Hello! I'm Cal Shin, and I am a '27 from Cary, North Carolina. I am hoping to double-major in Economics and Philosophy. Outside of academics and blogging, you'll find that I am involved The Dartmouth as a writer and designer, WebDCR as a radio show host, and Dartmouth QuestBridge Scholars Network (DQSN) as an executive board member. Ultimately, I am a storyteller, and I hope you enjoy these stories about my Dartmouth journey!
I took this course with Professor James Binkoski and loved it! I had never taken a philosophy course prior to Dartmouth, so this introductory course in the department was perfect! After all, it combined my interests of philosophy with time and time travel — at least, how time and time travel are depicted in the media. This course may initially seem to be on the more technical side, but Professor Binkoski made sure to break down the various time travel theories — various ways scientists and philosophers think of time and its supposed movement — in a manner that’s easy for anyone to understand. A very popular course overall; I am fortunate to have been able to take it during my first term here!
I took this course with Professor Ha Yan Lee and it was absolutely amazing! I had my initial reservations about this course, mainly because I knew a lot of my classmates would have had some background knowledge while I had none. Professor Lee did a wonderful job of breaking down concepts in a manner that, as she often put it, is easy for even “your grandparents to understand”. Even beyond the course, the level of care Professor Lee exhibited towards her students is significant. She’s one of the most popular professors at Dartmouth, and for good reason! I ate lunch with her at The Pine through the Take a Faculty Member to Lunch program, and she gave me tremendous insight and advice! Because of this course, I have been inspired to explore more courses within the Econ department and potentially major in Economics.
At Dartmouth, students use a myriad of technology for class, ranging from basic spiral notebooks and pencils to iPads and Apple Pencils. One fundamental piece of technology that is necessary, however, are laptops. New students are required to complete basic technology onboarding prior to the first day of classes, and there are specific (although very basic) computer specs you need.
So what does one do when their device stops working in an age of technology? More specifically, what happens when your laptop stops working?
That's exactly what happened to me my fall term. In late October, my laptop suddenly refused to turn on or charge. Despite me not having purchased my laptop from the Dartmouth Computer Store, the Information Technology Center (ITC) had no problem fixing my laptop. Because I didn't purchase my laptop from the computer store, getting a loaner would mean I would have to pay a fee of $10 for each day I borrowed a loaner. I did not have the means to do that; luckily, my professors were more than accommodating. For example, I talked to my COSC 10 professor, and he let me borrow a Macbook from the Computer Science department for as long as I needed to! I was able to use that laptop for all of my assignments while my laptop was being fixed. Upon being notified that my original laptop was ready for pick up, I was more than happy to return to using my laptop's operating system.
A few weeks later, my laptop suffered the same problem. I went back to ITC, where they quickly took my device for repairs. Unfortunately, this was during finals week, and I needed a laptop to study for finals and do my last CS problem set. I once again talked to my CS professor, who of course understood and let me borrow a Macbook for that period of time.
By the time I got my laptop fixed for the second time, it was already winterim. So when my laptop broke for a third time (not again!), I was worried that they wouldn't even take my request, since there was nothing academic going on, and most people were back home for winterim.
Luckily, that proved not to be the case. Yet another ticket later, ITC fiddled with my laptop again! Third time's the charm, right? So when I got my laptop back, I thought that was the end of it.
It was…for that specific problem, at least. Not even half an hour later, I came to realize that my laptop was suffering from a different issue! I ran back to the ITC and watched one of the technicians fiddle with my computer. When I finally received my laptop, I was relieved to open it and see that there were no issues whatsoever.
This term, I decided to build on my already-existing interest in photography and take Photo I: The Intentional Photography. Here's a selection of my works!
Being a super senior ('23) is like being an incoming freshman ('28) in that you get to make a new set of friends. Luckily, Dartmouth is a small school with many social spaces students can tap into.
With the beginning of Week 5 of spring term already upon us comes an outline of my schedule for the term. From trying new activities to settling into courses and club positions, this is what I've been up to during my most beloved term!
This spring in Spare Rib, the intersectional feminist zine and feminist collective on campus, has been quite busy and exciting with a bunch of new events. Keep reading to find out more!
