Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover*

This quote has been drilled into our brains since we could talk. However, I have only recently come to realize the convenient truth of this maxim. Each new semester, we walk into a new classroom in anticipation of finding out the true persona of our new professors. Take my story, for example.

At the start of this semester, I found myself in sheer intimidation because of one professor in particular. He immediately introduced himself with a monotone yet intriguing voice. He was obviously the traditional, strict teacher that put a heavy emphasis on critical thinking and class discussion. I thought to myself, “Oh no, this is going to be a very long semester.” As the semester has progressed, I have started to realize that this teacher is not just strict, but he is good—really, really good. Never have I had a professor that was so prepared for class and that genuinely knew the information in which he was trying to present to his class.

This past weekend, I was speaking to a mentor who is about 60 years old and lives in California. He recommended a book to me that was written by a professor at Ole Miss. I looked the book up online, and I was floored. My professor, the same man who I had prematurely judged and determined that I would not like, had written the book—a book in which the subject is very interesting and significant to me.

At the beginning of the semester, if I had done a simple Google search of my professor’s name, I would have discovered this incredible occurrence and possibly have done better in the course up to this point. Instead, I judged him and have not been interested.

At Ole Miss and most other universities in the country, students have put a metaphorical barrier between us and our professors. It’s time we break down those barriers to further increase our learning. After all, that is what we are at college for, right?

Research your professors before you go to their class. I did last week, and was very surprised at what I found. Of my five professors, I have a world-renowned journalist, a local and national journalism guru, a teacher who graduated from UNC in 3 years, a published historian, and a musical virtuoso.

Ole Miss is stocked full of prestigious professors that have done remarkable things. Should it not be our duty to learn a little more about who they are or what they have done? I can attest to the fact that in many cases, we will be exposed to this new path of learning. Since I learned that my professor wrote this amazing book, I have been inspired to be more attentive to everything he has to say in class, which has allowed me to learn more and make better grades.

We are on one of the most personalized campuses in the United States. It is almost unnatural to not get to know our professors just because of the state we live in. If nothing else, tell your professors you enjoy their class as you leave the classroom for the day. They deserve at least that.

Can you imagine what our campus would be like if we knew our professors enough to hold a conversation with them outside of the classroom setting? It would be the most comfortable place to attend college in the world.

It’s time, Ole Miss. It’s time to realize that our professors are people, not these robotic figures that are out to make us fail. Get to know your professors, and you will greatly benefit in the classroom and life in general—I guarantee it.

Blunder or Blessing?*

In an unprecedented move a couple weeks ago, the university announced that most non-freshman students must relocate to off-campus housing next semester to accommodate the hoards of new students attending Ole Miss in the fall. As could be expected, many current students are outraged at the decision, having to make other living arrangements on such short notice. Although many students had not planned on staying on campus next year anyways, many are unexpectedly being forced to find off-campus housing. As a student on our busy campus, I have become exposed to many complaints about this unfortunate circumstance. However, take it from me, this is the best thing that has ever happened.

Dorm life on campus is horrendous.

Being a resident of Stockard Hall, I have talked to many fellow residents very recently. I have heard many accounts about the dorm life in general in this building specifically and other dorms on campus. In Stockard, the way of life for any student is significantly inhibited. The lobby comes fully furnished with broken furniture, half-eaten burgers on the floor, and a brand new flat screen television which is never turned on. The elevators are always broken, sometimes causing many of the 500 residents to be late for class or other meetings. The hallways boast a wide variety of decaying foods scattered along the floor (with no garbage cans in sight, despite requests by the residents) and the aroma of the molding garbage chute rooms located on each floor. The bathrooms have mildewing pieces of food in the sinks, empty toilet paper canisters, and ants trailing towards the showers.

Wireless internet on campus is barbaric.

This full school year, I am paying just under 20,000 dollars to attend Ole Miss. About 6,000 of that is housing. As a freshman, I am required to live on campus this year, so there is no manipulating my way out of staying in this hell hole. Paying that much money should qualify me to be able to access my mandatory online homework, right? Not a chance. So far in this semester alone, I have been late on 3 assignments and had to trek to the library at midnight or later twice to complete assignments that I could not access on my laptop due to the wretched wireless internet on our campus. We are on a university campus in the 21^st century, so I never expected to have to deal with this kind of treatment.

Parking on campus is atrocious.

Are you aware that Ole Miss is one of the two SEC campuses that does not have a parking garage? I bet you aren’t surprised in the least bit. For those of us fortunate enough to have a vehicle on campus, we know that parking even at our own residence halls is nearly impossible. At Stockard, if the main lot is full, you are required to park literally half a mile away from the dorm on top of a 50 foot cliff (no exaggeration). Think you can back into a non-Stockard parking space for ten minutes without getting a ticket? That thought will inevitably empty your pocketbook in the form of a sizable ticket every single time.

When the university told me I had to move off campus next year, I was thrilled beyond comprehension. Words cannot accurately express my pleasure in this new rule. Next year, I am living in an apartment that will be cleaned and maintained to my liking, I will have working internet at all hours of the day, and I will ride a bus to my classes without having to worry about parking. I honestly take pity in the freshman next year that have to go through what I have gone through at Stockard and on campus.

The administration, the faculty, the alumni, and the student leaders need to figure this situation out now. It’s a good thing I love Ole Miss so much, or I would probably have transferred by now. I want things to get better because more students as disgruntled as I am can only lead to bad things for the future of our beloved Ole Miss.

Your Baby Can't Read*

Have you ever been up late at night flipping through the channels on the television? If you have, then you have probably seen the hoards of infomercials that pitch “the next great product” to the viewer. On any given night, you can see a wide variety of products that are being advertised. In an insomnia-induced trance at about 3 in the morning last week, I flipped on the television. Of course, there was nothing good on, so I left it on one channel that caught my attention.

On this infomercial, a middle-aged man narrated something like this: “What if I told you your baby can read? Well, it’s true. Our scientists have come up with a way to teach your baby to read.” I was immediately hooked. The commercial went on to show children under the age of 4 reading the words that their parents showed them on flashcards. Words like “dog”, “cat”, “word”, and “ball” were being shown to these kids and they would say them aloud. I was blown away.

I wondered if this could possibly be real. I was immediately skeptical, for obvious reasons. These kids can’t even walk on their own or make a legitimate sentence, and they are reading words one after the next. On to Google.

After reading numerous reviews, I was slightly taken back at the negative comments, but was even more blown away by the positive reviews that people were actually giving this product. “My three year old son has been using the product for about 6 months now and he can read some words out of books and magazines.”

The product uses videos shown on a television to “enhance memorization skills”. Now I was beginning to understand. Many of the negative reviews online stated that the product only allows children to memorize the shapes of the words, not actually learn the letters and put them together to form a word. Nevertheless, these children are technically reading.

Okay, it works. So what is the big picture here? For starters, we are screwed.

The creators of this product are absolutely insane. What could they have possibly been thinking to influence them to make a product like this? In kindergarten, most of us were taught to read by a specific, proven-to-work method—the same process that has always been used. Learn the individual letters, put the letters together to form words, and put the words together to form sentences.

This “innovative” product is teaching children to memorize the shape and length of the words, and recall that information. In other words, it is teaching children the wrong way to read.

Are you proud of your 3 year old that can read the word “jam”? Wait a couple years until they go to kindergarten. Their whole process of learning to read and process words will be turned around completely, and they will get behind. There are numerous studies that have proved it.

Just a few weeks ago in the State of the Union, President Obama addressed the poor education levels in our country. Products like this one I saw on the television is not going to do anything to help this problem. It will further increase the problem, if anything. These parents trying to get a head start on the education of their babies are really creating a barrier in the education of their children.

You cannot expect a three year old to be able to read under any circumstances, so why try? Effective parenting in our country is degrading quickly, and that has to be a reason why the United States is ranked 9^th in the world in literacy rates.

Products like this should be outlawed in our country. They are holding our children back from making the United States a leader in education. I’m looking at you, Congress.

Cure for Writer's Block (finally!)

This is my essay for my music history class. Instructions:

Personal background, academic and avocational interests, major area of study.

What is music? What music do you prefer to listen to? What role do you want music to play in your life? Do you play music?

Any other pertinent info regarding your enjoyment or discontent of music.

This was big for me because I had not been able to write anything meaningful in about two months. This assignment opened the flood gates of my memory, and I have not stopped writing effectively for two straight days. Thank God!

My name is Adam Ganucheau. I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and my hometown is Hazlehurst, Mississippi. I have a wide variety of interests ranging from music to outdoor activities to spending time with family and friends. I have selected Journalism as a major. I have always loved writing, and I know of no better way to do what I love than a career in this field. I hope to one day become an editor or writer for a big-time newspaper or magazine. I also hope to one day publish a novel. Writing is a fairly new life ambition for me, so I am still attempting to choose the path I want to take that brings me the most happiness.

To many, music is a culmination of sounds and rhythms that forms a song. To me, music is more than that—music is a way of life. A mere stroll through campus proves that music makes the world go ‘round. The footsteps of the passerby, the dissonance of distant sirens, the chirping of birds, the swirling of the wind, the rustling of leaves, the rattling of construction crews, the screaming of young children, and the conversations held by different voices all combine to form a song that can only be described as spectacular. If there was no music in this world, humans would have neither creativity nor depth. We would be nothing more than a mass of flesh and bones that serve as robots to society. Without music, there would be no communication. Sounds and syllables that we know as words would remain sounds and syllables that could not possibly be processed by the human brain. Without music, there would be no hope to be released from despair. Without music, there would be no point in breathing another breath; in essence, there would be no point in living. With music comes life, and in life comes music, and I am a firm believer in that statement.

I have been truly blessed with the ability to enjoy and create music since I was a fetus. My parents can attest to that bold statement by telling you that I would kick when I heard a song inside my mother’s womb before I was even born. Since the age of five, I have taken classical piano lessons and proved my abilities by winning numerous awards for festivals across the state of Mississippi. I have worked one on one with the piano great George Winston on a couple different occasions. I joined performance band in fifth grade playing trumpet. Since then I have competed and placed in many competitions and clinics, both individually and with a performance group as a whole. Music has always been one of the most important things in my life, and I do not know what I would do without it. Many people ask me why I choose not to study music in college and pursue a career in music. My answer is simple: I do not want to lose the intimate and personal feelings I have for music. Music is my release—my way of becoming one with the universe and forgetting all things in this mad world. If I get overly stressed with school or just life in general, a thirty-minute piano session is enough to put my mind and soul at ease. I fear that if I become too involved in music, I will lose sight of the benefits it gives me and that I will take it for granted. Some might say that I am keeping what I love on the side, but I do not view it that way—I am keeping it right where it needs to be.

My musical taste has changed tremendously in my lifetime. As a child, I started taking classical piano lessons playing classical music and church hymns. Neither of these genres particularly interested me, but my parents forced me to stick with it. I loved country music. Growing up in small-town Mississippi most likely had a substantial role in deciding to choose that as my musical preference. As I got a little older, I started listening to more pop and country pop. As I got even older, I dropped country altogether and liked mostly pop and r&b. Sometime during my early high school years, I finally developed that appreciation for classical music and church hymns that I had been basically pounded with since first grade. I played classical music in my leisure time and actually led worship at my church playing hymns on piano. I have slightly drifted away from those two, but still enjoy playing them on occasion. Also during my high school years, I developed an intense appreciation for blues music. I studied blues greats and began writing my own blues songs. I have since drifted away from that a bit as well to write more easy listening- type music. My first semester at Ole Miss has broadened my musical horizons as well. I am now open to any and all types of music, but I still believe that I have yet to reach the peak of my musical taste. These days, it does not even have to sound appealing for me to be interested in who wrote it and what their story is.

Today, I continue to play music. I play basically any piano music I can get my hands on and I still attempt to write songs on the piano as well. I am no longer taking lessons, but I occasionally return home to play at church. I have used my trumpet-playing abilities to help pay my way through college. I am a member of the Pride of the South Marching Band here at Ole Miss, and am participating in University band, a concert band, this semester. As is evident, music plays a huge role in my life. I hope that taking this music history class will further broaden my scope of musical taste and allow me to better understand music as not just sounds and rhythms, but as a way of life.

Have Some Haitian Humility*

Americans are sometimes the most selfish people on this planet. Sure, we do what we can to help those in need. We throw a twenty in the red bucket at the supermarket during the holidays. We go on mission trips with church or community groups. We change the light bulb for our elderly neighbor. What we fail to do, though, is actually care.

Just over one year ago today, the catastrophic Haitian earthquake rocked the small country. To refresh the memory: 316,000 fatalities occurred; 300,000 were injured; and 1,000,000 were made homeless. To put that in perspective, Hurricane Katrina only killed about 1500 people. The worst part about the earthquake, however, was the incredibly poor shape the country was in before the natural disaster. As implausible as this may seem, imagine yourself as a small Haitian child for a second. This earthquake hits, your home has been destroyed, and your parents are missing. This exact thing happened to tens of thousands of Haitian children.

When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, lives and homes were destroyed as well. People volunteered to help with cleanup and recovery as well as donate a specific amount of money. The same efforts were carried out for Haiti. Being blessed with a country like we live in today, we were able to recover from Katrina in about a year. Sure, there are some things that just could not be replaced in a year, but the Gulf Coast was livable. Today, one year after the first tremors occurred, Haiti is still in ruins. The earthquake was reported to have destroyed or damaged nearly 75% of the building structures in Haiti. In one year’s time, a mere 5% of that rubble has been cleared.

Can you imagine living in a tent for one year? We as Americans can hardly stand to sleep in a tent for one night. The worst part is, these people have no clue when help is going to come their way. Oxfam recently released a report on the recovery of the country. Currently, the recovery project is at a standstill due to “indecision on the part of donor countries”. How the hell can there be any indecision on our part? The answer is simple: because we do not care. Americans have it way too easy and sadly, we don’t even realize it.

To be fair, what are we supposed to do? It is nearly impossible to find time in our busy schedules to go to Haiti and clean up some rubble. It is an imposition to adopt a Haitian orphan, although you may be moved to do so. Many of us can’t afford to pay bills let alone send a hundred dollars a month to Haiti. What we can do is humble ourselves. Realize that even in our worst days or situations, we are so much better off than what we could be. We can also write letters to our Congressmen, urging them to make every effort to better fund the relief project in Haiti.

It is time to stop this selfishness that we have become so accustomed to. Can you honestly say that you have thought about Haiti once in the last six months? I sure know that I couldn’t until now. One of my greatest fears is that this country has lost sight of the fact that we are blessed beyond comprehension. Is it too late to change our worldly, self-centered views? I certainly hope not, but it sure isn’t looking too good, is it?

"Enjoy What You Do"

Ah, the subtle things of life.

As I grow older and wiser, I am beginning to realize just how extraordinary the subtle things are. I received a package in the mail today. It was from Mom— an “exam box” full of candy and little goodies to get me through rest of this dreadful week of finals. Scattered throughout the package were some of God’s greatest gifts known to man— pieces of Dove chocolate. Dove chocolate has always been sort of this weird connection between me and my mom. We both love the candy and we usually eat it while we are together; like I said, weird.

Anyways, on the wrappers of Dove chocolate pieces are proverbs or maxims that have always struck me as being very corny. You know, like, “Live life to the fullest” or, “Smile, it makes the world better”. Today, at a time in which I am literally at one of the most stressed points of my life, I was deeply contemplating a decision I have coming up that will undoubtedly write the script of my life. I obviously don’t want to make the wrong decision, possibly jeopardizing my life goals and ambitions.

In the recent days, my stress levels have contributed to the dryness of my face. That is, I am always putting my face in my palms. I am tired, I am worried about my grades, I am scared about the possible outcomes of classes if I do poorly on a final, and I am worried about this decision. Today, while all of these things are looming over my head, I pick up a piece of Dove chocolate and unwrap it. As I naturally do, I read the maxim before I eat the chocolate. This particular wrapper said, “Enjoy what you do”. The proverbial bullet had just hit me in the head.

While I do not yet want to elaborate about the details of my future decision, I do want to emphasize the fact that this wrapper literally made the decision clear for me. It made me think about where I am at in my life and where I want to be. Am I enjoying what I am doing? The answer was clear: hell no. It is truly amazing what can happen when something subtle is exposed to you. Had this not happened to me, I might have made the wrong decision in the next few days and I might have been screwed for the rest of my life.

These subtle things in life are what gets me through. After my experience today, I have learned that the small things in life that might seem meaningless to some are life changing to others. This wrapper would probably just be a piece of garbage to the average person. To me, it was a recipe— a recipe that will hopefully make something that was once bitter into something very sweet. My life is bound to change very soon for one reason and one reason only: because I will enjoy what I do from now on.

I'll Have the Unhappy Meal, Please*

Think about things that we, as Americans, want in today’s culture. There are two things that come to my mind: we want to spend the least money possible, instant gratification, and to be treated with respect. Theoretically, what better gives us those three things than a fast food restaurant? These places are the epitome of the American way of life. They have always had the cheapest meals available, the fastest possible fix to our ever-growing appetites, and the optimal friendly customer service. However, things are starting to drastically change.

If you don’t feel like cooking and you are on a college budget, places like Wendy’s, McDonald’s, or Burger King are the ideal places to go. Though we might want something a little more healthy or enjoyable than these fattening foods, the low prices of these fast food places allow us to look past our more expensive desires. However, the prices at these establishments are steadily rising. I remember when I could get a burger, fries, and a Coke for about four dollars. Now, I spend over seven dollars to get the same thing. For what I am spending on fast food greasiness, I could sit down at Applebees or Chili’s and eat something that has actual taste and is a little more healthy.

Strike one.

I also remember when I could walk into a fast food restaurant, order my food, and it would be in my hand in no more than two minutes. Sometimes it still happens, but these restaurants seem to have generally lost sight of their sole purpose: to be FAST. Nothing annoys me more than having to pull up and wait on my food in a drive-thru. I know that there are a lot of customers, but it is your job to get my food to me as fast as possible. Anyone who has ever gone to a fast food place in Oxford knows exactly what I am talking about.

Strike two.

I am a very social person. I love to talk to people, even if I have no clue who they are. As could be expected, I always try to make small conversation with people that work at fast food restaurants. Nothing big, just a, “Hi, how are you today?” I can recall several times in the past that the employees would respond with a warm response and a friendly manner. I’d be damned if I was ever treated like that in fast food restaurants today. Most of the people that work at these places seem to have no social skills. The least they could do is pretend that they actually enjoy life. Just a LITTLE personality would do. And when you give me my food, at least tell me to enjoy my meal or have a nice day. Instead, I have to worry about you going in the bathroom and killing yourself because that’s the vibe you just gave me. Friendly customer service should still be a main goal of these establishments, and I just do not understand why I can’t get it.

Strike three.

Basically, the three things that Americans want and expect from fast food restaurants are not happening. The prices are steadily rising, making it pointless to waste money on unhealthy, worse-tasting food. The speediness of getting the food is sinking to an all-time slow rate. The friendly customer service is almost always nonexistent. There is almost no point in even spending my money on these places anymore. If this kind of nonsense continues, they will no longer be put up with by Americans. If nothing else, we Americans will get what we want no matter what. It will truly be interesting to behold the future of fast food restaurants in America.