Exams FTW.

Desk #354 was extra 'wobbly' this year!

It’s the end of the year undergrads, and do you know what that means? EXAM time! Luckily I’ve already written 1 of 3, so now I have a little breathing room to blog about it.

To be frank, I don’t have a problem with exams. I don’t see what the big deal is, and why everyone is stressing out. If you've attended class a couple times this year, and jotted down a few notes you should be ready for this 40% final... right?

Oh wait... you’re telling me that you didn’t go to class this year? That you didn’t get any participation marks? That you don’t have any notes? I’m sure you have some logical reasons for potentially failing this course.

Let me guess, you didn’t go to class on Thursday’s because you went to The Moose on Wednesdays?

You don’t have participation marks because you played facebook games like “family feud” and “wheel of fortune” in class?

And you don’t have any notes because you’ve never logged on to blackboard, webadvisor, your NUemail, or you professors’ website? ...in your entire life?

This guy clearly never went to class!

Well if you’re in that boat (the same boat as most students) it’s safe to say that we might be seeing you in University Success next year, for a third time. But I do highly recommend writing the final exam, I mean... it’s worth a shot right?

So here’s some advice: if you’re majoring in humanities (English, history, etc) just write 10-15 pages in your exam, on whatever subject you want... and I’m sure you’ll get some marks for creativity. As for everyone else... when in doubt choose C (unless of course it’s a true/false question choose B).

North Bay Segway

Alright, this blog post is going to be kept short and sweet. Has anyone seen the man who drives a Segway to class? Well I have and let me tell you, he doesn’t drive it up the Monastery Trail; he rides it right up one of the most ferocious hills in North Bay, the College Drive Hill.

For those of you who don’t exactly know what a Segway is... you can check it out on Wikipedia. It’s basically a one-person vehicle with two wheels (no, it’s not a bike). The wheels are placed near the lateral side of each foot. A handle bar is erected from the middle of the standing platform up to the hands. An onboard computer stabilizes the ride, making sure that the driver doesn’t fall forwards or backwards. Some models of the Segway are also available with 3 wheels. Segways usually max out at around 20mp/h, which is a great speed for cruising down a well paved sidewalk.


Some of the world’s most famous people own and drive Segways on a regular basis. Take for instance Shaq, he has a Segway. It’s debatable that he is one of the largest people (7 foot 1, 330lbs) in the world to ever ride one successfully. And if the “most followed athlete on Twitter" is cruising around on one, you know it’s got to be good for ya!

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Segways... in fact I fully support Segways. It’s one of the coolest ways to get around (often seen in large urban centres) and are especially suitable in North Bay. If the Segway man is reading this blog post, please know that I do fully support your decision to ride a Segway to class in March. No matter how many cars pass you, or how snowy College Drive gets... Ride on good sir, ride on!

P.S. I’ve posted some outrageous pictures and videos of Segways.

Polo?

Great parenting.

No comment.

Nipissing University Inaugural Basketball Teams!

Most of you have probably noticed the RJSAC expansion that is going on right now. You know, the giant iron beams that are scraping the clouds... the big construction zone that forces some of us have to walk that rather sketchy pathway to the upper parking lot? Anyways yeah, so we’re getting a bigger gym, nice. But with a bigger gym comes a bigger athletic program right? SO the real question is... What is the next varsity team for Nipissing University going to be? Well I’ve outlined a few of the possibilities and then ranked them accordingly:


1. A women's hockey team. This choice makes the most sense, because we already have a men's team, and the women have proven themselves with their extramural team. We don't have Title IX in Canada, but gender equality is still important across the board.
*Fun fact: the only event in the Olmpics that is strictly for Men is boxing (Women's Boxing will be at London 2012), and the only event that is strictly for women is synchronized swimming.

2. One of the most obvious choices would be to have a varsity basketball team. With this giant gymnasium just around the corner, we’ll have enough seats to fit just about every student in there to watch the Nipissing Lakers (not to be confused with the LA Lakers). But with a basketball team the question rises: Do we have a Men’s team? Women’s team? Both? OUA or OCAA? I think if we take the basketball route, we’ll have to have a men’s and women’s team... just to be fair --And I mean we already have Extramural teams that seem to be doing pretty good so why not build off of that? Well the reality is that adding TWO Varsity teams is a little TOO expensive.

3. Maybe it’s time that our OCAA Volleyball teams move UP to compete at the OUA level? And I know me mentioning this idea is going to start a huge fight... oh well. APPARENTLY our gym right now is not big enough to allow our volleyball teams to compete at the OUA level, but who knows. I just think that maybe it’s time for all of our teams to be on the same playing field (the OUA playing field). Plus the Lakers have drowned the Panthers hopes and dreams one too many times.

4. A track and field team! Yes, I know that the new gym addition isn’t going to have an indoor track. And right now I could go off on a huge rant about how an indoor track is the single most important thing North Bay needs. For the time being our Lakers Varsity Cross Country team will continue to train all year around (outdoors and in the Northgate parking garage) and compete at indoor track meets unofficially. 

5. Well if basketball is too expensive, everyone thinks that volleyball should stay in the OCAA, and a Track team isn’t realistic then maybe it’s time for a swim team?... HAHAHA too soon? Oh yes, that’s right... the rumours aren’t true and there will not be a pool in the new athletic centre. But, we do have seasonal access to the pond behind campus. The reality is that no matter which team the university decides to go with it's going to be expensive, and probably won't happen for a few years.

So thanks for reading my latest blog post. Please feel free to leave a comment. What do you think the next varsity team should be (CHECK OUT THE POLL-->)? Maybe the University should ask the students what they want! 

There's sNOw way to get to campus

Every Nipissing student should recognize this picture. It’s the upper gate of the Monastery Trail that we all know and love. It looks a little different in this picture though (thank you Google Maps) because it is one of the few months in North Bay when there is no snow. Believe it or not, this trail plays a huge role in our lives, and holds a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately we only have access to this trail for about 3 of the 8 months we’re here (Sept-April).

As we drift in to the depths of a North Bay winter so does the Monastery Trail. Oh, and by “Trail” I mean the section of walkway from one orange gate to the other. Understandably the Monastery Road does receive adequate snow removal so students can get from Main campus to the Monastery. But that’s not the issue at hand. The issue is that: the TRAIL section does not receive any snow removal during the winter months, none.

As you can see above, I've outlined the residences (blue=Nipissing, red=Canadore), the gates (orange=upper and lower gates), and the section of the trail that doesn’t receive snow removal (white=waist high snow). The unplowed region is roughly 500-600m which is just enough to freeze your toes and ruin your day on campus. To see a picture of my toes from the walk today please click here.

You're probably wondering right now “why does it matter if we can’t walk to school, there are busses every 15 minutes?” The reality is that the busses only come every 3 days, and that I should be able to walk to campus. I’m not really sure why Nipissing was built on top of a hill, or why residences were built on the bottom, but I do know that somewhere in between we need snow removal.

Whether you’re walking to your 8:30AM class, or walking home from the bar at 2:30AM, we should all have access to a safe, walkable (not a real word) trail. With the snowplows nowhere in sight, I managed to purchase my own snow-shoes which allow me to walk to campus with ease. So right now, the problem is solved for me, please stay tuned for my Monastery Trail “Bear Sighting” blog post coming soon!

***Please take a moment to check out the rest of my fully updated blog pages!

No Title Needed.

Maybe if Dwight was the one making the marketing decisions for this university...

Top 5 Places to Study

1.) Twiggs- Let’s face it, this new social gathering hotspot is a great place to study. The front windows are usually lined with people diligently working on laptops. This Café is Wi-Fi friendly, and serves a decent cup of coffee. So if you’re looking for somewhere new to learn, go and explore Starbucks Twiggs Coffee Roasters for your next studying excursion.

2.) EC Library- This is a common spot to study for any Nipissing/ Canadore student. It has the option of two Wi-Fi connections (Nipissing is faster than Canadore’s connection). With all the books, resources and friendly staff that will help you cite APA or MLA you’ll surely be on your way writing that paper. The one downside is many students choose to hang out, procrastinate, and chat (I’m one of them). It’s a great place to study (until the new Learning Library is built) but, you might spend most of your time catching up with friends or making continuous cafeteria runs.

3.) Living room watching TV- It might not sound like the greatest place to study, and that’s because it isn’t. Many of us choose to study or read in front of a TV which usually ends up getting us sidetracked. At least if you don’t study you’ll know who won the Monday Night Football game. AND if your next Ancient Greece paper on HOMER mentions The Simpsons, take your studying elsewhere.

4.) In bed- This is probably one of the most comfy places to sit and read.  Make sure you have bright lights on and a warm cup of coffee so you don’t fall asleep. There’s nothing worse than waking up at 9:03AM for an 8:30AM exam. Here's a hint: Use two alarm clocks! 

5.) Alley behind Lucky 13- This location was bumped from 4th to 5th in just one year. Although it might seem like a friendly environment to share notes, and read a few chapters… it’s not. Please don’t study in the alley behind Lucky 13, its dangerous and you won’t retain anything.

It's not as friendly at night.

Nipissing University Blog Contest!

I have never really been much of a blogger, but I thought now would be a good time to document my exploits. So I made a Blogger account and I’m going to use it to share stories with you! But currently the cyberspace we used to know is changing. What do all of these new social-networking mediums do and how do I choose one? I personally grew up on Myspace, it was a really cool way to communicate with friends and was/is great for listening to music. But now there’s thousands of ways to share information and communicate: Friendster, Bebo, Blogster, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, and Plenty of fish (lolz), just to name a few. And we’ve all heard the horror stories of people not getting hired for jobs because of the “OMG DRUNK IN FLORIDA” album they uploaded to Facebook. So how do we make the right decisions online?

                          
           Well, if you’re having trouble deciding what website to use for your social endeavours... you’ll have to do a little research! There are all kinds of sites out there that offer a variety of services that can suit your needs. Facebook being a clear choice for most people (500 million users and counting), and Twitter is a close second (because those who tweet, are sweet!). Maybe do a little research within your group of friends because there’s no point in ‘tumbling’ your latest blog if you don’t know anyone with a Tumblr to share with!

      So here’s a quick guide to making the right decisions:

1.       Only pick a couple of social networking mediums, it’s easier for you to manage and for your friends to follow

2.       Privacy! No matter what site you go with, read the privacy settings/agreement to make sure you’re not screwing yourself over.

3.       Be relevant. Remember the time you tweeted “eating an apple”? Or you checked in at McDonalds? Let’s try and stick to posting stuff that’s worth reading! ... I really hope this was worth reading ha ha ha!

4.       If you want to see where society is heading with social networking check out this video “Flutter: The new Twitter”