College and University Blog
Resources, help, and insight for your college experience
Campus Gossip Sites: "Fun-Loving Entertainment" or Realm of Hate Rhetoric
Gossip. Most people, including myself, are guilty of speaking some form of it; all have been the object of gossip to some degree, but I have often wondered from where within our souls or conscience is the compulsion to slander, defame, hurt, and possibly destroy the reputations of even our closest friends and relatives, much less our enemies. Is it vengeance, jealousy, bitterness, anger, or for some sick form of entertainment? And what lasting reward could conceivably come from such intolerable actions against our peers?
The answer: Choosing wrong is easy. We are innately predisposed to unload our trunk of dirt at any opportunity we can, whether we have intentions to harm or not. Don’t believe me? Consult the internet.
Apple iPhone: NOT a College Requirement
Word has it that for incoming freshmen journalism students at the University of Missouri School of Journalism this Fall semester, each will have in their hand an Apple iPhone, whether they want one or not.
Several internet news sites have reported in their heading that the University of Missouri has made the purchase of Apple iPhone a requirement for students this next year, which is, in fact, misleading. Headings such as “New College Requirement: iPhone” of the HeraldNet, Washington and “University of Missouri Requires Students to Buy iPhone” published by College News.com are not accurate assessments. A website entitled, “FindMySoft.com” also stated in a May 2009 article, “It has now come to light that the iPhone is such a useful piece of technology that it is a requirement for college students – not all of them, just the ones attending the University of Missouri School of Journalism.”
Gov. Schwarzenegger Proposes Cal Grant Withdrawal
Advocates for student-aid were rendered speechless Thursday when the governor announced his proposed intentions to slash Cal Grants, the state’s main student aid program. Hundreds of thousands of California resident students rely on monies tied into this program, and if it is eliminated, thousands of students across the state would feel the burden of university expenses especially in light of recent fee and tuition increases that the state university systems made to account for the latest Schwarzeneggar-imposed budget cuts.
Suicide on Campus: Second Leading Cause of Death Among College Students
Young adults living in a transitory period of leaving behind the chords of parental sway and entering into a world of responsibility, unaccountability, and decision making can incite a lack of certainty and adjustment, wavering and a wariness, shaking the very self-perceived value for their life. Depression, anxiety, isolation, we often understand these problems as mere words, but to some less fortunate, these “words” are measurements to the sanctity of living versus an embellished notion of death as a remedy for their emotional pain or anger. As such, these forms of mental illness without treatment can quickly mount in severity until ending their life was not a sole fantasy, thought, plan, but an action.
Academic Earth: Go Ivy League For Free!
After turning down a notable job offer and an admission to Harvard Business School, Yale graduate and entrepreneur, Richard Ludlow, launched this past March, AcademicEarth.org, an online resource that offers nearly 2,400 video lectures and 60 full courses for free to anyone interested in a little ivy league quality knowledge from a number of elite universities. Ludlow envisioned technology as a fresh approach to creating a user-friendly resource tool that allows anyone the opportunity to access this level of education.
Studying at the Library: Bad Patron Behaviors
Libraries, by definition, have been the ideal place to study—full of resources and quiet. So when I decided to set up shop in the far corner of my local library, I had no idea the outlandish and extremely distracting patron behavior I would come across, and as such, knowing that college students spend the majority of their time studying, I decided to compose a must-read quick guide for library etiquette. Note: These guidelines or, rather, exhortations are based directly upon my bizarre encounters at the library.
Credit Cards and College Students: Avoid Death by Debt
Is it any surprise that credit card debt among college students has increased nearly 50% in five years? Unfortunately, current circumstances in the world today: economic downturn, dried up loan pools, and increased tuition rates have created a recipe for extreme debt among student spenders. Undergrads and grads alike have felt the pressure of the credit allure. Some have even been forced to charge full tuition amounts at stifling interest rates.
Severe Weather Awareness: Tornado Safety
Tis the season for tornados— and scientists have reason to believe that Spring 2009 may be the most active tornado season in ten years.
Meteorologists have been tracking the patterns of large weather makers from the ice storms and other severe weather this past winter to now. Brian Barnes of StormChase.com, a private storm tracker company, made a statement in February claiming, “Based on climate data, I suspect that this is going to be an extremely busy storm season and the tornado threat will be intense this spring.” (PRLog Press Release)
So what does that mean for college students living on campus? It means be prepared. Severe storms cause on average 70-80 fatalities and 1,500 injuries per year. (NOAA) It is important while on campus to maintain heightened awareness during the peak months of tornado season.
Swine Flu: The College Campus Response to a Panicmongering Media
Pandemic viruses are often characterized in Hollywood as highly contagious flesh-infecting diseases of colossal exploding abscesses that cause total mayhem and turmoil turning a quiet country town into a war zone. Explosions and gun fire fill the night sky as the carnivorous zombies roam about. Then, the courageous joe and the beautiful jane fight together to kill off the scores of infected walking dead. They fall in love, and all seems well until one of them discovers their own rotting flesh.
Unfortunately, people are so tuned into cinema dramatics, the words virus, death and spreading in the news is a recipe for panic. When in reality, panic and governmental response to panic is more frightening than the disease itself.
Mental Health Crisis Among College Students: What's the Cause?
Years ago, attending college seemed a vibrant time of learning, growing, socializing, and networking among students. Mental health among the college youth was not a cause for growing concern. Now, with the rising issues of violence, unexpected academic pressures and substance abuse, college life could be described by some as the pathway to adolescent anxiety, depression and even suicide and in increasing measures.