This is what I did today. (Okay, not the ONLY thing. Just the most important thing. And yes, this is going into my 115 powerpoint next week hahahahaha).
Strike Averted!
One of the most pressing issues on campus this semester was the possibilty of a teacher’s strike, in response to a lack of pay increases for faculty in recent years. “I don’t want to strike, but I will” was our motto, and I was 100% prepared to go on strike, if it had come to that.
In order to minimize the impact on my students, I’d arranged the schedule during the proposed strike week so my students could watch a movie on their own one of the missed days, and take an exam online on the other. (Since my classes were only taught two days a week, the impact on each individual class was relatively small). Either way, I thought this was a good compromise – allowing them to access their education even on the days when I’d cancelled class.
At the 11th hour, we got the word that a tentative agreement was reached, and the strike was cancelled. I’ll admit that I breathed a sigh of relief about that (I genuinely did not want to strike), and I’m also pleased with the way it all played out. We got much of what we wanted out of this agreement, through the time-honored process of collective bargaining. I’m proud to be a card-carrying member of the California Faculty Association.
The story below, originally posted in the Sonoma State Star, gives some additional background. (Reproduced in its entirety, as the Star doesn’t keep articles online in perpetuity):
Read moreDragon Genetics Student Artwork
One of the assignments I give my intro biology students is called “Dragon Genetics,” in which they determine the alleles (versions of genes) that a baby dragon will inherit from its parents. Then, I ask them to create an accurate image of the dragon, based on the inherited traits. Most of the students use a dollmaker (from this site). Here’s one I created as an example:
I love to see their dollmaker dragons, but occasionally, I’ll have a few students who do the artwork entirely by hand. Here are some examples from this semester:
Pretty spectacular, eh?
SAFE Western Pond Turtle Video
I might be biased, but this is a fantastic video about western pond turtles . . . the segment starting at 5:00 features the field site where I did my thesis research. The fellow being interviewed is my advisor, Nick Geist. And that’s your’s truly measuring the turtles in preparation to release them back into the lake. SO FAMOUS! 🙂
These Crazy Cute Turtles Want their Lake Back
Hey, these are MY turtles! (Well, not just mine, but these are Geist Lab turtles. So I guess I could call them OUR turtles).
“Boxed in by a freeway, a golf course and a neighborhood, it’s a miracle that San Francisco’s Mountain Lake even exists. But not only is the tiny lake—located on the south end of the city’s Presidio park—still there, it now provides one of the few places in San Francisco where visitors can watch California’s only native aquatic turtle bask in the sun.”
Read the rest of the article here: http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/01/26/these-crazy-cute-baby-turtles-want-their-lake-back/
Introduction to Biology
Getting ready to teach my first 115 class of the semester. Oh yeah. 
Field Trip to Mountain Lake
Our recent trip to Mountain Lake was featured on the Presidio Trust’s blog (http://www.presidio.gov/blog). The post seems to have scrolled off their blog, so I’ll reproduce it here:
2015 Science Symposium
(As published in the Fall, 2015, Science and Technology’s Newsletter”)
“This past May, the School of Science & Technology in partnership with the WATERS Collaborative hosted its third annual Science Symposium. As in past years, the event was kicked off with the 2014-15 Science 120 cohort presenting talks on the research project they conducted over the past year. This year many of the students also presented posters. We had a record number of 81 posters presented from departments across campus highlighting the work of 193 students.”
I was especially pleased to see this photo in the newsletter, as I worked with this cohort of Science 120 students, as a consultant to help them with field techniques related to their individual research projects. What a great group of students!
At Mountain Lake, One Last Chance to See the Turtles Off
Another Bay Nature article featuring turtles from our lab. I’m quoted in this one!
A Western pond turtle, ready for release into Mountain Lake. (Photo by Charity Vargas Photography, courtesy Presidio Trust)
by Lauren McNulty on October 14, 2015
“This turtle release is symbolic of so much transformation,” said Michael Boland, chief of planning, projects, and programs at the Presidio Trust. Mountain Lake, he said, is not just about Mountain Lake, it’s about how the environment is managed: “Nature survives in cities because of people.”
Which, said Sonoma State lecturer Wendy St. John, is one reason the project has succeeded. People around the lake have rallied to its restoration. “This is their neighborhood, not just a touristy area,” St. John said. “It’s been a community effort.”
Read the rest of the article here: https://baynature.org/article/at-mountain-lake-one-last-chance-to-see-the-turtles-off/
Super Science Saturday – Mountain Lake
I was at this event, representing SSU. (As a matter of fact, that’s my son at the far left of the first photo, at the booth he and I were manning). Super cool!