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Screaming for Success

Genna Musial — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:59:07 +0000

It is dark. The day has finally slipped away, and an eerie silence has fallen over campus. Outside, life has become deathly still apart from several solo travelers hurrying beneath the glow of the streetlamps. Two girls sit awake in a room. As the clock’s neon numbers flash midnight, the girl on the futon raises her head to say, “It’s starting.” Suddenly a shrill scream rips through the silence, followed by a chorus of shouts, yells and moans. Could this be the thrilling introduction to a terrifying cinematic masterpiece or simply the night of exam week for 46,000 students at Michigan State University?

As December rolls around, college students, young and old, experience the mad rush of fall semester finals. The library becomes the new hot spot and coffee is the drink of choice as students buckle down and forsake sleep for grade point averages. At MSU, exam week means a level of stress so high that it can only be released in the form of an ear-splitting scream.

The Midnight Scream is a study tradition that is quite unconventional. Although its origin is unknown, students have observed this nightly ritual for years. The tradition begins Sunday at midnight, the night of the first exam, continuing through to the end of the week.

In order to scream properly, a student must follow several steps. The first stage is to add an unhealthy amount of caffeine to the bloodstream, making screaming a plausible option for stress relief. Sugary soft drinks plus strong coffee equal one late night. The next step is to choose a prime location from which to scream. Freshman media arts major Michael Daniels saw people all over in the Brody Complex. “At twelve, I could see people in more than just the doors and their rooms but also in the stairwells and lobbies,” he said. Once a student has picked his or her location, there is only one thing left to do: scream.

Students approached the scream in various ways. The Yakeley dorm seemed to reach a high decibel, and the circular shape of Brody Complex only amplified the screams. Some preferred a short and sweet shout, while others favored lengthy conversations, cursing the very existence of exam week. “Two doors down, a kid was blasting ‘Poker Face,’ […] and we could see one room in the hall across from us flashing their lights like a strobe light,” said Alyssa Simpson, a freshman journalism major living in Case Hall.

For freshmen, fall finals are foreign territory. With the new stresses of college courses and an indecent amount of homework, this week can be one of the most difficult. “I would describe exams as stressful and frustrating,” freshman education major Julia McLean said. “Because as a freshman, it was hard to anticipate what to expect from my exams.” She said that she studied an average of eight to nine hours each day in preparation for her exams.

Luckily, finding this new level of stress was balanced out by an opportunity to release every pent up emotion. Simpson described the scream as “exhilarating, relieving and obnoxious.”

“[It was] louder than I thought it would be,” freshman media arts major Joshua Michels said. The Midnight Scream had its own Facebook event, inviting people from all over State’s campus to join in.

However, Facebook events were not always so widely used. Not every senior had the luxury of knowing about the Midnight Scream as a freshman. “I will never forget it,” music senior Melissa Butman said. “I was sitting at my desk on the very first night, and all of a sudden people started yelling and screaming at midnight. I really had no idea what was going on.” Many of the seniors only heard about the Midnight Scream after a startling first exam night as freshmen.

After three years of practice, the seniors have finally gotten the hang of college life. All day study sessions and all night cramming are no longer an abnormal part of college life. “The day before, I spent all day studying for the two exams that I had,” Butman said, making a ten hour study session seem like a walk in the park.

Despite the gap between freshmen and seniors of age and experience, exams require hours of study no matter what stage of college a student is at. The Midnight Scream serves as a unifying event for State’s student body. Daniels said, “When a lot of people participate in something like this […], it is good to have the feeling that you are not alone and that others are doing the same thing you are.” Through this simple experience, students from freshmen to fifth year share the feeling of stress, along with a gratifying release.

More than a silly diversion from studying, the Midnight Scream may be a healthy stress reliever for fall exams. According to the online medical information site WebMD, one of the best ways to relieve stress is to “let out your feelings.” The site said to, “Talk, laugh, cry and express anger when you need to.” Simpson seconded this opinion. “I [felt] a lot better!” she said. “Now that I got it out of my system, I could focus more, and I felt ready to concentrate.”

In the stress of exam week, it is important to remember a little balance. By doing something a little crazy and setting aside our academics for just a moment, students of every age have the opportunity to connect over a common experience. It fulfills our need for enjoyment on a basic level, and best of all, as Daniels puts it, “a minute of acting like a caveman never hurt anybody.”

Connecting at the U: International Students

Hyojoo Lee — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:39:38 +0000

The legacy of Michigan State University president John Hannah runs long and deep, especially with the international community. In 1956, Hannah created the International Programs, which aimed “to initiate, coordinate, and other wise support internationally related activities throughout the institution”. This program, later renamed the International Studies and Programs, continues to flourish.

According to the annual Statistical Report by the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) at MSU, 4,509 international students were enrolled at MSU during the fall 2008 semester, approximately 9.7 percent of MSU’s total enrollment for that that semester. Additionally, the study reported that “International freshman increased by 34 percent over fall 2007. This is extraordinary growth of 67.5 percent from fall 2006.”

The exponential growth of these programs presents new challenges for the university. While international students and American students share similar worries and concerns about adapting to college life, international students face additional burdens.

“It’s even harder than for American students because international students are really far away from home and families,” said Amber Arashiro, international student advisor and orientation coordinator of OISS. Also, there are a lot of pressures such as cultural differences, expensive tuition in comparison with most American students, language barriers and so on. Arashiro added that international students need help assimilating into both MSU and American culture.

How has MSU helped international students?

Over 50 of groups and organizations exist to help international students, scholars and their families. (see the list below) Each group and organization has provided various programs to support them.

The OISS is the biggest organization to help international students and scholars. It focuses primarily on issues pertaining to immigration and documentation. The organization also coordinates programs to help international students such as international orientation, welcome week, weekly ‘coffee hours,’ field trips and essay contests. “OISS tries to promote internationalizing on campus and helps to promote students’ events,” Said Arashiro. If international students have any problems, Arashiro said that “OISS is the first place to come and talk about their issues.” OISS has strong partnerships with other units on campus such as the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions (OCAT).

OCAT focuses on both international and American undergraduate students. “To be successful in college, students have to make changes to adapt totally different expectations and have to transition adapt to new environment culturally,” said Maggie Chen Hernandez, Associate Director of OCAT. According to her, the program “is applied to all students no matter if they are international students or not.” The OCAT has created a Cultural Aides Program to support students’ academic success. The 66 student staff members of OCAT are charged with working in the residence halls and they visit freshmen students to talk and understand some changes and transitions students going though. “Most students make friends who are just like them. It’s human nature,” Hernandez said. “We try to interrupt this and establish interactions between different cultures and give information how to be close each other.”

According to Jan Stacey Bieler, vice president of Community Volunteers for International Programs, American students participate in volunteer activities to help international students, who may need help adjusting to new environments. “Volunteer groups for international students and families were established not by one direction but by mutual interactions,” Bieler said.

Alexandra Albers, a global and area studies and English senior, volunteers with OISS and the TA tutoring program for international graduate students in order to meet new people. Albers said she wanted to have opportunities for new ways of thinking and different ways of living, as well as familiarize herself with international issues she might know nothing about. Albers added that she was satisfied with the programs she’s participating in.

Ann Desiderio, a teaching English to speakers of other languages master’s student and the representative of International Students Association to Council of Graduate Students, said “we have a lot of dedicated people working behind the scenes to help keep MSU diverse and to also assist our international community. And MSU does a great job make the campus more global.”

Problems

Although many events and other activities have been held on campus, many students have missed it because they don’t know events are happening. Also, there are many organizations and groups for students, but there are an insufficient number of volunteers and staffs to support programs for international students. Arashiro said that “even though the international student population keeps increasing, our OISS staff isn’t increasing.” There are a lot of demands for programs but resources are limited. Thus, Arashiro said that OISS has taken feedback seriously and tried out different ideas.

“I wish there were more volunteer opportunities offered by OISS and other departments around campus working with international students,” Albers said. She added that “I know there are students all around campus searching for a way to get involved, and it would be a shame for OISS to ignore this untapped pool of possible volunteers.”

“A lot of students haven’t heard about COGS and other programs at MSU before,” said Robin Blom, the representative of J school to COGS and 3rd year in the media and information studies doctoral program. “So organizations should be more prominent within the beginning of the semester. But it is difficult to reach every student.”

MSU has worked to help international students transition into MSU and American life. However, there are still some problems. Albers said that volunteer experiences are spread directly by word of mouth, and the lack of volunteers is in part due to communication problems. In other words, MSU has to focus on how they can be a strong bridge between international students and American students. Through interactions with people who come from different cultural backgrounds and countries people learn about other cultures, even themselves, and people who are different. By getting different nationalities clubs together and inviting each other to cultural events, international student groups can help students have cultural confidence and to promote cross cultural opportunities, Arashiro said. That’s why MSU has organized many global and international programs. Hernandez said that American culture is egocentric in comparison with other cultures, so through many programs, they want to help students to have cultural confidence when they graduate.

Interested in getting involved?

Most organizations and groups send out mass email to students, put posters and inform mouth to mouth. Recently, they also join Facebook and Twitter to spread out information effectively. Desiderio said that “the possibilities are endless if you want to get involved with international affairs at MSU.” She gave many tips on how to get involved.

1. Check out OISS’ website, ISA’s Facebook and other groups’ internet pages. (See the list)

2. Coffee Hour, which is on every Friday at 4-6pm, International Center Cafeteria, to talk with people from around the world.

3. McDonel Hall’s McGlobe puts on many cultural and international events.

4. A resource fair in the beginning of the school year. MSU holds a resource fair where many international groups provide information about how to get involved.

5. Global Festival in November. It is a big event to help celebrate cultures from around the world.

Associated Students of Michigan State University

African Student Union

Arab Cultural Society

Asian Pacific American Student Organization

Association for Vietnamese Students and Scholars

Black Student Alliance

Brazilian Cultural Association

Caribbean Student Association

Chinese Student and Scholar Association

Chinese Undergraduate Student Association

Chinese Students Coalition