Bah! It’s the end of the penultimate week of the semester. I have two papers to write, a presentation to prepare, and a final exam to study for. This would be manageable if it weren’t for the fact that all I can think about is the break. I have big plans.
Every year I look forward to the winter break and set impossible expectations for it. Everything that I don’t have time to do throughout the semester is added to my winter break ‘to do’ list.
My to-do list for this break involves mostly grad school applications and my senior project. Most of these are due in early January so I am hoping to get most everything done before going to visit my family in Texas for Christmas and then to Barcelona for New Years (Woot!).
I’m excited for all these things. I’m eager to get these applications out, excited to have some time to work on my senior project, I can’t wait to see my family, and Barcelona is going to be an awesome bomb.
The problem is that before I get to those things, I have to get through finals first. Eff.
Amanda Holmes is a senior philosophy major from Atlanta, GA. She is vice president of the Philosophy Club. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
Finals week almost never stresses me out. It’s the week before finals that kills me. And this year, that week came early.
While I was home trying to relax with my family and chow down on some fantastically grilled turkey, I couldn’t stop thinking of all I had to do. Five-page paper for this class, four pages for another class, two quizzes, an article for the newspaper, some 300 pages to read across various texts for various classes, planning for holiday parties, meetings… Have I made your head swim yet?
Compared to this week, finals week is easy. Finals week you study the night before with friends from the class, you go in, take the test, and get the heck out. The week before though is when all the last minute research papers are due. Professors assign those last, pesky assignments due on that last, pesky Friday. When all those final chapters filled with the roughest terms and the most jargon are left to read quickly through.
I hate this week.
Let’s not forget that we also have to begin checking on financial clearance for next semester, find out what textbooks we need (lists go up Dec. 1), and try to figure out how to eat in between all the late night cram sessions.
I have to remind myself to breathe during this week. To give myself a minute and to take a little tiny nap so that I remain coherent in all those last minute papers I’m composing. For everyone who needs some help, though, during the next two weeks, here are some things. The Andrew Conference Center will be open from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. this week for quiet study space. If you attend, you are given a raffle ticket for a chance to win $150 toward next semester’s textbooks at the bookstore.
Also, on Monday, Dec. 7 there’s Midnight breakfast in the Diner. It starts at 10p.m. and is free food served by Residence Life and Campus Life staff. This is a great opportunity for people whose meal plans are running low.
Finally, if you’re looking to relax, this Friday, Dec. 4 in the Andrew Conference Center RHA is throwing their annual holiday bash. The part runs from 7:30 p.m. until 10:3 0p.m. and will feature activities like Gingerbread House Making and decorating stockings for the kids at Advocate Christ Hospital.
If all else fails, here’s a video of the Muppets performing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Enjoy and don’t let these weeks get the best of you.
Sammi Powers is a junior communications major from Romeoville. She is Peer Minister for Liturgical Ministry, deputy Viewpoints editor for The Xavierite and program director for WXAV 88.3 FM. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
SXU recently hosted the Saint Xavier Talent Show. The show was hosted in an American Idol-type format over three nights, with three judges giving feedback after each competitor’s performance and some acts being eliminated each night. Judges included two student activities board members and Rae Joyce. The final six acts competed last night, Nov. 30, for the grand prize of a brand new iPod.
All of the acts had to return the following night because they didn’t know if they made the next show until only moments before when the M.C. announced their names. When announced most of the performers were jumping with joy because once again they had to entertain the audience for a chance to go all the way.
The final six performers/groups were:
Malcolm Lee & Dara Jackson: Singing and Piano
Ryan, Jei & Kristel: Dancing
John David: Singing and Piano
Evangela Evans: Poetry
Adetoune: Singing
Tim Young: Singing and Piano
After many spirited performances, it was up to the audience to cast their votes. Malcolm Lee and Dara Jackson did a great job engaging the audience and received third place for their performance.
Ryan, Jei and Kristel worked hard to chroeograph their own dance and after listening to the judges feedback and coming out strong with matching outfits, they claimed second place. Finally, John David in the third act stunned the audience by writing his own song and performing it with his stellar voice and accompanying singers. Together, they got the audience behind their music and took first place. All of the performances were outstanding and it was a very tough competition. Cougars definitely have talent!
Ashley August is a sophomore education major from LaGrange Park. She is member of the volleyball team and the Student Athletic Committee. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
It’s the end of the semester, which can only mean one thing; finals. Outlined on every syllabus is information about final exams and final papers. This is for those exceptionally good students who plan ahead and start their papers two months or more before they are do. This is a must for senior projects, which can be 30 pages or more long. But as for the rest of us, this is not the case.
With less than two weeks left before the end of the semester, it is crunch time and the five day holiday break is anything but. The majority of papers and class projects are due during the last week of class before exams. What this means for the majority of students is a Thanksgiving “break” that involves hours of Wikipedia, pages upon pages of writing, and plenty of Red Bull.
As for me I have three 10-page papers due by December 1. I also have two group projects. Thanks to my procrastination I have not started any of it. This is all in the wake of Thanksgiving, and studying for colossal finals. I know I am not the only in this position. Every other status on Facebook is students letting the world know that they are in crisis mode. Some have it worse than I. The two breaks, only weeks apart, puts the academic schedule in a tight spot. It forces professors to place the bulk of the grades in these two weeks. So that does not imply just one class that is back-weighted but five or six.
What this means is Thanksgiving break – a time meant for family, friends, and of course turkey – becomes one of stress, deadlines, and writer’s cramp. There really is not much that could be done on the professor’s side to keep this from happening. It would be nearly impossible for the professors to successfully coordinate due dates. Moving the school year to start two weeks earlier would also be a problem, cutting short the all-important summer break.
I think the best solution falls on the shoulders of the students. The solution would be to take a look at each class’ syllabus and pinpoint the large papers or projects that you can tackle first. Then write down a timeline in which you outline all your papers, when you start, drafts, and finally the date of completion. Also, most importantly, keep up with the readings and schoolwork throughout the semester, that way you do not have to cram them in while everything else is due. This way we can actually enjoy our Thanksgiving break, digging into good food, not books. Looks like I should take some of my own suggestions
Alex McArthy is a sophomore political science major from St. Louis, Missouri. He is an RHA National Communications Coordinator, president of the Cougar Crazies, a Public Safety supervisor and an SXU Student Ambassador. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
I’m not a greedy person. I really don’t ask for much but I’m officially announcing my wish list for Christmas, SXU Athletics style. It’s getting close to that time of year when everyone is putting out Christmas ads; children are writing their letters to Santa, and every little one is making that list and checking it twice. I understand for all you traditionalists that this is coming out before Christmas, but hey, it just gives you all more time to fulfill my wishes.
I know asking for wins is a bit juvenile, but I’m not naïve enough to say that I’m never juvenile. So I want wins, football and basketball, as many wins as you can give me.
Next, I want fans. Cheering, loud, body-painted, screaming fans. I applaud the Cougar Crazies but that is not enough, everyone in attendance make some noise. We are always told to be quiet and not be obnoxious. I say do the opposite for once.
To all athletes: Support your fellow athletes; only you know how much they work because you are doing the same amount of work.
Back to everyone: I want more coverage in the local newspapers. We have been getting tons of TV coverage, but not everyone sees that, so I think we need to be in some of the papers. We are better than Northwestern, UIC, Loyola, and any other small school around and they are all getting coverage. We should be getting an article a week like they are.
I want national recognition, I want a player of the year in the SXU athletic dept. I want to get a high ranking without having to prove it by beating everyone, and most of all I want our tradition to help us get that recognition.
I want as many people to come back this weekend for our HUGE weekend of athletics. I understand that this is Thanksgiving weekend and everyone is going home, but Friday and Saturday there are a total of 6 games. One of those games is to get into the final four of the NAIA Football Playoffs.
Whoever wants to go out and get me all of these things I will be grateful but I will also know all the time and sacrifice you put into it. In this time of Thanksgiving I want to thank all of you who have read my blog, and to all the athletes for the time you put in to your teams, without you I would not have anything to write about.
Stay classy, Cougars.
Mark Siefert is a senior social science major from Crest Hill. He is a member of the baseball team. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
I decided that my social adventures didn’t have to completely exclude academic work. I felt I could have the best of both worlds if I found a way to incorporate my social life and my academic life. Just as I was contemplating this idea, Amada Holmes, acting President of the Philosophy Club, suggested the idea of a Colloquium. Such an idea fit in perfectly with what I had in mind for the fusion of these two ends of the spectrum of my life.
At a reading colloquium, I could present papers/essays that I was working on for my classes or for scholarships to students and faculty interested in the topics at hand for critiques and feedback on how to improve the paper and maximize its potential. I readily agreed to present a paper at the colloquium and the date was set for the event to take place.
The colloquium was held on Tuesday, Nov. 17 in room L209 of the WAC. Since this was the first time the club hosted the event and due to its experimental basis, it wasn’t publicized. This meant that very few people knew about it and even fewer participated. There were a total of 9 people present; 4 professors and 5 students, 2 of whom were presenters. I presented my paper on “Averroes’ Middle Commentary on Aristotle’s De anima” which was from my Medieval Philosophy class.
My presentation was followed by a Q & A session where I answered questions about my paper and took suggestions on how to improve my paper. I have to say that I was nervous and a bit intimidated by the presence of philosophy academia during my presentation but the feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive and reinforced my confidence in my writing skills. My presentation was followed by that of fellow philosophy major, Zack Nordin, which was also a brilliant presentation (definitely not as good as mine! Sorry, Zack, lol).
The event was a huge success from my point of view and something I would definitely do again. In fact, one is being planned for next semester and it is expected to be a bigger event with much better advertising so anyone who is interested can participate. I know I’m going to be there, question is, will you?
Ifeanyi Onwumah is a sophomore philosophy major from South Holland. He participates in several campus clubs. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
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By Amanda Holmes
