UWEC, an ethnographic view

Upon asking five random students, it quickly became evident that there’s a strong percentage of students that prefers to study in their rooms back at the dorms. There are a few instances where the students said they liked being in the library if they’re doing intense studying. As for studying habits, those ranged all over the board from utilizing flashcards to re-reading the material, to doing every practice problem from the unit. Also, it was mentioned that studying the night before has been beneficial, since it’s fresh in their mind.

On the subject of studying, leading us to grades, there’s a new threat to cheaters. An “XF” is a new sort of grade you can receive on your transcripts. However, it’s not a grade you’d want to strive for, seeing as it represents failure of a course due to academic dishonesty. Having this appear on your transcripts, for the world to see, can but a bad mark on you later in life, when looking for employment, or if you have to transfer to a different college.

I pass the sculpture “Sprites” literally every day. However, I never really took the time to consider it beyond the jokes made about “naked ladies dancing”. Upon closer inspection, the sculpture is by Paul Granlund and was present to the campus in 1978. I believe, that while aesthetically pleasing, it can also represent how people on campus should support one another, and if we do so, we can achieve better things together, as the collective of “Blugolds”.
I’m a Blugold, and upon saying that people who don’t attend UWEC immediately ask “What’s a Blugold?” I can’t ever give them the answer they’re looking for. A Blugold isn’t a thing, not a bird, not some monster used to muster up the fighting spirit on whichever sporting field you happen to be on, it’s more of a feeling. As summed up by a student speaker, a Blugold is “the spirit of the school from the classrooms to the campus to extracurricular activities”

Microfiche, or microfilm, is small-scale reproductions of printed materials, usually old newspapers or magazines. This allows for the preservation and easy storage of these materials. Microfilm readers magnify these little chips, allowing you to read, and print the material.

However, it’s not hard to find a real, paper newspaper on campus. Not hard at all. Head to the library, second floor, and there’s an endless amount of newpapers, both current and old. I picked up the most recent copy of the New York Times, and briefly surveyed one of the headlines. The title “Hold the Eulogies” caught my eye frist, and upon further reading I discovered that it briefly covered Senator Kennedy’s recovery and how he believes it will be strong, and that he has many more years to get under his belt before he calls it quits.

Overall, I see UWEC as a campus that is comprised of responsible students who know how to achieve their own success, resources for those students to utilize fully, and also with a overall atmosphere that promotes the sense of all-around support and the desire for success.