Campus update: J-term explorations

Feb. 9, 2023

In January, we go exploring!

During January term, 1,892 students participated this year. Some did their exploring on campus or in the community. Others traveled to three states and nine countries. Here are their stories and photos from campus to Louisiana to Ecuador!

By the way, the Study Abroad Fair is coming up Feb. 15 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the G?vle Rooms.

ChatGPT is very much on their minds

ChatGPT and other AI programs are a hot topic in education. The Quad City Times and Dispatch-Argus asked some of our faculty for their thoughts. Turns out they've been looking over these new tools closely (just as you probably have). And they had a lot to say.

Dr. Forrest Stonedahl, associate professor of math and computer science, called the mechanics behind ChatGPT a "prediction engine."

"So when these billions of words, texts, articles, blog posts and what have you are fed through...It's trying to sort out what would logically follow as it keeps generating its own response," he said, comparing the connections neural networks make to that of the human brain. 

Announcements

Deadlines! Important ones are coming up:

Freistat Grants Feb. 10
Summer Research Fellowships Feb. 24
Geifman Prize April 14
Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research May 27

? Welcome, Cl¨¦mence Doumeng¨¨s! She will work with Dr. Kiki Kosnick as an intern this semester to complete requirements for her master's degree at the University of Pau, France.

In addition to involvement with French courses, Doumeng¨¨s also will be engaged with the Francophone Film Festival and other co-curricular events.

   The Support Squad is back, beginning Feb. 20. Students can play board and video games together from noon-1 p.m. every Monday in the Bahls Center This group is all about creating a comfortable, supportive and fun environment for meeting new people. 

 Smoking and vaping are prohibited on the campus. This includes cigarettes, vapes and similar products that involve the burning or vaporizing of tobacco.

Step Afrika! this Saturday for Black History Month

Step Afrika!, the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday in Centennial Hall.

The performance blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically Black fraternities and sororities. ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø students involved in the college¡¯s step team were pivotal in the decision to bring Step Afrika! to campus. 

Company member Na¡¯imah Ray, a New Yorker with a BFA in dance from Montclair State University, says being a cultural ambassador is "definitely a weight that I love to bear."

'Birth of the Computer¡¯ explores Q-C ties to inventor

ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø will host the "Birth of the Computer: The John Atanasoff Story" on Feb. 23. Atanasoff¡¯s ideas, believed to be conceived during a stop in Rock Island in 1937-1938, were instrumental in the invention of the first electronic digital computer. (more)

 Headlines from around campus

? Creative Therapies students take the show on the road

? Simonsen contributes to Emmy-winning documentary

? Kinesiology: a good choice for ¡®people persons¡¯

See it!

Gracie Benstine and Jack Hughes hope you will see QC Environmental Film Series movie "The Ground Between Us" at 2 p.m. Sunday in Olin Auditorium. The film is hosted by the ÖйúÌå²ÊÍø Sierra Club. The film tells the story of public lands debate alongside the day-to-day realities of three Native families. Students chose the films in this year's film series.