Havandjian, Nishan  

Sounds like you need to address your tendance to "get sick" around deadlines: your post reaveals much less about Nishan and more about your psychosomatic self-sabotaging behaviors. Oh, I know . . . its not your fault . . . you were sick. Guess what? It'll never be your fault if you remain in denial--grow a pair. And, to the previous poster about Hitle--look into what ever the fuck motivates you to want to control others (i.e., be a Republican): National Socialism WAS about control and so is being a member of the current GOP. Grow up and put your desires into context: fascism is a reaction to what is perceived to be "uncontrollable" diversity. The GOP is fascist in intent and desire--own it.

This guy is a fucking joke. Good luck if you already signed up for this piece of shit. Biggot and racist son of a bitch. Ofcourse if you are a female you have nothing to worry about. I bet you could just wear low cut shirts every class and he will love it. This guy should not even be at this school. Learn by doing is the cal Poly moto, but you don't do shit and he wants you to learn what a book tells you. Fire this piece of shit before he corupts any more students.

I had this class at 8 in the morning, and it was rough. Dr. H is a very dry teacher. He tells you exactly what the book tells you for the first hour or so. Then, he gives you an assignment to do at the computers. Then you're done for the day. I got out an hour early like everytime class met. We never were in there for three hours. He is a really boring lecturer. I have never fallen alseep in a class before I had him. His grading is pretty consistant, and the assignments aren't too hard. The midterm was so easy. It was 25 simple multiple choice questions and a stylebook quiz (which he gives very often and aren't too bad). This course is a requirement for journalism majors, so we all have to take it. But be warned, it is so boring.

Havandjian was very impersonal and acted as if students were a burden to him. I honestly do not understand why he teaches because he does not seem to enjoy it at all. The class is not all that difficult, but unfortunately you do not really learn anything. Just show up and you should be able to get a B.

terrible... this class is the reason i am changing my major

Pretty much, almost everyone's critique below is just crying. I thought his class was fair and informative. If you do the work and want to learn, theres no reason why you would hate him or the major. If you cant handle his class or teaching methods, then your just simply not cut out to be a journalist.

why i and half the class changed our major after this class. picks favorites and sticks to them, no matter how good your article is. it's only easy if he picks you. Seemed nice when i asked hoe to improve my grade and said i was doing better, but then he would grade another paper and each time they got graded worse. ... hmm doesn't make sense. he likes suck ups, so if you pretty much ask him how he would write it, you get a good grade, but for the rest of us, he made us dread journalism.

no idea how i got an A in this class.. 95+ = A, 85+ = B, etc. None of us knew that starting out and were quite surprised when we figured it out... lots of writing. you write like an article a week if not two a week. reading isn't too hard, you don't really even have to read because the quizzes are open book.

He was an excellent teacher, but a tough grader, and his writing is difficult to decipher.

the curious student stands uncomfortably in the corner of the classroom. "sir, with all do respect. you are scaring me," he said. the large professor wipes drool from his sweaty mouth. the professor's eyes undress the student slowly, seductively, sinfully. "don't worry, i'm the department head. I can do whatever I want. now stick a hot pepper up my ass and tell me i'm stinky." ... and so are my sentiments of having this painfully gay teacher.

This class was very interesting. He brought in current material(like videos, and overheads) to discuss certain topics covered in class. There were also interesting guest speakers as well. The final grade includes 2 essays, a midterm, and a final. There's a lot of room to write the essays about something you're interested in and they are short(only about 2 pages each) the midterm and final are only 25 questions each. While I didnt do as well on the exams as I had hoped, because for some reason they asked questions we never discussed or read about, I still liked the actual class.

It's hard to qantify why I didn't really like this class. The material was interesting for me yet the lectures always seemed to leave me kind of bored afterwards. I feel that I could have learned a lot more in this class if he had spent less time having us watch unrelated movies and films and reading the news about Michael Jackson (*yawn*). The two essays were ok. It's impossible to improve on them because his written comments are unintelligible. The midterm and the final aren't too bad. They're both about 25 questions for 25% of your grade each. I got B+'s on both my essays and a middle B on my midterm, so I'm assuming I did really well on the final to get an A in the class. Overall: Interesting but just not worth my time.

I was a little nervous about taking this class, after reading some of the comments on this site...but it wasn't all that bad. My biggest gripe with the class is, half the stuff we did was completely unrelated to ANY assignment or test. We watch a lot of movies, which were probably picked at random from Blockbuster, because I have no clue what they had to do with the class. However, the workload is more than manageable, and if you study a little bit, the tests are pretty easy too. Both the midterm and the final are 25 multiple choice questions, and I finished both in under 10 minutes. Nishan seems way more laid back than his polyratings may suggest, and the class (although boring at times) is not bad at all.

This guy isn't so bad. This class is extremely boring and the subject matter is twice as boring (and Havandjian knows it too). If you have to take this course good luck because it sucks, but Havandjian knows it, so develop a rapport, go to the office hours and you'll do fine.

Everyone has been really hard on Dr. H, but he deserves most of it. In 219 every lecture simply regurgitated the book, with a few movies thrown in. Everyday was dry, but at least this guy will keep you up on pop culture. The class is composed on a 100pt midterm (study hard b/c his approach is as foreign as he is), two 100 pt papers, and a 100pt final. Beware of his unrealistic grading standards on the papers and the illegible comments you will receive in return. Approaching him is useless and by far the most frustrating aspect of the class. Just get through it if you are a journalism student and Do Not take this class if you are not.

Oh Nish. He does his job and you might enjoy yourself, but when it comes time for tests, it's depressing. He can't even match up the right answers with what the damn book says. You could study everyday before the test and have the exact answers in your head, get to the test and find he's foreign-ed the hell out of it with completely different answers. This should be a ridiculously easy trivia class. Thankfully, we have Nish to make it so much more frustrating. Thank you.

Honestly, Dr. H is not that bad. I can understand why some people don't like him, but I've had him for three classes and got used to his style. He is such a nice guy and really does try his hardest to get the information across to the class. If you participate in class by adding your opinion and asking questions and are respectful, he will respect you and be more helpful. Don't be afraid to take his class!

Dr. Havandjian can be tough at times and as I dreaded taking this class, it became that I got more out of it than I expected. Although his classes were sometimes a bit dry, I actually learned a lot which I cannot say about most of the classes I have taken at Poly.

Not that hard of a class. Class usually gets out early. Not too bad of teacher and not much work outside of class. Basically, not amazing, but not bad. Tolerable. Just do the work, which is easy, and you're good.

OH GOOD GOD! First of all, I am vigorously trying to change my major and he is a big part of this. I have never been so bored in a class that I've considered working an 8 hour shift instead of showing up to a 2 hour class. Now, I don't hold the accent against him, that's not really his fault. But his hand writing was horrible and often times students couldn't read it at all. He wastes class time writing the illegible notes on the board and then goes over them pointlessly and vaguely. Second, there are required presentations in his class that are given anywhere from once to 3 times a week. The first groups to go often get graded the toughest and held to higher expectations instead of given any sort of slack for the lack in time HE gave. Groups from there on fill up time by showing YouTube videos. For some reason, the groups that get the best grades do the least amount of work and have YT do the project for them. All in all it was as if he was having the students teach the class. Dr. H is a tyrant. He has a power trip and I wouldn't be surprised if the J-Department forced him out as head of the department rather than he merely resigning on his own. I think that the JD's worst idea ever was to allow this man to jeopardise the grades- nay the futures- of students by giving him classes that only HE teaches instead of providing viable alternatives to his madness. His grading is ridiculous and flat out illogical. I can't believe the department hasn't taken the time to reevaluate their professors and rethink the courses given and who teaches them. English Department here I come!

I don\'t understand why people are hating on Dr. H? To be honest when I read some of the comments about Dr. H, I was hesitant to take his class and was fairly close about changing Professors. However, I decided to bite the bullet and take this class for Fall 2009. Dr. H was a good lecturer. I actually enjoyed going to his classes twice a week. I didn\'t really have to go to office hours because his lectures were thorough and were parallel to the reading in the textbook. It\'s so surprising to see such comments about him. I recommend him as long as you do the reading and invest time in the midterm/final and papers he assigns.

Havandjian\'s class was definitely not bad. He rarely kept us the full two hours (usually let us out between 1 hour and an hour and a half) and the lectures were pretty interesting. He show us videos and stuff too sometimes which was nice. The final was not cumulative and the only other test was the midterm. Besides that, there were just two papers which weren\'t bad and you get participation points for going to class.

I think when he said that being a Republican was like being Hitler was the climactic point of the class--Everyone looked at each other in disbelief. Havandjian is an intelligent man, but he has a grading 'hang up.' It seems that students that aren't that bright receive A's and students that are 'up' on issues discussed struggle to get a passing grade. It seems that if you agree and go with the flow you win and if you oppose you are in for a fight. But, isn't journalism supposed to be, 'fair and balanced?' Shouldn't everyone be entititled to their opinion if presented in an appropriate way? O'Reily and Fox are mentioned daily in all of his classes with disgust--lighten up Havadjian, work on fairness in grading and you'll be the asset to the J. deptartment that you should be.

Grading standards were not clear, and illegibly written comments on the paper did not clarify anything either. The grade was based mostly on three non-cumulative, multiple-choice tests, with only one essay per test. The book is pricey for just an elective class.

N.H need I really say more?

Ummmm....he's gay. Literally. And he stares at guy's asses uncontrollably.

Let me first say, that I am a professional in the nespaper business now and that I got an A in this class, so I am not bitter toward the journalism department. I just want to see it survive and put out quality journalists again. But let me also say, Nishan Havandjian is one of many reasons why the journalism department is a joke. And this comes from a student that has been through journalism departments and five other schools, and they were nothing to brag about. But Cal Poly's J-Department definitely takes the cake as one of the worst departments on the West Coast. If it weren

This guys sucks like no one has sucked before. somebody get him the fuck out of our journalism department. if i saw him crossing the street, i would definitely hit the accelerator. I have never been so frustrated by someone. He is a huge fucking dildo. Fuck of Dr. H! You suck

OK, here's the deal. You have to be able to understand the guy to not only get the material, but also catch is smart-ass comments and hillarious tangents. The class has a lot of videos, so showing up is important when it comes to the final. He's generally the only teacher for 401, so good luck. Also, the journalism department basically is crap, so take what you can get.

How on earth did he become the department head? He sucks! He has no textbooks and bases his midterm solely on his lectures ( which you can't undrstand because he has a whack accent) and dumb movies he shows in class. He's very unapproachable too. I recommend that you wait until he's out of here before you take intl comm!

What to say about Nishan... on the one hand, he sucks. On the other hand, I had his class Spring '02, he was about to step down as department head, and he probably didn't give a crap about the class at the time. Evidence of this? I got a B, and trust me, I did not deserve a B. My term paper and oral report were both basically pieces of junk, which leads me to believe he didn't actually read them, he just checked to make sure they were the correct length. Anyway, onto his teaching practices. His lectures are boring, but not as boring as the weeks and weeks worth of oral reports, which made me want to shoot myself. He shows about 100 videos a week, and expects you to be able to remember them and answer questions about them on tests. His grading standards are ridiculously unclear, again leading me to believe that he just writes random numbers on peoples' papers, and underlines random sentences. His grading comments are completely illegible. He is totally NOT open or approachable. I had a major problem last quarter and every time I tried to talk to him about it, he brushed me off. He didn't respond in any way to something important that I e-mailed him, for at least a month. My opinion? He sucks. However, it may have been because he just didn't care, so I'll give him a TINY benefit of the doubt on this one.

well this was the first class i ever took at cal poly... (i was a summer transfer and it was all i could take to count for my major) i was extremly disappointed as to how this class was presented. every day he'd lecture about nonsence crap that i couldnt understand anyway... and i would try and write the notes down as fast as possible... when test time came, we were tested on stuff that he didnt even mention in the lectures... so my test grades were horrible... i still dont know my final grade in the class because he wont return my email, and its been almost a month since the class ended!!! i'd have to say that im glad he gives homework, because its a way to bring up my shitty test scores in teh overall grade... the presentation was a lot of work but its also like 33% of your grade, and if you put effort in, youll get an easy A on it... so if you have to take this class with him.. good luck and pay attention to the 5 movies he shows a day....!!!!!

international communication is a joke with havandjian. be sure to sit near somebody who you can carry on a decent conversation with during class. It's not worth listening.

I know almost every one has been ripping on Dr. H, but I really enjoyed his class. So what if we watch five movies....its a lot more interesting than listening to a teacher lecture for 2 hours. He is also an very easy grader. Yah he probably doesn't read half of what you write, but I think that is an advantage. As long as you attend class and do the work you should do very well in his classes.

Despite his failings as an administrator, Nishan is not as bad a professor as some of the other reviews would have you believe. If you read some of the things he has written (the recent Moebius and elsewhere), you'll find his background gives him a unique perspective on international media. It's a shame he doesn't incorporate this more into the class. It's almost as though he's afraid to go on a limb, which would make the class more interesting. Hopefully he'll develop the class more thoroughly now that he's no longer department chair. Either way, though, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

If you want to really learn, take this class.

I had no idea what to expect at the beginning of the quarter. The journalism classes I've had so far have all been relatively mediocre. This class ended up being one of the worst major classes I've had yet. International Communication sounds like a fairly interesting topic, but this class made me detest certain aspects of foreign media. The first part of the quarter was spent listening to Dr. H lecture for 2 hours every class. He covered too much material to test on, without giving any indication on what would be covered in the midterm. Consequently, the highest grade was around an 85%. The second half was spent listening to group presentations. Mind numbingly boring. Even if you took notes on every presentation, everyday, the chance of doing well on the final is slim. Throughout the presentations, Dr. H would write down the most obscure facts, and the class would watch and frantically try to guess what he could possibly be writing in his awful chicken scratch handwriting. He was horrible at outside communication, too. He did not return several emails from different students in the class. Consequently, grades were left to guess work. The only good thing about this class was his examples. Contrary to they above writing, I believe Havandjian isn't a bad guy, its just too bad he's tenured.

Wow, this class was bad. He has unrealstic and high expectations for mediocre teaching. There was no text book, so all information came from his lectures (which were interesting at times) and lame-ass class presentations (which took up half the quarter and basically did his job for him- get ready to fall asleep). His standards are deceptively high, although he won't admit it to the class. When he asks for a two page analytical paper, he really wants six pages. Although his lectures are rather loose, take good notes because his tests were ridiculously detailed and meticulous (the highest grade for the midterm was a B-). My last comments about him is that you know you have a bad professor when they have to take role (in a non-lab course) to make sure their students come to class. (If you miss more than one class, your grade drops 5 percent TOTAL.) Quite frankly, I'm insulted that I was required to take this class.

Fucking asshole. Meanest son of a bitch I've ever met. Stay away from this guy - the class is a joke. I can't believe he ever WAS the department head. Bastard!

sorry excuse for a human being. complete jackass. douchebag. need i say more? stay the hell away from this guy.

He has a unique style of teaching that is difficult to recognize at first, but in the end you'll realize that you've actually learned some useful information. Go to class and you'll get a good grade...and listen up, he's incredible intelligent.

Ok. I'm taking this class right now and I just got an F on the midterm because I didn't turn in the proper number of articles. If I had, I would have gotten a high C. My essay still answered all the questions well (he underlines phrases he likes) Its almost like he just stuck a grade on the paper purely based on what I printed out weeks ago. Why did I even bother writing anything? On top of the fact there is no real way to study for his tests, since all we do is sit and watch movies. Lame lame lame. I have had nothing but blah classes here in journalism, my teachers (except allen, but the class itself is still tough to go to) have been disinterested in student success and make the entire major seem like a redundant, repetative joke. Nice enough guy I guess but I'm definatly changing my major. No doubt about it. And I see I'm not exactly in the minority.

I enjoyed the discussion that was encouraged. Though, it was very easy to see that if you are not in agreement with him, especially on political issues, it would be reflected in your grade. For example after a class session another student informed me that if I continued to disagree with his views in discussion that I was going to receive a low grade. It was obvious to me that most students were either afraid to participate in discussion or simply not interested. Therefore, to give a student a poor grade after verbally participating, presenting an awesome presentation and attending all classes is, in my opinion, an example of low journalism ethics. Just my opinion.

Oh god. Never again. I held off on taking this class for two years because I hoped Nish would take a quarter off and let someone else teach it. No such luck. I'm just glad I had friends in the class; they are, without doubt, the only reason I ever showed up. Lecture was beyond boring. The man can't speak properly, his handwriting is impossible to read, and you have to decode his test questions before you can even attempt to answer them. (As one review said, he foreign-s the hell out of them.) He will frequently talk about nothing in particular and then show the students he's managed to trap in the classroom some semi-pornographic music videos from the Middle East that have absolutely no relevance. Oh, and then there's a bullshit presentation at the end of the class which he grades arbitrarily. (Just like everything else.) All in all, I managed to make it through the course without stabbing him in the face with a carrot peeler, which I think makes me the master of self-restraint. Victory is mine.

A bore. His English is terrible. We did watch a cool movie made in Iraq though (this was 2003). It was called "No Water for my Horses" or something. It was about how the Shia's hated Kurds and starved/raped/tortured/murdered them n stuff. Good movie. Dude kinda smelled bad. Avoid if poss.

send him back to lebanon. we don't want him here.

To the person below me: Well, sure. Anyone can teach 203. That doesn't take much brainpower. It's in the upper division classes where you can really tell that he's a supreme jackass.

To all of you who will/may have Dr. H-BEWARE! I really wasn't going to write an eval of him on here because I didn't want to take the time to hate on a teacher, but I feel that if I can save someone from the 2 quarters of hell taking Dr. H, I think I've done my service as a human being. In his defense, he is a fairly interesting lecturer and I did learn a lot about the rest of the world in his classes. HOWEVER, he could care less about his students. For example, the first time I had him, I was sick in the hospital when we had a paper due. I managed to finish the paper and email it to him while I was gone before the day it was due. When I came back to class, I noticed I didn't receive credit for the 100 point essay. He said he never got my email and when I was willing to show him in my email outbox the date and time I sent it, along with the paper attached....WITH a note from the doctor from the hospital to excuse my absence, he still didn't accept it!!! I ended up with a B in the class because I aced the final, but I would have gotten an A if he would have accepted my paper. Then the time came where I had to take another one of his classes, not by choice, but because it was the only one open...ugh. So I figured it wouldn't be as bad and maybe it wouldn't happen again....oh but it did. Yet again, I got really ill and missed only one day of class the whole quarter. We had a 100 point assignment due that day, so I emailed it to him not once, not twice, but 3 times just to make sure he couldn't say he didn't get it. I returned to class with the hard copy of the assignment and he wouldn't accept it...again saying he didn't receive the email. I tried showing him my outbox, the date and time I sent it and he wouldn't listen to me, instead basically announced to the class that I had failed to complete the assignment and he was tired of having this problem. Sorry to say, but he is the worst teacher I have EVER had and Cal Poly needs to take in account all these negative evaluations of him and do what is best for the students and the university and get rid of him!!!

he sure does like his women, wet!!