the BisonBlog

Erik, you cracked me up!! David, your an analytical machine!! (Is that redundant?) "Land-grant foundations" refers to the first mission statement of NDSU of sorts, the 1862 Morril Act. Schools like NDSU and SDSU were initially supported by federal land grants, with the understanding that the schools would provide a practical, but liberal, education for the masses, distinct from the more high-minded idealist education dominant at the time.

Hi to everyone new!!

On a different community blog I follow, one of the contributors reported on another blogger (still with me?) who predicts that community blogs are going to become as common as individual blogs. Most of us don't really have time to keep up our personal blogs and contribute to the Bison Blog (the theory goes), so most of us will just do our blogging here in the community space. Sybil, you need to follow up on this!

The blogger who was reporting on the other blogger also predicted that students will be early adopters of emerging blog technologies. What do you students think? Are you in it for the glory of early adoption? My hunch is that only students who like to write, talk, and express themselves, are going to take up blogging.

Let me shake the dust off...Hello all, glad to see everyone making use of the BB. I just wanted to talk a bit about the mission statement. First of all I didn't even know the university had one, so the change from 3 paragraphs to two sentences doesn't bother me that much. I've never really understood mission statements. I see all these businesses and organizations with mission statements and start to wonder...am I supposed to have a mission statement, is this one of those facts of life that only I am unaware of? Well, to alleviate these cockleburrs of insecurity, I decided I might as well play it safe and make one for myself.

I thought the U's statement started off nice, so swiped the first part...
"With energy and momentum"

So my first draft looked like this.
"With energy and momentum Erik Kornkven explores the world he was born into fulfilling all duties placed upon him by God and Society while furthering the pursuit of knowledge within himself and those he encounters."

Pretty good i thought, but after reading it over a couple times I had to make some changes, first of all the "energy" had to go, it made me tired just thinking about it. And the "duties" part made me nervous, i thought it best to not bite off more than I could chew. So my second draft looked like this.
"With momentum, Erik Kornkven explores the world he was born into fulfilling those duties which he sees fit placed upon him by God and Society while furthering the pursuit of knowledge within himself and those he encounters."

Not bad, but it still wasn't quite right. I figured that right now, while i am in college furthering the pursuit of knowledge appeals to me, but when I'm fifty, will I still want to think about whether the chair I'm sitting in actually exists or is merely a conglomeration of my fickle senses?
So I changed it again.
"With momentum Erik Kornkven explores the world he was born into fulfilling those duties which he sees fit placed upon him by God and Society while occaisionally thinking about whatever he wants."
There we go, now I had it. I slept on it and had nightmares...When I woke up, after a restless night I made the final revision.
"With momentum Erik Kornkven does stuff, while thinking about other stuff."

So there it is. What did I learn through all this? Mission statements and the like are difficult and constricting documents and while it is easy to comment on those created by others, it may be beneficial to write one first for yourself... :-)
erik

HEY Chelsea!!! Glad you joined us! And hey to all the other NEWBIES to the BISONBLOG.

So... here's my worst nightmare come true even though it's on the Onion (so take it with a grain of nothing is what I am getting at).

I have tons to do... will be back on here (hopefully with more lovely blogs listed over there --> ) this weekend. Yes, grad students have homework too. Ugh! I can't wait until all I have to do is worry about teaching. I thought of some awesome "reality show teaching strategies" today for my English 120. Like voting people out of the class one day or bringing in "surprise guests"... any others you all can think up?

Many new people listed over there on the right side now, amazing. Its almost like the side bar suddenly exploded with bloggers. Too think only a few weeks ago I too was a new guy on the Bison Blog. Ah the memories of the past. I want to say Hi to all the new people then address Kevins post.

Hello new people I hope you all enjoy blogging as much as I do. May all your sentences be well punctuated and your vocabulary as boundless as the ocean.

"With energy and momentum, North Dakota State University addresses the needs and aspirations of people in a changing world by building on our land-grant foundations."

I'm not sure what exactly they mean by land-grant foundations but I do think that NDSU is making attempts to push ahead. I've seen numerous free lectures listed on boards and such around campus on topics I don't understand (Sadly I have no time to attend them) which I think shows that NDSU is trying to give students what they pay for. I get e-mails daily about other events that are occurring from entertainment to conventions like that Upper Great Plains Technology Convention. As a student in the computer science department it seems as though the school is attempting to stay up on technology and ensure that students are on the cutting edge or as near to it as they feel they can get students. Although I do some what disagree with the Microsoft partnership as there is currently a growing need for Unix/Linux programmers but the CSci department is going to be adding a Unix class soon I believe or they already have it. I am disappointed that students had to take the initiative to get the school library updated and we may soon be paying 83 cents more per credit hour. Sure it isn't much but it is a void that students should not have to fill especially with the large tuition increases we've been seeing lately. This is a university otherwise commonly known as a center of learning and having a library that is facing "dramatic underfunding" as it pours money into sports to ensure our division I readiness is falling short of that definition. NDSU is doing much to meet the "needs and aspirations of people in a changing world" yet division 1 readiness seems to be taking the spotlight. If our football team being able to beat another division I football team improves the quality of education and research at NDSU then lets get all the money we can for it otherwise we know where the ax must fall the next time cuts need to be made and its definitely not the library.

WHOA! Apparently the listserv was the way to go. I got 13 responses from people JUST TODAY, and I sent it out this afternoon. Holy cow.. rrr buffalo!

In response to you Kevin, I would like to know what they think our "foundations" are exactly? Do we all have the same needs and aspirations? And what are they? I can't believe they condensed down to that. Here's an example where elaboration is a very good thing.. don't be brief.

Okay, more feedback on NDSU needed. The school's mission statement is being condensed from three paragraphs to "With energy and momentum, North Dakota State University addresses the needs and aspirations of people in a changing world by building on our land-grant foundations." Discuss amongst us bloggers, please.

What they SHOULD do with those "Ask Me" commercials, etc is have someone telling a NDSU story. For instance: I worked at the Alumni Center calling alums, etc and asking for money way back in the day, and they would tell me stories about this and that before deciding to pitch in $25 bucks for some department on campus. I loved the stories and hated the job. They should interview freshmen right after classes are done in May.. what do they say THEN about college life?? I think more high school students want to know what to expect more than a response like "I opened up and discovered new things".. HOW did she discover those things? Parties? New friends? Taking Kevin's class? I open up and discover new things everytime I teach..

I wonder how long they gave her to respond.

So, I sent a hog of an email about this awesome blog to the NDSU listserv. I do want more people on here, but I don't want everyone to not be heard either. It's a challenge I'll have to elaborate on in my thesis maybe.

The speech was about how control of education should be in the hands of State and local governments and not the Federal government.

That askjo page is nicely put together. They should supplement it with a personal account from some one outside of ND to recruit more students outside of ND.

"What's the most surprising thing you've learned about yourself at NDSU?
Probably how much I opened up and discovered new things about myself that I never knew. "

Ok so the question asks what is the most surprising thing you've learned about yourself at NDSU and she responds that she has learned lots of new things about herself at NDSU(redundant?). Doesn't the question already imply that she has learned lots of new things about herself and is asking for a specific thing she has learned about herself? This statement appears to lack honesty. It may not be intentional but with only three questions there isn't much for the reader to make a personal connection with.

Nice the sun finally got out from behind all those clouds.

~David

Congrats, Dave, receiver of standing o's. What was the speech about?

Has anybody seen NDSU's new recruiting campaign? Ask Jo. I doubt Jo really responds; I wonder if "Jo" really exists.

If students want the real NDSU experience story, they should probably come to the Bison Blog.