Senioritis: The Contagious Epidemic

Students Combat the Temptation to be Lazy During the Last Few Weeks of School

Final exams begin in three weeks. Summer break begins in four weeks. Graduation is in five weeks. With the semester’s close in sight, the anticipation of time off from school work, a new job and beach season slowly start to take precedence in students’ minds.

With distractions like these, it is accurate to assume that some, or many, college students may have a little bit of a struggle maintaining focus on school responsibilities.

As a senior graduating in May, I have quickly realized how dif­ficult it is to evenly divide my at­tention between both school work and the many other distractions that come with the end of the se­mester. In fact, an even distribu­tion is close to impossible at this point.

I have heard a lot of other se­niors commenting on their non­chalant attitudes toward the re­maining weeks of school. This has often been referred to as “se­nioritis”.

Every person can have his or her own definition of what se­nioritis really is. Merriam-Web­ster surprisingly documents it as an actual term with the following definition: “an ebbing motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences and lower grades.”

According to Urban Dictionary, those with senioritis are prone to the following symptoms: lazi­ness, an over-excessive wearing of sweat pants, a lack of studying, repeated absences and a generally dismissive attitude.

The only known cure is a phe­nomenon known as graduation. Here’s the thing with senioritis: I think it affects more than just seniors. Let me break it down by grade.

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Staying Confident This Summer

Avoid Feeling Self Conscious in a Swimsuit

As the semester soon comes to a close, warmer weather is on its way along with day trips to the beach, class outside, and of course the tease of summer vacation. While this time of year is supposed to be pleasurable, it also seems to create a type of dread for some people I know, specifically my female peers.

Almost like clockwork, every year girls will start their “summer diets” in order to look attractive in summer clothing. While I know that I have had my own fear of fitting into my bath­ing suits that have been crammed in the back of my closet for almost eight months, I have seen women’s desire to be attractive go overboard with crash dieting and excessive exercising.

Before you continue reading, I would like to say that there is nothing wrong with losing weight or exercis­ing to stay healthy. Those who main­tain a regular healthy lifestyle, I ap­preciate your commitment to eating right and exercising properly.

The main point I am trying to ex­plain is the unhealthy dieting, which women and men in our country suc­cumb to every day. Some people may think they are getting ahead by try­ing to lose weight in a short amount of time, but they may end up severely harming their bodies.

According to the National Associa­tion of Anorexia Nervosa and Associ­ated Disorders (NAANAD), out of 91 percent of college women surveyed, 86 percent reported having the start­ing symptoms of an eating disorder by age 20.

This quest for physical perfec­tion does not just affect women. The NAANAD reported that an estimated 10-15 percent of people suffer from anorexia or bulimia. Even children as young as 11 are insecure about their bodies and desire to be thinner due to the media’s interpretation of the per­fect physique. These issues affect over 24 million people of all ages, races and genders with dire consequences .

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Pets On Campus

If you are like me, when you left your home for college, you left a dear, beloved friend behind, your pet(s). I left my two cats Lucky and Maggie when I moved from my home in Montgomery, New Jer­sey to MU. Leaving them behind made it difficult to settle in at school my freshman year. Even though I begged my parents to let me take my cats with me, offering to pay the fines if and when I got caught, they still said “no,” so I moved into Cedar pet-less.

Currently, MU does not permit pets to live in the dorms or in off-campus housing, leaving us pet owners with no choice but to bid farewell to our furry companions until winter break. I know this might be farfetched, but what if pets were allowed to live with us at school?

By allowing pets to live on cam­pus, both the University and the students would benefit alike. If MU turned an off-campus housing sec­tion into a pet-friendly residency, MU could charge a fee for a pet ap­plication to be approved by the Of­fice of Residential Life, as well as monthly fees to cover the pet living in the dorm, extra cleaning accom­modations, etc.

Eckerd College, located in St. Petersburg, Florida, has one of the oldest pets-in-residence programs in the nation, and is frequently sought by other colleges looking to imple­ment its own pet policies. Eckerd College allows domestic animals in all housing complexes during the fall and spring terms as long as they are properly secured in a cage.

Permitted pets include dogs under 40 pounds, cats, ferrets, birds, ham­sters, guinea pigs, rats, turtles, fish and non-venomous snakes under 6 feet long. Additionally, pets must be at least one year old. Eckerd College has a Pet Council to decide what pets are permitted to reside on campus. They also deal with all other issues and concerns regarding pets at Eck­erd.

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Reflections from Guatemala: The True Meaning of Health

One Student Shares a Touching Experience of a Spring Break Trip to Guatemala

Some things in the world are universal: kindness, a smile, laughter, a hug. These are the things I experienced while in Guatemala despite an enormous language barrier between “las amigas” (my friends) and I.

As part of an independent study project with Dr. Christo­pher Hirschler, assistant profes­sor, four other MU students and I journeyed to Guatemala during spring break to deliver health education on a variety of impor­tant topics, including the health effects of tobacco use, alcohol abuse, proper lifting techniques, stress management, and dehydra­tion.

Although we had prepared for months in advance by completing readings, research papers, and viewing documentaries regarding the political and cultural history of Guatemala and the Mayans, there were not truly understood until actually visiting Guatemala.

Culturally, I noticed differ­ences in the things we prioritize, such as the value of sleep and the types of foods we are willing to eat for breakfast, lunch, and din­ner. On the other hand, there were many similarities, such as the mutual appreciation of breaks to get outside, enjoy the sunshine, and play basketball.

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Google Doodle Disappoints

Decision Not to Feature An Easter Doodle Sparks Outrage

As much as I hate to admit it, one of the things I look forward to on any holiday is seeing what type of innovative doodle Google has come up with. It is always an interest­ing experience to see how creative the different doodles are and how imaginative Google proves to be over time. Therefore, you can only imagine my surprise when I saw that Google’s homepage on Easter Sunday did not feature an Easter related doodle. Instead, the website chose to honor Cesar Chavez who would have been 86 years old.

Although I was surprised, I got over it and moved on. In fact, I thought I would be one of the few people who noticed. It wasn’t un­til the next morning that I realized that I was not alone in my observa­tion. Not only did others notice, but much to my surprise, some were furious.

The controversial decision to forego an Easter doodle sparked outrage among many, ranging from conservative publications to those on social media, many of whom praised Bing for featuring an Eas­ter egg picture.

Fox News host Dana Perino Peri­no tweeted, “I thought the Chavez-google thing was a hoax or an early April Fool’s Day prank. Are they just going to leave that up there all day?”

Other Google users were so angry they threatened to stop us­ing the search engine, tweeting, “Unbelievable! Their true colors are showing! Yahoo here I come!” “Booo!! to Google for making their holiday doodle about Cesar Chavez’s 86th birthday instead of Easter,” “Google uses Cesar Chavez on Easter instead of using something Easter related? Okay, I’m switching to Bing.”

I understand that Google features a variety of doodles throughout the year honoring a wide range of oc­casions, including the birthdays of historical figures. However, on a day when so many people around the world are celebrating a holiday they hold near and dear, it seems a little insensitive that Google would choose not to honor such a special holiday.

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Why the Rush? Time Management is Key

So, the saying is true. Time flies when you least expect it. Yet, how is it that time can always be slipping away from us?

We’re only human; we run late, miss deadlines, and occasionally forget to do things. But it all revolves around time. Students at MU are trying to master the ways of time management to rid themselves of any lateness whatsoever.

I know that if I could have one super power (other than flying), it would be the ability to control time. I would be a “time-bender.” If I had to meet a tight deadline but was short on time, I would magically give myself an extra two hours to get it done.

What a perfect world.

However, I have created some great tips to managing time and making time your friend, not your worst enemy. You do not have to do all of them- unless you want to be super-crazy organized, then by all means, go for it. But just by doing one of these, you will find that time will become your friend.

Keep your long-term goals in sight: I find that making a to-do list for the week is a good way to achieve your long-term goals. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but crossing things off of the list will alleviate stress and keep you focused and driven.

Schedule anything that you are aware of for that week: In your planner, write down any work times, social events, and even some study breaks to give yourself some down time. Scheduling on a calendar helps you see your weeks and allows planning accordingly.

Start planning tomorrow at the end of today: This way you can know what to expect for the next day and you can set a list of priorities for yourself to make sure that you can check them off your list.

However, it is often easy to stop a task and immediately deal with anything that can be considered a small distraction, and as college students, let’s admit it, we can get easily distracted. But if something new distracts your attention, it is okay to come back to it later.

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Future of YouTube

Website Continues to Expand

On March 20, YouTube announced that it had reached a staggering 1 billion users per month.  The site is continuing to grow, with higher production content for users, and with mobile devices becoming more prominent, it seems a shift could be in the near future. What will YouTube’s next step be to continue their  consumer growth?

Among most members of my generation, YouTube has become more than just another site to see cat videos and people failing horribly at dares and physical activities. I’ll admit I have spent my fair share of time on YouTube, sometimes more than I probably should, but putting a limit on how many videos you watch is like being at a buffet and only eating at the salad bar. YouTube is a smorgasbord of something for everybody.

Since the site launched in 2005, there have been those that have created tutorials, dramas, music videos, and the list can go on and on. YouTube has reached over 1 billion users, which begs the question: What will this mean for video content in the future? It seems that if I want to watch a clip of a television show, the first place I run to is the Internet. YouTube is only one of the several sites that has been attracting consumers for years.

It’s not really hard to see why YouTube has become so popular. There are millions of videos and “YouTubers” that create weekly and daily content that is suggested by their viewers. It seems to be the best of both worlds: creators can make videos that they know will be viewed,  the consumers get what they desire and can give feedback so they know that they are being heard. Imagine doing that with your favorite television show. With these trends, I can imagine that in a few years, if not sooner, content from bigger networks will be making their way to the site. Actors such as Neil Patrick Harris and Ricky Gervais already have their own channels that viewers can subscribe to with original content. It is a fast, easy, and fun way to quickly get content to the masses.

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Full Time Student to Employee

Deciding When to Begin Working After College

Some may disagree, but I think change is good.  Whatever those changes may be, I firmly believe that a person is able to make changes to his or her life by taking a step back to look at things with a new perspective. 

For seniors graduating in May, life is going to throw us a curveball, and we have to be ready to hit it out of the park.  Graduation day is the beginning of the rest of our lives (I know, so cliché).  Realistically, each and every one of us students hope to have a job lined up upon graduating.  Knowing we have some financial security when we leave school would be an extremely comfortable feeling.

However, if those of you reading this are anything like me, job hunting is not the only difficult part of seeking full-time employment. The other is when to begin our lives as full-time employees.

Many of my friends that graduated last year have given me the following advice: do not start working right after graduation.  Each of them decided to enjoy their last summer “off” and postpone their lives as working women until August or September.

They spent the few months after graduation vacationing and traveling. They also used that gap between college and the “real world” as a transition period. However, there are many graduates that begin working the week after graduation.  So, when should a recent college graduate begin working full-time?

The good thing is that there is no right or wrong answer to that question. In my mind, it really boils down to two things: the kind of person you are and the hiring employer.

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Counting Down to Graduation

Senior Student Shares Sentiments About Moving On

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” “These next four years will fly by.” “You’re going to miss this time of your life.” Have you ever been on the receiving end of these messages? I have on countless oc­casions, and each always sounded so cliché that I never bothered to truly accept the truth about them. Now that I am less than two months away from graduating college, I cringe at the thought of every mo­ment that I took for granted.

Although I am offering the sim­ple advice of cherishing each sec­ond of your college years, I do not want to write for the underclass­men. This article is for the seniors, the graduates of the class of 2013. If you are anything like me, May 22 could be marked down in your di­ary as the saddest day of your life.

In no way am I ready to graduate. Sure, I am pleased with my prepa­ration for the professional world, and an opportunity for a job right out of college looks like a good pos­sibility. So that is not the reason I’m not ready to graduate. Like all of the seniors here at Monmouth (or at least the majority of them), my seventeen years of schooling (in­cluding kindergarten) comes to an end. I went through a short-lived phase of sulking about all of the things that will disappear when I graduate.

Here are just a few of them: being in a classroom setting, sleeping in, procrastinating school work, hav­ing Christmas and spring break, staying out late on a Tuesday, run­ning club meetings, having ample time for the gym, and living within a mile from all of my friends. All of these memories are irreplace­able. Although I do not wish to go back and redo any of them, I do wish I could have more time to en­joy them.

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Journalism Industry Changes As Digital Media Dominates

Traditional Journalism Gradually Fades into the Past as More News Moves to Online Outlets

Over the past several years, the journalism industry has seen many changes and these changes are proving to be large contribut­ing factors to the gradual decline of traditional journalism.

The most evident change in journalism has been the dras­tic transition to digital media as technology gradually immerses itself into every aspect of our everyday lives. In recent years, more and more news outlets have made an effort to reach out to wider audiences through the use of technology.

“The big change in all news media has been the migration of content to digital distribution,” said Dr. Eleanor Novek, journal­ism professor.

Societal changes and the need for quicker news have also con­tributed to the changes in the in­dustry. As more audiences turn their attention to digital outlets for news, traditional news outlets, particularly newspapers, have suffered. In this day and age, newspapers are no longer timely.

With the use of technology as a source of news, audiences are able to have their information at their disposal at any time of the day with the click of a few but­tons, proving to be a desirable method of obtaining news. Peo­ple today do not want to take the time to buy a newspaper and flip through pages of long articles in order to extract information about news which has already occurred.

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