It's the first day of sem four and I'm sitting in this intro environmental science class surrounded by freshman (forced to take the class) and Professor Howarth says: "No phones or computers are allowed at all." He pops up an image of a study arguing that the "pen is mightier than the keyboard," so pen and paper trump computers for information retention. The class is taught via lecture in a 250-person hall, famously the most effective teaching style for information retention and student learning. And then he goes on to mandate iClickers.
I decide to eat at Terrace and go to Klarman and I'm surprised how many girls are furiously at work. There are many groups of girls and barely any guys. And they're not even STEM majors. (it's abundantly obvious) It's not even prelim season yet—why are they all locked in? Then I realize it's sorority recruitment season. That explains their faus smiles.
I email Thomas Manahan—he's teaching a super cool wartime constitution course—and I'm trying to take it but it's in the Law School. He says he's coming back from his trip ("Sent from iPhone") and the Law School registrar says undergrads can't formally Audit courses. Since he used to be on the New Jersey Supreme Court so he would understand the clear syntactical difference, I reply if I could "informally" audit. He says it "would violate the spirit if not the intent of the policy." Typical judge.