You Know it’s Finals Week…

…when the hottest search on Google is the Gadsden Purchase; number 18 is the ‘Gaston Purchase.’

Good luck on your finals, if you have any left; I’ll see you all tomorrow.

Our Last Bow…

Hey St. John’s…

As we all know, we are inching closer and closer to the end of the semester (insert excitement dance here). Time for the finals, the massive amounts of ramen noodles consumption, and the beautiful thoughts of vacation.

Well, as you may or may not know about our blog, we are a group of students here on campus actually taking a class in online news, and this was our major assignment of the semester. We were here to keep you guys informed on the news within the confines of the university, as well as any odds and ends that we seemed deemed right for you.

We really had fun writing for you guys, so we have all figured we would give you one more great week of blogs for this semester. So, the entire staff is locked on to giving you guys the news you will need to know about YOUR university, YOUR thoughts, and YOUR future. We will be doing feature stories all week long to keep you entertained during finals week. Famous alums, students opinions on the state of the university, and what our graduating/graduated students are doing now.

So, we hope you all stay tuned in all week long as you struggle to get those high marks (insert grunts and gurgles here)

We all have enjoyed starting this blog for you guys. We all started off having no idea what we were getting ourselves into but now, thanks to you guys, our success and viewers continue to grow. We have no one else to thank but all of you students who followed us all semester. Without you, were not here right now.

In conclusion, stay tuned this week! I promise it will be a much needed break. And be prepared for future plans on the site, as most or all of us will continue to keep giving our insight on the outside world after the semester end.

Thank you, and good luck to all,

The Flashlight staff

Study Days are Here Again

Aloha everyone,

Ahh, the joys of a couple days off. Kind of. With classes ending yesterday (Wednesday, Dec. 3), everybody has Dec. 4-7 off from school, but with the slight exception that the days are meant to study for finals.

Of course, most don’t keep sight of that. Wednesday night saw an increase in perfume and cologne use, as students rolled out of their residence halls dressed as they would on a Saturday night. Our prayers also go out to the gallons of gel that more than likely lost their life last night, and to the few collars that got popped. Last night’s fireworks and Christmas tree lighting seemed to go over pretty well, but I couldn’t tell you how Montgoris’ desert party went over. They refused to serve any desert when it started, so my friends and I split.

He studied so much, he had two answers.

Now, some of us may be studying this Thursday afternoon. Myself? I’m flipping through the pages of Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly to the sounds of 311 before heading out to a press screening of The Wrestler. We should all be studying so we don’t screw ourselves, but we’ve all (well maybe just most of us) have worked hard this semester, so enjoy your few days off.

But remember: lay out those books before you pawn them for cash and get to studying. Good luck on your finals everyone. Here’s a little Christmas cheer to put a smile on that face:

-Alex Quevedo

St. John’s Survival Guide: 5 Tips to Surviving Finals Week

Today, December 2nd, marks the last official day of classes of the Fall Semester!

Before we all start jumping for joy, we have to remember that we are not home-free yet. There is still that one little issue of FINALS. Yes folks, that dreaded little test at the end of the semester that gauges whether we’ve actually absorbed anything over the past 3 months, as opposed to just acting like a human seat warmer.

The pile-up of projects, papers and cumulative exams is enough to stress anyone out, even the most organized among us. (Ahem, not me.) But fear not! I have five sure-fire tips to get you through FINALS WEEK in one piece:

1. Don’t Freak Out.

Before you have a panic attack and decide to bash your head in with your overpriced textbooks, just take a deep breath. Relax, taking a final never killed anyone. (Well, maybe in the REAL sense of the word). Stress can only make things worse–if you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed with all the studying, take a break. Go talk with a friend. Drop by the Finals Week Stress Reduction Workshop in the UC Lounge on the 10th. If it gets to be too much, visit the Counseling Center located in Marillac Room 130.

       2.   Find A Study Group. If you find that studying alone can prove to be a difficult task, shoot your fellow classmates an email on St. John’s Central and ask to form study groups. You guys can break up the course material and quiz each other. Who knows, you may even make a few new buddies.