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Thou shalt not sit at the edge of the row
Shimmying past a group of seated people is as difficult as an Olympic-grade obstacle course. You have to avoid knocking knees, impaling yourself against the back of the row in front of you and stepping on valuable belongings in the attempt to flail your way to an empty seat. All the while, you’re stiffly leaning forward and praying to God that your backpack won’t accidentally smack someone in the face and give them cause to sue. While there are some exceptions to this golden rule (say, if you happen to be left-handed, or if all the seats in the middle have already been taken, in which case this rule is void), be considerate and move in. Otherwise, if someone backpacks you in the face, it’s only karma.
Thou shalt not hog half the row of seats
While it’s definitely nice to be surrounded by your friends, remember that you’re not in lecture to have a reunion. You’re there to learn, which can be done no matter where you sit, and regardless of whether everyone in your crew is accounted for. Your obligation is not to be the designated usher for everyone you know, but to be considerate of the general public (i.e. your class). So if you decide to look out for your friends, then please, for the love of all that is good, divide and conquer. Don’t be that one person who takes up seven seats. Limit yourself to maybe one or two seats beside you, and meet up with everyone else after class is over. If that ends your friendship, then good riddance.
Thou shalt not leave drinks on the floor
This is Murphy’s Law in action. You’re placing your half-finished coffee in the vicinity of a bunch of limbs whose main purpose is to kick things over. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happens next. Once you spill your coffee (and you will, inevitably, spill your coffee), it becomes a nuisance for you to clean it up. Since a lot of lecture halls are slanted, you’ve not only effectively forced all the following classes held in that lecture hall to wonder which jerk committed this indecency, but you’ve allowed it to spread. So either put it on the seat’s desk beside you or hold it securely. It might even be less of a hassle to wait until after class, where you can actually enjoy your beverage.
Thou shalt not speak over the professor
Nothing is worse than making the commendable feat of actually going to lecture, only to find that you can hardly hear anything the prof is saying. No one wants to hear you gossip about how wasted you got last weekend or whether so-and-so is interested in you. If a lack of general privacy for your personal affairs doesn’t concern you, then ask yourself why you’re in lecture in the first place if you don’t intend to learn. You are in a room filled with bleary-eyed faces, all of whom are copying down notes in attempt to actually be effective with their time. It’s time to have some respect for your peers. So put on your keener jeans and kindly zip it, or take the rest of your conversation outside.
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By: Nicholas Moore
From their course selection experience this summer, most of the student body is aware that Mosaic has not been implemented properly. These problems extend into graduate student payroll, and there have been a plethora of problems resulting from this faulty and poorly managed program. These issues were, and are, far from trivial.
On Oct. 10, dental benefits for Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants were suspended because McMaster University had not remitted premiums it had collected for the insurance company for a period of four months. The premiums were paid quickly after the suspension of benefits, but this situation, which never should have happened in the first place, was laid at the feet of Mosaic.
Administration proposes a “standing loan” program to “bridge graduate student needs between payments.” Ludicrous. Will they charge interest on these loans? Most likely.
There have been innumerable instances of general mismanagement. Anecdotally, I was charged double the correct amount of tuition in September, which took a few weeks to fix. A friend of mine was charged two-thirds of the correct amount. Another friend of mine has not been paid the full amount of scholarship the University promised.
On Nov. 3, a letter was sent to graduate students from the Acting Provost and Vice President (Administration) which attempted to address the ongoing problems with Mosaic’s payroll system. In this letter, they acknowledge that there has been “ongoing confusion around ... scholarships, payments and benefits.” It is mostly a loose collection of vapid buzzwords, but somewhat sinister in its implications.
First, all they propose to do is improve “communication” with grad students and the throughput on our complaints. This includes setting up an email address for complaints, hiring staff to handle complaints, sending us emails more frequently and having “a series of open meetings” where we will be permitted to ask questions. They also propose to hand this functionality over to a brand new “customer service unit” that will handle this type of inquiry. This is a very telling Freudian slip, betraying the degree to which McMaster administration prefers to see graduate students as income units, rather than employees. No amount of communication, or “managing expectations,” will fix Mosaic.
Particularly egregious is the proposed “long term solution” to changes they made to our payroll system that have resulted in grad students going for entire semesters with only a couple thousand dollars in compensation. Students who don’t have a TA or RA position immediately after starting their grad studies have a particularly bad time. The old system compensated for this, and spread our pay more equally throughout the year. University administration proposes a “standing loan” program to “bridge graduate student needs between payments.” Ludicrous. Will they charge interest on these loans? Most likely. This is being paid in currency only tenable at the company store. This is Wal-Mart holding a food drive for its own employees.
The letter says they will “continue working on the technical and system issues underlying some of the problems.” Insofar as this is a circuitous, partial acknowledgment of faults in Mosaic, nothing further is promised, except to continue patching a broken system. No mention of increasing their efforts to get to the root of the problem, a fundamentally incompetent implementation of otherwise useful software system. I was shocked to learn that the University of Waterloo uses the same software package for the same purpose, but having implemented it competently, it is free from the deluge of ridiculous problems we have experienced with Mosaic. We educate software engineers here. It is not beyond the capability of this school to properly configure software.
Yet, here we are. Perhaps our administration is ensnared by the sunk cost fallacy, but they seem incapable of acknowledging something that anyone with a background in software (such as myself), and many with no background in software will tell you: Mosaic is a redo. Mosaic is a terminal patient, and the complaints resolution process is an iron lung. Mosaic is a hurdles runner hitting every hurdle because it has stale pretzel sticks for legs. Mosaic is a plantar wart; unless you crack it open and get to the root of the problem, it’s just going to get uglier and uglier.
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By: Bina Patel
Each year, the English and Cultural Studies Department hosts the Mabel Pugh Taylor Writer-in-Residence. This four-month program seeks to attract highly accomplished Canadian writers, from which a selection committee narrows down to the top three authors who they believe are best suited to occupy the position in subsequent years. The recipient uses their knowledge and experiences to engage McMaster and the wider Hamilton community in the craft of creative writing.
This year, that resource is author and teacher Kim Echlin. According to Jeffery Donaldson, McMaster English professor and Chair of the Writer-in-Residence Committee, although published work gives an applicant eligibility for the position, selecting the ideal candidates goes beyond just the technicalities.
“We want to have some idea of what skills the writers will be bringing. Do they have the skills that we would expect them to have in editing and advising students? The more they know about the publishing community, the better advice they can give. We want to feel that the writer is a writer of reputation,” said Donaldson.
And of reputation she is. Echlin’s publications include Elephant Winter, The Disappeared, Inanna and Elizabeth Smart: A Fugue Essay on Women and Creativity. She is the winner of the Torgi Award, CBC Literary Award for non-fiction, Barnes and Noble Award, and has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize as well as the Chapters/Books in Canada First Award. It is distinction of this nature which indicate to the selection committee that the applicant inhibits what they consider are core skills in making a significant impact during the residency, which include one-on-one mentoring to students.
Her mentee and McMaster History and English alumnus Nichole Fanara, recounted her experience working with Echlin, whom she approached for assistance in writing and graduate program application. “We worked on my novel. She helped me get to the standard so that it would be good enough and was really great, really helpful,” Fanara said. In addition to mentoring aspiring writers, the Writer-in-Residence also reaches out to the wider community through public readings and lectures. One of these instances was during Prof. Donaldson’s Creative Writing Inquiry course, where Echlin shared her wisdom with the class of writers. “She’s brilliant. When she was talking she was making suggestions and little lights were going off in my head. She was saying things that you would think would be no brainers but they hadn’t occurred to me to say to my students,” he said.
Echlin has had a passion for writing since her childhood. Her most recent book, Under the Visible Life, follows the lives of two women in different parts of the world: Hamilton and Afghanistan. Despite having struggled through stigma and systematic oppression, both find their freedom through their love of music. “I explore the kinds of oppressions that women from all over the world have lived with and how they continue to make themselves free,” she said.
Although having a Writer-in-Residence has largely to do with fostering the creative imagination of students, Echlin makes clear that the advantages are mutual. “This is the first time I’ve been a Writer-in-Residence, and I really like it. At McMaster it’s very interesting because in the Humanities program you have a lot of alternative forms of storytelling. You have creative writing with Jeffery Donaldson, but also you have Daniel Coleman and he’s working with a lot of different forms of narrative.”
Donaldson added that although McMaster has not yet established a creative writing program, having an individual of such literary prowess to consult with is inspiring for young writers.
Photo Credit: McMaster University
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Although it is only February, 2016 seems to be my year of introspection and big decisions. I am in my third year of the Arts and Science program and although I chose this degree to get exposure to a variety of fields, I pushed myself into focusing on biology — certainly not my favourite subject — with seemingly no pressure from anyone but myself. Unhappy with my schoolwork, this year I decided to change that. I took a step back and asked myself, what’s so appealing about science? Why is my story so common?
McMaster students may be more biased towards the sciences since our university is best known for its scientific research. With so much campus space designated for science students, it’s understandable to crave being part of that community. McMaster made a proactive choice when deciding to build L.R. Wilson Hall, a space for liberal arts students to feel the same sense of togetherness and appreciation that science students experience. Perhaps it will encourage students to embrace their interests and not feel pressured into a stream that doesn’t suit them. Perhaps not.
The way in which many students generally speak about the humanities is relatively simplified. When we talk about the humanities, we should be talking about philosophy, art history, French, communication studies, and linguistics, to provide a few examples. It is misguided and inaccurate to reduce a program to nothing but writing essays and calling that “easy.” Not everyone can communicate effectively enough to get a point across in an essay, just as not everyone is able to work well in a biology lab. Yet, we need both types of people. Part of the reason science is so appealing could be attributed to the seemingly infinite options it presents. But if science can be divided into chemistry, physics, biology, and technology, then let’s not forget to acknowledge the diversity within the humanities. Regardless of the fact that studying the humanities can lead to very successful careers, there is a pressure to avoid them at all costs. Maybe that’s because it’s convenient to pursue the sciences to avoid the usual questions about what on earth you’re going to do after graduation. If you’re in the sciences, you tend to get off easier because there’s always med school, right? However, if you’re in the humanities, people often forget the boundless options that exist because they forget how vast a field it is.
Studying science gives the illusion that there’s an obvious answer as to what you will be doing next. There’s either research or medicine, and that’s all. That, too, is a dangerously singular way to think, and yet, this seemingly clear path could be what attracts so many students. Tunnel vision is an interesting thing when it comes to education. On one hand, you may love it because it steers you in a defined direction. On the other hand, you could hate it because you may find that direction doesn’t fit you. The important thing is to take a step back once in a while and ask yourself what you find appealing about your field of study. If nothing comes to mind, it might be time to explore a bit more.
Studying science gives the illusion that there’s an obvious answer as to what you will be doing next.
The reality is that this pressure we feel to study the natural sciences isn’t solely because of McMaster’s reputation, but rather, the wider growing obsession with scientific and technological advancement. While it is important for us to study science and develop technologies to better our world, it takes all sorts of people to better society. We fail to recognize that this growing culture of praise for science and technology is giving us tunnel vision when it comes to our education.
At the end of the day, university education has become the new baseline for future career prospects. The majority of us, no matter what we go into, will have to continue our education. Therefore, if you find science to lack the appeal it’s hyped up to have, then you should explore other fields of study. It would be short-sighted to limit yourself so early in your education and feel pressured to pursue something that has just as many prospects as other fields of study. As a fellow Marauder, I urge you to remain open-minded about other faculties and programs and take courses outside of your comfort zone. You’ll never know what you’ll find intriguing.
Photo Credit: The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
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Re-examine setbacks
It’s easy to say that you didn’t do well because the instructor was an asshole, but there’s usually something on your end as well. Be critical about your study habits! Sometimes the reason is not as obvious as “I just didn’t go to class and crammed everything in the last week.” Maybe it’s because you’re studying to music with lyrics and you need to listen to ambient sounds instead. One of the best apps around is called “Noisli;” download it onto your phone and get ready to focus like never before.
Learn to adapt
There’s no one way of studying that will get you a 12 in all subjects, so make sure your study method is appropriate for what you’re trying to do. This will increase your likelihood of success and minimize wasted time. If you need to memorize a boatload of notes, you want to test yourself with cue cards (or the like) and not just read your notes. If it’s a problem-based course, you want to do as many practice problems as possible instead of focusing your time on reading the textbook.
Time to get organized
In your planner or calendar, mark down all the quizzes, tests, and assignment due dates for all your courses. This way you can plan ahead and know when you cannot afford to go to Motown. If you want to be even more detailed, set your own due dates for when you want a part of your assignment, or a reading, to be done. That way you won’t have a revelation at 2 a.m. that you have a 2,000 word essay due in a week.
Get a fresh start
If you need to get the sour taste of those 6s from last semester out of your mouth, get a fresh start by getting a new set of stationary and notebooks. Clean up your room and start a new routine. These changes require time, preparation and commitment, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t succeed initially. Actually sleep at appropriate times. Don’t fixate on your bad marks, because you can’t change those and they just add an unnecessary pressure.
Pencil in a break
Your mind tends to become petrified into stone when you continuously focus on one task for too long. Take 10-minute breaks for every 40 minutes of studying. Switch subjects every few hours. Go to the gym or even the grocery store. To ease your guilty mind when you’re not studying, know that your break can still be productive in some way. Try downloading the Pomodoro Timer on your laptop or phone, a great app to help you keep track of your work and of your breaks.
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My first reaction to seeing the words “shopping cart” on Mosaic was to post a joke about it on Twitter. After my tweet got three likes and my sense of humour was externally affirmed for the day, I glanced over the words again and felt nauseous.
The words “shopping cart” might seem small and meaningless and the intent behind it was probably harmless, meant to turn an administrative process into something familiar. Unfortunately, it speaks to a larger reality of university education: the normalization of seeing universities as businesses and our degrees as products.
These words now serve as a reality check. It makes me ask over and over again: what’s university? Is it a place where knowledge is advanced, where society is challenged? Is it a hub of innovation? The answer is obviously yes, but there’s more to it than that. Being in our undergraduate degrees, many of us will not get to participate in that culture. Many students leave undergrad, either find a job or go to a professional degree, without having ever interacted with the culture of knowledge-advancement that is the essence of the university as a concept.
To undergrads, university is sold as an experience, as the best four years of your life — a fact that I sincerely hope is not true. Degrees are framed as skill-giving products, and those that don’t offer hard professional skills feel the need to justify their existence by teaching “soft” skills, or by shaping their products into something innovative and cool that can then be sold as “elite”. Admittedly, a lot of this has to do with university programs just trying to survive as funding decreases for any non-STEM field that involves even a bit of critical thinking.
It makes me ask over and over again: what’s university? Is it a place where knowledge is advanced, where society is challenged? Is it a hub of innovation?
“Shopping” equates a process as significant to our life and career trajectories as academics with trivial everyday undertakings. Things you put in your “shopping cart” usually include: groceries, clothes from online stores, highly acclaimed books from Amazon you’ve been pretending to want to read for a few months. This language positions the university as the seller of knowledge, and you, the buyer.
Universities already use ads to sell their undergraduate programs — a tactic I’ve found ethically questionable for some time. While advertising is understandable, ads playing in movie theatres for our Engineering program directly following that guy from The Source explaining some cool new tech product makes it a lot harder to think of my education as a genuinely enlightening experience.
The student-as-consumer narrative creates a feeling of disconnect between me and my education that cheapens the whole experience, which is unfortunate, because it’s anything but cheap.
But the problems faced by our public education system won’t disappear if McMaster decides to change a few words on Mosaic, or stop playing ads in movie theatres. In a way, I am thankful for the language used on Mosaic. The idealized view of a university education as the creator and disseminator of knowledge in the public interest is seriously endangered by rising tuition fees, degree inflation, and a rocky job market that leaves many graduates unemployed for frightening periods of time.
While we must continue to think of the university as the place for groundbreaking and socially challenging research, reminders of the state that our education system currently finds itself in might not be such a bad thing. Language like “shopping cart,” as uncomfortable as it makes me feel, serves as a much-needed wake up call.
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On Nov. 20, McMaster secured another award for its trophy case, after being named as one of Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers for 2016.
Now in its ninth year, the annual competition is organized by the editors of “Canada’s Top 100 Employers.” The competition recognizes McMaster University for the role it plays in the Hamilton-Niagara region as an industry leader for employment.
McMaster distinguished itself under the eight evaluation criteria set out by “Canada’s Top 100 Employers,” including the physical workplace, work and social atmosphere, financial and family benefits, health and community involvement.
Wanda McKenna, executive director of human resources here at McMaster, is proud of the university’s accomplishment. “We have always believed that McMaster is a fantastic place to work,” she said. “And given the fact that this is our very first time entering the competition, it just goes to show that McMaster does offer a fairly comprehensive package in terms of being a great place to work and teach.”
Comprised of 4,393 full-time employees and 3,052 part-time employees, McMaster is not only one of the largest employers in the Hamilton-Niagara region, but also one that is committed to cultivating a group of passionate staff.
“[The staff] at the university are absolutely dedicated to its mission, its research and its teaching,” acclaimed McKenna. “They love student environments, they love being with students and seeing them learn and grow. It is always fantastic to work with staff that resonate full of such energy.”
“Canada’s Top 100 Employers” features McMaster University’s benefit pension plan, retirement planning assistance, scholarship program and inclusivity of working groups as defining reasons for being selected as one of Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers. The thoughtful outlook that McMaster has for its staff is also expressed by the flexible work options, the generous paid vacation allowance and the apprenticeship/skills training programs that it offers.
A strong focal point of the Forward With Integrity campaign has been fostering strong relationships with the Hamilton community. “Community engagement is one of the pillars and priorities for the university, and that means ensuring a diverse employee population that is also reflective of our student population,” said McKenna. “We are trying to reach out to different members of the community and tell them that McMaster is a great place to work.”
The selection for the Hamilton-Niagara Top Employers is also based on their progressive and forward-thinking programs. In this area, McMaster has irrefutably shown merit in terms of both its academics and employment programs.
“The university's vision [revolves] around creativity, innovation and excellence,” she said. “It fosters an environment where our students can also thrive and succeed. McMaster has been able to become a Top 100 university in the world because of its faculty and staff. And continuing to attract and retain the best, has helped McMaster to continue to be the best environment for its students.”
With this, McKenna sets her sights on propelling the continuous evolution of McMaster as a workplace and employer. In the next few months, the university plans on instituting employment equity services to break down the barriers that exist between designated working groups. The intention is to level the playing field, allowing all members of the community the opportunity to find and continue an employment.
“I think that McMaster has a bright future ahead of itself,” said McKenna. “We are trying to position [ourselves] such that we have the right people — our greatest assets are the people, and it is the people who will be the deciding factor for our success in the future. We aim to continuously look forward and [assess] how are we going to improve, so that we can continue to offer the best environment for our students.”
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By: Alex Killan
Between excitement, uncertainty and fear about the future, almost every undergraduate will experience massive moments of self-doubt, feelings of failure and fear. It happens at every level — the first years feel it as they transition into the world of post-secondary education, and the graduating students feel it as they approach the end of one chapter in their educational journeys.
Our fear of failure is paralyzing and it stops us from taking risks. We prefer to stay with things that we know we are good at, things that we understand and things that give us confidence and the opportunity for success. Our fear of failure stops us from trying new things, prevents growth and development and leads to the development of a narrow skill set. Yet, we often forget that significant success often comes from many attempts and many failures. Ultimately, by emphasizing linear and rapid professional success, society and its inhabitants have failed each other.
To this end, meritocracy, the idea that success is based on merit, is a blessing and a curse of our society. From a young age, we are told that if we are passionate enough, creative enough and determined enough, we will succeed. From this approach, it naturally follows that if you fail, you simply did not work hard enough. The responsibility of failure is placed on the individual and as such, the idea of meritocracy, if not examined critically, can be extremely toxic in the context of personal success and failure. Though hard work is an important factor to success, we need to acknowledge the role that context, luck and privilege play in success.
Planned happenstance, a theory of career planning, acknowledges that in many cases, success is not linear and logical; an individual’s career path can be altered by one opportunity or one new contact. Within this framework, failure can be a positive thing. For example, failing a course can indicate that subject may not be for you, and prompt you to explore another area. Getting fired may lead to another job that brings you greater fulfillment.
On social media platforms, we are constantly bombarded with the success of others. Accepting personal failure becomes difficult. Approaching failure as an opportunity for growth, reflection, and exploration is nearly impossible; we cannot capture it nicely in a photograph.
But really, what is success? Upon reflection, we realize that it is challenging to define. It is a deeply personal concept that we are not often encouraged to define. As such, we may spend significant positions of our life chasing something that we do not really want. No matter what your path to your personal success, accepting failure as an integral part of it is critical.
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By: Ashley Constant
McMaster still is a big part of my life. I still bus to campus every day for work, and most of my friends are still students, yet I can no longer claim the identity of being a McMaster student.
Instead, I guess I have to accept the title of McMaster alumni. This past June, I graduated with a B.A. in English with Honours. Now I’m trapped in that terrifying space between spaces—no longer a student, but not quite an adult member of the work force.
University acted as a pause button between being a childish high schooler and the aforementioned adult—a taxing, expensive, mentally draining pause button. However, it gave me four years to figure out who I am, and provided me with all the tools to do so. And by all accounts, I should know by now. That’s what people tell you about university—it’s the place where you are supposed to plan out the rest of your life. Yet, somewhere between moving into Wallingford Hall and walking across the stage at my convocation, I forgot to give my future much thought. I guess I just assumed that when the time came I would just know, much like the idea we get it in our heads that once we reach adulthood we’ll magically know how to do taxes and how to avoid watching six episodes of a TV show in a single night. Or maybe everyone was given the secret at some point and no one bothered to tell me. That’s certainly the impression some particularly well put-together students give off.
I suspect this feeling came from the fact that while I was a part of a very broad field of study, most of my friends came to McMaster for specific fields of studies that are streamlined to cater to a specific career. Their security appeared to rub off on me. When people would ask me what I was planning on doing after school (and people would stress the “after” part almost as if to put forth the idea the last four years would be for nothing if I didn’t have an answer to this question), I would shrug and say “I have four years to decide!” Then it became three, then two, then years turned into months and suddenly I was handed this great piece of paper declaring that I could pick out themes of long, drawn out texts and could adequately write papers on the subject. Nowhere on that thick, luxuriously printed certificate could I manage to find a map explaining what my future held.
The next four months were spent mentally beating myself up because I had failed, hadn’t I? While I had this amazing education, I didn’t have a plan. But as I moped and watched people around me live their seemingly successful lives, I realized something: they were winging it too. Friends who started studying one thing were now studying another, or were starting work in completely new fields. Some were moving out of their parents’ homes, and others were moving back. I’m even starting to see engagement and wedding pictures appear on the social media accounts of my high school friends. Just because I decided to pursue a university degree at this point in my life, I did not decide to activate some invisible countdown that ominously ticked down the moments until I had to have an answer to everyone’s “What now?” question. That countdown didn’t hit zero when I put on my graduation gown, and I didn’t fail when I still couldn’t quite answer my curious friends and family.
There is no timeline. There is no wrong way to discover what you’re passionate about, and if you happen to find yourself starting over three or four times, that’s fine too. I’m taking a little longer to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life, but you can ask again in a few months.
Photo Credit: 123RF.com
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By: Mitali Chaudhary
Sometimes you just know a bad midterm mark is coming when you’re in the exam room, mind blank, slowly getting that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach as you listen to everyone else’s pencils scribbling furiously. Even worse is when you’re blindsided and left stunned at the hands of a subject you studied your heart out for. Either way, getting a bad mark on a midterm is a painful experience that not everyone can simply brush off.
In time, however, it’s entirely possible to bounce back. The best way to start this process is by determining exactly how you prepared for the test and what actions you can take in the future to fill the gaps in your knowledge or steps you can take to ready yourself better for future experiences. If this is done realistically, the reason behind your shortcoming can be picked out and smoothed over, which leads to greater chances of success in the course. Maybe your social hours or casual Internet usage need to be limited or maybe you’re lacking in the organizational department. Whatever the problem may be, once it’s identified, it’s much easier to seek help and set goals to correct it. Fortunately, McMaster University offers everything from counselling to extra help for virtually every course, as well as soft skill workshops for free that can provide support.
It’s also helpful to stay positive and to put the mark into perspective. Although it seems like a big deal at the moment, half a semester still remains and the finals are the real deciding factor of the course grade. It’s therefore much more productive to focus your energy on using the experience as an accurate depiction of what you still need to learn or work on, instead of wallowing over it for a month. Make sure you look at the class average too, it may be that you got a 65 percent and are disappointed by it, but if the class average was a fifty, then I’d say that’s a pretty good mark.
Essentially, to properly bounce back from a botched midterm, a lot of introspection is required, followed by some goal-setting and smart action. This lets the unpleasant event turn into a smudge in your distant memory instead of becoming a large mental stain that constantly intrudes on other thoughts.
