So close...

I almost had to break out the riot punch tonight as the UNH men's basketball team nearly pulled off the upset down at UConn. UNH led by one at the half and it took 30 points from UConn standout Kemba Walker to top UNH. Ferg Myrick and James Valladares turned in very solid games for UNH, who will be without their leading returning scorer Alvin Abreu for the rest of the season. Abreu suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this year. UConn went to the free-throw line 26 times compared to only 6 trips for UNH. I hate to sound biased but a few second half calls definitely went the home team's way. Either way, it was a great game and an unbelievable effort from the Wildcats. I know it got me excited for America East play and now you know why I included men's basketball in the new poll. This year's team is for real and the rest of America East better watch out!

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Registration Time

It is that time of year again to register for the next semester's classes. Some of us have already had the chance to register; some of you are going through the process, while sophomores and freshman still have a few days to go. I can honestly say this is my least favorite time of the year. Not only is it the final push of exams and papers before finals, but we also get to schedule appointments with our advisors and worry whether you can get into a class you desperately need. Every semester when I get the email reminder about registration I can't help but think of one of the nurses from "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" calling out "Medication time." Picking classes and meeting with advisors truly can be a mind numbing process. Thank God for open advising sessions and nice department administrators, because I've only met with my assigned advisor twice. Something about our first meeting gave me a bad impression of her. Maybe it was her saying that "she hates being an advisor and it is a waste of her time." Yeah, that might have been it.

I am a history major, which is a pretty straightforward process. Take this class as a sophomore, take that class as a senior, pick a concentration and take a class in each of these other categories for a total of 10 classes. This is a pretty similar format for most majors, but it made me realize something. To graduate from UNH in four years you need to take four classes a semester that equals 32 classes in those four years. The disturbing part is that only four of those 10 classes can actually be in my concentration without taking extra classes. That means only FOUR out of the 32 classes I take at UNH will be in my desired field of study. I have already taken all four of those and I can honestly say I am nowhere close to being an expert in modern United States history. I have done well and know more about American history than the average student, but this makes me think: What have I (read: mostly my parents) actually been paying for?

I point my finger at the general education system, which might be the biggest waste of time and money for a college student who knows what he or she wants to do from day one. I can only take four classes in my concentration, but I have to take three sciences. Does that really make sense? Especially when those sciences are classes like Germs 101, Making Babies, NR 435 or other classes that might be interesting, but you can get an "A" without opening a book. Some general education classes can be tough, but in no way do they actually apply to anything I am slightly interested in. I tried taking some classes that can be related to my field like political science, psychology and environmental history, but in the long run general education courses have been very disappointing.

I have taken all of the general education courses I need to graduate; I'm not sure if a single one of them has made me a more intelligent and well-rounded human being. Sure I know arbitrary facts on random topics, but I can get that off Snapple caps or Wikipedia. The new Discovery Program that was initiated for this year's freshmen sought to revamp the general education system, but I really don't see too much of a difference. The whole idea of general education requirements is to encourage students to have a broader field of study while in college, but doesn't that backfire when students just take the easiest classes available? How many students will take general chemistry if there is another class called "Making Babies?"

General education courses are just an excuse for a university, which really is just a giant business, to make more money. If we are forced to take these classes, then we need to pay more to take other classes in our field over the summer, or J-term or as a graduate student. Every semester there are dozens of classes I really want to take within my major, classes I'm truly interested in and would enjoy doing the work for (how appalling that would be!), but instead I'm stuck in a random general education course that I don't give a shit about. That is not fair, and that is not right.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Guess the Situation

It has been a week since I last posted so let's start this off with a little fun. That means it is time for a rousing game of "Guess the Situation." I give you a quote out of context and you guess the situation that quote is describing. Today's quote was provided by a roommate while enjoying dinner at Stillings.

Quote:  "I just wanted it to drip around her mouth a little, but it went all over her face."

Now guess the situation! Was it:

A) A practical joke gone wrong.
B) A sexual encounter.
C) His famous last words.
D) A quote from Superbad.
E) All of the above.

If you guessed "B) A sexual encounter" you are completely wrong. The correct answer was "A) A practical joke gone wrong." He went for the old tap the bottom of the glass of water while the person is drinking trick and it back fired. Needless to say, while describing the situation he made one of the most hilarious sexual innuendoes I've ever heard.

Anyways, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break. I know it was the first break I've had at UNH where I truly looked forward to having a few days off at home. I mean, I love being home with my family, but college isn't to shabby either. Luckily I got all my first choices for classes next semester so it should be a lot lighter with the amount of work.

Just a heads up, posting might be light for the rest of the semester. I think it's understandable, I have a couple research presentations and final projects to take care of along with finals. I'm not complaining, but I need to make priorities at this time of the year. I'll still try and post everyday during the week, but they'll be pretty brief for the most part.

Also, vote in the new poll!

Stay classy, not UMassy.

The results are in...

For the past month I have had a poll up on the blog to see what genre UNH students would most like to see SCOPE get in the spring. Well, the results are in so let's take a moment to check them out.

Genre           Votes
Hip-Hop:        95
R&B:              6
Rock:             51
Alternative:     30
Country:         40
Other:            15

Total Votes:  237

Look, I even made a pie chart because I can...




As we can see there is a strong push for a Hip-Hop act at UNH, which I actually thought would have had a higher percentage. Overall I am happy about the results, because it shows that while Hip-Hop is the favorite, not everyone wants that like commenters say on SCOPE's facebook. It also proves all the kids wrong who claim "no one likes country" or "no one likes rock." (Still, roughly 40% is pretty high considering how many options there were, almost doubling the next highest option). Rock came in second (and got my vote!) with 22%, which wasn't too far ahead of country with 17%. I actually wouldn't mind a country show along the lines of Americana/Folk rock like Old Crow Medicine Show (great live show), but I can't stand the stereotypical redneck country most people think of. (They took 'er jerbs!)  I was surprised to see 15 votes in the "other" category. I felt I hit the major ones, so those I'm guessing those are things like electronic and punk or smaller sub-genres.

Well SCOPE, you asked for my thoughts a while back, I left it open for students to vote and now it is up to you to book a show. The majority wants hip-hop and if that is the case Kid Cudi or Wale would get my vote. I'm interested to see what happens. If you have two shows left in you, in order to please the most students I'd say one should be hip-hop with the other being a rock/country full band type of thing. Something UNH hasn't really had for a while.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

UNH Blog: The Voice of America

I'm posting twice a Saturday in which I already know I have started too early... Anyways, I came across this and I had to share it as soon as I could:

From: The Voice of America Student Union Blog which is a blog from VOA News.

"Drinking can be a big part of the social life at a U.S. university, particularly for undergraduate students. The University of Nonsensical Happenings, a humorous blog by students at the University of New Hampshire, is a useful read for those interested in seeing how American undergraduate students view alcohol and partying (caution: some posts contain strong language).

Two posts in particular worth looking at are this one mocking a health services announcement on the dangers of alcohol, and this one on the funniest places to wake up after passing out on campus."

That's one of the best link-ups, if not the best we've ever gotten. Not only are we "humorous," but we are also "a useful read for those interested in seeing how American undergraduate students view alcohol and partying."

Best quotes to describe this blog ever... and it's posts like this when I think of my dad telling me I could write stuff where I want my real name to be seen... Yay college.

I also now claim us the official "Voice of American College Students."

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Wildcats tame Terriors

BU coach Jack Parker said it best last night, "that was most lopsided 5-2 game ever... [UNH] looked like men playing with boys." BU scored a quick goal on their first shot of the night, but after that it was all UNH, as the Wildcats unleashed a good ol' ass-whooping. UNH pelted BU goalie Kieran Millan with 49 shots and outplayed BU in ever aspect of the game.

As a UNH student who has attended close to 50 in my life, and probably 40 of those in the last 2+ years, that might have been the loudest and best crowd I've ever been apart of. The only other game that sticks in my mind was a 4-1 win over Maine two years ago. The crowd was unrelenting last night, harassing Millan and continuously make noise. After UNH's first goal, members of the student section actually knocked in a piece of glass behind the net. The student section over flowed into the far end of the ice, something I've never seen before and it created a super loud atmosphere. The final minute of the game was a continuous standing ovation from the entire crowd as UNH beat the last unbeaten team in the country. Early in the game NESN commenters said that UNH has one of the best home crowds in the country, saying that we were loud and ready to go. Enough about the crowd though...

Paul Thompson scored two goals and assisted on another and Phil DeSimone had one goal and two assists for the top line. Nick Sorkin, a freshman with huge upside, scored the fist goal of his career and sophomore John Henrion continued his hot start with a nice goal, which gave UNH a 2-1 lead.

UNH now holds the longest unbeaten streak in the country and hopefully they will carry that momentum into tonight's game at BU and it will truly "suck to B-U." The way this team is scoring across the board and playing defense, they will be a team to watch out for late in the season.

Non hockey notes:
-UNH football kicks off their last game of the season in roughly 35 minutes. I'm heading over as soon as I finish this.
-Men's and Women's basketball both have home games today at 4 (women's) and 7 (men's). Check them out if you have a chance,
-Last night at a party I heard someone I don't know tell their friend to "Stay classy, not UMassy." One of the proudest moments of my life.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

PS: Scott Hason is the worst official in Hockey East. BU's coach called it a well refereed game, but in all honesty it wasn't. Hanson made a few bizarre calls including a few interference calls against UNH that clearly were clean plays. (One game BU a 5-on-3 and their second goal.) If I accomplish one thing by the time I get a UNH degree, I hope it is that Scott Hanson is fired. He can't make it through a game without a few head-scratching calls.

Share your thoughts...

My roommates are going to murder me. We all get along really well, but sooner or later they need to realize that whenever they do dumb shit, it's going to end up here. Take last night for example: I bet my roommate four weekends worth of alcohol that he couldn't fit an entire slice of pizza in his mouth. Not only did he try it (which was the point of the bet) but he failed. That is a double win for me. I guess I am just really persuasive, I mean that alone should get me an "A" in my persuasive writing class.

Here is another little story from last night involving UNH police. So, two of my roommates have just got back from a beer run around 9:30 or 10. As they are walking through the Gables parking lot with a couple 30s and boxed wine (classy... for the ladies...) a cop pulls up next to them and rolls down his window. He says "Doesn't seem that much is going on tonight, where are you guys headed?" One roommate replies "Just back to our apartment." Officer Friendly says "You guys drinking that all tonight?" Roommate: "Haha, no this is for the weekend... and next weekend." Cop: "That's gonna last you guys two weekends?" As if he was calling them out for not drinking enough. So no, it is definitely not going to last two weekends, I would be surprised if it lasts tonight.

What do you guys think: Was he just being friendly and making conversation? Or was he trying actually to see if they were providing for a party or something? The way he joked about it lasting two weekends almost seems as though he was just having fun with them, but at the same time the way he asked where they were going seemed like he was trying to pick up on something.

Have a good weekend. If you're not going to the hockey game tonight, you can catch it on NESN. Also, tomorrow is the last home football game of the year and if UNH wins they will basically clinch a playoff spot. Be there or be square.

Lastly, I reinstalled the "like" option after posts. It was lost after I reformatted the blog at the end of the summer and I completely forgot about putting it back until now. So if you like what we're doing, let us know! I always look for feedback heading into breaks when I have time to tinker around, so let us know what you like, don't like and we'll see what we can do.

Stay classy, not UMassy.