First Post / Honors Oracle Fall 08

Hi All (Mike Mouton on behalf of the UL Honors Blog)

This is our first post on our new blog this blog will be used to inform the honors students (and prospective honors students) on upcoming events in the honors program as well as provide a new channel of communication for the students to interact with the Honors Board.

Here is a copy of the Honors Oracle for the Fall 2008 Semester.

UL Lafayette Honors Program
The Honors Oracle
August 2008

Welcome back, Scholars!

Reminders

• There will be no seminar September 1st through 4th due to Labor Day holiday. Use this opportunity to research possible seminar topics!

• The Fall Mixer will be held Friday, September 5th, from 1 pm to 3 pm.

• Seminar brainstorming and voting will be September 8th through 11th. Prepare your topics early, and come ready to present a synopsis at the seminar.

• This semester we will be having Special Elections as well as our regular Freshmen Elections. We are looking for 3 Freshmen, 1 Sophomore, and 1 Senior. All interested candidates must attend the Pre-Election Meeting on September 14th at 2 pm. Elections will be held September 22nd to 25th. You can vote before/after Seminar, or in the Honors office in Judice.

Communication
by: Tyler Dunphy

Congratulations! Reading this article means that you are already stepping up to the plate with campus communication. On a diverse and large university such as UL, it is essential to remain in contact with professors, organizations, and fellow students. Fortunately, there are many avenues for communication that are available to students; it is just up to you to ensure that these methods can be beneficial.

First, make sure that your contact information is regularly updated should you change addresses, start a new email account, etc. Only by having updated contact information will other individuals be able to get in touch with you. If you need to change your information, simply log on to ULink and find the link entitled “Official Addresses” under the “Student” tab. Secondly, having updated information is of no use unless you check your email and Moodle accounts routinely. Professors often notify students through these methods of upcoming tests and assignments, and therefore a lack of communication can cause one’s grade to suffer. Thirdly, be aware of other forms of communication used by campus organizations. Take for instance, the Honors Program which has an online blog that is updated with events, announcements, and articles pertaining to the program. Weekly checks of the website, whose link is http://ullhonors.blogspot.com/, will allow you to remain an active participant within the program.

Lastly, it is important that you, as a student, make an effort to communicate your concerns and opinions to your professors as well as to your peers. Being specifically a student in the Honors Program, the Honors Board is readily available to work on your behalf. You just need to make your concern known through either the suggestion box located in the Honors Office on the second floor of Judice Rickels Hall or by contacting one of your Board representatives whose information can be found at http://honors.louisiana.edu/board/board.shtml

Honors Book
by: Kendra Sullivan

Are you ready to add more fire to your Ragin’ Cajun life? Well this semester’s Honors book is sure to give its audience third degree burns. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury puts an interesting twist on what government really wants you to know. Set in a time when firefighters are not to put out fires but start them in order to destroy knowledge and forward thinking, a brave firefighter, Guy Montag, becomes entrapped by the truth and hypocrisy of his role as a firefighter. This road becomes a downward spiral as Guy meets with others who know the truth. Make sure to buy this book early before it burns out!

Scholarships

The Honors Scholarship application for the Fall 2008 semester is available online via the Honors website. Go to http://honors.louisiana.edu/current-students.shtml#scholarshipinformation to download an application in either MSWord or PDF format. These scholarships are available to members of the Honors program in good standing. The application deadline is September 19th, 2008. An official copy of your transcript from the registrar’s office is required with your application. Scholarships available this semester are:

Grant Molett Scholarship (1)
Keith Lindley Scholarship (5)
Honors Alumni Scholarship (2)
Oran Robert Perry Burke Memorial Scholarship (5)
Gordon Rickels Endowed Memorial Scholarship (1)
Raymond Bourque, Sr. Memorial Scholarship (1)
Louis Houston Scholarship (1)

New Honors Courses

To better serve the needs of you, the honors students, the board and Dr Frederick have worked hard over the summer to convince several departments of the need for new Honors Courses. In the works for the 2009-10 school year are:

Honors Stat 214
Honors Math 250 (Survey of Calculus)
Honors Non-Majors Physics
Honors Organic Chemistry 1 & 2
Honors Biochemistry

And many more. Until these and other great courses in Philosophy, Psychology, and other disciplines are offered, the University Honors Program is proud to announce the use of Honors Courses by Contract. These will be contracts signed by the student, professor, and Dr Frederick that will allow students to do additional work in ANY class for Honors credit, with the professor’s agreement. These contract courses are currently limited to 300 and 400 level courses, and are targeted towards upper division honors students looking to get more involved in their course work. Courses by Contract will be available starting THIS FALL. To pick up a contract, please see Dr. Frederick in Judice 208.

Honors Kitchen Use
by: Jaime Carroll aka Not Your Mother

Welcome back, Honors Students! As a reminder, Judice-Rickels Hall is your home on campus. Besides the office, lounges, and computer lab, the kitchen is also available for your use. It has recently been restocked with popcorn, coffee, animal crackers, and the always popular ramen noodles! Feel free to grab a snack between classes or grab a lunch hour with some friends. The Honors Board recently invested a significant amount of time cleaning our kitchen, so we are asking for your cooperation in keeping it tidy! This includes washing any dishes, silverware, etc. you use, throwing away trash, and cleaning up spills on the floor and in the microwave. Since no one likes to deal with smelly food, please utilize the tape and permanent marker that has been placed near the refrigerator: if you’re going to store something, write your name and the date on the tape and place it on your item. This way, those cleaning the kitchen will know which items to discard and/or keep. We appreciate your cooperation and hope you utilize this great privilege of the Honors program! If at any time the kitchen is in need of supplies, please contact me at jfc7989@louisiana.edu Bon appétit!

Books XYZ
By: Melissa Montalbano

At present, the UL Lafayette Honors Program and BooksXYZ, a non-profit online bookstore, are working closely to raise money for the Dr. Milton Rickels Library, which will be located on the first floor of Judice-Rickels Hall. FYI: Dr. Milton Rickels is the husband of Dr. Pat Rickels, who was our honors director for 30 years and is still involved in our program.

BooksXYZ provides a vast array of books available for purchase. Five percent of all purchases through BooksXYZ will go to the UL Lafayette Honors Program to fund the library. Cash donations are also accepted through booksXYZ.com.

This is a massive project that requires the participation and support of all students in the honors program. If you can, please purchase Fahrenheit 451, or even some of your textbooks, through BooksXYZ. Simply go to www.booksXYZ.com/ul and select the book you would like to purchase. Five percent of your purchase will automatically go to the UL Lafayette Honors Program. You can also help by posting a link to BooksXYZ on your Facebook or Myspace. Please help the honors program make this project a success. Any little bit counts!

If you have any questions, comments, or want to get involved, just e-mail me at mmm1536@louisiana.edu .

10 Tips for Surviving Seminar
By: Mike Mouton

1. Come to the first few seminars to get a feel for them, and see what’s in store for you this semester.

Mike: Oh My Gosh! WHAT IS GOING ON WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE! WHERE AM I? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!!? WHO AM I!?? WHERE DID THAT UNICORN COME FROM??!?! AHHHH!

Cooper: Calm down we’re just voting on seminar topics.

2.It is EXTREMELY important to go to the seminar proposal and voting meeting.

This is when the topics are suggested and chosen. Don’t complain if un-interesting topics are chosen, you determine what seminars are presented and which ones are voted down.

Mike: “Man why do we have to listen to this seminar. Geeze who voted for ‘Watching Paint Dry: Extreme Time Wasting?’ It’s a snooze-fest.

Cooper: You Did…….

Mike: Dang ::sigh::

3. Just because you are registered in a certain section does not prevent you from attending any other section.

Mike: I really want to watch ‘Camping in the Outdoors: It’s IN TENTS!’ but it isn’t in my scheduled seminar.

Cooper: you know you can go to it and it will count as an attended seminar

Mike: Awesome, I’ll go get my camping gear!

4. If you don’t want to listen to a certain seminar topic, go to a different one.

Mike: I’m going to watch ‘Attack of the Indie Kids!’ instead of ‘Grass Growing For Dummies’

5. Come with open minds and open ears, not malicious criticism.

There is a good chance you may be offended in seminar (it’s college if you are not offended or told an opposing view at some point you’re not doing it right) remember everyone is welcome to have and voice their own opinion but remember to wait your turn. The presenter is in control of the seminar respect them.

Mike: I don’t trust her or her opinion because I don’t trust girls with blue eyes. I hate her.

Cooper: Aren’t you dating a girl with blue eyes?

Mike: Exactly!

6. Pay attention! And participate!

It will be 10 times more fun if you take part in seminar.

Cooper: I can’t wait till I can comment on time travel. I’m going to bring my flux capacitor!

7. If you don’t like the topics propose your own.

Some of the best seminars have been presented by a first time freshman. Don’t be shy.

Cooper: Remember when you won best seminar your freshman year on your first try?

Mike: Yes…..yes I do remember ‘The Evolution of Geekdom’ ::Huge Smile::

8. Don’t be rude.

During seminar, chatting with your friends, text messaging, phone calls, sleeping, doing homework are all activities that are disrespectful to the presenter. The Presenter worked on this seminar for your benefit respect their work.

Mike: Nothing funny here DON’T BE RUDE.

9. Feel free to discuss topics outside of seminar with the presenter.

Many presenters would love to talk about the topic they were interested in sharing with the class.

Random Person: Awesome seminar Mike! I had no idea you saved that much money on you car insurance!

Mike: I could talk for hours about my strategies for saving money.

Random Person: I would love to hear about it.

10. Have Fun! Learn Something New!