Entitlement

My university cut down the overall print quota of the student and faculty bodies in the name of sustainability, and more believably, budget cuts. They did this over summer without alerting the faculty as well as removing our residential computer lab spaces. The average undergraduate was left with 100 pages of free printing and every page after that for 12 cents. Our previous quota? 500 pages with another extension of 500 pages if necessary. Clearly a drastic adjustment.

Students were outraged. Over 200 comments were posted on the university newspaper’s article announcing the changes. A student government task force I was a member of worked with the administration to create a realistic proposal that has yet to be signed off on. A YouTube video was created utilizing an Internet joke, commonly known as a “meme”, of Hitler yelling about the print quota reduction. 

While I myself was party to the rollercoaster of disappointment with my school’s administration, I detected among my peers a sense of entitlement akin to a spoiled high school girl who expects  car for her Sweet Sixteen. Students were outraged because of their resources being taken from them in such massive quantities, which  I certainly understand. However, I feel many students were so blinded by that sense of entitlement that it clouded their perception a little.

While we were completely uninformed of the changes to our print quota and only found out about the removal of residential lab due to rumors, we were facing a multi-million dollar budget deficit. Our tuition couldn’t be raised at proportionally without an even larger (and legitimate) uproar. So we had some of our critical academic resources cut and students screamed when they returned to campus with limited computers and printing. Even if they had been told the previous semester, I seriously doubt the uproar would have been avoided.

Entitlement is what happens when people become too comfortable with what they have. While I will not say specifically that my fellow students are spoiled rotten, we certainly have become too comfortable with what we have. When I was in my sophomore year of high school, my school was tasked to raise $600,000 when $6 million had been distributed to other arts programs in my state. My high school was an arts magnet high school with a high academic standing in the nation, so you can imagine our outrage. But we protested, raised money, and kept our arts teachers. I’ll admit we were extremely bitter towards our school board for the rest of our high school experience, but I’d say we were justified.

People should never take what they have for granted. Students should never expect to keep all of their privileges intact during crisis, economic or otherwise. I’m not saying we should always be suspicious of everything around, but we should be cognizant of what are rights and what are privileges. Protect your rights first. Privileges can be regained.

Online Lectures

One of the great things about going to a private university is that I can develop close bonds with my professors. Many of my favorite professors have given me great advice about classes, internships, and some of the best advice I’ve ever received on life. A recent conversation I had with a close friend with professor involved the evolution of coyotes in Northeastern North America versus their Southwestern counterparts, our differing views on great presidents, and when you know you’ve found the one. Along the way we spoke about my interest in working for government agencies and where I eventually see myself ending up, but I enjoy a friendship not as a readily available than at a large public university.

But even my most favorite professors get tied up in their own lives and I find myself resisting stupid Facebook application games (my roommates are obsessed with the phenomena known as “Farmville”). Boredom is a consistent predator hunting for the ever elusive “free time”. My eBay addiction is bad enough, let alone Twitter and Facebook. 

But there is a shining a light! A hope beyond the tunnel of useless Facebook applications and humor sites employing the crudest of charms! The Chronicle for Higher Education Reports that PBS and NPR are posting taped interviews and lectures on a site called Forum Network, similar to the pretty excellent YouTube EDU. From the sampling so far, I am most interested in Northeastern professor Nicholas Daniloff’s discussion on the difficulties of reporting in Russia, entitled “Of Spies and Spokesman: The Challenge of Russia”. Turn it in a book and we have the next Jason Bourne series. Except, you know, legitimate.

As someone who regularly speaks to professors unencumbered by the typical social awkwardness that students develop towards their instructors, these free lectures are like candy. However, I seriously doubt that the average student is going to look at these lectures very much at all. If we want these free lecture services to succeed, professors should use them as study/lecture aides. One of my political science professors loves using videos in his lectures, to the great delight of the densely packed lecture hall. Students could cite them in papers, presentations, and discussion sections. If other professors are the only people looking at this veritable treasure trove, I say that’s a shame. Teachers have just as much to offer students as they do their peers, who in turn should promote the work of their colleagues to their pupils. 

Aren’t you tired of reading dull term papers citing at least 5 of the same textbooks?

Story Time

A friend of mine is pursuing his doctorate in Early Modern English in England. I being the sole undergrad in our social circle at the time, he always made sure not to complain too much around me about the petty undergrad dramas that interrupt his doctoral life. But he was a consistent complainer, so I finally asked him what exactly it was that made undergrads so irritating. He told me that “undergrads are like bricks. They’re the financial foundation of this university, they’re like a brick wall during lectures, and they’re pretty much as dumb as bricks.”

While I will certainly be the first to admit that not every undergrad is a genius, we do present more opportunities than at first glance. If the typical perception of undergrads, specifically underclassmen, is that we’re loud, unfocussed, and hard to connect with, then all I can ask is what exactly do you expect? The American education system is in an utter mess. I myself came from a top tier public high school and even I am occasionally set aback by my peers. We’re untrained, concerned about the job market, and are desperate to change those circumstances.

My little sister went to an information technology magnet magnet high school and learned all the proper forms for business. My arts high school provided nothing similar. Colleges expect us to have the basic tools for marketing ourselves and high schools expect us to learn these skills in college. Some people, like my sister, are lucky enough to get that professional training early on so that they can present themselves as a whole package. However, I would say that the average student doesn’t know how to write a business letter, a professional-looking resume, or what not to say in an interview. 

So where do we go from here? One of the colleges within my university is a great business that teaches basic business etiquette in freshman year. They learn how to write a proper business email, what to wear to an interview, and every other important tip that packages you perfectly. Why should only business schools do that? Why can’t every department and college do that? Why can’t liberal arts departments have monthly seminars on what opportunities are available? Why aren’t career services business tutorials applicable for credit? These basic changes can focus students on their goals, prepare them for life after graduation, and whittle away at their fear. 

This blog is about finding out what’s going on in the academic world. Most of this post is about job training done on the part of the of our colleges, but we have to be responsible for ourselves as well. I’ll be reading The Chronicle of Higher education and other academic news sources in an effort to to understand the academic environment that my peers and I are ensconced in. I hope that you, dear readers, can glean some knowledge on the gaps we’re facing and what we can do to become more effective students and teachers. 

So learn. Knowledge is power.