SAINT PETER, MN — We’re now over a month into the fall semester of school here on the hill, with classes and activities in full swing again.  At the Nobel Hall of Science, Gusties are getting back to their long forgotten routines of in-person lectures and labs.  Some Fourth Crown staff recently stopped by a lab section of BIO-101, where a rather interesting discussion was taking place.  

The discussion involved first-year students and lab partners Jake Garsky and Nicole Johns, who were in the middle of examining a species of bacteria using the microscope.  Nicole said that she thought the small microscopes would not provide good enough results for her and would not be able to function as well as the larger ones.  However, Jake adamantly opposed this conclusion and said that the smaller microscopes can do everything that the larger ones can do.  He went on to explain to Nicole that he had experience with the smaller microscopes and they had never let him down before.

“I don’t know what she’s making a big deal about,” Jake said worriedly.  “It’s not like we can control the size of our microscopes, the teacher just gives them to us.”

“He seemed really upset about the whole situation,” Nicole reported.  “I just want to make sure I’m satisfied with the grade I get, so I don’t want to risk it by using a small microscope that might not work as well.”  

The debate continued on, with Jake making the point that once you turn on the microscope it gets bigger, since the lens can then move out more.  It was at this point that the rest of the lab section took notice of their discourse and shared their own inputs.  Oddly enough, the rest of the freshmen boys in the lab section had similar views to Garsky and agreed with his point that when it really comes to it, the small microscopes can perform the exact same functions as the larger ones can.  The girls of the lab section assured the boys that it was okay if they had smaller microscopes at their lab stations, since it’s just what the teacher had given them.  A truly scintillating conversation that will need to be checked back on in the coming days.  More updates to follow.