Hi all, i've been researching the lifestyle and general outline of what quants do, though still need much much more to learn. Currently at community college, but plan to transfer to a decent university soon like uci, umich, ucsd, and ucla.
I wanted to get some opinions on if I should pursue either a double major in Math (has finance concentration or data science concentration) and Quantitative Economics..... or only do 1 of the majors instead of both. For context: I don't think i'll mind Quant Dev or trade or research, as i'm interested in cs, math, and finance topics all together.
The math major at my school greatly consists of mostly theory-based proofs (aside from the classes that are for the specific concentrations), such as calc sequence, linear algebra sequence, elementary analysis sequence, abstract algebra. 2 probability classes, numerical analysis classes, optimization, etc and i'm not entirely sure if proofs in this field are very applicable!
My Quant Econ major consists of 3 calc classes, 3 econometric classes, 3 probability classes, stochastic process class, data analysis and some more stuff.
Also something really important to me is doing a Masters/PhD, and ALSO being able to fall back and transition into Data Science or Machine Learning if I can't break into quant.
Any suggestions on what my undergraduate major(s) should be, as well as what I should do my masters/PhD in, using the criteria of possibly falling back to DS/ML if I can't break into Quant? Appreciate all the helpful tips and advice!

I previously made a post, not defending Drake, but being a crutch on people's shitty reading and inference comprehension in this discourse. I also happen to be a professional musician with a masters degree from a top music school and a composer. So I'm here to explain Drake's B Sharp thing because people that took elementary piano lessons are suddenly experts in music. Once again, I preface that I'm team Kendrick, and I still think Drake lost and his last track sucked, but not for the MBB shit, the Epstein shit, or this B Sharp shit. Track is just ass. Anyways.
Thesis: THERE IS A FUCKING B SHARP NOTE. IT IS NOT THE SAME AS C.
Let me go back to fundamental music theory. There are 7 letter names/notes, and 12 pitches. The pitch is what you hear. The letter name and note is what you call it. I distinguish the two for reasons I will get to.
Look at this keyboard: https://pianosecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/x1-Octave-Labled.gif.pagespeed.ic_.NpMj6GVr3p.png
It is a small section of a piano keyboard that contains all 12 notes in one octave. After one octave, the notes repeat, just at a higher pitch. The song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" has the interval of an octave at the start of the melody "Somewhere". The higher pitch is the same note, at a higher octave.
So, you'll see in the keyboard there are 7 notes in the white keys, CDEFGAB and then C again. On the black notes you see two names such as C#/Db. These notes are called enharmonic notes, because they have to be called something different depending on context. There is a thing called the circle of fifths that explains how many sharps and flats are in certain keys, so if you hear someone say "this song is in D major" you can reference the circle and see that the key has two sharps. Sharps are always assigned in order of F# C# G# D# A# E# B#. So if you're in D major, and the key has two sharps, your D major notes will be D E F# G A B C# D, it has two sharps and we assigned them in the order above. Likewise with flats, there is an order - Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb. So a key such as Bb with two flats will be Bb C D Eb F G A Bb - we assigned two flats in the order above. Back to enharmonic notes, one thing is that the black notes are not the only notes with enharmonics. All notes have enharmonics, and as has been discussed, B#/C are enharmonic. Fb/E are also enharmonic, Dx (double sharp) is enharmonic to E as well.
An important thing about scales is that all scales must have one of each letter name. So if you're playing a D major scale as outlined above, you can't have D E F Gb G A B C# D. There's a repeated G note, even though the Gb and F# pitches are the same.
Based on all those rules, in the key of C#, what is the 7th note? B#. C# D# E# F# G# A# B#. Note, that there is also an E# in this key, which is another white key note that is equivalent to another white key note (E#/F are enharmonic).
So, in summary, B# and C have the same pitch, that's to say, they *sound* the same, but B# and C, musically, mean completely different things and both exist and do things independent of each other.
Before you say that C# is an uncommon key, not it's not. Pieces might often not *start* in C#, as commonly as keys like C, F, G, Bb, D, etc, but music typically modulates, and a lot of times music WILL move to the key of C# and you will often see the pitch B# written.
But for a very obvious example, here is BACH's Prelude and Fugue in C# Major from the Well Tempered Clavier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-c8WG2GTaI
Stop talking out of your asses, this goes to everyone including Joe Budden and his podcast.
Edit: someone's gonna call me a nerd, I can even predict your angles.
Edit2: BTW, this is not me saying the line isn't corny. It's extremely corny. It's like if someone did a diss line about relativity and someone responded "nuh uh cause if E= MC squared I'm E cause I'm the MC but you're the square one and by the way quantum physics is my definition because I exist in two planes at once and here are 3 more formulas that have nothing to do with anything I'm saying". It's corny because it's corny and he sounds like a try hard. The A minor line was simple, to the point, and funny.
Edit3: Rather than comment on everyone that posts some dumb shit here - I'll put it this way, in a G major triad, you have the notes G B and D. B is the third. In a G# major triad, what would the third be? Depending on your answer I'll know you're an idiot.

On Friday, I subbed for the second time at an elementary school. The day went fairly well, although the kids were a bit noisy. However, I managed to complete everything outlined in the lesson plan. We even finished 30 minutes before the end of the school day, so I allowed the students to have free time as a reward for their hard work. Unfortunately, the regular teacher saw their computer history during that time and noticed they were playing games instead of working. The teacher became upset and told the students that I didn't have the authority to give them free time. Now I'm concerned that I might get in trouble for this. I only wanted to reward them because they had completed all their tasks, and it was Friday, so I didn't think it would be an issue

I am looking for sources regarding the history of the Soviet Union by Marxist writers, allready on my list is Tortsky's work (his autobiography included) and Leninism under Lenin.
I know that this is a large topic and a long period of time so to simplify it down into periods I'd like books regarding:
The rise of the Soviet Union (from the reign of the tsar to the death of Lenin)
The Leadership of Stalin (from stalin's rise to power to his death)
The fall back into capitalism and the illegal dissolution of the USSR(from Stalins death to the illegal dissolution of the USSR)
I'm not really bothered what particular variation of Marxism they fall into, Marxism is a science and every Marxist has something of worth to say, but I would like an outline of the authors political and economic beliefs. Not really interested in Liberal authors, I dont think someone who doesnt understand marxism can realistically tackle marxist history. Not that I am entirely against them but they'd have to have a decent understanding of marxism at the very least.

In elementary school or middle school, would have been the early 2000s in the US, I watched a program that had a segment of whiteboard animation at the end.
I think it was on an actual whiteboard and you could see the real person's hand drawing, but you couldn't see anything around the whiteboard. It was mainly black outline but often used other colors to spruce up the picture, like coloring in rosy cheeks, a green dollar sign, columns in a chart
As the person drew they would narrate different concepts, I feel like it was mainly related to money or financial stuff? Like I sorta remember one segment about supply and demand. I call it a program because I'm not sure if this itself was the show or if it was a segment that was in a bigger show

Where the fuck do you even begin when you don't ever open up? Especially on a public sounding board to complete strangers?
Uh, before you read this, just be aware it may not be the most chronological piece of autobiography in existence: I have a bad habit of jumping around. But... by the end of it, I do really hope that you'll be able to understand where I'm coming from, and maybe, just maybe, have some advice to share. I do appreicate whomever takes the time to read it... It will be kinda long.
... Right, so, I've just... always had anger problems. Ever since I was a little kid, I would be happy in one moment and then one tiny little thing would go wrong (from my perspective, anyhow) and I would fly off the handle, screaming and throwing things. I went thorugh elementary, middle, and high school as one of the weird kids; though, to be perfectly honest, this never really bothered me all that much. I am weird, someone that doesn't fit into the fold, and I accepted that. But what it meant was that most of the kids through school either avoided me entirely or just made fun of me (which, this also doesn't bother me all that much. I was so off in my own world at that age that it never registered as something I was being made fun of, and I would often just agree and laugh with them or ignore it entirely because I felt it didn't apply.)
That being said, I've also always had a violent streak when my rage starts to boil over. Take for instance this one time in middle school art class when the only kid that would sit with me (who just so happened to be one of the most annoying kids in our grade) takes one of those wooden rulers with the metal straightedge imbedded into it and wacks the metal off the back of my hand when I'm just absorbed in whatever art project we were working on. I stopped, looked up at him, and said, "Please don't do that again." figuring that it was the end of it. Not even 5 seconds later he wacks the damn thing against the back of my hand again, with this huge shit-eating grin on his face. I say, "Don't do that again." and resume my drawing. It had to be like five minutes that went by at this point, because at first I was expecting him to just wap me again within 10 seconds. When he didn't, I just kinda forgot about it and once again got all hyper focused into whatever I was drawing, but yet again he raps that damn metal straightedge against my hand, the hardest yet. I fucking snapped. Completely fucking silently, I stood up and walked around the desk. He also stands up with that inane shiteating grin wrapped ear to ear, laughing it off as if I hadn't just told him twice to knock it the fuck off. He starts backing up away from me and I can just feel this darkness leaking into my body, my fists clenched and my face screwed up into a grimace. I have no idea how many people stopped to watch at this point. The two of us always sat as close to the door as we could and the other kids quite literally as far away form us as they could, so there was plenty of time as I was walking him backwards for them to stop and watch. I have no idea what he was saying, my ears were just ringing with pure fucking rage. Maybe something to the effect of, "C'mon, man it was just a joke, I won't do it again." But I was not in control of my full faculties. Eventually, we walked all the way to the teachers desk and he stopped walking just before he touched the wall of the classroom. Fists still clenched, brows still furrowed, heart pounding harder than it ever had in my life, I reached my right hand out and wrapped it around his throat, and I actually fuck you not I lifted him straight over my head with one arm (at the time, we were roughly the same height and weight, which was aroound 5'6" and 165 lbs). I stared at him above me for a couple seconds as he faffed about trying to take my hand off his throat, and I considered what I would do. Standing so close to the teacher's desk, I took one look at it and it was sealed in my mind: I slammed the back of the bastard's head into the edge of the teacher's desk. The classroom fell silent. The teacher, usually very well composed shakily told me through tears to go to the principal's office. I took one look down at this dude's limp body and shrugged, and started storming out of the classroom. My heart still pounding, my head still spinning, my body still wanting to fucking tear this faggot ass bastard to fucking pieces, I turned at the door and started screaming bloody goddamn murder at the entire fucking classroom, of which the words are lost to my memory. Definitely something to the effect of how I hated each and every single person in that classroom. Surprisingly, the kid lived. I honest to God sometimes wish he hadn't; the rage is still beating in my heart years later. And we're on good terms now! Years later, I asked him for clarification if I had grabbed him by the throat or the shirt, and he told me it was the shirt; but I so distinctly remembered it being the throat I just dismissed him. After all, if I had him by the shirt, how could I possibly have slammed the back of his head into the desk? Well, years after that when I started working at the local McDonald's, I was telling the story to one of the coworkers and from the other side of the sandwich line one of the girls piped up that she remembered that moment very well, too: That it was by the throat that i had him, and that she had been terrified of me ever since. Understandable, I suppose.
But, middle school doesn't last forever. Life moves on, and you grow older in it (even if you aren't growing up.) Through high school, I honestly thought I had calmed down one hell of a lot, as violent outbursts didn't happen. There may have been once that kids were making fun of me in volleyball for not being able to play it very well (they always put me on the teams with the athletic kids...) so I started to just play like a complete and total dipshit, and was actually playing better than if I had been locked in. They told me to stop playing like a dumbass and I flew off the handle at them like, "Which is it? Play the fucking game or play like a fucking dumbass?" and stormed off to the principal's office because I knew I was in trouble.
At this same McDonald's, there was a time when I was closing, right? The teenagers that were supposed to be closing with us were faffing about on their fuckin phones all night, and usually that's kinda okay because it was slow as fuck towards the end of the night. However, this day there was a significant uptick in orders all of a sudden and there was fucking nobody back in the kitchen with me; they were all just fucking around on their phones in the front of the store. I hollered from the bun toaster, "Yo, where is my kitchen?!" loud enough for every employee in the store to hear me and the manager kinda just goes, "That was uncalled for!!" This made me go fucking insane. Fucking excuse me, bitch? Your fucking employees are fucking around on their phones when we have 8 fucking orders on screen with more people in the drive thru waiting to order? What the flying fuck are your employees doing when I'm the only fucking person working? set your fucking employees right! (Bear in mind, I'm screaming this shit at the top of my lungs now, guarunteed to be heard by just about every car in that drive thru. I am very loud when I get mad.) She's screaming something back at me this entire time that kinda just flies completely under my radar because I'm in the right and I know I am (from my perspective) and she ends up screaming just go the fuck home and don't even clock out. Everyone in the store is staring at this fight unfold and when we fell silent after that, all you could hear was the beep of the fryer letting you know to pull up the fries. Storming through, I pulled them out of the fryer (because no-one else was touching it) and she screamed "DON'T EVEN FUCKING THINK ABOUT IT" so I dropped the burning basket of fries right back in to the fryer and stormed out. The next shift I was scheduled to work, I came in and not one single person said a word about that explosion. Not the GM, not the manager I screamed at, not a single one of the employees working that night. But everyone was in their place where they were supposed to be now, doing their fucking job.
And really, there just have been moments like that my entire life. Usually I'm pretty quiet, hold my words and listen to people before making any sort of direct like... statements on anything. If someone asks me a question, I try my darndest to answer to the best of my ability. But like I say, there are just times when I lose it. I could actually go on about one more rage fit story at that restaurant, but to be perfectly honest, I don't really think I need to at this point. Basically, I got fired from that McD for another rage fit I threw over some slightly bullshit reason and I started flinging shit everywhere in the breakroom. Little did I know, the owner of the store was in the next fucking room having a district meeting. They heard everything. The GM comes down the stairs screaming, "What the hell is going on down here?!" and when she saw that I was too fucking pissed to talk straight she sent me home and told me do not come back until we call. I called about a week later and she said that even though she wanted to keep me because I did a damn good job, the owner said that they can't have a loose cannon in the store. Which is completely understandable.
But now, I'm 23. I've been in a 2 year long relationship with the love of my life, and we have a beautiful son who's already a year old (I know, it went kinda fast lol). We moved state to be closer to her family and because our son will have better opportunities in this state. But I still have problems. She has her own anxieties and traumas. Sometimes, we just disagree on things, and with my insane desire to be right all the time, we butt heads a lot. I've snapped more times than I care to count, more often than not over things that if I just stepped down off my fuckin high horse, would be smoothed over with literally no fuckin problems. But then, I would have to get into the fact that she's just as argumentative as I can be sometimes, and more often than not I'm simply not able to disengage and calm down before I fly off the handle. Sometimes if I try to walk out the door, I'm threatened to be kicked out for good (this is a defense mechanism she uses, and she doesn't really even know why) and I find myself unable to fuckin move or speak lest I burst and she just continues to push. I blow up and start screaming bloody murder at her, just wanting to calm down or be heard or left alone or SOMETHING besides arguing like we do. After we both calm down, we have a heartfelt talk about it and our perspectives and what led to the emotions, and I personally believe that we have become so much better at communication with each other. But even so, there are still times when we just get... Grrrrr with each other. I don't want this nasty shit in my heart any more. It's a deep, dark well of rage and it threatens to burst more and more every day. I find myself getting shorter and shorter fused with people. We've lived in this state for a little over a year now, and when we moved here this fucking place we moved to wouldn't allow you to make more than a certain amount of income amongst the household so I was without a job for a year because we had nowhere else to go if we were kicked out. And I had landed a damn good job at the time I had to quit it. So we moved houses in this town, and I find myself once again working at McD. The other week, a similar situation happened like what with the former one, where someone I was supposed to be working with started doing something completely different when we had orders flooding in. I started getting all in a huff and I turned to my manager, who asked me, "Where's your cabinet person?" and I shrugged and said, "This is the exact kind of bullshit that made me explode at the former McDonald's." So I just kept my head down and kept assembling sandwiches until I couldn't stand it anymore and I screamed the poor kid's name. He comes around the corner like, "What?" with a stupid look on his face and I just shake my head and put down more patties for burgers and more chicken nuggets and more McChicken patties, put in my buns for the sandwiches. He comes over and slowly gets his gloves on, slowly walks over and kinda just grabs a nugget box. He asks, "How many more do I need?" and I just kinda grumpily mumble, "Look at the fucking screen, dumbass." I keep whipping together sandwich after sandwich and this fuckin idiot takes his sweet ass time putting ~60 nuggets together, to the point where I finsih my sandwiches and push him out of th way and quickly finish up the nugget boxes. He says, "Okay, man, jeez, just calm down." I take one fucking look at him, and say, "I swear to fucking God, do not fucking start with me. Get the fuck out of my face, and fucking leave." He turns to manager and asks if he can go home, to which she just sort of weakly nods. The night finsihed relatively fine after that.
And just this last Thursday, my girlfriend takes a trip to McDon for the lil' man a happy meal. She texts me out of nowhere and says that one of my coworkers told her that I was flirting with one of the other employees. I never have flirted with these dumb bitches, I do not want to, I do not like them; I HAVE an AMAZING girlfriend that supports me more than anyone every has and who daily tells me to improve myself and who daily seeks to help me with my anger problems. These other fish can go take a fucking hike to Hell and back for all I care. So instantly, I get this image in mind of a particular person who might do something like that and I almost fucking lost it. My girlfriend still hasn't told me, because I've had some fantasies about seriously fucking this kid up for trying to break us apart. AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO IT WAS! I've just been thinking on confronting and being all like, "Don't you ever, EVER talk to my family again. If you so much as take her fucking order I will fucking murder you." But because I don't know who it is, I just... haven't said a word to anyone except my lady about it. (.... and now, everyone that reads this far into a TL;DR.)
And I just... don't know what the hell to do about it. I walk everywhere I go, so with the move to this state and the move of houses, trying to find the time to get over to the therapy place I'm looking at that not only accepts my insurance but also has great reviews, especially for anger management and the like, has been difficult: They require an in-person, walk-in visit before you can even start regular appoinments with them. And even though my girlfriend does the most she can to help me, there are times when enough is enough, even for her. I don't want to lose my family. I don't want to hurt them if I fly off the handle for some stupid batshit insane reason. I don't want to alienate them; I want them to know I love them. It's not like they don't know, it's just that I can be scary sometimes. And I hate it. Even so, that being said, we have been taking steps as a couple to mitigate our misunderstandings of each other, and to more quickly discuss what it is that went wrong and how to better handle it the next time something similar comes up. It's been a slow process to get to this point, and I don't know if that's normal. Sometimes she acts like I should already be a hell of a lot better... but then, I'll explain my side of the story and the insecurities I was feeling that led me to burst out, and she's a little more understanding. Though it's always the case that I need to dial my reaction back from 11 to about like 1.
.... This is definitely rambly. If.. you can make any sense of this, as jumpy as it is, thank you for understanding, sincerely from the absolute bottom of my soul. Please, i just... want to be a better person.

TL;DR class descriptions/info to help underclassmen know about classes thru personal experiences. Add to it with extra info or questions!
To all the incoming freshmen or other underclassmen - you’ll prolly hear it a lot, but the time really does go by so fast. Enjoy it, soak it in, and step out of your comfort zone. Someone posted their classes thru Purdue to let other students know how those classes were (in case it was a niche/high-level class or it wasn’t on RateMyProfessor). That was pretty helpful to me so Imma do it too. I’ll let u kno how the courses went and what I can remember. I’m graduating from the College of Ag with a B.S. in Animal Sciences with a concentration in Biosciences and minors in Biotechnology and Real Estate. I came into Purdue with AP and Dual Credits, so some things I didn’t take. Anyway, here are the classes I took.
Anyone who’s taken any of these, please add on/say smth else if it has changed! Underclassmen, feel free to ask about them!
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FRESHMAN YEAR
AGR 101: Intro to Ag & Purdue (Multiple lecturers)
This course was THE intro course to Purdue and Ag (duh). It was a 1/2 semester course so I was done with it by week 8 and there was only a quiz. We were told the purpose of Purdue being land-grant and were just intro’d to the different parts/departments of the college of Ag + different success tips. This was also the class where u begin (already) thinking about your 4-year plan and create a LinkedIn. Easy A, just show up and learn about the college of Ag
AGR 114: Intro to ANSC Programs (Ashley York)
Also a 1/2 semester course that was done by Oct. This class just went into depth on what to expect as a student in the department. You may start work on a resumé, continue with planning or LinkedIn. Again, easy A, just show up. Also, Ashley was a saint helping me each year to make sure I was on track, even tho she wasn’t my advisor.
ANSC 102: Intro to Animal Ag (Elizabeth Karcher)
This class was the first “real” class of college. It was just an intro to different domestic species and the operations tht are part of animal ag. I think there was also a lab with the class where u were introduced to animals. Dr. Karcher also was a pretty good professor. Just pay attention - it’s sort of memorization for random facts about animals/common sense depending on what u took in high school/home life in a rural area. Should be easy A.
CHM 115: Gen Chem (Multiple lecturers)
Was never a fan of chemistry, so this class I went into with dread. I didn’t want to take AP Chem, and just dealt with it in college. Honestly, if u took honors/were a good student in hs chemistry, there should be no problem - was basically just like a high school class. There was a lab that went with this course, but because of COVID, I just had an online worksheet to do every week for pre-, in-, and post-lab so I can’t speak on it. If u aren’t inclined to chem, it might take a bit of extra studying, but I was never worried.
PHIL 110: Intro to Philosophy (Taylor Davis)
To be fair, I never exactly wanted to take this exact class. I came from a small town in the Midwest, so I wanted to be sure I wasn’t dumb or anything to the people, cultures, etc. around me. Told my advisor I wanted to take a class to give me more of a “world” perspective, so she suggested the class. It honestly was not bad at all. The professor knew what he was talking abt and very accepting of questions. We learned how to tear down an argument and build it up in several ways and talked about cool things like if we have free will, does God exist, etc. The only assignments that counted for the sem were a midterm and 2 papers - 1 small and 1 large philosophical essay over any topic from the class. Definitely changed my outlook, would recommend taking it. The first part of class was harder - making sure u understand why/how an argument does or doesn’t work - but the rest was fun/easy as the topics were just presented and talked about.
AGEC 217: Economics (Larry Deboer)
I found Econ as a topic in and of itself to be quite boring. Supply and demand, money, etc. The class kind of turned out that way. Its presented as basically supply/demand and reasons for changes to the them were slowly added throughout the semester. We had several assignments, but they were nothing terrible. Gotta give props to the professor, tho. He knew the class wasn’t great but made it fun. Also, the class is flexible for schedules as in some situations it can count for credit in place of ECON251.
POL 223: Intro to Environmental Policy (Tara Grillos)
When I first started, I thought the route I wanted was ANSC with some focus in environmental issues. That’s why I took this class. I don’t understand the “intro” part, really. The whole class was presented as just case studies for things that have happened that impacted policies from the late 1800s/early 1900s until recently. Some of the info was cool. I don’t remember much for assignments, but there was a group project/paper where u had to decide on an environmental issue, state how u plan to fix it, on what level of government, etc. It wasn’t a crazy class to be in as a freshman, but it was not what I was expecting for a POL class.
ANSC 181: Orientation to ANSC (Elizabeth Byers)
Another 1/2 semester course. This class, as far as I can remember, was just for showing u the possibilities available to u in ANSC. This was specifically ANSC. It went over every concentration and what jobs/salaries there were. This was also a class where we were assigned to create our resumés (professionally) and start networking. Just as, if not easier than the other 1/2 semester classes so far.
ANSC 221: Principles of Animal Nutrition (Dale Forsyth)
Sorry but not sorry for anyone in ANSC. The class is boring, but Dr. Dale Forsyth is such a sweet old man. This class is the intro for nutrition in ANSC. U will learn the different required nutrients, food stuffs (supplements and stuff too) that have these nutrients, what happens when animals are given too little of these, and how to balance/create rations for animals (ruminant and non-ruminant). As long as u are okay/good with algebra, there shouldn’t be a problem. U just need to solve systems of equations in Excel to get the right weight of a food stuff. Homework was balancing rations. Exams looked at that + nutrients and their deficiencies. Dr. Forsyth also talks fast and doesn’t slow down because he has a lot to get thru. Come into the class knowing it prolly isn’t going to be very fun, but u need to know it. Try to find something interesting in the whole.
BIOL 111: Fundamentals of Bio II (Sean Humphrey)
Not sure how this class really is. I came into college loving biology and being (not to sound like an ass) great at it. To me, it was easy and relearning biology from high school for a bit. To others it may be a bit more difficult. There is just a lot of memorization. The professor was nice and answered my questions when I had them and explained in great detail if I was confused. I can’t remember any assignments I turned in, or anything about exams. Overall, I thought it was an easy class, but be the judge urself.
CHM 116: Gen Chem (Multiple lecturers)
Just a continuation of CHM 115. It picked up where it left off. Got a little harder, but it was nowhere as hard as TV or anything makes it. There are definitely topics that show up from hs again, but a lot is new. Wasn’t fun for this class switching lecturers every few weeks since they each had their own lecture style. Again, there was a lab section, but because of COVID, it was a worksheet. Not the worst class, but a meh class.
MA 16020: Applied Calc II (Alexandros Kafkas)
The first and only time I had to take math here. In hs I took MA 165 and thought it was a breeze (prolly bc it was hs). To anyone wondering, MA 165 SHOULD count in place of MA 16010 in college of ag. With that in mind, I went into the course knowing what Purdue math is known for, but still keepin an open mind with my abilities. I’m really proud of the grade I got, too. I think a lot of the course depends on the lecturer - mine was good at teaching us new concepts. Learn all you can about the lecturer beforehand, find out if they are good, and see it for yourself. We had quizzes in class every week (MWF) over the previous lecture and homework thru LON-CAPA that was usually due the day aftebefore (Tues, Thurs, Sun, I think). The quizzes and homework were good starting problems. The exams were tough and harder than quizzes/hw. If u’ve done well in math, but aren’t a prodigy or someone who can put in hrs of work, don’t expect to get likely higher than mid-70s on exams. It was common to get around a 50-60%. They do curve “if it’s necessary” but it is ALWAYS necessary.
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SOPHOMORE YEAR
AGR 201: Communicating Across Cultures (Pamala Morris)
To start…BOO. Was not a fan of this class. Felt like it was a money grab and busy work. It was required for some international understanding credits. The content wasnt interesting but for sure important. We were taught to basically be good ppl and about the different types of hardships that groups of ppl could go thru (ageism, sexism, racism, classism, etc.). We were required to buy the book, which was $50, but written by the prof and from what I assume was her website. I don’t recall ever using it unless it was necessary for an assignment. The class helps u relate and think critically, but is done in a piss-poor way. It could hv been the COVID aftermath where lecture was done virtually but we had a class later on with other students for a “lab”. Quizzes were easy, and overall easy, but so bad too.
SPAN 201: Spanish III (Nancy Reyes)
I know I’ve said this already abt other courses, but this still applies. This course was 100% a high school class. I did a placement test into this course (after 3 years in HS Spanish - Fr. to Jr. - with a 2 year gap of not learning) and got all credit for Spanish 1 and 2. Took it for international understanding credits. This course made sure u knew the basics again, spent a lot of time in past tense, then ended w maybe a month in subjective and future tense. There were a few speaking assignments and cultural readings/lectures. Was encouraged to speak Spanish for class, but the prof knew that couldn’t happen but still helped us all. Exams included MC, writing, and listening. Not sure if this is the same for other languages, but hopefully it is.
CHM 255 + 25501: Orgo + Lab (Elizabeth Parkinson)
Dreaded this class, but went in confidently. The class sucks, no other way abt it. It was a lot of memorization and practice. A lot of the “basic” stuff started sticking about halfway thru the semester. It doesn’t help that I stopped going to lecture about 3/4 thru the sem. It wasn’t as hard as expected, but it was still quite hard. The prof was amazing at making the content interesting. Labs were ran by GTAs. Depending on the section your GTA may not kno anything. The labs also did not go along with the lecture - they are 2 separate courses that can individually be passed or failed. Exams were as you would expect with the course - a few high spots among a crowd of C’s and D’s. The lab had multiple things due every week w the semester started. It was expected to do ur pre-lab at start of week, turn in ur in-lab immediately after finishing lab, then the previous week’s post-lab/final lab was due. The lab also holds the policy that if u don’t show up dressed right or sleep late, if you don’t show up within 10/15min of start that u can’t show up and will receive a 0 for the lab.
ANSC 230: Physiology of Domestic Animals (Rod Allrich)
This class taught me a lot. Each week was a different body system and learning info regarding animals individually. Things were taught in general as overarching concepts, but then things were applied as necessary for individual species of animals. Everything was brought up from the digestive system to the endocrine system. The class met 4 days a week and had a quiz once a week. There was no lab when I took the course. The specific professor I had was also interesting to say the least. Dr. Allrich is a funny, good man, but he does not use or create slides. Instead he uses his own website to post info (usually from Merck veterinary) abt whatever it is he wanted u to learn. In class he would just ramble on about what he thought was important. ANYTHING he said could be test material - no matter what (I was told by an upperclassman to remember that his favorite pie was sour cream and raisin pie bc it was a quiz question they had). Now, there is a lab that goes with the course. Also, if u hv Cabot the course material and class are much harder than with Rod. There are expectations, lectures, and more. Regardless of the professor, the information that was taught was useful, remembered, and interesting. In any class, Rod typically will have this structure but will grade easily. Quizzes will be to write statements of fact and exams won’t exist or will be take-home with only having 5 paragraphs to write using a word bank
ABE 226: Biotech Lab I (Kari Clase)
This was the first course I took for my minor in Biotechnology. I did not know what to expect going in as I didn’t grasp the scope of biotech. The course was ran well. The whole class is a wet lab where u are in the scientific process trying to find a new species of bacteriophage. U dig in dirt, do some pipetting, use beakers, make plates, isolate DNA, and send it off. Any research u do/finding a phage gets put into a national database for phage research. U do hv lab notebooks that get checked, but hv an outline to go off. There were several quizzes and deliverables that had us learn about phage more, or aseptic technique. It was a good class. U do have to buy a lab coat (which is kinda cool). Easy class that kickstarted my interest.
CHM 256 + 25601: Orgo II + Lab (David Thompson)
This class was disastrous. It was me, the content AND the professor as to why that was the case. This was just a continuation of course and lab. The new content was harder to wrap my head around, + I stopped going to the lectures about halfway thru the sem. To make matters worse, the class was early and the prof was speaking in mach turtle. I would listen to the lectures a day later so I could 2x speed thru them and the man was sounding like a normal person talked. This class was harder than the previous course. If u didn’t like CHM 255, sorry this is worse. The lab was just the same as the previous sem, but the GTAs changed. Again, labs didn’t go with the lecture and are 2 individual courses to be passed or failed separately. I passed but the class made me rethink my life once or twice and was potentially the worst class I ever took.
STAT 301: Elementary Stat Methods (Spencer Hamrick)
I did not enjoy this course a single bit - besides the professor. The course throws, what I felt like, was the entire concept, terms, rules, designs of statistics at u. It was a lot at once for me. I felt like there was a disconnect between what I was learning and in what ways it applied to me. It wasn’t too difficult, but the class was boring. There was also a lab section that was not great either. We were forced to use SRSS. There were homework assignments on a different software/website that equally were boring. The exams were harder than expected - there were some sections with questions with such small disparities that the answer came down to a difference of 1 word in a sentence. Overall, there’s a lot to learn and it’s all pretty basic to give a general understanding, but it was done poorly. If it was done better, it likely would have been an easy course. This course tho is also one of the worst classes I took.
AGRY 320: Genetics (Joseph Anderson)
There’s not much to say about this course. It was genetics. It felt like another continuation from the end of BIOL 111. It built a foundation for DNA, chromosomes, and went from there. There was a lot of higher thinking and content that was build upon thru the semester. It was a bit of memorization, but the content was fun. There were hotseat/iclicker questions for each lecture. Prof. Anderson was also really good at presenting the info.
AGRY 321: Genetics Lab (Aneesha Kulkarni)
This was the lab that went with AGRY 320. It was separate from the lecture. I do not believe it ever followed along with the lecture. The semester was spent with Arabidopsis. From the plant, we extracted DNA, did PCR, did mutant analysis, etc. The whole semester led up to a final lab report for what had been done that semester. There were also some small lab assignments that needed done. The class was also serious about attendance which could have made a major impact on grades. It is also typically ran by a GTA. It was fun and I enjoyed it. There was never really any work that needed to be done outside of class and at times it let out early.
ANSC 333: Physiology of Reproduction (Jonathan Pasternak)
This was a good class. The content focused on female anatomy/physiology first, then male anatomy/physiology, then on interactions and changes to the body through hormones and development. I found the class to be interesting as there is a lot more that goes into reproduction that u think. It’s a lot of cool info thrown out, but in a manageable way. Notes can go fast n there is a lot of terms and items to pay attention to. There was also a lab portion to this class. The lab went with what we learned in lectures. It was hands-on learning and doing things. It might sound gross but we had a lab where we took fetuses from a pig uterus to weigh and look at. We also looked at pig semen under a microscope. The professor was obsessed with histology. Expect to look at many slides of different tissues and know how/why they differ, where they are from, etc. I don’t remember assignments, but there was a lab practical that involved many things. Overall, it was a fun class.
ABE 227: Biotech Lab II (Kari Clase)
This class was busy. There were lots of things that needed to be done often (oddly no true deadlines it felt like). This was the dry lab portion. After ABE 226, any DNA that was collected sufficiently was sequenced and the data came back. That’s essentially what the semester was for. With the DNA from a phage, u must make entries to find out the start/stop site of genes, gene function; BLAST the genes, gather evidence there is truly a gene, and more. There were some small assignments with deliverables. There was also a larger project that was put into the undergrad research symposium. From the DNA, a small group chose a gene and researched. A lot of busy work and nights up, but there was a final genome announcement and research went into real life.
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JUNIOR YEAR
HIST 33805: History of Human Rights (Rebekah Klein-Pejsova)
This class was a requirement for an upper level humanities course. This class was easy and interactive. There were some readings that had to be done outside of class, but not much else was required. U would read, then come to class, fill out a discussion, and talk. The content started back in history and moved all the way to just beyond the Holocaust. There were a couple writing assignments that were like a paragraph. The final was to write a paragraph on when u thought the history of human rights began. Again, easy and almost no work required.
BCHM 307: Biochem (Barbara Golden)
I loved this course. Dr. Golden was soft spoken but she made sure u got the info u needed. The content felt like a mix of genetics and chem. The course was biology-sided for those that hate chem. This course went back to the central dogma and such, but then included a lot of metabolism and inner workings of cells. There were parts involving the Citric acid cycle and other “basic” biology concepts that went into further explanation from a different perspective. I believe there were also hotseat/iclicker questions. If u liked biology or genetics, u should like this course, too.
BCHM 309: Biochem Lab (Orla Hart)
Just like the genetics lab, this lab did content that led up to something big at the end. The lab was spent learning basic lab technique, then focused on isolating and purifying LDH from a Bradford assay. There were lab reports/assignments, but they all help and lead to the big lab report. It was a fun time. Dr. Hart was a fantastic prof for the course as she fully knew the topic, always helped out, and had high expectations. She would also joke and talk with us. She shared about her family (she’s Irish), her cats, n more. + she would talk with you in her office, where she had Ghirardelli chocolates to eat. There was a written midterm + u are required to wear a lab coat and goggles during lab.
ANSC 311: Animal Breeding & Genetics (Donna Lofgren)
This was another class that I liked a lot. For anyone interested in this topic, it is not what u expect. The class is not punnet squares and seeing what traits u can see. This class was a lot of math. You had to find the allelic/gene frequencies, var, covariance, selection intensity, generation interval, EBV, etc. I cannot stress that this class is a lot of math (prolly 75/25 to 85/15 for math/concepts). It is, however, one of the few genetics restrictive selectives for ANSC (if I remember right). There is other content too, learning about how to breed animals, components of breeding and genetics, etc. There is a lecture and lab. The lab is when homework was intro’d and we were given time to ask questions/complete it. The lab lasted 2 hours, and usually there would be several homework problems left. There was also a large project that used a sim (mine was beef, other years used lamb/sheep). I would have to cull and breed to get better genetics, get rid of disease, etc. The better the offspring the better. This sim was paired with an arrow chart and written report. Lot of work, but a lot of fun.
ANSC 326: Applied Non-Ruminant Nutrition (John Radcliffe)
This class was boring. Unless u love animal nutrition, it’s hard for it not to be. This was like a continuation of ANSC 221, but only focused on (essentially) pigs. Once again, just learning the background/basic info for feeding animals, providing nutrients, and balancing/creating rations. Also, this class also uses a lot of Excel - more than ANSC 221. There was a final for the course, but it was only a 1/2 semester course. There may have also been a lab section, but the work typically finished quickly.
ANSC 446: Companion Animal Mgmt (Rod Allrich)
Another course with Rod. It was basically nonsense. U learned what it took to keep companion animals healthy and managed. Specific diseases/interests were looked at for animals during class + issues/problems with animal clinics, shelters, etc. There wasnt much to learn. Since it was Rod, there were no slides. Anything written could be tested. Students had to present some issue with companion animals for points twice in the semester. There was also an animal business plan due at the end of the semester. It was required to describe the location, services, employees, their benefits, etc. There were no exams, but there were his quizzes - u were provided movies to watch and write a 1-page summary/reflection on what u saw. Once u get used to Rod, his classes are some of the easiest to ever take.
MGMT 200: Intro Accounting (Terra Maienbrook)
This was my first class for my Real Estate minor. If u have taken any math class at college u should be fine. This course is an intro. U learn the accounting equation, debits, credits, depreciation, and interpreting it through balance sheets. It can get a little confusing when things are broken down further, but as long as u pay attention there shouldn’t be trouble. Just remember what debits and credits do and u should pass the course. There were assignments that helped understand what needed to be done and how the content u are learning works, but it turns into busy work later on. If u get 1 small error as ur doing ur balance sheet, then the whole problem will be wrong and it probably won’t tell u what the error is. The professor also used hotseat/iclicker for attendance, so make sure to show up. She did let u come to any section at any time and still do the attendance. Exams weren’t difficult if u pay attention and do well in lecture and homework. If u do well, the prof would even email saying that u did well.
MGMT 304: Intro to Financial Mgmt (Phil Baeza)
This class was okay. Part of it could have been it was the prof’s 2nd semester teaching here. The class was a lot of basic info for management/econ and was also a requirement for the Real Estate minor. U are taught corporate finance + the goals of it, cash flows and a bunch of math with related terms (NPV, PV, NWC, NOI, etc.) None of it was exactly difficult to figure out. The class itself wasn’t bad content-wise. Once u learned the information, it was there. There was a lot of Excel for solving problems. If u aren’t good with Excel - make that a priority. The course also had exams, but you were allowed a typed cheat sheet for each. Besides the exams, there was also a case competition (so many of these in MGMT classes). Info was gathered about a company and with a group had to decide to approve or disapprove of their loan request. Overall, not terrible, but hard to sit thru.
ANSC 303: Animal Behavior (Marisa Erasmus)
This was an interesting class to take. It was pretty fun (and I ended up as a TA, my last semester). The course is essentially psychology in animals. You learn conditioning, scientists who contributed to the study, types of interactions, and types of behaviors (maintenance, maternal, social, play, sickness, etc.) and how they are in animals. The course also has a lab section with it. The lab section is essentially to allow for time for the zoo project, although there were some labs that went to the ASREC to observe those animals. For the project u are provided an animal at the zoo to research, go to the local zoo, and observe them. When ur back you create a presentation for the research you did involving the animal and enrichment provided by the zoo. In class, there were several quizzes over lecture content plus a midterm. There were also assignments, but many of them had some involvement with the zoo. The class also had no final, but there was a final quiz. The professor did talk fast sometimes, but as long as you typed or rewrote notes later, there was no issue.
STAT 503: Stat Methods for Biology (Yan Xing)
Unsure of why, but I loved my grad level stats courses. They were much easier and fun to learn than STAT 301 (so if u hate STAT301, give 503 a try). This course basically started at the beginning. The content started with learning sample vs population, statistic vs parameter, plus sample unit, size, variables, and variable types. The course became harder as time went on, but nothing was super difficult. The topics included basic stats (mean, stdev, var, types of distributions, unions/intersection), marginal probability, tree diagrams, binomial distributions, chi-square, ANOVA, hypothesis testing, and multiple comparisons (like bonferonni). The information was always presented in a way catered to life sciences (crazy). The lectures not presented in class, but expected to be watched beforehand. I did not go to lecture, but watched the lecture videos on my own. That was enough understanding to easily pass. There were homework assignments that were due every other week. Start them sooner than later, you’ll need the time! This class was also my introduction to coding in R. I had no experience in any coding beforehand but easily got the hang of it, especially since the professor provided tutorials. It was used for every homework, basically. There were also quizzes that weren’t too difficult. The class was not easy, but it was fun.
ABE 512: Good Regulatory Practices (Keri Clase/Stephen Byrn)
This was the final class I needed to get my Biotechnology minor. It was terrible. The professors were nice, but there was no structure. The lectures were about regulatory science and dealt a lot with information from the FDA. The course went over the good and required practices required for the creation, testing, passing, and distribution of medical equipment and/or drugs. Every small detail and information that was not in lectures was required to be known. There were quizzes and assignments that all got turned in through Gradescope. The quizzes are where random information was expected to be known. The assignments were deliverables which asked some question or inquired about a part of the process and write about them. The final was a final deliverable that had to effectively be a conglomeration of the other deliverables (but not just copying and pasting). The class wasn’t hard, but very poorly set up.
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SENIOR YEAR
CSR 103: Intro to Personal Finance (Wookjae Heo)
I just needed a filler class in my schedule. I figured it could help learn some “real world” stuff that maybe I wasn’t sure about. The class was completely online with provided lecture videos. It was very easy and what would be expected. Topics went from how to manage debt and make sure you can get loans, to being informed about credit cards and insurance. All the information was easy to get through. There were writing assignments to be done basically every week. The professor would have you read a paper that 50/50 he had a part in writing, and answer questions. Some things were interactives that just needed to be completed (regardless of how well). Not a bad class. It will definitely pad your GPA - everything taught should be common knowledge.
MGMT 370: Real Estate Fundamentals (Lindsay Relihan)
This course was quite informative. It was an average level of difficulty. There was a lot of information that went into it - I mean it is a fundamentals class. Topics that were talked about included foundations of real estate, what is real estate, valuation of property, lending, time value of money, multiple financial ratios, and taxation. There were multiple assignments - some writing and others math. The writing was for discussions (5 of them) about certain papers provided or certain book chapters. The math assignments were problem sets to get done for what we had learned. They gave plenty of time to finish them. Beyond that, there was also another case study/competition. For this a company was selected and given potential locations to move to. You had to decide if it was worth it for the company to move locations.
ANSC 345: Animal Health Management (Rod Allrich)
For this class, I just needed to take another ANSC course. This class was practically the same as any other Rod Allrich course. We learned how to keep animals healthy and basically many different common diseases of animals. From his website, we would get brought to a page talking about some disease or medical problem that could potentially happen and have to write a 1-page summary/reflection. This happened each week. He still did in person quizzes with statements of fact. Once again, students had to make videos/presentations for the class to present on some problem. There was no final exam. Did not learn too much from this one, but it was a great space filler and GPA booster.
ANSC 481: Contemporary Issues in ANSC (Barry Delks)
This is essentially the final push for ANSC students. As seniors, you take this course to prepare you for the real world. Lectures were given by guests who the professor brought in. They would talk about their specific company, career, or niche and any issues they were seeing there plus how to stop them. The professor would then have groups get together to discuss ways to fix the problems and have the guest comment on what was said. There were also assignments to be done, but they were very easy. They were just things to make sure you were on track for a job and/or graduation (having a 30-sec intro, making a cover letter, redoing your resumé). Part of the class was also just attending the career fair.
STAT 512: Applied Regression Analysis (Tiantian Qin)
Like my other grad level stat course, I absolutely loved this one, too. This class was a DIST course. This class solely focused on regressions (simple linear and multiple linear regressions). Topics for the course started with the basics (terms of regression like betas, Xs, SSE, SSR, SST, and diagnostics) and moved to more difficult content (lack-of-fit-testing, global f-testing, transformations, ANOVA, marginal effect, coefficient of partial determination, multicollinearity, and more). I found the content interesting and it was fun to learn about. Nothing was too difficult and could always be asked about through office hours. There were homework assignments that corresponded with the lectures that were due every other week. Again, take the time. The course also used R coding for everything that was done. The course also had a couple exams to do. But the biggest thing was the regression project. This required a group of students to get together, find a set of data, and use it to form a regression analysis. There was a lot of coding involved, but it was fun parsing through and wrangling data.
MGMT 375: Real Estate Law (Cecelia Harper)
This course has been super personal and fun to take. This is one of my last courses for the Real Estate minor and I am glad to have taken it. The course goes over any and all laws that relate to real estate in some way. The course talked about property rights, subsurface rights, common laws, easements on land, financing/lending, prenuptial agreements and other contracts. Most grades come from exams, though. There were 3 during the semester plus the final. All exams (except the final) were open note and book. The final we were allowed a 1-page cheat sheet that was front and back. The only grades that did not come from exams were from the contracts we drafted. You create your own lease agreement and purchase agreement, then pair with someone to mesh them together for a new one of each. I think the course is particularly made tho by the professor. She is a practicing real estate lawyer who knows what she is talking about. She would set it up so the class was very personal and we each asked her questions. It was interesting because she could have stories about clients to connect things from class. She would always entertain questions. There was no extra credit, except for when she would randomly do attendance. The course structure could be changing quite a bit now, tho.
MGMT 43901: Real Estate Investment & Development (Michael Eriksen)
The other last course for my real estate minor. This class was a step away from what I thought it was going to be. This course is geared toward commercial development and the business side, as I felt. There was nothing really said about personal/residential property. The course topics included an overview of real estate, ways/types of investment, estimation of cash flows for commercial real estate and finance terms associated, providing loans/financing, the roles of a developer, and taxes. The course didn’t have many plain assignments. These were Excel files with attached questions and instructions. If you could follow the instructions you did well, plus the assignments built on each other, except the last one - this one used ARGUS software. The majority of the work was spent on a case competition (go figure lol). Students were put into groups to select a plot of land to develop for some commercial purpose and provide the financials, timeline, and reasoning for the decision. There were several required tasks to be done for this assignment, plus a presentation at the end. There was no final exam, but there were 2 midterms. You could use an excel sheet with notes throughout, tho. The professor was good. He catered to his students and asked questions about how we thought the class was going. A good class to take.
BCHM 421: R For Molecular Biosciences (Pete Pascuzzi)
I took this class because my previous classes had made me really like working in R. I took the class to continue on with that. If you do not have a basic understanding of R, it may be a slight learning curve. The class only met on Wednesday and Friday for 2 hours. There wasn’t a lecture every class, but there was usually some work to be done. All assignments were done through R and could typically be finished in the class period. If this wasn’t possible, it could usually be finished the next class. The class just showed different things in R, from graphics and data wrangling to how to process gene ontology. There were homeworks and labs, with labs being more involved. There was a midterm that was open resource and a project. The project was done at the very end with groups who put together code from previous lectures/labs to create an RShiny document. The class did have a final, again open resource, but any graduating seniors did not have to take the final. There was an opportunity for extra credit by creating an R notebook for all your notes for functions and lines of code. The professor was also nice, helpful, and willing to put in effort to match you.
ANSC 351: Meat Science (Yuan Kim)
This class is basically just biology plus some extra info for meat processing. If you have taken muscle biology (or just bio) you will do well. The class does have some busy work, tho. The first part of the class was solely muscle biology. After this, the class went into meat quality (including analysis, factors affecting quality, etc.), parts of production (packaging, freezing, heating), slaughter and that process, then into meat safety. The content was interesting to learn and easy to take in. The class did have several assignments. After every class was a lecture quiz, each week there was a reflection, and every so often there was a case study. Case studies involved reading a case and providing a response to address the cause of a problem and fix it. The whole semester, there was a project involving some topic in meat science (novel tech, meat in diet, lab-grown meat, alternatives, etc.). Groups got together at the beginning of the semester to make a decision on the topic. Then, throughout the semester, groups met with TAs, wrote drafts of a paper, critiqued other student papers, and made a presentation to show the class. Throughout the semester, you have to work 2 shifts at the butcher block or write a giant essay on a book, too. The class also required 4 exams and a final. If you showed up to every class, you were able to skip the final. Dr. Kim loves the topic and wants you to learn, but most of the grading will be done by TAs.

It is with a heavy heart I write this month’s message to our CFISD community. As you know, I briefly outlined our 2024-2025 budget picture in February and sought your feedback as we navigate these challenges. Thank you for all your suggestions–we received 1,200 responses, many with ideas we ultimately used. We relayed these to our Budget Reduction Advisory Committee (BRAC), which met several times this spring to develop recommendations. Believing in site-based decision-making, we also asked stakeholders, including department heads and campus principals, what they thought of the ideas.
I wanted to update you on where we are currently in the budget planning process. As I previously shared with our Board of Trustees, the projected budget deficit is approximately $138 million for 2024-2025. We are looking to reduce approximately one-third of our deficit and have money for a raise. We have already heard that surrounding districts are providing a raise and that our state TRS healthcare insurance will increase for staff next school year. The deadline for the Board to pass a budget is July 1.
With this deadline quickly approaching, we began notifying employees at the central office. This is where our cuts started. In fact, the first cuts were 5% at all central office and districtwide departments, followed by an additional 2.5% cut, when we realized the impact to campuses would be deeper than initially expected. With the fourth-lowest administrative cost ratio in the state, our district’s efficiency is working against us–making it impossible to reach our target amount without touching campuses or departments. Many of the decisions we are facing will have a negative impact on staff and/or the district, and for that, I am so sorry.
How we got here
There are a myriad of factors contributing to our deficit budget.
Since the 2019-2020 school year, the district has experienced a decline in average daily student attendance, which has cost the district an estimated $15 million annually. Attendance is down after the pandemic, causing us to lose funding, but we still have costs associated with classrooms, teachers, and schools. This is an area where we need your help. The 20% Local Optional Homestead Exemption (LOHE) we have offered as a benefit for CFISD taxpayers since 1983 continues to create budget challenges. We estimate a loss of $63 million annually in tax collections from the LOHE. We love our taxpayers, and have shown that love for more than 40 years. Our local legislators appreciate that, and are seeking to help make up that funding for such a low-cost administrative district that cares about tax relief. Please appreciate their support and any effort they are able to bring to bear on our issue. They are behind us. We need this funded. The state legislature increased the school safety allotment from $1.04 million to $2.3 million to try and help; however, our actual costs for CFISD safety and security initiatives amount to $51 million yearly. Both our district and our legislative delegation believe in supporting school safety. They have put money behind it. We just need more as we are a proactive district that wants to provide the safest environment possible. Yet another budget challenge comes with our special education allotment. The federal government has tremendous special education rules and regulations, and provides little funding to implement them. Our state has recognized this issue and provided makeup funds to help. We receive $88 million from the state, but our actual costs amount to $138.5 million. Our legislature has identified this as an issue caused by the federal government. The CFISD local general operating budget covers the $50 million gap. If we could move the federal government to fund the gap or our state could help more with the exploding costs, it could help us address the needs of our rapidly growing special education population. Record inflation of 19% since 2019 has increased costs. We have not gone to our voters to increase revenue to make up the difference, but the state has funded property tax relief. Finally, the 2024 expiration of federal stimulus funding (ESSER funds) eliminated a funding source that has helped offset the deficit for the last three budget cycles, which ends in September, leaving us with an additional funding hole. Where we are
I want to preface that these are painful conversations for everyone in the district, from the Board to the BRAC to the campuses. In a service-oriented industry like ours, where 90% of our budget is staff, we are relegated to reducing costs in this area after already reducing over $14 million in non-personnel areas. Again, since CFISD maintains the fourth-lowest administrative cost ratio in the state, there are not many additional administrative cuts that will significantly impact our budget. In fact, if we eliminate all central staff (including HR, Payroll, benefits, technology, curriculum support, and every hourly support staff), plus all the campus administration and instructional support, we would not make up our projected deficit. We have already committed to using some of our fund balance to minimize the impact this year. Still, we must maintain a safety net in the fund balance to make payroll for the first four months of the school year until property tax receipts start coming in.
The Budget Workshop on April 22 was an opportunity for our Board to hear recommendations from the BRAC and provide input and feedback in advance of our budget deadline. The BRAC recommendations were not close enough to our one-third target amount in year one. Since then, we have reduced our target amount with a plan to utilize the existing fund balance to offset cuts and minimize staff reductions.
The modified budget reduction plan impacts approximately 150 district and campus-level administrators and professional support staff, 60 operations and 21 maintenance positions, and non-personnel reductions totaling more than $14 million at central and district departments. That still leaves us impacting 320 teachers, 66 paraprofessionals and support staff. We are NOT laying off people. We will use vacant positions that have not been eliminated to move staff into. We have prioritized filling open teacher and paraprofessional positions to help campuses meet their classroom needs first. Again, classrooms are prioritized to fill with displaced staff.
The Board also requested modifications to the transportation plan for a hybrid solution that would include a hazardous route plan for elementary and middle school students, resulting in about $6.2 million in cost savings.
We remain committed to providing a staff salary increase for 2024-2025, allowing CFISD to remain competitive with neighboring districts while minimizing the burden of inflation that our employees are experiencing. Additionally, many of our staff live paycheck to paycheck and rely on raises to counteract rising insurance costs.
The trustees and I have been in frequent communication with our legislative delegation, advocating on behalf of the district regarding our budget challenges. The most urgent request of our legislators is their help with the Texas Education Agency Commissioner to utilize excess state funds to offset the district’s loss of revenue due to the LOHE for approximately $30 million. All our legislators have shared their willingness to advocate on our behalf. However, it’s just one-time money, and our legislative delegation has expressed support for more permanent funding for a low-admin-cost, tax-relief-granting district in the next session. That temporary funding will give us more time to seek additional savings and efficiencies to address our shortfall. We are blessed to have our legislative delegation help with this in the next session. That does not begin until January, which is halfway through next year’s budget.
We are also exploring various revenue-generating ideas, including increases in advertising, naming rights and expanded outside facility use. While a Voter-Approved Tax Rate Election (VATRE) would generate the most revenue, it requires voter approval. Based on the statute, November 2024 is the earliest we could hold an election; therefore, it cannot impact our bottom line until the 2025-2026 budget year.
Looking ahead
Unfortunately, we know that our budget challenges will not go away after one year of reductions. Suppose we do not receive increased state funding and/or generate additional revenue. In that case, we will face an even more significant estimated deficit in 2025-2026, necessitating twice as many positional cuts. Therefore, some locally funded increases in revenue, such as a VATRE, could mitigate some of the program and positional cuts. This would be a much better option than eliminating the LOHE as it provides some weighted state funding while still providing homeowners tax relief.
I wish I had more inspiring news to share with you, but we all must clearly understand our current situation and the path forward. Again, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Despite these difficulties, we are tasked with providing the best possible education for more than 118,000 students, and we remain as committed to that challenge as ever.
In the best interest of children,
Doug Killian, Ph.D. Superintendent of schools

Full text:
Thank you to Colorado State Representative Andy Boesenecker and my fellow Fort Collins City Council Member Kelly Ohlson for teaming with me to communicate our shared concerns about Poudre School District's current school consolidation process, especially with regard to impacts on our west-side schools.
Students, families, and staff in the neighborhoods we serve are hurting right now. There are factors I believe are absolutely critical to addressing budgetary concerns in a manner that is well-informed, effective, and (most importantly) compassionate toward our community members.
Andrew, Kelly, and my joint letter to PSD's Superintendent, Board of Education Members, Cabinet, and Consolidation Steering Committee:
Dear Superintendent Kingsley, Members of Cabinet, & Poudre School District Board Directors,
We, Colorado State Representative Andrew Boesenecker and Fort Collins City Council Members Kelly Ohlson and Melanie Potyondy, write to you with grave concern about the current school consolidation process within the Poudre School District (PSD), especially regarding potential long-term impacts on the west Fort Collins residents we represent. We understand the financial challenges the district faces, including schools operating under capacity and the pressing need for capital improvements. However, we believe the current approach to consolidation will deepen inequities of access across the district, damage long-standing high school feeder system relationships, and contribute to the alarming erosion of trust that we have observed in our community throughout this process.
We are especially concerned that the failed effort at consolidation in the fall of 2023 has damaged the reputation of specific west-side neighborhood schools, namely Olander Elementary and Blevins Middle School. Since having been publicly identified as sites worthy of closure, these schools have not only entered current consolidation conversations on uneven footing due to stigma but have experienced real impacts to their fall 2024 enrollment numbers. Additional west-side schools’ reputations have been damaged as consolidation conversations have proceeded, as well, albeit over a shorter period of time. Blevins Middle School, especially, has been dealt an unfair hand; their entry into consolidation talks occurred while the school was actively striving to remediate negative impacts that sprung from years of weak school leadership that went unchecked by the district.
Blevins’s new administrative team and dedicated staff have made exceptional efforts to re-establish their school as an asset to the west-side community since their fresh start in the fall of 2022. They were experiencing growing and measurable success, especially before this past fall’s damning consolidation talks. Their academic scores have improved, culture has been recovering, and behavioral standards have been re-normed. Innovative programming, like Blevins’ after-school Bruins Club and initial steps toward implementing Project Based Learning (PBL), was catching steam. In hiring a new principal, who was made fully aware that Blevins was in a period of transition prior to taking the job, the district tacitly made a commitment to letting him do the demanding work necessary to rehabilitate a struggling school. Targeting Blevins for closure just over a year into his tenure violates that commitment and, if followed through with, will result in long-term harm to the educational opportunities available on the west side of PSD.
Consolidation of Blevins Middle School will create a vast school desert on the west side of town. It is located nearly three miles from Webber, over three from Lincoln, and almost four from Boltz Middle School. Further, Blevins’s catchment area is relatively diverse for Fort Collins. Its closure will disproportionately impact an economically varied student body and displace a center-based special education program for students with emotional disabilities. It will disrupt a school community that functions within one of the district’s most cost-effective buildings, which has one of the highest proportions of walkers/bikers in PSD, and that is invested in creating an elementary-to-middle-school PBL track. Finally, Blevins is an integral contributor to the health of the beloved Rocky Mountain High School feeder system. District actions that imperil the long-term vitality of Rocky will disrupt over fifty years of community identity within its feeder zone and are unlikely to be well-received by residents.
As elected officials representing families on the west side of Fort Collins, we urge you to exclude Blevins Middle School from the consolidation process AND formally commit to allowing them a minimum of five undisrupted years to rebuild. The district’s contribution to their decline is substantive, and their investment in their recovery should be commensurate. Blevins’s administration, staff, and catchment area families need an opportunity to breathe and to continue the recovery process without the specter of closure impeding progress. We must alleviate the fear of disruption for families considering returning to Blevins and encourage them to reinvest in their neighborhood middle school.
In addition to specific actions to support Blevins Middle School, we believe that the current wave of school closures should be targeted and limited in scope, overall, via comprehensive examination of alternative budget-trimming measures. In response to the draft consolidation plans proposed thus far and before any closures are contemplated, we respectfully request that the following actions be pursued by district leadership to minimize the need for consolidations and, in cases in which closures are necessary, lessen the magnitude of negative impacts:

1. Complete a comprehensive review of the district budget to identify and address financial inefficiencies and redundancies.
2. Rescale central office staffing and compensation to reflect our district’s current enrollment and financial circumstances.
3. Evaluate causes of declining enrollment beyond birth rates and housing prices (e.g., curricular preferences, programming, student conduct concerns).
4. Partner with local governmental organizations and community agencies to explore potential cost-saving options for existing schools.
5. Redraw boundaries to stabilize school populations.
6. Halt plans for construction of new schools.
7. Limit consolidations to only those that are critical and that are warranted based on facility conditions.
8. Ensure that closures do not disproportionately burden specific geographic areas.
9. Minimize the creation of school deserts regarding walking/biking to school, especially for schools that serve economically disadvantaged families.
10. Complete an analysis of transportation costs associated with proposed consolidations.
11. Establish defined criteria and procedures for future instances of declining enrollment, to prevent large-scale actions like those currently being considered.
12. For any consolidations that are made, clearly communicate means by which families who made school-of-choice decisions with incomplete information can adjust their 2024-2025 plans, including the opportunity to re-enroll in neighborhood schools if desired.

In short, consolidating schools should not be viewed as the primary mechanism to address budget shortfalls but, rather, the last resort. Especially for schools with larger catchment areas, the ripple effects are likely to be significant. We implore you to adopt a measured approach that prioritizes cuts that do not directly impact students, preserves high school feeder systems, and maintains equitable access to education for all students. Rebuilding trust within the PSD community is going to be a lengthy process after this year’s period of tumult and hurt, and we believe the steps outlined above are critical means to this end.
We recognize the complexities of managing a school district in the face of financial constraints, but we believe that solutions must prioritize the well-being and educational opportunities of our students above all else. We stand ready to work collaboratively with the Board, Cabinet, Superintendent, and community stakeholders to find sustainable and equitable solutions that preserve the integrity of our school system.
Thank you for considering our perspective and for your dedication to the students and families of the Poudre School District.
Sincerely,
Andrew Boesenecker, Colorado State Representative, HD53 Kelly Ohlson, Fort Collins City Council Member, D5 Melanie Potyondy, Fort Collins City Council Member, D4

I’m writing a book. Autobiography called This is NOT MY Autobiography. I have been outlining and I have most chapters layed out but once I begin putting it all together I will need a professional revisor and editor. This book begins with sexual abuse as a child in gymnastics- falling into a deep religious phase throughout high school (absolutely not religious now) - dating a 30 yr old millionaire alcoholic in college who let me drive his 200k jaguar and bring all my friends over in college when he was out of town to smoke weed all night long- being a Muay Thai fighter fighting in Thailand that led me to a binge eating disorder throughout college- my constant vice of adopting new hobbies and hyper fixing on them such as skateboarding- my first abusive relationship that lasted 6 months- my journey through sobriety and writing this book. I have photos I will be adding to chapters of each rock bottom I hit to become where I am now but I am seeking help in this process of writing and revising. Any resources would be incredible to connect with.

I’m writing a book. Autobiography called This is NOT MY Autobiography. I have been outlining and I have most chapters layed out but once I begin putting it all together I will need a professional revisor and editor. This book begins with sexual abuse as a child in gymnastics- falling into a deep religious phase throughout high school (absolutely not religious now) - dating a 30 yr old millionaire alcoholic in college who let me drive his 200k jaguar and bring all my friends over in college when he was out of town to smoke weed all night long- being a Muay Thai fighter fighting in Thailand that led me to a binge eating disorder throughout college- my constant vice of adopting new hobbies and hyper fixing on them such as skateboarding- my first abusive relationship that lasted 6 months- my journey through sobriety and writing this book. I have photos I will be adding to chapters of each rock bottom I hit to become where I am now but I am seeking help in this process of writing and revising. Any resources would be incredible to connect with.

I’m writing a book. Autobiography called This is NOT MY Autobiography. I have been outlining and I have most chapters layed out but once I begin putting it all together I will need a professional revisor and editor. This book begins with sexual abuse as a child in gymnastics- falling into a deep religious phase throughout high school (absolutely not religious now) - dating a 30 yr old millionaire alcoholic in college who let me drive his 200k jaguar and bring all my friends over in college when he was out of town to smoke weed all night long- being a Muay Thai fighter fighting in Thailand that led me to a binge eating disorder throughout college- my constant vice of adopting new hobbies and hyper fixing on them such as skateboarding- my first abusive relationship that lasted 6 months- my journey through sobriety and writing this book. I have photos I will be adding to chapters of each rock bottom I hit to become where I am now but I am seeking help in this process of writing and revising. Any resources would be incredible to connect with.

"Paris: The Memoir" by Paris Hilton is a transparent and fascinating autobiography that provides readers with an intimate glimpse into the life of the heiress, businesswoman, and media figure. In this memoir, Hilton reveals her personal experience, from growing up in the spotlight as a member of the Hilton family to her ascent to prominence as a socialite, reality TV star, and entrepreneur.
The book begins with Hilton's youth, revealing insights into her affluent upbringing and the difficulties she felt as the heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune. Hilton comments on the difficulty of negotiating fame and public scrutiny from a young age, as well as her struggles with self-esteem and identity.
As the narrative unfolds, Hilton narrates her journey into the realm of reality television with the successful series "The Simple Life," which rocketed her to global celebrity. She discusses behind-the-scenes stories from the show and offers candid views on its impact on her life and career.
Throughout the biography, Hilton also opens up about her personal challenges, including her experiences with fame, relationships, and mental health. She outlines her efforts to reclaim control of her narrative and reestablish herself on her own terms, away from the tabloid headlines and public impressions.
What sets "Paris: The Memoir" different is Hilton's candor and sensitivity. She bares her soul on the pages of this book, chronicling her victories and sorrows with honesty and candor. Hilton also gives insights about her commercial pursuits, including her lucrative fragrance brand and her recent entry into the world of DJing.
Overall, "Paris: The Memoir" is an engaging and inspirational book that will resonate with lovers of Hilton's work and anybody interested in the complexity of fame and celebrity culture. Hilton's path from socialite to shrewd entrepreneur is an incredible monument to the power of endurance, determination, and self-discovery. Whether you're a longtime admirer or new to Hilton's story, this memoir offers a compelling peek into the life of a modern-day legend.
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Rule #1: As Cubmaster, you are there for the kids, NOT the Adults.

• Don't be the one making all the 'Adult' announcements at the Pack meeting; let the Committee Chair or another Committee Member do that.

Rule #2: Don't touch paper!

• If something needs to be passed out or collected, let another adult do it, or assign a cub to be the "Postman" for the meeting.

Rule #3: Repetition is the key, just change the actors.

• The strategy that proved beneficial for me was establishing a routine for the Pack meetings. Each month, assign a different den to serve as the color guard, perform a skit, sing a song, and assist with cleanup afterward (like putting away chairs and picking up trash). This keeps the scouts engaged and active, ensuring they contribute to the meetings rather than just observing.

As Cubmaster you are the Master of Ceremonies for the Pack Meetings, acting as a stand-up comedian and hype person for the elementary school crowd. It’s common for many Cubmasters to take on the role of managing the entire pack—organizing activities, running meetings, planning outings, recruiting volunteers, handling dues and forms, etc. However, these responsibilities actually fall to the Committee Chair and the Pack Committee. Avoid overburdening yourself with these tasks as Cubmaster to prevent burnout.
Here's what I do for my Pack meetings
Active Participation: * Even when the scouts are seated, keep them actively involved! Avoid talking at them for more than a couple of minutes. Remember, they are in a "School" environment most of the day/ most of the week. Don't make this "School"
Routine Elements:
Announcement Song:

• Introduce a fun routine where every time someone says "announcement," everyone sings the Announcement Song. Tip: Say "announcement" at least once to kick off the song, as others will catch on, and adults will avoid using the word.

Den Yells:

• Use den yells (highly recommended), invoke them whenever the names of the dens ("Lions", "Tiger," "Bear," "Wolf," "WeBeLoS") are mentioned.

Singing:

• Include a song at each meeting, encouraging everyone to sing "Loud and Lousy" and to stand while singing.

Monthly Skits and Flag Ceremonies:

• Rotate these responsibilities among the dens, ensuring different Dens are highlighted each month.

Efficient Award Ceremonies:

• Avoid lengthy individual award presentations; instead, bring scouts up by their Den or rank group, which is more engaging and time-efficient.

Meeting Example:

• Setup: Early arrivals help set up chairs and distribute programs.
  
• Sign in: Scouts sign in by placing their name-tagged clothespins (colored by rank) into a tin can.
  
• Opening: Start on time. The Cubmaster greets everyone, explains the meeting's theme, and introduces the Wolf Den for the flag ceremony.
  
• Invocation: Followed by a brief prayer.
  
• Core Values Discussion: Explain the core value of the month and discuss its meaning with the scouts.
  
• Interactive Time Check: Cue for a group song led by a den or the Cubmaster.
  
• Awards and Applause: Use creative group movements (e.g., Tigers hop up, Wolves walk backward) and themed applauses (e.g., 'round' of applause, one big hand).
  
• Activities: Include a short activity related to the core value.
  
• Den Performances: Have a den perform a skit, followed by their award presentation with a specific type of applause (e.g., golf clap).
  
• Prize Drawing: Use a fun, interactive method to draw prizes, involving drum rolls and guessing games based on pin colors. Draw names for prizes from a selection of small gifts or the "Mysterious Bag of Mystery." (a large sack of previously unpicked prizes)
  
• Closing Announcements and Cubmaster’s Minute: End with essential announcements (sing the announcement song and let another adult make the announcements) and a thoughtful closing message.
  
• Retire the Colors: Led by one of the Dens.
  
• Ending and Cleanup: Form a circle for closing vespers, followed by a joint cleanup effort, embracing the "Leave No Trace" principle.
  

If your experience with your Pack is similar to ours, you've likely seen a few individuals juggling multiple roles. Initially, our Cubmaster also took on the duties of a popcorn kernel, Pack Trainer, and Advancement Chair. We discovered that creating specific job postings helped tremendously in recruiting volunteers. People often hesitate to volunteer because they perceive the workload as overwhelming and fear that they will be left to manage without support (Often observing others who are overextended and struggling alone). Ask for help by clearly defining each role and its responsibilities. We made the tasks seem more manageable and provided a clear outline of what was expected. This clarity encouraged more people to step forward and volunteer enthusiastically.
Here is a link to what we used: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16H2RfaRZ9G5pOHlyyuQ1XNarkhr7ukii/view?usp=sharing

My HOA is hosting their annual meeting in two weeks. I am not a fan of our HOA, specifically because we're a mostly-white moderate-income neighborhood around an elementary school; there's genuinely little concern for any dramatic shifts in property value. They're threatening to shift to third-parties for HOA things because they don't have enough "volunteers" to handle the... four things our HOA handles (plowing, entrance maintenance/taxes/utilities, "enforcement" of rules, and "community events"). We don't have any community spaces, we don't have a pool or a playground or anything like that. We have an annual garage sale. That's it. We are charged, as 391 single family homes (number per the HOA letter), $75/year. Obviously, I'm not involved with the HOA. I think they're an outdated relic. They enforce conformity in the most asinine way, but I digress. Based on what I think the limits of our neighborhood is and what our HOA does, I think it's a preposterous amount of money. I don't think it would be overstepping my bounds to: A) request a transparent budget outlining where our fees go; B) enquire as to what cost-saving measures are trying to be put forward; and C) why they are opting to go the route of third-party HOA contractors instead of maybe just... dissolving themselves? Because if no one wants to "volunteer" anymore, maybe it's something that should be done away with completely? Is there anything I should research/know before going to this meeting and requesting these things? Does anyone have experience with this?
TIA!

I have already planned the first 10 minutes of what should be a 45-minute lesson, describing the course of the Assassination in Sarajevo and the escalation into world war. I have a rough outline of the rest where I would describe the 4 MAIN cause: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism (in whatever order). Before all, I am from Croatia so this acronym doesn't hold much value in itself.
How can I present those causes in a way that would they could reach the conclusion by themselves? I plan on using sources ofc, so I would be much obliged if you know of some juicy ones.
For imperialism, I plan to use the map of Africa before the scramble and after, some quotes by Cecil Rhodes, the expansions in the Balkan and so on. From there on I can segway into imperialism then into militarism. Nationalism I feel I can use at the beginning to help explain Princip's actions and one of the reasons why AH felt it necessary to conquer Serbia.
I would be thankful for any help you may offer. I can answer any question you might ask.
EDIT: They are elementary school students.

https://libriincogniti.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/kommunistisches-programm-national-revolution-and-downfall-of-cambodia/
The Events after the Fall of Phnom Penh and the Programme of Khieu Samphan, the Peasantry and the Enablers of Capital
With the end of the Indochina war in 1975, not much remained of Cambodia’s economy either. More than half of the rice fields lay fallow, and the few industrial enterprises, the port facilities in Kampong Som, the railway lines and the bridges had been destroyed by US bombs. Although the figures are not unambiguous, their magnitude alone shows what heavy blood sacrifice imperialism also demanded of this people: In the five years of war, around 800,000 people were killed, more than 40,000 were maimed, almost 200,000 were wounded.
The constant flow of refugees inflated the capital from its original population of around 600,000 to over 3 million, meaning that by the end of the war almost half of the Khmer people were crammed into their metropolis. As is well known, the imperialist world press howled in horror and disgust when it learned of the forced exodus of this human aggregation. The US bombardment drove people from the countryside into the cities – the revolutionary nationalists had to force them back. Both actions were cruel and devastating for those affected, because both times they happened under terrible conditions, the first time under the imperialist hail of bombs and the coercion of its local police, the second time under the pressure of hunger and the state coercion of the newly installed revolutionary patriotic power. But for the imperialist propaganda machine there were no connections here. Of course, it only saw the terror of the Khmer Rouge, so supposedly of Communism. Here again was a wonderful opportunity to play out the bourgeois farce of humanism and love of one’s neighbour to the full. No mention of the mass murders in the imperialist war against the Southeast Asian peoples, no mention of the unspeakable destruction of these only weakly industrialised agrarian societies. These sacrifices were noticed at most when the insane war spending of the USA threatened to drag the entire imperialist West into the vortex of economic problems as a result of the currency crises caused by it. After all, to this day, these gentlemen are consistently proud of their efforts to preserve “freedom”.
Cambodia became the main object of these friends of mankind over the next few years. Here, indeed, all cherished values and conceptions were thrown overboard. A state without money, without postal services, without cars and motorbikes, without public transport, without telephones, television, books and the cities extinct. Only “communists” could have committed this crime; as is well known, they can be trusted with anything inhumane and in Cambodia they truly acted as the incarnation of “darkness” and “evil”. What was perpetrated before in the name of the heroes of “light” and “reason” – not a word about that, of course. It was a central organ of the imperialist offensive on the human intellect – Reader’s Digest – that first announced in 1977 that at least 1.2 million people had been murdered in the two years since the fall of Phnom Penh. Ever new figures were quickly added, which journalists claimed to have learned from the numerous refugees. It is not necessary to assume that all these reports were forgeries, because in fact the Khmer Rouge set an extremely radical course from the beginning, which certainly brought much horror, misery and also deaths. But today’s sated imperialists should perhaps sometimes look at the history books: What misery, what terror, what torment against the population is archived there – and that over centuries. The French Revolution also produced at least 100,000 deaths in the most important four years – and it did so with a machine specially designed for the purpose. It was not by chance that it was the steam engine and the guillotine that inaugurated the industrial age in a revolutionary way. But do the distinguished British gentlemen, who even then scoffed at these butchers in Paris, have fewer lives on their consciences? Those who still don’t know have to have it written on their cheat sheets all the time: The establishment of bourgeois rule has always been brutal and extremely bloody. The destruction of the traditional smallholder form of economy, the annihilation of small-scale trade and crafts always passed over those affected like a merciless steamroller. And under unspeakable tortures, the majority of these people who were expropriated without compensation were pressed into the factories and, if necessary, forced by brutal violence to slave as many hours of their day as possible for the lowest possible wages. All that was not so long ago. But it is always amusing how hastily today’s representatives of capital pretend that these are youthful sins of foreign predecessors. And this process of constant dressing for factory labour, of the destruction of both man and nature, continues both in depth and in breadth. It will only come to an end when this capitalist basis has been revolutionarily annihilated because of the contradictions it constantly produces.
...
However, if one wants to understand the “mysterious” processes in Cambodia, one has to be clear above all about the material and social conditions. A devastated country that was still largely worked by small peasants; a chaotically bloated capital city to which the majority of these same peasants had fled. The terror of the bombs had charged this population, once peaceful and living in the eternal grind of farm labour, with fear, but above all with unbridled rage and blind hatred. Hatred against the city in which they had to take refuge, anger against the American bombers which destroyed their existence, but particularly anger against their own corrupt aristocracy, the military as well as the city dwellers in general who sought to prolong their raison d’être by making a pact with imperialism. Now the old mixture of foreignness, subservient spirit and unease found its general discharge in a primal hatred of the rural population for their oppressors in the cities. A frenzy of revenge arose, which certainly accounted for most of the brutalities in the first year of liberation.
In order to understand this social side of this revolution in Cambodia, which gave it the ferocious expression of blood, revenge and chaos that one encounters in practically every revolution carried out mainly by peasants, one must always bear in mind the social structure already described. The strong urban-rural divide was not between agriculture and industry – the latter was practically non-existent – but it was the extreme contrast between agriculture and all the ominous trades that bourgeois statistics usually classify under the heading of “services”. Here, actually “unproductive” administration and trade – moreover, predominantly created and nourished in the service of imperialism – and “productive” agriculture faced each other. Of the “peace population” in Phnom Penh of about 600,000, this included about 200,000 Vietnamese and over 100,000 Chinese, out of a total of about 800,000. So the Cambodians did not even make up the majority of the population in their capital. Aristocracy and officials on one side, poor peasants on the other, too poor to make a living in the countryside, coming to the city because they hoped for a job, or later bombed into it. Cambodians were almost completely excluded from the trade and merchant sectors. These sectors were mainly in the hands of the Chinese and Vietnamese.
In this approaching whirlwind of social unrest on the part of the peasants, which is growing in strength, another social force tries for its survival. Young intellectuals, most of them educated in Paris, the educational centre of the former colonial ruler, want to break the corrupt tangle of local aristocracy and foreign power by force. Without any reservoir in the own ranks of the urban bourgeoisie, for the latter is practically non-existent and if it is, then hardly to be enthused for nationalist accumulation programmes with a more rigorous cut; without a proper bourgeois class, these petty-bourgeois radicals lead a practically hopeless struggle for change. Forced very soon into the rural underground by Sihanouk’s authoritarian regime, they try to implement their programme of industrialisation based on agriculture with the help of the only social class that counts – namely the rural population, the small peasants and farm workers.
...
One simply has to quote these illuminating passages of the Khmer Rouge’s “chief ideologist” at length, because after all the imperialist wailing, one probably does not think it possible that these “monsters” can think at all. (A Trotskyist group, persistent in its obtuseness, even opined that these “monsters” were the embodiment of… a return to feudalism!) One thing is immediately quite clear: these petty-bourgeois intellectuals, widely referred to as Marxists, communists, etc., are never ever in the tradition of the “German” Karl Marx, but of the German Friedrich List, who, under the slogan “Freedom is the goal, limitation is the necessity”, set his protectionist credo against the imperialist ideology of the free traders in the last century. The Khmer Rouge leaders are thus spiritual sons of the ancestors of today’s imperialists, those imperialists who now see in them the personified devil of communism, although they only wanted to be flesh of their flesh.
These views of Samphan and thus the leaders of the Khmer Rouge were also quoted at length because they are so popular today. In the face of the growing exploitation of the countries of the so-called Third World by Western imperialism, theories are emerging everywhere that vehemently propose the same position of “cutting off” the “underdeveloped” countries from the dominance of the world market ruled by Western capital as a panacea. And it is certainly no coincidence that one of the main representatives of these academic “revolutionaries”, the Egyptian Samir Amin, raves about the radicalism of the Khmer Rouge even after their expulsion and predicts a chain of new “Kampucheas” for the African future. Against the massive reality of the increasing internationalisation of capital and the growing global control of Western and increasingly Eastern imperialism, such “progressive” petty-bourgeois theorists place their faith in autarky, national accumulation and so-called autocentric development. Against the capitalist propaganda of progress and prosperity through freedom of trade and capital investment, which in reality in fact produces nothing but growing pauperisation and exploitation, the Good News on the other side says: Only if one can free oneself from imperialism at least for as long as it takes to be able to develop one’s productive forces independently, only then will one achieve prosperity and security for humanity.
In this respect, both sides represent only two sides of the same coin. Both claim to be able to achieve “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” within the framework of and through capitalism – as the forefather of these bourgeois tendencies, Adam Smith, already formulated this elementary lie of capital.
...
The utopians of capital have to acknowledge time and again that, contrary to their proclamations, the social antagonisms both within the “developed” and “underdeveloped” countries and between these countries are becoming increasingly acute. And while capitalism is pushing the development of the productive forces ever more sharply in order to satisfy its insatiable hunger for surplus value, it is precisely because of this highly productive technology that it is less and less able to transform the pauperised masses into active proletarians, i.e. to force them to the machines or into the office. While the imperialists, in their frenzied mania for surplus value, are at least throwing the whole world into growing unrest and undermining ancestral immobile relations ever more thoroughly, the heralds of an apparently radical autarky are causing nothing but confusion in the ranks of the pauperising masses. They talk of economic independence, stable economic cycles and adapted technology – all concepts that really bring out their illusionist anachronism.
And to see Cambodia of all places as a concrete approach or even an example for the feasibility of such utopias seems almost tragicomic in view of the results that are now available. But it is also a total misreading of the factual development under the Pol Pot government. Demonisation and idealisation of the Khmer Rouge have the same basis. They assume that the measures taken after the conquest of power in Cambodia were deliberate and planned. One side sees only the terror and coercive measures with which the leaders, supported by relatively small armed forces, tried to get a grip on a witch’s cauldron of panic and violence and to escape the total catastrophe of starvation – and the chaos that would ensue in turn. They see this terror and these coercive measures as completely detached from the economic and social emergency. The others confuse the factual state of extreme social backwardness in Cambodia and the emergency measures taken with an economic and social programme.
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We have outlined the devastating situation in Cambodia shortly before the moment of liberation. However broad and deep the peasant unrest in the countryside may have been at the time, it must be remembered that a large proportion of these peasants stayed in the capital out of necessity during the main phase of the fighting. In any case, the Khmer Rouge, hardly more than 70,000 men anyway, fought for a long time mainly in the sparsely populated outskirts of Cambodia.
When the Khmer Rouge troops approached the capital in 1975 – likely with only about 20,000 men – it soon became clear that it was imperative to deal radically with this hopelessly bloated big head. Estimates vary, but it can be assumed that of the 7-8 million Cambodians, at least 2.5, but probably over 3 million were crammed into the capital (“peace population” as mentioned 600,000). With the severing of the umbilical cord to imperialism, Phnom Penh was up in the air as its former bridgehead. There was no possibility whatsoever to control or even feed this veritable hell of collaborators and starving refugee masses. The general shortage of rice had driven prices to dizzying heights: from 10 riel per kilo in December 1971 to 125 riel in December 1973 and on to 300 riel in early 1975, reaching a record 340 riel in mid-February. The retreat of the imperialists and the advance of the Khmer Rouge must have acted as a double signal: On the one hand, to storm against the hated parasites and the urbanites in general, on the other hand, to return to the countryside in chaos. The Khmer Rouge had to evacuate the city and channel the returning flow to avoid a total catastrophe. The fact that the displaced people left a wide trail of blood behind them on their way out of the city (for the time of the Khmer Rouge government, there is consistent talk of at least 1 million deaths) was unavoidable under the given conditions. It is significant that the majority of the massacres affected the urban population and certain national minorities: precisely intellectuals, military officers of the old Lon Nol regime, Sihanoukists, capitalists, merchants etc., and apart from the Cham (Muslims) almost exclusively the Vietnamese and Chinese minorities, whose social situation we have already pointed out.
Whether it was spontaneous peasant terror or executions organised by the Khmer Rouge, it was partly revolutionary violence against the supporters of the old regime, which as such does not speak against but for the Khmer Rouge, and partly pogroms, which the leaders at most accepted and tried to direct in the interests of the state monopoly on the use of force. But it is not so important whether the Khmer Rouge leaders had to accept or order these massacres. What is decisive is that they were forced by material development to eliminate or to have eliminated precisely those strata on which they wanted to rely. This, together with the evacuation of the cities, deprived them of any social support other than the peasantry. Thus they were at the mercy of this peasantry, which had to be disciplined for the actualisation of their “programme”. The conflict with it was therefore programmed for the time after the famine had been averted.
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After the worst of the chaos had been overcome, it was attempted to use these structures, which had prevailed in a rather primitive way during the hunger phase, for one’s “industrialisation programme” by maintaining and further intensifying collectivisation. Necessity was to become a capitalist virtue. The complete lack of such “civilisational” achievements as the intercourse of money and commodities was supposed to make for an ideal, indeed classic, “truck system”, i.e. payment in kind alone. The peasants were forced into ever new production battles, because now surpluses were to be produced for export – i.e. for exchange with foreign means of production – which indeed happened and animated the leaders even further. The general command was under the iron slogan: “Work hard and try to achieve maximum results with a minimum of investment”, and the focus was on absolute labour effort.
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Once a sufficient level of production had been restored, however, the whole construction was bound to collapse completely sooner rather than later. Anyone who has even a pale inkling of the travails of the infamous Stalinist collectivisation in Russia – and the Russian state was on an incomparably higher social level and had quite different means of power at its disposal – can easily imagine how the intellectual would-be enablers of capitalism in Cambodia, then practically hanging in the air, would have to perish in an orgy of violence – unless, with the help of a foreign power, they could get a grip on the chaos and create more stable conditions through a series of concessions to the peasantry. Most likely, however, they would be finished even then, like a man trying to hold on as long as possible to a wildly thrashing bull and then falling to the ground exhausted. In any case, the arena crowd was already eagerly awaiting the outcome of the tragedy.
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Sovereignty, neutrality, non-alignment – this credo runs through all declarations as a complement to “autarky”. But already in the face of the first offensive by the Vietnamese, it must have slowly become clear to the Khmer Rouge leaders that these fine words could only have one meaning in our unpleasant world, namely to place themselves under the protection of the People’s Republic of China. In Pol Pot’s interview, which we have just quoted, a strange acronym appears: CPK. This means “Communist Party of Kampuchea”. And yet, to the boundless amazement of bourgeois commentators, the Khmer Rouge had never tried to dress up their declarations or their constitution with Marxist or pseudo-Marxist vocabulary – which is certainly very sympathetic to us. On the contrary, they have displayed an obvious and pedantic aversion to these concepts. Neither “vanguard of the proletariat” or “communist party” nor “proletarian internationalism”, neither “classless society” nor “dictatorship of the proletariat”, but also not “new democratic revolution”, “mass line”, “creation of a new man”, “peaceful coexistence” etc. etc. had ever been spoken of. If similar contents had to be expressed, they were paraphrased with other words. But this did not happen because the Pol Pot folks would have been particularly honest and wanted to do us Marxists a favour. This happened because in their dogged nationalism they wanted to distance themselves clearly from their neighbours Vietnam, but also China, who professed to be “socialist”. The national character of all these revolutions and states, the national character of their confrontations and of their whole politics is expressed even in the fact that the weakest link feels compelled by the instinct of self-preservation to dispense with the “Marxist” or “socialist” cloak for the capitalist programme! This is what “socialism in one country” has come to! And the adoption of the “Marxist” “vocabulary” here is a sign of the surrender of the so sacred national sovereignty. If, as already mentioned, no announcement had ever mentioned a party or revolutionary phases (there was always talk of a “revolutionary organisation” and even of “Angkor traditions”), Pol Pot told his astonished people and all those who wanted to know the following story on 27 September 1977: the CPK had already existed in Cambodia since 30 September 1960 and had achieved this miracle of a national-democratic revolution. He told it the day before he left for Beijing, on which, fighting a losing battle against the Vietnamese, he has been completely dependent ever since.
As a “plaything of foreign powers”, the nationalist intellectuals of Cambodia perished. The peasantry, largely decimated under the pressure of the imperialist frenzy and its consequences, as now under the pressure of Vietnam’s national expansion, is an example of the fate that capitalist society reserves for small and weak peoples in its emergence and development. To such peoples the proletariat alone would and will secure the right of self-determination, because unlike the bourgeoisie it does not seek national privileges but wants to abolish them, because unlike the bourgeoisie it can create voluntary union, because unlike the bourgeoisie it liberates itself not by exploiting others but by abolishing all exploitation.

I've been listening to audio books written by former flds women, not for any reason other than I like autobiographies and stumbled on one then found it was interesting and there's multiple women who've written their stories, anyway I was struck by the similarities to a lot of the things I was taught in the Adventist church, I was born to parents who were Adventist, my mom ended up teaching in Adventist elementary schools and I grew up in the church and schools, I've been out of the church for years, but I remember being terrified as a kid about the end of the world and pictured men with guns coming into our house at end times putting a gun to my head and asking if I was a Christian etc.. later of course, I discovered this is a terrible thing to do to kids and people, and most organized religion is about control in my opinion, so listening to the flds beliefs was so similar to the Adventist beliefs about end times and it's so funny how every church thinks they're the one, the chosen one, the only right way and chosen people blah blah, and even though I'm not necessarily searching for anything in particular I googled former Adventist and discovered there's a whole population and , podcasts, even gatherings, so anyway here I am, and am finding all of this fascinating, Cheers 🍻