That Girl from Derwent dwells on the value of religion this Christmas.
That Girl from Derwent has learned a few more things about prejudice since moving up North.
That Girl From Derwent reckons if you're going to be offensive, you should find a better reason.
That Girl from Derwent considers why it is that some words have wider implications than others.
Yes, as much as we hate to admit it, this is actually what we are here for: to work and to get a halfway decent degree. Apparently. On the other hand, it may just be a great conspiracy engineered by the Freemasons, whom one of my block mates loves to blame everything on. I’m surprised he hasn’t pinned down his lack of food to them yet.
But back to the point: despite the claims to the contrary made by many science students, humanities students do, in fact, have work to do as well. It’s a bigger shock to humanities students, I think; at least the scientists are trained to expect regular work. Englishers in particular are technically allowed to ignore their work for most of the week, which is all well and good (and makes for some epic partying), until they absolutely need to do their work.
The sudden essay deadline can be a bit of a shock. I try to think: “so, one essay handed in… on to the next?” Or something like that. I’m sure that’s the way it’s supposed to work.
Unfortunately for the University system it seems to be an unwritten rule of any and every student, regardless of subject, that work must be neglected until the very last possible moment. Which means that an essay due in on the Friday will, 99% of the time, be completed on the Thursday night. Or started on the Thursday night. Or even, in the case of some of my seminar group on our latest essay, started and finished on the Friday morning.
Personally, I have never left an essay this late – yet – but thanks to Facebook…
Yes, that’s right! I am trying to find a positive link between Facebook and work. Ah, how the tutors are going to hate me…
Thanks to Facebook I have been an amused spectator of the ordeals of my peers as the deadline draws closer. It’s a kind of academic “Schadenfreude”, I guess. But before you judge me as a condescending and sadistic character, let me emphasise that it’s the hourly updates I get from Facebook that amuse me, not the struggle of my classmates.
A typical night before we need to hand in our essays, normally throws up something like this onto my newsfeed:
3am Okay, title written. Good start.
4am Damn, only 100 words. Coffee needed.
5.30am Coffee helped, 500 words down. Only 1500 to go!
7am Is that dawn outside? Uh, oh!
7.20am Power nap.
9am Just woken up
10am Done!!!!!!! Now to referencing…
And so on and so forth: it’s easy to get the picture.
But don’t worry! I’m not saying that students shouldn’t do this - in fact, I’m going to go so far as to say that it’s a good thing, and not just because it makes me feel good about my already written essay. I have found that this late-night/early-morning rush gives us a sense of community. Too many so-called “experts” have said that people bond in extreme or stressful circumstances, so it must be true – and in the academic world, there is nothing more stressful than the desperate flurry to complete work on time – ergo… leaving work until the last minute helps us make friends??
I noticed, in my last seminar, that the two guys who had been up all night writing their essays were far from being slumped in the corner trying to sleep. In fact, they were chatting cheerfully away to each other about their writing. So what if they had had an exhausting and social-life killing ordeal: thanks to Facebook, they had shared it. It had been a collective experience and it had brought them, and us, closer together.
So, maybe Facebook isn’t so bad for the degree after all?
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