6

The Pioneer Log

april 13, 2012
OPINION
Lewis & Clark College is well known for its excellent teaching staff. However, as students, we wont all get to take classes from every great professor
here. Thats why we decided to ask some of LCs great faculty to see if they could think of one piece of advice that would help students out. While trying
to say something helpful in just a few sentences is certainly a challenge, we got some great responses. Take a minute to look at what they had to say,
because these simple tips could be hugely helpful as you move forward in your academic career.
What would YOU do?
I THINK THE PIOLOG IS AN EXCELLENT VENUE, BUT THEY NEED TO FIGURE
OUT WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY WANT WHAT KIND OF PAPER THEY WANT
TO BE. AND THEY HAVE TO REALIZE THAT HUMOR DOES NOT ALWAYS NEED TO
BE ANGRY OR BITTER. BUT IT IS AN EXCELLENT, VALUABLE PART OF LEWIS &
CLARK.
I THINK THE PIOLOG IS A REALLY AWESOME AND EFFECTIVE
WAY TO GET OFF-CAMPUS STUDENTS INVOLVED AND INFORMED
ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON-CAMPUS, ESPECIALLY
WITH ADMINISTRATION AND ATHLETICS. I AM REALLY IM-
PRESSED WITH THAT, AND THE BACKDOOR ALWAYS MAKES ME
LAUGH.
I THINK THE PIOLOG IS A VERY
IMPORTANT PART OF CAMPUS AND HAD
A VERY INTEGRAL ROLE IN THE LC
COMMUNITY, BUT I THINK A LOT OF
THE TIME IT KIND OF LOSES FOCUS
AND LOSES TRACK OF WHAT IS SHOULD
BE ON CAMPUS. THE PIOLOG HAS SO
MUCH POTENTIAL TO BOTH OBJECTIVE-
LY LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON ON-
CAMPUS AND UNITE ALL THE DIFFERENT
STUDENT GROUPS AND ACTIVITIES AND
INSTEAD WHAT IT TENDS TO DO IS PULL
THEM APART.
I THINK PEOPLE USE THE PIOLOG TO COMPLAIN TOO MUCH.
MY FAVORITE PART OF THE PIOLOG IS
DEFINITELY THE BACKDOOR SECTION.
THE PIOLOG CREATES A SENSE OF COM-
MUNITY FOR LEWIS AND CLARK COL-
LEGE.
THE PIOLOG IS A GOOD VENUE FOR STRONG WRIT-
ERS. YOU GET THE OCCASIONAL REALLY GREAT
ARTICLE THAT SURVEYS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE, AND
THAT IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. YET IT IS EASY
TO OVERLOOK IT, AND UNDERVALUE IT, BECAUSE
SOME OF THE ARTICLES CAN GET TOO CASUAL, AS IF
YOU WERE TALKING TO A FRIEND. THIS IS FINE, BUT
IT UNDERMINES THE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITER. I
MAY THINK, WELL, THAT IS A GOOD POINT, BUT I
HAVE TO ASK, WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
I DONT LIKE
THE PIOLOG. IT
SEEMS TOO CRITI-
CAL OF EVERY-
THING, RATHER
THAN CONSTRUC-
TIVE, AND THE
BACKDOOR ESPE-
CIALLY HAS A RE-
ALLY AGGRESSIVE
SENSE OF HUMOR
WITH TOO MUCH
SWEARING.
SOMETIMES THE OPINION SECTION SEEMS TO BE
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT.
I THINK THE PIOLOG IS TOO
MODERATE. IT SHOULD STRIVE
TO STIR CONFLICT AND DISCUS-
SION RATHER THAN MEDIATE. THE
PIOLOG NEEDS TO GO BAT-SHIT
CRAZY.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY SAMANTHA SARVET
What you REALLY think about Te Pioneer Log...
These quotations are anonymous for the sake of preserving the delicate relationships between The Pioneer Log staff and the
Lewis & Clark community. We value students honesty and feedback.
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John holzwarth
Treat every assignment as if it were something you chose to do
on your own. If you dont fnd it interesting at frst, fgure out why
someone would. This isnt about doing homework its about
cultivating your own unique intellectual experience. All the best
work starts with that attitude, and even when the work goes badly,
no one with that attitude ever came away empty-handed.
alan Cole
To be a good student (at whatever age) re-
quires honestly admitting how radically under-
prepared one usually is for the tasks at hand,
and yet still fnding the gumption to do them.
todd loChner
Cowgirl up.
PhiliPe Brand
Focus less on fnding the right answer and focus more on the awareness of how youre
getting there.
J Fritzman
Carefully read the course syllabi, and
Dont rely on your memory but instead
read and re-read the essay questions.
Jerusha detweiler-Bedell
Visit each of your professors at least
once during the semester. If you dont
know what to say, simply introduce
yourself and ask how your professor
frst got interested in his or her academ-
ic discipline. This piece of advice was
given to me when I was an undergradu-
ate, and it literally transformed my lifes
path.
Pauls toutonghi
Dont be intimidated! Go to offce
hours. This will help differentiate you
from the other students, the majority of
whom dont come in to offce hours.
Kristin FuJie
I think one thing students need to learn to do is to take a more active role in their own
learning. Many students think that their responsibility is just to do the reading/assign-
ments and show up to class, but thats a passive approach. Annotating your readings, gen-
erating questions and going to offce hours--these are great ways to increase your engage-
ment and get more out of your classes.
gaBriel Parque
Develop your fo-
cus. With good focus and
concentration you can
succeed at anything.
niCholas smith
Throw away your highlighter(s), or perhaps even better, give them to someone you dont like. If you dont
use a highlighter, what do you do, instead? Well, you have to take notes by hand or on your laptop. But
youre lazy, right? So you dont want to take notes on things that are really not that important. So now, you
think a little harder: is this really important, or not? By the time you have thought about that (which is much
more than when you use a highlighter), you have already learned something.
loretta Johnson
My one piece of advice is to meet with your professors
early in the semester.
COMPILED BY JORDAN ANDERSON
Staff Writer