St. John’s University

As a faculty member, I can't fathom being the last person to walk into class nor can I  imagine being the first to leave the lecture hall. After class there are always  students who want to discuss the material. It's my job to provide an…

By Jenny Ortiz Most of your students don't know who Chuck Norris is. Many of them don't watch as much television as you think. The only reading they do is if it is assigned to them and that is done haphazardly. The news is not only…

By Jenny Ortiz Freshman. Freshies. Freshmeat. Whatever the term for first year students may be at any college, what is agreed upon is that in the next four years they will learn a lot in and outside of the classroom. From day one, their…

By Jenny Ortiz Though I teach literature, I was doing some calculations this week. If I have two classes at Adelphi with 20  students in each class, I am accountable for 40 students. Add that to the 25 in my core literature class as well…

By Jenny Ortiz I recently spent some time with a little game known as Dead Rising 2. In two hours I killed 543 zombies. No, no, don't applaud. This is an low number for any gamer. To be fair, I had a stack of midterms whispering to me to…

By Jenny Ortiz I recently spent some time with a little game known as Dead Rising 2. In two hours I killed 543 zombies. No, no, don't applaud. This is an low number for any gamer. To be fair, I had a stack of midterms whispering to me to…

By Jenny Ortiz As a Freeway Flyer, I teach a number of Composition courses and although each one has a slight variation given  the deptartmental's academic desires for its students, my syllabus and my course workload tends to be similar…

By Jenny Ortiz I knew going to back to St. John's University after being away for two years as I earned my MFA degree would make me an outsider. At least that's what I thought. I was no longer a student; the events, the fliers for the…

Let's be honest; Pope Benedict XVI has little charisma. Whereas John Paul II was the Frank Sinatra of the Vatican, Pope Benedict is more the Joey Bishop of the Papal Ratpack. Be that as it may, the faculty and leaders of America's 200…