Links to Rutgers Colleges
Journal
9/23
I decided to come to Cook College because I have a common interest with other students that have chosen to attend this school. Cook college has a reputation among other schools and perspective college students as being a higher tier school. Along with this a degree from Cook College has the Rutgers seal on it as well, which is also a university that has received a lot of recognition among fortune 100 companies with properly training their students for the real working world.
The Cook mission, as stated in a statement that I read says that “We expect you to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the world you are living in and your place in it”. The various programs at Cook interest me more than those offered at Busch, Livingston, and College Ave. My major which is Environmental and Business Economics is greatly emphasized at Cook so it was no surprise when I chose to attend this school.
As a member of the Cook College Community I interact with my peers in a way that hopes to foster an awareness of our effects on it. These two statements coincide with the Cook mission, and add to its emphasis outside of the classroom. I plan to participate in various clubs and activities at Cook , to continue my education not only mentally but physically and socially as well.
When I graduate from Cook I plan to work for a company that can utilize my expertise to their advantage. When I join I will be able to fully participate in intellectual debates and offer insight to problems that need solutions. A large part of that skill and knowledge has been acquired, but it is here in college that it will be fine tuned and applied to my major in later years. Hopefully my education will help further my social status as well, in the form of a good salary, nice house, cars, and clothes.
Journal
10/24
Tim Casey gave the common Perspectives lecture on our natural non renewable resources. His presentation was largely centered around graphs and projections and estimations for the future if we continue consuming the way we have been. He suggested at the end of the lecture, that we, the Cook college class of 2005, were the hope for the future and that we are obligated to take an active role in it. This is one of the themes that recurs very often at Cook, the use of our natural resources and how we can do our best to put them in a better position.
As I said before, Mr. Casey’s presentation
was centered largely on graphs. On the graphs he presented information
about over-population, consumption, waste, water-management, garbage,
etc.... When I took notes during those lectures I didn’t pay careful
attention to numbers, but I do remember that the percentages he gave were
scary. It seems that now a days most people are familiar with these issues
but no one cares enough to do anything about it. This is the scariest
part of all, not so much that all of this is happening but that no one
wants to do anything about it.
As an environmental studies major I try to pay careful attention to these
issues because they are the ones that I will be dealing with at my job
in years to come. These issues are very important ones, and they get worse
everyday that we don’t do something about them. As always education
and smart management of our resources are the two most important keys
in dealing with a problem of this size. The problem is not in the US alone,
it is in other developing countries as well who are also wasting their
natural resources. If we all understood how important things like freshwater
were, we wouldn’t have this problem. It’s time for a change,
it’s time to do something about it.
Nature Journal
11/6
I’m indoors looking outside of my friend’s third floor window. She lives on the same floor, of the same building, in the same wing too. She has a better view than I do because she has a tremendous maple tree right in front of her window. I visit her frequently and I have gotten an opportunity to see the tree change colors gradually as the season grows colder and windier.
The tree started to lose its leaves in mid-October and now the tree has almost no leaves, and the ones that do remain are clinging to it for dear life. The tree is about five stories tall and towers well above our three story dormitory. Behind this tree is a maple that has already lost all of its leaves. The leaves from these two trees and smaller neighboring trees are scattered around our building and the Neilson Dining Hall area.
In the tree outside my friends’ dorm there is also an abandoned bird’s nest. This bird’s nest has been here for quite some time, as far back as I can remember actually. It is held very firmly to one of the upper branches of the tree, and has stayed intact and unmoved through some heavy windy and rainy weather. Once in a while a bird will land on it and pick at the nest and its surroundings.
Aside from this, natural in general I mean is getting colder. Most of the trees are beginning to lose their leaves and the weather has dropped below fifty degrees on an average day. The animals are becoming harder and harder to spot as they make preparations for hibernation. Also the birds are seen flying south in large V’s, sensing that the cold season is upon us.
