Hi friends studying abroad,
These past two years we've spent getting to know each other and I mean REALLY getting to know each other. From learning "icebreaker" stuff at orientation (name, where you're from, etc.) to many meals together on campus and off, taking (and commiserating over) classes, pregaming, recruitment, "the sophomore slump" (which is VERY real) and even hospital trips, we did it all together. We have seen each other at our best and worst, and we have grown up from high schoolers to mature young adults. You all know about my extreme FOMO for a night out, let alone a semester abroad.
I really wanted to go abroad because I love to travel, experience new things, eat absurd amounts of food, and learn new languages. (I'm a Spanish major and learned Portuguese here, for...
Education
Recently, individuals participating in the Explore program at the University of Quebec at Trois Rivières (UQTR) shared with us details concerning events that have taken place on campus.
Students were shown a skit that attempted to raise awareness about sexual assault; instead, it mocked and trivialized a situation of sexual assault and was triggering to some students.
When students brought this to the attention of UQTR administration, they felt that they were met with indifference, and were told that "it is not the university's job to educate people about consent".
This negligence seems to be further manifested in the administration's reporting of sexual assault; they claim there have been none on campus between 2009 and 2013 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/multimedia/interactive-...
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Dear Teacher:
I think it's time I told you why I have been acting out at school and crying sometimes. I think you know that something is wrong, because you keep asking me, "What's the matter?" The reason I haven't told you before is that I can't talk to you in the hallway with all the other kids staring at me — and until now, I didn't feel like I could talk to anybody about it.
I'm worried about my schoolwork. I keep getting in trouble for not doing my homework, and not listening in class. Sometimes I am so scared that I just get mad at everybody. I don't mean to yell. I just feel like everyone is picking on me at home and at aschool.
You see, my dad has a drinking problem. It's called "alcoholism." It means that he can't control his drinking. He comes home some nights really...
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Dear President Susan Herbst,
I write to you today as a UConn student, but more specifically as a UConn woman and feminist. I want to first express my admiration for you as a woman who has made it in a “man’s” world, who has faced the odds and done the seemingly unthinkable; become the first woman president at UConn over the course of its 130-year history. You serve as a shining example that even the most challenging of ceilings can be broken, and you speak to the considerable strides women have made over the last 50 years in academia and the professional world. One of the most vivid memories I have of my admiration for your accomplishments was when Gloria Steinem gave you a standing ovation for your successes, along with a full auditorium of students and faculty, during her speech at...
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Dear girls,
So, sexting. It's not something I ever imagined we'd have to talk about, mainly because it didn't even exist until a few years ago.
We've had plenty of conversations about sex over the years, and now you're both teenagers I never shy away from talking to you about alcohol and using drugs, but this is a new one and although you're probably cringing right now the fact it exists means we need to talk about it.
Children and technology
Child's hands on laptop
91% of UK children live in a household with access to the internet (2012)
62% of children aged 12-15 own a smartphone (2012)
43% of children use the internet in their bedroom (2012)
17.1 hours - the average number of hours 12-15-year-olds spend online each week (2012)
Source: Threat Assessment of Child Sexual...
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Okay, so you've made it to high school. Congratulations. What now? You're probably pretty nervous, with a lot of questions, right?
Will I have classes with my friends? How hard is it to make new friends? Will I get lost? Am I going to enjoy it?
I'll promise you this, you'll enjoy it. I know that for a fact. I also know that you won't get lost, because if you ask someone to help you find a class they won't pull a Mean Girls and take you out to the "back building" to skip gym. You may not have classes with a lot of your friends, but you'll definitely make new ones.
If you'll give me the next few minutes, I'll give you some pretty helpful tips that will make the transition to your high school years a little bit easier. I wish someone would have shared these with me when I was a...
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Dear Mom and Dad of Middle Schoolers,
This week, I'm passing the torch to you. My youngest of four is graduating from middle school. A big ceremony at school, kids dressed in their first formal wear, with mom and dad cheering in the background.
"We made it!"
The transition from childhood to adolescence is a celebration for parents as much as it is for kids. Some of us cheer because our child made it through junior high, somewhat unscathed. Some of us sigh, wearily, because we feel like we've been through World War 3. We hope high school can't be any worse.
Some of us celebrate because we've seen our awkward little ones grow into young men and women, who physically morphed before our eyes. Some of us cry, like me, because it's your last child to leave this momentous phase of...
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24th January 2013
My dear Executive Council Members and the Hon'ble Vice-Chancellor
Vidyasagar University,
This is an open letter to you all with an enclosed newsitem published today in The Statesman on the misappropriation of UGC funds by the former VC of VU, Prof.S.K.Pramanick.The newsitem speaks for itself.
I have the following five questions to you which are in order.
1.Has the Vidyasagar University been benefited in any manner by the Beijing tour of our former VC?
2. Has it not become counter-productive for the VU to delay the refund of Rs.60,976/- to UGC?
3. Should not the EC of VU ask Prof.Pramanick to immediately refund the money to VU?
4. Should not the EC of VU initiate proper legal steps to Prof.Pramanick, since he spent the money without the submission...
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Dated: 9th October 2013.
Dear Professor Chakrabarti,
I take this opportunity to write the second open letter to you since I can recall that you appreciated my first letter and invited more of such kind.
At the outset I apologize for not being able to attend your meeting on 07.10.2013 on time as I had a class from 2.30P.M. to 3.30P.M. I was late by 45 minutes and missed many interesting questions raised by my faculty colleagues and equally interesting answers given by you. Something serious was going on as regards Ph.D regulations.
The second issue I want to raise is, these meetings now seem to me pseudo addas. These are addas because anything could be raised in these meetings, from j-stor facilities to garbage clearance through English language learning facilities. I designate...
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Dear Technical Team behind DU’s Websites and Portals,
Clear this out for me – are our application forms just very cleverly-worded disguises for agreements to sell our souls? Before you go ahead and call me a nutcase for asking such a question, step into my shoes. Do you see how that’s the only (un)reasonable explanation for the semester-ly torture each DU student is put through?
Okay so you have access to all sorts of information about us and you’re always the first ones to see our results. You’re the all-seeing and the all-knowing (heck, you can give all our country’s babas a run for their money) – we get it. But what’s with withholding all this knowledge for days on end or giving it out in highly irregular (also, annoying) patterns? Are you going for a sexy, dark and mysterious...
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