Generation Back Talk

So...

2010-08-30T13:00:00.001-07:00

Now that you've had a week of university life under your belt, what do you think? Are there things you wish you had known/done two weeks ago that you know now? What's your best piece of advice to incoming freshmen that you've learned so far?

-- JG

Student Debt

2010-04-27T07:58:00.001-07:00

My paper is about Student Debt. I decided to pick this as a topic simply because I feel that Student Debt is increasing around the country, and something needs to be done to help college students get their diploma, without going into debt. I found that only 70 of the nations colleges work to make sure that each of the students and their families meet their EFC, and help with the difference needed to pay for college. That was the most shocking to me. I think that if the economy isnt fixed, Particularly by the government, then even more students will fall into the hands of debt in the near future.

-- KL

English 101 Only -- Feature Article Topics

2010-02-10T11:35:00.001-08:00

Comment here and tell us what you want to work on for your paper...

-- JG

So ... What Did You Learn?

2010-02-10T09:47:00.001-08:00

After going through the links on e-campus about research, sources, etc., tell me the one thing you learned that you didn't know before. There has to be something ....

-- JG

Logical Fallacies!

2010-01-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

Here are some good ones from "SS".

1. "If you sit too close to the T.V., you will go blind."

2."Minds, like rivers, can be broader. The broader the river, the shallower it is. Therefore the broader the mind, the shallower it is."

3. English class is torture. :)

Hit the comment button and tell us what you think they are -- and why!

Dorm Floor Peer-relationships

2009-09-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

I'm from a fairly small town in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Nothing too exciting goes on there, that's why I decided to go to West Virginia University! After seeing a football game on T.V. I knew that WVU was always going to have a place in my heart, winning Class Clown and Most School Spirited at my high school, encouraged me to apply to WVU, because I wanted to share that with thousands of Freshmen that were like me and completely different. I NEVER in a thousand years, thought I'd know every person on my floor in Brooke Towers! The fifth floor of Brooke Towers is absolutely poppin, we all know each other and I love that feeling. The other night, we had movie night in this kid's dorm and just tonight, we had a dance party, that soon got busted because it was after quiet hours! Oops! I walk around Brooke Towers all the time and I don't see any hallway that is as social as ours. Just about every person on the fifth floor of Brooke Tower has the door open, on any other floor, most of the doors are shut. This hallway has made me come out of my shell a little bit, when I first got here, I was home sick and I didn't know how I was going to survive a whole year here. But my floor has made it so much fun and I can truly say that if I was on another floor, I would absolutely dread living in the dorms!

- Samantha Messner

Is this similar or dissimilar to your experiences in the dorms? -- JG

So ... Thoughts?

2009-08-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

So, now that you've been here a week, what've been the things that surprised you the most about life at WVU? Are there things you wish you'd known before you left home and moved here? What would you do differently? Or, what has been unexpectedly good about WVU?

-- JG

Do Students Need Cars Anyway?

2009-01-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

Piggy-backing off of the post just under this one, it seems to me that one way to solve the parking problem is to leave your cars at home. If you think about the amount of money you'd probably pay to park, the hassle of finding a spot, digging your car out from the snow and ice during winter time, the time you waste driving when sometimes walking is just as fast...why bring it in the first place? Sure, Morgantown is somewhat spread out and not everything is within walking distance. But do you really need your car--or can you get by without it?

-- JG

WVU & Parking Issues

2009-01-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

I just don’t understand why WVU only offers one free parking lot for us students to park. It really frustrates me on football and basketball game days when the WVU officials block off over half of the coliseum lot so fans can park there. Now I don’t want to sound like I am angry that the fans park at the coliseum, I am just aggravated by the fact that if you don’t have an 8:00A.M. or 8:30A.M. class then you have a very little chance of actually getting a parking spot on game days. The worst part is that for football games they block the lots off two days before a game. Lastly, it bothers me for the people who can’t find parking spots and have to park in random spots at the coliseum and then they are given a ticket for not being in an “actual” parking space. To my knowledge, the coliseum is the only free lot for students, and I do realize the parking garage is an option, but it can be very difficult to get a spot there too. I just wish that WVU would offer another form of free parking especially on game days.

M.Hamilton

Man Up and Go Greek

2008-10-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

As school starts up for many students, students are bombarded with clubs and activities to join and are usually asked to join within the first days of arrival at school. Out of all the different clubs and activities to join, there is one activity that jumps out the most; Greek Life. Many students believe that Greek life is just one big party; which is why I’m typing this blog. Before I make my case for Greek life, I am fully aware that rush is over and that the only other time to try and rush is next semester. With that said, let me make my case. Too often students stereotype fraternities into the image given from the hit movie Animal House. The truth is that no one would ever consider rushing a fraternity if people partied that much. Students do not see the numerous library hours put in night after night or the physical training done at six in the morning at the recreational center. Students also never see the plethora of community service work done by all of the fraternities. All students see is the party that got busted for a noise violation. People seem to think that with fraternities, grades will slip and lead to college doom, while nothing could be more false. Fraternities require a minimum of a 2.5 grade point average at the least. While that is the University’s requirement for grade point average, most fraternities themselves raise that standard. I could counter any other argument against going Greek so let me end this with a challenge. I challenge any student in the University that has any interest to go Greek next semester to rush. I promise whether it is a fraternity or sorority, there will be one house that fits you best to your preference. Just remember, a fraternity is supposed to help you, not hurt you! If any Greek house is detrimental to your grades or health, then it is not even worth staying around for, so go somewhere else. Remember my challenge and good luck next semester.

--Orgasmo

Food!

2008-10-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

The first thing I did when I found out I was living on the Evansdale Campus was to find out what places there were to eat close by. I had a few friends that went to school at WVU already, and they said that Towers was the best place to eat because they had the best food. They told me that the food was better than all of the cafeterias on the Downtown Campus too. I was looking forward to eating there from now on. When I started goin there everyday, the food seemed like it was repeating itself. Also, it just seemed to get nastier each day. Everyday now when I think about eating, I think about the food my mom cooked back home. I miss her food. Has anyone else came to this conclusion? Does anyone else miss the food from back home yet?

-- LB

Nursing Majors

2008-10-14T08:26:00.000-07:00

As a freshman pre-nursing major, I find it very frustrating that I maynot even get into the School of Nursing at WVU. It’s extremely difficultto get into the nursing program here. Out of our entire nursing classonly about 40% of the students will get into the School of Nursing. Ibelieve the actual number of students is somewhere around 80. What aboutall the others? What if nursing is the only thing that we want to do?Many people dream of being nurses since they were little. We don’t wantto change our lifelong dreams just because a program is too difficult toget into. Everywhere you’re always hearing that there is a nursingshortage. In my nursing class, we learned that by 2025, the shortage fornurses could reach 500,000. If we are that short on nurses, why can’tmore qualified applicants get into the nursing programs? Does anyoneelse find that absolutely frustrating?

-- AW

Social Lives Without Booze?

2008-10-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big drinker at all. It just makes me sick to my stomach when I do. I feel like that is all that there is to do here. Most of the time I just go to the rec center so I don't feel bored or feel miserable. My friends are always like you need to go out and get your mind of work and your boyfriend; and I agree with them but I don't want to go to parties or clubs all the time, once awhile is enough. I don't find any fun with people wanting to or being "trashed", mostly because I end up taking care of everyone. Where I am from yes people party but there is so much to do, the beach is 5 min. away and New york City always has something entertaining to do. I just want to know what else is there to do here?

-- BG

Poor Transportation!

2008-10-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

As we all know, WVU is a very spacious campus. Most people will have a variety of classes uptown, as well as the same amount downtown. Trying to find parking downtown can take forever and can be expensive. Also many freshmen don’t have a car at the campus. So this leaves a lot of kids riding the PRT. Yes the PRT helps you from having to worry about things like getting a parking ticket, but the stress caused from the PRT makes you feel like it’s just as bad. Most mornings I have to leave for class forty-five minutes early just to try to catch the PRT at a time that it is working. Even then it is still broken sometimes. The line of students waiting to get from one campus to another seems like it lasts forever. Then when you are finally about to get on the PRT, after you are late for your class, the door opens and the sign shows a completely different PRT station than what you need to go to. The busses run everyday, but those fill so fast, it seems impossible to ever make it on one. Tons of students are late for class everyday, even when they have gotten up on time, or even earlier than usual. Then they walk into the class after missing half of the lecture all because of the poor transportation at this college. Does anyone else agree that the college needs to try to work on some new ways of transportation, or have the PRT problems solved?

-- EB

Study Habits

2008-10-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

I always find myself studying the night before for about a hour andcramming the hour before. So far I've done alright on my test but not asgood as i want to do. I usually can't focus during those times because iprocrastinate way to much or too attached to my cell phone. Any tips ongood study habits? Or ways to cover material the best?

-- AC

Tired of Schoolwork

2008-10-07T11:28:00.001-07:00

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am tired of homework and tests. It’s only half way through the semester and I feel like I’ve been working forever! Some classes don’t even have mid terms; they are the average of your test grades. So, if you did badly on one test, there goes your midterm grade. There is so much work for every class and I swear that every teacher thinks that their class is your only class. I sit down and try to get all caught up on my homework, but the next day I get the same amount. It’s a never ending cycle. Does anyone else feel this way?

-- CO

Catching a Bit of Homesickness

2008-10-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

When you first come to college you’re excited and anxious. A new place with new faces is a cure to any hometown drama. The first two weeks were filled with fun activities & figuring out this new place you call home. Now that the true colors of college are beginning to show is when people or at least me start to have problems. My family and friends keep telling me that this is normal and that it will come to an end but I just don’t see that. I’ve thought frequently about transferring next year or even next semester. I often wonder, am I the only one that feels like this? Out of my friends, that seems to be the case. I’m hoping I’m not the only one, but when in this state of mind, it’s hard to be optimistic. School is becoming harder and harder each day & the stress just keeps piling on to the point of being extremely overwhelmed. I’d love advice if someone has it!

-AM

Cheerleading: Sport or Not?

2008-10-07T11:21:00.001-07:00

Whenever people are asked whether cheerleading is a sport or not, there is usually 1 of 2 answers, yes or no. Now dont get me wrong, I'm not just going to say it is because I have cheered my whole life. I have reasoning behind what I believe. I can see where people can be mislead by the "sport" aspect of it. Many people/students only see the cheering part of cheerleading. They are just a group of girls/guys screaming and shouting for a particular sporting event. Wrong. That there isnt exactly what people consider a "sport" quality but there is so much more to cheerleading than that. What people do not see however, is what happens behind the scenes. If you have ever been to a cheerleading competition then you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Cheerleaders pretty much commit their whole lives and free time to blood, sweat, and tears. They throw away their weekends and evenings to having from anywhere from 2-6 hour practices just to make their 2 minutes and 30 seconds on the competition floor count. They need to have perfectly timed tumbling and sturdy, stiff builds. Not many people are able to pull a tuck out of no where or be tossed yards in the air. I to this day have yet to meet someone who has been able ot jump into cheerleading and be good at it without having years of experience. Its one of those talents you have to work hard and learn over time. I think cheerleading is one of the stereotypical instances where people need to take a closer look before they judge. What do you think?

NH

Freshman 15?

2008-09-17T07:39:00.001-07:00

Ever since I started high school, I've always heard about people gaining the "freshman 15" in college. I don't think that it's very true at all. Maybe it's different for me because i live at home, and still have home cooked meals every now and then. But I also go out to eat an awful lot, and I've determined no change in my weight. Maybe it will happen later in the year but as of right now i feel that it doesn't apply to me. As a lot of you may know, being a student at WVU causes you to walk.. A LOT! It seems almost impossible for anyone to be gaining weight while on campus. Does anyone else feel like this? or do you think I'm wrong and feel it's easy to gain the rumored "freshman 15?"

BW

How Many Engineers Does It Take....

2008-09-17T07:37:00.001-07:00

Years ago, when the new University Town Center was first being built, myfather said that he was glad that his construction company hadn’t gottenon that job. I was confused, because I thought that it would have beena good job for his company, but he went on explaining, and then Iunderstood. He told me that they were building the shopping center onbackfill, and that eventually it would all start to sink, maybe evenslide down the hill. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. EveryoneI asked about it said that it was a rare possibility that it wouldactually happen, and if it did it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Just the other day, I opened up the Dominion Post to find an articlethat proved my father right. The parking lot of the Target is alreadybeginning to sink, and the store is suing the company that put it down. Now I see why my father was glad that his company didn’t get that job. But, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Stores in other locations have had to torn down completely and builtback somewhere else. Tell me, just how smart is it to build on landthat you know isn’t going to hold what you’re putting on it?

SP

Adjusting to College

2008-09-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

For many of us, coming to college is a time filled with anticipation, anxiety, and stress. Packing up everything you’ll need for the next year to leaving friends you’ve had for years can be nerve racking. Then comes August, where you can’t wait to start and move in. The first weekend is always a fun time to go out with your new friends and explore the new area. And then, classes start. Now that we’re really getting into the semester, work is piling up very quickly with many things due on the same day. I know that I have a lot of assignments due throughout the upcoming weeks and it really helps me to schedule when to get them done. Time management is always the first thing teachers tell you is important to do in college and I never believed them. However, now I do. I often find myself wishing there were more hours in the day to get everything done and procrastination definitely does not help. So, what are some other ways to make the adjustment between high school and college easier? How do you deal with the tons of assignments, tests, and papers that are due?

JF

College Minors:

2008-09-16T06:46:00.001-07:00

To choose or not to choose..study a certain subject in college can be very overwhelming, but what about studying two subjects? Many people in college not only have a major, but a minor as well. People that do this usually major in an area with a large income and a stable career and minor in an area they have passion for. I, for example, am majoring in Nursing because it is a very stable career with a nice income, but that is not where my heart is. I love musical theatre! I'm really considering minoring in musical theatre. So when it comes down to it should you major in something that is gonna give you lost of money, but spend your life not as happily as you would if you were doing something you love? Or would you rather study something you love and not live so lavishly later on in life?

DD

Long Distance Relationships

2008-09-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Everyone has different views of long term relationships. My main problem with this is college students. I have heard of so many couples of breaking up after high school because, they are both going to different colleges. My girlfriend the other day told me about how people were planing there break ups because of college. I know that long distance scares everyone but when it all comes down to it, do youreally want to leave that person? In some cases it is a way to get away from another person, but I feel strongly that if both partners are willing to make it work then everything will be fine. Sure you are going to have your bumps in the road but that's life and you will get over them. For example I have been dating my girlfriend Colleen for a little over a year, and she is now attending the University of Cobleskill in upstate New York, and I am down her at West Virginia. Since day one we told ourselves and each other that we were not going to let college end what we have going. So we said are goodbyes and like I always say goodbyes are never forever, and I will see her in about a month from now. Sure it is hard being 600 miles away but there is no stronger bond then love. Real love not the teenage puppy love that everyone has. That leads me into asking, how do you all feel about long distance relationships whether your in one or not?

-- RS

And Now For Something Completely Different

2008-09-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

With all that has gone on during the football training camp,
pre-season,and week one action: Tom Brady getting hurt, Brett Favre
leaving the Packers, will the Giants be able to ride the momentum to
another consecutive Super Bowl win, how about the Colt's horrible loss
to the Bears, or will there be a chance in hell that my hometown team
the Browns will win it all... probably not. But I still wonder who does
everyone have as their Super Bowl picks?

-- AG

On Overload

2008-09-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

This past week and this current one as well students are finding themseleves crammed with enourmous amounts of work to do. That being the combination of tests, homework, reading, studying, going to class, papers, etc... It seems like each teacher takes the class he or she is teaching as if its the only class the students have and when you have say 5 of those teachers the work load easily piles up. On top of all this school work we have lives too, other things that need to be done. For example I play a club sport which takes up 4-5 days a week 3 hours a day. Yes it is my choice to attend this but its something i love doing and im not giving it up anytime soon. Also our social lives are important as well. If not we mine as well live in a hole and have a one-tracked mind based on school.The point is the work builds up way too much and drives us to the point of stress. What are some ways to solve this? Can it be solved or are we going to have to shut up and find a way to deal with it. No one was to be placed in a point of stress and right now if your not stressing i envy you because you must know something i dont.

-- SM

Just Park It!

2008-09-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

I recently read in the Dominion Post (Morgantown’s local newspaper) a headline that read “WVU Dorms Are Full”, dated August 10, 2008. In this article the assistant vice president for enrollment management estimated nearly 28,000 students to enroll in courses for the 2008 fall semester. It was also estimated that 5,000 of those students would be freshman, most of which would be required to live on campus. It also goes on to say that we have the ability, with the temporary leased spaces the university acquired, to house about 5,800 students. Eighty of which were waiting on housing assignments. So when the proper authority realized they have more and more students being accepted to WVU they decided it was time to build more housing. They purchased Summit and Fieldcrest Halls, building Lincoln hall and leasing the Pierpont apartments. They are also building a new honors dorm on Grant Avenue, adding 350 extra spaces for the fall of 2009.

An astounding 51% of students currently enrolled at WVU are from out of state. That leaves 49% to be in-state students but of that 49% I wonder how many are from Morgantown? Now having filled you in on a little school statistics, nowhere in any of the newspaper articles I’ve read, the construction I have witnessed, the traffic I have sat in, did I see or hear of parking spaces being added on campus to accommodate the rising number of students they are worried about housing. There is plenty of over priced “Decal Parking Only” lots downtown on campus. But very few paid parking options for students who must drive to class. I have been downtown 30-40 minutes before a scheduled class and have been late to that class for the sole reason of searching for parking. Doesn’t it only stand to reason that if you are trying to bring more students to this University you should expand the parking options? Anyone out there that commutes to school via their car know of any secret parking?

-- M

Military Family Members

2008-09-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

My brother is in the Marines. Growing up, he was never the type of guy you'd think would go into the armed forces but after a semester in college he decided that the military was the better choice for him. He is currently in LA for schooling but in a few months he will have his stationing orders. He thinks he'll be stationed in San Diego but my dad and my granddad think otherwise. I've never been close to my brother, we had very different personalities. He was more on the punk rock side and I was a preppy cheerleader. I'm proud of my brother for making it through basic training but it's hard for me to be proud of him for going. He went as a last resort after dropping out of college. I feel like now we have less in common; I am completely against war and after basic training he is a new person with new beliefs on the government. I feel like the more he is involved with the military the more and more we'll grow apart.

-- Krys

Motivation/Inspiration

2008-09-04T10:51:00.001-07:00

For most new college students freshmen year throws us into a new world where responsibility for our actions is solely ours. In order to achieve our educational goals we have to be determined and find inspiration. When we were at home we had our loved ones to push us to do our work and check on our progress but along with our new freedom comes the need for inspiration. Inspiration can be hard for new students to find when they are without their friends and family so how do they do it? Is one source of inspiration more meaningful than another? Is it better to be inspired by the achievments of others or by someone in your life who believes in you? Is inspiration necessary for success? How have you found inspiration/motivation?

--LM

Teen Pregnancy

2008-09-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

When I think of a topic that can typically spark a conversational debate the topic of teen pregnancy comes to mind. I took a little time to research the facts today about teen pregnancy and I found the following quite interesting. Research shows that one in five girls have had sex before the age of fifteen and almost half (forty-six percent) of high school aged teens in the United States have had sexual intercourse at some point. Six in ten teens that have had sex for the first time wish they hadn’t. Approximately one in seven sexually experienced fourteen year old girls report having been pregnant. Half of the pregnancies in the US each year are unplanned, that equals about 3 million each year. I always find the pressure on young teens to have sex interesting. The pressure can create unwanted bad first experiences and could ruin the life of a teenager when he or she must face the consequences. I feel bad for the youth that do have to go through that tough pressure because I can’t imagine being faced with the choices and sacrifices that come with being pregnant as a teen.

-- Anon

Olympics and the Age Rule

2008-09-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

I’ve always been a huge fan of the summer Olympics. I could never really get into the winter Olympics because of the excessive amount of figure skating but that’s besides the point. Anyway this year I was watching the women’s gymnastics competition this year and there was alot of talk about the actual ages of the Chinese team. The official rule on age limit to compete in the Olympics as of now is the athlete competing must turn 16 in the year that the Olympics are taking place. So even if the competitor was 15 when it took place if they turned 16 bythe end of the year it’s still legal. What I want to know is if this rule should really be enforced. Personally I think the rule is kind of stupid. The Olympics aresupposed to be a competition between the best athletes in the entire world. Whether or not the athlete is 12, 16, or 40 shouldn’t matter at all. If a 12 year old kid has the ability to compete on a international level and take home the gold why should anyone deny them that opportunity. I am bitter that the US lost to a team that could have illegal members on the team but I still think the rule shouldn’t exist.

--CG

Lowering the Drinking Age--Two Opinions

2008-09-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Recently the dominion post printed an article about lower the drinking age to 18. I personally dont think it would matter because underage drinking happens all the time. I do however think that by lower the drinking age, there will be many more drunk driving accidents because at the age 18, many people believe they are unstoppable and think they can still drive when intoxicated. I'm not saying we shouldnt lower the drinking age, my only question is will it increase drunk driving? What do you think?

HJB

A movement to lower the drinking age to 18 is taking steps in many communities and states across the country. College presidents from about 100 different universities are coming together to ask lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. They believe that the current law is encouraging dangerous binge drinking among college campuses. John M. McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont said, “It does not reduce drinking. It has simply put young adults at greater risk.” I think the age restriction has not eliminated kids under 21 to stop drinking; it has only caused them to hide it. Not allowing people under 21 to buy liquor or drink at bars/ public places, has not stopped them from doing it just raised the drinking behind closed doors. In 1984 the legal drinking age was raised to 21 to stop people under this age from drinking all together. But 23 years later we have to ask ourselves why are people under 21 still drinking?

--AN

College Level Work

2008-09-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

College work can sometimes be hard or easy depending on the class you have. Now a days a lot if not all of your classes have work for you to do online. This is ok if its a little bit, but my opinoin is if i wanted to go to college online i would have done besides of living on campus. The reading is what i think can either make or break a student. For example there can be alot pages to read in a chapter and that can take a way from your time to have fun and express youself. What do you think of school work on campus?

-- JC

The Pinch at the Pump

2008-09-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

WOW! It is very crazy to me how high the gas prices have become. For awhile it seemed as if everyday I went down the road they were rising. West Virginia seems to be one of the highest states too. Am I right? I know that when I went to Maryland this summer it was .20cents cheaper. Being that I am a communter, the gas prices will definitely be affecting my wallet more than ever this year. The worst part too is that we are all college students so our cash flow is definitely lower than normal. At the rate gas prices are rising, I hate to see how high they will become in a few years, maybe even months. I mean will the price of gasoline ever become lower, or will we be paying this high price for years? I hope something changes.

--Hamilton

Courtesy

2008-08-24T18:06:00.000-07:00

Why is it that in like 1950 if you were to see a complete stranger and
say hello and ask them how there day was, it would be completely
acceptable. But if i were to see someone in the elevator or walking
through the hallway of my own dorm hall and say hello, i get looked at
like i am a crazy pedophile? what has this country come too when
someone cannot even be courteous to one another without being
frightened for our lives. it just completely bamboozles me that being
friendly is basically looked down upon. has anyone else ever been
mistreated due to the fact that our world has gone completely nuts?

i heard this story once and whether it be true or not it touched me and
changed me for the rest of my life:

One day this man who had been down on his luck and just couldnt catch a
break and his life was basically going downhill. he couldnt stand it
anymore. he decided to take his life by jumping off a bridge in his
city. in the note he left he had said i will turn around and come home
and put up with everything and live my life if just one person would
smile at me and say hello. well i guess no one had stopped to smile or
say hello or no one would have ever found that note.

people have a set routine for their lives and just keep repeating their
same cycle over and over again and then they die. never going outside
there comfort zones and experiencing this beautiful miracle we have
right in front of us. and believe it or not it is the only thing we can
ever truly control.

-Gina

Broken Promise?

2008-04-29T18:18:00.001-07:00

Recently Gov. Manchin made a proposal to turn the Promise Scholarship
into a loan if a student leaves the state of West Virginia after
graduation. this is a terrible idea by the governor. the state simply
doesn not have the job opportunities to try and force people to stay
in the state at the moment. people are forced to leave and find work
elsewhere to better their way of life. i personally plan on staying in
the state after i graduate. if this proposal was in place right now
and i planned on moving out of i state, i would turn the
scholarship/loan down. i wouldnt want that burden later on just
because i left west virginia. i just do not think that turning the
scholarship into a loan is a good idea.

--JR

When is it time to let go?

2008-04-27T09:03:00.001-07:00

Taking the step of beginning college is a milestone in every person's
life. Moving away from home should be an indication that we are now
able to live on our own and make decisions for ourselves....right? One
would think this, but in a lot of cases I feel like sometimes it is
hard for parents to realize this. In my household I am the first born
child. I am the lucky child who gets to experience the whole "growing
up" process with my parents first. I was the first child who had to
deal with rules on dating, driving on my own at night, allowing certain
curfews, and many more of the steps parents have to take as their child
becomes an adult. Now that I am away living on my own, I feel like my
parents are having a hard time treating me like I actually am. Maybe
it is because I am the first born child and I am the first to go away
to college. Or maybe it is because I am the only girl child and they
feel as though they need to protect me. In any case, I am growing up -
I'm wrapping up my first year of college. They are going to have to learn
to let go. Does anyone else feel this way? How do your parents treat
you? ... When is it time for them to let go?

-- EG

Summer 2008

2008-04-27T08:59:00.001-07:00

Now that summer is almost here. YAY!!!!! Has everyone thought about
what they are going to be doing this summer? Jobs? Taking a couple
classes? Do nothing? (man does that sound good) Or is everyone just
concentrating on the last couple weeks of classes and also the most
important thing FINALS!? Even though it seems like summer is still far
off, because of those 5 finals that you have to get done with
first,and that English 101 portfolio thats due. We still need to be
thinking about this summer. If you going to working you need to be
looking and putting in applications before others get there first. Or
sign up for classes, so you can get the best times. Whatever you plan
to do this summer, you need to get on the ball and do it now, so then
you won't be stressing over it coming the middle of May. But whatever
you do, hope its the best summer yet for everyone!

-- EC

DORM FOOD

2008-04-27T08:56:00.001-07:00

Being a freshman at WVU, they nicely made the requirement that we have
to live in dorms. Along with this nice rule came this one: live in WVU
dorms, you must purchase a meal plan. Even if one has no intention of
eating off the meal plan, they still have to buy it. How is this fair?
Not to mention that when touring WVU on orientation they trick you
into thinking the food is good by treating you at Hatfields, where it
just happens to be good food that does not count for your meal plan
except for breakfast. The food they serve in the dorm cafeterias for
the most part is not that great, and the things they make that are
decent are not always the healthiest. They always have pizza and
French fries, and than wonder why this and beer make freshman gain the
freshman 15? You would think that with all the money from the meal
plans there would be really good tasting food. Also the ‘meal times’
that work with your meal plans aren’t that convenient and a lot of
meals go to waste.

I know I can not wait to have my own place where I can make my own food and
buy my own groceries and less money will go to waste.

BL

First Year Almost Up...

2008-04-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

Our first year of college is almost over. Its amazing how fast it has
gone. I know with it coming to an end means its one step closer to
being completely on our own. With that said I know I am really nervous
and scared to move on with all this. Am I the only one? I sure hope
not. Thinking about buying our own houses, working a full time job,
making payments on our own is definitely something i tend to think
about. Even if some of us go to graduate school, it is so close and it
will end before we know it.

Whereupon One of Your Fellow Classmates Rambles On

2008-04-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

What is up with people and elevators? Living in a dorm myself I come and
go almost daily and the one way I make it to the 10th floor is by the
common use of the elevator. Seriously, an elevator is the one place
where your personal space does not matter at all. The door opens and
people get in on the first floor. Probably about 5 people get into this
legally 15 cap silent shrine of destiny that rises everyone up to the
vertical limit of their so called "rooms." When the transport ship stops
on a another floor and more people come in, everyone makes room even if
there is none. "Oh sure come on in so we can be a centimeter from
touching each other." Its hot/humid, you are basically face first into
the hair of the person in front of you. 9/10 it is a morning class and
its anywhere between 8-11 am they haven't showered or showered within
the last few days. The stench is unbearable and does anyone say
anything? NO ! This is how A.D.D we college students are. We ALL STARE
AT THE
lil LIGHTS THAT POP UP FOR THE FLOORS. We are in a elevator we are
either going up or DOWN. Seriously people do we think that we are going
to Texas or China" Do we have to look up to see if we are going to the
right place? We KNow where we are going! All you need to do is look up
ONCE!. Or count the beeps do some math in your head maybe that will keep
you away from A.D.D .

So no one talks in elevators. We are all silent as mice in this death
contraption of texting and A.D.D. What are we as a human race coming to
that a simple conversation of "hello how are you" or "The weather is
nice outside" People aren't open anymore no one wants to talk to anyone.
We all have places to go, people to text, and showers (that we aren't
taking). NO NO i dont understand people in elevators its just plain old
weird. We lose are personal space , our minds, and our lives just using
this simple transit up and down...up and down.

~john M.

ARE WE SAFE

2008-04-08T07:15:00.001-07:00

With the upcoming 1 year aniversity of the Virginia Tech shooting, I was begining to think are we really as safe as we think we are. I began to think about what kind of things have been done at WVU to ensure that the students here are really safe. Sure we have to check people in after nine and we lock all of the side entrances but what is going to happen in case of an emergency. After the Virginia Tech incident and most recently in my home town at VCU, I believe that every college and university has to re-evaluate their emergency action plan because now we know it is possible that we might be faced with same ordeal. I just want some reassurance that we are really safe here at school and if not what kind of precautions are the university, the university police, and the students of WVU taking to keep Morgantown a safe place to be.

-- Pickle

A good waste of a million dollars

2008-04-08T07:14:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to figure this out for the longest time and I really have made no progress on understanding the reasoning for it. Why would the university spend a million dollars to put a bridge across the road that is so far away from the mountainlair that none of the students will ever really use. They spent a million dollars making a bridge that is basically useless. The reason for traffic being backed up so bad downtown is mainly due to the area in front of the mountainlair. The students always just want to walk in front of every car coming and going becuase it is a crosswalk. Yes that is the legal way to look at it, beucase every single car has to stop for any pedestrian in a crosswalk. This leads to us sitting in traffic for twenty minutes at a time just getting from the rusted musket to the mountainlair during busy times of the day. I just really dont see why they would spend all that money to put a bridge there when if they would have just made a walkway in front of the mountainlair it would have been used much more often, and also solved a large part of the traffic problem here in Morgantown. If anybody can make me see the reasoning, please try. -Nate

Obama; a racist?

2008-04-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

As you probably have heard Barrack Obama a candidate for President in 2008 has been placed in hot water recently for his affiliation with Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago. Why does anyone care if he went to church? Well this isn’t any typical church. This church is stuck in the 60’s, literally! It is founded on James Cone’s Liberation Theology which he expressed in his 1969 book “Black Theology and Black Power”. Well what so wrong with this theology? This view is just an excuse for racism. In Cones book he tells blacks that they must “destroy the white enemy” and preaches that God and Jesus are solely black Gods and everyone who is bad to blacks are the devil’s. Hmmm, interesting view for a presidential candidate. But It gets worse, his church published the Hamas (A terrorist cell in Israel and Palestine) Manifesto in their weekly church bulletin! They also gave a life time achievement award to Louis Farrakhan; one of America’s most racist anti-Semitics. Not to mention the church wants God to damn America, thinks the government invented AIDS to harm blacks, calls the good ol’ US of A the KKKA, accuses the government of giving black children drugs, and stresses “black family-community- culture” over all else. Replace black with white and you have the KKK creed practically. The fact of the matter is this preacher, who has since retired, has been the mentor of Obama for over 20 years (Obama admitted this) and Obama even dedicated his book to the pastor. In 20 years with a man who is so loud about his racism there is no way Obama couldn’t have known about it. So now the question is Obama a racist or just complacent with black racism? Either way I don’t care! This is unacceptable, disgusting and the fact the Americans seem to be ok with this!?!?!? After Huckabee was eliminate Obama was someone I was considering, but I dont care if your white, black, orange or purple racism is racism and Im not voting for someone who stands idly by for 20 years and yet talks about change. - Birds of a feather...

Hasn't Helped Us At All!

2008-04-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

I cannot wait until Gov. Manchin is out of office. I didnt like the idea of him getting into office in the first place but at the time no one really knew of any opposing candidates. I used to say he has done nothing since he has been in office but the more I think about it the more I realize he really has. The catch is it has all upset the residents of the state. The first strike was making our state slogan "Open for Business." Are we hookers?! That probably did not help the view of the state. Finally he changed it back to Wild and Wonderful but only after millions of state resident complaints and the state legislation still had to do it themselves. And then he decided that he was going to make the Promise scholarship only if the students who used it stayed in the state for two years after graduating college. And he was going to chase down all those students who had already used it and left. That made me personally mad. Yes, I do not plan on leaving the state but many people do. There is nothing here. He has run everyone out rather than pull them in. I'm not asking for big cities because the country side is what I love about the state, but if you want people to stay in the state you need to be able to supply them with jobs. And to do that you have to give the businesses a reason to come here which obviously he is failing at. Hello!...Manchin's own daughter works for an out of state corporation. Milan Puskar does help the university but his corporation headquarters is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now I read that he is repremanding West Virginia businesses for where they hold their business meetings. What does that matter?! If the company has a business meeting but cannot find a suitable place in the state to hold it at the time that they want it, they should not be told to change the date of their meeting just to stay in the state. That's a load of crap. That kind of nonsense is what runs and keeps businesses out of West Virginia. Joe Manchin has done nothing but hurt us and now that I am able to vote I am pleased to know that I can be a part of hopefully getting him out of office. Hopefully in November we will be saying goodbye to Joe as well as George.-FeFie Burma

Does the thought of suicide ever cross your mind?

2008-04-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

The very thought of taking my own life is enough to enough to send chills down my spine and make me nauseous. I have personally never had to face such an issue and for that I’m very thankful, but the truth is there are extremely high numbers of college students suffering from depression. Just recently a person on my floor tried to commit suicide, an optimistic, attractive, intelligent, “has it all together “person. Just because I am not suicidal I ignore that the problem exist, but after this unfortunate incident it got me thinking. Are these football loving, beer drinking, blue and gold wearing, and hard working WVU students sad? I sure hope not! According to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention 1 in 3 American college students have seriously considered suicide and it’s the second leading cause of death in people from the ages of 18 and 24. Although you might not think you know anyone dealing with these issues chances are you do and these people need help (and yes help is out there). So please if you or someone you know is thinking about it, get them help. I do not want anyone to experience what I and the other people on my floor had to witness and go through.

-- Anonymous

Political Lobbying

2008-04-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

Virtually everything requires some source of funding and politics is
one of these things. In order for a politician to have a chance at
success in any race he/she needs money. As a result there is no
shortage of organizations willing to "give" politicians money for
their campaigns and in most cases these donations aren't out of
altruism. Consequently politicians might feel indebted to these
people/organizations and end up making crucial decisions based on that
rather than the greater good. This could be the source for many
problems such as, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
So should there be measures to monitor and/or prevent
such "arrangements" from being made?

E.

See You Monday

2008-03-21T10:45:00.001-07:00

Even allowing extra time for response, less than a dozen of you responded to the post. So, I guess that means that most of you don't mind having class on Monday. Since I sent out an email beforehand explaining that this was based on participation and only two people responded after that, I'm assuming that means you have to be back in the swing of things anyway, so it doesn't make a difference if I canceled or not. So, in that case, I'll see you all on Monday. I'm switching up activities so that we do the boxing activity Wednesday. Monday I'll be going over the prompt and letting you take a look at sample MGRPs so you have an idea of what this project looks like. If you have travel problems, you need to try to let me know beforehand. Otherwise, stay safe and don't come back embarrassed.

Oh, and if you were curious about what participation looks like, here is an example of how it's done. The students here posted their own blogs about it, and over half of both sections responded. So they got the time off.

See you Monday.

-- JG

Oh, and Baker, that's a top notch response! That one almost had me. If your classmates had been more responsive, that would've won the day. :)

Make Me An Offer I Can't Refuse...

2008-03-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

So, as we were talking about in class, possibly--POSSIBLY--I might give you the Monday after Spring Break off (March 31). I'm still on the fence about this.

On the one hand, my most favorite activity of the semester is scheduled for that day, and I want to make sure I have great attendance for it. So maybe it would be in my best interests to let you have that day off and do the activity Wednesday. Also, you've been working pretty hard lately. Maybe you deserve it. And maybe, just maybe, I kind of like you all. So maybe I'll do it because I like you.

But on the other hand, maybe you have tests and things due that day anyway, and you have to be in other classes. After all, in the "real world", if you took vacation time and then phoned your boss to say, "Nah, not going to be in on Monday," the results would probably be unfavorable. Maybe I'm not teaching you important "life skills" by giving you that day off.

Convince me.

--JG

WVU Still The Right Choice?

2008-03-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

When I made the decision to come to WVU I hardly knew anything about
it.Sometimes when I am stuck inside the tiny dorms, because of the
rainy cold weather and think of home as I eat the nasty cafeteria food
I wonder if I should have gone to another college.Then I snap out if
it.Do you feel you made a mistake by coming here? If so why, if not
why not? Are you going to transfer?

-- Baker

"How Fast Can Your Car Go?"

2008-03-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Thinking back to when I was a sophomore in high school I can remember
when everybody would turn 16 and come to school in their new sweet car.
I'm from a pretty nice area where everybody has at least $250,000 homes
and all the parents each have a nice SUV. They then go and buy their
kids a brand new 8 cylinder car. I think it's crazy that these kids
have these cars that can reach max speeds in seconds. They are probably
the reason all the kids have so many accidents. I heard numerous
stories about two guys deciding to race and how the one kids car was so
much better and faster then the others. I know it can be fun to race
and see how fast your car can go but don't you think that maybe you
should first become a decent driver before attempting it? I think that
parents should only be allowed to buy their teenagers four cylinder cars
until they are at least 18 so that when they attempt to reach max speed
at least it's not as high a speed as cars kids are driving right now can
go up to. It'd probably help reduce the amount of accidents.

McCleese

Are We the New Hippies?

2008-03-12T16:17:00.001-07:00

Is history repeating itself? I think so. When you look at the world
today, I think that our generation is a lot like the hippie generation
of the 60s. We're in a war that a lot of people in the country
disagree with. They had Vietnam. We're fearful of terrorism,
thinking that it could strike at any time. They were afraid of
Communism and the Soviet Union. A lot of our generation doesn't trust
the government. That generation didn't trust the government. I think
that our generations share a lot of similarities.

-- Reed

Stealing Common Everywhere

2008-03-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

I have heard many stories of how people get things stolen from them in
different places all around the world. It disgusts me to hear this
because it is unnecessary and unfortunate that it happens. Last night
my friend got his wallet stolen at Club Z. I would have never of
thought that someone here in Morgantown, WV would do anything like
that. My other friend got his wallet stolen in New York City and had
to walk 40 blocks to get back to Penn. Station to use his train ticket
which was the only thing that wasn't stolen. I have also had friends
in foreign countries have their passports stolen from them without
them even noticing until hours after it happened. There are gypsies in
some countries that rely on pickpocketing to survive which is very
sad. I just wish that no one would steal and be content with what they
have. We are guilty of this and we are the ones who can stop it.

-- Sinclair

The Touchy Subject of Religion

2008-03-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

Why is it that people can't be tolerant of others religious beliefs?
I always thought that part of religion is being able to accept others
opinions and be respectful of them. Especially in other countries when
people are killed all the time for their beliefs. Here at WVU, its
definetly not taken to that extreme, but there is still a kind of
tension that forms when people are around others of different views.
Personally im christian and most of my friends here arent, yet we get
along fine. I never understood why people let their religious views
affect who they allow into their lives.

--Marsh

Americans Too Quick to Stereotype

2008-02-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

Someone call 911, it’s 9/11 and the world trade center is falling. The Islamic extremists have achieved a sinister scheme.

Three Years later, I got a Muslim Jilabiah as a birthday gift so I decided to wear it out that day to show off to my friends at school. At first, when I got to the Dairy mart everybody was staring at me; I thought my outfit was the reason so I felt like a celebrity, smiling back to grimaced faces and standing upfront like a Soldier. On my way to school I noticed a policewoman following me all around, apparently she had been stalking me. Finally, she stopped me and asked why I was dressed like Obama. How ironic I didn’t know she meant Osama till she said something awful about the Muslim I could barely recollect. I was interrogated for a few minutes then she asked me to go back home and change my outfit. The rest of the day, I felt embarrassed, and I felt like the American community totally ruined my birthday; No one allowed me a lengthy conversation; they all tried to make it as brief as possible all because I was dressed like a Muslim. Some will say the Muslim deserves whatever treatment they get because majority of them support the extremists but why do people classify innocent Muslims as al Qaeda?

Traffic and Parking in Morgantown

2008-02-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

If you are a student living on evansdale it is the hardest thing to try and drive downtown to a class. Yeah I know most of you say take the PRT but you always can't do that. It is only a two minute drive downtown but during the day it can take you anywhere from 30 minutes to an 1 hour to make it downtown. You have to leave extremely early to make it to class on time. This begins to become a pain after awhile. To top it all off once you get downtown you have to drive around forever looking for a parking spot. I think instead of building all these knew apartments downtown they should of built a huge parking garage. This would of been a lot more useful than the Moutaineer Plaza.

--cb

Life, the Universe, and Everything

2008-02-12T19:02:00.001-08:00

Where does our essence of morality come from? Our natural inclination
to know that certain things are bad while others are good, do we
gradually come to learn "values" or are we naturally gifted with a
inate ability to decipher between right and wrong OR is there no set
moral basis, is morality circumstantial? if so how and what steps do
you go by to figure out which circumstances would change the commonly
held view? Basically why do people believe certain things are wrong
and right and how do we know who is correct?

-- Gum

Hot House!

2008-02-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

Global warming is a very serious problem in the world today and has slowly been increasing its severity for the past century. Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth?s air and oceans. There are many causes and effects of global warming, some more severe than others. Some causes of global warming include: energy use and production, chlorofluorocarbons, agricultural practices, changes in land use, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, deforestation, carbon in atmosphere and oceans, permafrost, the tundra, and climate change. Effects consist of rising sea levels from increasing global temperatures, the increase in the intensity of extreme weather events, the change in amount and pattern of precipitation, and changes in agricultural yields, glacier retreat, and species extinctions. Although the many effects and outcomes of global warming concern most people, the causes and reasons for global warming is what people should be focusing on in the world.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is collected from power plants, emitted from cars, secreted from airplanes, and also released from buildings. Roughly forty percent of the United States? carbon dioxide emissions come from coal and the burning of fossil fuels. Nearly twenty percent comes from the burning of gasoline in cars and trucks.

Global warming cannot really be prevented or stopped now because it?s almost too late, but it can be slowed down. If the world population cared enough about the future, we might be able to do something about global warming. There are not enough people in the world worrying about global warming today. It is a big problem and people need to recognize it.

-- Northcutt

One of the Oldest Debates is Still a Debate...

2008-02-10T20:01:00.001-08:00

Abortion is a topic very commonly discussed when looking at pros and
cons. Personally I don't think abortion should be an option for
anyone except those who are victims of rape. I feel like a mother
should not be allowed to punish her unborn child for something the
child had nothing to do with and no control over. Yes i understand
that sometimes the condom breaks or something goes wrong - but if two
people feel they're responsible enough to have sex then they should be
responsible enough to take on the responsibilities of a baby; and if
that means getting pregnant, then so be it. The fact of the matter is
that a mother is terminating her child's life because she doesn't want
to have to deal with the consequences of her actions. This isn't fair
at all to the unborn child, who obviously has no say in the matter.
Rape is probably the only instance in which I think abortion should
even be considered. If a woman is raped against her will - not asking
for any kind of risk of
a pregnancy - then she should be able to make the choice of what to do
with her body.

Becca Thomas

How High Will It Go??

2008-02-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's our gas prices!

To no one's surprise our gas prices are sky high and are continuing to
rise. With the information I have gathered from economic studies, oil
companies are acting as monopolies by merging together. The 5 major
oil companies (BP, Exxon Mobile, etc) are controlling the oil supply
so it doesn't live up to our demands. If the oil companies continue
to do this, by the year 2010 we are going to be paying a little over
four dollars for a gallon of gas. As you may know, monopolies are
illegal in the United States; also the United States is not a complete
capitalistic nation. I think it is time for the government to
intervene and bring the gas prices from the sky, and back down to
earth’s surface.

Jordan Jones

When Is Being a Top 5 Party School A Bad Thing?

2008-02-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Very often when I go out to Frats or house parties it seems like
people are looking for trouble. Over the past weekend random people
have attempted to start fights with friends of mine over dumb things
like the line for the keg. What is the point of this? Coming from
Philadelphia I know that it is not worth it to get into a fight over
something as dumb as who gets their beer cup filled first. The past
night my neighbor was pushed down a flight of stairs at a house party
for accidently breaking a window. These actions are negative for all
parties involved. I think many of the students at WVU can say that
they or someone they know have been in a situation where trouble has
been started due to a miniscule event. I believe that the frat
atmosphere does encourage an attitude of many males attempting to
assert their toughness. Part of this could be due to the melting pot
that college creates. Many people from different places and most of us
are proud of where we come from. Overall I would like to see more of the students at WVU at with maturity in these issues and realize that all of us have a lot to lose.

-- Greenwood

WVU Unsafe During Bad Weather?

2008-02-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Even though the weather has been okay these last few days, I
think we all can agree that within the last month or so the weather
has been bad several times and can get bad again before winter is
over. I am sure that I am not the only one that has had their rounds
with the sidewalk on the days with bad weather. The news channels do
okay with predicting when the weather will be bad, so you would think
that WVU would pay attention to that and try to have the sidewalks
salted and/or cleared for us. I understand that it would be hard to
salt all of the sidewalks in Morgantown, but you would think they
would salt all of the main sidewalks downtown by the Mountain Lair and
such. Also, the janitors for the individual resident halls should salt
the walks outside the halls.
I understand not shoveling the sidewalks but salting the walks
the night before or the morning of a snow or ice storm would make
things a whole bunch safer. I have nearly fallen twice and my friends
have fallen several times too. These sidewalks are crazy when the
weather is bad and I just wish WVU would take some precautions to help
their students feel safe when they are walking on the sidewalks that
are on steep inclines and such.

C.Fowler

This is what our world is coming to?

2008-01-26T05:18:00.000-08:00

I love how on our televsions these days the only thing that is on is
how Heath Leadger died and how Lynn Spears is giving her baby to her
mother and how Lindsay Lohan is in rehab again.... but did you ever
think that there is more to our world than that... that there is more
going on in our lives. What about the genocide in Darfur that is
happeneing? Did you even know about it? or that it only takes three
dollars to save someones life there? Instead of watching the people
that the youngsters of the USA look up to, the so called "celebs"
throw their life away.... why don't we start wondering about the
people that are having their lives taken from them? Why don't we stop
throwing our money away on alcohol and drugs and try to help people
that have nothing?

--Flea.

The Benefits of Legalizing Prostitution

2008-01-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

Because the practice of prostitution occurs regardless of it's
legality, and the CDC spends millions of dollars annually to treat
prostitutes, I feel that we should legalize prostitution. This will
save the country money in numerous ways. If prositution is legal, a
liscense will be necessary to have to be a prostitute. To aquire a
liscense you must have mandatory checks for STDs, greatly reducing the
spread of diseases, and therefore the need for treatment. Seeing as how
the checks for STDs are much less costly then treatments, and this
system has worked well in other countries. I feel that we, the U.S.,
should legalize prostitution.
-Vitamin L

Waving

2008-01-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

Hey, there, new crew!

I just wanted to say welcome to the blog, have a look around, and I am already way impressed that some of you have started responding. I'm looking forward to a great discussion on Wednesday.

See you then.

Until then, here is the very first post ever, sort of explaining the raison de'tre of the blog: linky

And here's one on the Freire article we're going over in class on Wednesday: Freire discussion. See what those who've come before thought about the subject...

--JG

Sports and the Economy

2007-11-28T08:10:00.001-08:00

In today’s world most professional athletes are making millions of dollars per season. People across the planet love sports, and cheering on their favorite teams. But are athletes being over paid? In the MLB (major league baseball) there are some players making in the $20,000,000 range per season. Some of these athletes are opting out of these contracts because other teams are going to pay them even more money. Many people don’t even realize that athletes are making this much money just to entertain people and play a sport they love. But what about the doctors, teachers, and scientists, even though these professions make good money, they don’t compare to professional athletes. Professions like these are what really impact the world and make a difference and they do not make near as much money as they should. A third string NFL quarter back can make a million dollars a year for doing absolutely nothing besides practicing, as a teacher only makes $50,000 a year for educating America’s future. Overall the general message is priorities in the American economy can be controversial some times.

-- Hatton

Flipping Turtles

2007-11-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

*This is a "sticky" post, meaning it will always show up first. For new posts, keep scrolling down.*

So, I was thinking about the article we read, "Political Paralysis," and the great discussion we had in class on it. I especially liked the part about how she stopped to flip turtles over when she walked near the railroad. She says something like, "It's a small thing to me, but it means the world to the turtle."

In the spirit of that idea, I'm creating this sticky post so we can publish the "small," anonymous things we've done. We can all be "anonymous saints." You can add to this anytime you like in the comments section. Here's what I did recently:

I was going to pick up my son from the Boys & Girls Club, and a college student was sitting on the bench outside. She stopped me and asked me if I would fill out a bunch of paperwork about my son and his habits. She was getting her Master's in Psychology, and she was doing a study on kids with ADHD. My son doesn't have ADHD, but she needed kids without it as well. She said the paperwork would take about 20-30 minutes at home and that I'd have to return it to her. My first instinct was to say "no", because I'm so busy. But I also thought about how much it would mean to her--it's her degree, after all! And it's hard to ask people to help you. So I said yes. And yes, it was a pain in the ass to fill out those papers. But it meant a lot to her. And who knows? Maybe what she's doing will help kids with ADHD and their parents. A little bit of my time could mean a whole lot.

That's the turtle I flipped today. What turtles did you flip?

-- JG

WVU Security Alert!

2007-10-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

Emergency Alert System

The new Emergency Alert System the University is offering is a great thing. If nobody has heard of it, they are offering to send a text message to your cell phone in case of an emergency on campus. I think this is a great thing, especially since not everyone has a computer and is able to check MIX on a regular basis. It is also a good thing if you were in a class and something happened on campus, instead of not being aware you can be notified as soon as the alert goes out. The implementation of this is very necessary, especially after the VT massacre in April. I definately signed up for this and think everyone else should too! If you want to sign up, log in to your MIX account and there is an icon you can click on and register for it.... Seriously, everyone needs to do this.

-- Walker

Midterm Madness

2007-10-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

I don't think im the only one sighing with relief as midterms finally
come to an end. Many hours of studying, redbulls and sleepless nights
went into my preperation just to get me ready, and i didn't even feel
like i did that well. With all this worry over midterms, finals is
starting to freak me out. how did you all prepare for midterms and
what advice would you give to help me out?

beers

Has Your Assignment Gotten You In a Twist?

2007-10-10T17:13:00.001-07:00

I am kind of nervous about this new "service learning" aspect for
English 101. I think going out into the community and helping an
organization will be very beneficial, if done successfully. I'm
nervous about the actual interview though. I've never really conducted
a formal interview before. Sure I've been interviewed in the past, but
its not quite the same as being the interviewer. I'm worried about
what I'm actually going to say in this interview. Also, today in class
we were told how great and helpful all of the past students were with
this unit. I am a little worried about "living up to their standards."
My other concern is I'm not from Morgantown, so I really do not know
much about the organizations. What are your thoughts on this "service
learning" piece?

Laura Scarton

But Brittney Is, Like, Soooo Important!

2007-10-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder why our generation is so fascinated by those in the
media? Especially people like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and
Brittany Spears. You can`t flip through the channels and not see
their faces. Serious news people are even talking about them, and
sounding concerned about what's going on in their lives. I think that
it is sad and pathetic how much people focus and put their time into
them. People everyday are drinking, doing drugs, and getting in
trouble with the law. Why is it everyone cares when they do those
things, they are real peopole. Is it just me or do other people think
their are a lot more important things going on in this world?

-- Elphick

Was University of Columbia Wrong?

2007-10-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

It is well known now what they have
done this past Monday. For you people who don't know, I will tell you.
The president of the University decided to have a guest speaker. This
guest speaker could have been anybody in the world. It could have been
former Prime Minister Tony Blair, could have been President Bush, or
they could have gotten OJ Simpson to speak. But no, they possibly
brought the most hated person in the US and a person who hates US as
much as Usama Bin Laiden does. If you guessed Irans' President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad you are right. And the protesting towards this Ivy League
University showed yesterday with many people coming out and showing
there views. The president of the University brought in a man who
could possibly start a war with the United States and is making
Nuclear Weapons right now to come and speak. I mean this guy doesn't
know a word of english. I thought what the president of the university
did was terrible. I mean
how stupid can you be. This man is a terrorist towards the United
States and you invite him to your University. I mean I thought what
the University of Columbia President did was a disgrace to America and
should be fired right away. What do you think?

Frownfelter

Maniac Scam?

2007-10-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Mountaineer Maniacs are probably one of the largest collegiate clubs on campus. For a small fee of 20 dollars, you receive a shitty screen print T-shirt and are supposedly guaranteed football tickets to the games of your choosing. But are these tickets really guaranteed, or are the maniacs just one big sham. Recently several friends of mine, who signed up for the maniacs by the deadline for guaranteed tickets, were extremely disappointed to discover that they had not been awarded tickets to the East Carolina game. How many others have fallen prey to the maniacs scam, god only knows.

-M.H.

Come to Class!!--Or Not?

2007-09-25T14:53:00.001-07:00

College Attendance: Should colleges become stricter?

In college today, when speaking of attendance, it is all in the
decision of the student. This is obviously not like high school to
where you must go to class or else you will receive a cut. In college
rather they student must make the decision to attend class and this is
in order to receive an education. But experiencing college thus far, I
have noticed that not all teachers have made attendance mandatory.
Some of my own teachers do not even take attendance therefore given
the opportunity for students to be regularly absent. While most
teachers therefore believe it is the student’s choice to come to
class. So the real question is should all professors make attendance
mandatory rather than students come and go as they please? This may be
going back to the days of high school but this is an educational
institution and their goal is to further our education. College
though is supposed to be about being more independent and making your
own decisions. So how strict or attentive
should college be about students’ attendance or do you like the way it
is?

-- Mach

Sex Problems--Got Your Attention, Didn't It?

2007-09-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Is our sex education system failing us? If anyone attended The J Spot seminar in the Mountainlair, you know a little bit about what I'm talking about. The US has extremely high statistics concerning teen pregnancy, STDs and rape, yet has the most conservative sex education plan of most developed countries. At the seminar, we were shown an educational tape that is used to educate middle school students about sex and STD protection in the European countries, only to learn that the same tape is banned in all high schools in America. Do you think that if our sex education programs were more open and positive about sex, that our unhealthy statistics would decrease? Or do you think that speaking openly and positively about sex would only make matters worse?

-- Scarnato

Which 'Neer Gets It?

2007-09-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

Steve Slaton and Pat White are both very eligiable to win the Heisman Trophy this season. Who has a better shot of winning this trophy and why?

- Seigrist

Whoops, He Did It Again--sort of...

2007-09-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

What do you think about OJ Simpson's situation? I cannot believe that he is being tried for crimes that could result in a life sentence, after the whole murder trial a few years ago. I dont see how anyone could even consider committing another crime in OJ's situation. Do you think he will be able to get off of this one or receive life?

-- Malcomb

How Far Should Free Speech Go?

2007-09-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

I really liked this article [Bowling Alone]. It was alot easier for me to understand than the Freire article. The one thing that bothered me about it though was the part about the KKK. They said they want to be a part of the community. I don't know about anyone else but I don't really want to see the KKK cleaning a highway. These people perform hate crimes against other races, why should they be allowed to do this. I feel very strongly about this and I want to hear everyone elses opinion about it.

--Mathess

Dorms or Home?

2007-09-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

I don't think many others have the same experience as me, but I'm hoping everybody will know what I am talking about, and possibly want to add your imput on the dorms... Yesterday, I was talking to somebody about how my college experience has been so far and we got onto the subject of the dorms. I'm from Morgantown, so I live about 5 minutes driving, 20 minutes walking, from downtown campus. So, many people over the last few months have asked why I am living in the dorm. My answer, simply, is that if I lived at home, college would be like high school all over again. I'm a very social person, so my favorite part about Stalnaker is meeting new people. I like to leave my door open and talk to anybody who walks by (if they want to stop and chat). There is no way that I would meet so many people if I was living at home. And of course you've all heard about how most of what we learn in college won't come from classes; I think that living in the dorm is part of that non-class experience that college students should have. Sure we'd rather have home-cooked food, but is it really that bad that you'd rather be at home with your parents? College is about learning to do things on your own and I think that the dorm experience is great for doing just that.

-- Li

If You Were President...

2007-09-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

Now that we have all been college students here at West Virginia University for one month you have learned a lot about college life and our college campus itself. Is there anything you would change about our school after spending a month here? For example, your schedule, the campus layout, increasing the student body, or decreasing the student body. Basically, if you were President Garrison and you could do anything to our school, what would you do and why?-

-- Hunter Timko

Did You Catch What Happened On Thursday?

2007-09-15T09:53:00.001-07:00

Driving down university Thursday after noon minding my own business, on my way to get some lunch. When I drive up to campus I’m greeted at the mountain lair with huge pictures of dead babies from abortion. I know there is freedom of speech and I know abortion is a horrible thing but do we need to be surrounded by dead fetuses to get the point? Is there not enough you can do vocally to get the message out. I understand that people need to see the results of abortion in order to change their minds, but when is enough too much. Everywhere you looked there were dead babies with the protestors merely holding up the sign. Could the message have been effectively sent with less pictures and more communication. -- Carlson

How Do People Outside of Our School View WVU?

2007-09-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

So every student that goes to college usually has mad school spirit
for the school & is never afraid to show it. In my opinion WVU
students have to most school spirit around...clearly. So has it
crossed anyones mind why people make negative remarks when you tell
them you go to WVU and your proud of it. I went home this past
weekend, and people who i knew asked how school was and all those
other lame questions just to be nice, but when someone asked Ohh where
do you go? and i said WVU they would be like Ohh.. and make a face or
say something negative remark about the school and the recent #1 spot
on the Princeton Review of Top Party schools. Which i think is
completely bullshit. I mean just because i go to a school that has a
reputation for being a very big party school and that has a ton of
school spirit does not mean that it is a horrible institution for
learning. I just wish people would not judge the school i go to by
what they hear or read from someone or something else.
It must not be as bad of a school if all these people go here and the
ones who have graduated have made something of themselves.

Caitlin Rubinstein

Why is it that WVU has a bad name? Is it because we were recognized as the biggest party school or because we were voted as a whole as the university that least studies? Even though i am very proud of this award as number 1 party school how can it be true? There is no real measure of what school parties the most because lets face it all universities party. Is it because we have better sports teams, and are others jealous? Coming from another state and coming to West Virginia I now have such pride in this university and state that I didn't before. I don't care if my mom is nervous I go to the number 1 party school because if I can survive and make it through this school without failing out and coming out with a good degree, I must have determination and responisibilty to do my work and learn but at the same time have fun.

bborgony

Your Thoughts on Portfolios

2007-04-24T09:26:00.003-07:00

I think that having a portfolio grade at the end of the semester is a
good way to have your assignments graded. I like being able to fix my
papers and hopefully to receive a higher grade. This idea works well
for an English class, however I don't know if it would work well for
other classes.
-- Scott

I like the way the portfolio is done. Personally, I’d rather do a portfolio than take a final exam. I think it is fairer to be able to change your papers for the last time to get the grade that you want. It’s a lot like taking a take home test and being able to get the answers that you want rather than being rushed for the two hours you have to take the test and end up forgetting everything you studied. -- Horsley

I 100% am down with the portfolio. I think it is the best way possible to survive an english class. This is sooo much better for an exam, less crammin' and it cuts you a little slack on one of your exams. In addition, the peer reviews and conferences are always a plus. They help to correct anything and everything in your portfolio to only make it better. I love it, great idea!

-O'Roke

Overall I really liked the portfolio experience. I think that this way of grading is a lot more fair than just tests. The portfolio allows Mrs. Greene to see where we started as a writer and how far we've come over the course.She's able to see what changed and why it changed. If students are just given tests they can know most key concepts for the material, but depending on what questions your teachers asks you may not do well. I really like the portfolios. This is because we didn't get graded on each paper at first. This gives the writer the chance to take risks and not be afraid how they will turn out. We were able to take the chance and write the paper. Then we were able to see what our peers did and get their opinions. Conferences with Mrs. Greene were especially helpful because we got one on one time to see how we can correct our papers. Her feedback is really helpful for our final revisions. With the portfolio system we are given many opinions and many chances to revise. -- Lilley

From one year experience at WVU, and having finals and exams all the time in other classes, I LOVE the idea about portfolios. I much rather write a paper and keep revising it any day!! The papers were not that bad but at the same time challenged me. I learned a lot but still didn't have to stress out like a lot of other classes.
-Stephanie Learn

I really like the idea behind the porfolios. It give a student a chance to impliment all their writting skills and strategies that they have learned into all their fianl papers. The final portfolio gives a student a chance to truly prove themself as a writer. They are given one last chance to show how they have progressed through out the year into a more literate person. -Yearsley

I think the portfolio is the best way to earn a grade for English. I love the idea that our papers are not graded the first time around. By putting a portfolio together you get the chance to go back and revise your work to recieve a better grade. On top of all that you get a lot of time and help putting your papers together with peer review and conferences. What more could you ask for? By getting a second chance to correct your papers, it allows Mrs. Greene to see the progress we have made from the beginning of the semester. -- Gilmore

I like the portfolios. I would rather turn in a portfolio than take a final. I like how we can change our papers and improve them to get a better grade. Too many classes stress just one test. The portfolio allows you to show your work throughout the entire semester. I think the portfolio is a way to receive the grade you really deserve. -- Devan

Advice to the Next Generation of 101ers

2007-04-24T09:26:00.001-07:00

Advice for English 101:Get your thoughts down on paper! Don't worry about producing the final copy at the onset of the assignment; just get your ideas down on paper. Then take full advantage of the peer editing and teacher editing sessions. But at the beginning, don't worry about using the best word possible or even about minor grammatical errors. Just get the big ideas down on paper so that you have something to work with. This is the beauty of the portfolio experience; it is a process. Don't expect to produce a finished product the first time you sit down to do your paper. Just put your thoughts down, and then let the writing process take its course. -- McFadden

English 101 is an interesting class that I learned a lot in, but if I had to give any advice I would say don't take it. I don't know about other people, but I can;t write three papers in a week. If you do take it stay ahead and try to finish your short writes and journals early. They take for ever to write so do them early. Have fun with the class and take extra time to find a topic you like for each of your papers. This will help the papers go quicker, smoother, and make the class go faster.P.S. Take it later in the day. So when you remember that forgot something you have time to go get it or do it. -- Michel

My experience in English 101 at West Virginia University was a very postive one and for the next generation I would like to give some advice. It is a lot of work to write a paper in one night, so when the short writes, journals, or peer reviews are due it helps to get started before those due dates. Also the journals and short writes help to understand the big papers, so do them and do them rite. Also take advantage of the peer review and teacher conferences because the teacher is the one grading your papers so get her advice before handing it in. And obviously go to class, I had english at 9:30 in the morning MWF...I think everyone else can handle it too!!
-Stephanie Learn

My advice is to take part in evrything that the class offers. Peer review, conferences, and the final for now phase are all very important. Participating in these things through out the year will help you develop as a wrtier. As a student who revises a paper over and over again is more liekly to suceed in the class. Participation is important as well, you need to let your voice and opinion be heard.-Yearsley

My advice for the people who take English 101 next is to stay on top of things. You have to write a lot of papers so make sure to get them done on time. If you get behind it is not easy to catch up. The class is much easier if you get things done on time. My other advice would be to go to class. You will learn a lot and you need the attendance points. You only get to miss three days. -- Devan

Words From The Wise

2007-04-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

So....now that you've actually been on a Spring Break, what words of wisdom do you have to offer to other Spring Breakers coming up behind you?

Even though Spring Break is suppose to be a “break” from school, you still need to stay on task. By saying this I mean you still need to study, read, do homework, ECT… It is important that you stay on top of your academic performance. Going an entire week without studying and so forth will most likely result in one forgetting important information. A professor usually does not take it easy on students to give them time to get back into the swing of things. Most professors start right back into full swing. So you better be prepared and ready to get right back to work. A student does not want to come back from Spring Break lost and behind on work. Especially since there is only a few weeks left in the semester when students return from Spring Break. It would be almost impossible to play “catch up” this late in the semester. Your grade in the class would mostly like suffer the consequences. My advice is while on Spring Break is enjoy yourself and have fun, but take just a little time each day to study and review material for each one of your classes. It truly will be worth the extra time and effort. -Yearsley

Coming out of my first spring break as a college student, I think I had a little differnt experience than most other students. My parents booked my families vacation in accordance to my sisters spring break, not my own. So while i did get a nice break away from school, I also came back to school almost clueless about what had happened in the week i missed. And on top of that I only had 5 days to catch up before WVU went on break. Needless to say, I am still playing catchup and now that its all over im not to sure i want to go through this again. My advice is to stick to your own schools spring break rather than someone elses if at all possible. It saves a world of grief.-Michel

Spring break is the time to just chill. There is so much talk about how when you're in college, you have to go somewhere like Cancun or something. But honestly, most people just go home to see family or go somewhere relaxing with friends. It's the time to catch up on work or even get ahead. You just take time at your own pace. There are stories out there though about the kids who do get wild on Spring Break. Those are the stories that make you think twice about your crazy plans. If you're lucky enough to hear those stories before your first experience then good for you. The most important thing is to stay safe, have fun, and just relax. You're in the home stretch. -- Szykowny

Why Mrs. Greene Should Let Us Have Friday Off...

2007-03-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

OK, so here's the deal. We're far enough ahead that we could potentially take off on Friday. But, I've got my doubts. For one thing, people aren't asking many questions about the MGRP. That tells me that I've either done a fantastic job as a teacher of explaining it to you, or you have no idea what you're doing. The latter makes me fear that you need more in-class time to prepare. Also looming large in my mind is the fact that I'm afraid that half or more of you won't even bother to show up on the Monday after Spring Break. Wouldn't it make more sense to cancel that class instead, considering most of you have tests on Friday anyway? Maybe I should make you act like responsible adults and come both Friday and Monday. After all, in "the real world" you'd get in trouble if you left for your vacation early and you came back from it late. Maybe this is a good "life lesson" opportunity. Isn't that what college is supposed to be about as well? I don't know. I might cancel class because I like you. But I don't know if I like you that much...
-- JG

Imagine, a five year old all hopped up on caffeine and sugar, then
trying to get them to sit down in class and actually pay attention. This
is exactly what a college student is like the Friday before spring
break. The student is not listening, usually either zoning out thinking
about their spring break plans, or fidgeting around tapping their pencil
just really anxious to leave. The one thing they are listening for is
the famous “see you all after spring break” line that all teachers seem
to say. This is when they know they are released. During this day no
advances in work were made due to this one extra day because mentally
the students weren’t even there. Not to mention that all information
will be lost one way or another during spring break anyway. So in all
class on Friday, if we have it, will be like we didn’t even have it at
all.

-- Purtell

I feel if we were to have class on Friday that most people would be exhuasted from the rush of work due before break and the amount of tests scheduled, which i have many of myself. Everyone im sure is anxious to be on their way home and is anticipating a week of relaxation. My partner and i have been able to grasp a good idea of how our paper is to be completed, especially from the examples you have given in class. The monday after break would be nice to have off as well because since class is so early and people will be traveling on sunday back to school, im sure most of us will be tired. Instead of getting up early and discussing our paper with our partner in class, we could arrange a time later on in the day to get together and go over our paper before peer review when we are more rested. If we have any questions we could email you as well.
-- Johnson

Why Do You Think The English Dept. Makes Students Write The Multi-Genre Research Paper?

2007-03-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

The MGRP is a good way to get students to explore every aspect of a certain scenario. It seems like a great deal of work for one person, but when split between two people is rather reasonable. The MGRP also seems like a good teamwork exercise to prepare a student for the workplace because, as you know, it’s not always a walk in the park. It seems to be able to bring depth to the reader’s, as well as the writer’s, knowledge of the given subject.
-- Loring

I think that English Department makes us write the MGRP because it is so different than all the other papers that we already had to write this year. This paper is not a typical paper because it does not require us to write a persuasive paper. It is an objective paper that allows us to use our creative side.

-- McCullough

The department wants to have students form a broad objective question
and research for more details over several genres. It forces students
to look at multiple perspectives on a single subject. This paper is
designed to let the students research a topic of their choice so that
it is interesting to write, as well as read. I think this is a great
paper because if researched and written well, a lot of interesting
points and observations could be made that wouldn't normally be
noticed.

-- Shupe

The MGRP is a type of paper that not many of us has ever written, let
along even heard of. This unfamiliarity brings up the burning question,
"Why does the English Department make us do the MGRP?" Well for one, it
is probably meant to set us up for English 102 which we will all have to
take at some point in our college career. English 102 is a class based
around the research paper, so I guess the Department thinks that if we
get exposed to it before we actually enter the class then we might have
an easier time. Another reason is to give us a break from writing
boring old papers. The MGRP seems like a paper that is going to let us
be creative and have fun, or have as much fun as we can while writing a
paper.
--Edwards

So...Did Anything Surprising Happen?

2007-03-01T06:10:00.000-08:00

I was most surprised with how much information I received
from the interview. I asked about fifteen questions and had plenty to
write about in my paper. I thought the paper was easy to write
because I had all the information I needed in my transcript. I was
also surprised how hard it was to set up a meeting with the person I
was interviewing. I thought I would be able to meet with him any time
I wanted, but it came down to the last minute. The last thing that
surprised me was the responses I got to some of my questions. I
thought the person I was interviewing would give short simple
answers. He gave very detailed answers and was not afraid to open
up. The interview paper was not as bad as I thought it would be.
-- Devan

For my interview, I chose my sociology teacher here at WVU, Daniel
Brewster. I interviewed him on how society can make a country how it
is. I made this point by discussing the genocide occuring in Africa
with him, because he is very knowledgable of the events occuring over
there. What my paper was about was why no other countries were
helping the people of AFrica, and how it relates to sociology. The
interview was very insightful. First, I had to research the events in
Africa, which I found to be greatly disturbing. Second, Brewster
taught me to notice the sociological aspects of why America wasn't
helping Africa. I couldn't beleive some things that he said because
they make sense, but you never want to hear them because it makes
America arrogant and unmoral. Overall, he opened my eyes to how a
society transforms how the country acts.
-Tanya

I was very suprised to find out the reasons why my friend smokes,
and the amount of money that he spent on smoking a week. I was also very
interested to find out his view towards smoking, and how other people
felt about him smoking. And finally i was shocked to learn that smokig
had not really affected him at all. He is still able to do everything
that he had been able to do before he started smoking.
-- Anonymous

Gender -- Nature or Nurture?

2007-02-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

Is it nature or nurture that causes a child to develope socially? This blog has to deal with the short write we did in class on whether it is nature or nurture that made that little girl want to play with dolls and baby the fire truck. No one makes a little girl play with dolls. I understand that she may only play with the toys that are presented to her, and her parents have all the say in what type of toys she gets, but saying that gender roles are the only reason girls play with dolls and boys play with trucks is an extremely close minded statement. A not so long time ago people thought it was weird for a girl to play with mud, worms, and little boys, but now a days it seems to just be kids being kids. I believe that nurture has alot to do with how a kid grows up and how they will act, but to insist that this is the only factor in development is rediculus. Nature has to have something to do with how someone grows up. Not only does it determine a persons height, hair color, and all other physical traits, I dont see why it wouldnt have and effect on a persons personality. If someone is depressed, and it is due to a mental illness, that is due to nature. No one socially distorted that person to make their brain release the chemicals that cause depression. Before i piss too many people off, i will stop with my own close minded opinon just to see what type of hate mail i get after this blog entry.
--Comstock

If You Could Interview Anybody In The World, Who Would It Be?

2007-02-19T07:34:00.000-08:00

If I could interview anyone in the world it would have to be Edward Norton. He is such an amazing actor and i'm sure has an interesting web to weave. Just to be able to listen to the experiences he has had and the places he has gotten to see due to his career would be phenomenal. Also to listen to how he prepares for certain roles. Who or what did he observe in order to get into character for American History X. That is such an infomrative film about contemporary society, yet it's hard to believe that anyone can be filled with such hate. He managed to pull it off with flying colors. Another question I would have for him would be who is his favorite actor to work with, or who he considered the most intimidating before he began filming. Finally I would want to ask if he feels that his life is fulfilled? Is this what he planned for himself, what changed? If not, what did he want to do with his life? -Irving

There are a lot of people I would like to interview. Some names that
come to mind are Larry David, Hitler, and MLK, but none of them would
compare to an interview with Jesus. Jesus is arguably one of the most
influential people of all time. I would want to interview him because he
a different person than you and me. He was a man without sin and was the
son of God. Being a Christian, there are many uncertain facts about God,
Heaven, and the Bible. In my interview, I would ask Jesus to clarify his
message and to clear up all the controversy over him. An example is the
Trinity, which is something that was never really explained in the Bible
other than that God exists as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The
questions to ask Jesus would be endless.
-Kang

Evaluation Vs. Letter Grades

2007-02-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

I feel the the grading system for the major papers we are to write is a fair system. The check system however i never really liked because it is not specific enough to tell the writer what he did or did not do correct. I feel that the grading system overall in English is perfect because writing is all about progression and if people are bad writers at the beginning, their english background may not have been as good as others. The system that is in place with the english classes is great i feel and i think other subjects should look towards progression throughout the course because that is what education is all about!-O'Neill

The comments on the paper are very helpful. How else are we going to know what a teacher likes and dislikes in a paper if he or she does not tell us? However, I am still partial to the letter grade. It is a clear cut way to let us know how we do on our work. You can judge your own paper based on the comments received, but how do you really know? A teacher may like the paper the first time around, but may find something different the next time. If there are not standards for grading made, how do us as students know whether the teacher takes off the same points for the same mistake on two different papers? The check system is a mix between the two. We at least know for a fact that we are getting a good grade when we receive a check plus. Also, it is pretty self-explanatory if you get a check or a check minus. You either did an ok job or a crappy one. -- Cunningham

A Comment On Culture

2007-02-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

I felt a number of different things come out of the Bordo article.
Firstly, I think her views on what "the perfect body" should look like,
are very profound. Our society is collapsing because a picture is
painted for women that if you aren't 5'9", 125 lbs., you're fat. That's
not the way it should be. People are developing eating disorders and
anxiety issues trying to fit the mold that's, if anything, completely
ridiculous. The same thing for men. I personally think that big, huge
muscle men are an absolute turn off, but there are ads and constant
commercials about how boys need to be fit and look a certain way so that
girls will like them. Eventually, I hope that this mold will break. It's
stopping people from being happy because they constantly feel inferior
to the "Barbie and Ken" dolls that are walking around us today. It's an
epidemic and if it doesn't stop, people are going to keep developing
major problems.

-- Sizemore

Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?

2007-02-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

I think that there is enough "critical thinking" here at WVU. I
personally do not really care about them because I will do the same in
each one. They do not make me really think to much, however they can
be kind of hard. They also give more homework in those classes, so I
do learn more, however you can only have so many of those kind of
classes because you might overwhelm yourself with homework and all the
other stuff that we have to do.

Mara Cranfill

I feel that in high school there were not enough critical thinking components in my classes. It seemed like all you had to do was memorize information long enough to spit it out for a test. I was never given an article to analyze and tell someone what it was about. I found this to be very difficult to do when I first came to college.

In my first semester of college here at WVU I had a Nursing class where I used critical thinking. They would give us a scenario and we would have to analyze it and diagnose the patient. Other than that most of my classes just involved memorization of facts. However, inmy second semester, I feel that I must use critical thinking more in all of my classes.

I believe that you do get more out of a class if you are forced to think critically and analyze material. Because in order to think something through critically you must really know the information. This will force you to study because there is no guessing involved. The critical thinking classes are more difficult because you must pay attention and know what you are doing to do good in the class. I feel that they are very boring to sit through. I think it is because you must pay attention to everything being said and if it is a subject you don't like then you are definitely going to be bored in that class.

-- Katie Fidazzo

The Drafting Process

2007-01-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

Drafting:
When writing a paper, there are many helpful steps to accomplish. One is selecting a topic; another is putting your thoughts down on paper. Each time you think of something to put in the paper, you are drafting the paper. One of the many definitions of “drafting” is “writing a first version to be filled out and polished later”. That is exactly what you have to do. When you draft a paper, you are expanding on your thoughts, outlining what you want to say with the paper. You are trying to fill all the requirements for the paper, while trying to tell a story. If you are drafting a paper, you are writing several versions of a paper, each draft being better than the first.

You would not, for example, just turn in a major paper with only your first thoughts as the completed paper. You make the paper better by finishing what you began to say, by filling in details. When you write an essay in class, like the response essays, you are writing without having all the details about what you could write. You are writing it without drafting because you have only one chance to write your thoughts. You don’t have the option of coming back to finish what you say. A paper is going to be left hanging or unfinished if it is written without the writer having the chance to complete the drafting process. This is why completed papers have the potential of greatness; the drafting process allows you to say something, and have it be exactly what needs to be said.
--Simmons

Writing should be done as a process. It takes time and working through
mistakes really have a "finished product." I really like writing in drafts and being able to revise them. Having input from others helps to make you a better writer and realize what your strengths and weaknesses are. It also helps you to grow as a writer and realize what strategies you should use to approach writing a paper, and which ones you should try to stay away from. I feel that writing in drafts is much more effective than having to write just a "cold" essay. I know that I personally feel pressured and mess up my writing much more when I know there is a time limit or that it is my only shot at writing the essay. I don't feel that writing done in time limits or at one sit down is a good reflection of what that writer really might be capable of. I prefer writing in drafts and getting to critique my own work as well as having others give me their input about my work. This is really benificial in the long run and helps me to grow as a writer much more efficiently than sitting down and writing multiple papers and essays and only having one shot at them.

-- Kave

Reading Around The Table: Peer Review

2007-01-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

I believe that peer review, whether formal or informal, is an important factor in the process of editing and revising work. Although a peer does not actually grade the work, they have an outside viewpoint that does not have a connection to the work they are reviewing, whether emotional or otherwise. Peers also, on the other hand, have an insight to the work they are reviewing, as they are most likely doing the same work themselves and they are able to accurately tell what in a work is correct or not. Peer review is habitually helpful and should always be used before officially completing a work.
-Boone

We Don't Really Have To Respond To This...Right?

2007-01-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

Participation in Class

Participation is important for a class of a smaller size. In order for the class to function properly the students must get involved with the discussion. The thing about it is many students don’t like to participate in class. I personally think there are many reasons for this. Many students don’t feel comfortable talking in front of people they don’t know that well. I can say from past classes that normally as the class goes on in the semester people get more comfortable talking in front of fellow classmates. Also many kids are not morning people and are just not functioning at 9:30. This is defiantly a factor when talking about participation because most students are just not in the talking mood at that time. Another thing to look at is the students themselves. Most of the time it always the same students participating either because they are more interested in the topic, or know more about the subject, or are just more comfortable talking in front of others. Normally it doe s get to the point where a good portion of the class is working together and the class is not forced to talk by the teacher.

--Cowan

Multiple Literacies? Or Humanities B.S.?

2007-01-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

I think that there are multiple definitions of literacy. I do not
think that it applies to just the reading and writing aspect. I think
that it can be applied to other subjects like chemistry and math,
computers and there are an abundance of other things that it can
pertain to. One of my friends who is a journalism major exemplifies
this exactly. My friend is a journalism major because she is an
excellent writer. She also can understand things in literature that
most people do not. If she had to take any sort of chemistry or upper
level math class she would probably die. She has told me several
times before that she would fail miserably if she was any type of
class like that. She does not understand numbers and symbols used in
math or know the difference between reactants and products in
chemistry. Her brain sees figurative language and underlying meanings
in literature. This is why I feel that literacy can pertain to many
different things.
-Cordonier

So What About Those Banking Educators??

2007-01-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

My reaction to the Freire article was that it was very truthful.
It brought up alot of topics that have been looked at as unimportant.
Knowledge is a very important tool in which everyone should be able to
use. No one should be held back from learning. Each and every person
has their own voice and should be able to use that voice.
As we talked about in class alot of college professors use the
Banking model of teaching. I have had a few classes that have used this
model. I am a person who learns better with more interactive learning
such as discussions, labs, and activities. I am not saying that I cannot take good notes but if I am not understanding what they are saying then the notes are not going to help me. I do not think that it is all the Professors fault. I think that some of it is because we the students are afraid to use our voice.
Why do we have this fear to use our voice in situations like
these? I think this fear has been slowly put into us by the information
we recieve. Just as we are told to obey laws and rules we are also told
to obey anyone of authority, but what if we know that the person who
has authority is wrong?
It is my philosophy that we are all Americans and we have the
Freedom of Speech. We should always use our voice. It is what sets us
apart from everyone else. It is what make each and everyone of us an
individual.

-- Stoller

I really felt Freire’s article was right in the way many teachers and
students interact. The banking system is obvious to see when you look
for it. I don’t think anyone can really say they have never been
treated like a container. We are all led to retain information for
just long enough to regurgitate it onto a test or quiz at some point
in time. I find these in my classes. Lectures have to be the worst
of this. You are forced to silently listen to what is said, take notes,
with no interaction at all. In many cause I think the professors
wouldn’t even care if you slept as long as they are not interrupted.
The only solution for these problems would be communication. This
would be communication on both ends. A place where ideas and thoughts
are shared would be necessary. If the students could experience what
they are taught and teachers would even allow themselves to be taught
from time to time.

-- Gorrell

Welcome!

2007-01-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Generation Back Talk: that's you!

When I was little, the older folks always said that if you disagreed with those in authority or always had something "smart" to say that you were "back talking." Well, I think there isn't enough back talk these days. One of the goals of a college education is to help you find your "voice" in the world and to develop your critical thinking skills. But too often it seems that students don't take charge of their own learning, or that they sit and wait to be spoon fed what they think are the right answers. I wonder if that's because you haven't yet found a comfortable medium for your voices? Or maybe you're just concerned that you don' t have the "right" thing to say? What will you say, I wonder?

This is your space to discuss the topics we are covering in class. While I'll always give you a prompt to blog on, feel free to jump off of conversations we've had in class, something interesting that caught your eye in a reading, or past experiences that seem relevent. The goal of this blog is simple. We are trying to create a community of writers and thinkers by providing you with an alternative way to discuss the "life of the mind". While the writing we will do here is very informal, I encourage you to still take it seriously.

It is your voice, after all. And no one can really silence you but yourselves.

-- JG