Haikus from/to the Squirrel

As I came to work this morning, there was a squirrel scurrying up the tree with his acorn.
He stopped halfway up and stared at me, as if waiting for me to make the next move. Since I was still a few minutes early for work, I decided to stare back, and then take a cute picture of course!
I decided later that I would write a haiku for him, but also wondered what he would write about me if he were given the opportunity. So, without further ado, I present the Squirrelly  Haikus!

From the squirrel:
Hey you, stop right there!
I see you eyeing this nut...
Guess what? It's all mine!

To the squirrel:
Oh, aren't you so cute.
Why are you staring at me?
Wait, I need a pic!



#goyotes #usd #HiFromSD #squirrels 

What We All Do... in college

I think everyone's favorite part of college is getting to rant incessantly about it. We all do it, so I'm just as guilty as the next person, but hearing other people whine every day has really started to make me realize how much it bothers me.
For the last couple of weeks, I've had several friends who just meander about the music building and moan about how many quizzes, tests and papers they have due.
News flash: We ALL have quizzes, tests and papers coming up. Just FYI.
Ok, now that I've got that off of my chest... I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  :)

How to do everyone's work... in college

(*Warning-the following  is in my own words and based on my own understanding of said issue.)
USD implemented a course years ago called IdEA. They were required to offer a course that differed from all of the other BOR schools across the state and made it mandatory for every student to take in order to graduate. The purpose of the course was to prepare students for post-college life by working with others, so it became a cross-disciplinary class that taught students how to debate, interact, and function outside of the classroom.  From the beginning, students didn't buy in to this class. At first, it consisted of a two part course--one to be taken during your junior year and the second half to be taken your senior year. The first part was the same for everyone. The second part specialized in certain areas. Some groups wrote papers while others did group participation projects and others even put on concerts. It differed depending on who taught it. The general consensus from the student population though was the course was a waste of time and money, especially considering the course couldn't handle all of the students who needed to take it at the same time. Hence, some students had to wait to graduate. (I'm not blaming the course for all of that btw, college students are pretty stupid about that kind of thing anyway.)  After a committee was formed in 09-10 to look at the IdEA program and re-evaluate how the course could better help students, it was completely revamped and turned into a one semester course called XDIS. It was also taught in one classroom on campus that had a million dollar makeover with all of the fanciest new technology one could ever need. They offered two or three sections, taught by different professors again, and as before it failed. This is the last year the course is being offered, and I'm in it.
Before I begin my rant on my experience with the XDIS course that I still refer to as IdEA, I'll explain why I think it failed.
When the committee above was formed, they asked a few different student organizations to sit down and discuss possible solutions and offer their opinions on how to make the course better. When SGA and the Volante were offered a seat at the table, two people showed up--myself (representing SGA) and one member of the Volante staff.  As far as I'm aware, the other groups who were offered a voice at the table didn't have a much better turn out than us. STUDENT FAIL. We had a chance to change something that most students bitch about in their 4-5 year "sentence" here and we blew it. The committee seemed very open to listening to our ideas and offered a lot of constructive criticism to other ideas, so I thought that many of the issues I had heard about from friends would be fixed. Alas, I was dreaming again. One issue that both the Volante rep and myself addressed was the issue of grading group projects. One complaint that we had several of from our fellow students tied into "unfair" grading policies within groups and how, just like in high school, one or two people did most of the work for the entire group and if one member didn't pull their weight, the whole group grade went down.
This is what I'm struggling with this semester. My XDIS group originally consisted of 7 people. As of right now we are down to 3 people + 1 drunk. Class is at 9:30am TTR and as any of my friends know, is not my best time during the day. I've stepped it up this semester though. I'm a senior and I really like the idea of graduating in the Spring, so I'm trying to be a better student.  I haven't been oversleeping (too much ;) and I wanted my group to do well, so I've been trying to help out as much as possible. Did I mention I was the only girl in my group? It sucks. Anyway, our first group project-a debate- went quite well. We all signed into Google Docs and took one section and wrote something about it. The second debate wasn't quite as much of a success. Our group was picked to do the public debate in class and it ended with one of our teammates yelling and walking out of class during the debate. We were the laughing stock of the class. I ended up writing and debating the third topic by myself. We had a week to put together a debate on White Clay and Pine Ridge and when we got to the classroom on Thursday morning, I was the only one who had done any work on it. Luckily, the public debate for the third topic took too long so we didn't have to debate until Tuesday. I figured that over the next four days, the guys would go onto google docs and contribute something... anything. Wrong again. They didn't do a damn thing. When we got to the classroom on Tuesday morning, they played the whole "oops I forgot, what can I talk about" card.
Now I'm not sure what to do. Every point I got for the third debate, they got as well. Our final debate needs to be submitted by tomorrow night and so far, only two of us have worked on anything. I hate that I'm the one getting stuck with everyone's work and the only reason I care about this class is because I want to graduate... finally.

How to Get a 3.933... in college?

Yep. You heard that right. I think I just achieved the highest GPA I've had since I was a sophomore in high school. Lots of A's and one B. The one B was my one credit piano lesson. That B was totally deserved so I'm not upset about it. I suck at piano and everyone knows it... not to mention the whole not practicing consistently.
I was pleasantly surprised by the A in Forms and Analysis with Yarbs. I pretty much bombed my first test and even though I did well on the second and third test, I didn't think I had a prayer for an A. We didn't get to see the results of our final test so I guess I did alright :)
I came to USD with a 1.8 from St Thomas, but thanks to decent grades here, I've managed to raise my overall GPA to 3.16 and my USD GPA to 3.667.
Three more semesters to go!!!
Happy Panda!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Tribute to Yarbs... and Beethoven

OK, I finally uploaded the video correctly. This is the video from sophomore theory a couple weeks ago. Go ahead and skip through the first minute of the video and then let it run so you don't miss Wyatt's amazing entrance. Hope you all enjoy!

Epic Chamber Football Game and Picnic... in College

Well, we lost. Once again, the tenors and sopranos gave a surprising upset and beat the altos and basses by two touchdowns. This year we went all out though. We made signs, we had face paint, I had my cape on, it was epic.  I was especially impressed with the bass section--every single one of them showed up. Granted, a few of them took the game a little too seriously, but they're boys, so I guess that's to be expected. The Chamber Picnic was also a great success with the majority of Chamber Singers showing up. We ate a lot of food, we killed a lot of mosquitoes, we sang a lot of silly songs, and we enjoyed each others company--a lot. A LOT of good things happened this weekend, even if we were all black and blue and sore on Monday :)  

proud altos!

Epic Poetry... from College

So, I would like to share a poem that I wrote for Creative Writing last week. I'm kinda proud of it, cause I find it amusing at least.  We were told we could use any form, but it had to be about using the metaphor-- "life is like a broken record" or something like that... I'm also a sucker for end rhyme and iams so the whole thing is iambic in nature and follows an AABB format.
so here goes...

Der Tod und Die Musik

Oh won't you play my record dear?
and think of past, don't shed a tear.
The music played dost make me think
of days gone by, I need a drink.

These thoughts, this music, makes me sick
but you my dear are just a dick.
You have no thought for me you jerk,
oh why is it this didn't work?

You left me here alone to die,
alone, with no more tears to cry.
The disc creates a sweet loud scratch,
but like our love, there is no patch.

I guess that when our love must end,
and when the music dost offend,
then to the dumpster it must go,
this broken record, love--my foe.

After writing this poem, I sat back and laughed. I wrote an entire poem about something that has never happened to me. I should have titled it "the Lie" but I think I have a thing for German titles :)  Anyways, hope you enjoy !

another USD scam...

So, I'm moving back into McFadden in August for the third full year. I'm excited because Ashley will be one of my new roommates, and whether we kill each other or not while living together, it will be nice to live with a friend that I already know. However, USD being USD, has decided to make my life miserable with paperwork and appointments up the wazoo.
When I first received my bill for the fall semester this year, it showed a $695 deduction for a meal plan. This is the first time that USD has tried to charge me for a meal plan since I'm a non-trad upperclassman. Kirsten Compary (former VP of Student Services), warned me that it might happen last spring, but said it would be a breeze to get out of it, and to talk to her. Well, she's gone. So I talked to several housing people and they all agreed that I can try and go through the appeals process. This includes crappy paperwork, doctor's notes and sitting before a committee 2-4 weeks AFTER school starts. When I went to download the appeals form, I started reading the requirements and I noticed this--

Appeals Not Granted For:

• The building in which a student lives. 
• Personal convenience (i.e. money can be saved by purchasing groceries).
• Vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options. Students and family members are encouraged to talk with USD Dining Services Executive Chef to discuss their individual nutritional needs and learn about the food options available through all of the Dining Services locations.  A meeting can be arranged by calling 677-5334.
• Scholarship status. Community Advisors and Athletes on certain scholarships will not be considered for reduced or exempt meal plans.

So, we'll see how the appeals process goes. I can't believe they expect me to eat $700 worth of tacos morning noon and night!