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Guest Blogger: Shein Ei Cho

  Where are you from and how long have you been at Agnes Scott?

I am from Myanmar, a beautiful country in Southeast Asia. I have been at Agnes Scott for over three years and will be graduating this May.

 \What was your first impression of ASC?

Its friendly people! As soon as I entered the Agnes Scott entrance the very first time, I saw smile on everyone’s face. It made me so welcome that I even forgot I just arrived here!

  

  What do you think about going (teaching/working) to an all-women's college?

I become more aware of gender issues by going to an all-women’s college. Here, I am surrounded by female leaders and top female professionals from different fields who always inspire and encourage me to do the best and achieve my goals.

  

.   What is your favorite spot on campus and why?

I would say the hill in front of the observatory overlooking the soccer field. When I am stressed, I take a walk over there and enjoy the breeze. It is very relaxing.

     What was the biggest adjustment/surprise you’ve faced?

The small class size! Even though small class size is one of the reasons I came here and I was already expecting it, actually being in one is a truly amazing experience that I have to get used to.

As I have only one more semester at Agnes Scott, I will miss a lot of things from here but amongst everything, I will miss people the most! Not only friends, but also staff I’ve worked or interacted with and all my professors! At Agnes, I truly feel like I am welcomed and loved by people around me.  

Shein Ei Cho

Class of 2013

Martin Luther King Day

                This past Monday we celebrated the life and achievements of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), who was an influential American civil rights leader. Every year on the third Monday in January, we remember the contributions of MLK in celebration of the anniversary of his birth. He was a prominent leader in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation in the United States in the 50’s and 60’s. He is known for his “I Have a Dream” speech he delivered in an effort to advocate for equality.

                MLK Day is a federal holiday that is celebrated all around the United States. Often people celebrate the life of MLK by dedicating the day to community service. There are several community service projects in Decatur, parades around downtown Atlanta, and 5k marathons going on around the city. As Dr. King was an Atlanta native we are fortunate enough to have The King Center 10 minutes from the Agnes Scott College campus. It is a historic site that is dedicated to educating the world on the life, legacy, and teachings of MLK.  The center has a number of artifacts and memorabilia from the life of MLK and his family. You can also visit his birth home and his tomb and that of his wife Coretta Scott King.

  In addition to the activities occurring around Atlanta, we had our annual MLK Convocation right here at Agnes Scott. Every year we remember the legacy of MLK by having spring convocation dedicated to his teachings and contributions to United States history.  The convocation is how we officially begin the spring semester at Agnes Scott College. This year we were very lucky to have civil rights activist Dr. C.T. Vivian as our guest speaker. Dr. Vivian worked alongside MLK in the non-violent fight for civil rights. He has been described by the New School for Social Research as a “…spiritual leader, apostle for social justice, strategist of the civil rights movement.” We had the pleasure of listening to his powerful words of wisdom, encouragement, and motivation in honor of MLK. Throughout the week we will be having different programs, panels, and events to celebrate MLK and his contributions to human rights and social justice. 

Dr. C.T. Vivian

Self-Scheduled Exams

Once a student decides to attend Agnes Scott, she agrees to uphold and live by our Honor Code.

“The Honor Code is founded on the support, the mature judgment and the personal integrity of each student. By entering Agnes Scott, a student voluntarily pledges her support to the regulation and spirit of the community. The Honor Code is an expression of trust in students and in their willingness to uphold the ideals of the community. Under the Honor System, regulations—both social and academic—are based upon their value to the community and to the individual student.”

When upholding the Honor Code, students pledge to not steal, lie, cheat or plagiarize writings. Students also commit not to engage in illegal activities, discrimination, or violent behavior. Because the Honor Code is integral to our way of life at Agnes Scott, our professors trust that we will not cheat or plagiarize our academic work. As part of the honor code, we have self-scheduled, un-proctored final exams. After the last day of classes, we have two reading days were students are allowed to write, study and review for upcoming exams. Following the reading days, there is a one week period in which students are allowed to take exams. The students gets to decide what day to take the exam and at what time. The exams are offered at 9 AM and 2 PM on most of the testing days, and there is also an additional 6 PM testing period that is offered on one testing day. A student has plenty of options for exam taking. We receive our tests from a central testing location, and then we take the exam in any classroom in Buttrick hall, the main academic building. If we want to take our math exam first to be done with it we can or we can allow ourselves extra days to study by taking the exam at a later day and time during the exam period. There are no professors or faculty present in the classrooms while we take our exam because they trust that students will uphold the Honor Code. While a classroom could be filled with students taking final exams for the most part each is taking an exam of her choosing. It is wonderful to live in environment where everyone trusts the academic integrity of others. It is also nice to be able to take the time that we need to study and write our final papers. Since we get to pace ourselves and we are not under a time constraint, we do not feel as much pressure and stress during finals time.