If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
At a time when students are working harder than ever to gain admission to college it's comforting to think of universities as bastions of academic inquiry, where students debate grand ideas and discover how they can best serve society. But the reality is more complicated.
It's among the least desired tasks college students face, and it's often done in a hurried, panicked rush. But it doesn't have to be. Take all the stress out of the end-of-the-year move with six simple steps.
Welcome to the most popular time of the year for complaining over schoolwork. Instead of adding to the unproductive noise that usually detracts from everyone's focus, combat it with these helpful tools.
There's a lot more to being an RA than just a free single room. Being a Resident Assistant is seriously time-consuming, and has the potential to be extremely difficult.
As I reflect on my experience, I am reminded of all the advice my parents and friends gave me before I went off to college -- many of those "words of wisdom" turned out to be myths.
The logic of intolerance need only rest on two propositions: "The truth is of infinite value" and "I have the truth." This toxic combination has often led the well-intentioned into acts of oppression.
Accepted student tours provide you with such cursory information as, "This is the library" and "It's good to study here." I thought that I'd provide incoming freshmen with some tips that they won't get from their tour guide.
I'm not sure if this is generation-wide, but a good number of my classmates are largely unaware of current events, both foreign and domestic. A prime example of this is the recent Kony 2012 movement.
We get so caught up with our own lives -- the grades, the personal battles -- that we we oftentimes neglect our day-to-day gestures, forgetting to hold the door for a stranger or to ask a professor about his day. Is this really the culture we represent?
Custodial staff are often burdened with extraneous, unnecessary tasks. Their jobs are difficult and under appreciated as it is. We don't need to add to that with insensitivity and stupid antics that leave messes in our wake.
Things like pizza and soda are high in sodium and sugar and don't contribute to a healthy diet. If you are starting to see the side effects of these snacks, try out some of these more health conscious choices.
So where does this stop, this endless quest for the "A"? Will making straight "A"s throughout my years at Columbia lead me to whatever next step on the track that has heretofore been my life? It's taken me a while to be able to see this, but, no, I don't think so.
Hook-up culture creates a strange binary: on the one hand, students are having casual sex. On the other hand, students are having no sex at all. With the exception of an occasional long-term relationship, there is virtually nothing in-between.
Let us now turn the page in life and discuss: off-campus housing for your college daughter or son.
I can't consider myself officially done because I haven't been accepted anywhere yet. I won't be truly done until I make my final decision. Besides, now I have to enter Financial Aid-topia.
Though the end of the semester approaches, one sizable Scrooge blocks the way: finals. And no matter how much hot cocoa you drink or how many times you skip studying to watch Elf, these tests will not be holiday-cheered away.
