• Get sleep! Plan your studying so that you do not need to do any 'all-nighters.' Sleep deprived individuals rarely do high quality work. You'll get the paper done faster by getting proper sleep. Final exams ask you to think clearly and sleep deprived individuals tend to make silly errors. Hence, a good night's rest may be more productive than extra hours of cramming.

• Eat properly! Healthy eating can reduce stress. Use your meals as a time to relax with friends.

• Exercise! It will help you feel better and calmer and will help you sleep. Don't put off exercise during finals.

• Avoid alcohol, smoking, and drugs! They are not healthy stress reducers. Partying during final exams, moreover, can add to your stress if you waste time recovering from partying.

• Allocate your study time appropriately! Study the things you don't already know as opposed to things you do know. Spend your study time in areas in which it will do the most good. If you want to maximize your grade point average, spend your time studying for classes where your grade is borderline. (Of course, don't completely ignore studying for classes where your grade is solid.) To allocate your time efficiently, you need to know your grade in the class and how much difference the final can make on your grade.

• Know the times of your exams! Set your alarm and arrive early to make yourself comfortable and ready to take the exam. The final exam schedule is at http://www.truman.edu/pages/463.asp.

• Read directions! When responding to essay questions, make sure your response relates to the essay prompt.

• Use time on exams wisely! In deciding how much time to spend on a question, look at the question's worth. Don't spend half your time on a question that is only worth 5 points out of 100.

Have you ever been so frustrated with somebody that you wanted to just scream? Sometimes in an effort to feel better, people air their frustrations with another person. On occasion, the other person turns the conversation into gossip, and in the end nothing is really solved. In the short term, you might feel supported by others, but the problem still remains. Avoidance just causes tension. More than likely, the person you are frustrated with doesn't have any idea of the magnitude of your concerns. Hearing about somebody's frustrations with you through the grapevine is really upsetting and often, confusing. Chances are, if somebody had an issue with something you did, you would prefer them to approach you directly and rationally to talk through the concerns. Since human nature seems to guide us in the opposite way, how can we confront another person while still feeling supported or validated?

• Be careful to make statements that are not intentionally hurtful or are unfair. Bringing up something totally unrelated just because you know it will hurt them is not productive.

• Do not resort to personal attacks, since this only puts people on the defensive and does not allow them to think about the effect their actions has on others.

• Use behavior-oriented statements such as, "When you (insert behavior), it makes me feel (name your emotion)."

• Don't be afraid of the other person's reaction. When you talk things over and work to resolve the issue, both people end up feeling better and are more aware of how their actions affect the other.

• If the conversation is really difficult, consider asking a neutral person to help facilitate the discussion. Many resources exist on campus from your Student Advisor or Hall Director to a counselor from University Counseling Services.

In the end, the relationships that are most meaningful and healthy are the ones that are based on open and honest communication, where feelings are shared and problems are resolved quickly.

Even if you are away from Truman's campus, you can access Truman services via the Truman website and TruView. Over the summer, you can use TruView to make a payment and to change or view your fall schedule. Frequently, as students change their fall schedules over the summer, seats open in closed sections. Hence, if a section you want is currently closed, you should check the open course list periodically throughout the summer to see if a seat is available. You should also use TruView to check your final grades for spring 2006. Final grades will be available after 5:00 pm on Monday, May 22. You can also use the Registrar's Website (registrar.truman.edu) to access forms and information on transfer equivalencies and enrollment verification.

Quote of the Week

The highest goals of a liberal arts education are to ignite the individual's curiosity about the natural and social universe and then aid him or her in developing the skills and personal resources to channel knowledge into productive, satisfying activity. In pursuing these goals, the University seeks to cultivate in its students:

• intellectual integrity, celebration of difference and diversity, informed ethical values, and courageous aspiration toward the best for oneself, one's family, one's society, and the world;

• a sense of the joys and uses of creative and critical thought, including skills of intellectual problem-solving through effective reading and research, clear writing, and articulate speech; and

• the willingness and ability to exercise personal and intellectual leadership in his or her chosen field of endeavor.

--Truman State University Mission Statement

The complete text is available at http://www.truman.edu/pages/17.asp.