The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

This week, and it's only Wednesday, has been pretty much a mixed bag. On one hand, I finished my first year of teaching this week and feel pretty good about it. I also have six full-time master's students graduating, and I am so proud of the work they have done and what they've accomplished in the last year.

On the other hand, these six wonderful women are leaving and heading out into the world of higher ed administration and I will miss having them in class. Also, this has not been a good week at the University with the death of a student allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. All that and Big J is out of town this week.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks as I prep for my summer course, clean my office, do a few things around the house, and hopefully finish my article (I know, that's been on the to-do list for nearly 6 months now!).

The student death is particularly difficult. I didn't know the her, but I understand students and this has got to be very difficult, even more so that it is so close to graduation and the lacrosse team is ranked 4th in the nation and likely going to the national championships. It's almost as though you can feel a heavy blanket weighing over Grounds. What should be one of the happiest times in her family's life is now a tragedy. And for the young man that allegedly committed this act of violence, well his life is basically over. He will have to live with what he did his entire life. A very sad ending of the year indeed.