EDITOR’S NOTE

Perhaps the “best issue ever” mantra is overdone, and I’ll avoid it here, but I will say that you are currently holding one of the most ambitious and original Zines we’ve ever put together. It is a tting end to a monumental year which saw the

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grow by leaps and bounds and FIMS itself continue to solidify its place within the Western community. While researching for the

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Awards, our humble attempt to draw attention to some of the hardest working and most under-appreciated individuals in the faculty, I was struck by how much members of the FIMS community cared about each other. Although those outpourings of affection are somewhat lost in our one-page feature, I cannot adequately describe how intensely students wanted their instructors and peers to be recognized for what they do. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my Zine experience, it’s that we are surrounded by a lot of incredible people here in FIMS, and that you need to participate in a variety of arenas to see them all at their best. It’s another tired mantra—“get involved”—but it’s a worthwhile one. The people I’ve had the good fortune of working with on the MITSC, in the sophing community, on various sports teams, and in other extracurriculars, not to mention in my MIT classes, are truly inspirational, and without them my university experience would not be a fraction of what it is.

Looking Ahead

On that note, the incoming MITSC is a stellar group that I am lucky enough to be a part of for another year. Carefully selected by incoming President Zach Valliant and VP External Jess Bronstein from a competitive eld of applicants, the new council will build on the many wide-ranging successes of the outgoing MITSC. It is a great honour for me to hand over the reigns of the

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to newly appointed Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Forani, an immensely talented writer and leader who will undoubtedly take the Zine to new heights in the coming year. I look forward to seeing his exciting vision for the publication become a reality. Congratulations are also due to the newly selected MIT Soph Team, who are going to rock O-Week 2011 like never before. As a part-time student myself slowly reentering academia with an interest in reading philosophy, I am astonished at the heavy course load—not to mention all the socializing and extra-curricular activities—that many students attempt to juggle around me. It is not my intention to answer just why my classmates are speeding through their education in three or four years, but to suggest that perhaps we need to rethink why we are here in the rst place. We are becoming addicted to the quick x of instant gratication. Cell phones are keeping us in constant connection and the desire to update our statuses through online social networking is easily leading us down the perpetual path of procrastination. We need to remember that old virtue: patience. Relearn the act of listening and reading. Let it sink in. Ask questions after lecture and visit your professor during their ofce hours. Get to know them. Consider part-time studies instead of a full load. And for those who doubt a longer sentence of higher learning, just remember: education was not meant to be a race to the nish line. You are here to learn, not to compete. Slow down. Unplug. You might just learn something.

Carolyn Brown

STUDENTS MISSING OUT ON READING SKILLS

OPINIONS

Acknowledgements

Volume 10 of the

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was (if I may say so myself) a resounding success, and, as this is my last editor’s note, I would like to thank just some of the countless individu als that helped me to accomplish what I did this year. Firstly, thank you to my staff, Taylor, Mary, and Jonathan, and our many talented contributors without whom the Zine would not be possible. Thanks to my Zine forefathers, Paul Sham and Armand Vladau, and those who came before them, for laying the groundwork of this wonderful publication. Thank you to my challenging and inspiring professors, especially Faucher, Comor, and Babe, for helping me to critically evaluate society’s “big picture” and optimistical ly consider the role we play in deciding its future. Many thanks to all of the amazing personalities in FIMS and at UWO that make me enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow. And nally , of course, than ks to Mom and Dad. For everythin g else.

Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood

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Editor-in-Chief