Friday night on a college campus. One thinks of scenes from Animal House or The Greek Life: people partying, carousing, and misbehaving. But Friday night—tonight—at Vassar will be very different.
Literally all of my friends will have their eyes glued to the television for the Presidential Debate. Every dormitory has a large TV room with a huge flat-panel screen. Usually there are just a few quiet couches in front of the TV, where friends occasionally get together in the evening to watch the World Series or The Daily Show. But tonight, the television will be surrounded by rows of chairs, dozens of couches, love-seats, ottomans, tables, stools... you name it.
Vassar is a very political place. Though people often assume that the entire campus is "liberal," I've found a great deal of diversity of opinions here. Tonight will be an exciting opportunity to discuss those ideas with my friends and neighbors, as we sit down to watch Barack Obama and John McCain face off for the first time—assuming McCain actually shows up...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Course Selection
My favorite time of any semester at Vassar is the first two weeks. This time, known as "Add/Drop" period, is when students can attend as many classes as they like and 'experiment' before settling down into a final schedule. No one takes advantage of this shopping period more than I do. In the past two weeks, I have visited more than 25 different classes, even though I knew I would only end up taking four or five. Some of my friends think I am little nuts for voluntarily sitting through so many seminars and lectures for two weeks, hour after hour, even for courses that I likely would never take.
So why do I do this? Why do I enjoy Add/Drop period so much? Going to those classes, even the ones that I know I will never take, I get dozens of perspectives on learning at Vassar. I get to see dozens of teachers in action. I get to see what goes on in a geography class, a classics class, a psychology class—even though my primary areas of studies are totally removed from these disciplines. Professors almost always distribute their syllabi on the first day, which means I get a free window onto entire courses that I would otherwise never see. In my room, I have a drawer full of syllabi, all from classes that I never have (and probably never will) take. But if I ever wanted to learn about Developmental Psychology or Dostoyevsky, I now have comprehensive lists of books and readings.
I'm not a very adventurous person when it comes to course selection. I know exactly the types of professors that I like and exactly the types of books I like to learn from. Many people are far riskier than I when it comes to course selection (one friend is taking a class on Creole Religions; another is taking a course on nanotechnology). I tend to stick to my favorite departments—history, political science and economics. But that doesn't mean that I'm not curious. At Vassar, students routinely audit courses without being enrolled in them. In other words, you are able to hear the lectures, do the readings and participate in the discussions, and not have to worry about stress and grades. Having the flexibility to fine-tune my course list really makes for an excellent semester. And this semester is no different. After much adding and dropping and experimenting, I enrolled in courses on Tokugawa Japan, Childhood in Modern England, the British Empire, the American Presidency, and Charles Dickens.
And now, I had better return to all of the homework I have for those classes...
So why do I do this? Why do I enjoy Add/Drop period so much? Going to those classes, even the ones that I know I will never take, I get dozens of perspectives on learning at Vassar. I get to see dozens of teachers in action. I get to see what goes on in a geography class, a classics class, a psychology class—even though my primary areas of studies are totally removed from these disciplines. Professors almost always distribute their syllabi on the first day, which means I get a free window onto entire courses that I would otherwise never see. In my room, I have a drawer full of syllabi, all from classes that I never have (and probably never will) take. But if I ever wanted to learn about Developmental Psychology or Dostoyevsky, I now have comprehensive lists of books and readings.
I'm not a very adventurous person when it comes to course selection. I know exactly the types of professors that I like and exactly the types of books I like to learn from. Many people are far riskier than I when it comes to course selection (one friend is taking a class on Creole Religions; another is taking a course on nanotechnology). I tend to stick to my favorite departments—history, political science and economics. But that doesn't mean that I'm not curious. At Vassar, students routinely audit courses without being enrolled in them. In other words, you are able to hear the lectures, do the readings and participate in the discussions, and not have to worry about stress and grades. Having the flexibility to fine-tune my course list really makes for an excellent semester. And this semester is no different. After much adding and dropping and experimenting, I enrolled in courses on Tokugawa Japan, Childhood in Modern England, the British Empire, the American Presidency, and Charles Dickens.
And now, I had better return to all of the homework I have for those classes...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Coming Home to Vassar, and to a new homepage, www.miscellanynews.com
As I unloaded my car this year, I felt a twinge of deja vu. This was not the first, not the second, but the third time that I would be making those multiple voyages between the back of my trunk and my cozy Cushing room. I first moved into Cushing House as a freshman, and continue to live there now. But as I unloaded the boxes and bins, pillows and suitcases, clothing and computer equipment, a small feeling of sadness hit me; I don't have that many 'unloadings' left. College is a funny thing; you obsess about it throughout high school, you get there, and before you know it, you're half-way through. So, in the short span of being in school, it is important to make your mark on the institution.
Along with my fellow editors, that is exactly what we plan to do with the Miscellany News. This year will boast a number of major changes to the paper. Perhaps the most notable is our online presence:
www.miscellanynews.com — Over the summer, I pushed a major overhaul of our Web site. While our old site was clunky and outdated, our new site is sleek, user-friendly and flexible. Photos and articles can be quickly rearranged depending on the news of the day. For example, we were able to post our coverage of Fall Convocation within an hour, and soon afterwards posted a gallery of photos from the event. Very cool, considering last year, that same coverage would have taken a week to get into our print edition. The Miscellany can now be as flexible as a blog, as timely as a daily paper, but as creative as a weekly publication. This online overhaul has been incredibly difficult, but once we see it through, I believe it will revolutionize news at Vassar—and revitalize our almost 150-year-old publication.
Hopefully, my fellow editors and I will also have time to be students this semester. My full course roster is not yet decided. Thankfully, Vassar gives students several weeks to add and drop courses before having to commit. This is one of my favorite parts of academic life here, since it gives you time to find professors with whom you really click. I have, however, definitely settled on a few interesting gems. I'll be taking The American Presidency in the political science department, and then The British Empire in the history department. I'm also going to take Childhood in Modern England, a seven-person history seminar that looks really interesting. It will be a nice change to take a class on such a specific topic and develop a deeper mastery of the material. (In high school, we had to take classes spanning all of world history! No time for details.)
Overall, I'm looking forward to a fantastic year, both academically and on the Miscellany — now, which of those requires more of my time, I couldn't tell you!
Along with my fellow editors, that is exactly what we plan to do with the Miscellany News. This year will boast a number of major changes to the paper. Perhaps the most notable is our online presence:
www.miscellanynews.com — Over the summer, I pushed a major overhaul of our Web site. While our old site was clunky and outdated, our new site is sleek, user-friendly and flexible. Photos and articles can be quickly rearranged depending on the news of the day. For example, we were able to post our coverage of Fall Convocation within an hour, and soon afterwards posted a gallery of photos from the event. Very cool, considering last year, that same coverage would have taken a week to get into our print edition. The Miscellany can now be as flexible as a blog, as timely as a daily paper, but as creative as a weekly publication. This online overhaul has been incredibly difficult, but once we see it through, I believe it will revolutionize news at Vassar—and revitalize our almost 150-year-old publication.
Hopefully, my fellow editors and I will also have time to be students this semester. My full course roster is not yet decided. Thankfully, Vassar gives students several weeks to add and drop courses before having to commit. This is one of my favorite parts of academic life here, since it gives you time to find professors with whom you really click. I have, however, definitely settled on a few interesting gems. I'll be taking The American Presidency in the political science department, and then The British Empire in the history department. I'm also going to take Childhood in Modern England, a seven-person history seminar that looks really interesting. It will be a nice change to take a class on such a specific topic and develop a deeper mastery of the material. (In high school, we had to take classes spanning all of world history! No time for details.)
Overall, I'm looking forward to a fantastic year, both academically and on the Miscellany — now, which of those requires more of my time, I couldn't tell you!
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