Although the spring 2007 semester begins almost a month after New Year’s Day, many people at Cal State Long Beach have still made resolutions for the new semester.
Some students have decided to dedicate themselves more to their schoolwork and classes.
“Just go to class on time so I don’t end up with a ‘C’,” said junior business marketing major Jason Aula. He added that going to class “can mean the difference between a ‘B’ and an ‘A’.”
Senior liberal studies major Maria Ramirez and junior psychology major Brittany Davis also said they want to focus on getting better grades.
“I pushed my graduation back a semester and I’m going to try to get all A’s,” Ramirez said.
Junior fashion merchandising major Ranita Dodson said her goal for the semester is to “concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.”
Freshman biochemistry major Damy Tha echoed Dodson’s resolution.
“[I’m going to] stay on top of my game and not fall behind in class,” Tha said.
Junior liberal studies major Kimberly Steele said she plans to “focus more on studying and not party too much.”
Some students have resolutions that they would like their professors to take to heart.
Davis said she would like all of her professors to try to be fair and listen to their students.
Dodson joked that she would like her professors to give more take-home finals and wants professors to be more understanding with their students.
“Some of us have four other classes,” she said.
Some professors, like classics lecturers Laura Hunter and Karl Squitier, said they want to make their classes a good experience for their students.
“My goal for the semester is making my new course [CLSC – Ancient Eats] as interesting as possible,” Squitier said.
“My resolution is to give my students a fun and interesting experience in classics, kind of like Disneyland,” Hunter said.
Professor Troy Johnson, who chairs the anthropology and American Indian Studies departments, said chairing two departments has made it challenging for him to put aside time to meet with students.
“I want to make myself more available to my students,” Johnson said.
Gerry Riposa, dean of the College of Liberal Arts (COLA), said he wants to make improvements for both COLA and the university.
“This is a year of change for us,” Riposa said. “[We’re] pushing programs for teaching and research to a higher level.”
Many professors have a few resolutions they would also like their students to take into consideration.
“I’d like to see students make more appointments to see their professors,” Johnson said. “Nowadays, students don’t meet with professors until they are in trouble grade-wise. [If they met with their professors] earlier, they could resolve their problems and be more successful.”
Sociology lecturer Tiffany Lanoix said she wants to see students put more effort into the writing and reading for their classes.
“[I definitely want to see them] reading their assignments for understanding, not just skimming,” Lanoix said.
Criminal justice professor Elizabeth Piper Deschenes said she wants her students to not procrastinate this semester.
“That’s the same as my resolution actually,” she said.
