New and improved May Experience
By: Michael Bargar
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: News
Are you interested in volunteering to help rebuild hurricane-torn New Orleans? Or exploring Hispanic culture with your taste buds? What about using computer simulations to virtually explore historical communities?
These are just three of the over 40 May Experience courses that will be offered this year. The courses will be posted with full descriptions on the May Experience website on Nov. 20 and registration will begin on a first-come, first-served basis on Nov. 30.
May Experience is a product of Furman's new semester system and was first offered in spring 2009, when over 300 students participated. Nearly double that many students are expected to participate this year and benefit from the lessons learned from that path-breaking trial.
One change is that May Experience will be pushed back three days, so that it ends at approximately the same time as the trimester schedule did.
"We learned that you really ought not to start [May Experience] 36 hours after graduation," said Lloyd Benson, the Chair of the Ad-Hoc Faculty May Experience Committee and a history professor. "We had academic term whiplash."
The housing and dining policy for May Experience are also undergoing major changes because of the feedback garnered last year. For starters, students will not remain in their original rooms. Students participating in May Experience only will be moved to the residence halls, while students staying for May and summer will be consolidated in North Village A, B or C.
Although there were no problems, Benson said that some people felt uncomfortable being the only person on their hall or floor. Having everyone live in the dorms will address these safety concerns, be slightly cheaper, and hopefully build a sense of community.
Students who are moved to the residence halls from North Village for May Experience will not be assigned roommates and will be provided bed linens.
Unlike last year, when only the Pala Den was open, this year students will be able to eat meals in the Dining Hall. The comprehensive housing and meal plan rate for May Experience will cost $658.
These are just three of the over 40 May Experience courses that will be offered this year. The courses will be posted with full descriptions on the May Experience website on Nov. 20 and registration will begin on a first-come, first-served basis on Nov. 30.
May Experience is a product of Furman's new semester system and was first offered in spring 2009, when over 300 students participated. Nearly double that many students are expected to participate this year and benefit from the lessons learned from that path-breaking trial.
One change is that May Experience will be pushed back three days, so that it ends at approximately the same time as the trimester schedule did.
"We learned that you really ought not to start [May Experience] 36 hours after graduation," said Lloyd Benson, the Chair of the Ad-Hoc Faculty May Experience Committee and a history professor. "We had academic term whiplash."
The housing and dining policy for May Experience are also undergoing major changes because of the feedback garnered last year. For starters, students will not remain in their original rooms. Students participating in May Experience only will be moved to the residence halls, while students staying for May and summer will be consolidated in North Village A, B or C.
Although there were no problems, Benson said that some people felt uncomfortable being the only person on their hall or floor. Having everyone live in the dorms will address these safety concerns, be slightly cheaper, and hopefully build a sense of community.
Students who are moved to the residence halls from North Village for May Experience will not be assigned roommates and will be provided bed linens.
Unlike last year, when only the Pala Den was open, this year students will be able to eat meals in the Dining Hall. The comprehensive housing and meal plan rate for May Experience will cost $658.