Dec. 8, 2006
FEATURES
www.gmlfordian.com
Page 5
Greensboro. N.C.
Changes planned
for FYE lab
By Jake Blumgart | staff writer
FYE (First-Year Experience) is an
integral part of freshman year at
Guilford.
This year the program changed
drastically—and the new incarna
tion was met by massive dissent
from freshman. Li response to stu
dent opposition to the new FYE lab
structure, a committee of faculty,
staff, and students was created that
has drafted some new ideas for next
year's class.
The FYE program has been in
place for decades and it is designed
to help ease the freshmen classes'
transition into their new college
environment.
Until this year the program was
divided between Chaos Continues
(a one-credit pass or fail course that
required students to attend certain
events) and the FYE class (an aca
demic course which for one day a
week would take time out from the
course content to focus on things
like note-taking skills or the Quaker
testimonies.)
"The old system tended to cause
confusion because there were four
days a week of course material
and then one day of time manage
ment," said Coordinator of First Year
Experience Clay Harshaw. "The FYE
labs were designed to meet our obli
gations to help the students with
adjustment which were determined
years ago."
The labs were designed by facul
ty as graded, one-day-a-week classes
that would cover all the orienta
tion and skill-building lessons that
the academic courses originally had
to cover. The labs were completely
independent of the academic FYE
courses and they even had their own
textbook, "Keys to Success."
"Like most of the FYE teachers,
I was relieved not to have to spend
time in my course on things like the
Quaker testimonies and time man
agement," said Visiting Assistant
Professor of English and long-time
FYE professor Carol Hoppe. "The
labs gave me more time to spend on
my actual course cnntent."
However, when the labs started
up in the beginning of the year,
student reactions were less positive.
Discontent sprang up almost imme
diately and by tiie third week of
school, the labs were already under
heavy fire, the textbook becoming a
focal point for student venom.
"Student outcry was pretty
immediate. As soon as people saw
the book the discontent grew from
there," said freshman Phil Kennedy,
a student in Hoppe's class and one of
the drafters of a letter to the adminis
tration about the labs. "People felt as
though the things we learned about
in lab didn't apply to them. When
we signed up for classes over the
summer, no one knew what it was
about. I assumed it would be an
extension of my actual FYE class."
Members of the first-year class
expressed their displeasure in a num
ber of ways. A petition was passed
aroimd gaining many signatures;
students argued with their lab pro
fessors in class, and made a plan to
bum the "Keys to Success" textbooks
in a bonfire in the woods. The school
recognized the student concerns and
held a forum on Sept. 20 to give the
students an opportunity to provide
constructive criticism.
"The biggest student concerns
were that one size doesn't fit all and
that their experience wasn't reflected
in the overall content of the course,"
said Associate Academic Dean Steve
Shapiro, who participated in the
forum. "They were also concerned
about the cost of the book; they
didn't think it was meeting their
needs and so the price was hard to
swallow. They gave me a petition,
but I said a petition wasn't ^e right
way to go about this. The course is
going to be here this semester. But it
can be changed for next year's FYE
class.
After the first forum, a sub-com
mittee formed and met regularly.
Another forum was held on ttie first
of November to discuss three pro
posals. The idea that generated the
most interest was a plan to match up
each FYE lab with an FYE academic
class until fall break. The labs would
thus be smaller and the course con
tent would theoretically synch up
with what is being taught in the FYE
class.
After fall break, students would
choose which labs they wanted to
participate in, although they would
be required to go to a certain num
ber of them. &me labs would be
mandatory, but overall the students
could choose for themselves. In
plac^ of the text, the proposal sug
gests the possibility of a Guilford-
spedfic 'course pack.'
"Potentially a student could be
finished with their lab requirements
before the end of the term," said
Harshaw. "One of the major advan
tages is that students still get the
essential information the first half of
the semester and in the second half
they get more choice. I think a lot of
the students were unhappy because
so little choice was involved."
These proposals are only in the
planning stages. Nothing is certain
at this point and the details still need
to be worked out.
The sub-committee is interested
in student input and is holding
another forum after winter break to
discuss the proposed changes and
hear what current students have to
say, particularly freshmen who just
fiiiished their labs.
"The problems we've had this
year are what comes naturally to
something new," said Shapiro.
"We're always hying to do better and
we need student help with that."
Gifts on a college budget 101
When you 're down to end-of-semester savings
By Jamie Metrick \ staff writer
'Inexpensive Holiday Shopping
for College Students'
Summary: Some helpful gift
shopping tips for college students
who don't have extra spending
money. Also, some charitable alter
native ways to buy gifts that keep
giving.
Winter holidays are just around
the comer. No matter what holi
day you celebrate, chances are it
involves gift-giving. But what are
college students who are strapped
for cash to do? Here are some
helpful gift-giving ideas courtesy
of WomenOf.com:
- Limit your gift-giving pool.
Swap presents only with family
and close friends.
- For neighbors and co-workers,
try making baked goods or holi
day greeting cards.
- Make gift baskets, they're
always popular and inexpensive.
- Try shopping on-line; it saves
time looking for particular gifts
and you can compare prices and
shipping rates.
- Send gifts the most inexpen
sive way you can find. Compare
mailing rates and options to avoid
expensive overnight deliv
eries.
- Throw a holi
day pot-luck for
friends and rela
tives.
-When in
doubt, try gift
cards to movies-
theaters, depart
ment stores, or res
taurants. 1-
For the socially con
scious student who wants to give
back to the community while giv
ing presents at the same time, here
are a few great charitable options:
- Pick an ornament off the annu
al Giving Tree and buy a gift for
someone underprivileged. Trees
can be found in Hege Library and
Hendricks and Founders halls.
- Shop for gifts online at the-
hungerstore.com, where you can
buy cool fair-trade gifts and all
the proceeds go to homeless-based
and other charities.
- Create a delicious organic
fruit basket with produce
from Deep Roots Market,
Greensboro's cooperative
natural food grocery, or
any cooperative food near
you.
- Give a free "certificate"
to baby-sit for a friend,
shovel a snowy driveway,
or give a relaxing massage,
instead of a material gift.
- Wrap your gift in packaging
that will not go to waste. Try reus
able wrapping like gift bags, deco
rative boxes, or newspaper (espe
cially the color comics) instead of
commercial wrapping paper.
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