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They just don't trust,
What they can't explain.
I know we're different but,
Deep inside us,
We're not that different at all.
There exists an organization at The Ohio State University for first-year students who have demonstrated leadership. It's a group for freshmen leaders to grow and learn together about leadership throughout the year. This is Leadership Ohio State (LOS).
LOS has had a number of workshops and meetings so far this year. The application process was pretty intense, so I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been selected to participate. The reason I choose to write about this now is that we just had a retreat today!
Past workshops have included your typical team-building activities and the like. Personally, I've found the highlights of LOS to be when we get to speak with University leaders. For example, we had a session with our recently-retired Vice President of Student Affairs, Rich Hollingsworth. When you're in charge of tens of thousands of young people's general welfare and well-being, you learn a lot about leadership and working with groups. This guy was positively awesome, and the other University leaders we've met have proved equally insightful.
Today's workshop was more focused on self-development. We did some goal-setting, some discussion, the usual. I thought the coolest thing was an exercise called BaFa BaFa. Without getting into too many details, it basically made us simulate living in two distinctly different cultures, then attempt to interact with each other. It was frightening how quickly our different imaginary cultures began to really clash. It was very easy to see that a lack of understanding can very quickly escalate into conflicts in real-life situations. Hopefully all of us LOS'ers are much wiser now, and much more ready to be open-minded.
And now, I go off to homework!
Take care,
Rob
I hope it snows this week,
A snow flake on your cheek,
Would make this Christmas so Beautiful.
On Wednesday, January 28th, 2009, a beautiful thing happened.
SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!
For those of you in the world of high school, there's something you need to understand about snow days and college: they almost never happen. Like ever.
If you think about it, this makes sense. Quarters are rather short, lasting only for ten weeks of classes. Some classes meet only once a week (like my Wednesday Engineering 692 class), so a snow day has a HUGE impact. Additionally, the tuition money we pay doesn't get refunded, even if we're shorted a day of education. Thus, along with other reasons, the University tries its very best to have class every day that is planned to have classes. Only in extreme circumstances where logistics and safety make having classes impossible will OSU cancel.
That said, the snow day was rather awesome. :-) Nothing says awesome quite like a break right in the middle of a long week of classes! I played in the snow, slept in ridiculously late, and even went to the movies to see Slumdog Millionaire at the AMC Theater at Lennox (a short bus ride or walk from campus!). (By the by, this is the THIRD time I've seen Slumdog Millionaire, so if you haven't seen it yet, go see it immediately!!!)
Tragically, the merriment of a Snow Day had to come to a close eventually, and there was much homework to make up. But it was still pretty wicked cool while it lasted.
Take care,
Rob
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure - measure a year?
I measure Academic Years in Quarters. Many schools, however, measure them in Semesters. So, what's the difference? I've wondered that myself many times. I have only experienced college in Quarters, so unfortunately I am unable to really speak about how semesters are.
Thank goodness then that I was able to convince my good buddy Braden (who attends a semester school) to share with me his thoughts on semesters. Thus, I offer you a two-person POV on the epic debate, Quarters v. Semesters!
QUARTERS ACCORDING TO ROB
PROS:
-Shorter terms makes taking random classes easier (ten weeks of Intro to Tango or Science of LEGOs makes more sense than a whole semester)
-Painful classes only last ten weeks, and then you're free!
-Exams happen after only ten weeks, so you don't have to remember stuff so long.
CONS:
-Fast pace! You only get ten weeks, so don't get sick for one of 'em!
-Sometimes things that normally take a semester get crammed into a Quarter.
-Midterms happen every three(ish) weeks. Yuck.
SEMESTERS ACCORDING TO BRADEN:
PROS:
-You're synched up schedule-wise with the majority of colleges around the United States.
-Your Winter and Summer Breaks feel more definite. Winter Break especially, since it's a midpoint rather than only one-third of the school year.
-Less time "in transition." Instead of starting and stopping thrice a year, you only start/stop twice a year, thereby spending more time actually in the middle of learning.
CONS:
-Some classes really don't need a whole semester's worth of time.
-Reviewing is tougher when you have to remember the start of a whole semester ago, rather than a Quarter.
-Classes are really spread out, so if you don't work on your own time to keep up-to-date, you might lose the class between lessons.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT:
It's apples to oranges. Both work just fine, I think. And neither I nor Braden can really say one is better/worse than the other, since we've each only experienced one.
A common complaint I've heard from kids who've transferred between the two is that Quarters just feel faster, much quicker-paced. This can be a good or bad thing.
In theory, according to Ohio State, there really isn't any difference in education between Quarters and Semesters. What is normally covered in two semesters at semester schools is supposedly equal to what is split up between three quarters at a quarter school. This is true sometimes, and others not, obviously.
It should also be noted that somewhere in the neighborhood of 2012 OSU plans on starting the transition to semesters. Details are sketchy at best. There's still much doubt about how this transition will even take place. Also, OSU has stated that this planned transition is the result of going with the trend of US colleges to be on semesters, NOT because they have found semesters to be any more effective than Quarters.
So the official verdict? Quarters are faster-paced, semesters are more synched up with more colleges, but no matter which one you're on you're supposed to learn about the same amount. So I say no big difference.
Take care,
Rob
I'm so much cooler online,
so much cooler online.
I am writing this particular entry from the safety and security of Hitchcock 342. It is a large-ish room on the third floor on Hitchcock, filled with computers. More specifically, this is the computer lab designated for First-Year and Undecided Engineering Majors.
Why am I writing this from a computer lab? Excellent question!
It turns out that I may or may not have fried my laptop's motherboard. The first question I usually get when I tell people about this unfortunate turn of events is "How did you do that?" I'd like people to consider that question for a moment. If I truly knew a reliable way to kill a laptop, do you honestly think I'd do it to my own pride and joy? I think not!
Also, I haven't a clue how I did it. But broken it is. Thankfully, I knew I would probably accidentally break it somehow, so I purchased an excellent warranty from the good people at HP, and my laptop is in the shop getting fixed as I type this. The bad news is that I am without laptop until Thursday.
What's life like without a laptop? Inconvenient. I believe OSU's official policy on bringing computers to school is that they highly recommend it, but it is not absolutely necessary. This is more-or-less true. There are computers available to use in the numerous libraries scattered throughout campus, and for many majors (like Engineering!) there are more specialized computer labs at your disposal.
Still, I'd have to say I sure miss the convenience of writing my Engineering 367 (second required writing-intensive course) essays at the dorm, or working on code for Engineering H192 (intro to programming for engineers) in my own bed. Alas!
Take care,
Rob
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that hold out
Ahh, but it's cold outside.
First of all, ignore the date on this blog entry. It's actually January 16, 2009.
Baby, it's cold outside. I went to weather.com today and found these two screenshot bits:
That's right kids. Anchorage, Alaska is nice and Columbus, Ohio feels like -11. Holy cannoli it's cold! So what's a poor college kid to do?
1. Hot chocolate- When I walked my friend home last night, she offered to get some hot chocolate before sending me out again into the cold to walk back home. She lives on South Campus, I live on West Campus, about a fifteen or twenty -minute walk. It was delicious and served as an excellent way to prepare myself to once again face the bitter cold.
2. Bundle up! I see scarves, gloves, hoods, boots, etc. out in full force. I'm personally glad I have a turtle fur Turtle's Neck.
3. Play in the snow! Massive snowball fights, people making snowmen and snow angels... It's a sight to see. It's a great break from classes, and ridiculous amounts of fun. I have no pictures, sadly, because I don't trust my digital camera to go with me into a snowball fight and come out alive. I trust you understand.
4. Go to class. It's warm in there, at least. :-)
Take care,
Rob
Things I saw in England:
-Heathrow International Airport
-Buckingham Palace
-St. Paul's Cathedral
-Westminster Abbey
-Greenwich
-The River Thames (cruised on it, actually)
-The Royal Observatory
-Cambridge University (Christ's College, King's College, Trinity College)
-Cavendish Laboratory
-City of Bath (including the old Roman Baths)
-Globe Theatre
-London Eye
-Natural History Museum
-Picadilly Circus
-Trafalgar Square
-Premiership Soccer
...and about a million other things! It was a spectacular Break, without a doubt. The program is through the Honors college here at Ohio State, and it's exclusively for First-Year Honors students. I made a crazy amount of new friends, some of whom I've even hung out with since getting back to school. I know it sounds cliche, but I also really feel like the trip has given me a lot more perspective on the world. It's good to be reminded from time to time that there's a whole lot of world out there waiting to be experienced!
Here is a SMALL sampling of some of my favorite London Honors pictures!
The all-important passport! We had some downtime at the airport.
English telephone!
The Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory. Home to Greenwich Mean Time.
My friend Elise at Westminster Abbey.
Me and some friends on Baker Street, home to Sherlock Holmes!
Yum... Stonehenge!
Very important! I found this sign morbidly funny.
B-E-A-utiful view of London from the London Eye.
Natural History Museum!
Chelsea and I stand guard in the Tower of London.
More Tower of London!
Isn't the Tower of London awesome?
Tower Bridge allows a boat to pass.
Take care,
Rob
It's a brand new me, I've got no remorse,
Now the water's rising, but I know the course.
I'm gonna shock the world; gonna show Bad Horse,
It's a brand new day.
DECEMBER 2008 BY THE NUMBERS:
Final Exams Taken: 3
Credit Hours Earned: 20
Days Spent in England: 8
Blog Entries Written: 0
OK, alright, I admit it. I was a bit of a slacker in December. In the heated fury of final exams and classes wrapping up and general insanity and Christmas Break and a thousand other things, my poor neglected Buckeyes Blog took a backseat.
But hey, I'm back!
...
This is the part where you cheer.
...
In any case, there's some great stuff going on in the world. Check out my classes:
Physics 132I (Electricity and Magnetism)
Engineering H192 (Programming and etc.)
Math 162A (Part II of the Accelerated Calculus sequence)
Engineering 367 (Required writing-intensive course)
Engineering 692 (Service-Learning at Montana de Luz)
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS: 25
So it's going to be an awesome busy quarter. I really like my Engineering 367 class because I enjoy writing essays. It's sick, I know, but I really do like essays a lot. Math is alright, and Engineering H192 should be cool. I'm wicked excited about Physics. Physics is my absolute favorite subject of all time, but I tested out of it last quarter through AP credit. This time I get my Physics back, and so far I am absolutely loving it! The last class, Engineering 692, is going to be utterly awesome. All quarter we'll be meeting and working and planning for Spring Break, when the other engineers and I will head to Honduras to help out the Montana de Luz orphanage. I'm crazy excited.
I'll save for my next entry a [brief] chronicle of my time in England on the OSU London Honors trip. It made Winter Break fantastic!
Take care,
Rob
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