First-generation College Students

Aimee Turner

During the more recent years, the enrollment of women in college has significantly increased and surpassed that of our male counterparts. Moreover, the enrollment rates for members of historically underrepresented groups have made impressive increases. With this new influx of these different “new school” classes, many of these students are the first in their families to attend college. There have been many speculative research cases conducted on the success rate of first-generation of students. Can the success rate be determined based on the group as a whole or on a case-to-case basis?

Research indicates that students whose parents did not attend college are more likely than their non first-generation counterparts to be less academically prepared for college, to have less knowledge of how to apply for college and for financial assistance, and to have more difficulty in adapting themselves to college once they enroll. First generation college students receiving a baccalaureate degree or higher is an avenue of upward social mobility, representing the single most important rung in the educational-attainment ladder in terms of economic benefits. Although first-generation college students are less likely to persist and graduate, surprisingly little is known about their college experiences and the ways those experiences compare to the experiences of students who have college-educated parents.

Despite the things they have heard via college recruiters and the media, it is important to have a source that is more personable to yourself. It is important that first-generation students succeed in college as with all; however, I believe that they can benefit from having outside resources so that they and their families can better understand the college experience in order to increase overall success for everyone.

The Breaking Point

Xavier Baisden
Many students are able to find coping mechanisms that help them handle these stresses, but others struggle to find the balance between college life and relaxation. Sometimes these struggles cause students to turn to self-destructive practices, such as alcoholism or even thoughts of suicide.

According to a study by USA Today, more than 50 percent of students admit to having contemplated committing suicide. Although many times these thoughts are simply brief thoughts with no true merit, the other times are where this can be dangerous. Many colleges have support systems in place, such as therapists to offer support and advice if students are willing to come forward with their problems, but often times, students are unwilling to admit they need help. This can lead to the stresses and situations which would lead them to consider suicide or other self destructive actions. The lack of prevalence in advertising of these support groups, along with the negative connotation that comes along with someone needing counseling may push someone away from admitting their need for help, and eventually may lead to the death of a student in the future.

Stress is a natural part of life, especially in college, but if it allowed to grow unchecked, it may lead to devastating consequences.

Autism: A Battle Within

Aimee Turner

Contrary to popular belief, there is a large number of students who are enrolled in college with mental disabilities. Autism, a neurological-based developmental disability, affects an estimated one in 166 people, according to a 2004 study by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention. Both children and adults with Autism typically show difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions and leisure or play activities, according to the Autism Society of America. Autism affects individuals differently and to varying degrees.

Although every person with autism is unique, some characteristics are considered to be particularly important in the diagnosis of autism. These fall into four major categories, which are communication characteristics; social interaction characteristics; unusual behavior characteristics; learning characteristics. In spite of these learning disabilities, many of those diagnosed with autism have successfully completed high school and went on to become very successful.

Although many autistic students successfully make it through high school with assistance, many of these same students find this success rate difficult to achieve in college because of the drastic differences. There are important differences in the laws that protect students with disabilities in college, which can be summed up in the fact that students in college have drastically more independence. However, so colleges offer assistance to autistic students and students with other mental disabilities.

Georgia Tech is among a select amount of schools who offer assistance for students with diagnosed mental disabilities. These services are conducted through the ADAPTS office which stands for Access Disabled Assistance Program for Tech Students. The type of assistance students can receive through the ADAPTS office include assigned note takers, extended testing time, as well as other accommodations. ADAPTS serves any Georgia Tech student who has a documented, qualifying disability. Despite the services Georgia Tech offers mentally disabled students, more higher learning institutions should be willing to offers such services to encourage more students to pursue higher education.

Georgia Students Lose Hope

Kevin Brawley

One of the biggest problems students are faced with when reaching the collegiate level is the tuition. Whatever way you look at it, it is expensive, in-state or out-of-state. For some paying in-state tuition, though much cheaper than out-of-state by a large margin, it is still a burden to pay college costs. Luckily for those people, some states have merit-based scholarships that pay for tuition, cost of books, and other fees. Georgia has been a model for just this sort of scholarship since 1993, when the lottery began funding the HOPE scholarship. As HOPE has become very commonplace, many Georgia students rely on this opportunity as a way of keeping out a major debt when they graduate from college. It also takes a major burden off of the parents of many students as they no long need to pay for tuition if their student can maintain a 3.0 GPA throughout high school, and although this is a small award, it is very helpful when it comes time to buy the incidental things associated with college. Included in the HOPE award also, is a book stipend and a student fees stipend, and these sometimes come about very unexpectedly when students are too far into the college process to back out. In those cases, HOPE can be a life saver.

Unfortunately, as the economic situation worsens, state legislators have to make decisions as to how to best cut spending in order to pay for the most necessary things. And more often than not, scholarships are one of the first things to go, even scholarships as depended upon as HOPE. Outrage spread across college campuses in Georgia as newspapers like Georgia Tech's Technique and UGA's Red and Black broke some of the first articles concerning this issue. How were students supposed to finish their college career without HOPE? Surely there would have to be a grandfather clause of some sort, they hoped. Many expressed that they were going to college where they were specifically because of HOPE. What now?

Students plan to organize protests to keep the scholarship going, and many will petition the state board if the budget cuts become more certain, but now the real question remains: how can the higher education community ensure that, even in a bad economy, the largest concern of new (and returning) students is addressed? How can we show legislation that funding for college students is among the most important expenditures in their budgets, and should not be among the first things cut?

Red Bull over Monster over Red Bull

Harry Han

Time feels like gold when it comes to midterms and projects for college students. Staying up late until sunrise is sometimes the case of college students and to do so college students consume various types of energy drinks and caffeinated drinks. However, is this really the best study habit to thrive within higher education?

To thrive through higher education, students face enormous loads of work. Thus most rely on energy drinks in order maintain their concentration during study hours. According to the article “Ephedra and Energy Drinks on College Campuses,” by Daniel Ari Kapner, out of 496 college students survey, in 2007, shows over 51% consumes more than one energy drink per month. In this situation where energy drinks has a powerful hold in the market of college students, it could also cause somewhat negative effects to the life style of college students. Kapner says that having large quantities of energy drinks could result in side effects such as “dehydration, insomnia, headaches, nervousness, nosebleeds, and vomiting.” Moreover, many students consume these energy drinks mixed with alcohol which could even bring about a fatal situation. Exemplified in Kpaner’s article, “a 16-year-old Florida student died after consuming alcohol and energy drinks at a party.” Thus it can be inferred that energy drinks can be helpful in some ways of higher education but it may also result in a disaster when consumed in wrong dosages.

Not only will these energy drinks cause issues in student’s health but also his financial issues in college life. A 250mL can of Red Bull costs about 2 – 3 dollars, and a can of Monster Full Throttle costs about the same as 1.5L Dasani water – that is more than 3 dollars. 3 dollars may not sound much but when it comes to numerous exams and piles of projects, they’ll find themselves in financial crisis.

A burst of energy in a short term could push students to an A in a single exam. However layers and layers of energy drink seems to eventually push students into wrong directions, and rather than an A on their report, they find their lives in a downfall.

Around the World in Four Years

Chris Massad

College and schools in general are constantly pressed with the issue of diversity. There are numerous issues concerning diversity. Is our school diverse enough? Do we want a diverse student body? Is the amount of diversity causing problems within the student body? These are questions that must be answered on a consistent basis by the university faculty. If universities are going to cause such a fuss over diversity, we must first look at why it's important. According to Connect to Higher Education, "Students learn from those whose experiences, beliefs, and perspectives are different from their own." Connect to Higher Education is right, but diversity in school is more important than just that.

Yes, people learn from experiences different from their own, but being in a diverse environment can be overwhelming. For some, being surrounded with people of different ethnic backgrounds can be a culture shock. The U.S. is known as the melting pot and chances are, the average person living in the U.S. will be in constant situations where they must interact with people of different cultures. Like I stated earlier, some people do not cope well with these types of situations. In attending a diverse university, students not only learn from the experiences of ethnically different students, but they learn how to get along with each other by understanding and respecting each others' differences. College is a time for learning, but learning from books is not the only way to be successful. The work force is representative of the United States population, as it is also diverse. To be successful, one must learn how to interact with individuals different from themselves, and college is the place one learns how to be successful. Why not have a diverse university and discover the best ways to respect, appreciate, and welcome different people?

Social Awkwardness : The Paradox of Student-Athletes

Aimee Turner

From my personal experiences and the general perception put on by media, athletes in schools have always been the most popular, prom king and queen, etc. Throughout high school, I can remember all of my friends who were sports players being at all the social events, and in essence, the life of the party. Since I've been at Georgia Tech, I've made many friends who are involved in sports, many of which are NCAA regulated. As they have testified to me, their experience as college athletes differs greatly from their experiences as high school athletes.

It can be generalized that NCAA division sports are way more intense than high school sports. Not only has the audience double or even increased 8 fold, but the time, dedication, and pressure placed on those student-athletes far exceeds the modest requirements that many of them may have had during high school. In other words, they live i.e. FOOTBALL, VOLLEYBALL, etc. They have practice time scheduled like full-time 8 hour jobs on some days! Many students who play sports in college, especially nationally ranked, have said that they dedicate the majority of their college experience to playing this sport.

From this intense practice schedule along with the stress of college classes, many student athletes do not have time for a social life outside of those who are on the sports team with them. I can say from my own experiences of going to a college that is a Division 1 NCAA competitor; I have often felt a divide between sports players and the rest of the cam pus. They are no longer on that pedestal as I was used to seeing them in the sense that they are not as social. Although I have friends who are athletes, more could be done to integrate student-athletes into the rest of the campus setting.

The Rise of Tuition

Greg Jones

For as long as most people can remember, tuition prices have risen. These price tags seem to continue to rise regardless of how the market is doing or how annual salaries are growing throughout the nation. Why College Costs Rise, Even in a Recession by Ron Lieber offers an in depth look into why the costs continue to rise even when in a recession. For anyone who has lived through even a minor corporate revamping the actions being taken by colleges to cut costs are miniscule at best. When a corporation realizes it is spending too much it immediately puts all it's resources on the table to determine what they should cut and doesn't overlook any option unless it is determined it will cost too much. Even drastic measures like shutting down entire facilities, closing production on certain items, and laying off workers are considered without a second thought. The cost cutting measures of colleges, however, are much more restricted than those of a corporation. Tenure makes the laying off of professors a huge task that usually results in more money being expended than money being saved. The other problem is that with any cut in facilities the school still needs to be able to attract new students to its school. The school cannot simply cut it's security force and then expect to attract students whose parents are concerned about the safety of their children.

There are some steps, however, that many universities could start taking to save money that many simply are not doing. For starters the universities or colleges could start becoming more selective when it comes to certain majors and less selective when it comes to others. For instance, english majors are a cash cow due to their low overhead and same tuition, where as students in archetecture and studio arts are extremely expensive. Many schools offer one on one piano lessons as a music major, which is something that, if only offered to a few select students who are admitted to the school of music, could save money in the long run. The other thing that colleges could do is allow students to take more classes and graduate in three or four years instead of four to five. This would be effective as well because students become much more expensive in their upperclassmen years without seeing an increase in their tuitions, plus this could attract more students who wish to get a college degree in three years.

The video below is a short clip on the rising costs of colleges across the nation and what some students are doing to combat these rising costs.

Can I Get Something Other Than a Burger?

Chris Massad

There are a few essential things a students needs to perform their best, and good nutrition is one of them. College dining halls have plenty of food, but how much of that food is actually good for you? A good diet can lead to better concentration, better performance, better grades, and ultimately, success. Colleges admit to the fact that they do serve unhealthy foods in their dining halls but argue that they offer a wide variety of food to make up for it. This is not necessarily true. For example, a student who walks into the Brittain dining hall at Georgia Tech located on east campus will be hard pressed to find something other than a burger and fries to eat during most of the day. Brittain dining hall does serve other foods, but more often than not, those foods are not being served for various reasons, so students are forced to eat burgers lacking in nutrients.

People wonder why the freshman fifteen is such a problem, and it's not because the students are eating so much, its because they have nothing but unhealthy foods and a lack of choice to satisfy their grumbling stomachs. At Howard University, students admit that the variety in dining halls is not always plentiful and go off campus or cook at home when they're bored of the monotonous food in dining halls. Students come to college to get an education and look to rid themselves of distractions and hindrances, and they don't even realize that the food they pay lots of money for is holding them back from performing their best.

The More Diverse, The Better

Kevin Brawley

College is a time for new experiences. Students from across the world come together to study under the same "roof" at their respected universities. For a lot of people this is the first time being away from home and being away from the people you know and love. This can definitely be a culture shock for people coming from a sheltered background. Although it might seem awkward to be in such a diverse community once students reach college, it can actually be very beneficial towards the growth of the students. Patricia Gurin, Professor of Psychology, at University of Michigan has researched the benefits of diversity in college and beyond college life. Gurin stated, "Students learn better in such an environment and are better prepared to become active participants in our pluralistic, democratic society once they leave school."

Students who come to very culturally diverse campuses really gain a lot of experience outside of the classroom as well. These students will have a leg up on the competition after school when looking for jobs. After experiencing multiple cultures while at school, interviewing for an international company will not be so difficult because students will have prior knowledge on the culture of where the particular international company is from. This is the why colleges and universities boast about their study abroad programs. It is because they are such a success on teaching students what cannot be taught at home. Being immersed in a different culture helps people grow as people. According to Professor Gurin, students are arriving at colleges and universities at a "critical" stage of their development. It is a stage where they define themselves in regards to those around them and experience new social roles before settling down to permanent commitments. Higher education is very influential on students when the environment is different than where the students came from. Having such a diverse educational environment helps students learn and think more. Being in such a diverse environment is not only good for learning but also good for growing as a human being. No wonder college is the best time of a person's life.

Community College: Risk vs. Reward

Xavier Baisden
For many people, the tough economic times combined with rising tuition costs at colleges has caused a search for ways to defuse the costs of higher education. Many choose to take out student loans, causing them to graduate in debt. One common choice by many is to attend a community college. Community college is said to provide access to learning, while also preparing students for the rigors of college at a discounted rate. However, there are many untold pitfalls that accompany attending a community college.

The primary threat in a community college environment is a sense of complacency. Many people view community college as the 13th grade, or simply an extension of high school. Community college students typically stay at home, rather than being in a true college environment that develops independence. The experiences that they are missing simply cannot be replicated in a community college environment.

Another threat in attending a community college is a glass ceiling. Although many students attend community colleges with hopes of eventually transferring to a major college, the chances of being able to efficiently being able to transfer to a top tier university is very slim, thus placing a ceiling on their true marketability, as their degree will simply not match up to those of a graduate of a top tier college. Another aspect of this glass is the aspect of actually transferring to another university. Many times, credits are lost or not accepted at the new college, forming another ceiling preventing them from graduating in a reasonable amount of time. All of these aspects affect a student's eventual marketability.

There are many inconspicuous hazards that line the road that many choose to take when they choose to attend community college. These hazards have long reaching consequences that affect much more than one may first notice. So when considering community college, ask the question: Is it worth the risks?

Talking out Roommates: Building New Relations or Warzone?

Harry Han

For some people education level of the school is pain in the neck, but for others, especially freshmen, roommates come as an issue. Roommates can sometimes be referred as roomies or otherwise a catastrophe to students’ privacies. Education in college is already difficult enough but having roommates with mega-bass speakers is not the best environment people want to study in. Roommates could turn student’s college life into a total warfare, but when dealt with proper manner, students can work their way through higher college education.

Conditions play a great role in student’s college education but if people cannot deal with roommates it is sure that their conditions will not play a good role. For example, a student’s roommate may be an early-riser while the student has difficulties hearing his alarm clock ring at 10 o’clock in the morning. According to the article "Dealing with Roomates" by J. Langdon, a graduate of Binghamton University, dealing with college roommates could “break a college experience” and affect students’ education. Most students want to talk things out, which sounds simple but many find it difficult as they believe a talk could turn into screaming and yelling. However, students should take courage and ask for a favor as it is a risk worth trying for.

Students should plan out solutions by learning about their roommates; ask how their schedules are. Then students may have a chance to plan accordingly their schedule so that in certain busy times, for either the student or his roommate, both can avoid clashing during stressful moments. Even though asking in the first place may succeed in breaking-the-ice, periodically updating roommates schedule also helps. Moreover, not only learning about roommates but also letting roommates know their schedule also eases the process of planning out student having a college education, and through this process students could take the next step to their maturity to thrive college education.

Graduation Rates

Greg Jones

The New York Times recently published an article entitled Colleges Are Failing in Graduation Rates by David Leonhardt. In it, he alerts the reader to the fact that many colleges, especially the less selective community ones, are not graduating students at acceptable rates. He states that such colleges recieve funding based upon enrollment not upon whether these students ever graduate. The colleges, thus have incentive to attract lots of freshmen because that increases their enrollment numbers, but has no incentive to retain them until graduation. This is especially true since upperclassmen are much more expensive than freshmen are. As a result the universities admit more students in order to recieve funding and then have little to no incentive to ensure they graduate because in doing so they would be spending more money per student. The capitalistic nature of higher education these days would ensure that a majority of students never make it to graduation.



David also discusses what can be done to solve this dilemma, but this is where his ideas become flawed. He claims that in order to fix this we must tie funding in colleges to graduation rates instead of enrollment rates. This, however, could be disastrous because it would lead to colleges skimping on instruction in order to graduate as many students as possible. This could lead to a sub-par education that still resulted in a diploma. In an effort to support his ideas he points to high level universities across the nations, such as Princeton, that have enormous rates of graduation. The flaw with this logic, however, is that many of these universities are extremely selective in the admission process and thus their students already have what it takes to graduate. Whereas, many of the lower level colleges across the nation have students that lack either the motivation or the drive that it takes to graduate. It's not that Harvard and Princeton offer more help to their struggling students, but instead their students don't need the help that is being provided because many of them are brilliant to begin with.

Many kids across this nation have been told since the day they were born that they can be anything they want to be. While this is true if they put in enough effort, if they aren't motivated enough then maybe college isn't for them. The idea that we should lower the standards for everyone just so that several slackers can graduate is ludicrous at best. Such an action doesn't help the standard of education in any way, shape, or form. Students across this nation go to college to get ahead in the workplace but if everyone in the country has a college degree then there is no advantage provided to those that actually worked hard to aquire theirs. While the author of this article does a good job of pointing out what appears to be a flaw in our system of higher education it is actually the system working properly to weed out the college students that are not motivated enough to graduate.

Athletics vs. Education… Bridging the Gap

Aimee Turner

It has been a long held rivalry between academics and athletics on many college campuses. Many have argued that athletes and athletic programs receive special attention and leniency when it comes to the educational standards of certain colleges. Moreover, there has been reasonable evidence that athletes in college are poorly prepared for life after college. Is it because too much emphasis is placed on collegiate athlete’s stamina and ability to compete rather than their educational and life-long survival skills? Many have gone as far as to say that most college stars are unprepared for anything but a professional sports career that only two to three percent of them will ever achieve.

This has been an issue on many college campuses for decades; however, at the turn of the century, more is being done to ensure that college athletes are eligible for collegiate education as well as for success afterwards. The NCAA has increased the eligibility requirements for NCAA collegiate athletes. The NCAA is now allowing student-athletes to offset low SAT and ACT scores with higher high school grade-point averages. The NCAA raised the number of required high school core courses they must complete to 16, and they have toughened progress-toward degree requirements once they're in college. The penalties for not meeting standards range from scholarship cuts to restricting practice to postseason bans.

The NCAA incentive for implementing these new guidelines is to increase the graduation rate of athletes. The graduation rate is up to 78% in all sports in Division I. Moreover, while the football and men's basketball continue to fall behind, they have steadily increased from 65% to 67% in major-college football and from 58% to 62% in basketball.

In light of everything the NCAA is doing to ensure that high-school athletes are eligible for collegiate sports and life, there should still be more done to ease the transition of athletes into campus life and collegiate education. Maybe courses, seminars, and programs about adjusting should be in order? Whatever the case may be, the increase in graduation rates in collegiate athletes seems promising. I only hope that the gap between athletics and education continues to decline.

Gap Year: a Time Out

Harry Han

Some believe students must study. Thus when it comes to the end of high school, most students take a big step to the life of a college student. However, this is not the case of every high school student; instead some call it a “time out!” – Also known as a gap-year. Although this may seem like a disruption to the academic flow, students who undergo gap-year tend to find values much worthy than the knowledge other students learn from college education.

There are some values that cannot be taught within a lecture hall. When high school students decide on a gap year, they seek new experiences. As said by G. Jeffrey Macdonald in his article "'Gap Year' before College gives Grads valuable life experience," students who get through gap year gain confidence and they become aware of living independently. Moreover, exemplified from G. Jeffrey Macdonald’s article, Owen Henry, a student who decided to sail during his gap year, said that his job was a “painful process” but he did not quit. Gap year students, although they miss out on their academics and education, through challenging experience, they obtain endurance.

Not only does gap year allow students to gain work experience but it also develops one’s ability to set challenging goals in his life. For an example, Varun S. Kao, a former student of Jakarta International School, took a gap year after high school. Rather than taking his next step to higher education, he took his step to push his limit to world of sports. Now he plans on trying out for Badminton team in India, and hopes to play in the Olympics team.

It is called a gap-year but within that gap numerous lessons that can be learnt. Gap year allows students to discover a new value in life other than studying. Thus it is a good call to say time-out as that call could eventually teach something more than a chemistry textbook.

Naming Courses

by: Kevin Brawley

Most colleges offer a wide range of classes from English to Applied Mathematics. There are classes that have names that throw students' interests away from taking the course. The Boston Globe has an article about professors trying to find ways to increase enrollment of these courses. For example, Professor Michael Resler of Boston College, changed his class name from "German Literature in the High Middle Ages" to a more intriguing sounding name "Knights, Castles, and Dragons." With this simple name change, enrollment of the course tripled.

With these professors around the nation changing the names of their courses that were once deemed as "boring" by some students, they are now gaining much more students than they originally did. The knowledge gained from these classes can now be spread farther. This way of thinking from professors is seen a lot of times at liberal arts schools rather than technical schools. At William & Mary, a liberal arts school, there are classes named World Cinema Before TV (1895-1955) rather than just calling it "Intro to World Cinema." Georgia Tech, for example, has very dull, to-the-point type of names for its classes such as English 1101, Calculus 1, or Fluid Dynamics. Georgia Tech does not try to make their classes sound interesting because at technical schools there are less options in the classes you take. Students will take the classes they need to graduate regardless of its name. The spread of knowledge is very important in higher education, whether it be from changing a name of a course or not.

Curb the Curve

Chris Massad

There are a great number of universities that are academically challenging, to say the least. Georgia Tech, for example, is one of those schools. Because the level of education is so rigorous, many professors curve the grades of their students to offset the lack of good scores. In fact, many students see grade curves as a safety net and a GPA booster, and in turn, support the ideal. But is curving grades really necessary? Is it possible that curving grades is worse for students than they realize? The answer is yes.

It’s understood that professors curve grades because they know their class is so difficult, but does this not counter the rigor of the class? Why not make the class a bit less challenging and actually make it possible for bright students, who attend rigorous universities because they are bright, to get good grades on their own. Colleges do not need to give out F’s and D’s to prove they are challenging. It’s understood that an A at MIT is much more impressive than an A at ITT Tech, and its also understood that any given student would have to work much harder to earn an A at MIT than they would at ITT Tech.

To add on, each professor has his own way of curving grades, but from research, curving the grades of students based on their performance compared to the rest of the class is a popular system among the faculty. The problem with this system is that students know this, and instead of working to be the best they can be, they work to just be better than everyone else. This creates a population of students who may not be studying their hardest, but are studying just enough to beat the rest. Learning should not be a competition, but when grades are curved, it becomes so. Higher education is for students who want to get the most out of their academic careers, and curving grades is simply holding them back.

Race: Factor or Anomaly?

Xavier Baisden
Race has always been a polarizing topic when it comes to many discussions. There are those who believe that race and racial discrimination are no longer a factor in any aspect of life, while there are others who still encounter its effects on a day to day basis. As much as it is denied, there is no doubting the elephant in the room that is race, and its effect oh higher education.
A survey taken at both Ohio State University and Virginia Commonwealth University claims that "African Americans may obtain higher grades if they live with a white roommate". However, the fact that these studies are taking place shows that race is obviously a factor in higher education. If race truly were not a factor in today's higher education society, then studies like this wouldn't go on, as the studies simply compare races in a competition like manner. When the day comes that race is not part of a defining aspect of the college experience, that is when studies like this will not be needed.
Colleges always will feel the need to keep statistics and breakdowns of students' performance, broken down by various categories. Many times minorities are on the lower end of this performance spectrum, and this has resulted in many initiatives to help improve the performance or these minorities. Many schools now have minority development offices tailored to improving the performance of these minorities. However, the day when these offices are able to remove "minority" from their names and change to development offices for all students, then we will truly be able to say race is no longer a factor in higher education.

Cutting the Umbilical Cord: Disengaged Athletes

Aimee Turner

For many first-year college students, transitioning from a high school student to a college student is difficult because of the differences between workload, freedom, social adjustments and professors' expectations. Although some students are able to adapt to the new lifestyle, some students never make the adjustment and are left at a dire disadvantage. In light of these characteristics involved in the new lifestyle of a college student, how does adding another adjustment to your lifestyle affect you success? This is the case for many high school athletes entering into college and not playing an organized sport. These students must adjust to no longer playing sports that, in many cases; they have been playing for the majority of their lives. How could this alteration affect these student athletes more so than the average college students?

According to a study conducted by John R. Lubker, an assistant professor in the Department of Sports and Exercise Sciences at West Texas A&M University and Edward F. Etzel, an associate professor in the School of Physical Education at West Virginia University, there are significant differences in the success rates of first-year disengaged athletes (being those who no longer play a life-long sport), non-athletes, and current varsity college athletes.

In 2006, in the United States, out of the 2.3 million male high school athletes playing football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer combined, only 35,000 of the high school players transition to college freshman roster positions, resulting in an average of only about 2 high school athletes out of every 100 the chance to play at the collegiate level (NCAA, 2006). Although this percentage does not include the number of students playing intramural sports, the drastic decrease in athletic activity from high school to college shows the number of college students who no longer play a sport that they’ve played throughout their adolescence; however, the difference between NCAA divisions’ athletics and intramural sports also play a role in athletes identity and self-analyses.

The conclusion of their study was that, female disengaged athletes reported a higher level of adjustment, attachment to the university, and overall academic achievement than their male counterpart. I believe that this is due to females being more willing to shed their athletic identity than their male counterpart. Overall, the success rate of disengaged athletes, collegiate athletes, and non-athletes could possibly lead to more programs being set up to help these disengaged athletes adjust to college life. Stay tuned!

Should Students Only Learn Practical Skills?

Greg Jones

The purpose of a university is to prepare it's students for a career in a field of their choosing, however students in universities across America often find themselves learning information they will never use in their chosen career. In academia, the question of whether schools should only teach practical things has persisted for hundreds of years. And although academics are no closer to resolving the issue of practical versus theoretical, students across the nation continue to ask why they must learn so much extraneous information.

The fact of the matter is that most classes taken by college students are not applicable to the jobs they will be occupying in the real world. The Princeton Review recently admitted that many courses offered by colleges are not applicable to any job that students may hold after college (HERE). The idea that a college student who is majoring in English or mathematics will need to know how to do general chemistry is somewhat ridiculous. The reality of the situation is that most general education courses required by today's universities are not practical for the careers students are pursuing.

Students actively pursuing degrees at America's universities cannot be absolutely certain what job they will hold when they graduate from college. But it can be certain that the degree they recieve will have some input into what job they eventually choose. With this in mind, it is important to note that degree programs across the nation are forcing students to take courses that are not practical, and will never be used in whatever job they choose to pursue with their degree (HERE). The general education requirements of most universities, while allowing for flexiblility if a student chooses to change majors, end up teaching students things they will never need to know. The fact of the matter is that many low level classes taught to college students do not teach practical skills that are applicable in the work force. As a result, students should only learn practical skills in college.

Beating the Freshman 15

Kevin Brawley

College is a time of choices: classes, housing, and one of the most importantly eating. The Freshman 15 is synonymous with college life. When going to college, students' eating habits will be tested for many reasons: 1. Classes will get in the way of normal eating times; 2. It will be easier to eat junk food, rather than sitting down and eating a balanced meal; and 3. No one will be there to make you eat healthy, it is up to the student. According to kidshealth.org, the change in environment and the stress brought on by getting acclimated to the new lifestyle can make one overeat.

According to a study done by Nicole L. Mihalopoulos, MD, MPH, Peggy Auinger, MS, and Jonathan D. Klein, MD, MPH, Freshman 15: Is it Real?, they found out that, out of the 131 freshman surveyed, 30% gained from 1-5 lbs, 17% gained from 6-14 lbs, 5% gained from 15+ lbs, 15% actually lost weight, and finally 33% had no change. Recently, doctors from Georgia Tech have been trying to come up with an easy way to prevent, or help lose, the freshman 15. Jiten Chhabra, MD, Daniel Serrano, and Chad Bonner, all created a computer program called Dr. J Says, which provides healthy menus for students customized with each students profile in mind. This program can get students onto a positive foot on healthy eating habits that will help prevent or help lose the freshman 15.

Having healthy lifestyles is a good way to get the best education one could get. Without fueling the body the proper way, students will become easily distracted. Eating healthy and avoiding the freshman 15 to begin with can greatly reduce the chances of getting sick which leads to missing classes.

Will There Be Alcohol?

Chris Massad

Alcohol is a timeless problem that plagues college campuses nationwide. Many people don’t realize how destructive alcohol can be on students who drink. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conducted a study that “reveals that drinking by college students age 18-24 contributes to an estimated 1,400 student deaths, 500,000 injuries, and 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year.” The same study also reveals that more than twenty-five percent of the students in above age range have driven under the influence in the past year One can easily see that what was once known as a harmless rite of passage, is now a dangerous form of social acceptance.

The problem with students and their view of drinking is that they see it as part of the college of experience. For example, when a tragic accident occurs, such as a death, due to alcohol, students see it as just that. They perceive it simply as a tragic accident and not a teachable moment. Alcohol is part of the college experience, but isn’t college for learning? Lessons can be learned from any unfortunate event.

George W. Dowdall, author of “College Drinking: Reframing a Social Problem,” states that “It’s difficult for many of us to look at alcohol realistically. After all, it’s not a controlled substance, is it?” Alcohol is a dangerous substance and many college students don't think of it as such. Dowdall went on to say,"I asked my own students to rank-order in terms of potential harm some widely used illicit substances along with alcohol and tobacco. Most put the last two 'legal' substances toward the end of the list, even though experts rank them significantly higher." Colleges should look into reaching students by making past accidents real. Instead of trying to monitor alcohol consumption, they should take the tragedies that have unfortunately happened and use them to teach students who attend college to learn. Alcohol is not a toy, and students should know that when played with, it's not fun.

Is ranking really necessary?

Harry Han

When choosing a college, rankings come to a consideration. Some attend colleges of their interest, while others blindly aim for the top-ranking, prestigious schools. But what do these rankings mean?

US News represents one of the most reliable sources of United States college rankings today. According to the rankings, Harvard tops the United States national colleges, and then follows Princeton, Yale, Caltech, MIT, and so on. But how reliable are these ranks? According to Robert Morse, the undergraduate business and engineering programs “were ranked based solely on a peer assessment survey.” Student best notifies the quality of educations of US colleges as they are the experiencing the education. However, as Athens Banner-Herald points out, the surveys are targeted on students of 18 to 24-year-olds who are looking forward to attending college and yet have not experienced the education.

Another point to make, when ranking colleges, is the standards of majors. For example a student got through Stanford University as a golfer while the other got through UIUC with a mechanical engineering major. Rank-wise, Stanford outweighs UIUC, however academically mechanical engineering of UIUC is much credible than Stanford golf. In contrast, if we have similar majors such as mechanical engineering of Carnegie Mellon and biomedical engineering of Georgia Institute of Technology, it becomes a more difficult ranking situation as consideration, such as of the average GPA or the education level of the department of each school, must be made.

Each college has their own weaknesses and strengths, and considering which a better school is, is an arduous task. The list on US News may be the most reliable but it is only a reference for people to consider and never a rank which people should completely agree. Finding the right college is finding the best-fits, and within those choices that suit the best, people may find their own list of top ranking colleges.