Music and Dance Situation

A quick look at the options available to you on Clark’s campus.

iTunes
Most people get music from iTunes – either legally or illegally. I don’t know the breakdown, but I know everyone has the software installed on their computers.
Legally: People download music from the iTunes store for 99 cents a song. Good deal.
Illegally: People download music from other people on the network through iTunes and another program such as myTunes or ourTunes for zero cents a song. Good deal.

g2p.org
Good for quick song searches- an mp3 search through google

BitTorrent
Torrent files are a form of peer to peer sharing that is good for large volumes, such as albums or movies or software. It is possible to download music in this manner.

Concerts
Last year they were sparse, but I think this year will be a big comeback and you can help! Join the Public Entertainment Committee (PEC) to put bands on stage or the Student Activities Board (SAB) to help plan some of the largest musical performances. Spree Day committee is another option.

Informal Jam Sessions
Always going on somewhere on campus. Usually just a few kids inside a room jammin’. Guitar is most popular, and then drums I believe. Sometimes you can find people out in the hallway or in a common room.

Open Mic
A truly awesome experience, Open Mic, one night a week talented (usually) performers get up on stage and share whatever they’ve got for you — poetry, song, comedy, dance? It’s all there, and it’s always a good time.

Dance Parties & DJs
Every so often a student group gets a few bucks together to throw a dance party some with food and drink, some without, always with good music usually mixed by fellow Clarkies. Usually taking place below the UC in the Grind. Black Student Union (BSU) puts the most on, and they usually have the biggest attendance. There are at least two major dances that are organized and somewhat formal (put on by SPOC or RHA) and a strictly formal dance in the spring (Spring Formal put on by SAB).

Radio
Not too many stations come in while on campus. Something to look forward to is the rebirth of the ClarkU radio station. Look for this beginning some time in the fall. Check out Pandora for a good web radio option.

Clubbing
There are a good number of dance clubs in the Worcester area, with plenty of variety. Clark can provide transportation to some of them. Just call escort!

DDR (dance dance revolution)
There are no machines on campus, but SPOC (and the Info Desk??) has the game and dance pads. Also the Clark Activities Board (CAB) had a special DDR dance party one night — but it didn’t get a huge turnout. I love DDR though, so give me a call if you want to play.

facebook.com Warning

Hey every college student with a facebook.com account. You need to be careful about what you post on there. Many people you might not expect could be scanning your profile and making judgments about you. For example: those pictures of you getting drunk and taking off your pants in public could be the one reason why you get rejected from that big internship you wanted. Also, if you are violating school rules, like underage drinking, the evidence you provide on facebook could give away your misconduct and get you in big trouble. So watch yourself. Also, facebook can sell any image you put online – and it does sell the ones where any logo is present — like Budweiser or Heineken. Crazy!

Update: I sent an e-mail to Jason Zelesky about setting up some kind of formal education on facebook during orientation. He passed the message along so maybe we’ll see something during Week One 2006!

Clark Tips – directed toward the incoming ‘First-years’

Have any Clark tips?

I do. Here:

• Get to know your PA — they can help you a lot and they want to too
• Take advantage of the fact that most events on campus are free — try new things
• Don’t give up on the job thing — if you know you want to work somewhere, just call / e-mail and get to know people in the department.
• The deans are awesome sources of information and really friendly, basically it’s their job to help you
• Huge intro lecture classes suck: sit in the front row, take notes, ask questions after class, volunteer to share your notes for students who need them (this will keep you on your game knowing that other people will have to be able to follow what you write), do the homework, make the most of the TAs (they’re students too – that makes them much easier to relate to than a professor), and don’t sit with your friends – you might start making fun of the professor!
• Calculus is as hard as you imagine it would be
• It is sooooo easy to meet people during orientation week — keeping an open mind in this one week can lead to drastic differences in your 4+ year experience. And it stays easy to meet people until the end of the first month, after that it takes a bit more work. In the first few weeks people have enough time to meet new people and aren’t assigned as much work (unless they are taking advanced courses)
• Take easy course first semester, or as easy as you are comfortable with — you want to use this time to meet people
• Enjoy the end of summer beautiful weather — from october to april you won’t see weather so nice as the first month of school.
• Read the book for Orientation, it’s good — or at least it’s good for you. Also, c’mon you’re in college now – you gotta do the reading
• btw generally the reading isn’t that bad, you just happen to not have the option of skipping it
• take the writing sample (seriously), you don’t want to have to take a lower level course because you didn’t feel like trying to write a two page essay all summer
• explore the Clark website, it’s not huge – and you won’t have to look for stuff later on. Bookmark stuff you think will be useful (web for students, cMail, intranet, student digest to name a few)
• iTunes lets you listen to other people’s music (legally), myTunes or ourTunes let you dowload their music (illegally)
• Read the studentDigest and campusDigest if you are cool like that
• Clark has lingo, pick it up quickly and impress your friends. Freshman = ‘first year’, Dorm = ‘residence hall’, and there are probably others but those are the main two that catch people
• Go to the activities fair, get yourself into some clubs on campus — it’ll make you feel more connected to the Clark community. If you don’t see something you like — start a new club and if you need help, talk to the Director of Student Leadership and Programming (DSLaP)
• Keep your grades up – it allows you more flexibility in the future (like taking extra classes, and participating in clubs)
• Take some ‘perspective’ courses – there are a bunch and you don’t want to miss any before graduation
• If the roommate situation isn’t working out, you can change – it’s probably for the best
• Finish AlcholEdu as soon as you can — you’ll be happier having it off your mind
• Clark TREK is an amazing program – do it if you’ve got the money. Come up with the money if you don’t.
• Dining dollars disappear quickly – try to eat most of your meals in the caf and use meal Swaps in the Bistro.
• You can’t swipe or swap after 8pm so make sure to have some emergency dining dollars or clark dollars for when you need a late snack
• There are more than ten restaurants inside of ten minutes by foot, most have delivery services
• Walk a lot — you eat a lot, you don’t exercise, you gain weight – make sure to walk so as to maintain your health
• The writing center is good for you – plan in advance, sometimes getting an appoinment that fits your schedule can be difficult
• If you are interested in business or just like meddling in school affairs the Business Insight Committee is a great way to get involved. Paul Coute, Clark’s very own business manager, asked me to find first year and sophomore students to help him better understand what Clark students want and expect from their higher learning institution (This includes the bookstore, laundry services, and most importantly dining services).
• The Scarlet, student newspaper, is always looking for people to write for it — be that person. It feels really good to see your name in print.
• You can arrange your room however you like. You can probably bunk your beds. You can raise your bed really high in the air. You can sleep on the mattress on the floor (I’ve seen it done). You can talk to your roommate first.
• Talk to your roommate before you get to school – see if (s)he is bringing anything so that you don’t have to — or vice versa.
• If you close — don’t bring everything you want in your room on move-in day, split it up — or you might end up bringing more than you can accommodate.
• Look out for something called the Dump and Run sale…(it might not be on this year – but) it is a really cool yard-sale made up of stuff donated by Clarkies at the end of the year.
• Games on the green while being rediculous — are still a great way to enjoy the good weather
• Student Council meetings are open to everyone, so if you have comments, questions, or complaints you can voice them to people who want to help.
• Don’t get sick: wash your hands frequently, avoid sharing drinks
• Many people enjoy Sudoku, also many people can’t say Sudoku correctly (try to refrain from correcting them – it doesn’t help)
• There are three first-year residence halls. Many people leave their doors open when they are in their rooms and you can get to know people just by walking around and introducing yourself (try not to be sktechy).
• Clark is sketchy – but good endearing sketchy.
• If you have questions, ask someone. Really, just do it. Ask me if you want, I’m good for a made up answer.
• Mailboxes – learn how to open your mailbox. You don’t want to have to ask the mailroom people to get your mail for you, comma. If you didn’t get that comma reference read the Pulitzer you just got in the mail.
• Don’t watch TV in your room. If you’re going to watch TV – don’t do it alone and don’t do it in your room – this will save you tons of time.
• Anything else about Clark — easy enough to figure out.

Peace.

Last Week of School

What happens this week?

Finals!

So?

1. Take it easy, don't stress, you (should) have been going to class all semester, you have kept up with the work, and you are ready to finish strong. Don't panic, you don't have to learn a semester's worth of stuff in one night, that is just how it feels. Be confident in your accomplishments, you've worked hard and you are just giving your teacher some more evidence.
2. There are some good events on campus the week leading up to finals, check them out and relax!
3. Listen to Simon Webbe – No Worries. Sounds like: (Paul Wall – Girl) + (Bobby McFerrin – Don't Worry Be Happy)

What happens next week?

• You go home /or/ everyone else leaves.
• You see friends, family, neighbors, co-workers.
• You have an amazing summer.

And then?

It all starts back up again, but everything is slightly different. You have learned from your experiences over the past year. Beginning a new year means recreating yourself and getting new first impressions of everyone else. You'll probably lose some acquaintances, but your friendships should be stronger than ever. Consider what has happened to your relationships from high school since you have started college? Are they stronger, weaker, non-existant, non-stop? Take time to learn what people did over the summer, learn from their experiences and share your own. It's time for school again, and it will be a good number of months before you'll be reading another article about finals.