University of Illinois College of Medicine Urbana Medical Student Government
Monthly Newsletters
2008
January
Upcoming Government Meetings
Moving onto more administrative things, the next UMSG meeting is set for January 29th and the next UMSC meeting is February 9th here in Urbana.
Spring Apparel Sale
Molly is working with Kerry Blue on the second clothing sale and considerations are being made for a "contest" for the "fun T-shirt" design.
Pimpin da HUB
Adam has been looking at several items for the HUB, but we would like your input on what we can put in to make it better. Stay tuned for a possible vote on new furniture!
Academic Affairs
From the last two meetings of the Basic Sciences Committee:
Many people, especially on IHD day when the auditorium is full, cannot see the speaker and/or the projected materials well enough from all seats. Since the purpose of having the multitude of seats in the auditorium is so that many people can benefit at once from being there, several factors regarding setup were suggested. These include getting a new projector in the near future, modifying the 'stage' area, modifying the layout, adding screens to accompany the rear of the auditorium, and replacing the current seats with more comfortable ones. Also, the new lighting is great for many aspects, but some people do have trouble seeing from far away due to the differential illumination. If there are any additional comments/concerns regarding these issues, please feel free to send an email to Andy Hall so he can bring them up at the next meeting.
The faculty will be meeting with Dr. John Ory, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), likely in February, regarding developing quality Multiple Choice Questions.
Various faculty members and IT have given their opinions regarding podcasting/audio library construction. The general consensus is favorable. However, implementation will likely begin next year, since it requires an additional server, greater storage capacity, additional equipment, and a part-time employee to handle the additional work load. These considerations must be brought up to administration, so that, if approved, they can be added to the budget for next year. Also, it was suggested that a legal counsel be invited to a meeting to inform the committee for the ramifications of this endeavor.
There are some tentative workshops on Health Care Disparities through the Urban Health Program that will be coming up this semester. These include "Latin Women in Breast Cancer" in February, "Rural Health Care Disparities", and "Health Disparities in African American and Latino Communities: Obesity and Diabetes" in March, and "Medical Interpreters in the Clinical Setting" in April. More information regarding these workshops will be forthcoming.
Random Movie Reviews of Impending Doom and Ultimate Destiny
(Diligently prepared by Jason Alvarado)
Alvin & the Chipmunks - You've got to let the girlfriend pick 'em every once in a while. Amusing, surprisingly entertaining.
Arctic Tale - Again, the girlfriend... If you liked "March of the Penguins," you'll definitely like this.
Blades of Glory - Awesome, pure genius!
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - What can I say, I grew up reading comic books dreaming of big screen versions... Not like this.
The Flying Scotsman - Did you really think we'd get through all of this without some sort of cycling reference? Definitely a Disney-fied version of the life of Graham Obree (Google him), but I liked it.
Juno - Hilarious! A bit of a Dawson's Creek throwback at first with the strange amount of vocabulary thrown around by the young teenagers, but ultimately I was rolling.
The Kite Runner - Definitely a good one. Of course the book was a bit better, but what can you expect. Needless to say lots of crying throughout the audience.
The Simpsons Movie - HUGE disappointment... Yes, just like a long episode, which would be fantastic, except that this episode sucked!
Sweeney Todd - Very good, esp since I had never seen the play or heard the story... And yes, it is a musical.
