Swiv's Idea of University
Created | Updated Feb 26, 2003
Swiv's Idea of a University Part X
I just spent all day in the library. Well, not all day - I had a break for lunch and 'Neighbours' (being a student and all) and the evening off - but it was enough of the day to make me feel that it really should be about Wednesday already (it's currently Monday).
It's the beginning of Week 3, and I'm already exhausted. This may be because I spent all of Thursday, Friday and today in the library, plus Saturday working and cleaning house, and Sunday working and cooking roast dinner. It may also be the fact that I have 13 library books living in my room, and they're barely a fraction of what I need for my first two essays.
Ahhh, yes, the essays. We're back to proper work now - fixing up presentations, essay choices, deadlines, and beginning to hit the books. I have 6 deadlines - 3 Ancient History essays, 2 Modern History essays, and a Modern History presentation. Now, the Modern History deadlines are just that, deadlines - one essay for Good Friday, one for the end of the semester and a presentation you choose (and fight for if you're in a class of 20 people - mine's on British underestimation of Zulu tribal culture leading to the Zulu wars in 1879-80, I feel the need to hire the film).
The Ancient History system is slightly different (imagine I have a slightly wry grin on my face). Each week we have a seminar topic, and we can write our essays based on the region of any seminar topic we like, to be handed in at that seminar. Which is great, you can sort your deadlines to suit yourself, or if you're me, pick the topics you're most interested in and therefore (not illogically) think you will do best in. Which leaves me with: one deadline (Ancient History) at the end of week 5 (that's what half the books are for), and then five deadlines after the Easter holiday (which is the first two weeks of April and ends on Palm Sunday) in the space of four weeks.
Confused yet? You will be - I have devised a sophisticated technique to cope with this (and book problems - our library is cack). I write all my essays, one after the other, in the order that they're going to be handed in, so I'm well ahead come Easter. Then I go back, and catch up on all the reading I haven't done for other seminars at the end of the semester, just in time for the exams.
It's made harder by the library system. We have these short loan things - you can book them out for four hours at a time, and it's basically so the books can be got hold off - if they're essential for a course and there's only a few of them, etc. The Ancient History department are lovely - they put nearly all the recommended reading on Short Loan, easy to get hold off and do last minute reading. Modern History are evil. They have about 10 core texts for each class on short loan, and none of the detailed monographs on each week's reading list, so it's a free for all, and you can never get the books you need in the week you need them. Plus it takes a week to recall a book. So when you're doing an essay/presentation you need to get in a few weeks ahead of the rush for the books. Except, for my Britain and the Scramble for Africa course, the presentation topics are all the essay titles - so to get the books easily I'm doing an essay from the end of the course now (the other half the books) before anyone else wants the books, and then an essay from the start of the course later, when everyone else has finished with the books. Won't work of course.
Oh, and the truly evil thing? My Ancient History professor has decided that we have to make up our own essay titles within the topic area. So that course is hardly all sweetness and light. First up is, 'To what extent was the Lex Sempronia Agraria of Tiberius Gracchus motivated by Rome's military needs?' Oh it's fun.
Anyway - other than the academic nonsense, what's going on? Well, freakily enough we all came back to our house after the semester break and managed to get on. Really well. With bad jokes and everything. Which is why we sat down in a civilized manner last night and had roast dinner. Don't quite know who shopped for the meat, but I cooked it, interesting that. How long it will last I don't know - I hope a while.
Tomorrow is the Breakaway (university hiking club) AGM and elections: Mary is standing down as President, Jack is running to replace her against Alice, I don't plan to vote for Jack - nothing personal, all purely what I think is right for the club, I think (I hope) it's a secret ballot though. And I'm pretty sure Jack won't find this - this is the boy doing a course commonly known as 'IT for Monkeys' and which starts off with - 'This is a mouse'.
In addition, Friday was when the new Rector - Sir Clement Freud - was installed. I didn't go - I forgot/had to pick up short loan books/saw the Monsoon sale. Jack did - he said Sir Clement's speech was rather amusing. I did see a little bit of the 'Drag' on Thursday though - in true St Andrews style, the Rector was put in a carriage, without horses, pulled by St Andrews Blues, and toured around the town - going to all the university locations - being fed alcohol along the way. The poor man did look rather bemused. Anyway - we now have a very amusing Rector. Long may it continue.
