The "I-didn't-get-a-ring-by-spring" support groupAs I was walking down the hall a few days ago, I saw a sign shown above.I was on the phone with my boyfriend at the time and broke into a fit of laughter over this joke. Unfortunately, it was not a joke. There are three more varieties of this sign. This was a serious campus event, and it reflects a serious campus problem.Many young women come to the Grove with the sole purpose of finding a husband. For many, this $16k a year dating service has failed. They have student loans, no transferable skills (other than cooking and cleaning), and no desire to work. On the flip side, there are many successful young women who are driven and don't have time for a boyfriend. I'm not talking about these great ladies.
I've talked to several of my senior guy friends about why they didn't give anyone a ring by spring. Their answer--"All the girls who aren't bitches either got taken freshman year or are too busy for a relationship."
Apparently, these desparate women, who are definitely not too busy for a relationship, feel that the best way to get a husband is by being mean to guys. Unskilled in the arts of fliration, unblessed with the gift of charm, and undisputably homely, many of these women consider themselves to be such a prize that they don't even have to try with the opposite sex.
Personally, I've never had any trouble finding a boyfriend. It's not because I am exceptionally pretty (I'm not), and it's definitely not becuase I'm really cool (after all, I'm an engineer). Instead, I work hard to be nice to people (at least in person, if not on this blog), and I'm generally bubbly.
All it takes is a little personality. Perhaps, this support group will help these "desparatas" to find some personality, and at the very least, there will be snacks. :)
Labels: bitchiness, Grove girls, homeliness, ring by spring
How I, a college student, got a study hall...
By signing up for a class with Cavicchi
I generally consider myself to be a dutiful student. I earn good grades, finish my work on time, attend required classes, and participate to the best of my ability.
However, I have discovered one class so boring, so incoherent, and so worthless that I have converted it into a study hall.
But what about the professor? Isn't it really disrespectful to use his class and time as a study hall?
I would feel guilty about this for any other class, but this particular professor is so disrespectful to students and so mean when you answer his questions (even if you get them right) that I have to refrain from paying attention for fear of correctly answering his question and being made fun of in front of the class.
When I am a faculty member, I will do several things that he does not:
1. I will have legible notes.
2. I will face the class during lecture (instead of leaving us with our hands up for 5 minutes as he barrels on like a freight train).
3. I will review at the beginning of class (instead of jumping into the middle of examples without even explaining what the question was from last class).
4. I will use consistent notation (instead of intentionally changing variable names without explanation).
5. I will never intentionally try to make students feel dumb, even if they give dumb answers.
6. I will make it clear how my notes tie to the book and how they both tie to the syllabus (this class completely lacks coherency in that regard).
7. I will make my grading policies and expectations well known.
8. I will not word test and homework questions in such a way that they intentionally confuse students (on exams Dr. Cavicchi gives us long paragraphs instead of questions. It is difficult to ascertain what he wants even if you spend five minutes of test time just trying to figure out what he is asking).
9. I will not dismiss students immediately and tell them they should re-read the notes when they come to ask me for further clarification on my lectures.
10. I will not ignore student evaluations. Instead, I hope to use them to improve my lectures and classes.
Labels: bitchiness, school
