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Closing Time

12/7/2014

by Sophie Gordon
As finals begin and students’ minds turn to the long break ahead, there are a few housekeeping items that need to be taken care of before heading for home. Use the following reminders as a checklist to ensure that you are ready to leave. Have a wonderful break!

Remember that you MUST check out of your residence hall within 24 hours of your last final.
The residence halls (except for Studebaker East) will close Saturday, December 13 at 6 p.m. The last meal served by Dining will be the lunch meal. The halls will reopen Sunday, January 4 at 9 a.m. Dining will be open for the lunch meal in selected locations.

Before leaving:

Remove the trash from your room
Unplug EVERYTHING (appliances, alarm clocks, lamps, etc.)

Tip: defrost your fridge ahead of time (at least two days prior to leaving)

Lock your window
Close blinds/drapes on ground floor, leave blinds/drapes open on upper floors
Turn on the heat (set your heater at 72 degrees or turn it on low)
Make sure nothing is blocking the area in front of your window
In addition, take the following items home with you:

Perishables, like pet fish and food that may spoil
Your driver's license and/or passport
Valuables, like laptop computers or jewelry
Clothing for special occasions
Prescription medication

When you're ready to leave, turn off the lights and lock the door, place your “I’m Outta Here” sign on your door, and follow check-out procedures from your RA and hall director.

If you are staying past 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13, you MUST sign the sheet at the front desk confirming you will be in your room. ALL residents must be out of their room with all of the closing tasks completed no later than 6:00 p.m.

Staffed computer labs in the residence halls will close at 3 p.m. Friday, December 12 for the semester.

If you are NOT returning to Ball State University and/or the residence halls in January, please contact your hall director immediately. Students who are not returning must complete additional paperwork with the hall director and be moved out by 6 p.m. December 13.

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The Final Stretch: Honors Students Graduating Early this December

12/4/2014

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by Olivia Power

As the first semester comes to a close, most students are excited to spend the holidays with
family and friends and for a month off of school. But for some students in the Honors College,
the start of winter break means graduation.

Dulton Moore, a senior double-major in Actuarial Science and Mathematical Economics in the
Honors program, will be graduating this winter a full semester early.

Upon graduation, Moore has a job set up with a company in Fort Wayne where he interned this summer. He said he also plans to write a book about his experiences in college and his decision to graduate early and eventually start a non-profit where he will share his experiences with college-bound students.

Two other actuarial science majors graduating this semester are Sabrina Weislak and Liz Schmitt. Weislak and Schmitt have jobs lined up at State Farm and All State, respectively, which will begin within the next month.

Moore said that in actuarial science, internships occur over the summer. Moore took advantage of the internships offered, interning the summers after his sophomore and junior years. As far as studying abroad, Moore said he didn't plan on it.

Since he could intern in the summer and did not study abroad, Moore will graduate with seven straight fall/spring semesters.

“The simple answer [to why] would be just because I can,” Moore said.

He then elaborated, describing the promise he made to himself during his senior year of high school to go through college debt-free.

“That meant that if I ever got to a semester that I couldn’t pay for, I would take a year off, work, get money, and come back,” Moore said.

He calculated that based on tuition expenses and his own financial situation, he could graduate debt-free in seven semesters. After figuring out that his schedule could be completed in
only seven semesters, Moore decided to try and graduate early.

Moore said he also figured that early graduates would be more valuable to potential employers. Schmitt agrees that December graduation is beneficial in terms of job search.

“I don’t think I would have been offered this job at All State had I not been graduating early,” Schmitt said.

In order to assure early December graduation, Moore pushed himself academically, taking 17-18
credit hours each semester. Moore took some classes for no credit so he didn’t max out the 18 credit hour per semester limit. Additionally, he came into Ball State with around 12 credits from high school AP exams.

Schmitt says she came into Ball State with 58 credits from high school, giving her a definite advantage that allowed her to take the suggested 15-17 credit hours per semester.

Weislak also came in with credits, and took as many classes as she could each semester. Weislak says she “knew from the beginning” that she would be graduating early based on her incoming credits.

Despite his early graduation, Moore managed to earn two majors and a business minor. In their
seven semesters, Weislak and Moore have each earned a major and two minors. As an Honors student, Moore had to complete a senior honors thesis.

After talking with Dean Emert and his adviser last semester, Moore began research for his thesis over the summer and submitted his thesis just after Thanksgiving break. For his thesis, Moore said he is designing a new record-keeping system for Gamma Iota Sigma, an actuarial science fraternity on campus of which Moore, Weislak, and Schmitt are all a part.

Moore said that the Honors College thesis was something he wanted to do anyway, and being in the Honors College did not affect his plans to graduate early. Weislak said that graduating early “takes a lot of planning.”

Wesilak, Schmitt, and Moore caution that when making four-year-plans, students take note of classes which are only offered in the fall or in the spring.

“If you think there’s value in graduating early and can handle the course load, I would recommend [graduating early],” Moore said.

His initial reasons were financial, and he is still excited to be debt-free and earning money instead of paying tuition for an eighth semester and not working. Weislak and Schmitt also recommend
graduating early for the cost benefits, and said that most students coming into the Honors College will have credits beforehand, making graduating early an easier task.

Although Moore, Wesilak, and Schmitt are excited to be done with classes, all three say they will
miss Ball State and their friends inside and outside of the Honors College community.

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Students and Faculty Present at NCHC

12/2/2014

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by Ellie Fawcett
photos by Carson Weingart, former Student Honors Council President

The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) is a group whose mission is "to support and enhance the community of educational institutions, professionals, and students who participate in collegiate Honors education around the world."

NCHC holds an annual conference where ideas are exchanged. The conference is held over a weekend, and includes poster sessions and roundtable discussion sessions.

This year, seven Ball State Honors students, three honors faculty members, and both Honors college deans attended to present on topics related to Honors life at Ball State. The conference was held in Denver, Colorado.

Rebecca Jackson won an award for her poster presentation: "Poetry and Prose Composed with Code and Mathematical Notation."

Valerie Weingart and Carson Weingart in front of the Colorado Capitol Building

Dr. Paul Ranieri and Dr. James Ruebel at "Dinner with the Deans"

Valerie Weingart, Paul Ranieri, Jim Ruebel, Connie Ruebel, Becca Jackson, John Emert, Frank Felsenstein and his wife, Laurie Lindberg, Lauren Seitz, Hannah Vollmer, Emily Brumfield, Margo Armstrong, at "Dinner with the Deans"

Lauren Seitz, Laurie Lindberg, Emily Brumfield, Margo Armstrong, and Valerie Weingart at dinner in Denver

Emily Brumfield, Margo Armstrong, and Carson Weingart at "Dinner with the Deans" at the Avenue Grill

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How to Read the Final Exam Schedule: Step-by-Step Instructions

12/2/2014

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By Kristin Wietecha

It’s not unusual to look at the finals schedule and think, “How the heck do you read this thing?” Well, when one looks at it long enough, it’s actually pretty simple to figure out.

Here’s some step-by-step instructions on how to read the final exam schedule, which can be found online here.

Find the time and days that the normally meets in the cells, as well as the number of credit hours that the course is.
The day listed above that class’s column is the day that the final is.
Move left from the course’s cell until the final space. This space states the time that the final will occur.

Below is a picture of the Fall 2014 finals schedule. Let’s say Sally has a class that normally meets at one 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. This information is highlighted in yellow.

Sally then looks at the heading above the column and see the day the final is on is Friday. This is green in the below image.

The row that this information is in says that the final is from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is in pink. Now, Sally knows when her final is.

For more information on finals, see the University’s guidelines, posted here.

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Honors 499: The Finish Line for the Honors College Student

12/2/2014

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By Kristin Wietecha

James Ruebel, the Dean of the Honors College, and other Ball State faculty members, held a seminar on Oct. 22 to explain the sometimes-daunting process of the Honors thesis. The audience of the seminar was mostly upperclassmen, but a few freshmen attended as well.

The Honors thesis can be a creative project (performance of a play, poetry, etc.) with a descriptive author’s statement or a formal research paper. The project does not have to be related to one’s major. The topic can be just about anything.

“The rules for your Honors thesis are very strict – it has to be legal and you have to have a faculty adviser…Beyond that you can pretty much do anything that involves academic content,” Ruebel jokingly said during the presentation.

Many Honors College students attend a thesis appointment with an official at the Honors College when they are juniors. The student must submit a thesis proposal that includes the topic of the thesis and identifies the sponsoring academic adviser.

After the Honors thesis is complete, the writers can choose whether they want Bracken Library to digitize their work for the public to see. Examples of previously published Honors theses can be found by visiting www.cardinalscholar.bsu.edu and clicking “Ball State University Dissertations” and “Undergraduate Honors Theses.”

In regards to how to find resources for a thesis, information services librarian Brenda Yates Habich demonstrated the WorldCat and Web of Science search engines to help find information. Yates Habich emphasized the usefulness of this dynamic duo and said she hopes that people will find them useful for their project.

The last portion of the meeting was a presentation by history professor Dr. Michael Doyle. He is facilitating an oral history course that addresses the African American community that went to BSU from the 1960s-1990s. This course will focus on African Americans featured in old historical records of Ball State. Members of the Ball State Black Alumni Constituent Society will be interviewed in this course. This course (HNRS 390C) will be offered in the spring on Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 and can be used to write one’s Honors thesis or serve as an Honors College colloquium.

“[This project will show] the full picture of the range of students that have been here, not just well-privileged students or students with white backgrounds,” Dr. Doyle said.

More information on the Honors thesis can be found in the senior Honors thesis packet, available at the front desk of the Honors House.

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Closing Time

The Final Stretch: Honors Students Graduating Early this December

Students and Faculty Present at NCHC

How to Read the Final Exam Schedule: Step-by-Step Instructions

Honors 499: The Finish Line for the Honors College Student

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