Sampiro, honey, you’re about a zillion times better looking than Goodman in his best day.
What are you talking about, Junior? I invented the Internet!
The first isn’t communications-specific, though. That could’ve happened with any major; so much material is now available on the Internet and in online databases that it’s possible to spend one’s academic career not going into the library at all. Of course, the tour guide should’ve kept her mouth shut about not using the library.
Robin
I don’t know what the situation is at Boston College, but in four years at Wash. U. I used the main library twice. Almost all of the resources I needed were in the music library, so there was no need to go to the main one.
I don’t think I used the main library at all in grad school.
It would be 280 pounds, but I don’t get the joke either.
As long as the focus has shifted to tours of college campuses and libraries.
During a tour of Purdue University as a prospective grad student, I was taken by the Undergraduate Library. “Huh” I thought “I don’t think my college has one of those”.
I realized, later, that no, my undergraduate college did not have an Undergraduate Library. It had ONE library, and no graduate students. Purdue, on the other hand, has about 7 libraries.
And some of them have figured out that many of their professors don’t care, and that a boo-hoo to the administration on the first and maybe the second offense just means they have to rewrite the paper. When the risk of getting caught is low (and I know you tell them you check, but forgive them for not believing it when no one else bothers) and the reward is high (three extra beer nights not spent in the library or writing!) what do you expect? For a certain number of them, the temptation is too strong.
We’ve gone to zero tolerance for even making bad jokes about bringing a weapon to school (not kidding, we expelled a student because another student felt threatened by his tasteless jokes after the VT shootings) - but we have a +10 tolerance for academic dishonesty, incompetance and stupidity.
There is a student that has been in four or five of my courses - same major. He barely passed the intro course, and only by the good graces of the instructor who graded liberally. Each course has gotten successively harder, and each instructor has done him the same favor, extra credit, tutoring, liberal grading - until last semester when he ended up with Professor Facist - who doesn’t give ANYONE a break (she didn’t let the girl who missed a pop quiz because she was giving birth make it up - “pop quizes cannot be made up hopefully you have enough points to pass in other places”). Professor Facist is the only instructor for this course, its required and there is no way he’ll pass it - its not an easy course.
Someone should have done him the favor early on and suggested he switch majors - which may have involved failing him in the first course - maybe to Communications.
The first was Communications specific; it was admittedly an anecdote and the tour guide was a Communications major. Also, please see post #98, it was 12 years ago, available internet resources then; not so much. I’ll concede you can get a degree without going to the library at all these days, but, there’s still a hell of a lot of information that is not available on line that can be found in a good library. Ignorance is bliss. 
But that makes sense because you’re a music major. I’m not positive but I’m pretty sure Boston College doesn’t have a “Communications Library.”
Attention, Students: There is one week left in this term. You may see me during my office hours, but I can’t see you at any other times, because there aren’t any, as they are all filled with appointments made by your more forward-thinking peers. My inability to extend additional times to you is not a reflection of “professor’s lack of availability,” but your lack of planning. You are welcome to plead your case, but please be aware that I did my part when I gave you an Incomplete a year ago and told you what you’d need to do to make it up. Now that you’ve failed to do so, you must speak with the Registrar, not me. I can’t do anything. It is unlikely you will graduate. Even if I were to waive the course (which I wouldn’t, and can’t without additional consultation), the F would remain on your transcript. I can’t do anything about that. Though neither of us wishes it, I’ll see you in Spring 2008 when you retake the class (which still won’t expunge the F).
Huh. Normally I love British humor, but this is really obscure. Please come back, Cryptoderk, and explain?
I am of British heritage and grew up on Monty Python and I completely don’t understand it as well.
Just overheard from a colleague:
One of his students, a youngish-middle-aged fellow, emailed him with a complaint and concern about the fact that the prof wanted to show the class An Inconvenient Truth. Apparently, the student in question was unhappy that the prof was going to be showing propaganda to the “younger” folks in the class (who are much too soft and malleable to withstand such a thing)…
Heaven forbid that people should have to use their brains, use critical thinking, and so on. Or perhaps he thought that brainwashing could actually take place within a couple of hours.
As a communications major myself, I can say with reasonable certainty that the library doesn’t have a whole lot that would be useful in that field. Most undergrad courses involve much more hands-on work and not quite so much theory; in fact, I don’t think I had to read a refereed journal article until I was a graduate student, and these were available in the department’s library, not the general library.
I will concede that the guide was a twit for admitting that she didn’t use the library. But I still maintain that there are a lot of majors which don’t require extensive use of the library.
Robin
Here’s a general rant, although it wasn’t a recent occurrence. This was years ago, and boy I learned my lesson.
The programming assignments I give in my course – I usually allow from 1-2 weeks to do them from the point they are assigned, depending on the level and size.
One semester, I posted the final assignment 2 weeks before the end of the term, and the assignment due date was the last day of classes (which was a Friday). The following week was final exam week. Our exam was the following Thursday, I believe.
Many students waited too long to start it (as always), and then started weeping and wailing and panicking as the end of classes got closer. “Oh, I have soooo many other projects due this week, too!”
In an attempted gesture of kindness, I extended the deadline and allowed them until the next Tuesday to get the final assignment done. The Tuesday during exam week – 4 extra days beyond the original due date.
At the end of exam week, I found out that two students had gone to the Department Chair and complained that I was making them do homework assignments during exam week.
Mmmmm, hm. Won’t be doing that again. “I’m sorry. No extra time. Last day of classes is the ultimate deadline. NO assignment submissions accepted after that day.”
And when you explained to the department chair what had actually happened, did his head explode from the stupidity of undergrads?
Pretty much. 
Dear students: Sorry to trouble you again. Two things:
-
Since you didn’t do an important set of four related assignments, you have failed the class. I’m willing to hear why you thought that you didn’t need to do them, but I’m still recommending to my faculty group that you fail and retake the class.
-
If you are going to collaborate on open-book, online exams, do a good enough job of answering the questions on your own so that I can pass you rather than turning you in for cheating.
Student 1: Both of these authors were taken from their home town of [country] and placed in the United States.
Student 2: Both X and Y, authors of [title] and [title] respectably, were taken from their home town of [country] and forcibly placed here in the United States.
Student 1: Also both of their families had to endure hardships while growing up.
Student 2: Both of their families had to endure hardships while growing up as well.
Student 1: X’s family had to deal with racism and dealing with the language barrier. Where as Y’s family had to also deal with discrimination,
Student 2: X’s family had to deal with a language barrier and extreme racism. Ys family was faced with discrimination too.
Student 1: but also something that was more difficult was their his mother had to confess her sins of being a prostitute.
Student 2: Something that was more for difficult for Y’s family to deal with was that the mother had to confess her sins of being a prostitute.
Student 1: The difference between the twos childhood were that one grew up here in the U.S. and one in [country]. X ended up going to college and getting his degree while Y [engaged in a sport].
Student 2: The main difference between the authors’ upbringing was that one grew up here in the U.S. and the other was raised in [country]. X spent his time [engaging in a sport, exact same wording to describe it] while Y ended up going to college and receiving his degree.
I can’t frigging stand professors who are Citation Nazis.
Citation Style, be it MLA or APA or Chicago or (God forbid but still used by some dinosaurs) Turabian, whatever, exists for one basic reason: to standardize how works cited are listed so that if the teacher wishes to find a source s/he can. I understand why they want the style to be consistent because it’s confusing if the student lists author first one moment and title first for another item, all that.
HOWEVER…
Citation style guidelines are not now nor were they ever meant to be Divinely Revealed Holy Writ.
We have a teacher where I work and I’ve encountered several in other places who are just absolutely anal on the subject of citations and LOVE to mark students off for the most trivial of things.
It’s hard to make a good citation style on SDMB due to indent problems and the like, but assume the following is the correct citation for an article:
Adamm-Life, Gett. “They Shoot Anal English Profs Don’t They? Good!.” Journal of Pointless Tenure Seeking Treekilling Papers 02 MAR 1994: 17-22. Academic Search Premier. Guy’s Groovy Grabbag of Databases. Azalea T. Meadows Memorial Library & Coffee Shop. 04 JUN 2007 <http://www.buttloadofdatabases.com>.
This teacher would count off 10 points if the citation read like this instead:
Adamm-Life, Gett. “They Shoot Anal English Profs Don’t They? Good!.” Journal of Pointless Tenure Seeking Treekilling Papers . 02 MAR 1994: 17-22. Academic Search Premier. Found on Guy’s Groovy Grabbag of Databases. Azalea T. Meadows Memorial Library & Coffee Shop. 04 JUN 2007. <http://www.buttloadofdatabases.com>.
No exaggeration- the fact the bottom one has two periods in the wrong place and “found on” that’s not necessary- that’s 10 points.
What majorly pissed me off was a prof who last year argued with me that a particular older government document a student used must be counted as Internet because it was on a CD-ROM. Since it’s CD-ROM it’s accessed through computer, therefore it’s Internet, simple enough? She had docked this student 10 points because “they’re limited to only 2 Internet sources and this made 3!”, so when the student (who I had assured earlier this was NOT an I’net source) came to me I contacted the professor. She would not hear otherwise. (The student had to go to the department head, who did listen.)
Ironically the student also used a badly out of date print copy of the CIA World Factbook that had erroneous (due to being out of date) information on the rulers of a particular country. The Internet version was of course up to date (and I don’t think the CIA even distributes it in print anymore), but the student was forbidden to use it because the professor (who is only in her 40s- we’re not talking 84 year old “I don’t trust computer do’ins” type) wants to teach them that “Internet information is not reliable”. I tried explaining in the session I taught her class how to find reliable info on the net but she short-circuited me: “Print is ALWAYS more reliable than the Internet” (which of course is total BS).
<hijack>I’ve got 10 weeks – actually eight, given 10-week summer internships include a week of settling-in and a week of getting-ready-to-leave – to try to teach community college students how to write.
Son of Citation is my friend. Even better, it’s the friend of any student until they learn to write references without thinking about what they’re doing. Heck, even dinosaurs are recognized. </hijack>
ETA: of course, this doesn’t solve the “print is always more accurate” issue… Even Son of Citation can’t solve everything!
Switching from Communications to Poli Sci? Wow, try not to overexert yourself.