Lifestyles The TOWER4

By BETHANY SELPHTOWER contributor

Your home is hours away, you literally know no one at school and Mom and Dad dropped you off with all of the living essentials, but no amount of Ramen Noodles can help you handle your academ-ic load. Why so many papers and reading assignments and a 12-page paper on religion? How are you going to manage that? High school was nothing like this. Many freshmen find themselves asking these kind of questions

As upperclassmen we recognize just how difficult college is in re-lation to high school. Adapting to the living situation is one thing, but the academic requirements are a whole different ball game. If you find yourself becoming a frightened freshman, below are some tips from faculty and staff of Bethany College to help you get through this year a little easier.

1. “Do the right thing. Go to class and study; put in the time.”

-Aaron Anslow, Visiting Assis-tant Professor of Art

2. “Avoid the ice cream; go to the salad bar instead. Just be healthy. Utilize our great workout facili-ties.”

-Coach Jan Forsty, Associate Di-rector of Athletics and Recreation, Head Softball Coach, Head Wom-en’s Tennis Coach, Assistant Pro-fessor of Physical Education and Sports Studies

3. “Take your studies and learned information outside of the class-room.”

-Luke Hardt, Associate Professor of Theatre, Director of the Bethany College Theatre and Chair of the Department of Visual and Perform-ing Arts

4. “Go to class, take good notes, study and read the book!”

-Dr. John Hull, Professor of Psy-chology

5. “Don’t expect immediate grati-fication when it comes to research. Some processes take multiple steps. Don’t be afraid to ask for help; that’s what we’re here for.”

-Trevor Onest, College Librarian and Assistant Professor of Learn-ing Resources

Freshman Fifteen: Advice on Avoiding First-Year Mistakes6. “Don’t be so expectant of your

first year. College is a big change. Show more grit and be willing to work. Don’t give up so easily.”

-Dr. Robert Paysen, The Gould-ing-Woolery Professorship in Chemistry and Chair of the De-partment of Physical Science

7. “Manage your time.”-Kathy Shelek-Furbee, Professor

of Social Work, Social Work Pro-gram Director and Chair of the De-partment of Social Work

8. “Even if you hate class, go any-way.”

-Melanee Sinclair, Associate Pro-fessor of Social Work and Coordi-nator of Field Placements

9. “Peer to peer mentoring is very strong here. Rely on upperclass-men, but be sure to verify their ad-vice with your advisor.

-Dr. Patrick Sutherland, Profes-sor of Communications and Media Arts and Advisor to WVBC

10. “If you’d really like to impress us, show up to class on Fridays. Hint: We typically pick Friday as our random attendance day.”

-Anonymous

11. “Take advantage of your professor as a resource. Even if it isn’t the same subject as we teach, we still may be able to help.”

-Dr. Michael Whalen, Professor of Criminal Justice

12. “Don’t stress if you start to question your choice of major. As a freshman, it’s natural to be un-sure.”

-Anonymous13. “Show respect to everyone,

including housekeeping and se-curity staff. They’re working to make your experience more com-fortable and enjoyable.”

-Missy Yates, Executive Secre-tary and Administrative Assis-tant

14. “Get involved and ask for help.”

-R.J. Zitzelsberger, Director of Enrollment Management

15. “If you’re feeling isolated in any way, utilize your professors, or us at the student health center. Sometimes just talking about it can make big decisions easier.”

-CJ Allman, Staff Nurse, Stu-dent Health Center

By NOELLE WRIGHTTOWER staff writer

This year Bethany College has expanded its course offerings in foreign language and international understanding with the addition of courses in Arabic language and cul-ture: Arabic I and II and Civiliza-tions of the Arabic Speaking World. As instructor for these courses, the college welcomes Fulbright Scholar Muna AlMerri, who comes to cam-pus from Bahrain, a small island off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Prior to her current position, AlMerri taught English to high school students, but she has experi-ence working with a wide range of age groups. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and completed postgraduate work in distance learning and teaching. AlMerri ar-

rived in the United States this past summer and after a short training period, she traveled to Bethany to share her skills and knowledge, and hopefully to broaden the per-spective of Bethany students.

The primary objective of the two Arabic courses is to give students a year of instruction in elementary Arabic language, while in the Civi-lizations course, AlMerri focuses on the culture of Arab nations and people. Topics to be covered include history, religion, traditions and customs, as well as a discussion on the world’s view of Arab people, es-pecially Arab women. Through this course, AlMerri hopes to give stu-dents greater insight into what life and culture in the Arab world are really like and clear up misconcep-tions.

“There are big cities, restaurants and bars,” says AlMerri. “People there are not extremists; there are a lot of liberal, educated people.” She wants to point out the great re-spect for women that is inherent in the values of Arab people and the importance placed on families re-maining close and gathering often.

When she is not teaching, AlMer-ri’s interests include riding horses, reading and traveling as much as possible. She likes to take two to three trips a year and during her time at Bethany she tries to get off campus as much as possible in order to see different parts of the country. AlMerri also enjoys learn-ing languages and is currently studying German.

After her time at Bethany comes to an end, AlMerri plans to spend

some time at home and then hopes to get a job teaching in another country, perhaps Germany, where she can practice her new language skills. Until then, AlMerri inspires students here at Bethany with her passion for experiencing and understanding places and people around the world.

AlMerri serves as a valuable first-hand source for those who want to know more about Arab and Middle Eastern culture. Having a deeper understanding of Arabic cultures is invaluable knowledge in today’s society and provides a unique ex-perience. By taking advantage of her knowledge and willingness to share and answer questions, stu-dents can enhance their academic experience in an exciting way and open doors for their future careers.

Fulbright Scholar AlMerri Teaches Students About Arabic Language and Culture