FIRST YEAR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

 January 17, 2006

 

Study Skills Tip of the Week:

For each of your spring classes, carefully read over the syllabus. As you read the syllabus, make sure to identify:

Secure copies of all books for all of your classes. Become familiar with each of the books. Look over the Table of Contents. Make sure the course is right for you. If you think you're over prepared for a class or you're under prepared, talk to your Academic Advisor.

 

Meet students in each of your classes. Introduce yourself to those sitting around you. Your classmates are a great study resource so get to know them. Make sure to get names and phone numbers so you can contact them if you have questions.

 

During the first two weeks of the semester, introduce yourself to each of your instructors during office hours. You'll find that asking someone you already know for help is easier than asking for help on your first visit to office hours.

 

The Healthy Lives Tip of the Week: Celebrate Diversity
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood that America was founded on the ideal that freedom and opportunity are the natural birthright of all men and women. He understood that America's mission is to keep that ideal alive--and to prove that women and men of all races and ethnic backgrounds, and all faiths and creeds, can work and live together to create a more perfect union. Join the Truman Community and the world in honoring and making Dr. King's vision for America a reality by educating yourself on how you can make a difference and on the role of race in America. Take a class on race, talk to someone with a different background, and participate in the King Commemoration Events. The Commemorative Events include:

Unity Luncheon: On Wednesday, January 18 at 11:30 am in the Georgian Room of the Student Union, Truman hosts the Sixth Annual Unity Luncheon in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. The centerpiece of the luncheon is a Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. presentation by Gladys Coggswell, a nationally recognized storyteller. Students with valid meal plans may attend for $4 and a meal block. RSVP by 5 pm today (January 17) to the Truman State University Public Relations Office at 785-4016.

Symposium: Join the Residential College Program and Multicultural Affairs on Friday, January 20 at 3:30 in the Activities Room of the Student Union. This year's symposium will explore Dr. King's speech on December 5, 1955 at the Holt Street Baptist Church. King delivered the speech in response to Rosa Parks' act of civil disobedience. The short speech can be found at http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/papers/vol3/551205.004-MIA_Mass_Meeting_at_Holt_Street_Baptist_Church.htm

Volunteer: Truman students and community volunteers read to public and private school children on January 19 and 20. To volunteer, contact Amy Currier at 785-4222.

 

Resource of the Week--Time Management and Study Skills Workshops

Were you disappointed in your grades for fall semester? Could you use a few pointers on how to more effectively manage your time or study for classes? The Residential College Program offers workshops to help you brush up your study and time management skills. Students are welcome to attend any of the workshops regardless of whether they live on or off campus.

Brushing Up on Time Management and Other Study Skills:

   Friday, January 20 at 8:30 am in the Dobson Main Lounge (1st Floor)

   Monday, January 23 at 6 pm in the Dobson Hall Classroom (2nd Floor)

   Tuesday, January 24 at 4 pm in the Centennial Hall Classroom

   Tuesday, January 24 at 4 pm in Missouri Hall 109

   Wednesday, January 25 at 6 pm in the Centennial Hall Classroom

   Thursday, January 26 at 3 pm in Missouri Hall 109

Time Management

   Tuesday, January 24 at 5 pm in the Ryle Hall Classroom

   Wednesday, January 25 at 3:30 pm in the Blanton Hall Main Lounge

Study Skills for Math and Science Classes

   Tuesday, January 24 at 4:30 pm in the Blanton Hall Main Lounge

Study Skills

   Thursday, January 26 at 5 pm in the Ryle Hall Classroom

Quote of the Week

"Not long ago, an English writer telephoned me from London, asking questions. One was, 'What's your alma mater?' I told him, 'Books.' You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I'm not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man.  . . .

 

"But I'm digressing; I told the Englishman that my alma mater was books, a good library. Every time I catch a plane, I have with me a book that I want to read - and that's a lot of books these days. If I weren't out here every day battling the white man, I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity - because you can hardly mention anything I'm not curious about. I don't think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensively than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college. I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much panty-raiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all of that. Where else but in a prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day?"

 

--From A Homemade Education by Malcolm X

The entire passage can be found at http://www.gwctc.commnet.edu/engesl/malcolmx.htm

The First Year Weekly Newsletter is sent to all new students every Tuesday. It provides information, tips, and strategies to help you be successful at Truman. If you do not want to receive the newsletter, see the directions below on how to remove your name from the mailing list.