SOS offers exam aid

SOS: Christine Murray, Jesse Guth, Sam Eisen, Jessie Roy, Ally Farron. (Danny Abriel Photo)

As end-of-term exams loom, first-year students can feel overwhelmed. But there’s a new student society on campus ready to throw out the life preservers.

It’s called SOS—Students Offering Support. The Dalhousie chapter got going this fall by offering review sessions for some of the larger first-year classes at Dalhousie, including calculus, mathematics, engineering, biology, chemistry and physics. All the sessions were well attended, with the session for first-year biology attracting almost 200 students.

“They went over extremely well,” reports Jessie Roy, a fourth-year biology student and president of the new society. “And now we’re getting ready for finals.”

For finals, instead of offering one session, there will be two sessions for each course. The sessions are conducted by tutors, who’ve taken the class previously and excelled. They’re chosen for their smarts as well as their ability to communicate to large groups.

Ms. Roy encourages students to register online at www.dalhousiesos.com, where the times and locations of sessions will be announced. She notes review booklets are prepared for each session and pre-registration allows the group to know how many to prepare.

As a charity, SOS asks participants to make a donation. The Dal chapter is looking to raise money for a nongovernmental organization based in Ecuador, a country located on the Pacific coast of South America.

“We want to raise $14,000 for the year and we’ve already raised $4,000,” continues Ms. Roy.

Joining her on the SOS executive are: Christine Murray, a fourth-year biology student from Sydney, N.S.; Jesse Guth, a second-year management student from Toronto; Ally Farran, a second-year neuroscience student from Calgary; and Sam Eisen, a second-year psychology student from Barrie, Ont. All of the students involved have an interest in community service and international development.

Upcoming sessions:

• MATH 1000: Monday, Dec. 7, 7 to 9 p.m., Room 117 Dunn
• PHYC 1300: Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1 to 3 p.m in the Potter Auditorium, Rowe Building
• CHEM 1011: Sunday, Dec. 6, 2 to 4:30 p.m., Room 117 Dunn
• PSYC 1011: Thursday, Dec. 10, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Potter Auditorium, Rowe Building
• MATH 1280: Saturday, Dec. 5, noon to 2 p.m. 301A Dunn

LINK: Dalhousie SOS