Community

If there is one thing I absolutely love about Hollins, it is the community. Sometimes you find yourself stuck in cycles of never-ending work, which can get frustrating.  But, when you have people to share the stress with, everything becomes much more manageable.

Spending three nights in a row cramming for a biological psychology test would’ve been awful if I hadn’t studied with some other Hollins students. In class we formed a study group, which quickly turned into a family. Tuesday night we spent at the library. That night when the library closed at mid-night we ventured to Pleasants (another academic building), staying there until around three in the morning. We actually didn’t study for BIO-PSYCH all that much. But it seemed to equal out because we all had fun and got done what we needed to do for that next day of classes.  I am not sure if we stayed up til 3 am because of work load or if we were all just having such a good time we lost track of time. The next night we all met back at the library and played some study games that were extremely helpful. Finally the night before the exam we staked out a spot in a Pleasants classroom where we drew neurons and action potentials all over the white boards. It was great because when you didn’t understand something you could ask someone else in the group and they would help you. Everyone had a strength and a weakness; a strength they could teach others in the group and a weakness someone could help with from that person’s own understanding. But when none of us knew what the answer was we turned to YouTube and watched funny videos about neurons. Here is one of the funny neuron video we used to study. The morning of the test we played it in class for everyone including Professor Bowers and they loved it!

I love how easily you can make new friends at Hollins and how Hollins women are all so friendly, helpful, caring, etc. We can also be pretty creative when it comes to our study methods….

Sociology

All right so I promised y’all a taste of the sociology department and that is what I am going to attempt to provide.

First of all there are four faculty members currently in the Sociology department. I am attaching a link to the faculty page of the Hollins website. http://hollins.edu/academics/sociology/faculty.shtml

1. SJ Creek: One thing you have to know about her is that she does a great Sarah Palin impression. Cracks me up every time “You just have to pull yourself up by your boot straps…”. Well now that I have gotten that out-of-the-way I can continue on. Most of her students call her SJ, I do anyway. She just asks that when you are speaking with someone important such as Dean Hammer you say Professor Creek instead. Prof. Creek is new to Hollins (Fall 2011).As of now she is a visiting professor (2-year contract), and fresh from grad school: full of energy and enthusiasm. Honestly she is the best professor I have yet to have at Hollins. I’ve spent Friday nights in her office talking to her about paper topics, to which she then proceeds to throw books at you for. I am also bias because she is my advisor. Currently I am taking Sociology of Sexualities with her. I also took Race, Class, and Gender with her last fall, and Sociology of Deviance in Film over J-Term
2. LeeRay Costa:  I have yet to have a class with her. I know she has been here for several years and really enjoys teaching at Hollins. She teaches all of the anthropology and some gender and women’s studies classes. Everyone who I know that has had a class with her raves about how excellent she is, and how much help she provided. I am planning on taking a class with her either next year or senior year.
3. Eberle Smith: Prof. Smith teaches the social work classes. She works with student’s in the sociology department as well as other departments who are interested in doing social work. She is also in charge of the Senior Social Work internships. I have yet to take a class with her but have heard that she is very funny and relatable. She doesn’t teach any classes outside of social work to my knowledge. She does a lot of teaching on family and children relationships.
4. Aurthur Poskocil: Oh –  Professor Poskocil! Let me just tell you he is a character. Poskocil knows Hollins in and out, he has been teaching here since the late 1960’s. He offers a real life perspective of the changes that Hollins has gone through over the years that other professors just do not have. This is particularly interesting in my Current Social Problems class that I am taking with him this semester. Poskocil is able to give us multiple perspectives on what women thought were social problems in the late 60’s – 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and today.  It had been fascinating. Professor Poskocil expects a lot out of his students. His 200-level class is more in line with the work load of a 300 level. He has pushed me to focus deeper on course readings. I often leave his class thinking what did I just learn  – because now I am more confused about my political beliefs than ever. I will leave you with a quote that Poskocil said on the first day of class: “Many of you are going to leave this class thinking, gosh my professor is a communist radical…. And I am okay with that.”

I hope this made the Hollins sociology department seem more like real people rather than just a face you see on the Hollins Web site. I am sure if you have any questions about the department they would be more than willing and even excited to answer your questions! Also don’t forget you can e-mail me! My e-mail address is on the blog – in the about me section.

The Path to a Major

Guess who declared their major!?? That’s right this girl. Say hello to the newest addition to the sociology department at Hollins. So today with all of you I would like to share the story of how I decided my major.

I came to Hollins University in the fall of 2010 just a wee first year, full of high hopes and expectations. As most first year students ask each other when introduced to someone for the first time people would ask me “So what is your major?” To which I always excitedly reply Biology/Pre-Med. I am going to go to medical school after leaving Hollins and become a pediatrician. This is what I had planned on doing my whole entire life. I had always thought of it as just being what I was going to do. But then something magical happened. I came to Hollins and had to take lots of classes outside of my comfort zone in order to meet my perspectives (if you aren’t sure what these are I believe I have a post about them somewhere or search it on the Hollins website). Because of these perspective I have taken physics, pottery, art history, creative writing, and so much more.  Another thing that this perspectives all led me too were questions, and lots of them at that.  One of the best parts about Hollins is getting to expand your own worldly view of what you think about yourself.

I remember the first day of my physics class here I fell in love with its approach to interpreting the world. I came home and told my girlfriend at the time “Maybe I should be a physics major?!!” I am fairly certain all of my friends thought I was going insane, but that is beside the point. In the end the idea probably lasted about a month until I realized all of the math courses I would have to take (which terrified me), but for that month I was incredibly serious about taking the physics department by storm. After the physics incident came the art history and pottery incidents. The Art History idea came quickly after the physics major had died. I loved the idea of writing about modern art and being an art critic but I soon realized I would have to become a much better writer and that would take a lifetime. A lifetime I wasn’t willing to give. Pottery was the most fun. Although it also came with the moments of panic. I would freak out and think maybe I should transfer to Art School, and then the I would think how am I going to afford art school, what am I going to do with a degree in pottery? I can’t eat Ramen forever. Well after a lot of thinking I decided pottery wasn’t the best option for me. Then there was the Environmental science talk, and finally I thought I had really found my major when I started taking psychology classes. My friends all told me that I would make a great counselor or teacher some day because I was so easy to talk to. I even was looking into the education department (and by looking I mean creating my whole schedule around the requirements of the program). If you read earlier posts from the academic year you will see how I came really close to education being a reality.

And then I woke up one morning and realized it was all wrong, and I had ignored the one subject that I had been the most passionate about at Hollins and outside the classroom: sociology. In my next post I will tell you more about the sociology department and how I realized it was the major for me, although I am still getting a minor in psychology.

I suppose the reason I decided to make a post about my path to finding the right major is to let all of you know that it is perfectly fine if you don’t know what you want to do. Figuring out what you want is what college and Hollins specifically is all about. Hollins is truly one of the best places a girl can go to become a woman who knows what she wants.

Short Term

Hello Readers!

First off I would just like say Happy New Year to everyone who is reading this! Is it just me or does it seem strange that it is already 2012?  Well I suppose whether we like it or not it here to stay! I hope everyone has had a great first month of the new year because I certainly did!

This year for January term I stayed on campus and took a class. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this J-Term as most refer to it, is a special time at Hollins before the Spring semester when all students take roughly three and a half weeks to expand their horizons! During J-Term students are given a few options, stay on campus and take a class, internships, study abroad trips (some through the school and others not), or you might actually choose to do an independent study. Just to clarify, first year students usually take a class on campus, some do competitive internships in the valley, and others that have special circumstances might be able to do something else with the approval of the Dean of Academic Services.  But back to my experience. This year I took a class in the Sociology Department called Hoolagins, Sluts, and Ne’er-do-wells: Sociology of deviance in Film. Honestly this was one of the most interesting and exciting classes I have taken while attending Hollins. The class met three times a week, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for three hours. That is another thing I would like to point out about J-Term you generally have a lot more free time to do things in Roanoke, on campus, etc. that you just normally wouldn’t. It is fantastic! The deviance class was set up with readings everyday, a discussion for the first half of class over these readings, and then we watched a movie that pertained to that day’s subject. Some of the topics we discussed in the class included but were not limited to prostitution, labeling, sluts, racism, mental illness, child molestation, and the list goes on. As you can infer a lot of these were very controversial topics, so it made for some heated discussions. One of things I looked forward to every time I went into class was knowing I would be uncomfortable. Now, this might sounds a little odd but this is one of the key aspects of the class. You went in everyday expecting to disagree with someone or watch a movie that would shake you to your core. I left this class as a whole, thinking before “I took this class I knew what I thought, and now I have no idea what I think.” It was a very challenging class, that has made me a much more analytical person.

Education Program

About two weeks about I had a meeting with a professor named Anna Baynum, from the education department. The meeting went well and she was able to explain as well as answer my questions about the Hollins education program which was super great. I learned that there are two different programs at Hollins, a four-year track and a five-year track. The four-year track leaves you graduating with a bachelor’s in something other than education (I’ll explain this in a second). While the five-year track sets you up to graduate from Hollins with your master’s. I thought that was awesome. But as I was saying before the education program here at Hollins is simply a program, that is actually how it is everywhere in the state of Virginia, you graduate with a bachelor’s in something else and a certificate in education. The certificate is basically all of the same work as a major program, so you essentially end up double majoring.
After the meeting I received a copy of the program requirements which was really handy. I strongly urge you to visit the education department if you are at all interested in education right when you get to Hollins. You’ll be much more prepared for their program, which basically begins the second semester of your first year here. You can also work requirements for the program to satisfy general education requirements.

I’m going to post a link to the education requirements PDF so you all can take a look at the program yourself. Seriously if interested in the program shoot someone an email, they are all super sweet people.

Click to access education.pdf

Welcome Back… SOPHOMORE!

It just seems crazy to think that a little over a year ago I was embarking upon my journey here at Hollins. Who would’ve thought that after such a small amount of time, a place could feel so comfortable and warm: a home. This year I am living in the apartments with my friends Emma and Laura. They are both people that I met last year on the Hollins Wilderness Orientation Program Trip, and lived with in Randolph (one of the first-year dorms). The apartment is so wonderful! We have a full kitchen, living room/dining room, fenced-in patio, one double bedroom, one single bedroom, a full and half bath, as well as central heat and air (one of my favorites). It is incredibly nice to have a place away from the bubble of hollins to call my own. Soon I will post some pictures.

On to the land of academia! This year I am taking 16 credit hours. I’ve enrolled in chemistry 101, along with its lab, a sociology class about race, class, and gender, an intro to Psychology course, and finally I am am taking an online computer course to get a skill out of the way. Chemistry isn’t going as well as I would’ve hoped, currently we are working on learning conversions. We’ll see how it all works out, I’ll keep you updated. However my sociology class is going well, I think it is my current favorite. It is a 200-level course but the readings are that of a 400-level course and it is extremely difficult, but so interesting and worth the effort. Right now we are discussing racism, and reading the book Racist America by Joe R. Feagin. So far it has been really interesting, and very thought provoking. The class is also super fun, and discussion-based. The professor is new to Hollins and has a lot of energy. Well that is all for now!

Spring Cotillion

Alright readers so today I am going to give all of you the low down on Spring Cotillion!

Every year at Hollins a board of students (activities) organizes what is called Spring Cotillion. Cotillion is a formal dance that takes place as a final farewell for all the Seniors who are graduating in May. This year Cotillion took place in Boones Mill, Virginia at the Sundara. Unlike other years when the dance had been in Roanoke, students were not allowed to drive personal vehicles to the location, all had to ride in a charter bus. Cotillion festivities took place underneath a beautiful white tent outside. The location was green and blooming with flowers it was truly a sight to see and reminded me of a fancy spring wedding.  Cotillion started around 6:30pm for Senior Cocktail hour which ran until around 7:30pm. Underclassm students are allowed to attend the cocktail hour but if you aren’t a Senior there really isn’t much for you to do. The official dance started at 8:30pm, with most showing up around 9:30pm. There was lots of dancing, eating (gourmet food!), drinking cocktails/mocktails, and there was even a Photo-booth as well as flip book section. The last two in particular were really cool. The flip book section consisted of taking an approximately 30-second long video and then composing it into approximately 100 stop motion shots, which was bound together to create a book! The Photo-booth was also cool, it gave you several different options for effects. Overall, I would say if you come to Hollins you have to go to Spring Cotillion, it was some of the most fun I have had all semester.

Photo Credit: Brett Denfeld

Specialty Housing

Another option other than Traditional Housing at Hollins is  Specialty Housing! Specialty Housing is unique because the community has a theme, and community members must apply (except Wellness Housing). At Hollins there are 8 different options for Specialty Housing:

• Near East Fine Arts (NEFA): This house is for women interested in the arts. It is located on the far side of East. They are known for their monthly campus socials celebrating the birthdays of their house members. This house was created to expand the awareness of arts in both the Hollins and Roanoke communities. Women living her must be involved in the Arts Association and complete an application that asks questions such as: What is your sign? What is your favorite food? If you had a super power… and many more. The interview process for this house also involves a guided meditation. Faculty advisor: Amy Moorefield, director, Eleanor D. Wilson Museum
• French House: The French House is open to women who are interested in better understanding the French language and study during their academic career at Hollins. It is located in a Hill House. The House is best known for spreading French culture on campus and working with the French Club. Students who live in the French House are urged to speak French in all community areas, e.g., kitchen and common room, in addition women who are French majors earn up to 2 credit hours a year. To live in the French House, you must complete an application and interview which consists of the following questions: Outside of school education how have you explored French/Francophone culture? Why do you want to live in the French house? What attracted you? What do you hope to gain from the experience? Students are also required to sign the following agreement when applying to the house: I agree that as a resident of the French House, I will speak as much French as possible while in all common areas of the house and encourage French conversation among my fellow residents. I will also attend at least 2 resident-led socials per semester,  plan 1 social,  attend all bi-weekly house meetings, and weekly group conversation sessions. Faculty advisor: Annette Sampon-Nicolas, Elizabeth Lineberger Ramberg Professor of French
• Global Village (Carvin): Carvin is house specifically for women who are interested in living with people from a wide array of cultures. Student’s who apply to live here don not have to be international students; although a larger majority of international students live in the house. The purpose of the house is to bring peace, understanding, and friendships among all peoples. Student’s who live here have a strong desire to experience and learn from people of other cultures. Carvin is known around campus for cooking some of the best ethnic as well as desserts on campus.  It is also host to a wide number of potlucks that encourage students to come together and share food, laughter, and stories. The Application process for Carvin involves a paper application and interview. Faculty advisor: Jeri Suarez, associate dean of students, cultural and community engagement
• Hollins University Outdoor Program (HOP): Located in 1 West, HOP Hall is for women who share a love for the outdoors, environment, and adventure. HOP strives to increase the awareness of outdoor activities on campus, as well as lead events each semester. Students who live here must complete at least one HOP trip a semester led by Jon Guy Owens, director of the program, as well as organize an event themselves. These events could include programs such as, hiking the cascades, bouldering, skiing trips, setting up a duck race down Carvin’s Creek and much more. The Application process involves a paper application and interview (sometimes). Questions asked during this process include : Why do you want to live here? What do you do outside? Faculty advisor: Jon Guy Owens, director, Hollins Outdoor Program
• Otaku: This house located in Tinker 1B, it is open to students whose focus is predominately studying/enjoying Anime, Science Fiction, and Fantasy. Other interests on the hall include but are not limited to KPOP, gaming, the arts and just being silly. As student Emma Conover 2013, described the hall as “the place for all the odd balls.”  Otaku is best known for the once- a-year celebration of Viking Day during which students of the hall as well as Honorees go around Campus and pillage for items to be donated to a local women’s shelter. The application process involves a paper application as well as a 30-minute interview. As a part of the written application, students are given a blank sheet of paper and told to do whatever they want with it  – could be a drawing, story, or a crossword puzzle. Members believe this is one of the most important parts of the application process because it helps them really get to know their applicant. Questions for the sit-down interview involve some of the following: If you could be an extinct animal what would you be? What do you think you could bring to the hall? Act like your favorite pokemon, and much more. There is not a current faculty advisor at this time.
• Service Learning House (Sandusky): This house, located on the Hill  is for women who have an interest in community service around the Roanoke area. If you choose to live here you must commit to at least 10 hours of community service a month. The House also sponsors things like something new this year, the 30 hour famine to raise awareness about the hunger crisis across the globe. Students who live here must also work with S.H.A.R.E. (Students Helping Achieve Rewarding Experiences), a community service club on campus. The application process includes both a paper application and interview. Questions asked for this include but are not limited to: What community service have you done in the past? Why do you want to live here? Are you will to commit to the 10 hours of community service a month minimum? What ideas do you have for spreading awareness of campus? Faculty advisor: Jeri Suarez, associate dean of students, cultural and community engagement
• Spanish House: This house which is located on front quad in what is called “far east,” or the farthest side of east from main, specializes in cultivating Spanish Culture and Language. This house is best known for spreading Spanish Culture on campus and working with the Spanish Club. The house also makes efforts to expand the Hispanic culture in the Roanoke area. Students who live here are urged to speak Spanish throughout the house, and may be able to earn up to 2 credit hours a year. To live in the Spanish House, women must complete an application and interview which consists of some of the following questions: Why do you want to live in the Spanish House? Are you a Spanish major or minor?  What are you hoping to gain from this sort of experience? What attracted you to the house. etc. Faculty advisors: Alison Ridley, associate professor of Spanish, and Dan Murphy, professor of Spanish
• Wellness Hall: There are three Wellness Halls on Hollins campus, two are located in Tinker (first-year housing) and one in middle East (middle of east building). If you wish to live on a Wellness Hall you must sign a pledge saying you are committed to a substance-free lifestyle and a personal exploration of what it means to be “well” in all aspects of life. This means students may not do any sort of drugs, consume alcohol, or smoke during their stint on the hall. To live here, students must request the housing. For example if you are a first year,  you will fill out a housing questionnaire on which you will select whether or not you are okay with or want to live on a Wellness Hall. If you respond “yes,” chances are high you will be placed on one of the two halls in Tinker. If you are an upperclass student, (Sophomore, Junior, Senior), you will have the option to chooose living in Middle East (Wellness Hall), during the Housing Lottery, the process is just the same as picking any other sort of housing during the lottery.

Housing Lottery

It’s approaching the end of the year and this means it’s time for everyone to decide where they want to live next year! The way this works for upperclass students (First-Year students get placed in Tinker or Randolph with the ability to move at the end of the first semester), is as follows.

1. Pay housing deposit and clear all holds on your account by April 1st
2. Get lottery number: These are determined by class standing  (according to the registrar’s office). So Seniors have higher lottery numbers than Juniors, and Juniors higher than Sophomores. Lottery numbers are giving our during every classes lottery session. This will be giving a few days before the first lottery session.
3. Wait until the 1st round of lottery April 11th -13th: There are two rounds of lottery, the first for people who met the April 1st deadline, the second  for others who make their deposit and clear their account after April 1st.
4. First Lottery Day: Seniors have the first chance to pick. When the session starts everyone who has first session numbers sits and waits for the numbers to be called. Students then sign up for their room (picking from the building plans of West, Apartments, Some of Tinker, Main, Far East, and some of the Hill Houses) with a roommate ( you have to have a roommate when you go to the lottery in order to get a double room, apartment, etc.).
5. Second Lottery Day: Same as Seniors except this takes place with the Juniors
6. Third Lottery Day: Same as Seniors and Juniors, but with Sophomores
7. Second Lottery: During this session everyone is mixed (no division by class standing). Most people go during the first lottery, so there aren’t very many people present for this lottery session.
8. If you miss the lottery all together, then you get placed in the remaining places on campus once you have paid your housing deposit and cleared you account.

So that is a run down of the Housing Lottery! I hope it all made sense to you guys, if you have any other questions or are curious, here is a link to the student  handbook that also explains the lottery (It’s on Page 86):

Student Handbook

Spring Break!

Hey readers! Sorry it’s has been awhile since I’ve posted anything new, but I am back and excited to be blogging again.

What have I been up to you ask…

• Well, this past week was spring break! I spent the first weekend at Emma’s house in Fredericksburg, Va and then she drove  Laura and I up to the DC to stay with Laura’s great aunt and uncle for the rest of the week. We had a blast of course hanging out in the Capital. That’s one of the beauties of Hollins: you get to live in a smaller city but are still relatively close to bigger cities such as Richmond, Charlottesville, DC, and Charlotte, as well as cities in West Virginia. While there Laura  and I hit up a few of the Smithsonian’s, rode the metro (a lot), saw the White House, monuments, and toured the cherry blossoms via bike! All of which were wonderful! We also tried Ethiopian food for the first time which I found I liked a lot. Laura, on the other hand liked the meats and veggies but not the injera which is a flat bread and is really the main part of the meal. You actually tear off pieces of the bread to eat the entrees (no utensils!), so if you don’t like the bread it makes it a little difficult to enjoy the rest of the meal.  But I think one of the best parts of the trip was getting to spend time with Laura’s family. They were very generous and warm people, who seemed to love having us in their home. The trip itself was all I could’ve hoped for and more!  I wish I could better describe every part to you but that would take pages and pages, and I’m sure you would grow bored =P

So that was DC and what I’ve most recently been up to, talk to you all soon!

Millie