Monash General Chat

[Professor Polonsky]

Although, apparently, the numbers are aligned. So, 53 rainforest walk is directly under 53 chancellors walk. It's somewhat easier if you know what vertical level you're on i suppose.

lolno

[chasej]

stupid me I went to monash for like three hours today trying to get an ID walking to that main place then going to libraries and shit seeing if anyone could do it but I couldn't get into libraries without an ID. blehh.

Monash connect will do it in 20 seconds tomorrow. Just allow time to wait in the queue and bring photo id and student number (and preferably the transaction numbers from online enrolment - although I don't think they are completely necessary).

--

I like the new street address system. Makes it easy to get around when you're new.

[keltingmeith]

Anyone know of a sandwich toaster around campus I can use? My sources tell me that my usual one may be out of reach tomorrow (or even this whole week, stupid builders not following the timeline they told us. =.=)

[Reus]

Anyone know of a sandwich toaster around campus I can use? My sources tell me that my usual one may be out of reach tomorrow (or even this whole week, stupid builders not following the timeline they told us. =.=)

There's a sandwich toaster? 

[Anchy]

There's a sandwich toaster? 

Exactly my thoughts!!

[keltingmeith]

I don't know why you're asking me when I asked the question...

Also, decided to go on moodle because, why not - my final unit FINALLY opened up. ~12 hours before the first lecture. Seems like lecturers can be just as bad as us when it comes to handing things in...

[slothpomba]

So Tuesday is the first day I will be on campus and I have a lecture at 9AM (it's an Arts one) and I will know no one in my lecture. Is it a good idea to talk to people during lectures? Do people generally want to be left alone in lectures and tutes?

Many people start off knowing no one but realistically a lot of people know people as well. Gotta be prepared for both.

It is very ill-advised to talk *during* the lecture. It's rude to everyone else trying to learn and just plain annoying. People are there to learn the stuff they need for the week. It's kinda like having a length conversation in your highschool class while the teacher is teaching. It's ok to talk before.

Likewise, during tutes, it''s usually structured around discussion or activities. There often isn't heaps of room to talk about your weekend.

I gotta say, labs are the best if you love to chat. You got a lot of spare time while your solution or experiment is burning away there, plenty of time to chat while you wait.

If you must talk surrounding lectures and tutes, you should talk before or after. I realise this will make it hard. Your best bet is to talk to someone before and try sit next to them every week and let it build on there. It's ok if you dont though, they aren't honestly the best environment for making friends.

If you don't like sex or alcohol, I cannot promise you'll enjoy uni parties, like this one. To my knowledge, booze cruises are basically just club environments on a boat with cheap beer.

I'd second this advice. Believe it, most people aren't wild party people. I would wager at any one time its probably a minority slice that go to these things. Especially those that go to more than a few every year. It helps if you like clubbing because it'll be fairly similar to that. If you don't, it might not be too enjoyable (Reference).

[slothpomba]

Hey um I am looking to join clubs the next week I get on campus (I missed O-week); I heard something about Clubs Week where I can join clubs but after googling it, I can't find anything on it? How do I find more info about how to join clubs/clubs week?

Wednesday. In my experience, there will be less clubs than there usually is during O-week though. You can always join a club by contacting it's committee (secretary, etc) or showing up to one of their activities. Clubs week is just to make it easier and all in one place for returning students. There isn't much to find out. You walk up to a stall and ask to join the club. You pay the fee and you're in. That's about it really.

There isn't any written info on clubs week because its kind of a low key affair. It's something you just gotta come and see what the deal with it is.

Also, is there a page where Monash lists all the clubs' meeting locations and times? I just realised one of the clubs I wanted to join had meetings on a Monday - a day off for me - so I need to change my timetable around..

Haha bit of a risky proposition to move your entire timetable around a club you might not stay in. Which particular club meets on a Monday though?

Here is the list for Clayton - http://www.monashclubs.org/Clubs ; Also note sports clubs reside on a different page http://monash.edu.au/teammonash/participation/clubs/club-contacts.html .

Are we expected to read all the readings? For example, I got 55 pages of reading for Week 1 alone from my Arts units. Am I expected to read them all - or are readings optional? Also, what do you guys recommend doing after reading - take notes? Or is that too much of a waste of time since readings (I think) correspond to lectures, right?

You must do them sooner or later if you want to do your best. The tute will be discussing them, they'll probably crop up in assignments and they'll almost certainly be on your exam to one degree or another. Don't necessary have to stay on top of them like someone else said but it'd be advisable. It's a lot to read but arts units have far less contact hours than science. Arts may be 2-3 a week, science may be 6-8. It's assumed each unit has a total of 12 hours work required. Since arts only has 2-3 on campus, it's assumed you should do like 8-9 hours a week independent study, or so they say.

[Joseph41]

Waiting outside for the library to open. This reminds me a little too much of Year 12 for my liking.

EDIT: As an aside, best of luck to all of you starting at Monash today. If you don't enjoy it for the first day, or week, or month (or semester, or year), try not to get too disheartened. The transition from school to uni can be significant, but everybody understands the position that you're in. In fact, you will be taking that journey with many people in the same boat.

For numerous reasons, I very much disliked my first year-and-a-bit of uni. I didn't attend classes, I was hugely cynical about the whole thing, and I didn't at all enjoy the environment. But like most things new, it has become a lot better with time. I now love coming to uni and the environment (exemplified by waiting for the library to open!); I look forward to making the journey and being on campus. If I heard myself say that during my first year, I would have simply laughed.

You will, I hope, love it from the start, but if you hate it to begin with, try not to worry. We've all been through what you're going through, and it will get better. Try to do what I didn't, and make friends. Go to your lectures and classes. You will be rewarded.

(And I think we'll all be pretty clueless for the first few weeks with the new building numbers and street names, so it's the perfect time to be a first-year!)

Best wishes.

[zhenzhenzhen]

Good luck and have fun guys !! It's gonna be a rideeeeeeeee

[slothpomba]

It's going to be a bumpy ride...

The worst bits make the best bits even better though.

That feeling after those horrible all nighters with all sleep? Shit. The feeling after you finally get the assignment in and get to your bed? Glorious.

The feeling of being so confused and not knowing anyone? Shit. It'll happen without you even noticing but one day you'll know where everything is and you'll be the one helping people. Awesome.

I think everyone will be lost with the new system, if anything, it'll be the older students that will be more lost because our brain is so wired towards the previous addressing.

Regardless, how was everyones first day?

[alondouek]

Regardless, how was everyones first day?

Had one morning and two afternoon lectures, decided not to go in today. Slept in until 2PM instead.

#thirdyearlyf

[slothpomba]

Had one morning and two afternoon lectures, decided not to go in today. Slept in until 2PM instead.

#thirdyearlyf

I think we're kindred spirits. Except replace 3rd with 5th and 2pm with 4pm.

I got a 9am lecture tomorrow (6am wakeup). Not recorded. I've been sleeping at 4-7am lately. Waking up at 6am will not go well.

[Shenz0r]

Had one morning and two afternoon lectures, decided not to go in today. Slept in until 2PM instead.

#thirdyearlyf

Haha, chiming in because I almost did the exact same thing.

It's wonderful how people progress from a keen, obliging student into one that gives zero fucks about attendance.

[MDMA]

I hated my first day so much. I had 3 lectures, missed one because I had no idea where it was and missed 30 minutes of another for the same reason (just found out about lost on campus app or whatever). Then my last lecture was 2 hours and I was so bored listening to absolutely nothing because I was so uncomfortable and hot that I left halfway. But I got there at 11 and was meant to be there until 6, and I think about four hours of the day was just me waiting around doing nothing whilst parking like a 20 minute walk away because I'm on a waiting list to get a parking permit. 

It's gonna be awkward as tomorrow though because I'm doing sociology units and everyone is predominantly female (just had a lecture and probably 650/700 were women) so my tutorial will just be so awkward.

So my day sucked so much but I'm hoping that lectures will get better as we progress beyond the introductory crap, I'm hoping I meet other people in tutorials and what not because some spastic chose all the same subjects as me from my school and literally just followed me around all day making me feel like complete shit. But yeah fuck it, I'm not someone who will go too often anyway unless it actually becomes enjoyable.