university

The semester should end before Thanksgiving

Commentary

Kylie McGovern, Editor 

Usually, if someone asks me about last fall semester, I will just groan about how much I hated Zoom. Although I despised an entirely online format last year, I loved the expedited semester that finished before Thanksgiving. I wish that this year we could have come to school two weeks earlier in August and began the semester two weeks sooner so that we could have finished classes and finals before Thanksgiving break, because my motivation at the end of this semester is at approximately zero.

A longer winter break that includes both Thanksgiving and the normally scheduled winter break would also give students the opportunity to perhaps work an internship, make some money, or just have uninterrupted rest.

In complaining to my friends about my lack of focus after the break, we can conclude that Thanksgiving break is a tease. The nice restful time spent with family to the jump to the end of semester assignments and finals has been brutal.

 If anyone has seen me attempt to do homework, my motivation is certainly sub-par. The other day I was writing a paper and had to listen to Cardi B’s “Money” to hopefully regain some focus to complete my work. If we had an expedited semester, the format would prevent Thanksgiving break from interrupting our motivation. In terms of other breaks, we already have fall break, which is a shorter and necessary break midway through the semester.

In conclusion, I support bringing back the expedited semester from last year. I would be happy to come to school two weeks early if that meant finishing two weeks early as well.

Homecoming and parents’ weekend should not be at the same time

Commentary

Enrique Carrasco, Editor

It happens too often: you’re hanging out in an alleyway with a drink in your hand when you look over and see two parents looking at you… judging you. It happened to several of my roommates, and several of my friends, and if I had drank this weekend, it definitely would have happened to me.  Homecoming is a time full of mistakes, bad decisions, and way too much alcohol for our upperclassmen. Parents’ weekend is all about family, being in communion with them, and enjoying their presence. As you can imagine, these two events do not go hand in hand. Yet for whatever reason, the school thinks it’s a really good idea to host both events at the same exact time. I am a strong advocate for the idea that parents’ weekend should not only be on a different weekend, but it should also be earlier in the semester.

I had been planning for this homecoming ever since I first heard of it, and my drunken plans should not be interrupted by some freshmen parents who have not seen their kid in a month. It happened to my friend, we’ll call him James, on homecoming. James had consumed copious amounts of alcohol before 2 p.m., and James was looking to continue the party before the basketball game started. Yet, while we were hanging out at our friend’s townhouse, their parents arrived. Not only did James have to stop drinking, but he had to sober up enough to talk to these very religious parents. As you can imagine, James did not leave a good impression on the parents, who were constantly giving him dirty looks just for being intoxicated. I believe it is not fair for James, who is a college student, to have to change his plans because some parents are here. Not only that, but James had plans to visit the countryside of Pennsylvania with this friend and their parents in the upcoming week, and the impression that drunk James made is less than ideal.

To fix this problem, I propose the school changes parents’ weekend to earlier in the semester (before Halloweekend would be ideal), to allow parents to visit their kids and see campus when 90 percent of the student body is not intoxicated in one way or another. The earlier the school pushes parents’ weekend, the better, as this change is sure to leave a better impression on the parents, who pay for their kids to be here. This, in turn, is likely to increase the number of students enrolling in the school, as parents’ impression of La Salle would be what La Salle normally is (a beautiful tranquil campus, with students frolicking around the quad) rather than intoxicated college students making a mess in an alleyway.  I know for a fact that I am not the only person on campus who believes that parents’ weekend should not be intertwined with homecoming, and various students (including James) agree with me on this one. 

Preview: The Masque of La Salle presents “Mavericks”

Arts & Entertainment

Alina Snopkowski, Editor

On Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m., in the Dan Rodden theater, the Masque of La Salle will be presenting six Mavericks — student written and directed one-act plays. These plays have been in the works for the past couple of months, and tickets for the show are free for everyone. Actors will be performing an eclectic, entertaining mix of plays, including:

“Couples’ Therapy” — A controlling couples therapist is put to the test as she endures her most volatile couple yet.

Director Nolen Kelly, co-editor of the Arts and Entertainment section, said “I liked watching ‘Mavericks’ so much I wrote my own.”

“Death of a Cereal Lover” — This story can’t really be summarized, besides that it’s a wild ride with a ton of whiplash.

“‘Mavericks’ is such a fun time to be a part of,” says director Kayla Stevens, “we’re all just a bunch of friends that are having a blast putting something together that we can all be proud of.”

“Doomsday Foreplay” — A doomsday cult tries to save the world from evil spirits by sacrificing a virgin. However, the person they picked, Chad, is adamant he is not one and he tries to prove otherwise before he is sacrificed.

“I don’t know how mine got approved,” director Izzy Hill says, “as it involves a virgin, a dominatrix and a cat girl body pillow.”

“P.O.O.P” — A meeting full of political stereotypes tries to decide on what new structure shall be placed in the vacant lot.

Director Eila Nash would rather act than direct, explaining that “I directed Mavericks two years ago and said never again, so I submitted a play I wrote at 13-years-old and decided to act again.”

“Prohibiting Prohibition” — In 1920’s America, a bunch of losers with zero game decided to ban alcohol. But in humanity’s darkest hour, earth’s mightiest warriors rise up to bring back the brew.

Director Jon Colella says that “Mavericks are a really productive way to goof off with your friends. It’s definitely goofing off but somehow something still gets created.”

“Satan went down to Georgia” — A twist on The Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” this play provides insight into the question that has been left unanswered for decades: Why the hell was the devil in Georgia? 

“I went through lengthy legal processes to be allowed to produce my show,” says director Audrey Walker, “please come see it.”

What’s better than funky, funny and free entertainment? Not much that I can think of, so be sure to stop by one of the three Mavericks performances this weekend or next Friday.

Searching for meaning after a year away from La Salle

Commentary

Alina Snopkowski, Editor

Header Image: lasalle.edu

My friends and I had a conversation the other day lamenting what we missed and what we missed out on over this past year since none of us were on campus. We talked about dinners at B&G, the recycling situation at the townhouses and the Late Night La Salle events we used to attend. Every week on Wednesdays, I remember the long nights (trapped) in the basement of the Union, editing the Collegian with a buffalo chicken Subway sub beside me while Bianca cloncked around the room in her high heeled boots throwing around ideas for the editorial. Every so often, a professor or student in one of my classes will begin a sentence with “Well, back when we were on campus,” or “So, if we were still on campus, we could” and I remember the “good old days” back when we could talk face-to-face and chat in the hallways before classes and office hours were “just show up” and not “wait for me to email you a Zoom link.”

And then I get all sad about it. I think it’s pretty easy to get into that sort of mindset. I think it’s pretty justified. I can’t lie and say there haven’t been times where I think about everything I did freshman year or the beginning of sophomore year and I’m hit with “wait a second, did I just lose an entire year of college?”

Did I? Did we?

I think the answer is no. But I also think I understand why I (and a whole lot of other people) think that’s not the case.

I don’t need to go on and on about how these aren’t ideal circumstances for anyone, how this has been hard on all of us, how this has certainly affected some people and some situations more than others. We all know it and have heard it before. This article isn’t supposed to be a rehashed sob story or some cheesy “It’s all alright!”

I guess I’ve just been feeling dejected. I think the end of the semester will do that to you in general, but I suppose I should’ve expected it more now, when we can’t pull all-nighters in the Connelly Library or beg the printers in Wister Hall to work because please, please, it’s 8:27 a.m. and my philosophy class is on the third floor and I still have five pages that haven’t made it off of the computer yet.

And so I’m looking for something. I’m not sure what, exactly. Probably a sign, like I usually am, because I’m big on signs. Some sign that this past year and change wasn’t a total wash (I know it wasn’t, somewhere in my real brain — I still learned and experienced a lot of things, both academically and not — but my emotional brain is still wishing I was playing bingo in the Union Ballroom or eating chicken nuggets with my roommates at Treetops or just existing around a community of other people who aren’t my family or my coworkers).

So here are my end of the semester thoughts: I’m searching for something. Maybe it’s guidance, maybe it’s a more specific sense of purpose, maybe it’s some sort of direction or explanation. I’m not sure what it is, exactly; I just know I’m seeking something that I feel like I’m missing.

And in a religion class last night, where the topic was spirituality, religion and those who drift away (and sometimes come back) to organized faiths, Brother Mike posed a question about the intrinsic value of that looking for something, both within and outside of organized religious traditions.

And he said something that I think applies not only to religious searching but to searching for meaning, anywhere and everywhere and especially now:

“The search is part of the experience.”

Colleges should implement open-note exams

Commentary

Rayna Patel, Staff

Professors should implement open-note exams whether the class is virtual or in-person. Even though many individuals see open-note exams as easier or a way not to study for the class, I see it as a learning opportunity. While taking in-person exams where notes were not allowed I found myself memorizing and studying material simply to regurgitate the information on an exam. However, while taking virtual exams where my notes were available for me to use, I found myself trying to learn to apply the material rather than memorize it. Plus, I ended up retaining more of the material from my virtual exams compared to material from tests where I had to memorize the content. 

I think allowing students to take tests with their notes is more beneficial for them in the real world. Allowing notes encourages students to learn to apply material, and being able to use information is a skill we need in the professional world. When students go on to get real jobs all the information is available to them, so they don’t have to memorize anything, however, they do need to figure out how to use that information to complete their tasks. Memorization, to a certain extent, is simply not needed in the real world. Application is far better than recalling facts. Additionally, open-note exams encourage students to take better notes since they have the opportunity to refer back to them. This situation encourages individuals to be more organized, develop neater handwriting and form a note taking system that works specifically for them. Personally, they made me learn better and refer to my notes far more often than I would have. Although I understand that open-note exams are not very common, I strongly believe that they should be the norm. 

patelr43@lasalle.edu