As I was writing my blog, I was browsing around my page and found that there was a "next blog" button that I had never clicked before. Having no idea what it would do, I clicked it and found that it took me to a random person's blog so that I could check out what they were writing about. It's pretty cool, I didn't know that Blogspot had this feature. It makes me a little apprehensive though, I guess I never realized that people outside of our class could see what we were all writing, not that it makes a difference since we basically just rip on Wittenberg and write about the most random things. But it reminded me a lot of the Stumble button featured on Stumbleupon.com which is one of my favorite websites when I have a lot of time to waste. So I just wanted to make a list of websites that I have found intriguing and useful that other people can check out when their bored.
1. Stumbleupon.com
2. Kittehroulette.com (pretty much like stumble upon but with cat videos if your a loser like me who loves cats)
3. Pandora (I'm sure you all know what this is by now)
4. ebaumsworld.com (one of my favorites in middle school)
5. Youtube (obviously)
6. encyclopedia of life-an interactive page with every organism/species on Earth
7. Projectgutenberg.com- free online books, great for research papers!
8. ehow.com- essentially life for dummies
9. bubblesnaps.com- add captions to your digital pictures
10. polldaddy.com- free polls for blogs/websites
that's it for now
Friday, April 15, 2011
A Perspective on the Career Center
After talking to both Career Center directors, Karen and Wendy, last week, I have come to the conclusion that they are genuinely here to help students with resumes, jobs, internships and whatever else they need but need to expand their resources. I have heard many students say that they are very helpful by sending their resume out to various employees and websites that post jobs. However, the majority of these jobs seem to be only in Ohio and more-so, in Springfield, Columbus and only neighboring towns and cities. That is a huge problem because although Wittenberg does have a large amount of students that are from Ohio, there are also a ton from out of state. I don't know why they think that students are only looking for jobs in Ohio or that they would even want to stay here over the summer. In my opinion, I wouldn't mind going back to New York for the summer or staying here, but I would much rather be home so that I could save money. If you're from out of state or even just don't live in the same area where your potential internships are, you can spend a lot of money fast. Even at Wittenberg, living here over the summer is not that cheap. You still have to pay for rent, utilities, food, travel expenses, etc. Obviously if you are at home for the summer, your parents or family pays for most of these expenses. I think if they broadened their horizons and looked to find more employers that are looking for employees or interns out of Springfield, Columbus, or Ohio, then a lot more students would utilize their services.
Blame Wittenberg NOT Sodexo
I learned something very interesting today from students who are raising money for the Lesotho, Africa trip. Apparently they were trying to set up a meal swap like they do every year where students can sacrifice one of their CDR meals so that the money goes towards the Africa trip. This year, Wittenberg wouldn't let them. You may wonder why Wittenberg since Sodexo is the one who charges us for meals? Wrong... its mostly Wittenberg. Sodexo only charges $1.20 for each meal while Wittenberg makes up all the rest. This means that for every dinner that a student eats at the CDR, Wittenberg makes a $10.80 profit. That is unreal. So if 500 students eat dinner at the CDR in one given night (which is a very modest assumption) then Wittenberg makes $5,400. So if you have always blamed Sodexo for their shitty and overpriced food, you should start to blame Wittenberg instead. It is no wonder that Wittenberg continues to employ Sodexo despite the overwhelming number of complaints from students. They make such a great profit off of Sodexo that it would probably kill their revenue flow if they were to switch to another service like Sisco. What I want to know is where all of this money goes. Wittenberg is supposedly stuck in this horrible financial crisis but then what are they doing with the money they are profiting from meals, and it makes me wonder what else they are overcharging us for. hmmmm.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Ridiculous Rules
I hate to air any dirty laundry, but I have so many mixed feelings about Greek life at Witt and the rules. Don't get me wrong I love my sorority and the people in it but some of the rules are obnoxious. In my opinion, we are in college and should be able to make our own decisions for ourselves. I know that when you are a part of an organization, you have to follow their guidelines as well but I think you should be able to consider those guidelines and decide for yourself what is appropriate in certain situations. For example, I left a social early a couple weekends ago because I was nervous that one of my good friends was getting a little too drunk. Since I know very well what kind of states this individual can go into when she gets too drunk, I made the executive decision to make her leave and to take her back to campus where she wouldn't get in trouble. While I probably should have told our social chair about the situation and have pondered other possible ways that I could help my friend without breaking the no leaving early rules, I acted out of instinct and was being a little overprotective of my friend. Not long after we left, I got an angry call from a member asking where I was etc. I tried to explain very clearly and rationally why I left and that I was just trying to be responsible, but continued to get screamed at. I realize that I should have handled things differently, but I think that she could also address the situation differently. And for that, I had to be a sober monitor at our formal. But what defines a sober monitor? I had a couple of drinks before hand and one beer at the formal and then got in trouble again for not being sober. But who said I was drunk? It is interesting also because another member was supposed to be sober throughout the entire event but she also had a couple drinks. Though the situation is quite hypocritical, this member is also trying to make me go to relay for life for three hours during Saturday night so basically I can't go out. Shouldn't she be doing the same then? I just think its ridiculous, I was quite alert enough to handle myself if any adverse situation arose and shouldn't be treated like a child who cannot control themselves. Luckily this came at a good time because I'm sick and wont be able to go out this weekend, and probably not to relay for life either... I don't want to make it worse by sitting in the cold for reasons other than actually wanting to be there to support the cause...which I will do earlier in the day :) My thoughts are that it is college and how should anyone basically be able to tell you that you can't go out on a Saturday night?
The Health Center Sucks
Today when I woke up, I immediately knew that I have a sinus infection. After thinking about how much it sucks I knew that I needed to do something about it. I didn't even think twice before I decided to go to an urgent care facility instead of the health center. I think I've been to the health center twice this year and luckily, both times I was actually able to get a prescription which is practically unheard of. However, the catch was that I exaggerated the severity of my symptoms and the duration of my illness...that is literally the only way they were prescribe you antibiotics right away. I learned this because in previous years, I would go in with the same illness/symptoms (usually a sinus infection because I get them three times a year like its clockwork) but say that they just started and they would tell me to wait it out, claiming that "doctors now-a-days say to let your illness drag out and you can usually get better on your own." Yeah....that is complete bullshit. Since when has any credible doctor advised someone to let an infection drag on? That would be never. And almost all they give you in the time being is a brown paper bag with salt packets and Advil..yeah that's going to do something. Not. In addition, its almost impossible to see the doctor during the week because she is completely booked and only she can write a prescription. My favorite part is when they tell you to take Musinex D for every illness you come in with. Today, when I was at Urgent Care, my doctor told me under no circumstances to take Musinex because it would dry my sinuses out and make me feel worse. What sound advice the health center nurses have. Anyway, I was in and out of there in less than an hour which is about the same time it would take if you already had an appointment at the doctor with the health center. The copay was $35 but that also covered my prescription, a free refill, and some nasal spray. Definitely worth it. Plus, depending on your insurance, it could probably cost even less. Needless to say, my advice for students who know that they are really sick and need antibiotics, go to an urgent care instead of the health center. You will be helped faster, get better advice, and get everything you need rather than waste your time waiting around for someone that will not help you.
Friday, April 8, 2011
I just wanted to write about how much I love twitter. I've only had it for a few days, but it has no been added to my list of websites that I check every time I get on the computer (facebook, email, and yahoo news). It not only is fun to follow your friends, who meaninglessly update what they are doing every few minutes, but following celebrities and news sources is a lot of fun too, and can be educational. While following your favorite celebrities is not, you still get the entertainment factor. Right now, I'm following Rain Wilson from the Office, Daniel Tosh, Will Ferrell, Snooki, and Stephen Colbert to name a few, and they are hilarious. It's really nice to get on Twitter and have a little laugh about what these characters say to brighten your day. On the other hand, I'm following Speaker of the House, John Boener, which is very informative because I now know a lot of what is going on the the passage of certain bills and the government lock out. I also plan to follow some news sources so that I can get up-to-date news at any time. It is very convenient for that. In addition, its fun. And it allows you to stop updating your statuses on Facebook, which is something that drives me nuts. Some people treat Facebook like it is a Twitter which is really annoying. But that is exactly what Twitter is for, to be annoying and post what you are doing every two seconds. I would not say that Facebook should be used in the same way. SO if you are one of those annoying people on Facebook that blows up everyone's news feeds with your meaningless shit, I would advise you to get a Twitter, it is much better for that!
Racist Radio
It is really interesting how an incident of racism on a college campus can stir up so much controversy, yet everyday listeners of a popular Springfield radio station that is extremely racist, do not say a word.
The radio station that I am talking about is 102.9 which plays mostly rap, hip hop, and r & b music. Since most of these genres of music are played by black artists, I don't see a problem that the radio station plays mostly music composed by black artists. But I do have a huge problem with their commentators, specifically "Russ Par and the morning show."
I work at 8am every day, and am driving for the bulk of the time so I have done a lot of listening of the radio and specifically 102.9 because I love the music they play. But one day, I heard something that really disturbed me. It was black history month and Russ Par was asking if listeners would call in to answer questions about important figures in the African American freedom movement. This seems fine so far, but then he said "We only want black listeners to call in because other people just don't understand as well, or aren't as aware of the black figures that made these strides." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? He even admitted he was being a little racist but wasn't doing it "directly." How much more direct can you be? Other people don't understand? I don't think that is true. In addition, there were many white people who positively contributed to the movement as well, and they did not get any recognition on the air. I don't understand how ignorant some people can be. And they wonder why there is still racism in America. It is because of the little things like this. It is the ignorance of it all. And this isn't the first time they have said things that were outright racist towards whites or have had programming that is specifically targeting African Americans and encouraging them that the world is still the worst place for them...
In another recent show, they were convincing people that property tax increases or just the principle of high property taxes in neighborhoods that are primarily black, are issued so that they move out of the neighborhood. Do people really have no clue what property taxes function as and why they are raised in certain areas? Most of the time, they directly correlate with increases in standards of living, and a majority of the taxes go toward the funding of public schools. If there are public schools that the government believes are doing very well or want to do better, they will try to increase their funding by raising property taxes. It is not a race issue whatsoever. So encouraging listeners who clearly are not knowledgeable on the subject that they skepticism of property taxes correlation with the demographics of neighborhoods is not doing any good. All it is doing is increasing racist feelings among citizens.
It just really makes me mad that a radio station, which defines the democratic values that free speech has in America is still used improperly and offensively to certain racial groups. If the radio station was the other way around, white people only letting other white people call in, or saying that their group was undermined in society for completely unrelated reasons, there would be complete uproar and drama. If African Americans expect the race problem to go away then they also need to stop contributing to it.
The radio station that I am talking about is 102.9 which plays mostly rap, hip hop, and r & b music. Since most of these genres of music are played by black artists, I don't see a problem that the radio station plays mostly music composed by black artists. But I do have a huge problem with their commentators, specifically "Russ Par and the morning show."
I work at 8am every day, and am driving for the bulk of the time so I have done a lot of listening of the radio and specifically 102.9 because I love the music they play. But one day, I heard something that really disturbed me. It was black history month and Russ Par was asking if listeners would call in to answer questions about important figures in the African American freedom movement. This seems fine so far, but then he said "We only want black listeners to call in because other people just don't understand as well, or aren't as aware of the black figures that made these strides." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? He even admitted he was being a little racist but wasn't doing it "directly." How much more direct can you be? Other people don't understand? I don't think that is true. In addition, there were many white people who positively contributed to the movement as well, and they did not get any recognition on the air. I don't understand how ignorant some people can be. And they wonder why there is still racism in America. It is because of the little things like this. It is the ignorance of it all. And this isn't the first time they have said things that were outright racist towards whites or have had programming that is specifically targeting African Americans and encouraging them that the world is still the worst place for them...
In another recent show, they were convincing people that property tax increases or just the principle of high property taxes in neighborhoods that are primarily black, are issued so that they move out of the neighborhood. Do people really have no clue what property taxes function as and why they are raised in certain areas? Most of the time, they directly correlate with increases in standards of living, and a majority of the taxes go toward the funding of public schools. If there are public schools that the government believes are doing very well or want to do better, they will try to increase their funding by raising property taxes. It is not a race issue whatsoever. So encouraging listeners who clearly are not knowledgeable on the subject that they skepticism of property taxes correlation with the demographics of neighborhoods is not doing any good. All it is doing is increasing racist feelings among citizens.
It just really makes me mad that a radio station, which defines the democratic values that free speech has in America is still used improperly and offensively to certain racial groups. If the radio station was the other way around, white people only letting other white people call in, or saying that their group was undermined in society for completely unrelated reasons, there would be complete uproar and drama. If African Americans expect the race problem to go away then they also need to stop contributing to it.
Scheduling
Personally, I've never had a problem with scheduling. I came to Wittenberg with a few extra credits from AP classes I took in high school so I was one of the first groups of freshman to schedule. Since then, I've only dropped one class and have taken a summer internship that gave me 8 extra credits so that I would be even more ahead of the game, especially when it comes to scheduling.
Honestly, I laugh at a lot of the people that have trouble with scheduling because they are the people that have dropped multiple classes, are behind in credits, or don't take the initiative to email a professor beforehand to at least ask them if they could potentially save them a spot for a particular class or add them in. I think that Wittenberg's system of scheduling is the best way they could possibly do it, with students' number of credits determining how early or late they schedule. It is the most fair way to do it because it would really piss a lot of people off if the lazy students that don't even give a shit about school and drop a class because it gets a little too hard for them, scheduled before everyone else.
So the system is not the problem, but I think the number of classes offered for certain majors is. I do feel for a lot of Communication students because the Comm department really does not offer enough 300 level classes for upperclassmen or even underclassmen who want to get ahead. I've had several friends that have gotten closed out of several Comm classes every single semester. Must be frustrating. But at the same time, if you know what you want your major to be early on, then I would suggest that you start chipping away at classes as soon as possible. I'm really happy that I did it that way. I finished my political science major the first semester of my junior year, except for methods. Essentially, all have to do to graduate is take two more classes for each of my minors, and I have been able to do so along with taking on 12 credits for 3 semesters of college. Convenient huh?
Honestly, if students just took some initiative to do things the right way and not save all of their important classes for their last two years, they will have a lot less pressure to stuff classes into their schedules to graduate. Balance is key. Like taking two gen ed's and two major/minor classes per semester. It's really not that complicated and it makes scheduling a lot less complicated as well.
Honestly, I laugh at a lot of the people that have trouble with scheduling because they are the people that have dropped multiple classes, are behind in credits, or don't take the initiative to email a professor beforehand to at least ask them if they could potentially save them a spot for a particular class or add them in. I think that Wittenberg's system of scheduling is the best way they could possibly do it, with students' number of credits determining how early or late they schedule. It is the most fair way to do it because it would really piss a lot of people off if the lazy students that don't even give a shit about school and drop a class because it gets a little too hard for them, scheduled before everyone else.
So the system is not the problem, but I think the number of classes offered for certain majors is. I do feel for a lot of Communication students because the Comm department really does not offer enough 300 level classes for upperclassmen or even underclassmen who want to get ahead. I've had several friends that have gotten closed out of several Comm classes every single semester. Must be frustrating. But at the same time, if you know what you want your major to be early on, then I would suggest that you start chipping away at classes as soon as possible. I'm really happy that I did it that way. I finished my political science major the first semester of my junior year, except for methods. Essentially, all have to do to graduate is take two more classes for each of my minors, and I have been able to do so along with taking on 12 credits for 3 semesters of college. Convenient huh?
Honestly, if students just took some initiative to do things the right way and not save all of their important classes for their last two years, they will have a lot less pressure to stuff classes into their schedules to graduate. Balance is key. Like taking two gen ed's and two major/minor classes per semester. It's really not that complicated and it makes scheduling a lot less complicated as well.
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