Reading Week vs. Sleeping Week

At Nipissing University, there are few things that students look forward to. Most of them surround holidays, when there are no classes, and times when exams will be over such as Christmas break and the end of the year in April. In between these times, we still get to experience March Break as it is known to our high school inferiors. However, this break is known as Reading Week or Study Week in unispeak (definition of unispeak: noun. an Orwellian developed term that encompasses the language used at post-secondary levels of education, specifically universities).

Reading Week is one of those breaks from the normal routine of classes where students do the complete opposite of what the break suggests. That is right; I doubt that much reading gets accomplished during this so called Reading Week. But for those of us who actually do take advantage of the time, there are numerous things that you could be doing such as 1) actually reading; 2) highlighting material in your textbook to make it look like you are actually reading; 3) write essays and work on other assignments; 4) study for mid-term exams; or 5) wallow in self-pity knowing that you completely bombed the mid-term exams that you wrote BEFORE the break started.

So, my fellow university students, take advantage of this break. Sleep in! Stay up late! Visit with friends from highschool who you occasionally chat with and meet up with thrice a year. And do not forget to bring back some home backed goods and other supplies that will be the envy of your other roommates and friends.

The good thing about Nipissing University: you get two Reading Weeks. One in the fall. One in the winter. That is double the sleeping time. Happy reading!

NUSU Executive Elections well under way

That time of year has come once again. Nipissing University students will be heading to the polls in less than one week to decide who the next 4 individuals will be to lead the student union into the next year. In this post I'll briefly discuss the candidates in case you haven't been able to meet them or read their platforms. The candidates have tables in hallways, have been doing many class talks, and wear promotional T-shirts, and sometimes even smile! I welcome your respectful comments and feelings about the candidates and their ideas.

President
Marianne den Haan is currently the VP Student Life and is running in an uncontested race for President. Pretty much a win here unless something drastic happens that would upset the Yes-No ballot. Although she has nearly one year under her belt she'll still have a learning curve to meet regarding academics and Senate regulations and providing a mature model of leadership for the union. Priding herself on transparency regarding finances, she has made high incidental fees a key issue of her platform. Marianne's Facebook Group

Vice President External
Anna Fitzsimmons is running in her second election after becoming the Humanities Delegate. You'll recognize posters of her crouched in a clothes dryer alongside her platform stance on running an effective Shinerama fundraiser campaign. A 3rd year student, she wants to promote the Health Plan and Awareness Team activities. Anna's Facebook Group

Amanda Lytle is a new face to student politics at Nipissing University. She's running on a platform of reducing or freezing tuition fees or at least bringing awareness to the high cost of university education along with actually attending CFS meetings. She also has plans for a better Health Plan with more coverage along with making the Awareness Team more of a presence on campus. Amanda's Facebook Group

Vice President Internal
Ryan Lahti not only looks like MacCaulay Culkin, he is seeking to abolish the controversial Writing Competency Test, claiming it's redundancy and high cost. He is also promoting a higher profile of student clubs and more awareness of academic regulations. Ryan's Facebook Group

Jon Jefkins is back for his third run at the position hence the phrase, "Third time's a charm, Jon!" With a lengthy platform on issues from clubs to campus safety, he is also seeking to implement surveys to evaluate the student experience and effectiveness of the student union. Alumni and education students also find a place in his platform along with a greater awareness of academic rules and regulations. Jon's Facebook Group

Vice President Student Life
Cole Fournier returned to Nipissing this year after taking a year off to attend Canadore College. Since the campaign began, he's moved from a launch of a clever video to basic platform ideas surrounding the massive task of planning Frosh Week and establishing a "Nipissing's Got Talent" night. He's also been a Frosh Leader. Cole's Facebook Group

Lisa Hutchinson is running her second campaign after winning the Social Sciences Delegate position this past fall. After winning the Top Female Frosh Leader award in September, she certainly brings spirit and enthusiasm to the position. She has an extensive platform dealing with the Food Bank, Street Team, and wanting to plan better events throughout the year. She also tackles the recycling program, or lack thereof, here at NU and has a desire to change it. Lisa's Facebook Group

Trina Prince is running in her second campaign for this position after being narrowly defeated by Marianne den Haan last year. With much experience with residence events, she desires to plan a great Frosh Week, formals, and ensure the success of the Food Bank. She prides herself in experience and previous campaign experience. Her slogan, "TP for VP," is written on squares of toilet paper that double as fecal matter wipes. Trina's Facebook Group

Nipissing University announces new female President

Today Nipissing University announced who the next President and Vice-Chancellor will be for the institution. Perhaps along the same lines of the hopeful change inspired by current President-elect of the US Barack Obama, this NU appointment breaks ground in what some groups would term "shattering the glass ceiling." Nipissing's next President will be female. Dr. Leslie Lovett-Doust will be moving to North Bay this year in time for a July 1st start. She is moving from Michigan Tech where she was Provost and VP Academic Affairs. Prior to that she was a dean of Lakehead University. Plus, she's also a Scot!

Lovett-Doust will be succeeding current President Dr. Dennis Mock; a familiar and always smiling face on campus. Prior to this new appointment NU had 4 Presidents, all of whom were male. Dr. George Zytaruk is the founding President of NU who was later succeeded by Dr. Anthony Blackbourn. Dr. David Marshall, former Dean of Education, became President for a number of years and was succeeded by Mock.

The new President faces many challenges and opportunities coming into the job. A new visioning process will be initiated where the institution, through individuals and groups, will ask itself what it wants to look like in 5-10 years. Currently, NU prides itself on being a primarily undergraduate university with strategically developed graduate programs (an M.Ed and an MA in History) and with more on the way. Along with many build projects that will transform the physical look of our campus, the President will be the one to guide the institution through the next 5 years of development and excellence. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Lovett-Doust (pictured below) to the Presidency!

Holiday To-Do List: Things That Students Will Do During the Holiday Season

I am pretty sure that all of us have done at least some of these things during the holiday season. Hopefully you can relate to many of them but if not... well, BLAST!!

1. Count down the number of days/sleeps/exams/assignments until your Christmas holidays begin and post such information in real-time on all possible forms of online communication such as: MSN Messenger, Facebook, etc.

2. Travel back home via bus, train, or a ride in someone's car who you may or may not know. The further the drive, the more the excitement builds about Santa's night of annual delivery.

3. Get together with your old high school friends and try to one-up each other through the telling of various irresponsible feats accomplished at university/college such as: who drank the most in the shortest period of time, the best phallic-shaped snow sculpture, number of exams that were failed/slept through, and how you're so smart you don't even feel compelled to attend class.

4. Try and act all smart in front of your relatives during Christmas get-togethers while your father keeps asking what good a degree in philosophy will accomplish. Coincidentally, he'll call you a "dumbass" in true Red Forman fashion.

5. Warm up to your Grandmother and tell her about how much you're learning and experiencing new "things" at university. As soon as she's tickled pink with attention, you'll quickly sneak in a request for more money (because you love her).

6. Pack up lots of leftover holiday dinner in containers to take back to residence. You'll be sure to guard it with your life and attempt to ration it as far as possible (less original cooking for you that way).

7. Count down the number of days/sleeps until your Christmas holidays are over and post such information in real-time on all possible forms of online communication such as: MSN Messenger, Facebook, etc.

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone!

P.S. 3 more sleeps until Santa comes!

How You Study For Exams And What That Says About Your Personality

Students at Nipissing University have found many ways to study for exams. Here I'll give a breakdown of some of these strategies and what they might have to imply about your attitude toward life.

Cramming the Night Before
I'm sure we've all been here. But really, nothing says you'll be a life-long slacker like trying to absorb as much information as possible the night before an exam. Obviously you don't take life seriously. You'll end up being a workaholic trying to get that quarterly report done before it has to be on your superior's desk the next morning. Double trouble: you like to brag that you crammed the night before, know nothing about the material, and then somehow find a way to blame the professor for the irrelevance of the class. Nice try, Sally.

Studying in Groups
Obviously you have no individuality if you take part in group study sessions. You rely on others for not just support but to do most of the work. Your attitude in life is to take as much and give as little as possible. But, you'll conceal this fact by trying to seem knowledgeable about the material at hand. What you don't know: others in the group can see right through you and will try to cut you loose at the first opportunity.

Reading and Re-reading Lecture Notes Well Before Hand
OCD, anyone? It is apparent that you are too meticulous of a person to care about anything else. You like to do things repeatedly. You like to do things repeatedly. Even though you've gone through your notes numerous times, you still seem to forget a few pieces of information. The insecurity of knowing that you didn't absorb everything will drive you over the edge.

Highlighting the Important Points
Selecting the important stuff by using colour, are we? Well nothing spells Social Darwinism better than being a racist person now does it? Apparently you know so much about the material that you can distinguish between relevant material and "filler facts." Sorry, my friend, all you're doing is trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. You're one to make quick judgement of other people due to your superiority complex. Sorry about your insecurity, Truman.

If there is anything that you should have learned while studying for final exams is that they are bad things that create bad people. You don't want to be a bad person, do you? So tear up that exam paper and walk out the door with your head held high knowing that you are smarter than everyone else who things they know what they're doing.