Freshman 15?

Ever since I started high school, I've always heard about people gaining the "freshman 15" in college. I don't think that it's very true at all. Maybe it's different for me because i live at home, and still have home cooked meals every now and then. But I also go out to eat an awful lot, and I've determined no change in my weight. Maybe it will happen later in the year but as of right now i feel that it doesn't apply to me. As a lot of you may know, being a student at WVU causes you to walk.. A LOT! It seems almost impossible for anyone to be gaining weight while on campus. Does anyone else feel like this? or do you think I'm wrong and feel it's easy to gain the rumored "freshman 15?"

BW

How Many Engineers Does It Take....

Years ago, when the new University Town Center was first being built, myfather said that he was glad that his construction company hadn’t gottenon that job. I was confused, because I thought that it would have beena good job for his company, but he went on explaining, and then Iunderstood. He told me that they were building the shopping center onbackfill, and that eventually it would all start to sink, maybe evenslide down the hill. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. EveryoneI asked about it said that it was a rare possibility that it wouldactually happen, and if it did it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Just the other day, I opened up the Dominion Post to find an articlethat proved my father right. The parking lot of the Target is alreadybeginning to sink, and the store is suing the company that put it down. Now I see why my father was glad that his company didn’t get that job. But, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Stores in other locations have had to torn down completely and builtback somewhere else. Tell me, just how smart is it to build on landthat you know isn’t going to hold what you’re putting on it?

SP

Adjusting to College

For many of us, coming to college is a time filled with anticipation, anxiety, and stress. Packing up everything you’ll need for the next year to leaving friends you’ve had for years can be nerve racking. Then comes August, where you can’t wait to start and move in. The first weekend is always a fun time to go out with your new friends and explore the new area. And then, classes start. Now that we’re really getting into the semester, work is piling up very quickly with many things due on the same day. I know that I have a lot of assignments due throughout the upcoming weeks and it really helps me to schedule when to get them done. Time management is always the first thing teachers tell you is important to do in college and I never believed them. However, now I do. I often find myself wishing there were more hours in the day to get everything done and procrastination definitely does not help. So, what are some other ways to make the adjustment between high school and college easier? How do you deal with the tons of assignments, tests, and papers that are due?

JF

College Minors:

To choose or not to choose..study a certain subject in college can be very overwhelming, but what about studying two subjects? Many people in college not only have a major, but a minor as well. People that do this usually major in an area with a large income and a stable career and minor in an area they have passion for. I, for example, am majoring in Nursing because it is a very stable career with a nice income, but that is not where my heart is. I love musical theatre! I'm really considering minoring in musical theatre. So when it comes down to it should you major in something that is gonna give you lost of money, but spend your life not as happily as you would if you were doing something you love? Or would you rather study something you love and not live so lavishly later on in life?

DD

Long Distance Relationships

Everyone has different views of long term relationships. My main problem with this is college students. I have heard of so many couples of breaking up after high school because, they are both going to different colleges. My girlfriend the other day told me about how people were planing there break ups because of college. I know that long distance scares everyone but when it all comes down to it, do youreally want to leave that person? In some cases it is a way to get away from another person, but I feel strongly that if both partners are willing to make it work then everything will be fine. Sure you are going to have your bumps in the road but that's life and you will get over them. For example I have been dating my girlfriend Colleen for a little over a year, and she is now attending the University of Cobleskill in upstate New York, and I am down her at West Virginia. Since day one we told ourselves and each other that we were not going to let college end what we have going. So we said are goodbyes and like I always say goodbyes are never forever, and I will see her in about a month from now. Sure it is hard being 600 miles away but there is no stronger bond then love. Real love not the teenage puppy love that everyone has. That leads me into asking, how do you all feel about long distance relationships whether your in one or not?

-- RS

And Now For Something Completely Different

With all that has gone on during the football training camp,
pre-season,and week one action: Tom Brady getting hurt, Brett Favre
leaving the Packers, will the Giants be able to ride the momentum to
another consecutive Super Bowl win, how about the Colt's horrible loss
to the Bears, or will there be a chance in hell that my hometown team
the Browns will win it all... probably not. But I still wonder who does
everyone have as their Super Bowl picks?

-- AG

On Overload

This past week and this current one as well students are finding themseleves crammed with enourmous amounts of work to do. That being the combination of tests, homework, reading, studying, going to class, papers, etc... It seems like each teacher takes the class he or she is teaching as if its the only class the students have and when you have say 5 of those teachers the work load easily piles up. On top of all this school work we have lives too, other things that need to be done. For example I play a club sport which takes up 4-5 days a week 3 hours a day. Yes it is my choice to attend this but its something i love doing and im not giving it up anytime soon. Also our social lives are important as well. If not we mine as well live in a hole and have a one-tracked mind based on school.The point is the work builds up way too much and drives us to the point of stress. What are some ways to solve this? Can it be solved or are we going to have to shut up and find a way to deal with it. No one was to be placed in a point of stress and right now if your not stressing i envy you because you must know something i dont.

-- SM

Just Park It!

I recently read in the Dominion Post (Morgantown’s local newspaper) a headline that read “WVU Dorms Are Full”, dated August 10, 2008. In this article the assistant vice president for enrollment management estimated nearly 28,000 students to enroll in courses for the 2008 fall semester. It was also estimated that 5,000 of those students would be freshman, most of which would be required to live on campus. It also goes on to say that we have the ability, with the temporary leased spaces the university acquired, to house about 5,800 students. Eighty of which were waiting on housing assignments. So when the proper authority realized they have more and more students being accepted to WVU they decided it was time to build more housing. They purchased Summit and Fieldcrest Halls, building Lincoln hall and leasing the Pierpont apartments. They are also building a new honors dorm on Grant Avenue, adding 350 extra spaces for the fall of 2009.

An astounding 51% of students currently enrolled at WVU are from out of state. That leaves 49% to be in-state students but of that 49% I wonder how many are from Morgantown? Now having filled you in on a little school statistics, nowhere in any of the newspaper articles I’ve read, the construction I have witnessed, the traffic I have sat in, did I see or hear of parking spaces being added on campus to accommodate the rising number of students they are worried about housing. There is plenty of over priced “Decal Parking Only” lots downtown on campus. But very few paid parking options for students who must drive to class. I have been downtown 30-40 minutes before a scheduled class and have been late to that class for the sole reason of searching for parking. Doesn’t it only stand to reason that if you are trying to bring more students to this University you should expand the parking options? Anyone out there that commutes to school via their car know of any secret parking?

-- M

Military Family Members

My brother is in the Marines. Growing up, he was never the type of guy you'd think would go into the armed forces but after a semester in college he decided that the military was the better choice for him. He is currently in LA for schooling but in a few months he will have his stationing orders. He thinks he'll be stationed in San Diego but my dad and my granddad think otherwise. I've never been close to my brother, we had very different personalities. He was more on the punk rock side and I was a preppy cheerleader. I'm proud of my brother for making it through basic training but it's hard for me to be proud of him for going. He went as a last resort after dropping out of college. I feel like now we have less in common; I am completely against war and after basic training he is a new person with new beliefs on the government. I feel like the more he is involved with the military the more and more we'll grow apart.

-- Krys

Motivation/Inspiration

For most new college students freshmen year throws us into a new world where responsibility for our actions is solely ours. In order to achieve our educational goals we have to be determined and find inspiration. When we were at home we had our loved ones to push us to do our work and check on our progress but along with our new freedom comes the need for inspiration. Inspiration can be hard for new students to find when they are without their friends and family so how do they do it? Is one source of inspiration more meaningful than another? Is it better to be inspired by the achievments of others or by someone in your life who believes in you? Is inspiration necessary for success? How have you found inspiration/motivation?

--LM

Teen Pregnancy

When I think of a topic that can typically spark a conversational debate the topic of teen pregnancy comes to mind. I took a little time to research the facts today about teen pregnancy and I found the following quite interesting. Research shows that one in five girls have had sex before the age of fifteen and almost half (forty-six percent) of high school aged teens in the United States have had sexual intercourse at some point. Six in ten teens that have had sex for the first time wish they hadn’t. Approximately one in seven sexually experienced fourteen year old girls report having been pregnant. Half of the pregnancies in the US each year are unplanned, that equals about 3 million each year. I always find the pressure on young teens to have sex interesting. The pressure can create unwanted bad first experiences and could ruin the life of a teenager when he or she must face the consequences. I feel bad for the youth that do have to go through that tough pressure because I can’t imagine being faced with the choices and sacrifices that come with being pregnant as a teen.

-- Anon

Olympics and the Age Rule

I’ve always been a huge fan of the summer Olympics. I could never really get into the winter Olympics because of the excessive amount of figure skating but that’s besides the point. Anyway this year I was watching the women’s gymnastics competition this year and there was alot of talk about the actual ages of the Chinese team. The official rule on age limit to compete in the Olympics as of now is the athlete competing must turn 16 in the year that the Olympics are taking place. So even if the competitor was 15 when it took place if they turned 16 bythe end of the year it’s still legal. What I want to know is if this rule should really be enforced. Personally I think the rule is kind of stupid. The Olympics aresupposed to be a competition between the best athletes in the entire world. Whether or not the athlete is 12, 16, or 40 shouldn’t matter at all. If a 12 year old kid has the ability to compete on a international level and take home the gold why should anyone deny them that opportunity. I am bitter that the US lost to a team that could have illegal members on the team but I still think the rule shouldn’t exist.

--CG

Lowering the Drinking Age--Two Opinions

Recently the dominion post printed an article about lower the drinking age to 18. I personally dont think it would matter because underage drinking happens all the time. I do however think that by lower the drinking age, there will be many more drunk driving accidents because at the age 18, many people believe they are unstoppable and think they can still drive when intoxicated. I'm not saying we shouldnt lower the drinking age, my only question is will it increase drunk driving? What do you think?

HJB


A movement to lower the drinking age to 18 is taking steps in many communities and states across the country. College presidents from about 100 different universities are coming together to ask lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. They believe that the current law is encouraging dangerous binge drinking among college campuses. John M. McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont said, “It does not reduce drinking. It has simply put young adults at greater risk.” I think the age restriction has not eliminated kids under 21 to stop drinking; it has only caused them to hide it. Not allowing people under 21 to buy liquor or drink at bars/ public places, has not stopped them from doing it just raised the drinking behind closed doors. In 1984 the legal drinking age was raised to 21 to stop people under this age from drinking all together. But 23 years later we have to ask ourselves why are people under 21 still drinking?

--AN

College Level Work

College work can sometimes be hard or easy depending on the class you have. Now a days a lot if not all of your classes have work for you to do online. This is ok if its a little bit, but my opinoin is if i wanted to go to college online i would have done besides of living on campus. The reading is what i think can either make or break a student. For example there can be alot pages to read in a chapter and that can take a way from your time to have fun and express youself. What do you think of school work on campus?

-- JC

The Pinch at the Pump

WOW! It is very crazy to me how high the gas prices have become. For awhile it seemed as if everyday I went down the road they were rising. West Virginia seems to be one of the highest states too. Am I right? I know that when I went to Maryland this summer it was .20cents cheaper. Being that I am a communter, the gas prices will definitely be affecting my wallet more than ever this year. The worst part too is that we are all college students so our cash flow is definitely lower than normal. At the rate gas prices are rising, I hate to see how high they will become in a few years, maybe even months. I mean will the price of gasoline ever become lower, or will we be paying this high price for years? I hope something changes.

--Hamilton