Problems of Joining Activities in Colleges

By: Jae Yu Ko

When students get to colleges, they need time to get used to colleges. As soon as classes get started, students begin to have homework and getting busy. By the way, there are several students who really want to join the clubs or activities that they like. But, there is a problem with it. Even though students want to join activities, they also have a bunch of homework to do. They will be busy and it is not easy to participate in clubs in colleges. Therefore, government of the United States or the head of colleges should care about students who want to join activities.

There are students who want to participate in clubs. However, if they join there, they will be busier than any other people in colleges. As everyone knows, works for colleges are much more burdensome than high school. Even though students do not participate in clubs, they are still busy and sometimes they have to stay all day long resulting in a lack of sleep. Especially, that problem comes to international mostly because they usually stay more time than Americans. Some internationals want to join clubs such as sports clubs. For example, one of my friends named Joe Kim wants to participate in baseball clubs because he loves baseball. But, he has a lot of homework to do on Thursday and try-out is on that day. He does not know whether he has to go to practice or not because of excessive work for the next day. Finally, he went to practice and could not finish his work because he became tired.

As examples were stated above, the head of colleges should care about students who want to join clubs. Students who do not participate in activities absolutely will get better score than students who do them. Therefore, sports players or club members are to get extension of homework.

Collegiate Sports: The Commercialization of an Institution Past Time

By: Kristi Painter

While not all students are overly enthusiastic about collegiate sports, all students are extremely aware of their existence. It is hard to miss the excitement of fellow students when game time is approaching but it is even harder to miss the advertisements, not just around the college but in commercials and other areas. Recently collegiate sports have become exponentially more commercialized. It is understandable for sports organizations rely on sponsorships in order that they may function properly but commercialization has taken over the collegiate sports world.


In early higher education history, sports were created as a way for students to take a well needed break from their studies and have some fun. Both athletes and spectators were able to reap benefits from the sports world. The sports organizations were created and run by students themselves, however, during the early twentieth century the responsibilities were handed over to the faculty and eventually specially trained athletic instructors. Brad Wolverton believes that “intercollegiate athletics… may have ‘crossed the line’ from an educational to a commercial endeavor.” The beloved college sports have shifted from their initial purpose of complementing education to becoming widespread money making machines. It is understandable that sponsorships are needed for the support of athletic purposes but when sponsorships and expensive ticketing are used solely for the purpose of making money, commercialization of collegiate sports really has gone too far. The role of collegiate sports in a university needs to be reexamined and evaluated in order to preserve the true intentions of a college sport.

Communication Breakdown

By: Stewart Hall

The problem of communication between international students and professors and between foreign professors and their students has been investigated by university administrators and communications researchers. However, there is another aspect to communication between professors and students that is of equal or greater importance. These include the professor's volume and projection of what he says and how effective what he/she writes on the board is. In his paper, Cory Young states "[S]tudents are adapting to their new educational environment in which language barriers, relationships with professors and peers, the process of learning, and a different time schedule are additional problems cast onto their cultural adjustment." There have also been investigations on communication barriers between foreign professors and their students. In reference to Bette Grande, a university employee and State Representative, John Gravois writes “When she asked how their classes were going, she was dismayed to discover how many said they were having trouble wading through a professor’s accent.”

What these university administrators and communication researchers seem to overlook in their investigations, possibly because of the prominence of the language barrier, are the other levels of communication that professors use. I have had some lectures where the professors did not speak loud or clear enough to understand. I have also had a lecture with a professor that wrote in very small print and spent more time writing than speaking, severely marring the lecture. These issues may be as important or more important than the language barrier because they affect all students and do not have to do with the nationality of the professor. If some form of extra training is required for professors that reinforces the importance of these levels of communication, students in universities may have higher levels of achievement and spend less time frustrated.

Work Your Way Out Of Freshman 15

By: Utsav Akhoury

Freshman 15 is a known problem that certain freshman face in college. Few causes for freshman 15 are such as , the student is too lazy to do any sort of exercise, the student stresses to much hence just sits on his/her chair doing nothing and the main cause is excessive eating. What students fail to realize is that the colleges do care for them , hence have provided them with numerous facilities and opportunities which if used well can keep the student healthy and stress free.

Students often do not like to travel and get to the Fitness center that the college provides for them and because of their laziness they begin stacking on the pounds. Colleges also provide other sources of physical activity such as Sports and most of the colleges in the world play a great variety of sports from soccer to cricket to rowing. Playing a particular sport is one of the best ways to keep fit, healthy and stress free. For those people who do not like working out or playing sports colleges have Outdoor Recreation programs which offer many choices for a student , all helping out equally for the student to stay healthy , relaxed and freshman 15 free.

Hence I urge all students freshman or not , healthy or not healthy , to go out and grab these opportunities given to them by the colleges and lead a much better life in college.

Does Size Really Matter?

By: William Hodges

Many students during their transition to college have to deal with the changes in class size. This is a problem to some students who are used to the individual attention that they were given by their teachers in their small high school classes. In these classes, that can quadruple the size of some high school classes, the professors are not able to give as much attention to a struggling student. It also does not make it easy for students to get questions answered because of the impersonal environment. According to studies performed by G. Glass “reductions in class size resulted in an increase in academic achievement.” He also says that “Class sizes of 15 or fewer students could be expected to increase achievement scores by approximately half a standard deviation.” Why do institutions create such large class sizes than. By filling classes, the institution can save money by not having to hire more professors to teach more classes, and they are able to save space by not require more class rooms.

Many schools have tried to counteract this problem by creating smaller classes in which a teacher’s assistant is there to answer question and help students further learn the information that they had seen in their large classes. This works to the student’s and the institution’s advantage because, the student gets the extra help that is required for them to feel comfortable about the material, and this is also much cheaper for the institution than hiring more professors to teach. Through methods like this and the fact that at many school professors make themselves available at certain times in order to answer questions, college students should be able to survive these unusually large class sizes.

College Applications: Too General?

By: Ryan Dettmann

When students apply to colleges, many of what colleges are considering in a application is SAT/ACT scores, college rankings, and applications. But many students don’t consider how flawed the system is until they get rejected. The previously mentioned major components of an application can be greatly general not take in full account the individual student.

One of the major parts that is flawed in the components of an application is the generality of the SAT/ACT. Most colleges take the scores word that the student is a good one and will most likely be successful. But many of these colleges do not research the validity of the tests and their accuracy and go sometimes go by what the test companies say, but a student could just be a good test taker. Also the tests have generally broad questions and components which makes it hard to justify the test say what they say without a given study on the test.

Another aspect of the application that is a issue when colleges look at applications is class rankings. When they look at class rank its almost impossible to gauge a student’s academic prowess to another’s if the they are from different schools and one of them would have a significantly lower class rank. This has been a large issue, to the point where schools stop compiling class ranks because they fear it will hurt their students chances in college. But colleges have gotten around that by making a virtual make-up of class rankings.

The class ranking, actual or virtually compiled, the SAT/ACT, and the general essay of the application make it impossible to get a full account of a student with all the generality of the application. This can put any student at a disadvantage and make college acceptances to a certain point is pulling a name out of a hat.

Are Internationals the Target of Money in Colleges?

By: Jae Yu Ko

A lot of colleges have excellent international students. Even some colleges have more international students than Americans. Because there are a number of international students, it is necessary for universities to reduce the number of internationals. Therefore, even though colleges are located in the United States, it can make language problems and its atmosphere will changed gradually.

Colleges should shorten the number of international students. Most colleges request international students more tuition than Americans. So, foreigners are mad at it. Rich internationals feel that it is fine to pay tuition, but students who have financial problems might not graduate from colleges. Colleges have attempted to make it fame and rank their colleges higher to get more excellent students. Usually, colleges which have a lot of money have ranked highly such as Harvard and Princeton. However, it is not a good idea because some internationals became poor due to the excessive tuition. Thus, it is one of the biggest issues about internationals in colleges.

It is necessary for universities to get good international students, but it is not a good idea for the purpose of raising money in colleges. It does not say in bad ways and people just would like to state that colleges help international students for financial aids. Therefore, the proper number of Americans and foreigners is important.

Civil Students

By: Kristi Painter

Through my own college experience I have noticed that when class is called into session it only means that the professor is about to speak, not necessarily that everyone is now paying attention. Laptops and cell phones are still in use throughout the room, some students may still be wearing pj’s, and whispered conversations can still be heard. Few students realize that their behavior is disrespectful to the professor who will be training them for a professional career. Thomas Benton states that he “see[s] among my students a dispiriting amount of cynicism about teachers and contempt for learning”. After completing high school students are given a large amount of freedom when it comes to college academics. Of course, you still have to work hard in order to make good grades but the new freedom spills over into the lecture hall too easily.

Only a few decades ago students at universities would not think twice about dressing nicely for class; a suit and tie were the only acceptable attire. No group of students was perfect, but keeping silent while a professor lectured was held in much higher regard than it is today. Current college students are given no requirements for attire or behavior which causes many to avoid dressing and acting in a professional manner. When a student is not acting professionally it is hard for their mind to think professionally, therefore increasing the potential for their

academics to suffer. The lack of standards may seem pleasing to many students but it is in sacrifice of the learning quality of the student body.

Cheating Prevention

By: Stewart Hall

"Recent studies have shown that a steadily growing number of students cheat or plagiarize in college" according to Lawrence Hinman in his article. Many methods to prevent cheating have been conceived and are currently in use. An article from Tallahassee Community College suggests banning everything from cell phones to water bottles and requiring IDs to prevent impersonation. Despite all of the new rules, students will still find ways cheat on exams if they want to. However, these rules are not completely useless; they do serve to maintain a relatively honest testing environment, just not in the way that everyone may think. On the other hand, they may be counterproductive in trying to maintain a fair environment.

Students will still be able to cheat regardless of how many rules are created. If this was not true, there would only be one such rule: don't cheat. Unfortunately, the only thing that these new rules do is force cheaters to come up with new methods. What cheating rules do accomplish, however, is to keep a portion of students honest. If there were no cheating rules, there would be no consequence for cheating, and more students would probably engage in it. The problem with these rules comes in when they force dishonest students to come up with methods of cheating that are even harder to catch. If faculty at schools would simply have one rule against cheating, they might stop making work for themselves, because as more rules are created, more methods of cheating are created. To help end the cycle, faculty could stop creating rules and just use what they know to catch dishonest students.

College Security and Safety; More Concern Than Just Police

By: Ryan Dettmann

Although many parents worry about the safety with college campus’s, they mainly worry about the police and blue light but most college’s police and blue lights can only provide so much protection. Many Parent’s and students don’t consider the other aspects of security like classes, alert systems, web security. These can big a part in making a campus in security.

In recent years College’s emergency alert systems have been increasingly used most notably with hurricane Katrina, Northern Illinois, and the terrible shooting at Virginia Tech. Many of the alert systems focus on natural disasters and acts of violence, but even with that supposed preparedness many still lack many aspects of making a campus safe in emergency situations. They generally address the basic situations like a suspicious looking person or evacuation plan, but some leave out how to deal with psychological distress or lockdown. Also many of the Colleges have there emergency alert plans and procedures online, but little over half of the Colleges are prepared for the Cyber Disruption. This would make the Colleges more vulnerable if there were a Cyber Disruption because the students might be unable to reach the Website or Internet. Additionally, security cameras are lacking on campuses with less than half having security cameras outside campus dining halls and other buildings, making students in an urban environment.

With even alert systems and procedures there are other safety situations such as needs CPR, which is increasingly getting more popular at Colleges such as Emory. These can come in handy for situations when people are in need of medical assistance. But one thing Colleges should consider offering self-defense classes especially at Colleges with Urban environments so students know what to do in certain situation like if a student is being mugged or confronted by a stranger.

Safety should and is a major concern for parents and students, but they consider every aspect of safety. Furthermore, Colleges should also consider making their security plans more concise and available to students and staff, because as studies mentioned earlier that colleges lack some aspects in their safety procedures.

Cheating in the College Enviroment

By: William Hodges

Cheating is a problem that every school faces not matter how strict their honor code is. Cheating has increased considerably recently because of the new advancements in technology. According to education-portal.com “75 to 98 percent of college students surveyed each year admit to cheating at some time in their academic careers” and use it as a shortcut to getting good grades. First, how do we define cheating? According to the Georgia Tech Honor Code it is defined as “Gaining an unfair advantage over other Students through academic misconduct.” Through new resources such as the internet and communication devices such as cell phones cheating has become much easier to accomplish.

The second video that pops up on YouTube when “cheating” is searched for is a video that teaches kids how to digitally edit a label on a coke bottle, and put notes on it so that it is virtually undetectable to others. The internet has also opened up many new opportunities to plagiarize other peoples work. Websites like rushessay.com offer a “Custom Essay Writing Service” where a student can pay a professional to write an essay for them. Although these are extreme examples of cheating these are still very popular resources for some students.

The best way to approach this situation is to educate professors and teachers on ways that kids cheat. Have them be more aware of what students are doing during a test or an exam. A teacher should not be checking their e-mail during this time but they should be walking around and monitoring the students. If a teacher understands new methods of cheating they can better watch out for it and ultimately get rid of it in and out of the classroom.

Does Alcohol Really Help Students in Colleges?

By Jae Yu Ko

Many students drink alcohol when they are excited and happy. It is not a bad idea to drink alcohol on Friday and Saturday, but drinking on weekdays makes people not go to classes. Because of alcohol, a number of students do not go to classes and as times goes by, students feel that they are becoming tired and relaxed. They also think that colleges are somewhat free because nobody cares whether they study or not unlike in high schools. There is a possibility to protect students from drinking alcohol in colleges.

The government should stop students from drinking alcohol because it can make them not go to classes and become tired. According to the data, alcohol leads to the death of people, unsafe sex, drunk driving, and abuse of right which behaviors are all inappropriate to student. Eventually, because of those reasons, students do not want to go to classes and that is to say, alcohol is never to be a good beverage. In the NIH News, it also says that excessive use of alcohol makes students exhausted and it can damage people’s GPA. Students have to recognize why they come to colleges. Therefore, government should plan to reduce the use of alcohol in colleges to prevent students from being damaged their GPA.

Alcohol is one of the worst foods especially for students. It is true that it can help students have fun, but damage their colleges lives. Because of alcohol, students do not go to classes and it becomes natural. Thus, the government of the U.S has to reduce the number of students who drink a lot in colleges.

Dining Halls: The Need for Nutrition AND Convenience

By: Kristi Painter

Good nutrition is essential for college students who want to keep their minds and bodies in good condition during long hours of studying in a dorm room. Unfortunately, this is the easiest time to make bad nutrition decisions, a three course meal may sound more appealing but a slice of pizza and a soda are more accessible in a busy schedule. While meal plans and dining halls are offered at colleges they may not be the easiest or most convenient way to get the nutrition you need. According to Beth J. Harpaz, more and more college student have begun cooking simple nutritious meals for themselves when they can rather than relying on dining halls to fulfill their needs. Harpaz states that this “food revolution” has influenced college dining halls towards more healthy and international dishes but some students still prefer the convenience of their dorm hall kitchen.

In reality, the downfall of college dining halls today is not nutrition but convenience. Those with some gastronomic skills are much happier creating their own unique dishes than visiting the local dining hall, as said by Harpaz. But for the students without any culinary skills it is much easier to microwave a slice of leftover pizza in your dorm while doing some much needed studying for an upcoming exam than to walk to the dining hall and eat a well balanced meal. Dining halls should now focus on providing convenient and healthy solutions for busy college students. Convenient, healthy options are important for providing proper nutrition to busy college students .

Does AP Help or Hurt?

By: Stewart Hall

Advanced Placement courses are being offered in many high schools across the country allowing students to get college credit from high school classes. While high school counselors, students, and parents express gratification that students can begin college coursework early and prepare for college classes, some college faculty members are beginning to question the rigor of these courses, stating that high schools may be watering down the curriculum. This may be true; however, another possible issue is the way that AP exams are graded which certainly allows for a gap between AP courses and college courses in the required understanding of a subject needed to earn college credit. In his article, Vaishali Honawar states "administrators in some public school systems with dualcredit programs say they have helped students move on to college". One of the administrators that Honawar refers to, Randy Miksch, says that the classes prepare students for college. On the other hand colleges do not believe that passing an AP test mandates course credit. Lynn Olsen says "Of particular concern was the rigor of college courses taught in high schools by high school teachers" in reference to a meeting on the AP program.

Another thing to consider when viewing AP exams as a replacement for college coursework is the method in which they are graded. As shown on the College Board website, the grades are statistically scaled so that a pre-determined percentage of the students who take the exam will pass. This means that an AP score will show how well a student comprehends a subject when compared to other high school students but not college students in the same course. As a result, students who get credit for college courses through AP scores may or may not be getting assessed on the same standards as they would in a college class. This could cause problems in courses that build upon what is taught in AP classes, leaving a student unprepared for further coursework.

Keeping Down the Pounds

By: William Hodges

The outrageous amounts of college students that gain unwanted weight during their first year of college has given this phenomenon the title of the “Freshman fifteen”. But what is the cause of this unhealthy weight problem? During the stressful transition to college students change many of their habits, some good, and some bad. According to CNN the decrease in physical activity, change in eating habits, and the increase in alcohol consumption are all major contributors to the freshman fifteen. Although the name freshman fifteen suggests that the average freshman gains about fifteen pounds their first year in college, according to USA Today, the average weight gain is actually closer to six to nine pounds. So what should students do to try and avoid gaining weight their freshman year? Exercise is probably the best way to keep the weight down. CNN suggests joining a gym or participating in athletics as a way to stay active. Also structuring your eating is another great way to stay healthy. By planning when you are going to eat and not eating five full meals a day you are able to control your food intake thus keeping your weight down. Some schools (Georgia Tech included) have taken this issue into their own hands by requiring each student to take Health as a class in order to educate students of this problem and give them ways to fix it. Although students are given a new found freedom in college, they ultimately need to be responsible for themselves and need to develop good habits early on in college in order to avoid the dreaded freshman fifteen.

Community College: Less Likely To Get A Degree

By: Ryan Dettmann

Through recent research more and more people are enrolling into specifically Community Colleges, but few researchers of academia have considered how this effects students. More specifically, how students in these colleges succeeded less in earning a degree than at a four year College. This can have a effect on how people in getting a job and how since they are less likely to attain a degree that they are more likely to be in debt.

In the recent years the enrollment in Community Colleges, like Bunker Hill Community College, have spike almost as much as 20%. A staggering number but not terribly surprising with the recent recession tightening people’s budgets. The price of Community Colleges general lower in price compared to a 4-year University. But in several studies have shown that people are less likely to graduate and attain a degree at a community college and a less-selective state schools. That means more people are entering the job market without a degree inhibiting them from getting better jobs, which hurts our economy.

Since people at Community Colleges are less likely to get a degree and spent several thousands on trying to get one they are more likely to be in debt from it. Additionally, research has shown that people are borrowing more from private lenders putting them in deeper debt. Also with a larger amount of Community College students not attaining a degree, Students, in most instances, are less likely to getting a better job compared to a person with a degree. This make it less likely for students to get out of the debt from schooling.

Since studies have shown that Community college enrollments have surged and people are less likely to attain a degree from these institutions, it is likely that overall student debt will increase and promising that the recession will not end soon. Although with the influx of students, it will be interesting to see if Community Colleges start trying to improve the possibility of their students attaining a degree.

Many Students Do Not Go To Classes

By Jae Yu Ko

Many universities or colleges have a lot of students and classes. For each subject, there are a number of professors and students. Some professors can check the attendance and others do not. So, a number of students do not go to classes which professors do not check the attendance. It is meaningless to waste time not to go to lectures. There is a solution to help students attend classes.

The solution for students who do not usually go to lecture is to make attendance machines for students. To reduce the severity of absence, these machines can help people to listen to lecture and learn something meaningful rather than just not going to classes. For example, in Georgia Tech and some colleges, chemistry and computer science engineering professors have made ideas about creating attendance machines called PRS and finally, these machines have been used effectively. So, all students have to buy it and press enter button for the sign of attendance in each class. Even though a person attends class and does not press ‘enter’ button on PRS, he is expected to be absent. Thus, it is an excellent idea to prevent students from not going classes and help them to listen to the lecture.

I think that it is a good solution to make PRS machines to help students attend classes. It is one of the main issues that many students do not go to classes because they know that professors do not check attendance. If students do not go to classes to learn, they do not have to come to colleges and they can just study by themselves. Therefore, going to classes help education being higher.

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Laptops: Tools or Distraction?

By: Stewart Hall

There is an ongoing battle over the use of laptops in classrooms between faculty members and professors that believe laptops are useful learning tools and those that see laptops as distractions. Laptops are now becoming required at many schools including Georgia Tech. The fact that students are required to have a computer with a portable form factor would suggest that the school expects their students to take their computers around campus with them, but does this mean that students should be using laptops in classes? Some school faculty members see laptops as very important tools for learning. Prakash Nair says "I have started referring to computers in classrooms as 'digital teaching assistants.'" in his article on the usefulness of laptops in classrooms. However, this view is not globally accepted, and some professors are beginning to ban the use of laptops in classrooms claiming that they are distractions to the operators and anyone who can view the screen. In his article on banning laptops, David Cole says "That’s not only distracting to the student who is checking baseball scores and statistics but for all those who see him and many others doing something besides being involved in class."

Both side of this argument make sense, but obviously this creates a disagreement between both students and faculty. There are, however, solutions that offer a compromise. Professors could allow laptops for those who wish to use them, but require them to sit in the back of the classroom. This would allow the students who use laptops as a "digital teaching assistant" to have their way and still utilize the full advantages of having a laptop. Of course, not all students are going to use laptops to help them learn; some students will still choose to engage in unrelated and distracting tasks. While a laptop ban may be seen as helping these students concentrate, it is likely that these students don't care enough to pay attention and would find something else to do during the lecture, or just not come at all. As long as they were sitting in the back of the room, their activities would not distract other students.

Too Many Activities, Too Little Time

By: Kristi Painter

As a new college student I have been asked many times which clubs or sports I plan on joining. When I say that I am not sure yet I get some unusual looks which might be surprise, displeasure, or annoyance. Living in a busy world, it is hard to keep an open schedule with time to relax. On page six of Your Guide to College Success: Strategies for Achieving Your Goals, John Santrock and Jane Halonen argue that involvement in extracurricular activities improves your academic standing. While that seems to be the accepted belief, I find that extracurricular activities can add greatly to a student’s stress and affect their grades in a negative manner.

Santrock and Halonen state that “leisure activities” such as sports and leadership organizations are important when trying to balance your study life. These activities, however, are anything but leisure; preparing for a sport takes a large portion of physical preparation and energy and being a member of a leadership organization can take a lot of mental preparation and time. These all add to the stress that is already present at school and restrict the amount of time a student has for mandatory schoolwork. If a student needs to take a break from studying they should do casual unorganized activities, which do not tie them down, with friends, read an easy relaxing book, or take a much needed nap. Activities like these are nonbinding and give the mind a chance to rest. Also, students are less likely to place these activities above their schoolwork than when they are in charge of an organization or have an important game coming up. Grades will not improve with an overworked schedule but with a relaxed schedule with calming activities.

Lecture: Size Really Matters

By: Stewart Hall

The effect of class size on level of achievement has been widely debated. In his article, John Follman states that “despite a long history of generally consistent research results that class size has little if any demonstrated influence on college students' achievement, educators nonetheless continue to express concern about the effects of large class size on student performance.” He then goes to say that research has shown that reducing class size will have very little effect on achievement unless the class sizes are reduced to less than 15-20 students. However, Follman's research only focuses on the effect of the lecture size on the students ability to learn. In a study conducted by (Lee, 2008), it was found that aside from the effects on students, lecture size effects how professors teach a class, which could have an effect on the achievement of students. He says “...size matters. The size of the class appears to influence and constrain the rhetorical and lexico-grammatical choices that lecturers make” (Lee, 2008).

The size of the lecture definitely has an impact on how effective the teaching is. With smaller lectures, the professor can get to know all of the students better, making it easier for the students to get help and feedback on their work. In a smaller lecture there is an opportunity for more interaction between the professor and the students, allowing for students to ask questions and gain a better understanding of what is being taught. With larger lectures, there is little opportunity for students to ask questions and interact with the professor. Instead, these large lectures are almost equivalent to watching a movie or a powerpoint presentation on your own because the professor may not know what needs to be clarified for the particular students in the lecture. The desire for smaller classes is recognized by universities who provide statistics to prospective students on the average size of their lectures and the student to faculty ratio. In the coming years, universities will try to decrease their class sizes to attract new students, hopefully increasing the achievement of current students.

Sources

Follman, John. (1994) "The Conundrum of Class Size at the College Level". College Quarterly. Vol. 2 Num. 1

Lee, Joseph J. (2008) “Size matters: an exploratory comparison of small- and large-class university lecture introductions “. Elsevier Ltd.

Internet: The New Classroom

By: Ryan Dettmann

Through the last couple of decades technology has made it easier for teachers to get materials and information to students. Some of the latest advances have been online notes, online homework, and even online courses. These advancements, though they do get information out in the public, do they take away from the experience of a classroom or do students do better in a online classroom and do online courses and notes encourage cheating.

The first question is does online classrooms take away from the real college experience and do students do better in a physical or virtual classroom. In every classroom there is a sense of a connection between teacher and student which can helpful to students. But in The New York Times articles mentioning a study by SRI International for the Department of Education concludes that students do better taking online courses compared to the conventional classroom. Though this may be true many people still prefer to the conventional mode of teaching in a classroom.

One thing that commonly occurs in the classroom is cheating, though unspoken, people do do it. With the increases of electronic classrooms and homework, surprisingly people are studying more in groups and studying more in general as mention. Additionally, with the turn to digital homework and classrooms, some websites have employed special anti-plagiarism programs. They can compare a paper turned in to other ones in the class and countless others outside of the class to see if a big percentage of the paper was copied off another or not.

The anti-plagiarism securities and group collaboration studying add to the study that concluded people learn better online learning. These advancements in technology have made learning more accessible and possibly in a few years most classes will go web-based in some kind of way.

How Stessfull is College?

By: William Hodges

Stress is a particularly pressing issue in the field of Higher Education today. Freshmen are especially prone to stress due to the extreme changes that they must adjust to as they enter college. Many freshmen have never lived on their own before, and while they have to deal with the pressure of taking care of themselves, they must also continue to maintain their grades at a high level. The minute a student arrives on campus the pressure is immediately put on. They must move into their dorm, make new friends, get books, study for tests, and do homework all while getting only five hours of sleep a night. Stress can lead to many physical and mental problems such as causing fatigue, acid reflux, balding and can decrease the effectiveness of your immune system causing you to get sick.

According to the American Institute of Stress, “Seventy-five to ninety percent of the visits made to primary care physicians result from stress or stress related disorders.” So how do we get rid of stress in our lives? Well, as I am sure every college student has already heard, time management is a key to decreasing stress in college. By structuring your time better and planning out your schedule you are able to find more time to do the things that you want to do thus decreasing stress. Along with time management another great way to reduce stress is to exercise. Exercising causes the release of neurotransmitters known as endorphins. These tiny chemicals messenger in your brain cause happiness and make you feel better, ultimately relieving stress. Because stress is such a problem in colleges these days every student should take to the time to get out and do something that relieves stress. This will help college students live a healthier life and feel better about it.

Life in the Dorm: Roommates and Dormmates

By: Kristi Painter

Moving away to college is a big step in the life of any college student. It is both an exciting and frightening time in the life of young adults. The first thing you must get acquainted with while on campus is dorm life. Meeting your roommate and other dormmates is one of the best ways to kick off your freshman year. Immediately you are forced to meet new people and make new friends, unless of course you want to spend your first year alone. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg states that “The relationships made freshman year last a lifetime and there is no better place to get to know your fellow classmates than the dormitories.” Trachtenberg goes on to say that these new friends will most likely become your lifelong friends because you will share many new experiences and learn new things together during a very important time in your lives.

Cramped spaces and uncomfortable living are common thoughts among those who are about to enter college. Before I moved into my dorm room I was very nervous about having too many things and not enough space. Thankfully, everything fit and, although my room isn’t of an ideal size, I have learned an interesting lesson through my experiences. One way to build up a good friendship with your roommate is to learn to work through problems, like living in a small space, together, while getting to know each other better in the process.

Trachtenberg agrees “all that is important is friendship.” Building good relationships is the first step to a much easier transition into the college life.