Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 14:57:59 -0500 From: Martha Howard Subject: Student research Reminded by notice in NADS 26.1 of teaching techniques, including involvin students in research of the research project carried out by one of my students on existence or lack thereof of regional variation in college slang. One of her questions was, "What term do you use for celebrating on Friday afternoons when classes are over and the weekend has begun" Her hypothesis was that the term used on the West Virginia University campus was unique to this campus. The term, used by all WVU celebrants, is "jiffing"--a verb made from the acronym TGIF. After sending questionnaires all over the country, and finding no use of the term at all, she prepared her final draft, only to receive a late return from an informant at Bennington, who calmly announced, I use jiffing. Devastated to see her hypothesis blown out of the water, she set about some detective work and after two weeks of investigation finally located the informant, whose name she had not known. She burst into my office, shouting, "She grew up in Morgantown and started jiffing when she was at Morgantown High." Now, please send your students outtomorrow to go jiffing! martha howard (a friend of archie's--no capitals)