Academic Cheating and Social Relationships

omgninja
Sun, 23 Apr 2006 18:17:36 +0000

It’d be nice if your question were more specific.

Cheating is bad. Don’t do it. If you get caught, it’s a big waste of time for everyone involved, as a lot of people actively work to ensure that the community is protected from cheaters.

Social Relationships are good. Core, specifically its 5 terms of math and 5 terms of physics, really helps to forge strong relationships between people (especially members of different houses), since there’s no social glue like hardship House dinners (weeknights) and social events (about once a week?) are fun, and I feel that I can talk comfortably with nearly everyone in my house, which is quite a feat since I’m a bit shy. I really like how the house system helps freshmen develop strong relationships with upperclassmen, as they’re really a useful resource; their presence is reassuring, since it reminds me that people have gotten through all the tough spots, and they give very good advice on which classes are fun, useful, or easy. Upperclassmen are also generally willing to help frosh out with homework if they’re having minor trouble. When I visited my girlfriend at Hahvahd over spring break, I found that although they have a house system she did not know any freshmen, juniors, or seniors well at all. This was unfathomable to me.

On weekends, your social life is what you make of it. Last night I threw a party in the lobby of Millikan library. I did this by IMing a friend to get a couple 2-liters of soda, some cups, and some people, then I popped a bag of popcorn, gathered people, stopped by the C-Store and grabbed some cookies and 'Nilla Wafers, and headed to the library.
And thus a party was born. It takes 10 minutes, seriously.