Prospective Students, Parents and Guidance Counselors

Schedule an Interview or Visit | Deadlines | Contact Us

What Students Say | Student Blogs  | Perks
Requirements | Co-Curricular Activities | FAQs

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4-27-09

The last week of classes is upon us! I hope that everyone has had a productive time this semester, with more to come in the future (or, if you are graduating, I hope you enjoyed every minute you could!). Soon, finals week will be a wrap, the grades will come in, and the four month break will begin. I'm greatly looking forward to the Honors Math class that I will be taking in the fall - hopefully it won't be too bad for an English person such as myself. I've heard good things, and Honors classes are always interesting and enjoyable.

I don't have much in the way of summer plans, although I will be working at LHU's Writing Center for the second summer period. Mostly, I'll be working on my writing, both creative and rhetorical. I might even come up with something that is a mix of both.

On that note, I actually have to continue putting the finishing touches on a presentation that I have to give tomorrow. Perhaps next semester I'll see some of you incoming freshmen that have been reading this around campus. Don't be afraid to say hey if you do! To everyone else, enjoy the last few days of structure before the arrival of the summer chaos, and I'll see most of you in the fall.

4-20-09

So, it's almost time for FDG Wars again. Every year, at the end of the spring semester, all of the freshman discussion groups gets together in a massive competition spanning multiple events. This year looks a little different, as the FDGs are operating based off of a point-based value system, with other events (such as the Easter Egg hunt) giving the various FDGs points ahead of time, depending on their performance. I'm not sure of the particulars, but it looks quite interesting!

It's a good time for us upperclassmen, too. There's always food and friends, and you get the watch the FDGs go at it. It's kind of like an ancient Roman sport, with less blood and fewer lions. Although, I have heard rumors that they ma be introducing a battle with lions as one of the events next year: watch for that!

The only disappointing thing is that it is always held on a Saturday, which sucks for commuters like myself.

Obviously with classes being held on regular days, it would be impossible to have it then - regardless, don't expect to see me there next week! If you happen to be in Lock Haven, though, and are itching for a good time free from worrying about finals, check out the FDG Wars. It's a good time.

4-13-09

The Easter Rush is upon us. Papers, projects, and presentations swirl about me in an endless cycle of "where do I begin?" The Honors Program is humming with activity as well, mirroring the students in it. The final weeks of the semester feature the Banquet, FDG Wars (which my fellow bloggers have been a-buzz with), the last forum, and the last speaker series, in addition to the usual activity groups and FDGs.

The UN Pathways program was this past week, as well. Although wracked with disasters, such as signal problems, getting shuffled from room to room, and more signal problems, that which we were able to partake of was quite interesting. The idea of who owns space is something that many people do not generally think about; the same with space debris from derelict satellites. Increasingly, though, it is becoming a serious problem. Although there are no further Pathways programs for this semester, I do wonder what the next semester's topics will be, and look forward to them eagerly--as should you!

4-6-09

I'll be honest. I didn't understand more than about five words that the speaker said. I know generally that he was talking about nanites and using them to combat cancer in the brain. Beyond that, nothing. But I still enjoyed the experience, and here's why.

Even if a speaker isn't something you're terribly interested in - and let's face it, I'm an English major, there's not much further from my range of interests than nanoscience - you still get to hang out with your friends. I met up with a couple of good friends from my Honors class that I don't see nearly enough of, and we talked a bit before and after the speaker's presentation.

At the end of the day, I did learn something. I learned that scientists are using nanites to try to kill cancer.

And that's cool, almost science-fiction-ish. I didn't know that nanoscience was working on that, so it was interesting, even if I understood very little of what was actually being said. Sometimes topics of interest, meeting up with friends, and fulfilling Honors Program requirements - nothing wrong with that!

3-30-09

As the leaves begin to sprout forth from some adventurous maples, I have begun to realize that the semester is winding down. I've got quite a lot to do in the remaining four weeks - three major papers and a number of smaller presentations and minor papers. Not the least of these is the augmentation I have to do for one of my English classes.

I rather like doing augmentations, though I would always prefer to have more time to make it the best it can be.

They're an opportunity to show off, to take a class and mold it into something that means a lot to you, personally. My augmentation this semester is on Nabokov's novel, <u>Lolita</u>. I'm doing a textual analysis on it, trying to showcase the main character, Humbert, as a critique of communism. I still have a long way to go on it yet - not a good thing since it's due by Friday - but I'm enjoying it immensely, as is the professor that I'm working with.

Most of the people reading this will probably not have had to do an augmentation yet. I suspect that none of my fellow bloggers have needed one as yet, either. The first one is definitely the scariest, but once you get in the groove of it, you will really start enjoying them. As an additional perk, they count as extra work done outside of the class, so you can use them for resume padding.

Despite my heavy load of projects, there's a lot of stuff going on with the Honors Program soon, which I hope to be able to partake of. There's a speaker tomorrow night, on nanoscience.

Next week, Access the World is hosting

LHU's participation in the UN Pathways program. And through it all, the growing storm of FDG competition and banquet preparation looms in the background. I won't be able to attend some of the upcoming events, but I do hope to see you all at the Speaker Series tomorrow night!

3-22-09

This week, I attended Access the World, an activity group led (solo for this semester) by Johnny Blough. The group’s focus is on foreign affairs, geopolitical conflicts, and cultural differences. Multiple times per semester, the group acts as LHU’s liaison with a United Nations program which allows students to enter a dialogue with an actual UN ambassador about a specific situation that is relevant at that time.

This week, Access the World was focused on environmental issues and the Kyoto Protocol. We started off by checking our individual carbon footprint on the internet, and followed with a loose discussion of common environmental issues and what mankind can do about them. This included but was not limited to: global warming, renewable energy, deforestation generally and rainforest-centered, and reducing emissions. A handout with differing opinions on the Kyoto Protocol's effectiveness followed, as did a debate with our personal opinions of how effective it is.

Johnny mentioned that for a meeting sometime in the near future, a guest would be in to offer a short lesson on Mandarin Chinese. For more information keep your eyes on the weekly email of announcements.

Attendance was down this week, with several of the regulars missing. The more people show up, the more fun activities the group can do and the more dynamic the conversations can be, so give them some support. If this sounds like fun to you, I urge you to swing by. Access the World meets Wednesday afternoons at 2:30 – check them out!

3-15-09

"Spring is sprung, the grass is ris." Yes, ris. As in, an archaic form of the past tense of rise. I didn't make it up! The grass may not quite be ris, yet, but spring is definitely on our doorstep. There's still some cold days floating about, and the Midwest just got nailed with a big blizzard, so I guess it's a bit early to declare winter dead for another year, but it's getting there. Spring break was ridiculously early this year, falling on the first week of March for some strange bureaucratic reason. Amazingly, the weather actually wasn't that bad.

Keep in mind that I'm writing this as a local yokel, and a local yokel who didn't go on vacation over break. For all you who went to California or Florida (or both - and if that's the case, bully for you), I'm sure the weather magnificent. I'll fill you in on what you missed: Monday the 2nd had wind chills of around -15 F in the morning. Granted, Saturday the 7th was pushing 60 F, but that was the exception, not the pattern.

So, if I didn't go away for spring break, you may ask what I did do. The answer, to be candid, is not a whole heck of a lot. I kept working on reading the Dark Tower saga, by Stephen King. I got the whole series for Christmas this year, and I've been struggling to get through it while still keeping up with my course load, so it was nice to focus on that a bit over break. I worked out some, watched some movies, and hung out online with some friends from Michigan and Canada. I attempted to work on a few papers, but failed because I couldn't get into JSTOR from home, which annoyed me immensely.

On the 7th, I went to a local Magic: The Gathering tournament in Williamsport. I placed 4th, which isn't bad, I suppose. I feel like I should have been able to beat the guy who beat me, but such is life. On Sunday, my father and I went on a hike at a place out Route 87 called Sandy Bottom. I've promised Dr. Myers an article on Sandy Bottom for his "Hemlock," which I hope to get to sometime before I graduate, so look for that at some point. Long story short, it's a reasonably short trail that runs right along Loyalsock Creek. It has a couple islands that you can get out on, and there's a massive black Walnut to be found right off the trail at one point. When I say massive, I mean that it has probably seen the Civil War. The thing is immense. Seriously. If anyone wants to try to find it, the turn can be found just after Barbours on Route 87.

That was my spring break in a nutshell. It may not sound terribly exciting - well, let's be frank, that's because it wasn't. Did I enjoy it tremendously? Most definitely. At the end of the day, that's all that matters.

3-8-09

This week I have been thinking a lot about dichotomies in my own life, as well as in society. A dichotomy is the separating of (something) into two mutually exclusive halves. Dichotomies are usually related to binary logic, where (something) is either (adjective) or (adjective). There is no middle ground. Let's say I apply this notion to my beliefs on war. My beliefs on war can be split nicely into two mutually exclusive categories: either avoid war entirely, or go to war only in self-defense. The first is more idealistic, but the second is more useful with regard to the world in which we live.

Closely related to the concept of dichotomy is that of paradox. Paradoxes are apparent contradictions which lead to conclusions that don't make sense or are impossible. The classic example of the Grandfather Paradox is heavily used in time-travel science fiction - you travel back in time and kill your grandfather when he was a child, but then you cease to exist. Shortly after that, the universe usually implodes. While on my introspective binge this week, I began to wonder if the Honors Program itself is not a sort of paradox.

At the core of the question is the setting aside of the Honors Program as a special entity vs. that entity being part of the society wherein it is found. We tout the Honors Program as "Being ahead of the crowd," to quote the new website, but yet we remain part of the crowd by nature of activities both within and without the Program itself, such as watching popular movies, listening to popular music, and discussing which fake celebrity is doing what.

I suppose that I should call my tone to heel. Any organization is the product of the society that spawned it. It is only natural, and there is nothing wrong with being mainstream and "in the know" as well as being leaders ahead of the crowd. I merely point out the paradox inherent in the Honors Program itself; although perhaps it serves a worthwhile purpose - as leading is often accomplished by manipulating the interests of others. If those others happen to be interested in things like Twilight, for example, I suppose that it befits us to learn about them.