Eight papers and exams down, one more to go! These last few weeks have been incredibly busy, but now I can concentrate all of my energy on my final task: my Revolutionary America final exam. As I've said in previous posts, that class is one of the best that I've taken at Vassar, but also one of the most difficult. I had taken American history in high school, and thought I understood the Revolutionary period. Boy was I wrong. I always knew the baby version of the story: In the mid-eighteenth century, American colonists became increasingly uneasy with British control, and after getting taxed too heavily, they decided they'd be happier splitting ways. So, on July 4, 1776, they declared independence.
Well, after a semester in this Revolutionary America course, pretty much every part of that story-line has been broadened and complicated in my mind. Even the date of independence is different in my head - July 2, 1776 is the actual day that the Continental Congress voted for independence. John Adams, in his writings, even noted that July 2 would be remembered with "illuminations" (i.e. fireworks). Turns out, he was two days off, since (for reasons unclear to Adams) people decided to celebrate the day that the Declaration was voted on, rather than the day that independence was voted on.
Professor Merrell promised us on the first day of class that, at the end of the semester, we would be far more confused about the Revolution than were were at the beginning. He was right. I do love my American history, though, so studying for this exam will not be quite so onerous as my other tasks during finals period have been.
After all the stress of these past few weeks, I needed a little break. Last night, we went to dinner at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). The CIA is conveniently only about 20 minutes from Vassar, and has the most delicious food you've ever tasted. They make buffalo Monterey Jack cheeseburgers that are out of this world. Plus brownie sundays for dessert. Even though the food at the CIA is gourmet-quality, the prices are pretty reasonable, because it's all made by student chefs. We even managed to sweet-talk the waitress into giving us free gazpacho and cookies - and *almost* into giving us free hats.
Alright, back to studying! I have another section of my notes to go through before bedtime...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Finals...
Well, here we are. Those two weeks of the semester that everyone dreads - finals period. An ominous quiet falls over Vassar, as all the students seem to disappear and the campus becomes suddenly silent and completely still. Everyone packs into the Thompson Memorial Library, parking themselves at a computer, furiously trying to complete that last bit of research, read that one last chapter, write that one last paragraph. Vassar students are nothing if not studious, and nothing proves that more than the energy and vigor that everyone puts into their final exams and papers.
As for me, I'm juggling five different exams and term papers in the next couple weeks. Right now, I'm sitting in the Class of 1951 Reading Room of the Library (one of my favorite rooms because of its arched, imposing mahogany ceiling). My project for today is to make some headway on papers for each of my Political Science courses. For one class, "Congress," I'm writing about the ways in which the personal experiences and values of Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Spector and Rick Santorum have influenced their past decisions on roll call votes. For the other class, "Law, Justice and Politics," I'm writing about the shift from institutional to modern racism in sentencing decisions in the criminal justice process.
So I still have a lot of work ahead of me :( The good news is that yesterday, I handed in my enormous term paper for my Revolutionary America, 1750-1830 history course. That class - with Professor James Merrell - is definitely one of the best I've taken at Vassar, but it's also one of the most difficult. I spent hours and hours in the Library trying to find original diaries from the wives of congressmen between 1800 and 1820 in Washington D.C. Narrow topic, much? Oh yes. But it was so rewarding to finally hand in that paper, which I had been working on for months.
Clearly, final exam period can get really stressful. Thankfully, though, the atmosphere is not competitive, and once its over, everyone goes back to being normal and stress-free just in time for summer!
As for me, I'm juggling five different exams and term papers in the next couple weeks. Right now, I'm sitting in the Class of 1951 Reading Room of the Library (one of my favorite rooms because of its arched, imposing mahogany ceiling). My project for today is to make some headway on papers for each of my Political Science courses. For one class, "Congress," I'm writing about the ways in which the personal experiences and values of Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Spector and Rick Santorum have influenced their past decisions on roll call votes. For the other class, "Law, Justice and Politics," I'm writing about the shift from institutional to modern racism in sentencing decisions in the criminal justice process.
So I still have a lot of work ahead of me :( The good news is that yesterday, I handed in my enormous term paper for my Revolutionary America, 1750-1830 history course. That class - with Professor James Merrell - is definitely one of the best I've taken at Vassar, but it's also one of the most difficult. I spent hours and hours in the Library trying to find original diaries from the wives of congressmen between 1800 and 1820 in Washington D.C. Narrow topic, much? Oh yes. But it was so rewarding to finally hand in that paper, which I had been working on for months.
Clearly, final exam period can get really stressful. Thankfully, though, the atmosphere is not competitive, and once its over, everyone goes back to being normal and stress-free just in time for summer!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Founder's Day
Today is Founder's Day! Founder's Day is one of our oldest and most exciting traditions, which began as a surprise birthday party for the College's Founder, Matthew Vassar. No blog post can quite do it justice, but I'll explain it as best as I can: On the first Saturday in May, the entire College becomes a gigantic carnival, complete with live music, dancing, rides, inflatables, free food, and prizes. People flock out of the Library, stop studying for finals, put down their unfinished theses, and just play for hours on end.
Professors and staff come too, and the entire College community gathers around to celebrate Vassar's past, present and future. Even alumni attend, often bringing their families. This afternoon, I met a man who had graduated from Vassar in the 1980s. While waiting for his wife and children to make their way through one of the bouncy castles, he told me about his own memories of Founder's Day. It's pretty cool how this one day can unite people from all different stages of the College's history.
The tradition began on April 29, 1866 (Matthew Vassar's 74th birthday), when then-President Raymond organized a day of surprise festivities. Students greeted the Founder with cheers and songs. After the excitement, Vassar, with tears of joy in his eyes, is thought to have said that "This one event has paid me for every cent I have spent for the College." Though Vassar passed away two years later, the event has lived on for nearly 150 years; by tradition, the President of the College leads a toast to the Founder to begin the day's events.
I had SUCH a great time. My friends and I went early and got free candy and balloon animals. We also went on this funky spinning ride. Then we listened to Lola Bluegrass, this crazy singer from Vermont, who kept dancing around and rolling down hills. She was a little nuts. She said she's going to the fireworks tonight (in just a couple hours!) so maybe I'll see her there. Anyway, Founder's Day 2008 was WONDERFUL!
Happy Birthday, Matt!
PS - Read about this year's Founder's Day in The Miscellany News here!
http://misc.vassar.edu/archives/2008/05/founders_day_pr.html
Professors and staff come too, and the entire College community gathers around to celebrate Vassar's past, present and future. Even alumni attend, often bringing their families. This afternoon, I met a man who had graduated from Vassar in the 1980s. While waiting for his wife and children to make their way through one of the bouncy castles, he told me about his own memories of Founder's Day. It's pretty cool how this one day can unite people from all different stages of the College's history.
The tradition began on April 29, 1866 (Matthew Vassar's 74th birthday), when then-President Raymond organized a day of surprise festivities. Students greeted the Founder with cheers and songs. After the excitement, Vassar, with tears of joy in his eyes, is thought to have said that "This one event has paid me for every cent I have spent for the College." Though Vassar passed away two years later, the event has lived on for nearly 150 years; by tradition, the President of the College leads a toast to the Founder to begin the day's events.
I had SUCH a great time. My friends and I went early and got free candy and balloon animals. We also went on this funky spinning ride. Then we listened to Lola Bluegrass, this crazy singer from Vermont, who kept dancing around and rolling down hills. She was a little nuts. She said she's going to the fireworks tonight (in just a couple hours!) so maybe I'll see her there. Anyway, Founder's Day 2008 was WONDERFUL!
Happy Birthday, Matt!
PS - Read about this year's Founder's Day in The Miscellany News here!
http://misc.vassar.edu/archives/2008/05/founders_day_pr.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)