<p>So, I’m about to begin my journey to acquire a bachelor’s degree and I was thinking how much easier it would be if a current Brunonian would ease the pressures of this difficult transition by offering us advice ranging anywhere from course selection to how to deal with annoying roommates to how to get the dorm of your choice, etcetera etcetera…and so, this thread was born! So if any Brown students, or even grads, would help the wee Class of 2009, we’d greatly appreciate it! Thanks!</p>
<p>Pick your first semester schedule very careully…that makes a huge difference. Talk to as many people as possible to find out what profs are good. And try to take a good variety of courses. </p>
<p>Personally I didn’t find the transition that difficult, and it was my very first time away from home. You get to be so busy that you don’t have much time to be homesick or anything!</p>
<p>Dorm of your choice: completely random during the first year
Roommate: completely random during the first year</p>
<p>Note though, if you realize that you do not like your roommate for whatever reason (strange sleeping habits, weird quirks, etc) you always have the option to switch roommates, no matter how late in the year. It can be a hassle, but if you make a big fuss, it’s definitely possible. </p>
<p>I second the fact that the transition to Brown wasn’t hard at all. I was way too busy digesting the Brown life to actually have enough time to get homesick.
Any more questions? Post them.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m just worried I’ll get some homophobic roommate…</p>
<p>That would infinitely suck, but I would think it would be less likely at Brown than at some other ultra conservative school…</p>
<p>Thanks for the advise, guys. I’ll try to use it wisely. How would you go about asking people about good profs? Also, since you both commented on busy schedules, how do you manage to juggle it all? I, myself, have been a master juggler in high school, but I’m afraid it will be much more difficult at Brown. I’ll post more when I think of additional questions.</p>
<p>Yah I’m also quite worried how I’m supposed to manage everything. Any advice?</p>
<p>this is the best place to find out about courses and profs
<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Students/Critical_Review/modules/news/[/url]”>http://www.brown.edu/Students/Critical_Review/modules/news/</a></p>
<p>your Meiklejohn will give you a lot of good specific advise as issues come up once you are on campus
<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Meiks/index.php[/url]”>http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Meiks/index.php</a></p>
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<p>I don’t mean to intrude, but you’re 18 and you’ve decided you want to be gay?</p>
<p>“Roommate: completely random during the first year”</p>
<p>What? No questionnaire?! Dangit.</p>
<p>There is a questionnaire, but it consists of 6 questions, none of which are telling enough to make the process non-random.</p>
<p>Hey that reminds me, dcircle, any tips for surviving through the neuro concentration?</p>
<p>Maize&Blue22, how old are you? when did you decide to be heterosexual?</p>
<p>Indeed, that was a really stupid thing to say, maize.</p>
<p>Honestly, more power to justpete for making a difficult decision to come out facing adversity at such a young age.</p>
<p>tips? hmm…are you pre-med? if so, all of the background courses will overlap with pre-med requirements which is a nice perk. </p>
<p>get involved with a research project early on. the faculty are wonderful and it’s a great opportunity–all you have to do is send an e-mail to whoever you are interested in working with. the other reason to do it is that it helps keep your motivation-level high by demonstrating directly how all of your knowledge about the brain can be useful. plus it will give you a knowledgeable advisor that knows you well. </p>
<p>work really hard for BN 1 (Introduction to Neuroscience). if you do your best to master this material, the rest of the concentration will be down-hill. almost every other course covers something that was mentioned in BN 1 in greater detail.</p>
<p>dcircle, oh snap, that was a great rebuttle.</p>
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<p>No it wasn’t. If you’re going to call me stupid, you should at least explain why I’m stupid.</p>
<p>…on the other hand I can explain why I’m not stupid.</p>
<p>The current (and widespread) “liberal” take on sexuality is that it is something we discover, not something we decide. That’s 100% wrong. I don’t want to debate this, but if you really want to know PM me I’ll explain why.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think anything is realy wrong with homosexuality. I’m not a “God will send your sodomizing butt straight to h-e double l” person. I’m just saying it’s a choice, not a discovery.</p>
<p>I wasn’t trying to rake muck; it just seems like 18 is a little young to make a statement like that which will follow you around your entire life.</p>
<p>I discovered that I was straight when I started going out with my girlfriend in 8th grade. I was 13…</p>
<p>Most who study homosexuality believe that it is either genetic or due to certain chemical factors before birth. Either way, it is not something that is pre-determined before birth. Bisexuality (it is often postulated that most people are at least a bit bisexual) could be explained either on a sort of genetic spectrum scale (like height, many factors affect it and it is not an “either or” thing, there is a term for this but AP bio was last year and I forget it now) or that humans are inherently sexual and will explore (particularly at a young age) but will ultimately be attracted more strongly to one gender. </p>
<p>Homosexuality being a “choice” is not supported by empirical scientific evidence. Many but not all species of animals exhibit homosexuality, and it only exists in certain animals. Clearly, they are not capable of complex decision making and reasoning and do not “decide” to be gay; they are born that way. In fact, some species (that do not have homosexual members) exhibit “altruism,” which means that many cannot reproduce but instead help other members with their young. Homosexuality could be an extension of the altruism gene.</p>
<p>Worse defense, ever.</p>
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<p>Nope.</p>
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<p>Nope.</p>
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<p>If you’re not joking, you’re reaching.</p>
<p>Alright, here we go. Stay with me, please.</p>
<p>Repeat after me: homosexuality is not genetic. It’s an extension of social factors and decisions.</p>
<p>Are you prepared to say that ancient Greeks, midieval Europe, and contemporary Brazil contain people that are radically different than us genetically?</p>
<p>Let me explain. In classical Greece it was invariably common for men to be sexually attracted to boys. Homosexuality was seen as a social symbol. It meant you were wealthy enough to be able to have sex w/ boys and therefore everyone wanted to do it. Was 100% of ancient greece born with your homosexual gene or did they chose to? Don’t get me wrong - just like today these people didn’t exactly know they were making this choice, but they did. You can see how strongly they felt in all the poetry etc about the beauty of the human boy.</p>
<p>In Midieval Europe people were not ordered by sexual orientation. There was no homosexuality and therefore no homosexuals. Being gay was very, very, very, very rare. If it was genetic and there where lots of surpressed homosexuals during this time, why don’t we have writings, etc that tell of people struggling against their homosexuality? Why isn’t in mentioned in any literature of the time? Why was having sex with animals more common at the time? You can cry “the church” all day, but the church was less and less important from 1500 on. Why don’t we have these writings from that period after the enlightenment? Even where the church held no sway (the low countries) there was no homosexuality and no homosexuals. Was Europe 400 years ago genetically different from us?</p>
<p>Last but not least, in Brazil today it is only seen as homosexual if you are penetrated (if you’re a man). Many, many Brazillian men engage in homosexual acts. Are brazillians genetically different from us today?</p>
<p>I could go on all day. The new idea of sexuality (it’s predetermined) is just the latest in a long line of constructions about sexuality. Every culture has one, and that is the one we’ve seemingly adapted for now.</p>
<p>People chose to be gay in ancient greece for social status. Today, people chose to be gay for many other reasons (to be different, to rebel, in the face of rejection), but the fact remains - it is a choice, albeit one that is made with heavy influence from societal pressures.</p>