Don't Be Stupid

Don't Be Stupid.

That is the phrase that should be stuck in every freshmen's head as the First Friday of college comes around.

The First Friday is the single most dangerous day of the year for a college freshmen. Let me explain why.

After orientation week has ended and classes have begun, every freshmen has an epiphany. "I am free!" They realize that their parents are gone and they are surrounded by peers. They are now adults. They get to make their own decisions, have their own life, and it is all up to them. "They get to do whatever they want now"

Sorry to all the freshmen, but that is just not how it works. Being an adult means you do get to do whatever you want, but if you do something stupid then you lose your right to be treated as an adult. There may no longer be parents who nag you when you do stupid stuff, but there are now other adults (like police) that can make your "stupid" bite hard.

Most freshmen forget this little fact as First Friday comes. The drug of freedom is in full swing and they are ready to start the college experience.

The most typical thing that happens is around 8-9pm Friday night a bunch of freshmen get a ride to a house somewhere and get unlimited access to a keg or something similar. Freedom tells the freshmen that they finally get to try liquor. And "being an adult" gives them the belief that they can handle as much as anyone else. So the freshmen start to drink, and drink, and drink. Unfortunately they have forgotten one thing. In one week they have not met or come to know anyone at the school truly well. Sure the roommates and suitemates have become kind of close, but the freshmen are really amongst strangers. They hardly know anyone and hardly anyone knows them.

So now the freshmen is a minor who is drunk among strangers.

There is an incredibly dark direction that this could go, but I will leave that to the imagination of the reader and tell of the most common occurrence.

Usually, the drunk freshmen is noticed sitting on the couch, maybe by a suitemate or an upperclassmen. The freshmen is then given a ride. But it is a ride back to campus. The "friend" is just dropping them off and after that doesn't really care. Plus the "friend" doesn't want to be caught with an underage person who is completely drunk in their car.

So the freshmen is dropped in the middle of Mingus to fend for himself/herself. If they are just kind of drunk they may make it back to their dorm room by themselves. But then they do something stupid and play music super loud or start to yell so that the RA's come. They are now a documented underage drunk and they lose all the scholarships they need to afford a $40,000 a year education

This ends up on the internet after First Friday
because he was stupid

The other thing that can happen, is the freshmen is so drunk that they lay in the parking lot, where they were left, until a responsible person comes along. If a person is unconscious or vomiting late at night it is most likely alcohol poisoning. 911 will be called and the freshmen will be hauled to the hospital where they will again become  a documented underage drinker. They then lose any scholarships and are put into the public justice system.

To all the freshmen out there. If you are planning to go wild over the weekend you can, there is no one to stop you. But Don't Be Stupid, because once you do that you lose all right to make your own decisions and they are, instead, made for you. And when you're stupid payback always comes and it is a B*?$%.

College is a great experience, you can have a ton of fun, and there is no reason to waste a three day weekend. But just "Don't Be Stupid." if you want to be an adult you first have to act like an adult. You need to know and respect your limits and think about the consequences.

Please Don't be Stupid. But have an awesome First Friday of college.

Note: If you need help or happen to spot anyone who may have broken the DBS rule and need help, call your RA, HRL (928-777-3790), or Safety (928-777-3333)

Math Help Sites

For all the engineering freshmen out there. Here are some links that you may want to bookmark when you need extra help in class.

Khan Academy
This site uses videos of examples to teach all kinds of topics. Many students use Khan Academy for help with math

Paul's Online Math Notes
This is a great website for detailed explanations of concepts with a lot of worked examples

ERAU Tutoring
Here is a link the tutoring schedule at ERAU

The Engineering Toolbox
This site is full of engineering calculators and information on all types of engineering if you need extra help or want to check answers



If there are other sites that you use please send them to us through the Contact page

Laundry Rooms

Everyone has to do laundry at some point. (though some may try to avoid it to the discomfort of their roommate) But the process for washing your clothes can become a bit convoluted at Riddle. Here's what you do.

There are three laundry rooms at the Prescott comapus. One is located on the first floor of Hall 3 on the end towards Hall 4. Another is on the first floor between Halls 1 and 2. And the third is in Hall 9 next to Simply To Go.

Each laundry room has dryers and washers which you have to pay to use. Each room has about 2-4 machines which are coin operated and the rest are paid for and activated with your Eagle Card. YOUR EAGLE CARD MUST HAVE EAGLE DOLLARS TO USE THE MACHINES. Eagle dollars are different from the dining dollars which come with your meal plan.

You can add Eagle Dollars to you Eagle Card account at Manage My Eagle Card in students services of Ernie.

Before you go and try to wash your clothes you may want to use LaundryView to see what machines are available, if any. LaundryView is a website which give all the info on the status of a laundry room so you don't have to walk a mile and find out there is not a machine open.

When you are finally ready to use a machine, here is the process.

1. Pick the machine you want to use and put your clothes in it
1. If you have to push much to get the clothes in the machine it is too full
2. Note the Number on the machine
3. Go to the big black and green box on the wall with a keypad in it
1. Each machine looks like it has a card reader on it, but these are just dummies DON'T TRY TO USE THEM.
4. Scan you Eagle Card at the black and green box
5. When prompted enter the number of the machine you are going to use on the keypad
6. When display on box says "Use machine ##" you have finished the payment process
7. Go back to you machine. Its display should be blinking a single word
8. Of the six buttons on the machine choose the cycle you want. Dryers only have three options
1. When you press a button on a machine it will display the water temperature to you. If you don't want that temperature you can change the cycle without any problem
9. When you pick the cycle you want the machine will start running water through the soap dispenser, which is the small black door on the top of the machine.
1. Do not over do it on the soap. The machines will adapt to a lot of soap by washing for hours instead of 38 minutes
10. Now you can put in your soap
11. Go wait for your laundry to wash
12. When you are drying be sure you note the correct number on the machine (many people confuse the top machine with the lower)
13. Go through the same process as a washer
1. check the Dryers' lent screen which in the inside front bottom of the machine. These can be fire hazards
14. And now your laundry is done

Cost for a Wash

• Washing machine -- $1.15
• Dryer -- $0.75

There you go. Now everyone should be able to he clean for their first day of classes

Perks

Here are a few cool free services and hints to making others free at Embry-Riddle.

Insurance
This is also a cost cutting hint. If you are still on your parents' insurance it is possible for you to take about $1200 off of your tuition bill.
Before September 2 go to CS Student Center and fill out the health insurance waiver, the link of which can be found under the "Finances" bar. This allows you to opt out of the university-provided insurance and apply your own, saving the extra cash. All students must be insured.

Wellness Center
The Wellness Center offers several free services as part of your tuition payments. First there is free counseling, all of which remains completely confidential. And if you are having a day of sickness, aches, or pains you can go get a few Tylenol or other over the counter meds for free, under controlled circumstances.

Free software
ERAU provides Windows software for free. See Software Downloads for access

Printing
Embry-Riddle offers free printing at the Library and around campus.

Free Shuttle
Every Wednesday the shuttle runs from Haas to Fry's and Walmart every half hour from 6:00PM to 7:30PM

Free Candy and Coffee at SGA office
SGA's office in the student union is full of goodies and awesome people, just go pick up a coffee and hang out.

Free Movies
Riddle Vision is where ERAU provides ten movies, chosen by the students, to be available for streaming. It changes every month and can be found at prmovies.erau.edu.

Flow Charts

The Flowcharts are a great way to plan out how your schedules should be for your entire college career. they let you gauge progress and if you change majors what will transfer and where. The links are below.












College of Engineering

• All Engineering

College of Aviation

• AMET
• MP SE
• Helicopter
• CP SE
• BSA Non-Flight
• BSA HELO
• ATM
• BSA
• AP SE

The RCR

THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR FRESHMEN

RCR stands for Room Condition Report. This is what the Housing and Residence Life (HRL) uses to determine what state a room is when a student first moves in and when they move out.

Every resident will be handed an RCR when they arrive and check into their room. At that time we will give a verbal explanation of how to use it similar to what I am about to say, but in less detail.

The RCR will be used to determine what damages occur while a resident lives in a room. Repair of these new damages can be charged to the student. 

For the above reason it is incredibly important that residents go through their rooms with a fine toothed comb and fill out the RCR appropriately. This means look for and find anything that is remotely a damage. A crack in the shower, a chip in the paint, a sharpie stain on the counter. Record every little damage you can in your RCR so that you are not charged for it later.

The appropriate way to fill out an RCR is to fill in all of the spaces that record your name and you room information. Do not sign the back of the RCR this is for CHECKOUT ONLY (ignore the signature in Figure 3 for this post).

The interior of the RCR is a list of objects that should be in their room. You will rate each object's condition as Excellent (E), Good (G), Poor (P), and Missing (M).

There are no E's, and something is only P if it is no longer functional or completely trashy. (See Figure 1 for more details)

Most fixtures in the room will be G. But after writing that, note any marks or problems with the object and be relatively detailed. (i.e. 5 paint chips near right corner of desk, of Figure 2)

Freshmen, an RA has already gone through all of your rooms and filled out your RCR. But please check it and even add to it. After doing RCR's for 50-100 rooms over a few hours RA's can miss stuff.

It is so important to take the time to make a good RCR. It will save you money, because when you checkout of the room an RA is going to look it over in detail, and just about any damage that was not on the RCR will be marked as a new damage. The RCR is the final word so do a good job before you return it.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

This was a brief post and perhaps not detailed enough, but hopefully it showed how important RCR's are.

Mingus Smoke Detectors

A Mingus Smoke Detector

To the Freshmen of the Mingus Mountain Complex. In each and every room of every suite, of every building you will see circular objects attached high on the inside wall. These are smoke detectors. There are some things you need to know about these before you arrive so you don't find out how they work the hard way.

These smoke detectors are extremely sensitive and not just to smoke. These sensors detect smoke by using a small laser beam which can detect increases in particulates in the air. This means that anything that creates a cloud sets off these detectors. That includes steam, deodorant, and cleaning spray.

So, with that being said, take precautions. If you are taking a shower in a suite please close all interior doors so that the steam cannot waft into rooms and set off the fire alarms. If you are cleaning, open a window and give a wide berth around the detector, and finally for those who sleep next to a detector, because they have a lofted bed, try not to bump it too often as this could also set off the fire alarms.

These sensors are nice to you if you are nice to them. Just remember that they are there whenever you are about to make a cloud of something or are about to have a pillow fight. If you do not you will end up out on the sidewalk at 3:00 AM with a lot of angry people around. And did I mention that there is a possible fine of $100 for an accidental tripping of a smoke detector.

Note: Burned Popcorn is the number one reason for these detectors to be set off. Please stand by the microwave when making this snack and maybe open the bag outside of the suite to let all of the steam out.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET AROUND THE SMOKE DETECTORS BY COVERING THEM. THIS IS A VIOLATION OF UNIVERSITY POLICY AND REALLY DOES VERY LITTLE TO STOP IT GOING OFF.

Much-Needed Links

ERNIE Links Page
This is very similar to this page without the sorting

Software Downloads
If you didn't know you get free computer Microsoft software and OS's for being a student at ERAU.

The Bookstore
Use this link to search for and and purchase required books for classes. But please visit the Buying Books post first

Register a Vehicle
You have to do this if you have a car on campus.

Laundry View
This will let you track and view the time on washers in any of the washing machines on campus. It is great for making sure there is an open washer before you walk across the campus with a load of laundry.

ERAU Prescott Campus Directory
Here is a list of contact information and resources for the many departments and offices around campus.

ERAU E-mail
Its just easier to go straight to the e-mail app instead of going through ernie first

Ernie
If you haven't gone here already you really need to start

Control Tower
Control Tower controls all student activities. Events will be posted here and if you become a part of a club or organization everything will be managed through here. You need to create a user profile for this as soon as possible.

Student Services Ernie
This is difficult to find if you are new to Ernie. It is where you have links to meal plans, your eagle card, and housing applications in future.

Student Employment
This is within the student services page but a more direct route is always better. Most on campus jobs will be posted here. You have to check it often before each semester to catch open positions. But really, just network on campus, it is a more reliable way of finding a campus job.

Catalogs
The catalog of your year of entry is the "contract" of what classes you have to take in order to obtain your degree. This will be really important if you decide to change majors or are going to play with your class schedule.

Faculty Directory
Here is a list of all active faculty members at ERAU Prescott

More Links will be added as needed.

The RA

When coming in as a freshman you are usually not aware of the term RA. So here is what it is.

An RA is a Resident Assistant.  In the Mingus Complex (Halls 1-5) The RA is a Sophomore or better that lives on each floor of every building in one of the suites. In Village and Thumb Butte complexes there is typically one RA per building.

You can find an RA near you by the large labels all over their door that say "RA Dave", or "RA Jen" or whatever. They also will be one of the first random people to walk up to you the day of orientation and introduce themselves.

The RA job is a weird combination of just about anything you can imagine. We are supporters, leaders, policy enforcers, mentors,cruise directors and a general all around resource. We exist to help students get through their campus living and Riddle experience.

A fair analogy for an RA would be that of an older brother. The cool guy that has already done everything before you and whom you look up too. He is the person that will give you rides and come up with the cool ways to spend time. But at the same time he is also the guy that gets to babysit and enforce the rules when Mom and Dad are gone.

The RA's put on programs and events that are meant to enhance the experience of living on campus. We work to build communities on our floors and just have fun. If you have a question about anything we can typically answer it or find someone who can.

RA's are one of the best resources available to any incoming student. Use them and come to them whenever something comes up and you want help or advice. We are here to help you succeed with your roommates, classes, or anything.

With that all being said. Please respect your RA. We have to deal with some of the best and the worst on campus. We are the ones up at 3:00 A.M. responding to fire alarms and might be the ones to call 911 for you. It makes our life so much easier if you don't abuse what we are providing. We are still students and still have lives just like you.

I hope this clarifies what an RA is for those that do not already know. But make sure you get to know your RA personally when you arrive at Riddle. It will be to your benefit.


Side Note: If you want to be an RA at Embry-Riddle Prescott applications are made available in the spring semester of every year. You must have a 2.5 GPA and have completed you freshmen year. To get more details about the day-to-day life of an RA talk to yours.

The Mail Room

We have received several questions about the mail room and mailing procedures. So I am going to attempt to answer them.

You have or will be given a mailbox number before or during orientation. This should have been mailed to you before orientation began, but you will definitely will be given it again when you arrive. If you have your address and wish to ship stuff to yourself before you arrive you may do so. During orientation you will be given the key to your mailbox.

The mailbox number is typically four digits and will be the address that friends and relatives can send parcels through. You will use the university address but insert your name and mail box number. Your address will look like this.

John Smith

Box XXXX

3700 Willow Creek Road

Prescott, AZ 86301

Note: You mailbox will be the same the entire time you stay at the Prescott campus. You will never have to return the key until graduation. If you lose a key or need a replacement you will be charged. The fee is typically around $50.

All student mail goes to the Mail Room, it does not go to dorm rooms or anywhere else. In the Mail Room all letters will be put into you box. If you receive a parcel that is too large a package slip will be in your box. You must present this slip and your Eagle Card inside of the Mail Room in order to receive your package.

If you wish to mail a letter or parcel the Mail Room has all of the necessary shipping supplies and payment options. It also is the location of some the nicest employees at Riddle.

The Mail Room is in building 11 which is North of the Bookstore, west of the Hunt Student Union, and south of the Cashier's Office. See Campus Map

That should cover just about everything that is important about the Mail Room

Special Note: Amazon has a distribution center in Phoenix which ensures that nearly anything ordered form them will arrive within 2-3 days regardless of shipping method.

Buying Books

Buying books is one of the most easily reduced costs of attending college. You simply need to work a little harder.

First of all you need to know what book is "expected" in a class. At Riddle you can go to the bookstore site and find the book you need by selecting your term and then the classes that you are taking.

Professors will also post syllabuses on the Ernie Blackboard when your courses are activated. These will have a list of books needed for the class, if any are required at all.

Now once you know what books you need they will be expecting you to pay 200$ a piece for them. Instead of doing that, just write down the titles.  Then go find a used copy on Amazon or some other cheap textbook site. These usually run $20-30. Add the ones you think you need to the cart and wait a little while. To cut the cheap price even more maybe check with your professor by e-mail to see if you need the most recent edition or can use an older one.

In many classes there will be textbooks listed on the bookstore site, but they will never be used in class, except as a study guide. In this case you don't need to buy the book at all. You can borrow from a friend or something else. The trouble is that you might not find this out until you show up in class. But that is OK. Most of the Professors on campus don't expect students to have the textbook until about a week into the semester.

Once you find out from the professor, on the first day of class, what they expect about the textbook you can decide if you want to order it. If you don't need it don't order it. If you do, order it and, while its shipping, borrow a copy from the library, a friend, or ebrary if

And that is how you can generally go about saving over a thousand dollars on textbooks. (Note: the expected cost for textbooks is $1400 but I never spent more than $250 and have never had a problem)

Notes for Packing for Riddle

Hey Guys,

Here is some general advice for how to go about packing for Riddle

1. Coordinate with your roommates
• Assignments have been sent to your Riddle e-mail. Check this and get in contact with suitemates so that you don't end up brings a hundred pots and four TV's
2. Do not bring a car-load of stuff and expect to keep it all in the room
• The rooms become very small very fast if you bring a lot of lamps and knick-knacks
• Get a list of top things you have to have and be ready to send anything extra back if the room is getting crowded
• You are going to accumulate a ton more stuff as the year goes by so don't plan to fill your room on move-in
3. Do not bring cruddy Tee-Shirts
• We are going to give you all the Tee-Shirts you can stand after just a few weeks
4. But make sure you are comfortable
• You are going to live here after all

In case you guys never had a tour of the Mingus Complex here is a video for you to watch and see what the Suites are generally like so you can plan ahead a little better. (Note: I made this video with a tablet and five minutes so I apologize for the quality)

Welcome to Eagle RA

Hey Guys,

Congratulations for making it to Riddle. Here on this blog myself and other RA's are going to be giving you info about happenings on campus and just shooting the breeze about some things.

Students can get info here, contact the RA's anonymously and maybe have some fun.

I hope RA's from other schools will get ideas from this site and hopefully be able to implement some of them where they are.