New Years Reminders

January 2 2010. MacInsiders.

With all the hubbub of the holidays and New Years Eve a lot of people forget that there are a ton of things you need to think about before you go back for Term II. Here is a list of reminders for you to help get the term off to a good start!

Residence Move In

• Students are allowed to move back into their residence as of 7AM on Sunday January 3rd

Term II Begins

• School starts Monday January 4th at 8:30AM. All buildings and services on campus resume normal working hours on this day. This also means that grades will begin to appear on your grade reports.

Emergency Notifications (i.e. Snow Days)

• If you want to get notified by the school when it is closed for things such as snow days, you need to opt-in to the service (but there is no cost). Check out this announcement which explains the process.

Textbooks

• If you are wondering which books you need for your courses, go to the Titles Course Listingwebsite. The list has been updated since it was initially posted in early December. Start scouring the MacInsiders Marketplace, Facebook and Titles for deals! You can also do some price comparisons at other major book retailers (Amazon and Chapters), and order your books online!

OSAP Pickup

• OSAP Pickup begins Monday January 4th. Check out this announcement for more info.

Drop and Add

• The last day to drop and add courses for Term II is Wednesday January 13th. The last day to drop Term II or III courses without academic penalty is Friday March 5th.

Bursary Deadlines

• If you are applying for a bursaries from McMaster the deadline is January 15th. There is more info inthis announcement.

Reading Week

• This year reading week is from Monday February 15th until Friday February 19th.

April Exams

• The tentative April exam timetable should be released in late February or early March

Summer School

• The list of summer school courses is set to be released in mid-March.

The Faculty and Program Series Part Nine: The Arts and Sciences Program

http://www.macinsiders.com/showthread.php?t=24027, September 20 2009

Introduction
The Arts and Sciences program at McMaster is relatively new, with the first cohort of students enrolling in 1981. As the first program of its kind in Canada, it was designed as a demanding program aimed at students who are capable of doing well in classes in the arts and sciences. This broad liberal arts education has the goals of providing substantial work in the disciplines of both arts and science; allowing students to further develop skills in writing, speaking, and critical reasoning; and fostering the art of scholarly inquiry into issues of public concern. Approximately sixty students are accepted into the program each year, making it the smallest faculty at McMaster.

Students take courses from within the Arts and Science program, as well as courses from the Humanities/Social Sciences and Science. Twenty percent of a student’s course load will be from Science, twenty percent will be from Humanities/Social Sciences, twenty-five to thirty percent will be interdisciplinary, and the remaining courses are electives. Students are usually registered in a combined Honours program in Arts and Sciences and another academic discipline within the Humanities, Sciences or Social Sciences. In their fourth year, students undertake a thesis project, which may be from any program at McMaster. A list of current thesis topics is available here.

Some Recent Awards:

• Patangi (Chari) Rangachari: winner of the 3M National Teaching Fellowships (2008)
• Miroslav Lovric:excellence in teaching from the Ontario government's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (2007)
• Ken Blonde: OUA Men's Epee Individual Championship title for fencing (2007)
• Bob Henderson: Association for Experiential Education's (AEE) Michael Stratton Practitioner of the Year Award (2006)

Important Undergraduate Contacts:
Program Administrator: 905-525-9140 ext. 23153 asadmin@mcmaster.ca
Program Secretary: 905-525- 9140 ext. 24655 artsci@mcmaster.ca

Tips for Success:

• Participate in the Big Sibling mentoring program
• Talk to your professors and ask them for help when needed
• Check ELM often
• Use the SASS forums
• Keep up with your readings and assignments
• Utilize the Arts Sci GradNet

Undergraduate Social Events/Student Societies:
Society of Arts and Sciences Students (SASS) http://www.sassweb.ca/index.php is involved in Welcome Week activities, socials during the year, a “Big Sibling” mentoring program, Survival Series, and the Arts Sci publication, the Agora.

Notable Alumni Careers and Awards
Brenda Matthews: Researcher at University of California at Berkeley’s Astronomy department
Farah Mawani: Epidemilogist:National Coordinator for the New Canadian Children and Youth Study
Kat Kinch: UBC Law’s Best All-Around Graduate, one of Maclean’s "Best and the Brightest – Twenty-five faces for the Future" in 2004
Ying Ying Li: Yale Law graduate
Sacha Ghai: completed an M.B.A. at Harvard University

Career Options
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the Arts Sci program, its students have the opportunity to pursue careers in a variety of fields. These include, but are not limited to:

• Graduate Studies
• Medicine
• Dentistry
• Law
• Journalism
• Naturopathy
• Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy
• Photography
• Social Work
• HR/PR
• Teaching
• International Development
• Library Science
• Resource Management
• Urban Planning
• Epidemiology
• Chiropractor
• Speech Language Pathologist

Not being accepted to grad school changed my perspective of failure

"Not being accepted to grad school changed my perspective of failure", May 6 2009

I have known since second year that I want to go to graduate school, get my master’s degree and earn my PhD. So, from the summer between second and third year to the October of my final year, I did lots of research.

I looked into different schools in Canada and abroad, as well as their respective reputations. I contacted professors and program administrators to ask about their areas of research and the master’s programs. I even took a “victory lap” year in order to complete a second bachelor of arts degree to improve my chances to getting into the program I wanted.

By November, I contacted three previous professors who agreed to be references for me. One is a professor and director of a prestigious institute, another is an associate professor and was my thesis supervisor the previous year. The last is only a full-time lecturer but has been published numerous times and has spoken at many conferences.

By December, I finished all of the applications and necessary supplementary applications to the six schools I applied to. Based on my grades (which met all of the minimum requirements), my multitude of involvement on campus and (what I assumed were) great letters of reference, I thought I stood a very good chance of being accepted.

In mid-February, I got my first letter. It read (more or less):

Dear Danielle,

We regret to inform you that since we had so many applicants for few many spots we could not accept you this year. Good luck in your future endeavours.

From, Graduate Coordinator

Or, more simply put: Dear Danielle, you’re not good enough for us. Love, School.

Within the next few days, I got two other similar letters, and in the next month I was declined from the remaining three schools.

To say the least, I was devastated. I worked my ass off for three years, but to no avail. This also meant that all subsequent plans would not be materializing for the upcoming autumn. To make it worse, another person I knew who applied to the same program, but with less education than me, was accepted. Simultaneously, many of my friends and acquaintances who applied for teacher’s college were accepted.

Thoughts of FAILURE kept running through my head.

Since I had nothing to lose, I decided I might as well email the directors of some of the programs to find out exactly why I wasn’t accepted. One program only accepted nine students and had 57 applicants. Two others explained my area of interest was too far outside the department. One suggested I should have applied for a sociology master’s, which I found incredibly surprising considering I have never taken any sociology courses.

After all of that – the research, the time and the money spent – I still did not get what I wanted. But that’s not to say that I never will. I suppose despite the losses, I still gained perspective on my future.

I think the most important thing I’ve come to accept is even though I’m not going to be attending grad school this September, it doesn’t mean I will never go. If I choose to do so, I can re-apply for next September. Or I can apply in a few years after doing a post-graduate program in college or working for a few years.

Having come to terms with the fact that I need to change my direction for the short-term, at this point all I need to do is figure out what path to start on.

Two Hundred Sessional McMaster Professors Face Layoff

"Two Hundred Sessional McMaster Professors Face Layoff", April 2009

McMaster University Administration, according to CUPE 3906 is encouraging all academic departments to eradicate Unit Two (i.e. sessional) faculty members from their budgets. This is not the first time that this issue has been brought forward, but this is the first time that such a huge layoff has been mentioned. Over the past five years, more and more sessional professors have been denied tenure, and most are now only hired for an academic year.

In addition to this, individual course with low enrolment will be elimated, “under-valued” programs may be shut down, and course sections are to be merged. The majority of McMaster faculty is considered to be sessional, which means that we, the students, will be facing huge problems in the 2009-2010 academic year.

If this layoff occurs, students will be forced into large classes with little interaction from teaching staff. If you are considering post-graduate studies, you need a minimum of two references to vouch for your scholarly abilities. If you are going to be in large classes, it is very difficult to have a relationship with a professor. There is also the looming possibility of some classes no longer being offered; or (at best) being offered every other year or every two years. This is problematic when you have specific course requirements and a very finite opportunity to take certain classes.

As Juliette Merritt, a professor in the English Department laments in an editorial piece: “I have been teaching at McMaster for over 10 years, and am facing for the first time the possibility that there may be no teaching for me in the 2009/2010 year. Many of you may be facing the same loss of employment as the Employer forges ahead with plans to expand class sizes for full-time faculty who, having no Collective Agreement that can deal with the problem of burgeoning class sizes, are helpless to halt the rush towards larger and larger classes and greater workloads, at the expense of quality in education and fairness in employment relations”. This proposed mass layoff is making the sessional professors at McMaster quite nervous, and for just cause. I don’t think any of us at this point in our lives can imagine having the same job for ten years and then worrying that you may not be employed in the next three months. Pretty scary stuff.

It seems that there is a lot of question as to who exactly these sessional professors are, and aren’t. Sessional profs are anyone who is not considered tenured, or tenure-stream. This translates to a large number of the faculty at McMaster, and this affects every single program currently offered. Ironically, many of these professors are renowned and praised by students for their teaching abilities and their classes; and some even more so than their tenured counterparts.


One of the professors who is affected by this proposal is Cultural Studies professor Marc Ouellette. We mentioned Dr. Ouellette recently at MacInsiders when he was involved in McMaster’s first Civic Engagement Week, by providing the Introduction at the film screening of Michael Moore’s Slacker Uprising. We also wrote about Dr. Ouellette as one of this year’s Humanities Teaching Awards recipients. It turns out that Dr. Ouellette is one of the profs who may be let go, and the course for which he was nominated for the award may also be cut.

So what can YOU as the student do to try and prevent the loss of excellent professors like Dr. Ouellette? There is an online petition available for you to sign, which will be sent to McMaster’s Provost, Ilene Busch-Vishniac. Check it out and sign it here. Please do something about this: it will not only affect students, but it will also have a huge affect on those who lose their jobs and the families they support.

I am the 298th signature, and I recognize the names of several of my peers who have already signed, in addition to several profs I have had in the past. Please add your name and any comments you can think of, and pass along the petition using email and other forms of social networking media.

Post-Graduate Series Part Six: Graduate School

"Post-Graduate Series Part Six: Graduate School", February 2009

Although there have already been six articles about post-graduate studies, I purposefully left out the one on graduate school. In the fall, since I decided that I was going to apply to a graduate program, I might as well write this article after I had finished the application process. So here I am, playing the waiting game...

A Masters degree (as suggested by the name) provides mastery over a specific area(s) of study. Within the specific area or subject the student will have advanced knowledge about the discipline, as well as be able to complete complex analyses and work independently. If you are contemplating a Masters, start doing your research on prospective schools and requirements early. I started looking into requirements and schools after I finished my second year. This may have been slightly premature, but I was very well prepared and organized in comparison to those who started to consider graduate school in October or November of their fourth year. You will want to know what month your application, funding requests and research scholarship forms are due. Since you will be completing your final year when you are in the process of applying, you are going to want to know exactly what is due and when do you don’t miss any deadlines or add unnecessary stressors.

It is a good idea to start contacting professors at prospective schools far in advance of when you will be applying. The sooner you start discussing your research interests with a professor the sooner you will realize if you have similar research interests, and thus how likely your chances of being accepted into the program. Professors are usually quite interested to talk about their areas of research with students (or at least that was my experience). It is also good to establish a dialogue with profs, since the board that looks at applications will be composed of the very people you are speaking to.

Jennifer M. Phelps, assistant dean of graduate studies at the University of British Columbia says that prospective graduate student should be self-motivated, focused, and have a desire to discover or learn more about a specific subject area. Students should also have a specific area of interest in mind if they are thinking about applying. Liking biology is fine for an undergraduate, but as graduate student you would want to know if the genetic frequency of albinism in domestic rabbits is equivalent to that of humans on the island of Borneo, for example. If your research area is not defined it is unlikely you will be accepted; as it shows you are not serious enough about your studies. Granted, what you submit on your application and what you chose to work on the following September doesn’t have to be identical, but there should be a good deal of thought behind what you are thinking of pursuing.

Like all post-graduate programs, grades are important. Just because you meet the minimum does not necessarily mean you will be accepted. The minimum GPA requirement is as low as a B or as high as an A-, but this is all dependant on the school, the program, its size and its popularity. The academic expectations in fourth year are the most difficult. If you are not meeting this minimum as a third year it is not likely that you will have the required grades in your fourth year.

Applications vary from school to school and program to program. As a bare minimum, you will fill out an online application that gives information about your previous academic history, provide a statement of your proposed area of study, submit your transcript(s), and get letters from two or three references. You may need to submit a resume, CV, samples of written work, allowable inclusions, or complete an audition among other things. Of course, application deadlines are not consistent across the board either. For the most part, applications are due between early January and early February, but it is possible that they may be due earlier than that; especially if you want to be hired as a TA or research assistant.

Similarly, prices will vary too. I paid between $75 and $100 for each application. It is quite possible that for certain schools they could be more or less than these amounts; but I found that only two programs I applied to were less than $100. If you don’t think you have what it takes to get in, you may want to play it safe and apply at a later time, as applications end up costing you quite a bit of money!

As mentioned previously, you will need to have a letter of reference (or two or three) written by a professor. The best people to ask are those who know you as a student, as well as whose classes you did well in. Although you may have gotten an A in your Death and Dying class, if the prof has no idea who you are they can’t write you a very accurate letter. That’s not to say they won’t write you a letter, but they won’t be able to provide a lot of information about you, which is problematic. I was told that there are benefits to having tenured professors write your letters, as they are seen as authorities over sessional professors. You will also want to ask possible referees well in advance (approximately two months) of the application deadline if they will be a reference, in order to give them enough time to complete their letter for you. This means they will also finish your letters before the students who asked them last minute.

Tuition for graduate programs does cost more than undergraduate programs, but thankfully not as much as some other post-graduate programs like medicine or law. If you are granted a TA-ship, most of your tuition fees will often be taken care of, which is certainly beneficial. However, you will still need to find other work during the summer months (the pay isn’t that great), especially if you are keen on having the smallest amount of debt possible.

Letters confirming your acceptance or rejection are supposed to arrive between mid-February and mid-March. This allows you enough time to defer your graduation for another semester, or year to take additional classes if things don’t end up working out that well for you.

If you don’t get in, you can always re-apply for the following year once you have all of your final grades. Additionally, it may also be more financially feasible for you to apply after working off some of your debt. This also gives you more time to find out what you’re really interested in, and be positive that you want to spend another eight to sixteen months at school...

McMaster Professor Attends Obama Inauguration

"McMaster Professor Attends Obama Inauguration", February 2009

On Inauguration Day, some classes were canceled (mostly History and Political Science from what I've heard) in order to watch what has been called a historic event. Students in Indigenous Studies 3CC3 got to experience something even better: their professor actually attended the inauguration. Dawn Martin-Hill, Director of the Indigenous Studies program and Associate Professor of Anthropology at McMaster attended the event because of a letter her daughter wrote.

Makasa Lookinghorse, who turns twelve in February, wrote a letter to Obama urging him to help Natives, as reported in the Brantford Expositer. Makasa's father, Chief Arvol Lookinghorse supported Obama and was photographed with him for a campaign brochure. Chief Lookinghorse is a Lakota chief living in South Dakota who is known as a spiritual leader, with the title of 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe. He is known for his activism and Makasa is following in his footsteps: stepping in for her father to complete a pipe ceremony at the United Nations.

The family attended festivities the night before the inauguration, which included a concert and a celebratory powwow, as Susan Gamble reports. The American Indian [sic] Inauguration Ball was one of the balls visited by President Obama.

On Monday, Elijah Harper (key individual involved in the Meech Lake Accord) gave a public lecture at McMaster, as well as showed his film Elijah. For coming to McMaster, Dr. Martin-Hill presented a picture of herself with Obama in thanks.

Post-Graduate Series Part Five: Law School

"Post-Graduate Series Part Five: Law School", December 2008

A popular venture for a lot of students in Political Science and History is to go to Law School. [Insert some anti-lawyer joke here] Like other post-graduate applications, the competition is intense, and many who apply do not get accepted. However, if you are interested in pursuing a law degree you should know what the requirements are for your application.

Unlike other universities, McMaster doesn’t offer courses in Criminology, or offer a pre-law program. Mac offers some classes related to law and it is a good idea that you take as many as possible. Students in law school come from a variety of academic backgrounds; and Political Science, History, Business, Philosophy as well as languages are examples of programs you may want to major in. These classes provide a broad general knowledge for what you may need to be a lawyer.

However, if you are thinking about going into a particular kind of law, you will need intensive background in your field. For example, if you want to go into Environmental Law, you should have knowledge of the Environment. If you want to go into Corporate Law, having business knowledge would be an asset. Some law specializations are: Administrative Law, Civil Litigation, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law, Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Family Law, Immigration Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Labour and Employment Law, Real Estate Law, Securities Law and Tax Law.

One mandatory thing for all applications is the LSAT, or Law School Admission Test. The test is a way to measure logical and verbal reasoning skills. The minimum score you can get accepted into Law School with the LSAT is 155; however, it is safer to achieve a mark of 160. The test is marked out of 180. If you are thinking about writing the LSAT, there are many preparation books and test centres you can contact.

Programs in the United States and Canada have the same general application process. You need your LSAT score, and you fill in an online application at the school. Unlike medical school, there is no interview in your application; it is based solely on your application package. If you are accepted your will be notified via a letter in the mail.

One of the aspects to your application is your letters of reference. The number of referees varies by school, but in general you need two or three. Some schools want you to have only academic references, while others want you to have a mix of academic and personal reference. Again, this varies depending on the requirements of the specific school.

Due to the number of applicants that apply for Law School (or any other school for that matter) you may be wondering how you can make yourself stand out from other applicants. Although your LSAT score and your grades have the most impact, you may want to get yourself involved in other activities. You can do volunteer work through campus organizations or ones not affiliated with campus, you can be a member of campus clubs, you can help with committees like Charity Ball, be a Welcome Week Rep, participate on SRA etc. This kind of experience shows that you’re a well-rounded individual, which is something that law schools look for. Many of the applications have space for extra-curricular activities, so it’s best to actually have something to put in there!

What I find is the most discouraging thing about applying for post-secondary education is that you have to pay. Depending on what country and which school you are applying to makes a difference in the application fee you will need to pay. To apply to law school you’re looking at somewhere between $25 and $100, which by many standards is quite inexpensive, although if you are applying to several schools the total starts to really add up.

Another discouraging part of the application for law school is the cost of tuition. If you compare the cost of law school to that of an undergraduate degree you are going to pay somewhere between double and four times the amount. Tuition fees range from approximately $15,000 to $30,000. However, there are many scholarship awards for you, but you must apply for them as well.

If you are seriously considering law school as an option start planning early, as it will benefit you in the end!



Special thanks goes to Lori Lue for her help with this article.

Exam Survival Tips: 2008

"Exam Survival Tips: 2008", November 2008


With the last day of classes a week away and exams starting in nine days, time is of the essence if you are writing your first set of university exams this year.

In 2007 we wrote two articles on how to survive exams, and think they are both worth another read! They are called How to Survive Exams and Getting Ready for Finals. Check them out if you'd like some tips on exams! It is also worthwhile to note that some past exams are available in pdf format. To check them out go here.

Here are some general tips:

• If there is anything you don't understand, go talk to your prof and/or TA as soon as possible. Chances are you're not the only one having difficulties, but that could also mean waiting in line and wasting valuable study time closer to your exam date
• Find a study method and location that works for YOU. Just because it works for someone else doesn't mean you'll benefit.
• Don't leave studying till the last minute
• If you have several exams in short succession, start by studying for the last exam. Otherwise you'll not want to study for it when the rest are over

If you have any other tips please add them!

Faculty Wars: Lame!

"Faculty Wars: Lame!", August 19 2008

As the school year is quickly approaching, I’d like to bring forth an issue that is important to many students at McMaster: the biases there are between different programs, and how some are apparently

more superior than others. Although this superiority complex seems to be prevalent in more faculties than others, it still happens...and it doesn’t need to.

I am absolutely tired of hearing that my degree (or degrees...I’m technically on my second, having graduated from a combined Soc Sci/Humanities degree in June) is an easy one to get. If it was as easy as everyone thinks it is, wouldn’t I be getting 12’s on everything? I don’t, and I’m not the only one. I have yet to hear of anyone I know who has gotten a 12 in an English or Cultural Studies course. Easy my big, fat butt!!

I’ve also heard how our degree is so much easier because we have less hours of class. The typical Humanities or Social Science course load has fifteen hours of class a week. Yes, we have a lot less class than you...but we have to spend a lot more of our out-of-class time preparing for our classes. The rest of the time we spend writing essays; and let me tell you, a (good) ten page paper takes more than ten hours of writing, which does not include research and editing.

Furthermore, we get less help from our profs and the department. We do not often get notes on WebCT, nor do we have test banks. If we don’t go to class there is no way for us to make up what we missed, as reading the textbook just doesn’t cut it when you have to analyze and interpret on an exam. Maybe I would get a 12 if I had all of those things to supplement everything else I do. Until then, I’ll have to work my butt (yes, my big, fat butt) off and see how close I can get.

That’s my own personal gripe with the attitudes that some people have at McMaster (at the keynote speech last week given by a Commerce Alumnus he seemed to have similar opinions about Humanities and Soc Science that I raised above). That and the spatula taunts...however, I know it’s not just students in the Social Sciences and Humanities that face the same prejudices against their program.

Last year, at the MacPass tent, one of the Health Sci reps (the Pathogens...also in blue suits like the Blue Suits [Soc Sci Reps]) said something really stupid to a first year student. They said that the student had no chance of getting into medical school with a science degree. A Sci Co quickly retorted: "Don't you realize we have other programs like Geo, Chemistry, Physics, etc. that don't necessarily lean towards med school? Good luck getting a job when you fail your MCAT."

Admittedly, the response was a little bit inappropriate, but the Path did not have the right to put a student down like that. Talk about lame and immature! And I’d also like to mention that you don’t have to be in the Sciences or Health Sciences to go to medical school; Humanities and Social Science do too. (For more info, read this and this article about medical school).

Similarly, Math students and Engineering students often get into superiority arguments. Soc Sci students often think they’re better than Humanities students. Physical Science majors say that Biology is an inferior science. The arguments go on and on, but to no avail. They really don’t mean anything in the end. Those who stick by them are nothing but close-minded, immature people.

Consider the following: people are usually in their degree program because that is what they are good at. For example, I am not the best at math (partially because there is no practical application for calculus to me), so I stay away from it. Some people are not good at writing essays, so they stay away from courses that are essay-intensive. We all learn differently, and we all have our own skills and challenges. A lot of faculty bashing occurs during Welcome Week, and it tends to give people the wrong impression about other programs.

Remember to think for yourself, and to stay away from the close-minded, stereotypical thoughts! You never know when you will need help from people outside your faculty! I had my Eng friends help me with Calculus, and I helped them by editing their lab reports.

Impending CUPE 3906 Strike

"Impending CUPE 3906 Strike", June 2008

As of Sunday, June 15, at 12:01am, the CUPE 3906 union will be in a legal strike position. Who are the members of this union? Sessional lecturers and music professors. Sessional lecturers make up a good portion of all the teachers at Mac. Although most of the McMaster student population is not taking classes, those who are have become concerned.

Why are sessional lectures at McMaster in a possible strike position? They feel as though they are being treated without respect and fairness. Quite simply, unlike tenured professors, they lack job security. Since they are only hired for a short-term allotment of time, once their contract is over the university never has to hire them back.

Some of the other things sessional lecturers lack include a drug plan, paid maternity leave, a pension plan, a dental plan, the right of first refusal, right to equal participation in faculty/department councils, and guaranteed TA support based on class size. These are all very important aspects of employment, and yet they are being neglected by the University.

Wages are another issue in this matter. Per academic unit, as of May 1 2008, each sessional lecturer receives $2,025 to teach. The majority of classes are either three or six units, so a professor will make $6,075 to teach a class for one term, or $12,150 to teach a class for the entire year. This is regardless of the actual amount of time prepping for classes, spent teaching students, holding office hours, and marking or reviewing student work. Considering the amount of time all of this takes, this really is not a lot of money. According to Louise Ripley’s April 4 2008 article, McMaster sessional professors made the lowest per unit wage out of seven Ontario universities.

When I was in second year, I had one particular professor for four classes over the course of the year. Despite the fact that my classes were still relatively large (smallest around 150, largest around 300), he got to know me and we would chat a little bit. At the end of the year, his contract was over, and he talked to me about the reason why he chose to leave McMaster. To paraphrase, he said he was not going to “stay somewhere where my pay is half the amount it used to be, with no benefits or job security, and still do the same amount of work”. There may or may not have been a couple of explicit words thrown in there too. It is apparent that this possible strike has been years in the making.

What does this mean for McMaster? What about people planning on taking summer school courses for term two? Or even those writing exams for term one as of June 16th? And what about students currently taking a six unit summer school course? I really cannot say. As of posting time, there has been no discussion about the impending strike available on the McMaster Daily News website.

Earlier this year, sessional professors at Wildfrid Laurier went on strike were from March 19th until April 4th. Lisa MacColl wrote an excellent article about it, entitled Some Teachers are More Equal than Others. The article took the perspective of two sessional lecturers as well as two students. It is an interesting read, and it provides a lot of information about the political climate at Laurier, which most certainly mirrors our own.

MacInsiders will continue to provide information about the issue as it comes available to us. For more detailed information about the CUPE 3906 union, their strike platform and more information on sessional lecturers at McMaster, please visit their website.

Course Selection: Explanations, Tips, Advice

"Course Selection: Explanations, Tips, Advice", June 2008

We are now only a few days away from being able to see what courses are available for the 2008-2009 academic year. For some people, this day has all the excitement that Christmas Day does in childhood. For others, it has the same amount of excitement as the first day of Hepatitis B shots in seventh grade, when all the eighth graders make out how horrible it’s going to be and then punch you in the arm repeatedly afterwards. For some of us, school has been over for about a month and a half. For others, it isn’t over until mid-June or the first week of August (when summer school is finished). For others still, high school hasn’t been completed yet. Regardless, the fact that the Master Course Timetable is coming out means that the school year is one step closer (Eeep!).

I have developed a system for picking courses that I feel is very effective. It can take a little bit more effort than some others, but it has prevented me from ending up with conflicts later on. This is especially important if two mandatory classes end up conflicting. Chad wrote a very similar article last year. I suggest you read them both. To see to Chad’s earlier article, Class Selection Help and Tips, go here.

Before I go into my method, I think I should explain a few things that relevant to the courses themselves, and will hopefully also help you with the courses you are choosing.

If you haven’t already, set up your MAC ID. You need this to access SOLAR and choose your courses. The process does take a few days, so the sooner you do this (if you haven’t already) the better. If you wait too long, you will miss the first day (or two, or three) you are allowed to choose courses, and may end up with conflicts, or having to take classes at a time you do not want to (8:30AM classes every day!).

First, I want to explain what the terms mean. Term 1 is fairly straightforward. It is the first term of the year as you would expect, which is from September until December. Likewise Term 2 is also easy to figure out, as it is the remainder of the year, which is January until April. Where it gets confusing is with Term 3. Judging from that pattern, it would be suspected that Term 3 is for the summer months. It is actually for a class that starts in Term 1 and ends in 2. I guess the school’s reasoning is 1+2=3. I know I found this really confusing too.

Next is the unit value of each course. Most McMaster courses are worth either three or six units. A three unit course corresponds to being one term, while a six unit course is for both terms. Thus, if you were to take Political Science 1A06, you it would be a full year course, taken in Term 3 when you look it up on the Master Course Timetable.

As I mentioned, most courses at Mac are worth three or six units. The rest can be anywhere from zero to nine units. I still haven’t figured out how McMaster assigns the value to most of their courses, other than the higher the credit value the longer you would spend doing course work. The non-unit courses have no academic basis, but are useful for your future (such as Social Science 2EL0, the career planning course), or are required in order to do lab work (such as Science 1AO0). Most students take 30 units in their first year, with 15 units in each term. You are not usually allowed to take 12 units in one term and 18 in another. The exception to the rule is Engineering, who have a total of 37 units, and an unbalanced load for the two terms.

Course requirements are courses that need to be taken in order to take subsequent courses. For example, you need to have completed Grade 12U Chemistry in order to register in Chemistry 1A03. After completing Chem 1A03 you will take Chemistry 1AA3 so you can take Chemistry 2A03 to pursue your degree in Chemistry. All degrees are set up in the same fashion, so make sure you are fulfilling the requirements you need to go onto later courses in your discipline and forward in your degree. They are also called prerequisites. For example, if you wanted to take Introduction to Biophotonics: Eng Phys 4I03, the prerequisite for the course is either Eng Phys 3E03 or Physics 3N03, and both of those courses have their own prerequisites. So when your choosing your courses, you will need to think ahead somewhat, although looking to fourth year is absurd.

Many first year classes are in different sections. That means there are multiple numbers of the same class being taught in a given term. Sometimes it is all by the same prof, and sometimes it is with different profs. C01 means section one, C02 means section two, etc. Tutorials and labs are based on the same principle, except they will correspond to a specific section. For example, Geography 1G03 C01 will have tutorial sections 1-8, and lab sections 1-6, while C02 will have tutorials 9-16, and labs 7-11. This information is very important when trying to avoid conflicts.

Lastly, I want to address the issue of easy electives. No matter the year, this issue comes up. Easy is always in the eye of the beholder. If you are good at writing essays, you would want to take an English, History or Cultural Studies course. But if you are not good at essay writing but proficient in math, you may want to take Math 1A03 or 1AA3. Take courses that are suited to your strengths and you find intriguing, and you are much more likely to do well.

And now, my method for picking courses. You are going to need a few pieces of paper (I prefer lined) and writing utensils and/or highlighters. I end up having a mix of both. Alternatively, you can also do this all on a computer and just copy and paste your data.

Pick up the course calendar (or peruse online, if that’s what you’re doing), and find out what courses are mandatory for you this year. It may be as few as six units, or it may be as high as thirty-one units. Write them down using the full course code (so English 1A03 and English 1AA3 and not English and English). Now comes the fun part. Look through the Undergraduate Calendar and find some elective courses that sound interesting to you. Find at least one more than the number of elective credits you have.

Now you are going to record when each of your mandatory courses is available. McMaster uses the first letter of each day of the week instead of writing the day out in full. Thursday is either Th or R and the exception. Make sure you write down the laboratory and tutorial sections that correspond to each lecture section too. You are going to want to do the same thing for your elective courses.

From here, you are to make a chart (Chad made one in his article, you can download it here and fill it in!). You want the days of the week (Monday to Friday, unless you WANT to sign up for a Saturday section) on the x-axis (horizontal), and all the hours of class time on the y-axis (vertical). McMaster’s classes start at 8:30AM and go until 10:00PM, are fifty minutes long, and use the twenty-four hour time system. So you would have 8:30-9:20, then 9:30-10:20 all the way until 17:30-18:20, followed by 19:00-22:00 (the length of night classes). From here you are going to input all of your courses into the chart, remembering to use the full course code and course section. You are also going to want to add the tutorial and lab sessions.

Once you have everything plotted, you will likely have one or more courses in some of the same time slots. You will need to pick your courses so that no two classes (or labs or tutorials) are occurring at the same time. You need to take care of your mandatory courses first, as well, they are mandatory. After completing this, you can see what times you have available to fit in your electives. Remember, you are only allowed to be on SOLAR for forty-five minutes at a time, so if you know what all of the courses and the sections you want are beforehand it will save yourself a lot of frustrations later.

Vocabulary and Rice

"Vocabulary and Rice", December 2007

It is an understatement to say that hunger is a global issue for this day in age. As children we were told this, and it infiltrates school curricula at even the elementary level. We are bombarded with people asking for donations through television, radio, internet and in print. As university students, although (many) of us feel compelled to help those who are less fortunate, we simply are unable to do so because of the demands of tuition. So what can we do?

Increase your vocabulary. What? Yes, you read that correctly. Increase your vocabulary.

Freerice, which has a partnership with the World Food Program, have developed a vocabulary game that donates rice grains for each correct answer. There are fifty levels in all; and for every three words you get right consecutively, you increase your level. There are words appropriate for those learning English, as well as the esteemed in academia. At present, I’m at level thirty-eight. Yay me.

As a university student, the game has obvious benefits. You will be able to use more complex language in essays and assignments, and can articulate your thoughts in a more direct way. This is especially advantageous if you are thinking of pursuing graduate studies. Of course if you are overlooking the altruistic benefits, this is the only reason to do this.

The rice that is donated really makes a difference in the life of who receives it. Just think about it – this could literally be the distinction between life and death for some people. And it doesn’t even cost you anything. Perfect for the university budget.

Maclean's Rankings

"Maclean's Rankings", December 2007

I recently reported on the Academic Ranking of Universities, which is a universal ranking of universities. Most of us are more familiar with the system developed by Maclean’s magazine, and I am sure many based their opinions on prospective schools on that magazine (and also had no idea what most of the information in it meant). So here it is boys and girls, how McMaster fared in the seventeenth annual Maclean’s University Rankings. If you want to know how Maclean’s determined their scores, you can check out their explanation, here. I have now read this explanation at least three times, and I for some reason still cannot grasp it. Perhaps it’s because I just don’t care, or perhaps it’s a little too complex for my little brain. Regardless of the answer to that little rhetorical question, you can check out more information about this year’s university ranking scores from this website.

I would like to admit that a more comprehensive conclusion can be gathered from picking up the magazine off of a newsstand. But because I lack the funds to do so, you’re getting whatever I can scrounge up for free on the internet. Also, I hope to save you time. I know no one cares about how Brock scored, and only wants to know about Mac, so why sift through thirty or more pages of un-essential information?

The reputational survey was completed by various university officials, principals and guidance counsellors, as well as company presidents and CEOs from all over the country. For the Best Overall category, McMaster placed fifth, behind U of T, Alberta, McGill, and Waterloo which was first. As for Highest Quality, Mac placed sixth. McMaster was the third Most Innovative, and lastly scored fifth for Leaders of Tomorrow.

Unfortunately, McMaster did not participate in any of the student surveys that were available, so we do not know what our peers think of Mac, other than what Facebook tells us.

Maclean’s offers an online ranking tool, so that you can examine and compare all or one of the schools in up to seven ways. Mac performed pretty well, but I’m going to make you check that out for yourself (and do math! Mwahaha!). Here is the link: http://www.macleans.ca/education/uni...05_170138_2824

MSU Teaching Awards

"MSU Teaching Awards", November 2007.

Some profs are much better than others. Some profs are much, much better than others. So why not nominate them for a teaching award?

Every term, the MSU allows students to nominate their profs for a teaching award. The definition of an excellent prof is not clearly defined: it could be someone who took the extra time to communicate with their students, challenged them academically, motivated them to improve, or is just simply awesome. The Teaching Awards Committee, as stated by its MSU webpage, “is designed to recognize and encourage excellence in teaching at McMaster University by awarding MSU Teaching Awards, on behalf of all MSU members”.

Why nominate a professor? The most obvious answer: You will help them win the MSU Teaching Award. Additionally, it will inspire other professors to improve, as well as recognize the achievements of great ones. Lastly, it allows you to provide input about your education at McMaster, which is incredibly important to your overall experience while a student at Mac.

There are three kinds of available awards; Faculty Awards, Achievement Awards, and Lifetime Achievement Awards. Faculty Awards are given to one professor from each of the faculties. The instructor must not have won an award the year previous, and it recognizes their all-around teaching performance. Reasons why these awards are given include approachability, ability to communicate, and their enthusiasm. Achievement Awards are given to instructors who have only been at Mac for less than two years. This award encourages these instructors to continue to contribute in a positive way to the McMaster community. Lifetime Achievement Awards are given to instructors who have been at McMaster for at least ten years, and are nearing retirement. They must have been nominated for a MSU Teaching Award in the past, and recognizes their significant contributions to McMaster students.

Once the top two nominees in each faculty are determined, evaluation forms are given out to their classes, and the results tabulated. The winner is based on the highest average score from the evaluations. Merit and Lifetime Achievement Awards are selected based on detailed applications from instructors, and are evaluated based on contributions to academics, McMaster student life, and the community outside McMaster.

Do you want to get involved? Volunteer to be on the Teaching Awards Committee! More information is available on the MSU’s ‘Volunteering’ webpage.

Nominations are available starting November 21st. Nomination forms can be filled out online, or at Compass (come visit!).

For more information (and to nominate your prof), consult with the MSU’s Teaching Awards website: http://www.msu.mcmaster.ca/tac/

How to Survive Exams

"How to Survive Exams", November 2007.

Why that time is nearly upon us again; the time of insane stress, no sleep and…stress. Of course, I am talking about exams. And I realize some of the things in my previous sentence probably weren’t all that encouraging; but unfortunately it is true, to at least some extent. The largest exam I have ever written was one worth 68% of my final grade; and this term I will be writing my smallest, one worth only 15%. The weighting of exams varies from year, to course, to individual subject; however the better you do the more it will influence a better grade at the end.

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FORUM: DISCUSS YOUR EXAM SCHEDULE HERE!

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By now, you will have gotten your exam schedule; so you know the days you are writing. Good, now you can start to plan. Just like with the midterms you just took, planning is key to success.

Try and write out some sort of schedule, which outlines when you will be studying for what subject, for how long, and with who if applicable. Then stick with it. If some classes are more difficult than others, make sure you allot yourself more time for them.

We are not yet at the point in the term when profs will tell you what is on your exam. They will give you at outline similar to what they did during midterms. It will have the format of the exam (multiple choice, short answer, a combination, etc), the length of the exam (anywhere between one and three hours), and what you need to know. Some profs simply say “everything” (which is damn annoying), but many give you key subject areas to look at. Also, if it was a topic covered on the midterm, it is possibly it could pop up again on the final. Many will give sample questions from previous exams, which I have found to be quite helpful in the past. You will also be told what you need to write the exam. Make sure you bring it (story about this at the end).

All of this will happen on the LAST DAY OF CLASS. So, I really suggest you go. If you have tutorials for your classes, many will have exam reviews which will help as well. If there is something you do not understand from the class, seek help NOW. Waiting until you are studying for your exams will make it more difficult to learn, and cause you more stress.

Generally, you’re going to want to study for your exams chronologically, unless your last exam happens to be preceding a bunch of other exams in a relatively short time span (a few days, and with little to no break in-between). If you study for it first, you will retain some of the knowledge when you go back to it at the end.

As for how to study there are many different methods. Individual study versus group study; quiet study versus social study (Club Mills!); simply reading the notes and the text versus making summaries, or organizing your notes into definitions, themes, subjects etc, or making flash cards. Find a method that works for you and stick with it. Some people find that studying for an hour and then taking a ten minute break is effective; others study for a few hours at a time and then take a break for an hour. Again, it all is dependant on your own preferences.
Besides all of these, there are other important things you must take into account. Probably the most important is getting enough sleep. If you are sleep deprived, you will not have the ability to retain information. So either get a solid six to nine hours a night (it all depends on your body and your needs), or get a few hours of sleep then study for a few hours, then nap for a few hours, then repeat. Again, it is whatever works for you. I know I said earlier that exams are the time for little-to-no sleep. It can be true, but hopefully you won’t get yourself caught in that trap.

Take time to de-stress. If all you do is study you are going to burn out, and go a little bit nutty. Go for a walk, watch a movie, read a book (for fun), creep on Facebook, go to the gym, go out for dinner, call a friend, go out for coffee, do a crossword, write in a journal. Whatever it happens to be, make sure you do it often. Just be wary that this time is not taking over all of your study time.
Finally, make sure you eat well! Eating a lot of crap food will not only cause you to gain weight (and who wants to gain weight before Christmas? The goal is to gain weight DURING the holiday break!), but your body may get mad at you. For instance, lots of carbohydrates will give you a burst of energy quickly, but when the energy wears off you will crash. Lots of greasy foods can give you an upset stomach…or worse. Even convenience food can be healthy; put veggies on your pizza, bring fruit for a snack, etc. Alternatively, you can cook in advance and put stuff in the freezer if you have the space.

Best of luck to all who are writing their first exam, and good luck to the rest of us who have written far too many by now (this will be my eighth semester of exams…). Just think, we actually get the same amount of time off this year as all the other universities and colleges do! Even if you finish on the last day you get over two weeks off! Woohoo!

And now for my story. I’m sitting in IWC 1 (aka the big gym) getting to write a particularly difficult three hour exam. I’m sitting in my row with my pencil and eraser out for my multiple choice, and some pens ready for my short answer and essay questions. In the row beside me is a first year geo exam. The girl beside me is freaking out. She asks to borrow my calculator, a pencil, and an eraser because she’s not sure if she’s going to need them. I ask her if her prof told her if she needed any of them, to which she said no, but wants to have them just incase she needs them. Don’t be this girl. Do not piss off upper year students.

The Residence Survival Guide Part Five: Studying While in Res

"The Residence Survival Guide Part Five: Studying While in Res", September 2007.

I think studying in res was one of the largest challenges I had to face while living in residence. I went from a home where I was the only child with my own large room, in a village of 2700-ish; to sharing a room with someone, a floor with 75 others, a residence with 333, and a residence population of approximately 5000. I went from there never being anything to do, to having something going on all the time. Needless to say, I got distracted A LOT, and so my grades suffered. Lucky for you (as usual), I have learned ways to help me study, and different places to do so, which may help you this year.

The places:

• the study rooms in your residence (normally somewhere in the basement)
• the laundry rooms in your residence (also in the basement)
• in your room. MSN off. Computer off. Facebook off.
• second and third floor of the Student Centre
• the libraries (personally though, I saw this as too social and couldn’t concentrate there either)
• the Hamilton Public Library in Westdale
• Tim Horton’s or Second Cup in Westdale
• Tim Horton’s on Main Street
• any of the buildings in the Arts Quad after class hours

The methods:

• re-write your notes as summaries
• define all terms
• use web diagrams to link points together
• study in groups, which is my personal favorite; as you learn from explaining as well as listening to things being explained
• don’t try to remember everything; stick to main points and a few supporting examples for each point
• read over the textbook sections at least once
• make flashcards or a game out of the information
• create songs and rhymes that help your remember orders and names
• see if you can squeeze hints out of your prof/TA
• make sure you understand the testing format
• make sure you know what chapters/sections are being asked
• if you don’t understand something, get help as soon as possible
• take breaks at regular intervals
• get enough sleep
• eat nutritious food and stay hydrated

There you have it. Two rather short lists which will hopefully help you in your studies this year. Remember though; there is no ONE right way to study, or method to study. Do whatever works best for you. Good luck. For some of you, your first test is much sooner than you think.