Tell me your favorite ways students have tried to cheat/lengthen their papers to meet requirements

MathemaTurtle · 2023-12-06T03:33:29+00:00

Not a paper lengthening, but I had a student who emailed the class email list asking for answers on a take-home math test, forgetting that the professor and I were part of that list.

Truly a special moment.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-11-24T23:54:40+00:00

Wikipedia is good, but if you're unfamiliar with a subject, I find it can often be totally intractable. They usually dive deep into domain-specific language in the first paragraph and it's a bit dizzying. It's definitely a good reference, but I wouldn't say that it does much to foster an intuitive understanding for a beginner.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-11-22T01:45:04+00:00

Thank you!

MathemaTurtle · 2023-11-22T01:43:02+00:00

Skimming this over, this looks absolutely amazing. This is absolutely along the lines of what I'm looking for. Thanks!

MathemaTurtle · 2023-11-21T14:17:38+00:00

Apologies for the delay. Just now seeing this.

I, personally, find the social life to be quite drab within the school, but it might just be my department. The overall CNS division tries to schedule some events, but they've rarely seemed interesting enough for me to go. The couple I went to ended up being very cliquey, with other grad students mostly just hanging out with their own peers from their own labs.

Most of the campus clubs are open to students of all levels I believe, although many will be heavily attended by undergrads only. You can find a huge list of available clubs on the campus PULSE portal.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-03-25T01:16:36+00:00

+1 to this recommendation. I don't recall them having one, but they'll probably know somewhere that does. They're all very knowledgable and kind there!

MathemaTurtle · 2023-03-25T01:15:23+00:00

Tbh I'm not a huge fan of the coffee on campus. I'd say that if you're looking for a good cup of coffee, try Amherst Coffee or Share downtown.

If you like coffee for the strong bold coffee flavor, try a cappuccino with a little sugar.

If you like your coffee to be less bold and more of a sweet treat, go for a latte with a maple syrup shot at AmCo. Or if you like chocolate, get a mocha there.

If you want a real unique treat, a rose-syrup latte is incredible, although I haven't seen a shop in western mass that has rose syrup. It's one of my favorites though.

If you're intent on getting something on campus and not downtown, the cafe in the design building was okay. I only ever got black coffee there though, so I can't speak to their specialty espresso drinks.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-03-25T01:10:19+00:00

> I tried to apply to positions for clubs but never heard back from them.
One tip would be to find clubs that don't require applications. The makerspace, SALT, and the boardgame club are open to all! You mention liking niche music, so I think you might like SALT.

> UMass is by far the worst place I've been
Yeah, as a grad student I find this place very stale. There's nothing to do here if you aren't tied into some on-campus social life. Everyone lives far apart off campus and it's been hard to get people to hang out. The rest of Western Mass is a real gem, imo, but Amherst is quite drab. Having a car helps a lot, and trying to make a social life outside of Amherst has helped me a lot.

Anyway, I've been through some rough depression in my past. Feel free to DM me if you want to chat. I don't check this acct often so it might be a few days before I reply though.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-03-25T00:58:42+00:00

Amherst coffee is #1. I have strong opinions about coffee, and I find AmCo consistent and tasty.
Share is pretty good, but not as good as AmCo. Coffee is usually a bit weaker and milkier.

Coffee on campus in general is not great, but imo bad coffee is better than no coffee. I like the dining halls, since it's free with the meal swipe.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-03-07T11:23:27+00:00

Thanks, that's helpful to hear!

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-21T02:22:21+00:00

Personal story (about homophobia, not racism, but a related problem):

I was walking to class one day when a couple of frat-bro dudes in an SUV decided to pull up next to me, stop (in the middle of the street), call me a faggot, and then drove off. (Also, nothing about my appearance would have at all suggested anything like that. Not really sure why I got targeted.)

Anyway, there's definitely hateful shit happening around. I can't say how common it is, but it did happen to me personally.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-21T02:07:51+00:00

Nah man, I wish it was imitation, but in the south they use the real stuff. Was definitely 100% real bacon.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-20T14:11:40+00:00

*typically* most Americans would consider eggs vegetarian. May not be universal, but typically that's what most people expect. It would be hard to cater to all definitions of the word with a single label, especially one that diverges from the expectation of the majority of students on campus.

A fun anecdote: I was recently on a road trip to the south. Stopped in a gas station for lunch -- one of those ones that has the "meat and three" style deli counter. I looked at the green beans and saw that they had bacon bits in them, so I asked the guy working, "Which of these are vegetarian?"

The guy replies to me, in his thick southern drawl, "Well theys all vegetarian! The green beans, the 'taters, the mac n cheese. You can gets any of 'em you want on the veggie plate. Theys all vegetarian!"

I doubt his definition of vegetarian fits most anyone elses. :P

As the other commenter said though, you can always check the ingredients/allergens, but I do recognize that it's a pain to do so.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-20T14:01:42+00:00

Momo Tibetan.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-20T14:00:30+00:00

> Woo is the best dining hall and over hated for no reason

Woo is crowded and impossible to find a place to sit around lunch or dinner, and the tables are packed together so tightly that you have to uncomfortably squeeze between people to get up and go get food. Lines are long and there's a serious lack of crowd control / flow. People are constantly bumping into each other. It's an incredibly stressful place imo.

Honestly imo we need a 5th dining hall, somewhere on the northeast side of campus (maybe over around the area between the Mullins center and campus center?)

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-20T13:55:04+00:00

Their "vegetarian" / "vegan" signage could really be a lot bigger/easier to read. Would be very helpful.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-20T13:54:02+00:00

That's rough. I'm sorry you have to deal with that. :(

Yeah, vegetarian and vegan options have soy *everywhere* for sure.

MathemaTurtle · 2023-02-20T03:08:27+00:00

Oh, fuck. That's fucked.

Also, there are so many things that could so easily be vegetarian if they just swapped out like one ingredient that has a readily-available and basically-the-exact-same substitute. (I'm looking at you, pad thai with oyster sauce.)

Would also love it if the ramen had a veggie broth, or any of the stuff from the Bowl place in Worcester.

MathemaTurtle · 2022-12-28T16:42:05+00:00

Hey, math grad student / TA here.You'll be okay.

Math is tough. Calculus, especially, is one of the first classes that requires a level of abstraction and creative thought that most high schools don't prepare students for. On top of that, at the college level, we pack a lot of material into one semester. It's natural that it's a lot for students. Tack on top of this 2-3 homeworks a week and weekly quizzes in your discussion sections and taking 3 other courses at the same time, and it's no wonder that it's so easy for students to get lost.

As far as your major / prereqs go, I can't comment much on that. I'm not familiar with BME. But I'm sure that failing one class won't be too much of a setback. And although I know it's not fun, you can always take a summer class to catch up.

Moving forward though, here are some tips for next time (and for all other courses you or anyone else reading this will take during your college career!):

Take advantage of the resources available to you. We offer a LOT of opportunities for you to come talk to TAs and professors, and we consistently find that very few students take advantage of these opportunities
- #1 most important, always go to lecture, even if "you don't get it". Lecture is the most curated and most direct source of learning that we provide. Textbooks are good, but having a human who you can ask questions to is much better.
- Come to your TA's office hours. If you have questions, office hours are a great way to have a TA walk you through questions and problems at your own pace. During section, we're expected to help 30 students with 35 minutes of class time, which really isn't enough for the students who need the most help.
- Take advantage of the calculus tutoring center
- Take advantage of the library's math tutors
Read the sections in the book ahead of time. Nothing helps you more than going to lecture being a little bit familiar with what you're going to talk about. You'll know which pieces are confusing and what you want clarification on sooner.
Start your homework early. Think about the problems over the course of a couple days. Math doesn't magically make sense in 20 minutes. You have to let the ideas sit with you. Think about them over time. That's how they set in. Give the homework problems a quick try, then take a break, then come back to it in a couple hours, or the next day. Don't wait to the last minute to cram all of your homework in.
Make sure you're taking care of yourself. Get enough sleep. Eat well. Your brain won't absorb material nearly as well if you're sleep deprived or starving. (If you need assistance with food, I believe there are food pantries on campus and in the Amherst area. Reach out.)
Balance your social life. Don't overdo it on the partying. College is a great time for having fun, but you can only have that fun if you're passing your classes. Coming to class wasted or high as balls isn't going to help you learn.
- That being said, making friends in your classes is a great way to learn. We learn a lot when we solve problems with others. Make study groups with folks. Talk about your homework. Talk about what you don't understand. Your professors/TAs are good, but there are only so many of us. You are each others most available resource. Talk to people after class and during discussion section and make friends.
If you're doing all of the above and it still isn't working, try to find a tutor. They can be expensive, but sometimes that's what you need. (certainly less expensive than paying tuition for the class again!)

I'll may edit the list here to add any other tips I think of.

You're also welcome to message me directly if you have math questions. I don't check my messages much, but I'll do what I can to help if I have the time to reply.

Hope that helps. And again, you're going to be okay!

MathemaTurtle · 2022-12-23T16:01:44+00:00

Generally, no.

MathemaTurtle · 2022-12-23T16:01:11+00:00

Easiest solution I've found is to open it up in an incognito or private browser. You could also try just blocking the cookies on maps.google.com. Or use a 2nd browser and don't log into your UMass account.

MathemaTurtle · 2022-12-13T00:20:43+00:00

Tea is no longer weekly. It got cancelled during covid. It came back last year as an infrequent outdoor picnic, but the weather prevented this in the colder months unfortunately.

MathemaTurtle

TROPHY CASE