Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Summer Orientation Speech
This summer, I'll present a 5-7 minute orientation speech for incoming first-year students to SJSU. I'll deliver the speech at ten separate orientation events, so I want to get it right.
Here's a draft:
[Slide 1: splash slide]
On the road toward graduation
[Slide 2: Congratulations]
First let me say a few words to the parents out there, preparing to send your daughter or son off to college. Congratulations.
No doubt, it's been a long road just to get here.
And now these college students prepare to get behind the wheel.
That's the easy part.
[Slide 3: Cloverleaf]
But if you believe that life is a highway -- filled with strange twists and distant horizons, glittering cities and greasy spoons -- you want to know: how can this trip be a success?
To you new Spartans: Imagine your college years as one awesome road trip. To get where you want to go, I offer these three tips: Prepare for your journey, get a navigator, and always take the high road.
[Slide 4: Plan your journey - car on road]
Prepare for your journey
That starts with a trip to the gas station. Fuel up and grab some maps.
For maps, start with the university catalog. It's got information you'll need to get around and graduate on time. You can learn about the various departments and degree paths, and double-check that you understand the rules of the road.
[Slide 5: Plan your journey - map]
And it even includes a handy map of the campus. It won't fit in your glove compartment, but it's good to have along in case you get lost.
And here's a travel tip: Read the syllabi you get in the beginning of each class. They'll tell you how to succeed. And they should include a calendar to help you plan your itinerary.
[Slide 6: Plan your journey - Water for Elephants]
As for the treat, I recommend a book called Water for Elephants. Read it, and you'll visit a world you've probably never seen before. It's part of our Campus Reading Program - and you're getting a copy as part this orientation.
So now that you're prepared for the journey…
[Slide 7: Get a Navigator - MUSE class bullet points]
Get a navigator
It's a fact: even the most experienced travelers can get lost.
For expert navigation help I recommend that you start with a MUSE class.
MUSE stands for Metropolitan University Scholar's Experience, and these classes are really cool. They're small -- no more than 18 students. They're designed to help you make sense of university life. And each has a unique topic, such as:
"The Simpsons as Social Science: Exploring Faith, Philosophy, and Ethics with American's Favorite Cartoon Family." [topic can be switched]
[Slide 8: Get a Navigator - Peer Mentors]
Best of all: many MUSE classes include Peer Mentors.
Peer Mentors are experienced navigators, expert in time management, study skills, and university resources. Like I said, they can be found in MUSE classes. But they're also waiting to offer roadside assistance in the Academic Success Center, every day and Tuesday nights. Just drop in. No appointment needed.
Other ways to navigate your way through SJSU include:
[Slide 9: Get a Navigator - Honors Humanities bullet points]
The Honor's Humanities Program:
This is a four-semester sequence of courses that offer a rigorous and thought-provoking intersection of art, literature, philosophy and social institutions.
There are 100 students in the lecture and twenty-five in each seminar. The seminar groups rotate from teacher to teacher at each semester, allowing you to stay with the same group of students for both years.
[Slide 10: Get a Navigator - American Studies bullet points]
The American Studies Program:
Similar to Humanities Honors, but only a 1-year sequence, each semester you take a lecture and a seminar, for a total of six units.
The course looks at American culture and combines approaches and insights from several disciplines.
[Slide 11: Get a Navigator - Science 2 bullet points]
Science 2:
This program meets Area E GE requirement with a large lecture and small activity groups. You'll work with a peer advisor every week, and are part of a four-person Success Team. This class is ideal for Science and Engineering majors, but everyone is welcome.
[Slide 12: Get a Navigator - Students with faculty in regalia]
Oh yeah, here's one more navigation tip: talk to your teachers.
We'll always be there to help you navigate your way to academic success.
Now that you're cruisin'…
[Slide 13: Take the High Road - Hopper's Western Motel painting]
Take the high road
That means maintaining the highest personal standards.
Come to each class -- even those you'd rather not take -- and work to get the most out of them. While you're at it: give your best efforts toward them.
Taking the high road also refers to our university's culture of academic integrity.
Let's face it: Sometimes on this long journey you might be tempted to cut corners. You might even presume that the fastest way from point A to point B is simply a matter of copying and pasting from some Wikipedia site. But plagiarism is really a fast way from point A to point F. I'm a professor - I know.
[Slide 14: Take the High Road - Cadillac Ranch]
This being California, I should emphasize what I do *not* mean when I say, "take the high road." After all, I'm talking about *road* tripping - not road *tripping*. Avoid substances that impair your ability to get where you want to go.
[Slide 15: Sunset over highway]
A final thought from one road-tripper to another.
Once in a while, your car will break down. But even if you're stranded in some desert somewhere, that's no reason to believe you'll fail to reach your destination.
So prepare for your journey, get a navigator, and always take the high road.
After all…*You're* in the driver's seat now.
[Slide 16: splash slide]
Here's a draft:
[Slide 1: splash slide]
On the road toward graduation
[Slide 2: Congratulations]
First let me say a few words to the parents out there, preparing to send your daughter or son off to college. Congratulations.
No doubt, it's been a long road just to get here.
And now these college students prepare to get behind the wheel.
That's the easy part.
[Slide 3: Cloverleaf]
But if you believe that life is a highway -- filled with strange twists and distant horizons, glittering cities and greasy spoons -- you want to know: how can this trip be a success?
To you new Spartans: Imagine your college years as one awesome road trip. To get where you want to go, I offer these three tips: Prepare for your journey, get a navigator, and always take the high road.
[Slide 4: Plan your journey - car on road]
Prepare for your journey
That starts with a trip to the gas station. Fuel up and grab some maps.
For maps, start with the university catalog. It's got information you'll need to get around and graduate on time. You can learn about the various departments and degree paths, and double-check that you understand the rules of the road.
[Slide 5: Plan your journey - map]
And it even includes a handy map of the campus. It won't fit in your glove compartment, but it's good to have along in case you get lost.
And here's a travel tip: Read the syllabi you get in the beginning of each class. They'll tell you how to succeed. And they should include a calendar to help you plan your itinerary.
[Slide 6: Plan your journey - Water for Elephants]
As for the treat, I recommend a book called Water for Elephants. Read it, and you'll visit a world you've probably never seen before. It's part of our Campus Reading Program - and you're getting a copy as part this orientation.
So now that you're prepared for the journey…
[Slide 7: Get a Navigator - MUSE class bullet points]
Get a navigator
It's a fact: even the most experienced travelers can get lost.
For expert navigation help I recommend that you start with a MUSE class.
MUSE stands for Metropolitan University Scholar's Experience, and these classes are really cool. They're small -- no more than 18 students. They're designed to help you make sense of university life. And each has a unique topic, such as:
"The Simpsons as Social Science: Exploring Faith, Philosophy, and Ethics with American's Favorite Cartoon Family." [topic can be switched]
[Slide 8: Get a Navigator - Peer Mentors]
Best of all: many MUSE classes include Peer Mentors.
Peer Mentors are experienced navigators, expert in time management, study skills, and university resources. Like I said, they can be found in MUSE classes. But they're also waiting to offer roadside assistance in the Academic Success Center, every day and Tuesday nights. Just drop in. No appointment needed.
Other ways to navigate your way through SJSU include:
[Slide 9: Get a Navigator - Honors Humanities bullet points]
The Honor's Humanities Program:
This is a four-semester sequence of courses that offer a rigorous and thought-provoking intersection of art, literature, philosophy and social institutions.
There are 100 students in the lecture and twenty-five in each seminar. The seminar groups rotate from teacher to teacher at each semester, allowing you to stay with the same group of students for both years.
[Slide 10: Get a Navigator - American Studies bullet points]
The American Studies Program:
Similar to Humanities Honors, but only a 1-year sequence, each semester you take a lecture and a seminar, for a total of six units.
The course looks at American culture and combines approaches and insights from several disciplines.
[Slide 11: Get a Navigator - Science 2 bullet points]
Science 2:
This program meets Area E GE requirement with a large lecture and small activity groups. You'll work with a peer advisor every week, and are part of a four-person Success Team. This class is ideal for Science and Engineering majors, but everyone is welcome.
[Slide 12: Get a Navigator - Students with faculty in regalia]
Oh yeah, here's one more navigation tip: talk to your teachers.
We'll always be there to help you navigate your way to academic success.
Now that you're cruisin'…
[Slide 13: Take the High Road - Hopper's Western Motel painting]
Take the high road
That means maintaining the highest personal standards.
Come to each class -- even those you'd rather not take -- and work to get the most out of them. While you're at it: give your best efforts toward them.
Taking the high road also refers to our university's culture of academic integrity.
Let's face it: Sometimes on this long journey you might be tempted to cut corners. You might even presume that the fastest way from point A to point B is simply a matter of copying and pasting from some Wikipedia site. But plagiarism is really a fast way from point A to point F. I'm a professor - I know.
[Slide 14: Take the High Road - Cadillac Ranch]
This being California, I should emphasize what I do *not* mean when I say, "take the high road." After all, I'm talking about *road* tripping - not road *tripping*. Avoid substances that impair your ability to get where you want to go.
[Slide 15: Sunset over highway]
A final thought from one road-tripper to another.
Once in a while, your car will break down. But even if you're stranded in some desert somewhere, that's no reason to believe you'll fail to reach your destination.
So prepare for your journey, get a navigator, and always take the high road.
After all…*You're* in the driver's seat now.
[Slide 16: splash slide]
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
William J. Clinton=Barack Obama?
Cruising the net tonight, checking out the Hillary Clinton website, I thought it might be cool to try BillClinton.com. Oddly enough, I got a generic place-holder site.
For no particular reason, I then tried using the Clinton's full first name, typing in WilliamClinton and WilliamJClinton. Guess what popped up?
July follow-up: Weird. While these sites once led users to Obama-land, they now connect to McCain pages. What's up with that?
For no particular reason, I then tried using the Clinton's full first name, typing in WilliamClinton and WilliamJClinton. Guess what popped up?
July follow-up: Weird. While these sites once led users to Obama-land, they now connect to McCain pages. What's up with that?
Unbelievable
Once more, Hillary Clinton defies expectations - at least for a little while more.
Even though Barack Obama has passed the "magic number" of delegates necessary to clinch the Democratic nomination, Clinton made it clear that she's conceding nothing tonight, as evidenced by her Nixonian call for her 18 million supporters to write in letters of support, a moment of such other-worldly gall that CNN commentator Alex Castellanos remarked, "she did everything but offer Barack Obama the vice presidency."
Insiders report that she's working behind the scenes to arrange a face-saving exit. Most likely, she herself is angling for veep, implicitly threatening to hold out until Denver should Obama not hand her the number two spot. She's earned a respectful hearing on that point. But still...
As Maureen Dowd just wrote for the New York Times: "He thought a little thing like winning would stop her? Oh, Bambi."
Even though Barack Obama has passed the "magic number" of delegates necessary to clinch the Democratic nomination, Clinton made it clear that she's conceding nothing tonight, as evidenced by her Nixonian call for her 18 million supporters to write in letters of support, a moment of such other-worldly gall that CNN commentator Alex Castellanos remarked, "she did everything but offer Barack Obama the vice presidency."
Insiders report that she's working behind the scenes to arrange a face-saving exit. Most likely, she herself is angling for veep, implicitly threatening to hold out until Denver should Obama not hand her the number two spot. She's earned a respectful hearing on that point. But still...
As Maureen Dowd just wrote for the New York Times: "He thought a little thing like winning would stop her? Oh, Bambi."
Outta Here
Today marks the end of the Democratic primary, which, as Barack Obama frequently notes, has gone on long enough for babies to be born and even start discussing the race with their parents. This evening, Hillary Clinton [should] admit what the rest of the world has long known. No matter how many sweaty hands she shook or greasy spoons she visited or tiresome slogans she tried or loathsome compromises she made, she couldn't put the kid away. How frustrating it must be, that this young, skinny, inexperienced guy would have been just another Chicago-pol wannabe if not for that damned convention speech. Following his 2004 oration, Obama became something larger than politics, a force representing the national zeitgeist that could not be trounced the usual way.
That's the story anyway, though it's not really what happened.
Plenty of political obituaries will be written today and tomorrow, page after page sifting through the wreckage for an answer to the question that Clinton surely ponders at 3 a.m. (when the phone isn't ringing): What went wrong? There are plenty of clues. Her husband comes to mind for his many and inexplicable failures to understand the meaning of the glowing red dot on recording devices (and the parallel reality that where there is a president - present or former - there are recording devices). Then one might recall Clinton's tone-deaf inability to read the public mood about Iraq and admit before anyone really cared that she'd erred in providing Bush the authority to launch an ill-timed, ill-planned war. Oh, and we might want to give props to her opponent who, despite his many missteps, seems to possess a zen-like calm in the face of adversity. But as far as I'm concerned, the final cause of Clinton's slow-motion collapse comes down to one date: February 5th.
Clinton simply never imagined a campaign lasting past "Super Duper Tuesday," and she paid a dear political price for that lack of vision. Failing to put her upstart opponant away in Iowa and New Hampshire (despite her surprising win in the Granite State), she should have recognized this race for what it had become, a toe-to-toe knockdown that would lurch across the country. This required a strategy of body blows meant to keep her opponent from getting any air. Instead Clinton practically ceded the red states to Obama, since she'd never built much of an infrastructure there anyway. Clinton's failure to compete in GOP strongholds allowed Obama to jab and dart across the country for weeks, catching his breath and rolling up points in his favor.
Sure New York and California have more delegates, lots more. And swing states make the difference in November. But Democrats live in the south and mountain west, too. They won't necessarily convince their neighbors to vote Democratic in November, but they count in the primaries. And they showed up for Obama because he showed up for them. In fact, for all of his well-crafted references to MLK and all that soaring oratory about hope and change, it was simple mathematics that put Obama at the top of the ticket this November. His numbers added up; Clinton's did not.
Yes, there's a certain pointlessness to these sorts of self-congratulatory postmortems. It's easy to read a campaign as history, much harder to predict one as destiny. I was surprised by the twists and turns to this race, and I was frequently wrong in my speculations. But there's no doubt: Clinton's likely concession tonight will be a sad one. How sad? Advance-team staffers have been told that they can have a plane ticket to one of two places, New York, where Clinton will congratulate Obama, or home, where all political types dream of going one day. But if they fly to New York, they're expected to find their own way from there.
It's a sad epitaph for a hard-fought campaign: Thank you for standing with me all this time. Now you're on your own.
Learn More: The AP has run a pretty good "greatest hits" summary of the Democratic primary: Obama effectively clinches nomination
That's the story anyway, though it's not really what happened.
Plenty of political obituaries will be written today and tomorrow, page after page sifting through the wreckage for an answer to the question that Clinton surely ponders at 3 a.m. (when the phone isn't ringing): What went wrong? There are plenty of clues. Her husband comes to mind for his many and inexplicable failures to understand the meaning of the glowing red dot on recording devices (and the parallel reality that where there is a president - present or former - there are recording devices). Then one might recall Clinton's tone-deaf inability to read the public mood about Iraq and admit before anyone really cared that she'd erred in providing Bush the authority to launch an ill-timed, ill-planned war. Oh, and we might want to give props to her opponent who, despite his many missteps, seems to possess a zen-like calm in the face of adversity. But as far as I'm concerned, the final cause of Clinton's slow-motion collapse comes down to one date: February 5th.
Clinton simply never imagined a campaign lasting past "Super Duper Tuesday," and she paid a dear political price for that lack of vision. Failing to put her upstart opponant away in Iowa and New Hampshire (despite her surprising win in the Granite State), she should have recognized this race for what it had become, a toe-to-toe knockdown that would lurch across the country. This required a strategy of body blows meant to keep her opponent from getting any air. Instead Clinton practically ceded the red states to Obama, since she'd never built much of an infrastructure there anyway. Clinton's failure to compete in GOP strongholds allowed Obama to jab and dart across the country for weeks, catching his breath and rolling up points in his favor.
Sure New York and California have more delegates, lots more. And swing states make the difference in November. But Democrats live in the south and mountain west, too. They won't necessarily convince their neighbors to vote Democratic in November, but they count in the primaries. And they showed up for Obama because he showed up for them. In fact, for all of his well-crafted references to MLK and all that soaring oratory about hope and change, it was simple mathematics that put Obama at the top of the ticket this November. His numbers added up; Clinton's did not.
Yes, there's a certain pointlessness to these sorts of self-congratulatory postmortems. It's easy to read a campaign as history, much harder to predict one as destiny. I was surprised by the twists and turns to this race, and I was frequently wrong in my speculations. But there's no doubt: Clinton's likely concession tonight will be a sad one. How sad? Advance-team staffers have been told that they can have a plane ticket to one of two places, New York, where Clinton will congratulate Obama, or home, where all political types dream of going one day. But if they fly to New York, they're expected to find their own way from there.
It's a sad epitaph for a hard-fought campaign: Thank you for standing with me all this time. Now you're on your own.
Learn More: The AP has run a pretty good "greatest hits" summary of the Democratic primary: Obama effectively clinches nomination
Monday, June 2, 2008
Saturday Afternoon Massacre
The blood flowed at Saturday's meeting of the DNC's rules and bylaws committee. On that day, Hillary Clinton's campaign was voted out of existence by Democratic Party insiders. For something so dry and removed as the internecine debates of party hacks, this was an exciting day for political junkies like me. [OK, Jenny and I had planned to hang out on the beach near Santa Cruz Boardwalk, but dreary weather kept us home.]
The morning was dedicated to arguments by Obama and Clinton partisans trying hard not to look partisan, advocating the comparative values of "the rules" and "the right to be heard." The party leaders sitting around a square table were augmented by crowd of visitors, and the proceedings got heated with spirited cheers and boos filling the air. I was impressed that this critical debate about the internal workings of the party was being televised.
Leave it to the Democrats to screw up that good will, transitioning from "lunch" to a closed door afternoon meeting that stretched about two hours after the committee was set to return. The delay left reporters and commentators scrambling to fill the airtime while speed-dialing and blackberrying their contacts during commercial breaks, asking "where the hell are these guys?"
And then the committee returned with nary a note about their absence. Exhausted from hours of bickering, they launched into a ritual of motions, speakers, and votes, though clearly they'd arranged their solutions behind closed doors. The committee first heard a plaintive and pointless call to seat the entire Florida delegation with full voting rights. With languid ceremony, the motion was offered, praised, and slaughtered. Even Clinton supporters in the audience seemed to slacken into merely pro forma catcalls. Then Florida and Michigan were handed compromises designed to move the goal posts but fix the game: Obama is a virtual lock on the nomination.
The committee voted unanimously for the Florida option but split bitterly and publicly on the Michigan compromise, particularly as Clinton is losing delegates while Obama, who wasn't on the ballot, is receiving them. Clinton strategist Harold Ickes performed the appearance of being stunned:
Nobody really knows what will happen tomorrow and Wednesday, whether Clinton will withdraw or press on. Even so, here's a copy/paste from Drudge that seems to capture to mood:
The morning was dedicated to arguments by Obama and Clinton partisans trying hard not to look partisan, advocating the comparative values of "the rules" and "the right to be heard." The party leaders sitting around a square table were augmented by crowd of visitors, and the proceedings got heated with spirited cheers and boos filling the air. I was impressed that this critical debate about the internal workings of the party was being televised.
Leave it to the Democrats to screw up that good will, transitioning from "lunch" to a closed door afternoon meeting that stretched about two hours after the committee was set to return. The delay left reporters and commentators scrambling to fill the airtime while speed-dialing and blackberrying their contacts during commercial breaks, asking "where the hell are these guys?"
And then the committee returned with nary a note about their absence. Exhausted from hours of bickering, they launched into a ritual of motions, speakers, and votes, though clearly they'd arranged their solutions behind closed doors. The committee first heard a plaintive and pointless call to seat the entire Florida delegation with full voting rights. With languid ceremony, the motion was offered, praised, and slaughtered. Even Clinton supporters in the audience seemed to slacken into merely pro forma catcalls. Then Florida and Michigan were handed compromises designed to move the goal posts but fix the game: Obama is a virtual lock on the nomination.
The committee voted unanimously for the Florida option but split bitterly and publicly on the Michigan compromise, particularly as Clinton is losing delegates while Obama, who wasn't on the ballot, is receiving them. Clinton strategist Harold Ickes performed the appearance of being stunned:
"This motion will hijack, hijack, remove four delegates won by Hillary Clinton . . . This body of thirty individuals has decided that they're going to substitute their judgment for six hundred thousand voters. Now that's why I call 'democracy.' There's been a lot of rhetoric during this meeting . . . about democracy, and on and on and on. I am stunned that we have the gall and the chutzpah to substitute our judgment for six hundred thousand voters. Was the process flawed? You bet your ass it was flawed, [but] I've never heard that advanced as an excuse to overturn elections."Inspired by Ickes, particularly his threat to bring this issue before the Party's credentials committee, Clinton supporters pumped their fists and shouted "Denver, Denver!" pledging to carry this fight to the convention floor this August.
Nobody really knows what will happen tomorrow and Wednesday, whether Clinton will withdraw or press on. Even so, here's a copy/paste from Drudge that seems to capture to mood:
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