Calculators at the Empo

We have once arrived to that time of year again that everyone is preparing for finals. Almost all freshmen take a math class that has to take an exam at the math emporium. Since I am a Math major I do not have to take the basic math classes but still have math classes that test through the emporium. Last semester I was in linear algebra and which was technically through the emporium but we could take our quizzes anywhere and only had to take our exams at the actual math emporium. This semester I am in vector geometry and we have one exam left that is due this week and then our final exam. The exams are not bad but they are a pain because we cannot use hand held calculators we have to use the calculators on the computers at the math emporium. The calculators on the emporium computers are a pain to use because you can’t see what you are putting into the calculator compared to a graphing calculator where you can clearly see everything. You can have the paper tape on which helps but when you are trying to impute your numbers on the screen it is hard to tell if you have put the parentheses in the right spot or not along with other carious things that make it hard to use. My suggestion is that the emporium allows students to use hand held calculators that you receive when the test proctor gives you when they check your student id. The calculators could be cleared and just have the basic functions like we used in high school during out standardized tests. If we had handheld calculators I think it would make a big difference in some people’s scores. I know that if I could have used one on my last exam my grade could have been higher. Money might be a factor but I really think it would benefit the students to have a calculator in their hands and not on the computer especially since most students use a graphing calculator during their quizzes. The situation could always be worse but the emporium could find a better calculator policy if they truly wanted to help the students out.

April 16

My Blog this week may seem a little spastic but that is because I started writing it the day before April 16th after seeing people setting up the drillfield for the ceremonies this past weekend. Tomorrow is April 16, 2010 three years after the shootings occurred at Virginia Tech. Most of the students currently at Virginia Tech were not here when the tragedies occurred but it doesn’t mean that we should just forget about what happened that day. We need to remember the faculty and staff that were on campus that day and the ones who can still remember it clearly. I agree with the University to cancel classes on April 16 and I think that the University should continue to cancel classes and remember who died that day and what they families that lossed loved ones are going through. April 16th should not be taken lightly and we need to remember the fallen on this day every year. I know partying is a big deal but I was glad to see that people I know were respectful enough not go out on Friday night. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal but how could you go to a candle light vigil, see people crying and listening to people speak about the students and faculty that died that day and then go out and get drunk? I think it is great that people have enough respect to not go out on April 16th. After seeing all the people at the vigil it was hard for us to have a lot of emotions left that night to do much. There were a lot of tears and there was also a lot of Hokie Pride present and it is something that I know I will never forget. As Hokies we need to stand together and support one another through everything. It’s not just April 16th but Tech students support each other no matter what happens, if it is on campus or somewhere else in the world. It is great to see that we the Tech community cares so much about each other.

Relay Weekend!

This weekend was a lot of fun. It started on Friday with me going home to pick up a tent for Relay that night. The trip to Salem was a lot of fun because one of my friends gave me a ride and we had a blast jamming out to different songs! Then came the real fun: RELAY FOR LIFE!! Relay was great but we started off struggling! Even though it was my tent and I had been camping before I had never helped set it up. My parents gave us directions but they weren’t very good. We got the poles in the right place but couldn’t figure out how to get them to stay but luckily I called my brother and we finally figured it out. Throughout the night we were walking around the track and one time when we came around the track the Hokie Bird was standing there so I went to give him a hug and when I did he basically tackled me. That was very interesting but it was also very funny. If you have never been to Relay I would highly encourage you to participate next year! All around the track different groups were selling things and a group of corps of cadets were letting people pie them in the face. My friend and I decided to pie one of them the next time around. We did and it was great because then after that we got one of our friends to agree to let us pie him in the face! It was a great time and a lot of fun but the real fun didn’t come until around 2 am when we did Kick Boxing and Zumba! We definitely were sore Saturday morning after doing that. We decided to come back in to our rooms around 4:30 am because we were all really tired and cold. Taking the tent down was really easy compared to setting it up. I finally got to bed around 11 and a bunch of us went to Jimmy Johns for lunch then went to the baseball game. We had a lot of fun and got sunburned. That night we went to the movies and saw Date Night. The movie was good and really funny and awkward in some parts. Sunday we didn’t do much but it was a great weekend!

Kroger Trip Part 2

Finally the bus came and we were finally leaving for Kroger. Most of you know that the bus stops in front of the chemistry/ physics building and it did on Saturday and a bunch of guys got on the bus that were covered in paint. Once we got to Kroger we only needed to get a few things and while we were getting what we need this one guy that worked always seemed to be where we were at. It was very interesting but it really wasn’t that bad. Once we had what we needed we had to wait for Tom’s Creek A for about 30 minutes. If we were smart we would have looked at the bus schedule before we left our rooms. The bus finally came after what seemed like forever, I’m just thankful it wasn’t freezing cold but thankfully it was a nice day outside. The bus stops at various places and at one of the bus stops more people got on the bus painted in different colors. Once the guys got on the bus they asked me to take a picture of them and we asked them what it was for and I think they said it was for the Festival of Colors. I am not exactly sure but I found an article online about it. It was very interesting to see all of these people painted. I couldn’t imagine trying to get all the paint off of me if I was them, especially in a dorm room when the showers are extremely small. No matter where you go on campus I bet you can always find something that is entertaining to yourself and your friends. There is always something going on here at Virginia Tech and it is great. Last weekend was the festival of colors and this upcoming weekend is Relay for Life and then the 3.2 run and Big Event are the weekend after that. I would encourage you if you aren’t already a part of a Relay for Life team to join one and to get involved on campus. It is a lot of fun and you can make a lot of new friends!