A Week In My Life...

For this blog entry, I thought it might be interesting to share a “typical week” for me. I’ll do Monday 2/11-Sunday 2/17… a lot of this is related to my participation in hall council, as I’m very active in that group.

Monday 2/11/08
7:15-1: Campus Day (for accepted high school students, they can come and see the University, etc. I’m one of the student leaders, I take them on a tour, do a Q+A session, etc.)
1-2: Statistics lecture
2-5: nap
5:30-6: Taylor House meeting – discuss plans for upcoming events for our Hall Council Reps 6-7: Sell tickets in South Quad’s lobby for a Basketball game 200 of South Quad’s residents are going to together
7-8: homework in my room
8-10:30: dinner + Forum on sexual violence in Hip Hop music and a debrief session with Hall Council
10:30-12: hang out with people in my hall

Tuesday 2/12/08
9-10: Great Books Lecture on the text of Genesis
10-11:30: Shakespeare in Performance class – discuss video clips of “Merchant of Venice”
11:30-1: Lunch with friends from my Shakespeare class
1-2: Psychology Lecture – psychology in the workplace, discuss people’s motivation at work
2-4: Homework in the Graduate Library
4-6: Psychology Discussion – breakdown class to discuss the lectures for the week
6-7: Dinner with my friend Andrew
7-8: Planning meeting for MUNDO Michigan, a group that is planning trips to Detroit and Chicago to do service and see “Wicked”
8-10: Full Hall Council meeting – vote on various proposals, hear reports on upcoming projects, etc.
10pm – 2 am: Study for statistics exam

Wednesday 2/13/08
9-10: Great Books discussion about the lecture on Tuesday
10-11:30: Statistics Lab – review session for exam
11:30-12: study for stats
12-1: Lunch with my friend Bria
1-2: Statistics Lecture
2-3: study for stats in the library
3-5: IGR dialogue class – do an intense activity to demonstrate the in- and out-group dynamics in terms of socioeconomic status.
5-6: dinner in South Quad
6 pm-1 am: Study for Statistics exam in Law Library

Thursday 2/14/08
9-10: Great Books Lecture on the text of Exodus
10-11:30: Shakespeare in Performance clas
11:30-1: Lunch with my class
1-2: Psychology Lecture about sexual motivation and the need to belong…perfect that it coincided with Valentine’s day!
2-6: study more for stats, take a nap
6-7:30: Statistics exam!
7:30-9: diner with a friend
9-10: meeting with the Solar Car Team to help them gain presence in Residence Halls and put together an event with Hall council and their group
10 pm – 2 am: some homework, hang out with friends in my hall

Friday 2/15/08
9-10: Great books discussion on Thursday’s lecture
10-1: Homework
1-2: Statistics Lecture
2-4: weekly lunch with friend Tamara
4-6: hang out, homework
6-7:30: go to Hillel for services and dinner(free!)
8-10: see the play “As You Like It” performed by theater students with friends from Shakespeare class
10-12: hang out with friends in my hall

Saturday 2/16/08
7:15-1: Campus Day (usually we don’t have them on Saturdays, but this was just one day we did have it)
1-4:30: lunch and see the “Vagina Monologues” performed with my friend Danielle
4:30-6:30: hang out in South Quad
6:30-10:00: dinner and see a concert (Ahmad Jamal, a jazz pianist) with my friend Michael
10:00pm-1:30am: do laundry, hang out with friend Suzanne, vacuum my room, etc.

Sunday 2/17/08
Sleep in!
1– 4: go to Michigan vs. OSU basketball game and crush Ohio State!! Hang out with friends in Squad.
4-8:30: homework in the Law Library, dinner
8:30-9:30: Meeting with South Quad Multicultural Council
9:30-10:30 – PULSE event about drinking and understanding one’s BAC, called “Mocktail Night”
10:30-12 - homework

As you can see, there’s not a dull moment! I keep busy because I find that I get more schoolwork done when I only have limited time to do it. I love having lots of meetings to go to and to feel like I’m involved in things. Most students are involved in at least one thing, and you can be as involved as you want. Not everyone has as many meetings and commitments as I do, and some people have even more! It depends on your course load and what you want to do!

Also, this weekend was an exceptional one in terms of Arts performances…not every weekend is like that! Two weeks ago, I saw three concerts in three nights, but some weekends I see none…they kind of come in spurts! Going out to performances and concerts is one of my favorite things, and they’re definitely something to take advantage of in college, when every type of performance you can imagine is happening – and all of it is inexpensive!

This week is just as busy, but next week I get a break (which is definitely needed!) I’m sure when I get back, things will pick right back up again!

This week I also decided what I want to major in – Organizational Studies. It’s like a hybrid between Sociology, Psychology, and Economics, and addresses those three fields in the context of organizations and the dynamics of how people work together. I’m hoping to focus on how to create safe, comfortable, tolerant, and open work environments where people feel good about their jobs and the others around them. I’m really excited to apply next year for the program and am really happy to have a better idea of what I want to do!

My email address is mitchc [@] umich.edu and if you’d like to email me to ask any questions (really, anything!) feel free! I would love to answer any questions you have about U of M that I haven’t addressed here!

Until next time, GO BLUE!

Busy but Having Fun

(above pictures --> the contestants from Mr. South Quad: I'm on the left with the two polo shirts and sunglasses, the winner of Mr. South Quad getting his crown, the poster advertising the event )


I can’t believe it’s already February! Time really flies when you’re busy!

So I have to tell you about this really cool thing I went to - last weekend, my residence hall (South Quad) held a “Mr. South Quad” pageant. It’s just like “Ms. America” except with guys and a different emphasis…the “Mr.” pageants are more about being fun and silly and less about having real talent or beauty. I got to participate in it as a representative of our Hall Council (the student government system within each residence hall…see other entries for more on that). Every candidate had to appear in a hobby outfit, perform a talent, answer silly questions, and do the dance to “Love Shack”. Everyone did really funny things! I appeared with two polo shirts on and some crazy blue pants and said my hobby was “fashion”! That got a big laugh from the crowd, and it was really fun to dress up and act crazy! In the end, I won second place, which was a really awesome way to end the night! The whole thing was a lot of fun, and the event had great turnout within the dorm…over 250 people came out to see it!

Also, I may have mentioned that I’m in a class called a “dialogue.” (see my Jan. 16 entry towards the end) On Wednesday, we did the “testimonials” portion of the class, where each student wrote up their “story” in terms of their socioeconomic background and shared it with the class. Each person had 5 minutes to talk with no interruptions or questions, and the things people said were intense and very engaging. It was really interesting to hear people speak so honestly about their backgrounds, and because of the nature of the class, participants are able to feel safe revealing these important things from their past. That was a fabulous class, and my IGR course is definitely my favorite that I have taken at U of M so far!

The Program for Intergroup Relations(IGR) at Michigan was the first of its kind, and many other universities have created their own programs modeled off ours! President Clinton also praised U of M’s IGR as one of the best things being done to promote tolerance and end racism in America. Pretty cool! This is consistent with the importance Michigan places on diversity and tolerance…it’s apparent in all aspects of the University. For example, at the very beginning of the year, UM puts on something called “Day of Change,” where guest speakers come and discuss issues relating to diversity and the importance of changing our attitudes and opinions to be progressive in society. There are all kinds of group discussions and different events which occur throughout the day, and they were all really cool! That day was my introduction to Michigan’s strong commitment to diversity and breeding acceptance and tolerance, and it’s really cool! Another really cool thing I participated in was the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Symposium, which is a collection of events and seminars which all occur on MLK day. That was a really cool experience, and I participated in several interesting programs.

I know that “appreciating diversity” is vague and hard to get excited about from reading it in a blog, but it’s such an important part of my life here at UM that I just had to address it in this entry!

Anyway, I had a Psychology 111 exam today which went well, and the next few weeks are going to be very busy ones in terms of exams and papers, as it’s midterm season! Fortunately, I have a break to look forward to in the last week of February. I’m going to be visiting some friends at Temple University, as our breaks don’t coincide, so they’ll be in school while I’m on break! I can’t wait to see them, and to have a break from exams and classes!

I’m meeting my friend soon for coffee and working on homework, but I’ll write more soon! GO BLUE!