I'm so glad it's the weekend. This has been a long day, trying to stay alive and alert on five hours of sleep. True, I shouldn't have stayed up talking last night. . . but then they were sitting on my bed.
For anyone who's attempted to learn German, this essay by Mark Twain appreciatively pokes fun at the language:
http://www.kombu.de/twain-2.htm#x1
I think nearly anyone would enjoy his humor. Besides, I have to promote linguistic interests occasionally.
The Sounding Board (Grace campus newspaper) arrived in our mailboxes today. Let's see what's on the agenda this time. Hmmm - Editorial - "Proposed 'graduated curfew' to foster class unity" (graduated curfew = the higher the class, the later the curfew). Now it's true that sharing gripes tends to bring people together. Whether that's real unity is another question. The editorial goes on to explain that curfew was established to "foster academic success", then suggests that "a later curfew would allow for more academic interaction across the campus after midnight." In other words, college students, if left to themselves, will naturally gravitate toward good study habits and discipline. This is an exciting possibility, especially after what I've seen of late-night habits on campus. Too bad it will limit study groups, since the sophomores and juniors who are taking the same class can't study together. Anyway, it's high time someone conducted research on the brain activity of college students between 1 and 3 in the morning, comparing the results with other two-hour time blocks throughout the day.
Graduated curfews should "build class unity". Especially vital in today's peer-oriented society. It will also discourage cross-class dating (if I may use that term), since the guy could be out till 2 a.m. but would have to bring the girl back by 1 a.m. Or vice versa. Undoubtedly, Student Development wants to protect students from the emotional complexities involved.
Thus, the two benefits of graduated curfew - 1) fostering academic success, and
2) fostering class unity through "deeper relationships". I wonder if these are supposed to occur simultaneously.
That said, graduated curfew may be a good thing, though considering the number of students who class themselves as "somewhere between a sophomore and a junior", it may be difficult to enforce. Anyway, I'm sure this issue will be coming before Senate sometime during the year.
2 comments:
And to think, that when I attended college there, we had to be in our rooms by 10:30 for roomcheck. Then, if we were lucky, we could go down to the cafeteria to tap out papers on our manual typwriters.
So, since you are on the senate, I'm sure you will be glad to pass on a little message for me: If students get extended curfew status, than those of us who have already graduated want retroactive reparations. Of course, this would have to come in the form of money, preferably tens and twenties.
I might just do that, Mommy, since we have hardly any proposals to discuss yet.
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