Is there a dress code for undergrads?

I am taking my undergraduate researchers to the Very Big Conference this spring.  And boy, are they excited.

One of them is so excited that she is asking her parents for "conference clothes" for Christmas.


When she told me this, my first thought was aw, aren't my undergrads great?

As I smiled at my undergrad, another question wiggled its way to the front of my brain:  crap!  What am I going to tell her to buy?

Obviously, I'm not going to recommend that she buy a skirt.  But should she wear a suit at the conference? Or just some business casual wear?

Is the dress code different for male undergrads?


Clearly conference dress varies wildly among faculty.  Some follow a business casual code, while others are more the jeans and polo type.


So what about undergrads?  Do you care what your undergrads wear to conferences?  What do you think of undergrads who show up in a suit?  Does the dress of students at all reflect upon their faculty member?

Time to give thanks

It's that time of the year where, like it or not, you're probably going to have to hold hands around a turkey and state for what you're most thankful.

Now imagine if we had to do that at faculty meetings.

Most of the time, not-so-nice things are said at faculty meetings.  Hell, most of the time we DON'T have much for which we can give thanks.

So imagine that you're at a faculty meeting (or group meeting).  Go get an extra piece of pie if it helps.  What do YOU need to give thanks for this year?

Thanksgiving: time to toil or reason to rest?

There is a post up over on insidehighered.com that discusses how one's choice to work (or not) over Thanksgiving break is reflective of daily work habits.  While I don't necessarily agree with the article, it did get me thinking about how I approach the holidays.

I'm grateful for the break from classes.  By this time of year, my students are mostly tired of me, and, to be very honest, I'm tired of some of them, too.

In grad school, I rarely took Thanksgiving off.  Free parking and empty labs?  Sign! Me! Up!

But now?  I am a professor!!

Wait....where is the super hero music?  (Wow....it's quieter here than my class was last Friday.  Tough crowd.)


This week, I plan to work the first half, spend Thursday and Friday with the Puppy and N.A. (and copious amounts of Pie), and then work most of the weekend to finish up grading.  Hopefully somewhere in there I will make the time to catch up on the blogosphere.

I would like to think that my students will find time to get some work done over break, too.


...but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

Why I hate registration week

In the past two weeks I've received at least 34 variations of the following:

Yo Prof Reaction,
I know that I am number 32 on your wait list, but can I please, please PLEASE get into your class next semester?  My current prof, like, totally sucks, and I've heard that you are SUPER amazing.  I know that I will only do well if I have you because you are, like, sooooo amazing.  I can't possibly still take my other four perfect profs' classes if I'm not in your section.  Please, is there anything I can do to get into your class?  I hope that you will consider moving me ahead of the other students.


Thanks so much,
Undergrad



I've received such pleas via email.  I've had messages left on my voicemail.  The worst by far are the teary pleas made in person.


As a result, in the past two weeks, I've had to deliver at least 34 variations of the following:

Undergrad,
Thank you for your kind words.  If I can find alternative schedules for you  in < 1 minute then no, I do not believe your world will end if you do not have me as your professor next semester.  Otherwise I would definitely move you ahead of the other 31 students ahead of you in line.  I am not sure if your desire to take my class has more to do with your misconceived notion that I am easy or you  are implying that none of my colleagues could possibly teach to the same amazing level that I do.  


I recommend that you enroll in one of the many, many open seats in another section.  


Best,
Dr. Reaction








Okay, so my email replies actually look something like this:

Undergrad,


Thank you for your kind words.  As number 32 on the wait list, it is highly unlikely that you will get into the class.  I suggest that you arrange your schedule to accommodate one of the other open sections of this course.


Best,


Dr. Reaction






Is it winter break yet?

I judge you by your science

I just un-friended someone on Facebook because they posted some really bad science on their wall.




What type of bad science would cause YOU to un-friend someone?

Grad school: best of times or worst of times?

It seems that each week I am asked to tell my Tales From Grad School to another Undergrad.  I am always honest about my grad experiences, which, as some of you know, boarded on the semi-awful to the what-the-hell-was-I-thinking awful.

Of course I'd do it all over again!

This past week, an Undergrad commented that he had thought grad school sounded like so much fun, but then after talking with all the profs, he wasn't so sure.

Oops.

Are you honest with your undergrads about your grad school experiences?  And on the scale of awful, where did (does) your grad school life fall?

Cushy conference accommodations?

I'm on my way back home after a week-long conference.  Although I didn't travel with students on this conference, I typically do.

When I was an undergrad, we crammed into hotel rooms.  Four or five of us to a room.  Always shared beds.  Even as a grad student, if other female students from LargeU were attending, we shacked up together.  Often beds were shared.

One of my colleagues feels that undergrads shouldn't share beds.  But only two students to a room?  That's just not practical in most cases.

What hotel arrangements do you make for your research students?  

Friday fill in the blanks: that's pretty dumb

The dumbest thing I saw this week was ______________ .





The dumbest thing I saw this week was monogrammed cars.  WTF.  Back to a (semi)regularly scheduled blogging schedule after this conference is over.