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Avi's three condemnations:
Spring Break, Quads, Psych 101
Top on my list of this week's condemnations is El Niņo. In normal years, going
home to California for Spring Break probably would mean my getting exposed to
warm weather. Unfortunately for me and the legions of others who trekked to
California, this didn't prove to be the case because of that Spanish weather
system whose name I would rather not say. While Williamstown was enjoying
record highs in the 80s during Spreak Break, I sat languishing at home watching
the rain pour down. In fact, the weather was so bad that I almost looked
forward to coming back to Willamstown weather.
Now on to the rest of this week's
condemnations.
Quads
Looking over my housing booklet this week, I couldn't help but notice the
massive number of quads at Williams. We've got the Frosh Quad, the Science
Quad, the Berkshire (or Odd) Quad, the Dodd Quad, the Greylock Quad, and
countless others. Is it just me or are there way too many quads at Williams?
Granted, no college is complete without some form of quad. However, Williams
has gone completely overboard with this quad business. It seems that if a group
of buildings are put together, it suddenly becomes a quad. Certainly, Dodd has
no quadlike features, yet it is a quad for the simple fact that there are a
bunch of houses piled next to it.
The Housing Department should show more creativity (like Dining Services) when
it comes to naming these areas. Quad loses its magical feel once it is used
incessantly, as is the case at this school. Being part of the Quad should be
something special, and clearly this is not the case at Williams where
everything is a quad. No doubt about, Williams is definitely quadded out.
To continue my diatribe against Housing Department names, I next focus on the
classic distinction between houses and halls. Certainly, the Housing Department
does a good job in making the important distinction in some respects. The
obvious houses are named houses, most notably Perry, Wood, Rice, Jenness,
Goodrich, and Dodd. A few places that are obviously halls are named such, most
notably Prospect, Currier, West College, and, of course, what is by far
Williams's best dorm, Fayerweather (especially Fay 1).
However, calling each of the four parts of
Mission Park a HOUSE is unconscionable. In Mission, we've got Armstrong,
Dennett, Pratt, and Mills as HOUSES? I wonder if the person who named such
subdivisions as houses has ever seen the outside of Mission. Mission looks far
more like an airplane hangar than it does a house. All is not lost, however,
for Mission. I am certainly glad that Mission is a park, instead of a quad.
Personally, I really think Mission resembles a penetentiary more than a park,
but at least it's not a quad. That's the important thing.
Psychology 101 class
As one of the 1500 Williams students in Psychology 101, I am going to tread
this subject lightly since I don't want my grade to suffer as a result of what
I write. Thus, I have devised a Top Five List in the spirit of Dave Letterman
as to the Top Five Signs that you are a Psych 101 student.
5. You skip class one day and notice that Williamstown becomes a ghost town
between the hours of 1000-1050 MWF.
4. Your entry has its own row in BN 002.
3. It takes a half hour just to pass the weekly quiz to every student.
2. Biology 102 seems small.
And the #1 sign that you are a Psych 101 student is (drumroll please)...
1. Your friend from Harvard comes to Psych 101 class with you one day and feels
right at home.
Before leaving, I just want to pose a question to all those Psych 101 students
out there (i.e. the whole Williams campus). Is there a reason why our forms of
assessment are routinely called "quizzes" as opposed to "tests" or "midterms"?
Is it somehow related to psychology? Perhaps.
Until next time, have fun.