuasion. As for the current election, Obama is hitting central Ohio much harder than McCain, though the Republican ticket is certainly not without its supporters on campus.

The Oval was a hotbed of activity today, with Guitar Hero World Tour, the Obama campaign, capital punishment protesters, crazy Oval preacher, and some sort of weather balloon all making an appearance. Maybe 60s style activism is dead, but that doesn't mean people don't care.

Posted by nice_genes at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Thursday (10/9) Mary Robinson came to the Wexner Center for a discussion with Fred Andrle (host of WOSU 820's radio program, Open Line) about women and international policy. Ms. Robinson is the former president of Ireland and is currently one of the Elders, a group of world leaders working toward peace, equity, and sustainability. She also shares my birthday!

Large colleges like OSU attract a lot of big-name visitors, from entertainers to researchers. Here's a list of people I've seen or met in my time here:
-Homer Hickam, author of Rocket Boys, on which the movie October Sky is based
-Bill Nye the Science Guy
-Kathy Sullivan, former astronaut and COSI director, current director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy at The Ohio State University’s John Glenn School of Public Affairs
-Al Gore, former vice president and director of An Inconvenient Truth
-Lonnie Thompson, OSU researcher who was recently named one of TIME magazine's "Heroes of the Environment" for 2008
-Leo Paquette, my o-chem professor who synthesized dodecahedrane
-Kathleen Sandman, my microbio lab prof who helped discovered histones in archaea
-and a plethora of other faculty who are truly distinguished in their own right; it's always a little trippy to pick up a paper or even a textbook written by someone who lectures you three times a week!

Posted by nice_genes at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was at a Global Health Initiative meeting today and as discussion turned to organizational housekeeping stuff, I was struck by the sudden thought, "I don't have time for this kid stuff." GHI is not alone in receiving my spinster grumblings (nor does it really merit them...I think their purpose is quite noble and their members dedicated). But I have slowly shed nearly all of my student organization associations through the years. Granted, I have substituted other non-university affiliated activities so I'm really no less busy, but I am rapidly feeling greater disconnect from undergraduate life as I hurtle toward graduation. This is probably a common occurrence, as many older students opt for different (usually more lucrative) ways to engage their time not spent in class. I am still involved with the groups and activities that matter most to me, so I don't really miss the peripheral ones, but being more and more of an "outsider" does feel a little odd.

Posted by nice_genes at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OSU's Main Library may be closed (scheduled to reopen Summer 2009), but Columbus Metropolitan Library was just rated #1 in the country. Full story here.

I love libraries even more than I love bookstores, because the books in the library are FREE! I actually liked the old Main Library a lot, despite the labyrinthine stairwells and winding stacks. In fact, I think the mishmash was part of its charm, because I am one of those people who could very happily get lost for weeks in a building full of books (see also: The Book Loft). The new library looks pretty nice already, but who knows if I will even be around to enjoy it.

This reminds me, I need to renew my Worthington Libraries card.
P.S. I finished The Brothers Karamazov right before school started. So that only took me like...nine months.

Posted by nice_genes at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1) I'm featured in on on this Lantern article on Buckeyes Blog.
2) I'm going to try and be a fit model for Victoria's Secret next Thursday. Received this job ad from the College of Education and Human Ecology listserv.
3) I passed the Jeopardy! online test and have been invited to Chicago for an audition November 2. (AHH!!!)

Maybe I should drop out of school right now, if these other money-making enterprises turn out to be sufficiently lucrative. :P (I do NOT condone dropping out of college by any means!) Except I am soooooo close to my diploma that it would be ridiculously foolish to give up now.

Posted by nice_genes at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What do you do when you find yourself next to the dean of your college in the RPAC locker room, wearing nothing but underwear? (Both of you)

A) Awkwardly say hello, praying she'll know who you are
B) Hope she'll recognize you and say hello first
C) Hide in the shower until she's gone
D) Consider doing all of the above and end up adopting locker-room tunnel vision like everyone else and get dressed in determined silence.

Posted by nice_genes at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)