Happy New Year everyone and good luck to all students at the University of Leicester about to sit examinations.
I’m feeling extremely positive right now. I know some people detest the start of a new calendar year. A combination of the cold weather and the January credit card statement appear to be particularly lethal. For myself, I always enjoy the start of the new year, if for no other reason that it represents an opportunity to put the past behind us and have a mini fresh start. It also helps that I have submitted both my essays and have no urgent academic deadlines before March.
The start of a new year is a time where many people make ‘resolutions’. I’ve put that word in quotation marks because most of these resolutions seem to be poorly defined or overly-ambitious targets. It is therefore not surprising that people abandon resolutions so quickly, although they may set exactly the same resolutions a year later. It is for that reason that I never personally set New Year’s Resolutions.
Nevertheless, as we move towards the start of Semester 2 and new modules to study: I have set myself one goal for 2018 that should help me with my studies: pay more attention to the news!
Compared to many students, I do not think I am terrible in this regard. Without fail, I do visit BBC News or Sky News twice a day. Links are available here:
However, given how newsworthy criminology is, I think I can do much better and that I should watch the start of television news every day to get more of an insight into top stories. The academics here at the University of Leicester have regularly encouraged us to keep up with the news and to use up-to-date events as part of our assignments and contributions in seminars.
The newsworthiness of criminology is part of the attraction of the subject. Whether it is a tragic murder case, a story about police competence (or incompetence), or the release from a prison of an allegedly still dangerous offender, it is a fascinating subject to study where there are no easy answers.
This story (from earlier today) is a current example of the last of those:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42595481
Is it right that Worboys is to be released? There is no easy answer to that question.
And what about you? Has anybody set any academic goals for 2018 that they wish to share? If so, please comment below.
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