And you thought the printed copy of the syllabus distributed in class was long-winded!

Here's the full, unexpurgated, encyclopedic version, complete with detailed information about "Practice" Writing, plagiarism, "Learning Outcomes," sundry University policies, etc., etc. Your duties and requirements are also laid out here in even more excruciating detail. (Yes, you're responsible for reading and knowing it all!)

Course Aims
This is a course in the theory and practice of reading, both analytically and for fun.  (Contrary to popular belief, the two aims are not mutually exclusive.)  In it, we’ll examine some of the types of texts our culture produces, learn about the principles by which they work, and try to see how—and possibly why—we and our institutions regard some as inherently different from (better than?) others.  We’ll consider what some types of texts can do that others can’t, and we’ll learn to understand and appreciate how literary texts, in particular, often depend upon and refer to one another to make meaning.  While much of what we read will be what’s commonly deemed “high art” or “serious literature,” much will not.  Skilled reading can elucidate the meaning of a (song) lyric by Coldplay just as well as a lyric (poem) by Coleridge. 

Texts
We’ll keep it simple.  The text we will use most, and most intensively, is, um…Text Book (3d ed.), by Robert Scholes, Nancy R. Comley and Gregory Ulmer.  (You can procure your own copy, or I can make portions of it available to you.)  We’ll spend the last few weeks of the semester in the company of Thomas King’s novel Green Grass, Running Water and some related texts.  You can find the latter at the HSU Bookstore, among other places. 

Work
This course requires steady, concentrated work in the form of reading, writing, listening, thinking, and talking, much of which should be independent of repeated prompting or instruction by me.  Minimum daily requirements of all class members are:  (1) to do all of the assigned reading by the assigned dates, (2) to attend and participate fully, attentively, and energetically in all classes—i.e., to be mentally as well as physically present, (3) to do regular “practice” writing online (in Moodle), and (4) to sit four exams—three short midterms and one longer final.  Specifics:

Regular monitoring of the “Daily Updates” page:  It’s imperative that you have regular access to the Internet.  Specific reading and writing assignments for each week—and often for the very next class session—will be posted on the “Daily Updates” page of the course web site (which is reached through the “Courses” page of my website, whose URL is listed at the top of the syllabus), normally by 8:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.  If you miss a class, you’re expected to check the Updates page and be prepared for the next one, just the same. 

Announcements, schedule changes, and corrections to/deviations from the course calendar will be posted to the “Daily Updates” page, too.  (I’ll also try to announce any schedule changes in class.)

Reading:  All required reading—often under 20 pages and rarely over 40, at least until later in the semester—should be completed by the beginning of the class session for which it has been assigned.  Reading at the college level involves more than just passing your eyes over the words.  If you haven’t done so already, you should seek out and learn some “active” reading strategies to improve your ability to retain, interrogate, make sense of and otherwise engage with what you read.

“Practice” Writing: Text Book includes sets of questions and prompts entitled “For Discussion and Writing” after almost every reading selection.  One of your daily responsibilities is to take the time to read and think about how you would respond to all such questions (“thinking,” to my mind, always means jotting down some notes or even sketches and bringing them with you to class), and I strongly recommend that you put yourself through the paces of writing out a leisurely response to at least one of the prompts each week, even if it has not been assigned for credit.  (This would be one way of engaging with the reading “actively,” as I exhorted above.)

We’ll often use one or more of these prompts as the basis of an in-class discussion or activity—but more important, I will also designate several each week that you can choose among for your required “Practice” Writing—informal writing assignments that you will turn in on Moodle.  This is not meant as busywork, but as an essential part of the course’s real work—as independent practice that will deepen and ingrain your understanding of the material you’ve read and/or that we address in class.  It asks you to kick around and experiment with some of the critical issues/puzzles/concepts/vocabulary introduced by Text Book, all in the spirit of serious play.    

Just the same, the logistical side of these Practice Writing assignments will be rather strict, primarily to ease the administrative burden on me and the interns:  

• Each Practice Writing must be at least 300 words in length—more if that’s what it takes to really do justice to a given prompt.
• Each is due by 9:00 p.m. on the day for which it’s assigned.  Period.  (This is to ensure that you make the time to work independently with the assigned material before we take it up in class.  That’s what this assignment is all about.)   We will not accept late or “make-up” work.  That’s not meant to be punitive; it’s just business.  There are 90 of you, for pity’s sake.
• There will be at least eleven opportunities to hand in Practice Writing assignments for credit throughout the semester. You can avail yourself of as many of those opportunities as you want—the more practice, the better, as far as I’m concerned (and the more prepared you’ll be to talk about and/or hear someone else talk about the material you’ve worked with).  But your overall grade for this portion of the course will be based strictly on the number that you successfully submit for credit: 8 or more credited assignments (out of the 11+ opportunities) will earn an “A”; 7 will earn a “B”; 6 will earn a “C”; 5 will earn a “D.”  You’ll earn nothing at all if you receive credit for fewer than five.  (See below for pointers about what is and isn’t credit-worthy.)
• Students who successfully complete all eleven informal writing assignments may elect to skip the final exam (see below). In this case, the cumulative grade earned on the midterms would be doubled in computing the final course grade.

The evaluative side of “Practice” Writing, you may be happy to hear, is somewhat slacker:

• Individual assignments will be graded strictly on a credit-no credit basis.  I.e., for purposes of grading, it doesn’t necessarily matter how well you do it (as long as you meet the minimum threshold—see below); it just matters that you do it in good faith.
• The glib, the perfunctory, the utterly superficial, the ploddingly literal-minded will receive no credit.  It should be clear from what you hand in that you’ve read the material related to the assignment carefully enough and critically enough to work and play with it convincingly.  If your post strikes us as something you could have tossed off without really having done (let alone having engaged with and/or thought very hard about) the reading, then we probably won’t credit it.
• Although for the most part we won’t evaluate on mechanics—grammar, punctuation, spelling, and so forth—we will not struggle through the slapdash or the incomprehensible.  

The interns and I will read these carefully or cursorily, according to how much time we have.  (We may even refer to some of them in class.)  And if you expressly ask us for feedback on one or more of them, we’ll try our best, schedules and workload permitting, to oblige.  But again: these are meant primarily as opportunities for you to “practice” the concepts of the class independently.

Exams:  It’s normal for a large lecture course to feature machine-scored exams consisting of multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, and short-answer questions.  Sometimes I’m normal.  There will indeed be three (3) such short midterms that will test the vocabularly, the concepts, and the practices introduced by Text Book and/or other assigned reading.  A longer final exam, which may also include an essay or long-answer section, will give you an opportunity to synthesize and adapt that material to the study of Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.

Attendance:  It’s not that every last class session will be scintillating or mind-blowing; I’m not that vain.  And I know that a variety of things—family emergency, Humboldt crud, hangover, busted alarm clock, death, flood, fire, famine—might reasonably rob us of your presence on any given day.  Still, it is important you show up here regularly. 

Having said that: while I would normally find a way to give you credit for showing up regularly, it’s logistically challenging to record attendance reliably in a class this size.  So what does this mean?  At least two things:  1) you may enjoy the freedom and responsibility that comes with being a college student by judging for yourself when you can afford to miss a class; 2) just ‘cuz you’ve got this nifty rope doesn’t mean you should hang yourself with it.  Sure, there are ninety of you.  But will we come to know and love those of you who attend religiously and make ours lives a joy by participating earnestly and/or intelligently in the day-to-day activities of the class (without too much bullshitting or brown-nosing)?  You bet.  And will we endeavor to reward those folks for their diligence and their all-around good citizenship?  We will. Can you stay home in a ganja-induced haze every day of the semester except for exam days and still pass the course?  Maybe—though I doubt it.  However you decide to play it, it’s always up to you to keep on top of a missed day’s proceedings and to know what’s expected of you for the next class meeting.  (E-mailing me to ask for a detailed rundown of what you missed is not an appropriate means of doing this; checking with a trusted classmate is, as is reviewing the assigned reading extry-hard and/or consulting the online Updates page.) 

Grading
Here’s where the oppressive substructure of my seemingly benign classroom shows through.  I try to grade by the book, which was written before the days of rampant grade inflation: “A” is reserved for stunningly outstanding work; “B” work goes solidly beyond minimal expectations for basic competency; and “C” is “standard” and “normal”—i.e., it meets the basic course requirements in every way.  “D” is worthy of credit, but barely, and I guess we all know what “F” means.  I don’t expect to give any grades of Incomplete (“I”).  If you’re taking this class CR/NC, you need the equivalent of a “C” to pass.  Here’s how your final course grade will break down:

• The three (3) short midterms will be worth roughly 10% each, and the final exam roughly 30%;
• Your cumulative grade on the “Practice” Writing will count for roughly 30%;
• And attendance and class participation may count for as much as 10%.  (If you’re on the borderline between two grades, for instance, and you have made yourself known throughout the semester as a good egg, then this partly subjective measure could make the difference.)

Communication
Office Hours: Chauncey, Thomas and I will read and grade everything you hand in for credit and may occasionally find time for longer, more substantive feedback, as well.  And we will happily meet with you at any time (just drop in during office hours) to talk about your progress and prospects in the course.  If a personal disaster befalls you during the course of the semester—your home burns down, your computer crashes, a marauding horde carries off your livestock—please let us know!  We can direct you to campus resources that may help; at the very least, we can try to figure out a plan to get you through the semester in one piece.  As for more routine problems:  if you’re getting behind in the class, feeling as though you’re not “getting” something (an important concept or distinction, the point of an assigned reading, the directions for an assignment), or just having an intangible problem either mild or severe, don’t sit around fretting and cowering:  come and talk to one of us without delay.

If your schedule absolutely cannot be changed to accommodate regular office hours, that doesn’t mean we can’t meet.  We are open in principle to appointments at other mutually agreeable times—just stop us after class or send us an e-mail to make arrangements.  If you cannot make a scheduled appointment, however, you should call or e-mail ahead of time to let us know. 

Before and after class: I like to reserve the few frantic minutes before class to attend to technology and classroom setup; if you try to collar me then, you may find me preoccupied and distracted (even brusque!).  After class, I am usually available for a few minutes to briefly answer questions, schedule appointments, and listen.

E-mail: When contacting me (or Chauncey or Thomas) via e-mail, be sure to include “Engl 105” in the subject line and your full name in the body or the signature of your message.  I try to respond to messages in a timely fashion, but since I receive dozens if not hundreds of messages each day, I ask that you use e-mail judiciously.  Here are some guidelines:

• It’s reasonable to e-mail us to set up or cancel an appointment, or to contact us in the event of an emergency.
• There is no need to contact us about your routine absences from class (unless you will be gone for several consecutive periods due to severe illness or emergency).   
• For questions about what you missed when you were absent, consult the Calendar, a trusted classmate, and/or the “Daily Updates” page of the class website rather than e-mailing. 
• Subjects that are best handled face to face (or, as a last resort, over the telephone) include the following:
• questions about course concepts and readings, and the nuances of specific assignments;
• desire for feedback on your performance, grades, completed assignments, and work in progress;
• problems with one of us or with a classmate.

Messages and voicemail: You can leave a written message in my mailbox in the English Department Office (Founders 201), or you can leave a voicemail on my office phone.  I do not check for messages daily, however, and I generally do not return student calls, except in emergencies.

Classroom etiquette
All of the following used to be regarded as common sense and common courtesy.  I’m sorry even to have to mention them.  Man, do I feel old.  Next thing you know, I’ll be standing on my front porch, shaking my fist at those young hoodlums who have no respect for their elders! 

• Please get to class on time, don’t wander in and out, and don’t leave early (or start packing your bag ostentatiously five minutes before the end of class);
• Bring Text Book and any other assigned readings;
• Use the restroom ahead of time so you don’t need to walk out during class;
• Turn off cell phones and pagers;
• Save text messaging for another time and place—and save private chattering, wisecracking, snickering, and note-passing for your return to the 8th grade;
• Use laptops and tablets only for taking notes, consulting online reference sources, and referring to required reading (not for checking e-mail, updating your FB status, gaming, or web-surfing).

Beyond that, it would be lovely to see everyone work at developing a degree of refinement in their classroom rapport.  For instance: 

• Please be conscious of how much you speak in class, and try not to dominate discussions;
• Be aware of how you communicate through facial expression and body language;
• Make it a habit not to speak for others or from others’ experiences;
• Don’t use language that’s sexist, racist, or otherwise crass or abusive;
• Treat others with respect even when you disagree with their positions;
• Listen closely to what I and others say so that you don’t ask questions that have already been answered or restate observations that have already been made.

Calendar
(Danger: All quantities approximate!  Highly volatile!  Subject to change!)

Please note:The details of this calendar will almost surely evolve as the semester wears on, but unless you’re notified otherwise (via the Daily Updates page, for example), all reading should be completed by the beginning of week for which it’s assigned.  Being ready to discuss the questions that follow assigned readings in Text Book is part of your preparation; that means you’ll need to read and ponder those questions carefully, jot down some notes, even write out some rough responses.  The reading schedule starts slow, then picks up pace throughout the semester.  You can count on seeing some additional assigned reading not listed below as the weeks wear on.  As I’ve mentioned already, all such changes or additions to the reading schedule—as well as “Practice” Writing assignments linked to the reading—will be announced via the “Daily Updates” page of the course web site.

Final Exam: Tuesday, December 11th, 8:00-9:50 a.m. (Ouch!)

Addendum 1: A Message from Bob, Nancy & Greg

One of the goals of this course is to teach you to use models.  These models include not only various forms of writing, but certain styles of speaking.  Success in school depends not just on the ability to write, but also on the ability to ask questions and to develop strategies for accessing the information stored in whatever materials you are asked to treat.  The university [offers this class as a General Education option] because it believes that what you learn about reading, writing, speaking, and thinking in this class will be transferable to other parts of the curriculum.  If this goal is to be realized, you must become an independent learner, able to use the learning strategies demonstrated in this course without continual prompting by an instructor.  Rather, you must learn to prompt yourself, and to interrogate actively the readings and instructions that you encounter.  The following list of questions indicates the kinds of things you should know about all the readings in this class.  While it is not exhaustive, the list should also be useful in other classes.  While some if not all of the questions are quite obvious, it is our experience that many students are content to leave them unformulated, or unanswered.

• What is the assignment?  Exactly what kind of writing am I expected to produce?
• What is the model I am to follow?  What are its specific features?  How is it put together?  What techniques or devices does the author use?
• What is the purpose of the supporting readings?  How do they contribute to an understanding of the model?
• Is it possible to reduce the model to a formula?  To a precise generalized description of a few steps that must be followed or a few fundamental techniques that must be performed?  If so, what are these steps?  Can I think of the model as a rough blueprint or variable pattern for making more items of its kind?
• What is the interest of the readings in their own right?  What issues do they raise that might be worth discussing, questioning, challenging?  Is the form of the model in any way necessary to its content (the topic it talks about)?  If it were written in some other manner, would that affect my response to the themes?
• How do earlier sections of the course readings help me understand the present assignment and model?
• Assuming that the readings supply most if not all of the information needed to define and carry out the project, which selections are the most helpful?  Which parts are the most confusing or difficult?

Addendum 2: Other Course Policies and General Information

Some of the following information I’m required by the University (whose obedient servant I am) to include.  Some, I provide out of more than just a sense of obligation; I actually believe in it.  Much else originates purely with me rather than my employer, and I’m fairly fervent about it.  (Come talk to me during office hours and I’ll tell you which is which, if you can’t already.)  In any event, you’re responsible for familiarizing yourself with all of it.

Course meeting time and place (Fall 2012)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:50 p.m., Science B 135

HSU Catalog description
“As­signed readings in representative literary works.  Lectures, discussions, assigned compositions.”  (Enlightening, eh?)

Course mode and format
This course is classified by the university as a “large lecture” course, though in practice it will often function as a “lecture-discussion” course.

General Education and/or other requirements
Engl 105 may be taken in partial fulfillment of lower-division General Education “Area C” (Arts and Humanities) requirements.  The University articulates the “Objectives” and “Learning Outcomes” for Area C as follows—in language that is uniformly inelegant, frequently ungrammatical, and often downright baffling.  Please keep in mind that individual faculty members do not necessarily endorse these objectives and/or “outcomes”:

GE Area C Objectives

1. To understand human experience through the development of the ability to recognize and test relationships between particular instances and facts, and general principles and concepts.
2. To develop and/or increase one’s subjective responses to humanistic and/or artistic works, including analysis of disciplinary standards of judgment (contemporary and/or historically) in humanistic and artistic areas.
3. To highlight varied factors in the personal nature of human beings’ production and response to artistic and humanistic works including (but not limited to) gender, culture or ethnicity.
4. To provide an understanding of the nature and scope of perspectives and scholarship within the arts/humanities and to appreciate the importance of these perspectives and scholarship toward understanding of human experience.

GE Area C Measurable Learning Outcomes
Upon completing this requirement students will:

1. apply discipline-specific vocabulary and central discipline-specific concepts and principles to a specific instance, literary work or artistic creation.
2. respond subjectively as well as objectively to aesthetic experiences and will differentiate between emotional and intellectual responses.
3. explain the nature and scope of the perspectives and contributions found in a particular discipline within the Arts and Humanities as related to the human experience, both individually (theirs) and collectively.
4. discuss the intellectual, historical, and cultural elements of written literature through their study of great works of the human imagination.

If it’s not clear to you how your work in this course addresses and/or develops these objectives, let’s talk.

This course is also meant to contribute to your acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to some of HSU’s 7 overall Learning Outcomes, according to which HSU graduates will be able to demonstrate:

1. Effective communication through written and oral modes.  This course uses class discussion and requires written responses of different lengths.

2. Critical and creative thinking skills in acquiring a broad base of knowledge and applying it to complex issues.  Students in this course should learn some of the concepts, vocabulary, and practices typical of the discipline of literary study, and they should understand some of the mechanisms by which different forms of textuality achieve various effects.  They should be able to use and draw upon this knowledge in discussion, on exams, and in their written work.

4.   Appreciation for and understanding of an expanded world perspective by engaging respectfully with a diverse range of individuals, communities, and viewpoints.  Students will read texts by writers from diverse and sometimes underrepresented groups, and they will sometimes be asked to discuss and write about these texts in relation to the political and ideological implications of their production and consumption, often with respect to such issues as class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.

6.   Responsibility for lifelong learning.  Students in this class will begin to learn how to read and think critically about cultural texts, and how to make cultural and aesthetic choices for their individual enrichment and their social responsibilities.

7.   A commitment to social justice, environmental responsibility, and economic improvement in the workplace and the community.  Both literary and critical texts assigned in this course take up issues connected with these themes.  Modern English Studies strongly emphasizes an understanding of the historical and social contexts and the ideological underpinnings of many different kinds of texts.

Hours outside of class required for course preparation
A general rule of thumb is that a successful student will spend two hours of preparation per week for each unit earned (in fact, that guideline used to be included in the university catalog). For a 3-unit course, this means that you should expect to devote at least 6 hours per week, on average, to this course outside of class. That figure is the recommended minimum—which I consider to be rather low, particularly for an English course. Averaging 6 or even 12 hours per week outside of class does not guarantee a passing grade—or any grade. But if you don't have enough room in your week to devote that amount of time to this class, then you’re probably trying to take on too much, and you should scale back.

Campus resources that may increase your academic success

• Writing Center: Learning Commons, Lower Library 32
  http://www.humboldt.edu/learning/writing_center/index.php
• Learning Center: Learning Commons, Lower Library 55
  http://www.humboldt.edu/learning/

Academic (dis)honesty
All members of an academic community are responsible for supporting intellectual freedom and openness through rigorous personal standards of honesty and fairness.  Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the very purpose of the university and diminish the value of an education.  All cases of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will be handled in accordance with University policy.  Students are responsible for knowing HSU policy regarding academic honesty.  These guidelines, along with sanctions for violations, can be reviewed at http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/academic_honesty.php

Plagiarism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “plagiarize” as “to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings, or ideas of another,” i.e., to represent someone else’s words or ideas as your own. The rule of thumb is that if you incorporate any information (e.g., analysis, opinions, interpretations, or facts that are not common knowledge), into your papers, exams, “practice” writing, presentations, and so on, you must honestly and accurately credit and document your sources of words and ideas.  This includes not only books or other printed materials, but also formal lectures and interviews, as well as information of any kind posted on the Internet.  Submitting any part of a borrowed, stolen, or purchased paper to fulfill all or part of an assignment also constitutes plagiarism—never mind that it’s a desperate and pathetic act. 

Professors have a finely tuned “ear” for prose that their students probably aren’t capable of producing.  Even a close paraphrase of someone else’s words—borrowing the sentence or paragraph structure while making small changes in wording or phrasing—can be construed as plagiarism, especially if you have not properly attributed the source.  And while the Web has made it much easier to buy or steal work produced by someone else, it’s also made such fraud much easier to spot, thanks to plagiarism-detection websites and ever-improving search engines. 

The university definition of and policies regarding plagiarism and other types of academic dishonesty can be found online and in the HSU catalog; it's your responsibility to know these policies and to ask questions if you don't understand them.  If you are unsure what counts as plagiarism, please feel free to talk to me about it (preferably before turning in an assignment), as ignorance of the policy is not an acceptable excuse for failure to comply with the guidelines.  If you plagiarize in my course, you will automatically fail the assignment and, in certain cases, the course.  Additionally, I notify the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.  Consequently, you may be subject to further University disciplinary action, such as special counseling, dismissal from certain programs and organizations, and academic probation, suspension, or expulsion.  If you are having difficulty completing an assignment on time and through honest means, please come talk to me before resorting to plagiarism.  For a free on-line tutorial about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, consult one or all of the following resources:

• HSU Library: http://library.humboldt.edu/researchroadmap/ethics/ethics02.html
• HSU Learning Center: http://www.humboldt.edu/learning/handouts/plagiarism_guide.pdf
• HSU Composition Instructor Tracy Duckart: http://users.humboldt.edu/tduckart/Plagiarism.htm

Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, both between students, or between a student and a faculty member, is illegal and will not be tolerated in the classroom or outside of class.  HSU defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” which may be blatant or subtle.  For a detailed description of and HSU’s complete policy on sexual harassment, see
http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/sex_assult.php.

Accommodations for students with disabilities or special needs
Please let me know without delay if you have special needs and are (or think you may be) eligible for disability-related accommodation, so that we can discuss any and all available aids and measures that would facilitate your success in this class.  Our campus Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) can assist you with determining eligibility for accommodations and obtaining necessary resources to meet your needs.  The SDRC is located in House 71, on the north end of Library Circle, directly across from the HSU library.  It can be reached by calling (707) 826-4678 (voice) or (707) 826-5392 (TDD) or by e-mailing the Center at sdrc@humboldt.edu.  For more information, go to http://www.humboldt.edu/disability/.  Please be aware that some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.

Disruptive Behavior
According to HSU policy, “any student who has neglected the work of the course or is disruptive to the educational process may be excluded from a course. . . .  Disruptive student behavior in the classroom is defined as behavior which interrupts, obstructs, or inhibits the teaching and learning process. The faculty member determines what is disruptive and has a duty to terminate it. Disruptive behavior may take many forms: persistent questioning, incoherent comments, verbal attacks, unrecognized speaking out, incessant arguing, intimidating shouting, and inappropriate gestures. . . .  Faculty also have the authority and responsibility to establish rules to maintain order, and to eject students from the course temporarily for violation of the rules or misconduct.”  Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive behavior.  For more information, visit the follow webpage:
http://www.humboldt.edu/studentrights/attendance_behavior.php

Under the related category of rude and discourteous behavior, I would add such old standbys as inattentiveness, attending to personal grooming, and reading the newspaper—as well as newer forms of electronic rudeness like e-mailing, texting, Tweeting, web surfing, and Facebooking. As I implored earlier: please take care of all that on your own time, not class time.

Social conventions and ideas about manners and etiquette change with time and context, I know. But (here comes that "You kids get off of my lawn!" rant again): where I come from, wandering in and out of class without at least muttering a sheepish "excuse me" is just plain impolite. Same goes for any number of technology-assisted uncouth behaviors, which are usually committed by troubled addicts who can't go 5 minutes without exchanging a text or a Facebook message with their BFF (or worse, their mom). If you're using a smartphone, tablet, netbook or laptop to do class-related research, to refer to assigned reading in electronic form, or to Google some unfamiliar vocab, that's cool; we'll all want to hear what you came up with. Otherwise, it's not. Turn it off.

Add/Drop policy
Students are responsible for knowing University policy, procedures, and schedule for dropping or adding classes.  For more information see:
http://pine.humboldt.edu/registrar/students/regulations/schedadjust.html

To sum up
In the end, I’m only asking you to be reasonably disciplined and responsible in your approach to this course.  Please consider any and all obligations you have in addition to your course load.  I strongly advise you not to commit to more than you can realistically accomplish in the next fifteen weeks (you’re working 30 hours a week?  and you’re on the volleyball team? and you’re the choreographer for an upcoming production of The Sound of Music?  and you’re carrying 20 units?—what are you, crazy?), but if you do, please recognize that you set your own priorities, and that I can’t and won’t cut private deals with you based on your individual circumstances—particularly if those circumstances are of your own making. (Medical emergencies that turn ugly and/or lengthy are a different kettle of fish; in such instances, I may be open to making special accommodations. But let's hope such situations simply don't arise for anyone in our midst!)

Safety information and emergency evacuation
Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs) and review Campus Emergency Preparedness procedures by following the link below:
http://www.humboldt.edu/emergencymgmtprogram/campus_emergency_preparedness.php

Information on campus closures and emergency information can be found at:  826-INFO (4636) or http://www.humboldt.edu/humboldt/emergency.  Try to avoid calling University Police for campus status information.

Exits, rally points, and EAP’s

• In each classroom or lab, identify the exit(s). Take note of alternate exits including doors and windows.
• Faculty and students must know how to get to the class “Rally Point” immediately outside the building. This is usually a commonly known outdoor landmark such as a specific walkway, staircase, fountain, or planter. Gather and count heads. 
• Emergency Assembly Points (EAP’s) are for gathering people when our buildings aren’t safe to occupy (e.g. a following a major earthquake).  Each class should head there to organize themselves. Police arrival at EAP’s will be delayed.  For this course we will gather at the Lower Playfield.

What to do for the “Big Three”

• Earthquake: Duck, cover, and hold until the shaking stops. After shaking stops, head to Rally Point.
• Fire Alarm: Evacuate whether there is smoke and/or fire or not. Head to Rally Point.
• Gunshots/Criminal Activity: If at all possible, get out and get away.  Don’t linger at Rally Point.  If you absolutely can’t get out, lock the door and shelter in place.

Power outage procedures

• When electrical power is first interrupted, individual faculty members are responsible for deciding on a class-by-class basis, if the class should continue, be relocated, or be canceled.  I will tell you in class or, if class has not yet begun, post outside the classroom what to do in the event of a power outage.
• If the power outage appears likely to continue for several hours or longer, campus-wide information about continuing/suspending classes will be disseminated from the President through deans, departments, and chairs. Call this number for recorded information: 826-4636.

Students should get themselves prepared

• The North Coast is prone to earthquakes, severe weather, road slides, and utility interruptions. The campus cannot feed/shelter all of our students.
• Every student must store sealed bottled water, non-perishable food, flashlight, and a battery-operated radio.  More information is available at www.prepare.org.
• Interested students may seek specialized training from the American Red Cross and/or by applying to Humboldt’s Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Learn North Coast safety risks

• River safety:  Take river safety training. Study the river with an experienced friend.  Watch for “sweeper” branches that can hold you under water. Stay sober.
• Coastal safety: Keep an eye on the ocean and for “sneaker” waves that may be 2-3 times larger than the surf pattern.  Sneaker waves pull victims out to sea every year. Hypothermia and powerful currents are deadly threats.  If the water draws down low or you hear a loud roar, head to higher ground immediately.
• Earthquake: duck, cover, and hold on during strong shaking. After shaking stops, evacuate.
• Tsunami: If you are at the beach and feel strong shaking, head to higher ground immediately. If you hear that a warning is in effect, evacuate ONLY if you are in a coastal zone (the HSU main campus is not in a coastal zone).