Good one, Shane. . "We get such bright students here, especially compared to the 70’s and 80’s when the likes of Oliver, Randy, and John were allowed to graduate from UF," she said. “We’ve spent the last 20 years trying to make up those mistakes in who we allowed to graduate from UF,” she said. “I look back at the alumni rosters from that era and think to myself, were we really that desperate for students?” "We can motivate them, we can push them in their very first year."
On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 3:41 PM, Shane Ford <[email protected]>wrote: > Thank you, Oliver! I'm tired of running load flows at work, so I needed > an artistic break. :-) You must be one of those that only reads the first > couple of paragraphs, because I had one more nugget burried for you. I'm > surprised it wasn't the first thing you commented on! :-) > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > *To:* Gator Talk <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Mon, June 28, 2010 1:51:52 PM > *Subject:* [gatortalk] Fw: [gatornews] [SUN]: 6/28 06:01 --- School's back > in session at UF [Crabbe] > > 0% last name Barry? That's because freshmen named Barry are still barred > from campus for two more years. > Cute Shane, really cute. :-) > > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > ------------------------------ > *From: *Shane Ford <[email protected]> > *Sender: *[email protected] > *Date: *Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:25:48 -0500 > *To: *<[email protected]> > *ReplyTo: > *[email protected]<gatornews%[email protected]> > *Subject: *[gatornews] [SUN]: 6/28 06:01 --- School's back in session at > UF [Crabbe] > > School's back in session at UF Today, nearly 2,200 freshmen kick off their > college careers in Summer B term > > > > Erica Brough/Staff photographer > > *Buy > photo<http://reprints.gainesville.com/cgi-bin/fotobroker.cgi?c=latest.htm&a=&op_by_line=contains&by_line=Brough&b=photo_db&s=&t=&show=3-4> > * > > Abbie Brinson, left, helps her sister, Madelin Brinson, an exploratory > student with a science and engineering track, move her belongings into her > dorm at Hume Hall at the University of Florida during Summer B Check-in, > Wednesday, June 23, 2010 in Gainesville, Fla. > > By Nathan Crabbe Staff writer > > > > Published: Monday, June 28, 2010 at 6:01 a.m. > Last Modified: Monday, June 28, 2010 at 12:24 a.m. > > > > > > University of Florida freshmen starting classes this week will find new > initiatives to provide them with a shared experience beyond Gator football > games. > > > > > > > > *SNAPSHOT OF UF FRESHMEN* > > About 2,150 of the University of Florida's incoming freshmen class start > classes in the Summer B term, with another 4,250 expected to start in the > fall. The summer students were allowed to start moving into residence halls > last Wednesday. Based on the preliminary numbers of confirmed students, here > is some information on the class: > > 4.3: Average GPA > > 1993: Average SAT > > 91%: Florida residents > > 34%: Legacy > > 35%: Top 5 > > 25%: First generation > > 0%: Last Name Barry > > 19%: Low income > > 29%: Minorities > > > > > > Nearly 2,200 freshmen — about one-third of the class — begin classes today > as part of the Summer B semester. Over the course of the semester, they'll > have a chance to attend plays, take tours and participate in other cultural > events as part of the new Creative B program. > > When the rest of the class arrives in the fall, a portion will be taking a > new interdisciplinary humanities class called "What Is the Good Life?" The > class explores the age-old question in an attempt to give students an > appreciation of the humanities while they learn critical thinking and > writing. The plan is for the course eventually to be mandatory for freshmen. > > "They're really efforts to invigorate the undergraduate experience," UF > Provost Joe Glover said. > > For several years, UF has admitted part of its freshman class in the Summer > B term that makes up the second half of the summer semester. The move allows > UF to spread its resources and allows some students to get acclimated during > a quieter time than the fall. But Glover said the lack of events on campus > in the summer is a downside. > > "Our opportunities were relatively scant during that term," he said. > "There's not a lot to do on campus." > > Creative B fills the time with events ranging from a video game tournament > to a poetry slam. Three new cultural classes also are being offered. Glover > said more could be offered next year. > > He said students have a variety of choices for general education courses, > so the "Good Life" class provides an opportunity for them to share in a > common experience. The course follows along the same lines as UF's common > reading program, a book issued to all incoming freshmen that they're > expected to read before arriving. > > The course was tested in the spring with about 22 students and will be > expanded to 600 students in both the fall and spring. It explores how people > have sought to have a good life for themselves and others, as well as the > price they are willing to pay to have this life. > > "It will be a signature experience for our students," said Vasudha > Narayanan, professor and chairwoman of the UF Department of Religion. > > Narayanan was part of a task force that developed the course and one of > three professors who taught the initial offering in the spring. Students > read from a variety of texts, such as Dante's "Divine Comedy," the > Declaration of Independence and Herman Hesse's "Siddhartha," in exploring > what constitutes a good life. > > Students are expected to appreciate and critique the writings and works of > art, articulating their own ideas in discussion sessions and through > writing, Narayanan said. > > "We get such bright students here, especially compared to the 70’s and 80’s > when the likes of Oliver, Randy, and John were allowed to graduate from UF," > she said. “We’ve spent the last 20 years trying to make up those mistakes in > who we allowed to graduate from UF,” she said. “I look back at the alumni > rosters from that era and think to myself, were we really that desperate for > students?” "We can motivate them, we can push them in their very first > year." > > Students also watch videos from various humanities professors speaking on > their subject of expertise and attend cultural events. Students saw a show > at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and spoke with the performers > in the spring, a tradition the university planned to continue with other > performers in future semesters. > > Narayanan said she hopes students will continue exploring the ideas and > questions raised in the class beyond their time at UF. > > "It plants the seeds of things that they'll think about for the rest of > their lives," she said. > > Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or [email protected]. > > > > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us > -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
