Nth Degree September 2009

8
SEPTEMBER 2009 at Galveston, the uni- versity’s marine- oriented branch cam- pus. Dr. Loftin interacted with the Grads and reassured that the in- terest of Grad students was a top priority. He reminisced his own Grad life experience and asked for Grads to respond with more feedback and initia- tive. The key issues he touched on were the ongoing Presidential search and its impact on Grad students, Grad stipends and scholarships, ensuring the economic melt- down is not reflected on On-Campus jobs for Grads, and on afford- able, comfortable liv- ing situation. The General Assembly is where the Council meets all representatives and works its way through the year. The Council meets to discuss issues pertinent to graduate students and serves as the voice of the graduate student body. Through the General Assembly meetings we also bring university administrators to talk to the council and address top- ics of importance to you. We also provide a platform for any gradu- ate or professional stu- dent to bring sugges- tions and concerns, and draft resolutions that un- dertake issues relevant to all graduate students. The General Assembly is presided over by the Executive Vice Presi- dent. Assembly meet- ings are open to all graduate students. This academic year, the first General Assembly was held on September 1st and we were hon- ored to have Interim President Loftin as our first guest speaker. Dr. Loftin has served the as vice president and CEO of Texas A&M University The GSC General Assembly The GSC General Assembly President Executive Vice President VP for Finance VP for Information VP for University Affairs Awards Committee Chair Marketing & Communications Multicultural & Diversity Affairs Legislative Affairs Chair Graduate Quality of Life Chair Student Research Week Director Husameddin AlMadani Laura Ingels Natalie Hewitt Brittany Jones Julian R. Avila-Pacheco Holly Gibbs Surya T. Chaturvedla Feyza Berber Kathryn Brady Katherine Prem Sarah Jacks 09.03.2009 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2 the N th Degree The Graduate Student Council (GSC), serv- ing as the graduate student government at Texas A&M Univer- sity, exists to share and discuss informa- tion important to all TAMU graduate and professional students and to advocate for their interests in deal- ing with the Univer- sity, its constituents, and all other appro- priate entities. Inside this issue: The Presidential Search 2 Back to School Tips 3 Volunteering Op- portunities at GSC 4 AGGIENDAEVORS: Aggie Take- New International Student Orientation 5 EVENTS September 6 STUDY BREAK How to Catch a Lion 7 GSC General Information & Town Hall Meeting 8 GSC General As- sembly contd... 2 President Dr. R. Bowen Loftin A Graduate Student Publication A Graduate Student Publication GSC 2009 GSC 2009 - - 2010 2010 Executive Council Executive Council

description

Nth Degree September 2009

Transcript of Nth Degree September 2009

Page 1: Nth Degree September 2009

SEPTEMBER 2009

at Galveston, the uni-

versi ty ’s marine-oriented branch cam-

pus.

Dr. Loftin interacted

with the Grads and

reassured that the in-terest of Grad students

was a top priority. He

reminisced his own

Grad life experience

and asked for Grads to

respond with more

feedback and initia-tive. The key issues he

touched on were the

ongoing Presidential

search and its impact

on Grad students,

Grad stipends and

scholarships, ensuring the economic melt-

down is not reflected

on On-Campus jobs for

Grads, and on afford-

able, comfortable liv-

ing situation.

The General Assembly is

where the Council meets all representatives and

works its way through

the year. The Council

meets to discuss issues

pertinent to graduate

students and serves as

the voice of the graduate student body. Through

the General Assembly

meetings we also bring

university administrators

t o t a l k t o t h e

council and address top-ics of importance to you.

We also provide a

platform for any gradu-

ate or professional stu-

dent to bring sugges-

tions and concerns, and

draft resolutions that un-dertake issues relevant

to all graduate students.

The General Assembly is

presided over by the

Executive Vice Presi-

dent. Assembly meet-

ings are open to all

graduate students.

This academic year, the

first General Assembly

was held on September

1st and we were hon-ored to have Interim

President Loftin as our

first guest speaker. Dr.

Loftin has served the as

vice president and CEO

of Texas A&M University

The GSC General AssemblyThe GSC General Assembly

President

Executive Vice President

VP for Finance

VP for Information

VP for University Affairs

Awards Committee Chair

Marketing & Communications

Multicultural & Diversity Affairs

Legislative Affairs Chair

Graduate Quality of Life Chair

Student Research Week Director

Husameddin AlMadani

Laura Ingels

Natalie Hewitt

Brittany Jones

Julian R. Avila-Pacheco

Holly Gibbs

Surya T. Chaturvedla

Feyza Berber

Kathryn Brady

Katherine Prem

Sarah Jacks

09.03.2009 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

the Nth Degree

The Graduate Student Council (GSC), serv-

ing as the graduate student government at Texas A&M Univer-

sity, exists to share and discuss informa-

tion important to all TAMU graduate and

professional students and to advocate for their interests in deal-

ing with the Univer-sity, its constituents,

and all other appro-priate entities.

Inside this issue:

The Presidential

Search

2

Back to School Tips 3

Volunteering Op-

portunities at GSC

4

AGGIENDAEVORS:

Aggie Take- New International Student

Orientation

5

EVENTS September 6

STUDY BREAK

How to Catch a Lion

7

GSC General

Information & Town Hall Meeting

8

GSC General As-

sembly contd...

2

President Dr. R. Bowen

Loftin

A Graduate Student Publication A Graduate Student Publication

GSC 2009

GSC 2009-- 2010

2010

Executive Council

Executive Council

Page 2: Nth Degree September 2009

dents to be more involved

in college activities and voice their opinion. He

congratulated the GSC, its

President Husam, on the

efforts to do so.

You can also be a part of this exchange, as an indi-

vidual Grad or a part of an

Contd from pg 1…

His opening state-

ment was ‘ There are

7000 of you, and just 1 of me’ and went on

to urge Grad stu-

organizat ion. Every

TAMU graduate and pro-fessional programs that

grant masters and/or

doctoral degrees, as well

as approved TAMU rec-

o g n i z e d , n o n -

departmental, student

organizations, represent-ing graduate student is-

sues not addressed by

degree granting and pro-

fessional programs are

eligible to be repre-

sented on the Council.

The Presidential Search.. The Presidential Search.. The Presidential Search.. And why it is important to YOU. By SuryaChaturvedlaAnd why it is important to YOU. By SuryaChaturvedlaAnd why it is important to YOU. By SuryaChaturvedla

The GSC General Assembly contd...The GSC General Assembly contd...

Page 2

the

Nth Degree

Here’s why that’s not a good idea.

The Presidential search is ex-tremely important to each one of

us, second only to our degree. To

think that this is a managerial is-

sue and hence does not affect us,

is a myth. What affects us is the

picture we present to the outside

world. A good, stable leadership at the top ensures that the goals

of the college are met within

time. That in turn ensures good

public standing, thereby making

the TAMU degree more lucrative.

The more lucrative, the more stu-

dents want to join, and the higher

TAMU climbs in the ratings chart. Now this is only one aspect of the

entire picture, but the biggest

one.

The most frequent response of

Grad students to this argument is

that the damage has been done.

How does my involvement bene-fit ME? Each one of us may have

our own personal reasons for

choosing A&M over other offers.

We NEED to participate, to vali-

Texas A&M university has lately

been in the news, for the wrong rea-sons. The appointment and subse-

quent resignation of President Elsa

Murano has placed several uncom-

fortable questions before us.

While trying not to investigate what

happened and why, we have a hu-

mongous task ahead of us– to pick a new President. A 15-member search

committee headed by Regent Rich-

ard Box, was formed in July to find

and recruit the best and most quali-

fied presidential candidates. At its

initial meeting July 24, the commit-

tee announced it had retained the

consulting firm Academic Search, Inc. with Dr. Robert Lawless as prin-

cipal consultant.

Over the months, we students have

received regular updates on campus

news and have also received emails

asking to participate in the Presiden-

tial Search and give feedback. A common (and disturbing) trend is to

think that our opinion and thoughts

will not carry all the way, and hence

not express them.

date that choice.

The search committee is imple-menting a number of outreach

efforts, from town hall-style meet-

ings to an interactive website

(www. tamu .edu/pres iden t /

search). There also is a survey

f eedback f o rm ( h t tp : //t a m u s u r v e y . t a m u . e d u /

C o m m u n i t y / s e . a s h x ?

s=5F3B04D8764E8BCC) that al-lows us to rate and comment on

the process, including criteria for

presidential candidates, and to

make suggestions for improve-

ment. Complete the survey. It’s the best thing we could do for the goodness of our degree.

Box: “We think the data we re-

ceive from this survey application

will be of tremendous value as we

move forward with the process,

so that we remain as responsive

as possible in finding the right candidate for A&M’s future.”

A&M’s future, is your future.

To be included on the

General Assembly agenda, or to find out

more about the General

Assembly meetings,

please contact the Ex-

ecutive Vice President at

[email protected]

General Assembly

meetings take place

every 1st and 3rd Tues-

day at 5:30 p.m. in

Koldus 144.

You are welcome!

Page 3: Nth Degree September 2009

As you begin this new semester with loads of excitement, a little worry, innumerable questions and the

flavor of being an aggie, we though it would be nice to give you some heads up on how to make life more comfortable at Aggieland!

while at the same time,

saving your househols money for other ex-

penses!

SOCIALISM: Everyone

buys food together, and

the cost is equally di-

vided. Each member of

the household shares responsibilities of cook-

ing, cleaning and shop-

ping, This requires co-

ordination, creates a ter-

rific home environment.

It is important to commu-

nicate which model you

would like to use so you and your roommates can

avoid any arguments

from happening.

You will need to reach

an agreement with your roommate(s) about shar-

ing food and kitchen re-

sponsibilities. There are

three main models to

chose from:

INDIVIDUALISM: Each

individual does his/her own cooking and shop-

ping. This is good if you

or your roommate main-

tain a special diet or en-

joy fixing your own food.

CAPITALISM: Everyone

shares basic items such

as flour, sugar, butter, bread, etc. This still

gives you the freedom to

cook whatever you like,

Dining out is the more simple and easy solu-

tion. But you need to go

easy on the purse and

on those calories. Occa-

sionally though, dining

out can be fun!

Always re-member to

check out the

local restraints.

And the best

way to find out

about them–

ask around!

Happy eating!

Welcome Back Ags!Welcome Back Ags!

the use of a Roommate Contract.

The Roommate Contract is a legal document which defines in writing

each roommate’s obligations. Dis-

cussing issues up front and commit-

ting to them in writing helps set you

up for a great living situation.

The Off Campus Student Services

can help you with these issues and m o r e . V i s i t h t t p : / /

s tuden t l i fe . t amu .edu/agoss /

LivingWithRoommates for more

details. You are also welcome to

come down to Cain Hall B117 and

visit.

Remember, a big part of student

life is living together. Let it be an experience of a lifetime!

You Are Your Roommate’s Roommate By Off Campus Student Services

Your roommate may not be a mirror im-

age of yourself, but remember that roommates do not have to be best

friends. It is not necessary to share

every aspect of college living together.

In fact, learning to tolerate each other’s

differences, without infringing in one

another’s freedoms can be a valuable

part of your education.

Good intentions do not always lead to

good relationships! But how do you sit

down with someone you have known for

years or with someone you have just met

and attempt to discuss expectations for

the variety of situations that arise when you live together? Always be honest

about your expectations!

To aid roommates in defining their obli-

gations to each other, we recommend

As you begin/continue at Grad School, you

should take time out to

explore your reasons for choosing to attend

school and determine

what you wish to accomplish this

semester, and with

this degree.

Living away from home gives a great

deal of freedom, along

comes responsibility. This is your

opportunity to show

who you really are, as you apply your values

to your everyday

choices.

Page 3

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Food! Cooking or Dining Out? Courtesy 2009 Off-Campus Survival Manual

Page 4: Nth Degree September 2009

Sarah Yaks,

Director– Student Research

Week

The mission of Student Re-

search Week (SRW) is to

recognize and celebrate

student research at Texas

A&M University. SRW aims

to highlight the excellence and broad range of this re-

search to the University

community. Please con-

sider applying to be a part

of the Planning Committee.

Below you will find a description of

each position.

Assistant Director

Serve as the second-in-command of the

SRW Planning Committee.

Oversee the funding of awards and work

with the business office to determine and

maintain proper procedures.

Work with the Director in organizing the

overall planning and scheduling of the

event.

Volunteer Coordinator

Responsible for recruiting and organiz-

ing and assigning jobs to volunteers for

SRW events.

Work with other Coordinators to ensure

that there are enough workers for every

job during the week.

Determine the winner of the Volunteer

Competition in collaboration with Direc-

tor, Assistant Director, and GSC Advisor.

Sponsorship (Community Donations)

Coordinator

Contact local area businesses regarding

donations to SRW via letters and follow-

up phone calls.

Collect and catalog donations and send

thank-you letters to donors.

Logistics Coordinator

Responsible for recruiting and maintaining

records of judges each year.

Work closely with the Sessions Coordina-

tor to set the competition/presentation

schedule.

Ensure that Student Registration is staffed

and running efficiently.

Media Relations/ Marketing Coordina-

tor

Responsible for writing all news releases

for on-and off-campus media and for coor-

dinating any interviews

Assist with special guests visits during

SRW.

Coordinate and schedule presentations to

student groups

Technical Coordinator

Assist with web page updates

Coordinate technical needs for training

sessions.

Will coordinate pick-up and return of

equipment to owners.

C o n t a c t S a r a h J a k s :

[email protected]

and Communications chair,

and other Executive Council

members, to update the

GSC Calendar regularly.

Post GSC events and activi-

ties on the GSC Facebook

and Twitter accounts.

Edit and post GSC photos

and videos on its various

outlets.

Historian

Responsible for collecting

GSC information through its

history of 15 years.

Surya Chaturvedla,

Marketing and Communi-

cations Chair

GSC is celebrating its

15th Anniversary this

year. Lots more excite-

ment.. And lots more fun!

Web Designer

Responsible for maintain-

ing and updating the GSC

website.

Work with the Marketing

Maintain records and the

documents in a timely fashion

and reproduce when neces-

sary.

Create the ‘History of GSC’

document for the 15th Anni-

versary celebrations.

Interested? Or just want

more information… con-

tact Surya Chaturvedla: c o m m i t -

[email protected]

Or Br i t t any Jones :

[email protected]

Volunteering Opportunities @ GSCVolunteering Opportunities @ GSC

Marketing and CommunicationsMarketing and CommunicationsMarketing and CommunicationsMarketing and Communications

Page 4

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Nth Degree

There are various opportunities for Grad students to take part in activities conducted by the GSC. This is your chance to be a part of a fun team, and make a difference!

Page 5: Nth Degree September 2009

By Lakshminarasimhan Krishnan,

Look College of Engineering

NISO – New International Student Ori-

entation was conducted by Interna-

tional Student Services (ISS) on the 17th

and 18th of August, 2009. I had at-

tended this orientation when I joined

A&M in the Fall of ‘08. This time

around I volunteered at the event as

an ISMA mentor. For you new interna-tional students, who are wondering

what ISMA is, we are the Interna-

tional Students’ Mentor Association. Do check us out at our website:

isma.tamu.edu

I assisted the ISS staff with setting up

and disassembling computers and

projectors (yes, I am a computer engi-

neer!). The person at the registration

desk was thankful- I figured out most

Indian names in one go! (I know how it

feels to have your name repeated over and over – take my name!) Another

interesting task I got to do

was being the presentation time keeper. I had to hold

up placards which indi-

cated speakers when to

stop. Students who sat

through the orientation

were probably wishing

they had the placards in-

stead! I was prepared to sit through

lectures on taxes, GLACIER, bicycle safety and counseling services, with

my iPod and had fun watching the

students in the hall trying to keep

their heads upright despite the

strong tendency to rest on the

neighbor’s shoulders.

After the bombarding loads of infor-

mation, the students were excited to

watch the ISMA video. The highlight

of the video, making everyone

laugh, was when an ISMA mentor

popped out of a tree right in front of

a lost student, to help her out. By the way, that act was just for the video,

ISMA mentors don’t just jump off of

trees– at least not all the time!

Finally, the students got to interact

with ISMA mentors and we had to

give them check-in appointment cards. I gave them their cards while

I was re-iterating the talk I had pre-

pared for the nth time. I turned

around to

make a count

of the rest of

the cards, and t u r n e d

around say-

ing “Howdy!”

Abracadabra!

E ve r yone ’ s

gone!

I believe, the

NISO was ex-

tremely inter-

esting, fun and infor-

mative this year for

everyone (especially

for me and other

mentors, since I was

on the other side).

Looking forward to

next year… :)

Being on the other side…Being on the other side…Being on the other side…

New International Student OrientationNew International Student Orientation

Page 5

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Page 6: Nth Degree September 2009

Page 6

SEPTEMBER 2009

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

•General As-

sembly

5:30 pm @

Koldus 144

•Silver Taps

2

Social: Grad

Mentor

3 4

•First Midnight

Yell Practice With J Dunham @ Kyle Field

•Aggie Nights*

every friday 8pm

5

6

MSC Fall Open House 1pm-5pm @ Rec Sorts Center

7

8

Town Hall

Meeting with

Grads

10:30 am @

Rudder Theatre

9

Mentor Social

10

11

12

Conference: Eco-nomic Issues Affecting His-panic American Communities

13

Conference: Economic Issues Affecting His-panic American Communities

14 15

General Assem-

bly

5:30 pm @

Koldus 144

16 17

12th Annual Sci-ences Career Fair 2009 10:00 am-3:00 pm @ 1st Floor,

Rudder Tower

18

•Midnight Yell

Practice @ Kyle Field

•Aggie Ring Day

3 pm @ Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center

19

20

Kyle Field Recy-cling

21 22 23 24

Hierth Lecture "Explaining the Humanities"

3:00 pm @ Rudder 301

25

Midnight Yell Practice @ Kyle Field

26

New Family Mem-ber Fall Program

27 28 29

The Ahn Trio - OPAS

7:30 pm - 9:30 pm @ Rudder Auditorium

30

EVENTSEVENTS

Advisor

Stefanie Stefancic

Page 7: Nth Degree September 2009

Mathematical Methods

1. The Hilbert (axiomatic) method We place a locked cage onto a given point in the desert. After that we introduce the following logical sys-

tem:

Axiom 1: The set of lions in the Sahara is not empty.

Axiom 2: If there exists a lion in the Sahara, then there exists a lion in the cage.

Procedure: If P is a theorem, and if the following is holds: "P implies Q", then Q is a theorem. Theorem 1: There exists a lion in the cage.

2. The geometrical inversion method We place a spherical cage in the desert, enter it and lock it from inside. We then performe an inversion

with respect to the cage. Then the lion is inside the cage, and we are outside.

3. The projective geometry method Without loss of generality, we can view the desert as a plane surface. We project the surface onto a line

and afterwards the line onto an interiour point of the cage. Thereby the lion is mapped onto that same

point.

4. The Bolzano-Weierstraß method Divide the desert by a line running from north to south. The lion is then either in the eastern or in the

western part. Let's assume it is in the eastern part. Divide this part by a line running from east to west. The lion is either in the northern or in the southern part. Let's assume it is in the northern part. We can con-

tinue this process arbitrarily and thereby constructing with each step an increasingly narrow fence

around the selected area. The diameter of the chosen partitions converges to zero so that the lion is

caged into a fence of arbitrarily small diameter.

5. The set theoretical method We observe that the desert is a separable space. It therefore contains an enumerable dense set of points which constitutes a sequence with the lion as its limit. We silently approach the lion in this sequence, car-

rying the proper equipment with us.

….to be contd. *http://www.gksoft.com/a/fun/catch-lion.html

How to Catch a LionHow to Catch a Lion Problem: To Catch a Lion in the Sahara Desert.

STUDY BREAKSTUDY BREAK

*www.phdcomics.com*www.phdcomics.com*www.phdcomics.com*www.phdcomics.com

HOUSINGHOUSING–– CONSPIRACY CONSPIRACY

Page 7

Page 8: Nth Degree September 2009

Nth degree is a monthly publication of the Graduate Student Council (GSC). Special editions are published

in the Winter and Spring. It contains news related to Graduate Students at Texas A&M Students and shares

graduate student achievements with the University Community.

Articles for the Nth Degree are welcome from gradu-

ate students. Articles must include name, bio and a picture of the author to be included in the publication.

GSC reserves the right to select and edit articles for clarity and length. All correspondence with regards

to the Nth Degree should be directed to:

Surya Chaturvedla: [email protected]

WE ARE WE ARE ONON THE THE

WEBWEB!!!!

GSC….

...has a website

http://gsc.tamu.edu/

...is on Facebook

Graduate Student Council

…is on Twitter

h t t p : / / tw i t t e r . c om/

GSC_TAMU

133 John J. Koldus Building 1236 TAMU

College Station TX 77843-1236

Phone: 979-422-0684

President:

[email protected] Executive Committee:

[email protected]

Internal Committee Chairs: [email protected]

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCILGRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Date: 09/08/2009, Tuesday

Time: 10:30 am

@ Rudder Theatre

President’s

Town Hall MeetingTown Hall Meeting

With Grad StudentsGrad Students