CLA 1001 Society & Culture/ Commuter Section

Finished !!!!!

Congratulations on completing your first semester of college at the University of Minnesota.

Happy Holiday Everyone!

Final reflections on the semester

Your thoughts on the big picture of your first semester at the U of M.

1. This semester I learned ---------.
To be more independent
To value my free time
To be more outgoing.

2. This semester I did ---------- for the first time.
How to do my own laundry
How to use public transportation and ride the buses

3. Next semester I will ----------
Study more!
Try harder to do my readings on time.

Weekly Updates: Dec. 12 to Dec.19

Hello y'all,
Congrats on a successful first semsester, just keep it up. For the last CLA 1001 class on Wednesday (14th), we will be meeting in Blegen Hall. We will be talking about the semester as a whole, as well as doing some fairly easy going activities. We migh also do evals. (If we do, make sure ya'll mention that you don't want to climb up 5 flights of stairs to get to class). There isn't a journal due, so y'all can catch up on other things. See y'all in class.
Cheers*

Faculty Interviw Assignment

Here are the professor you interviewed:

Shelly Christman
College of Biological Sciences
Freshman seminar professor “Battle of the Sexes�?
Seemed like a motivated, successful and happy person.
Talked about:

Experiences throughout college (undergrad., masters and doctorate)
What she’s doing now

Advice for students

Remember why you’re here

Remember your goals

Don’t let bumps in the road distract or discourage you

Feel better about approaching faculty members now.
“I learned that they are willing to talk and usually get bored during office hours and like when people come in to visit.�?

Dan Dooghan
Wanted to interview someone from the Sociology department, but couldn’t get a hold of an instructor.
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature Department
Chose him because he was interesting and made CSCL interesting
Talked about:

Undergrad. Education

Value of Liberal Arts education

�? no matter what you chose to major in, having a liberal arts degree, will force you to ‘look outside of the box’�?

Nervous about approaching a faculty member at the beginning of the semester, but now is comfortable.

Rod Ferguson
American Studies Department
Thought he would be interesting
Talked about:

How he came to be a professor in American Studies

What I want out of my career: money, something you enjoy, something that makes a difference?

Being well rounded in terms of a Liberal Arts education

Feel more confident about approaching faculty.
Glad to be forced to talk to a faculty member so early in college.

Gordon Hirsch
Wanted to talk to someone in the Theatre Department, but they were too busy
English Department
Talked about:

What English majors do in the future

Liberal Arts education

�? He started as a math major; now he teaches Victorian era literature.�?

Fell much more confident about approaching faculty now.
Contact professors more through e-mail and office hours, than at the beginning of the semester.

Amy Kaminsky
Women's Studeies Department (WoSt)
Major exploration
Taked about her research experiences:

Majored in Spanish as an undergrad.

Did research on Argentinean film, literature, and culture

Studies abroad in Argentina and Sweden

Authored many publications about fmeinists, Latinas, and Latin American culture

Active in the Center for Jewish Studies at the U of M

Current chair of the WoSt

Kaolee Christine Marran
Asian Languages and Literature Department
Major exploration
Went to Japan when she was 15 and stayed there for 5 years
Found interviewing faculty to be very interesting.
More curious and open minded about talking to other faculty memebers.

Dr. David Martinez
American Indian Studies Department
Find out about a major
Talked about his experience in college:

Grew up in California: equal proportion of African Americans, Latinos and Caucasians.

Went to college at the University of Rhode Island, 95% Caucasian

Always felt comfortable around grown-ups, so feelings about approaching faculty haven’t changed.

Ann Meier
Sociology Department
Recommended by Current professor
Talked about:

How choosing sociology affected her life

Her experiences with choosing sociology as a major

“she saw the extreme difference between the high class prep students she rowed with in the morning and the poor she helped at the kitchen in the afternoon. The phenomenon of these differences created a deeper desire in her to study Sociology.�?

Which classes and student groups to pick in the future.

More open to speaking to faculty after the assignment.
�? It’s nice to see them as more than only professors.�?

Pang Rhodes
Family Social Science
“she was young and seemed like she could give me some good advice about college and my major�?
Talked about:

How her overall college experience was

Balancing socializing with academics is really important during the first year of college

“realizing that ‘she was now a small fish in a big pond’�?

Feel as lot more “ease�? about approaching faculty memebers.
“faculty are more than happy to share their experiences and their advice with students as long as they ask

Debate Event

The Parliamentary Debate Team invites you to:

PUBLIC DEBATE: SHOULD CONGRESS REQUIRE EQUAL FUNDING FOR
MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIVERSITY SPORTS?

Monday, December 12, at 7:00 pm in Computer Science Building 3-115.

Title IX, part of the 1972 Educational Amendments, requires all federally funded
educational programs and activities to be equally accessible to men and women.
The University of Minnesota Parliamentary Debate Society (UMPDS) will sponsor
a public debate on this contentious law on Monday, December 12. Arguing for the
abolition of the requirement will be J. Robinson, the renowned University of
Minnesota wrestling coach, and UMPDS debater Tom Meyer. Defending the
requirement will be UMPDS debater and Women’s Studies major Rachel Jamison,
and UMPDS debater Michelle Hogler. Admission is free to the public, and all
attendees will have the opportunity to voice their opinions in the middle portion of
the debate.

Final Adfab Event

ADFAB Meeting - Let's Celebrate
Wednesday December 7, 2005
From 3:30PM to 5:00PM

Is the thought of finals week enough to make you want to toss your books and hop on a Campus Connector, never to look back? If so, please plan to join us for the last ADFAB meeting of the semester Wednesday, December 7 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. in 335 Nicholson Hall. In addition to providing yummy treats and fabulous prizes, we have experienced students ready to chat about ways to handle the stresses of finals week and how to survive winter break at home without losing your mind, or cool.

Address: 335 Nicholson Hall
Contact: ADFAB adfab@class.cla.umn.edu
Please call 5-0049 for more info.

more info here

Mid-Semester Reflection

Things you've learned:

Have instructors look over you papers, because then you can see firsthand what is expected of you

When you don't understand something, ask the source, not your friends

Study is small doses, so you won't have to cram (especially before or after class)

Sleep well the night before a test. On the day of the tests, eat all your meals (especially breakfast) and stay hydrated

Even if you have been studying regularly, step it up a week or 3 days before the test, depending on how hard you have to work to do well in the particular subject

Find out what works for you, in terms of studying and stick to it

Be open to changing your study habits, because you may just find something that works better for you

Don't compare your high school standards, in terms of grades to college standards, which aren't always the same

When you like whatever you are studying, it makes things 20X easier

Stick to first impressions when it comes to deciding if you like the instructor, or if you should change instructors

Never do a once over of your answers, unless it's to see if you've skipped any questions

All of you know your study habits and what works best for you, you're just having trouble motivating yourselves to do things. Midterm grades are great in at least one class, and good in the rest, but there's room for improvement.

Managing Your Finances

A lot of you contribute to paying for your education through: scholarships, savings bonds, savings accounts, money earned from work, and student loans.

A lot of you also have a little help from parents: helping pay for your education, spending money, doctors visits, health insurance, car insurance, gas, everyday items, a few meals and gifts.

For some of you having a budget of a $100 a month is something that you're not used to. For others, if you $100 isn't too much. If you did have to cut down on your sepnding, you would stop eating out as much, you wouldn't by things that don't have a real purpose. To prevent spending too much money, you try not to carry around too much cash, go shopping to make you feel better, and put a certain amount into a savings account each month.

Some of you have started planning for the future by opening up savings accounts, as well as putting away small amounts of money, to provide as cushions if something unexpercted comes up.

Week of Dec.5 to Dec.12

Hello y'all,
I hope y'all had a fabulous weekend. This week, we will be meeting in Blegen 415.
Your Faculty Interview Journal is due by noon on Tuesday (December 6) e-mailed to Charles and me.
Remember:The goal of the journal, is to go beyond summary and think about what you got out of the interview.

What we will be doing in class on Wednesday

]]> We will talk about the faculty interviews for about 15-20 min.

Everyone will talk a little about their interviews (who they interviewed, what they learned, etc.) in small groups. Then we will talk as a large group about the big picture of student-faculty interaction.

For the rest of the class time we will do something else...

Resource fair

Here are all the organizations y'all visited:

Parking and Transportation Services
Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence
Women's Student Activist Collective
Individually Designed Major
Studying Abroad Center
National Student Exchange
Community Placement Services
ADCS (Academic and Distributed Computing Services)
Radio K
CCLC (Career and Community Learning Center>
UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program)
Community Engagement Scholars Program
UMPD
BIS (bachelor of individualized studies)
University Libraries

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Here are the things y'all are interested in doing:

Why do you Volunteer?
Learning about other cultures
Teaching people to be computer literate
Meeting people from different backgrounds
Sense of accomplishment
Studying abroad
Japan
France
Spain
GLBT Programs
Academic Skills Center
Speed reading workshop
CCLC
Pre-Law Workshops
Volunteer Opportunities
Summer jobs

Book of the Month

This months entry is "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond. His book talks about how some civilizations thrive and expand while other civilizations fail or are conquered. Its a very unique approach to human history and would be a good book if you are interested in politics, history, or anthropology. I havent read his new book "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed " but I have heard that it is good. Go check them out at a bookstore if you are curious.

Money to Pay for School

Here is the website for Scholarships for CLA students.

We have a lot of scholarship oportunties and chances are that you are eligible for at least some of them. I encourage you to check it out and apply.

Scholarships website

Faculty Interview Journal Entry

Finally, the last journal assignment!

Think about your faculty interview and respond to the following questions:

Who did you interview and why? Be sure to include the faculty member’s name and department.

What was the focus of your interview and what did you gain from the experience? (In other words, write a paragraph or so about what you talked about and/or what you learned)

How do you feel about approaching faculty now that you have conducted your interview? Do you feel differently now than you did at the beginning of the semester?

As always, journal entries are 300 words minimum. Please email it to us on Tuesday, December 6.

Finals Study Tips Part 2

One way I remember things is to imagine what the topic reminds me of.

If it's a word, I'll try and emember who said it so that I can constantly recognize what the word is.

If it's a math subject, I'll relate it to a situation, like I want to paint my room but how much of an area to cover... things of that sort.

This works best for me because I am a visual person. The things that I learn in class, I have to look and see it in order for me to comprehend.

CLA Task Force Focus Group

Tuesday December 6, 2005
From 12:30PM to 1:30PM

As we strive to make the CLA one of the premier colleges of liberal arts in the nation, the CLA Task Force recognizes that changes cannot be made without the input of CLA undergraduate and graduate students.

We believe CLA students can provide us with pertinent information as to what ways they feel the CLA is serving them well, as well as provide suggestions as to how the CLA can serve them better.

Therefore, you are invited to participate in the CLA Task Force Focus Groups so that you can share your views and experiences with the Task Force. We will use the information gained through the focus groups to help shape our recommendations for improving the CLA.

The focus groups will be facilitated by the graduate student and undergraduate student members of the CLA Task Force.

The groups will include about 10 participants and last around 1 hour. Pizza and soda will be provided. The anonymity of focus group participants will be kept, and the information provided by participants will only be used for the CLA Task Force recommendations.

On behalf of the CLA Task Force, THANK YOU for your participation in our focus groups. The information you provide will greatly aid in the improvement of the CLA!

Go here for more info and to register to attend.