Frosh Week 2012 Survival Guide
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Survival Guide Table of Contents The CSSS ................................................................................2 Other Societies .......................................................................8 Getting Around ....................................................................12 General Advice.....................................................................25 Advice from CS Students .......................................................31 Recognition .........................................................................37 1 The CSSS 2 Introduction Welcome to the Frosh Survival Guide for 2012-2013. This guide is designed to help first year Computing Science students become familiar with Simon Fraser University, the School of Computing Science, and the Computing Science Student Society (CSSS). This guide is written by the students in the CSSS. We also welcome you to Frosh Week 2012. Frosh Week is an annual event that allows new students to get a good feeling of university life and meet with a wide range of students in their department. Throughout the week, go to all your lectures, introduce yourself to everyone, ask questions about university, and have fun. It is important to make connections and friendships early, as many of you will be here for years to come. What Is It CSSS stands for Computing Science Student Society. We are a group of students that have banded together for one purpose: to meet people, make friends, and advance our studies towards a fun and fulfilling degree in Computing Science. The CSSS is a departmental student union, or DSU. This means that we are the main student group that communicates with bigger entities, such as the School of Computing Science and the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS). As a DSU, we also get to sit on in committees and forums that decide things like curriculum and regulations. In short, the CSSS is responsible for making the opinions of CS students heard in university decisions. However, the CSSS does much more than just that. Among other things, we run a common room for CS students and throw social events throughout the semester. Everybody is included, as any student in Computing Science is automatically a member of the CSSS. 3 CSSS Executives President The President is in charge of everything that has not been specifically delegated to the executives. The President is the chief busybody of the CSSS. The President also serves as the liaison between the CSSS and the outside world such as the CS department, the SFSS, other DSU’s, etc. This is an annual position. Vice President The Vice President (VP) has the position of assisting the President. The VP and President work together to handle the presidential duties and help the society run smoothly. All general meetings are chaired by the VP. This is an annual position. Treasurer The Treasurer is responsible for handling the CSSS cash-flow. Money comes in, events come out, and the Treasurer is responsible for making sure we never declare bankruptcy. This is an annual position. Director of Activities The Director of Activities (DA) is the heart and soul of the CSSS, managing all social events for the Society. The DA manages the events, beer-blasts, keggers, steinhoists, box-socials, LAN-parties, games-nights, and every other social gathering that might occur. This is a semesterly position. Director of Resources The Director of Resources (DR) manages all resources owned by the Society. They keep the pop machine, photocopier, exam-database and common rooms in order. This is a semesterly position. 4 Secretary The Secretary manages all information for the society, including meeting minutes, calling general and special meetings, handling CSSS mailing lists, sorting, filing, and collating. Especially collating. This is a semesterly position. Executive at Large The Executive at Large handles the day to day operations of the Society, such as filling up the pop machine and running around in circles. They are available for helping other executives with their assorted duties. This is a semesterly position. First Year Representatives The First Year Representatives ensure that issues and views pertaining to members in their first year of post-secondary education are represented in the executive and Society in general. There are two positions. The position lasts for two semesters, starting in the fall. System Administrator The System Administrator is responsible for managing the CSSS server. The CSSS maintains a private server for its website and services, and the SysAdmin keeps everything in working order - the website, the repository, and anything else on the server. The position of SysAdmin is not elected – it is earned. CSSS Common Room Located in ASB 9802, the CSSS Common room provides a place for students to socialize and study. It features services such as 5¢ printing, $1 pop, and power outlets throughout the room to plug in your laptop. There is also a whiteboard in the back of the room which can be used for planning group projects or hosting study sessions. 5 CSSS Website The CSSS website can be found at http://csss.cs.sfu.ca. The website contains information about our constitution, the Common Room, mailing lists, contact information, and more. There is also an archive for all the meeting minutes in case you missed a meeting. We also have links to our various social groups, so you can connect with us and find out what is happening within the CSSS. Exam Bank It is about that time of the semester when you have to study for exams. You have completed all the sample questions and exam papers given to you by your professor, but you still have the feeling that you are not prepared for the exam. Why not come to the Computing Science Common Room and ask an executive member to look at our exam bank? We hold a large collection of past exams that may help you study for your midterms and finals. Have you finished your exam and got a really decent score? You can help out others by trading in your exam for a free can of pop. Talk to any CSSS executive to trade your exam in. CSSS Award In need of financial aid? Don’t know where to look? Why not apply for the CSSS Award? This award recognizes a CSSS member’s contributions to the Society and its activities. It’s our way of noticing who’s been working hard to keep the CSSS as awesome as it can be. The award is available once in the fall and once in the spring semesters. 6 Mailing Lists Mailing lists are intended to be used in support of scholarly or workrelated activity, in accordance with University policy GP-24. You can create your own mailing lists for different purposes, such as managing a group project in a course by visiting http://maillist.sfu.ca. Important lists include: cmpt-majors: All Computing Science majors are included on this list. Emails are mainly from advisors and the CS office staff. cmpt-all: A list that CSILOP maintains. It is used to send information regarding the labs, including lab closures. cmpt-students: A list utilized by the CSSS to let students know about general meetings and other Society related information. csss-announce: This is a voluntary sign up list. If you want to know more about CSSS events, sign up via http://maillist.sfu.ca. csss-active: This is a voluntary sign up list. If you want to discuss e-mails sent over announce, or CSSS events, this is the list to do it. You can sign up via http://maillist.sfu.ca. csss-exec: This is a contact list for the CSSS executives. CSSS Social Groups IRC: Server: irc.freenode.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2203105681/ Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/commonroom/ Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/sfucsss Channel: #sfucsss 7 Other Societies 8 SFSS All SFU undergraduate students are members of the Simon Fraser Student Society. The SFSS has represented SFU students for over 40 years as a registered not-for-profit organization. The SFSS’s goal is to unite student voices, lobby the University and Governments on student issues, and provide valuable services to all members. The SFSS has many services available to students. If you are in need of a conference room for a school event or group, the SFSS has various rooms available. Do you have an event or group you wish to advertise? You can post your ad on various SFSS poster boards around campus, or for a more direct advertising approach, consider booking a vendor table in the Academic Quadrangle. When you’re feeling famished, head on over to Highland Pub, Higher Grounds Coffee Shop, or The Ladle for some tasty grub. The SFSS also runs a free legal clinic in case you are in need of any legal aid. There is also the SFU Nightline crisis-line (604.857.7148) which is available to call 24/7 in case you need someone to talk to. The SFSS also has a full-blown copy centre for those times when you need something special printed. As well as the regular services offered above, the SFSS often hosts events such as Clubs Days and the SFU Week of Welcome. To find out more about what the SFSS is and the services that they offer, visit the SFSS website at: http://www.sfss.ca 9 WICS WICS has evolved into an organization actively involved in promoting events with many opportunities to learn, network and have fun. Membership is currently free and open to all females and males who are willing to help WICS achieve the following goals: • PROMOTE • SUPPORT • BUILD • CHALLENGE Women In Computing Science Women throughout their study of Computing Science a strong network of friendly faces for Women In Computing Science the biases and myths faced by Women In Computing Science How to Join To become a part of our organization, simply join our emailing list. For SFU students, alumni and faculty: 1. Go to SFU Maillist http://maillist.sfu.ca/ 2. Enter your Computing/Webmail/Unix ID and password 3. Search for the cmpt-women@sfu.ca mail list 4. Click the “Subscribe” button If you don’t have an SFU ID, please email wics@sfu.ca to be added to our mailing list. WICS is always looking forward to your comments, suggestions, or questions, which can be sent to: wics-exec@sfu.ca. How to Reach Us Web Site: http://wics.cs.sfu.ca E-mail: wics-exec@sfu.ca Facebook: WICS@SFU 10 Background WICS @ SFU was established in early 2002 as a mailing list for individuals with a wide diversity of backgrounds: 1. Undergraduate Students 2. Graduate Students 3. Faculty 4. Alumni 5. External Members (High school students, Parents, Industry workers) WICS established a formal constitution in mid-2003 and elected an Executive Team. There are regular bi-weekly meetings during the semester and WICS organizes various events on campus and social gatherings off campus including the following: • Technical Workshops - Learn or polish technical skills, such as a programming language or new technology. Examples of previous workshop topics include HTML5, Java to C++, and WP7 and Android app development. • Career Networking Events - Meet professionals in the tech industry, listen to their experiences in their careers, build your network of contacts for internship and job opportunities, and improve your networking skills. • Mentor Lunch - A group of women enjoy a free dine out with an experienced female researcher to discuss and learn about research opportunities and career goals. • Social Events - Enjoy a day of paintball, canoeing, biking, or other activities with other members of the club. WICS members actively help facilitate School of Computing Science events, such as orientations for new students or outreach programs for high school students such as ChicTech or Try/CATCH. In addition, WICS also carries out joint events with other groups at SFU, including the Computing Science Student Society (CSSS), Women in Engineering (WEG), and Management Information Systems Association (MISA). For more information, visit http://wics.cs.sfu.ca 11 Getting Around 12 Room and Floor Numbering Room numbers consist of two parts - a code, followed by a four or fivedigit number. Let’s use the Computing Science Common Room as an example: ASB 9802. The first code tells you which building the room is located in. In this case, ASB is the Applied Sciences Building. Other buildings have their own codes and most of them are intuitive. Each building’s code can be seen on the next few pages. The number tells you the floor and the relative location of the room on that floor. The floor number is always the first one or two digits while the relative location is the last three digits. For example the Common Room is on the 9th floor with a relative location of 802. The relative locations allow you to find rooms based on others you already know. The CSIL Windows Lab is in ASB 9804, which has a relative location of 804. Therefore the CSIL Windows Lab should be near the Common Room, which it is. Floor numbering can be quite confusing. Throughout most of the school, you will have floor numbers from one to six, but when you get into the sciences wings (Shrum Science Center’s Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Kinesiology wings) and the Applied Sciences Building, you will notice that their floors start at seven and go up to ten. All you need to remember is that the 9th floor in these wings are on the same floor as the 3rd floor in the AQ. 13 Academic Quadrangle Build Code: AQ - Map Grid: H25 Level 2 3 4 5 6 What you will find BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop) Lab Simon C’s convenience store James Douglas Room, a safe study area Study carrels Connection to Robert C. Brown building Main Lecture Halls Computer labs (E side) Cafeteria (east side) Renaissance Coffee and ATM (NE corner) Study carrels (W side) Images Theatre (NW corner) Connection to Robert C. Brown building (NW corner) Connection to Education Building (N side) Connection to Saywell Hall (NE corner) Connection to Shrum Science Center Wings (S side) Access to AQ garden Calculus and Algebra Workshops (S side) Tutorial Rooms and Offices Study Areas and Offices Education Building Building Code: EDB - Map Grid: E26 Level 7 8 9 14 What you will find LIDC (Learning & Instructional Development Center) Lecture halls Education Office Leads to AQ Level 3 Lecture Halls Imaginative Education Research Group Professional Programs International Offices Archeology and Education Offices Robert C. Brown Hall Building Code: RCB - Map Grid: E24 Level B2 B1 1 2 3 4 What you will Find Tutorial Rooms Psychology Offices and Common Room Psychology Microcomputer Laboratory Tutorial Rooms Geography Offices and Common Room Tutorial Rooms Geography Offices Tutorial Rooms Images Theatre Language Offices Connection to Academic Quadrangle Linguistics Offices Applied Sciences Building Building Code: ASB - Map Grid: J29 Level 8 9 10 What you will find Engineering Labs The CSIL (Computing Science Instructional Lab) The CSSS Common Room School of Computing Science Office CS Advising Office Co-op Office Faculty of Applied Sciences Dean Office Connection to TASC 1 IRMACS Conference Rooms and Offices Engineering Science Labs and Common Room 15 Shrum Science Centre Building Code: SSC - Map Grid: J26 Building Biology What You Will Find Lecture Halls, Biology Labs, Offices, and Seminar Rooms Study Areas and Lounges Biology General Office Chemistry Lecture Halls, Chemistry Labs, and Offices Kinesiology Math Student Union Common Room Labs, Tutorial Rooms and Conference Rooms Communication General Offices and Common Room Mathematics Mathematics General Office Physics Physics Labs, Common Rooms and General Offices Strand Hall Building Code: SH - Map Grid: G27 Level G 1 2 3 16 What You Will Find Loading Bay IT Services and Offices Path to Blusson Hall Human Resources Campus 3D Model Klaus Rieckhoff Hall President’s Office Board of Governors Office Vice President of Research Office Vice President of Academics & Provost Offices Admin Offices Blusson Hall Building Code: BLU - Map Grid: E31 Level 9 10 11 What you will find Chemistry Computing Lab Lecture Halls, Tutorial Rooms and Offices Labs, Classrooms, Tutorial Rooms, and Offices Health Science Department Connection to Saywell Hall Labs, Tutorial Rooms, and Offices Health Science General Office/Dean’s Office Study Areas Saywell Hall Building Code: SWH - Map Grid: E28 Level 9 10 What you will Find Museum of Archeology and Ethnology First Nations Studies Lounge and Offices Forensics and Archeology Labs Center for Forensics Research Sexual Offender Research Lab Clinical Psychology Center Connection to Academic Quadrangle Lecture Halls Criminology Wing Study Area Criminology General Office Offices Path to Strand Hall Connection to Blusson Hall 17 Technology and Science Complex 1 Building Code: TASC1 - Map Grid: L29 Level 7 8 9 What You Will Find Department of Earth Sciences Office Offices, Study Areas, and Labs Bus Stop on South Campus Road CS Grad Common Room Offices and Study Areas Server Room Faculty of Environment Office and Common Room Board Rooms, Offices, and Study Areas Upper Division Labs Technology and Science Complex 2 Building Code: TASC2 - Map Grid: L27 Level 6 7 8 9 18 What You Will Find 4D Labs (Nano-Fabrication and Nano-Imaging) Bus Stop on South Campus Road Study Area, Meeting Rooms, Labs, and Shower 4D Labs (Nano-Fabrication and Nano-Imaging) Bus Stop on South Campus Road Seminar Rooms, Labs, and Meeting Room Server Room Faculty of Environment Dean’s Office Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology Dean’s Office Department of Chemistry Stairs to Roof Connection to SSC Physics Maggie Benston Center Building Code: MBC - Map Grid: I21 Level 1 2 3 4 What you will find Student Central and Student Services Highlander Pub and Higher Grounds Coffee Shop SFU Bookstore Returns (and entrance when busy) Minimart and Food Court Graduate Student Society, SFSS offices and copy center SFU Bookstore Entrance and U-Pass BC Machines Dean of Graduate Studies Office Work Integrated Learning SFU International Student Services First Nations Student Center Center for Student with Disabilities Career and Health and Counselling Services Archives and SFU Document Solutions W.A.C. Bennett Library Building Code: LIB - Map Grid: F21 Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 What You Will Find Lam Collection Curriculum Collection and Statistics Canada Group Study Area and Study Rooms and Thesis Defence Room Reference and Science Indexes Ask Us and Check Out/Circulation Desk Document Delivery Services (Interlibrary Loans) Reserves and Media Resource Centre Reference Collection and Service Student Learning and Information Commons Books A - HT and Oversize books Books HV - QA and File Arts Files Books QB - Z Bound and Current Journals, Microforms, and Newspapers Library Committee Rooms, Special Collections and Rare books Maps and Graphical Information System (GIS) Library Processing and Theses and Library Management Offices 19 20 21 West Mall Centre Building Code: WMC - Map Grid: G17 Level 1 2 3 4 5 What You Will Find Centre for Online and Distance Education Study Area Department of Economics and Department of French Faculty of Business Administration Lecture Halls, Tutorial Rooms, and Offices Human Resources Simulation Lab LIDC Audio & Visual Resources Tim Hortons and ATM Mac/PC Lab Department of Economics and Department of French Faculty of Business Administration General Office Department of Economics General Office Lecture Halls, Tutorial Rooms, and Study Area Access to the Rotunda Security Office - Parking Pass - CSIL Access Card Department of Philosophy and Department of Economics Faculty of Business Administration Department of Philosophy Faculty of Business Administration Lorne Davies Complex Building Code: LDC - Map Grid: H16 Level 1 2 3 4 5&6 22 What You Will Find Strength and Conditioning Facilities and Offices Pool and Fitness Centre Offices Gymnasiums Observatories The Cornerstone Building Code: CB - Map Grid: H32 Restaurant / Store Bamboo Garden Spicy Stone Pizza Point Donair Town Noodle House Pearl Fever Subway Renaissance Coffee Ichiban Kan Express Booster Juice Nature’s Garden Club Ilia Himalayan Peak Nester’s Market Dollar Store Scotia Bank Notes Decent Chinese food for cheap! Usually open late. Cheap and fast Korean food. Check the specials every day for additional savings! The only pizzeria on campus, beside the CSSS Pizza Fridays. Reasonable prices. Grab a Chicken Platter or Beef Donair if you are in the mood. Prices are reasonable. Not a very popular restaurant, but the prices are decent. Sometimes the food can be a hit or miss. Great bubble tea, but the food could be a bit better. Pretty self-explanatory here. Keep track of their $5 foot long promotions to save some money. Good alternative to Starbucks. They have wraps and sandwiches if you’re not feeling adventurous. The sushi isn’t amazing, but bentos and rice bowls can be pretty filling. The price could be lower. Healthy and cold alternative on a hot day. Might not be as filling as other options. An organic deli. Great food but the price is a little bit higher. However, they have gelatos and $1 Coffee! Bring your own cup for a discount! From 11-3pm, you can grab fresh, hot pasta and Mediterranean food for cheap. Great for cold days! Sit-down restaurant is open late. Your only choice for Indian cuisine. They have a value menu with decent prices, or you can dine in and enjoy the lunch buffet. Open late. Typical supermarket, with a deli and pharmacy. Prices might be a little higher than expected, but there are still deals to be had. Yes, we have a dollar store on campus. An assortment of random goods for cheap prices. For all your banking needs this side of campus. 23 Surrey SFU Surrey is located above Surrey Central Shopping Center. The campus is not as bad as people tend to think. With smaller class sizes, lots of student study space and nearby shopping mall and pub, Surrey Campus has everything you need. It’s also nice and new, with great architectural features! Vancouver SFU Vancouver is the downtown campus of SFU and consists of four buildings. Harbour Centre, Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue, SFU’s Segal Graduate School of Business, and Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (also known as Woodwards). If you are taking courses in Vancouver, they will most likely be found at Harbour Centre. It may not be as large as the other campuses, but Harbour Centre is in the heart of downtown Vancouver, minutes away from anything you need. Some computing science courses at Burnaby may not fit your schedule, so be prepared to take one or two courses at Harbour Centre. 24 General Advice 25 Computer Science Instructional Lab (CSIL) CSIL (pronounced C-SIL) is the main computing lab you will use at Burnaby while taking computing science courses. CSIL consists of four connected computer labs, TA offices and assignment drop boxes. Most of the computers dual boot both Linux (Ubuntu Natty 11.04) and Windows (Windows 7). CSIL is usually a great place to study and complete homework, as it is fairly quiet and only for computing science students. To get inside, you will need an access card. To get an access card, visit the SFU Card Access Office at WMC 3101. You can also remote desktop into CSIL using rdc://leto.csil.sfu.ca. For more details on how to connect via Remote Desktop connection and other CSIL queries visit: http://www.cs.sfu.ca/about/schoolfacilities/csil/windows.html Study Areas Looking for a study area to finish an assignment or study for a test? The more popular study areas are in the library and under the Images Theatre in the AQ. The library has study rooms you can book, which is much quieter than their Group Study Area. If you are after a nice quiet area to concentrate, you can try the TASC buildings or head up to the 6th floor of the AQ. These places tend to be quieter as they are close to office spaces. You can also try finding an empty lab in CSIL or relax in the CSSS common room. During the day, the Common Room is generally noisy, but calms down in the evening. 26 SFU Network Wireless You can get a wireless connection within most places on campus. It’s not that fast, but good enough for most computer games. Remember, any illegal activities could result in your access being revoked. eduroam Eduroam is a BCNET initiative that allows students, staff and faculty access to wireless services at cooperating universities without the need for obtaining a guest account. This allows visiting students from other institutions to login using the same credentials they would use at home. Support for eduroam is currently available from member institutions in Canada, Asia, Europe, and the United States. SFUNET vs SFUNET-SECURE Most people are not aware of the differences between the two. SFUNET-SECURE is an encrypted network while SFUNET is unencrypted. It is suggested that you use SFUNET-SECURE or eduroam over SFUNET so that third parties cannot pretend to be you or read your data. To setup SFUNET-SECURE or eduroam please go to: http://www.sfu.ca/itservices/technical/wireless/configuration.html Personal Webspace Every student has a personal webspace attached to their sfuid. You can connect to your webspace through: http://www.sfu.ca/~. To setup the website, connect to your filespace with your sfuid and place the files in the pub_html folder at: ftp:// @ftp.sfu.ca/ 27 Free Software As a Computing Science student, you may need some new software for a class or assignment. Software can usually be quite expensive, but don’t worry while you’re a student here at SFU. Through the Microsoft DreamSpark program (formerly the MSDNAA - Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance) and VMAP (VMware Academic Program) you can download a variety of software free of charge for your own uses. For more information please visit: https://services.cs.sfu.ca/ Online Catalogues SFU Library provides a large selection of books and articles you can access over the internet. Check it out: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/computing-science/booksarticles Textbooks Most courses have required textbooks assigned by the teachers. You can purchase new and used books at the SFU bookstore, but they are usually rather expensive. There are many alternative methods to getting your textbooks such as international editions from Amazon.ca, the SFU Textbook Trade Centre on Facebook (http://goo.gl/ubB4C), or even borrowing from your fellow peers. Some professors don’t use textbooks they assign, so go ask your professor if you need it before you buy it. 28 Need Help in a Course? There are three ways to get help when you need it. 1. Ask a TA. Some TA’s are better than others, but if the material is related to the course, chances are they should know the solution. 2. Go to your professor’s office hours. Your professor will know a whole lot more about the course than the TA’s. They tend to get busy around exams, so keep that in mind if you have a question. 3. Hang out in the CSSS Common Room! It’s full of your peers who have most likely taken the courses that you need help on. RateMyProfessor.com Before taking a course, it’s a good idea to see what others thought about your future professors. Keep in mind, some students will rate professors poorly because they slacked off and failed a course. Therefore you may want to ask your peers in the Common Room or on Facebook before you decide. Terminal/Command Line To call yourself a computer scientist, you will need to learn to use the Terminal and command line. The Terminal will often provide you with a shortcut to any compiler or interpreter you need access to. It also provides you with an abundance of commands that allow you to tweak your computer in ways you never thought possible. 29 Vi/Emacs Ditch notepad and use Vi or Emacs. Both are considered to be powerful text-editors created by and utilized by elite in the industry. LaTeX/LyX If you ever have to do a MATH or MACM assignment, do it in LaTeX or LyX. LaTeX is a fast and efficient way to organize and complete your math problems. LyX is a bit more user friendly than LaTeX, but it isn’t as popular or as well supported by other programs. It’s always a good idea to make sure your TA accepts LaTeX or LyX before you use either one. Linux At some point during your studies you should install a Linux distribution on your computer. It is a good idea to get comfortable with Linux as it is very likely you will have to use it at some point in your career. Installing Linux is a great learning experience and can often make your life easier thanks to its powerful Terminal and utilities. There’s an abundance of distributions available, so find one that fits your needs and set up a dual boot. You’ll thank yourself later. 30 Advice from CS Students 31 Advice from Curtis Lassam • Visit the IRC channel. (irc.freenode.net - #sfucsss) - It’s populated mostly by ex-CSSS who are industry professionals, and we know everything about everything. • If a course says “Lecturer: Staff” or “Lecturer: TBA”, avoid it like you would avoid gonorrhea - unless you look forward to a whole semester of a clueless grad student reading PowerPoint slides off of an overhead projector. • If a course says “Lecturer: Bart”, “Lecturer: Mori”, “Lecturer: Vaughan”, or “Lecturer: Baker”, take it. It doesn’t even matter what they’re teaching. Just take the course. I guarantee that it will be excellent. • Occasionally crack open a textbook. Sometimes the concept that the lecturer has utterly failed to teach is in there, and explained in detail. • Take notes in lecture and do the assignments, and nine times out of ten, your review-for-the-final will be a breeze. The tenth time out of ten, it’s because your professor dropped a big ol’ bridge-o-crazy on the class, and you’ll still do okay thanks to the magic of curved grading. • All-nighters are a recipe for bad code. • A lot of people come out of university with nothing to show for it on a resume except a hollow degree and a tiny amount of Java experience. This is bad. Do Co-ops, Project Courses, and Hard Courses. Do as many as you can. It’ll halve the time you spend in Junior Programming positions when you graduate. • Try your very best not to do a co-op as a QA tester. The only experience that’ll give you is how to be a QA tester. It’s an unending loop of mediocre jobs. 32 • Contribute to open-source projects. • You will never be surrounded by as many members of the opposite (/same) sex in your age, education, and interest group as you will over the next 4-8 years. As Computing Science students, this may occasionally mean that you need to branch out and try courses in Criminology, Journalism, or Biology. Join clubs. Meet people. You can hide in the protective shell of Computing Science culture for the entirety of your degree, and that’s just sad. • Some students just come up to the mountain for classes, and then go down immediately afterward. Soak up some SFU culture. Hang out somewhere. • The student newspaper is terrible, until you consider that it’s written and edited almost entirely by amateur volunteers. They do an excellent job with limited experience and resources, so crack that bad boy open every now and then and see what there is to see. 33 Advice from Phil Boutros • Go to class. No one will check whether you do or not. Do it. You are paying for it, and something important just may come up. • Do all the assignments. Final review is much easier when you’ve actually done the work. Cramming doesn’t work. • Realize that your teachers don’t give a hoot about whether or not you pass. Most of them are here doing research, and your sense of entitlement means nothing to them. • Speaking of which: You are not entitled to anything. You are not automatically going to pass if you attended most classes and “tried your best”. Doing the actual work really helps. • Regardless, sometimes, your best just isn’t good enough. More importantly, often you didn’t actually do your best. Such is life. • Your mom is not here to make sure you do everything you are supposed to. If she is, she’s probably busy doing her own assignments, doing her own research, or working. Take responsibility for your own University experience. • Take hard classes, you will actually learn something. Will you learn something from CMPT 165? Maybe. Will you learn something from CMPT 379? I guarantee it. • NO ONE is responsible for your success or failure but yourself. 34 Advice from Your Peers If you get the chance, take some courses in Surrey. Some of the courses there, such as CMPT225 and MACM201, are taught in a manner that is much easier to understand than at Burnaby campus. - Ellis Ly Don’t just do your requirements and graduate. There are lots of interesting courses. - Benton Lam Pay Attention!!! - Mike Klemarewski Don’t bring your laptop to lecture, it will only distract you. - Curtis Muller There is a blood alcohol content that facilitates more efficient coding. Discover it. - Corey Baker When buying books don’t buy them from the bookstore. If you try hard enough you can get it cheaper or for free. - Jordan Klassen Pick your prof. Some are very good at teaching. Poor time management will be the death of your degree. - Bentom Lam -Ivan Jelinic Socialize with people regardless of which faculty and school they may be from, new friends can only enrich your path to a successful career. - David Cheung A course can be excellent or useless depending on who’s teaching it. - Chani Armitage On average, work equates to over 30 years of your life. Don’t feel the need to graduate from university in 4. Take your time, and enjoy it while it lasts. - Jesse Paris 35 Do an international exchange; traveling might just give your GPA a boost. - Shawn Janespar I cannot stress this enough. Work on personal projects outside of class that explore topics of interest. Learn about good programming practices and try to follow them in everything you do. This not only shows initiative but can also lead to an impressive portfolio. - Eric Raue Fight for every single mark you can grasp, it is the difference between letter grades. - Ivan Jelinic Keep your courses balanced; a well-balanced 5 course semester can be easier than an unbalanced 3 course semester. - Jason Hamilton-Smith Doing co-op will help you along with your cover letter, resume and interview experience. After being through it a few times, you carry yourself differently when you do it for reals. - Benton Lam Make friends with those in your faculty; grinding through your degree with friends pulling all-nighters is a lot more fun than doing it alone. - Shawn Janespar Advice from the CS Office • Read all of the instructions on forms and include everything on the list that is requested; before submitting, review and ensure you have included everything. • Plan ahead when submitting request forms to administrators. Multiple people may have to review them, and sign them, so allow several weeks for processing. • Look at the CS website and see if the information you are looking for is online. There is a frequently asked question section that is very helpful. 36 Recognition 37 Acknowledgements Editors Kyle Chutskoff Nicholas Hoekstra Organizers and Frosh Leaders Kenneth Kwok Flora Liu Aaron Lo Allan Saravi Joel Teichroeb Christina White Steven Xu Antonio Abaya Jack Anderson Laura Antonescu Kevin Chung Kyle Chutskoff Matt Grandy Nicholas Hoekstra Special Thanks to Phil Boutros Raymond Chiang Evelyne Fong Shannon Juzenas Eric Kong 38 Curtis Lassam Ellis Ly Chris Parsons Tim Qian Liyang Zhang Partners 39 Sponsors 40
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