Mind-numbling boring and too hot to handle
Apart from my crappy Wednesday that I had last week, there are a couple more items that I have to add to that list:
2. having to endure another pointless “Arts Foundational Skills” lecture on a Friday, which is my day off. Basically I rocked up to this over-promote and over-hyped lecture by the tutor co-ordinators/lecturers, for only one hour to hear something that I could have read on the internet or in a pamplet. The lecturers/tutor co-ordinators described this lecture and the one on the previous Friday as being extremely vital to our academic studies and that if we didn’t attend, we would be missing out on something sooooo important. Well, turns out, they were wrong! After the first one, I had a suspicion that the one I attended (on the 40 degree day, on public transport, i.e. tram, train and bus) last week would follow the same trend. The only reason I went was because of the emphasis that the lecturers placed on this program that was a complete was of my time and energy. On a completely different note, in the first AFS lecture, there was this guy who was promoting the Arts community blog on the LMS (which I ended up joining, but have not yet made a post), who sounded uncannily like Hamish Blake from “Hamish and Andy” fame. That was basically the only interesting aspect of that whole first lecture.
3. the inconsistent Melbourne weather + having to travel on public transport in the aforementioned weather. What is up with it (the weather, that is)? I (like many other non-college students) who have to endure the frustation of public transport on a day-to-day basis (or in my case, Tuesdays and Thurdays) will understand when I say: public transprt sucks, especially riding on a non air conditioned tram or having to wait forty minutes for a bus because I missed the first one. ( I was trying to avoid the heat, so I took the next bus that arrived at the station (that goes to the plaza that’s near my house) instead of waiting for my usual bus that takes me almost directly to my home. But my plan went pear shaped as the old cliche goes, and I ended up having to wait 40 minutes anyway.) My plan for future train and bus travel is to get on a train that arrives a maximum of 5-10 minutes before the scheluded bus, which equals less waiting time :P.
I forgot to mention this in my post (since I don’t know where/how to edit the above): can somebody please tell me how I go about making a comment on the “Back for Seconds” blog? Do I need another username and password in order to make a contribution????
Suzanne: you mentioned in one of your blogs this year that if people have a question about the SALP program (amongst other things) to ask. Well I have a question: do you know why the aforementioned program does not accept 1st year undergad students? If not, can you please tell me who I should speak to, to get more information (apart from yourself of course!)?
Yes, the foundational skills thingies suck. Almost as much as the Interdisciplinary Foundation subjects, which are just dire. What is the point of overfull courses (enough students to populate an island nation) taught by a small platoon of staff with very very wide subject fields mashed together and vague and useless assignments? The arts degree is already liberal enough without forcing students to explode their range of fields into a kaleidoscope of misery and making them study forty-subjects-in-one.
Now you have a real first year’s opinion world! enjoy!
Oh yeah, and the heat was terrible. I wholly dislike summer.
Hi Wageesha,
SALP does accept first years in music and environments (also vet science, but I don’t think that exists under the Melbourne Model anymore), because if they didn’t they wouldn’t get any of those students at all. I think it’s really a case of limiting supply in the other faculties (especially ones like commerce where everyone wants the line on their transcript), and might have something to do with their selection criteria, but I really don’t know.
If you want info, it used to be in the careers office in Baldwin Spencer but now it’s in someplace called LIVE, the location of which I’m still not sure about (I think it’s still Baldwin Spencer, but if it’s not there try the building near the Asia Centre where the scholarships office is). If you find LIVE, ask for either Rita Manessis or Theresa Li, who are the coordinators – they’re pretty friendly people. There’s also a volunteer fair later in the year where there’ll be a table for SALP staffed by past students.
And yeah, you will need a new username to post on the seconds website. It took me a while to figure that one out last year.
I have been to a SALP info session and they said that they believe first year students have enough on their plates (ie transition) and since its a 14 month program, they want students who are fully committed. Don’t worry, you will get your chance next year.