Reviews for GEOG130

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Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting an A boiledegg44186 12/09/2023	Nice guy and pretty good professor. Assignments were 4-short essays, weekly online quizzes, 2 exams and a final project. He cancelled the final because he didn't cover all the material again. Attendance is not technically mandatory, but he will assign completion "pop activities" as an incentive to come. Everything was graded fairly, class was easy to keep up with, and he said himself that you should have no problem getting an A if you keep up with the work.
Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/08/2023	Professor Marroquin was one of the most incredible professors I have ever got the pleasure of having. He did his best to engage the class even when nobody was feeling it that day and was completely understanding about conflictions. He provides a vast majority of resources to aid the short responses he gives and the prompts are usually very straight forward and easy. The final project is a poster and it is a group project so it is not challenging. All the quizzes are online and we only had 2 cumulative exams which included some of the quiz answers as well as possible some questions that the class makes up. He usually responds to emails quicker than some. He posts the slides but I would still suggest to put in some effort and take notes because it is easier to remember the material if you have it in one place and don't have to remember the name of the presentation. He is a very fair grader as I have written a short response 9 pages longer than what he wanted and still received a high grade. He extended some deadlines or the class if we were stressed about not finishing the assignment as well. Overall, this class paired with Professor Marroquin was easily one of my favorite classes this semester as he makes jokes all the time, acts like a friend, and takes some of the pressure off of a college course. If you can please, please, PLEASE take a class with Professor Marroquin.
Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2023	Byron is funny. He wants the class engaged even though sometimes it's dead silent. He asked if we wanted to have a final and accepted the no when we said so. Very laid back, easy-going, and cares. Short essay assignments are tedious but easy at the end of the day. I thought I ate the first exam but ate shit instead. Study up! At the end of the day it is an easy class and you should do fine if you try.
Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/01/2023	One of the nicest professors and very understanding. He was very interactive with the class and acted as a friend. The course itself was also easy, he graded fairly and allowed extensions if the class needed them. Not a lot of workload, just some short responses, and a small final project. He also does provide a lot of resources and is always willing to help. He responds to emails usually within a day or two. You do have to put in some effort, but overall a very easy, fun, and interesting class and a great professor.
Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/26/2023	He is a great guy and professor. The course was easy to keep up with. I have no complaints.
Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/12/2022	Amazing person and professor. The class consisted of 4 short-essay assignments and a final poster project(essentially the same thing but in a ppt slide), and 3 exams. Everything was graded fairly and the short-essay assignments' due dates were extended multiple times.
Byron Marroquin GEOG130 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/07/2022	The sweetest and most caring professor ever, if you can please take a class with him. He grades fairly and the TA was really nice too. There was not many assignments but he would extend deadlines for us when needed and is very understanding. He even makes funny jokes sometimes. Easy class and the nicest professor.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/14/2019	Unfortunately left 2 weeks into the semester and never returned. Rest of semester was taught by a TA who simply read off slides and was very boring. Very disappointing as the class was probably going to be very interesting if Luna lectured, the first two weeks were very engaging. As for the class, this is a ton of work for a 100 level class. You can do well if you put time aside to study and work on the lengthy papers.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/17/2018	Prof. Luna is easily the best lecturer I've taken so far in college. He is inspirational, reliable, and funny. He also tells you exactly what you need to know for his tests in class, so show up and be ready to jot that down. This is no nightly homework or reading in the class, but three tests, two essays, a group project keep you reasonably busy.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting a B Anonymous 03/28/2018	Anyone giving professor Luna a bad review is the type of student who doesn't show up for class and expects all power points to just be online. Luna makes lectures interesting and is fairly laid back. His tests are reasonable and fairly easy if you pay attention and study even a little. There we're group papers and projects, but it was easily manageable because groups were large. I really liked this course and any minimal effort should at least get you a B.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A csmith123564 12/12/2016	Professor Luna has been teaching this class for over 15 years and is an amazing professor. He makes the class so interesting and relates it to our everyday lives. Not to mention he is hilarious and truly cares about his students. The exams are based off the power point slides, just attend every class and it is honestly an easy A. Its just memorizing and doing 3 easy papers. Highly recommend if you are looking for an easy class!
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2016	Terrible professor. He reads off his frequently grammatically incorrect powerpoints with outdated information. To top it off, you basically have to show up to lecture, so he can recite to you some nonsense, outdated facts that show up on the tests. Also, the discussion sections are pointless, you waste 50 minutes of your day every Thursday or Friday so you can get 10 "participation" points. Other than that the class is easy, but I strongly recommend not taking this class.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/09/2015	Easily the worst professor I've had at UMD. Rather than focusing on educating his students on developing countries, Ronald Luna prefers to have toddler-like meltdowns about people not coming to his lectures in the form of ridiculous tests. In order to do well in this class, not only do you have to study the embarrassingly outdated and nonsensical powerpoints Luna makes, but you'll have to memorize practically irrelevant facts that Luna mentions during lecture and recall those word for word on his tests. Honestly it baffles me that this man has a doctorate. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS OR ANYTHING WITH LUNA
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/08/2015	If you only intend to take this class to get the DSSP credit, you're better off taking literally any other DSSP. Luna is extremely narcissistic and takes himself way too seriously for a 100 level course. He considers not going to his class a personal insult so he leaves blanks in his powerpoints (which he only posts for 24 hours before taking down), and even if you're paying attention in class it can be hard to catch the important information (I've attended every class). The exams are entirely based off memorizing long lists, and often times the information in his powerpoints is outdated and barely even makes sense. I'm studying for the final right now and I've found much better information by just googling the topics. Honestly it looks like an 8th grader made his powerpoints. I see that there are a lot of reviews from 2014 saying this class is great but my experience was anything but that. If you're really interested in learning about developing countries you're better off googling it.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A skhan95 12/22/2014	Professor Luna was my absolute favorite teacher I have had in college. Class was always extremely interesting, I learned a lot about developing countries and relevant topics. He was very fair at teaching, his assigned projects were interesting and taught me a lot. I highly recommend taking this class!!!!
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Anonymous 12/08/2014	He was a very straightforward person and the class was interesting. Exams were fair, there wasn't that much reading unless you count reading the slides. There is a group paper and video, 2 tests and 1 individual paper. I don't why people say he has hard accent he only has a slight one. He is really nice professor and would even write recommendation as long as you have an A in his class. As for memorization a lot of it is common sense and by the way I am not a geography major, but I agree discussion was annoying but you have to go since attendance is graded. However I would recommend this class to anyone cuz it is an interesting one, as for the book it was a complete waste of money since we only used it in discussion (not graded) and had the course syllabus, i suggest just take a picture of it from someone in class.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A+ lfu007 10/02/2014	Even though he seems like a tough guy who doesn't take any bull, he is really an extremely effective professor who appreciates hard-working, smart students that put in the effort to do well in his class. I absolutely loved this class, and I think he's a wonderful professor. Even if you're in a big lecture class with him, try to get to know him by going to office hours, sitting in the first few rows, answering his questions in class, etc. It's really worth it!
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A ChemEstudent 08/13/2014	Easy course honestly. Test content comes directly from the PowerPoints and if that wasn't easy enough, he gives EXACT answers to test questions during each class and provides study guides that cover most of what will be on the tests. Didn't really strike me as a narcissist; he's cool. Very knowledgeable about the material, though his PowerPoint had more than a few minor grammatical errors. 2 Papers, 3 tests, and a group project compose the bulk of your grade. All straight forward, as long as you show up to get the PowerPoints, and the review sheets.Obviously, the group project success is dependent on the individual members, but the project isn't hard, just time consuming. SHOW UP TO CLASS and it's an easy A!
Ronald Luna GEOG130 HeavenBound 05/23/2012	Luna is alright. He has a thick accent but that does not mean he's not understandable. Class gets boring after a couple lectures but it's important to go because he gives out answers to exam questions. He takes down the slides after 24hrs so download it asap. My TA didn't speak good English but that wasn't a problem. A lot of work for a 100 level class and it's all memorization.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Anonymous 02/18/2012	Dr. Luna is the greatest professor I've had at College Park. Geography 130 was literally life changing and I loved the class. I learned how to think in a world view. The ideas in the class were relevant and fun to discuss. Dr. Luna relates his life and this class to college students so well. I went to every single class and I did not regret a single day. I took this class in the freshmen connection program and Dr. Luna was simply awesome. He answered questions, and cared for all the students. I'm tired of these terrible reviews, this man was an awesome teacher, don't be so disrespectful! You will miss this class so much once its done.. Dr. Luna is a beast.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 09/05/2011	Easy class. This guy is basically a communist. He thinks that the US is the worst nation in the world and shows biased videos in class the degrade the US and Israel. It's sad. Big time asshole. Take the class for the A, but people should stand up to his ridiculous opinions.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 06/14/2011	This guy is a pompous ass. He acts like he is God's gift to the world but he can't even fucking spell or use proper grammar in his slides which he takes down after only being up for 12 hours. Overall the class is incredibly easy but Luna was such a smarmy prick that it kinda ruined the whole class for me.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Raikou-Neko 05/06/2011	I will admit that Dr. Luna does generalize a LOT, but as he says himself, it's to convey a point. The class itself is an easy A. Showing up to every discussion earns you 100 points (an exam grade). His final is NOT cumulative and doubles as his third exam. The papers are relatively easy, and despite a lot of group work, the points are fairly easy to get if you put around 6 hours of work or so into each paper. I'll probably pass with a 94 or a 95.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/05/2011	Overall, if you are taking this class for a core its not too difficult. Tests are easy but the papers and assignments are tedious and the TA I had was terrible at both teaching and grading. Also, if you are interested in developing countries, this class will give you a unorganized synopsis of the subject. Luna also has horrible grammar and he is offensive and incoherent at times. However, Luna does do an excellent job of explaining developing countries from the other perspectives outside the US. He shows how the developing world has suffered which is uncommon among western professors. overall decent course but not something I would fully recommend.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/15/2011	DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Professor Luna is the absolute worst professor I've had here-he generalizes global problems into 4 bullet points and makes degrading comments that I find personally offensive. He doesn't know what he's talking about, I have no idea how he has his doctorate. Going to his lectures consists of him reading off his poorly made, grammatically incorrect slides. Discussion being mandatory is absolutely ridiculous & such a waste of time-it doesn't enhance anything you learn in class, it's completely unnecessary & annoying group work. Probably one of the dumbest classes offered here-don't take it unless someone else is teaching it.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/15/2011	Nice guy, good-looking TA, interesting material. Posts lectures online and covers all of the topics. Two exams, 2-3 med length papers, and a group project. I would definitely recommend this class.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting an A student110206 10/04/2009	Personally, I liked Dr. Luna. As long as you go to class and listen to his lectures, you will do fine in the class. BUT if you don't, attend lecture, then you might not do as well on the exams. He does delete information out from his powerpoints. Dr. Luna is funny and really nice.
Ronald Luna GEOG130 Expecting a B ZagatForTeachers 12/05/2008	Dr.Luna is an interesting fellow. It is sometimes difficult to decipher exactly what he is saying as the grammar in his power point lectures is never grammatically correct. As a teacher, he is pretty funny. He often uses examples in our daily lives to kind of correlate what he is teaching to how it affects us. The tests are pretty easy to be honest as long as you study the lectures. Don't waste your time reading the "suggested" readings. You have to also watch about an average of 3 Dial Access movies on your own time per exam since there are questions about them on each one. Oh and just on a side note he might not be in class one week cause he is in cancun...and he will rub it in haha