A COMM Major at Computer Science 110: Introduction to Computer Programming
by Allie Cohen
The professor starts the class by announcing something about Java. He keeps saying Java. Now I’m really craving coffee. I’m sitting in the back and he asks ‘us in the back’ to raise our hands if we have trouble reading the code written on the screen. I definitely have trouble reading what’s on the screen, but it’s not because I can’t see it. The professor moves over to this clear shoe rack and keeps putting random numbers into different slots to demonstrate how to write the code (Ed. note: Coding (n.) A system of signals used to represent letters or numbers in transmitting messages. The instructions in a computer program.) I appreciate the visual learning technique, but I still don’t get it. Words I keep hearing that must mean something: null, value, loop, branch. Darn it, I should have done the readings. Do they have readings in this class? Now he’s talking about updating the list and the value and the head of the list… I don’t edit my essays as frequently as he’s talking about editing this code. The professor asks a question and no one knows the answer. Good, I’m not alone. He calls out a student from the crowd to answer. “I didn’t raise my hand,” he says. “Well, let’s pretend that you did,” the professor answers. Phew, glad that wasn’t me! I get distracted dreaming about all the apps I could create if I knew what was going on in this class. It dawns on me that engineers build our entire world. Thank you for Snapchat, engineers. I zone back in as the professor gives instructions about a next line of code and says, “It seems stupid to have to say it, but I do. Because computers are stupid.” My paranoia about singularity is temporarily assuaged. I send a Snapchat to my engineering boyfriend.
Two Engineers at COMM 470: FREAKS AND GEEKS
by Gracie Salmon and Sonya Kripke
We don’t think normal people volunteer to attend someone else's class at 10:00 AM on the Friday after a date night. But we're engineers, we don't claim to be normal. And anyway, we would have been confused in this class with or without our pounding headaches. We learned about the ability to be a freak when one chooses, which apparently has a term: agential enfreakment. The TA seemed fun and quirky, the students looked like legit real people (no one was wearing sweatpants..??) and everyone spoke eloquently. The class discussion moved so quickly that one minute we were talking about Mila Kunis without makeup and the next we were looking at a picture of Jennifer Aniston with no teeth. Then we got distracted by pictures from date night being posted on Facebook (Ed. note: Guess that's the same no matter what school you're in) and when we looked up the class was looking at a "Rich Kids of Instagram" of a trust-fund teen in a bathtub of champagne. Oh, and we attempted their quiz. Here are a few of our answers:
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Name one kind of shame that Sunny Megatron mentioned in her lecture.
Is it walk of shame? Who is Sunny?
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How does Barker define a sex-critical attitude?
Like when your hookup stinks and you're critical of his sexual capabilities.
We hope we get an A.
A Nurse at MKTG 266: Marketing for Social Impact
by Kristen Coyne
I wore a scarf to dress up my outfit because I expected everyone to be wearing button downs or blouses… I see t-shirts and sweaters. The people in this class all look pretty down-to-Earth; I think these are the kind of Wharton people I would want to be friends with. The professor begins her lecture. I don’t really know what a "stakeholder" is, but she keeps saying it. She says, “If we take care of our employees first, they’re going to treat our customers better.” The boss at my summer job told me that the customer always comes first… that explains why we were losing money. He definitely didn’t go to Wharton. Some of the stuff she’s talking about seems like common sense… obviously one great employee is better than three good employees. She gives an example about a container store… Can employees and customers actually be so passionate about a store that sells containers? I think I would be annoyed if someone tried to tell me about the company’s seven main principles if I was just in the store to buy a shoe rack. The questions the Wharton students are asking are actually good questions. I would expect more Wharton people to ask questions to just hear themselves talk. My impression of Wharton as a whole was pretty bad before sitting in on one of their classes, but I think it’s a little less horrible after. They do things other than get copious amounts of free food during recruiting info sessions and SABS in GSRs.
A Wharton Freshman at NURS 62: Cell Biology
by Rhea Aurora
I cringed when I found a biology class would be the nursing class I was going to, but tried to keep an open mind as I approached Stitetler, a building I had never been in. As soon as I stepped foot inside, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of girls compared to the male majority in Wharton. Every single one seemed so nice it was almost unsettling. I sat down towards the back corner of the class, and made small talk with some of the girls. The professor (also a woman) seemed very friendly. She passed down packets, and I took one while continuing to talk to the girls and was struck by how friendly and inviting they were even though it was pretty obvious I didn’t belong. Suddenly, I realized that the chatter started to die down. At this point, I finally checked out the packet. I saw a bunch of complex words, some of which I vaguely recognized from high school biology. This was a midterm…oops. I frantically looked around to confirm and then rushed out, but my short nursing experience was still significant. I can’t deny that very few classes outside of this one have people that would be so friendly before a high-stress test. I probably won’t be taking a biology class anytime soon, but I’d definitely love to check out the nursing department in the future.
