Spring Quarter

A few posts ago my guest blogger brought up the issue of finding a new major. I have not as of yet identified the major I want but I have decided on my courses for next quarter that should point me in the right direction. The first class I have decided is Geography 120. I have always had an interest in Geography the study of human activates which includes human variations such as economics, politics, and culture. The only draw back is that even if I do decide to choose this major it has taken my whole freshmen year before I realized what direction I’m going. So I have also decided, if possible, that I will try to take 2 classes over the summer to make up for lost time.
Another class I have to take is Basic College Algebra. I don’t really have any doubt that it will be boring and it’s a requirement so I’m just going to get it over with. I also will be taking a foreign language in order to meet my requirements at OSU Newark. I will take either Spanish or French. Spanish would be the better choice due to the fact it is one of the worlds most spoken languages.
My main goal right now is to finish this quarter right, and then prepare to have a good spring quarter before summer hits. This past Monday showed just how much I hate the cold weather and summer will be a welcome for all of us.

Spring Break

(Updated as of 03-05-08)

Spring break is less than 4 weeks away so I thought about blogging today about some tips and tricks from the masters out there. First of all bring an ID with you. Even if your not 21 some clubs still let you in and stamp your hand so don’t be left out of the party seen. Let’s be honest those of you out there who are not 21 and do drink, don’t forget: moderation in everything!

According to a study by Wisconsin University 75% of male students and 43% female students are intoxicated the whole week of spring break. Once you do plan on drinking know how you’re getting home. Either everyone gets a cab or someone will have to take a hit for the team and drive you from the party and back to your hotel/house.

According to Dawn Henthorn you should stick to these rules to get the most out of your spring break. If staying at a hotel follow some general guidelines. Lock your door; look through the peep hole to see who is there; if they claim they’re room service call down to the office to verify. Most importantly do not sit on the guard rails or balcony because of the risk of falling and death.
Unfortunately people out there are out to get you so some tips for not being sexually abused or raped. Drinking so much will leave you as a target for an attacker. Don’t allow yourself t become isolated from everybody. Use the buddy system if you decide to walk home. One key tip is not to accept open drinks from strangers, because it could potentially contain a “rape drug.”

With all of that said go out, be safe and have fun!

The Guest Blogging Experiment

The person that wrote my guess blog jumped right in and immediately explained the situation or dilemma of having to choose a new major. The guest blogger used for the most part long sentences going on about how I was in need of assistance of choosing a new major and with the help of a web site that he did cite and then went on about the help of a guidance counselor. The author also ended the blog with optimism stating that “I think I can make it.”

The author did an excellent job of picking the right topic to talk about. The author analyzed my previous posts and recognized that choosing a new major was a perfect fit for a blog. The authors’ picture that he submitted to me was also a dead on selection. The picture shows a guy looking at the ticking clock; looks like an anxiety attack is about to overtake him; and may have to purchase a new key board in order to write the next paper that will also be due within the hour.

I was not at all displeased with the post, I had feared that the guest blogger would not do a complete job, (not that writing about college is all difficult seeing how we all are here).

In my last few posts I have wrote very broadly about subjects like Security at campuses in the U.S.; moral and ethics in modern America like Enron; and Washington D.C. use of tax money. The blogger did not really “open” my mind in the since I’m going in an all new direction. In conclusion job well done.

College Anxiety

February 18, 2008
Matthew D. Kyle
Professor Boczkowski
English 109.2
College Anxiety
A college student is sitting in her dorm and is skipping class. She is afraid that if she goes to class she will have to talk to her lab partner or make a mistake and everyone in the room will criticize her. This is an example of a college student suffering from social anxiety. Many college students that have social anxiety turn to alcohol to numb behind their fears. There are numerous ways to deal with social anxiety like counseling, group therapy, medication, and Alcohol Anonymous
What is social anxiety? Social anxiety is a disorder where people believe that others are judging them or their actions are being judged and they will be embarrassed or humiliated (socialphobia.org). A study from the National Institute of Health that states: Along with anxiety and other psychological disorders, social anxiety effects up to 15% of Americans. Karen Fabbrini’s blog detailed how college students in the U.S. deal with this disorder by drinking alcohol only to wind back to the same place as they started.
Katie Shukis wrote a news article about how a college student who remained nameless was affect by the disorder. “I always felt like people were staring at me or talking about me, when logically I knew that was really not true.” Only when the student had a combination of both medication and therapy was she able to function normally. Karen’s Paper is structured in a way where the paper does flow in a correct format. The tone is very helpful the ones who suffer from this disorder.
I would change the paper by adding more information into the paper by how there are other causes to this disorder. Jerome Kagan, PhD has studied that there are several other causes of the disorder. The first is genetic inheritance by the parents. The parents who are themselves hosting the disorder to one degree or another pass along the disorder. He found that 10-15% of children that had the disorder carried the disorder with them into grade school and eventually adulthood ( http://www.thehealthcenter.info/adult-social-anxiety/causes-of-social-anxiety.htm). Another big factor in the disorder is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Usually the person with the disorder for a long period of time will have to start getting the right kind of treatment when dealing with a chemical imbalance. Other ways the disorder can cause harm to individuals is when it affects school work, making friends, taking in front of others, dating and relationships. It can even harm an individual trying to go to class because that person will not take the class because of the fear of having attention. It may also cause strain on a marriage that results in a divorce. On the extreme many will not accept a raise or promotion for the fear of having more responsibilities: making speeches; more responsibility; running board meetings.
Joining a club may be a very big step for those who wish to seek help. Even getting help with a doctor is a huge step. Once they do meet with a doctor they may be able to get counseling and medication to help them with the disorder so that one day they will be able to lead happy successful lives.

Guest Blog:"Major" Difficulties

Second quarter is just about to wrap up and I still don’t have any idea on what my major will be. I have met with my counselor and she had helped me somewhat on choosing my major, but I still am a little stuck. I think that I want to take the route of computer science and engineering, but for some reason I am still lost on what to do. Also with scheduling of spring classes coming up it makes it even harder to decide what classes to take because I am not sure on what classes will help for the major I intend to pursue.
I found this website the other day that had a list of all the Ohio State Majors and what they do. I found it to be very helpful and informative. After reading through some different majors I think that I might stick with the computer science and engineering route. My dad does this and I figure that he could help me with some problems along with picking up some pointers about computers and how to fix them and what not.
So all in all after speaking with my advisor and looking around on that website I think that I have made the right choice in major. My advisor had somewhat explained some of the classes I needed to take and it sounds like it’s going to be a little rough but I think that I can make it.

Standards

Should there be a required moral and ethical class that all college graduates take? In today’s society more and more we see the decline of responsibility. Enron is a great example to look at. Enron was a major company netting over 110 billion a year. The company and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies. Then in 2001 the company filed for bankruptcy. The company had one of the most complicated bankruptcy cases in U.S. history. Only once the law suites came and the directors settled the suits out of pocket did the accounting not add up. Bottom line is the accounting was not correct and the company was saturated with corruption. Kenneth Lay was the CEO Chairman of the board for over 10 years before Enron filed for bankruptcy. The CEO Kenneth Lay died before sentencing, and the Vice-Chairman of the board Jeffrey Skilling is currently serving a 24 year prison sentence.

So what does all of this information have to do with us? Well its no secret that in today’s business world you have to be educated in order to succeed, but at what cost? The employment of Enron went from over 20,000 in 2000; to approximately 40 in 2008. Lay graduated for the University of Missouri. The other board members all attended and graduated from colleges and Universities across the country. And while this is the biggest crime committed in the new century it’s not the only one and currently will not be the last.

So the question remains, as future businessmen, attorneys, and leaders of this country is it time for all of us to understand the ethics and morals that the past has failed to show us?

Staying on Track

“However did I get into this situation?” I asked myself again and again, as I sorted through papers, flipping through text books, and handouts. I looked up at the clock fearing it was already too late to go to bed and finish the paper in the morning. Two o’clock in the morning seems to be a frequent time I’ve visited in the past 3 weeks. Winter break will be a great relief I thought to myself as I finished the last paragraph.

The start of fall quarter was new, different, and not high school. The biggest difference is all the time I have away from classes and not having to go to the same class day, after day, seeing the same people. I’m not a loner, but in high school I think we all can arrive to the same conclusion that it just seems to drag on for weeks at a time.

In high school I can still remember a research paper on “Oliver Cromwell” I had for my High School composition class. For a whole nine weeks I was sitting at a desk writing my paper and citing books. One day in class I looked at my other classmates as an orchestra in play. The conductor led its composers in the correct thesis processes, outlines, revisions, and citing books. The class room was entirely quiet on most days with the only sounds of scribbling of pens and pencils on small note cards. Students were flipping through two or three books to make sure all the facts lined up correctly and not wanting to repeat themselves in their papers. We all worked to the last moment touching up our papers before the big day. I received an A and thought to myself “How hard can college be?” I was in for a rude awakening.

The papers were handed back and I received my first grade of the year for my political science course. On my paper sprawled across in bright red ink was a C- . Well, I thought as I looked over the mistakes in red splotched around on my paper like a Picasso painting. I needed to think more thoroughly what classes I was going to take before I decided to shell out the money. I still blamed myself for not devoting more time to my studies.

I sat down in my English class to discover our first paper was to explain my connection to an article of popular culture. The pop culture connection had to have a symbolic connection to us in one way or another. I studied many people and objects in our pop culture today, before I had my pick. The problem for me at first was just what is similar to me. I had only a few days left to make my choice, and as I was sitting at home watching the “Colbert Report” I realized who the choice was. Stephan Colbert was the obvious choice because of his satire he uses when dealing with current issues and politicians. How else would Stephan confront it?

The first step I took in finding just what makes up Stephan Colbert was to study the makeup of the show. The “Colbert Report” is one complex show I thought as I wrote down the structure and organization of the show. The character is very optimistic about his views even when he has zero facts to back them up. I was watching a rerun of the show one night and to my surprise it was the pilot episode. The episode contained the famous “Truthiness” segment. He explained what he perceives to be the difference between "those who think with their head and those who feel with their heart." When I heard that, I knew this show is going to be on the air for a very long time. I was even more astounded when he announced on his show that the American Dialect Society chose “truthiness” as the word of the year for 2005.

The real Stephan Colbert is a well educated man who grew up knowing he was going to be in show business. I knew to include this in my writing because even though he grew up in the south he decided to restrain himself from speaking that dialect because he knew the negative stereo types placed on southerners.

I still felt I lacked the true connection between us. I pushed hard on the issues like how his show is directed toward young men ages eighteen to twenty-five. That he seems to almost be the opposite in reality. He is a democrat at heart. There was a lot of facts and information to sift through before I was able to finish the paper. After the paper was graded I was happy to see an improvement over my last paper. I received a C+ and was very happy it was over with. “Next time I need to get a B.” I thought as I left the room for my next class.