Eric's+Page

The New York Times has a fabulous RSS Feed on education in America. This feed has tons of articles, videos, and audio clips about all things that affect the education system in America. Any laws passed that affect schools in anyway will pop up on this RSS Feed. This is more of a news feed that gives more information and less opinion. rss url="http://feeds.nytimes.com/nyt/rss/Education" link="true" description="true" number="5" date="true" enclosure="true"

This RSS Feed is one of the best feeds for college sports. Not only does it have up to the minute information but it has opinions on those same up-to-date stories. This feed doesn’t just cover one conference like many other RSS Feeds, but it gives a general overview of all college sports and I thought it tied in perfectly with my news article on college athletics.

rss url="http://feeds.feedburner.com/fanblogs" link="true" description="true" number="5" date="true" enclosure="true"

Still Kids?

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For students headed off to college one of the biggest attractions about college is living on your own. But students don't really live alone; they will usually live with a roommate. A roommate will be someone that you will remember the rest of your life. As Titus Maccius Plautus once said, "Where there are friends, there is wealth". My father is still close with all of his college buddies, some 30 years ago. And I can only hope I am half as lucky as him to meet such great people.======

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But the debate nowadays is about who your roommates are. The discussion on co-ed dorms is one of great importance. We all know that college can and will be a very confusing place, and the one thing that will help you get through it will be the people around you. The interactions between men and women are sometimes drastically different between men and men, or women and women.======

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Sometimes men are easily distracted by women. Hell, most of the time men are distracted by women. But the story goes both ways. A guy may focus more on attracting a girl's attention if he's faced with the choice of doing his editorial for Journalism 101 or "showing off". And a girl may choose to dress up and go at night when there's a chance there might be guys there. And so begins the debate on whether or not it is a bright idea to go to a school with co-ed dorms.======

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Co-ed dorms aren't really the issue; it's more or less how the dorms are split up. If men and women are on the same floor, there is bound to be more interaction than if the men are on every other floor. Taking a very informal poll, I found that more students prefer to have some type of male and female split, but on the same floor.======

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But after a tragic accident in Rutgers University has the school questioning whether co-ed dorm rooms should be allowed. A college student committed suicide after his roommate used a webcam to watch him in an intimate encounter with another man. The new option - called gender-neutral housing - was created at the request of gay, lesbian and transgender students. The option will be open to homo or heterosexual students. As of now is a trial run beginning in the fall of 2011. The university hopes that it will make their New Brunswick campus more welcoming to gay students.======

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I applaud Rutgers University for becoming the first university to have gender-neutral housing. It will open the door for conversation for universities across the world. That makes this decision a groundbreaking choice. This could change the way we view college choices. The debate about "should I room with my girlfriend?" will be quite popular. Sadly I believe the homophobia will probably increase in some areas.======

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But the debate shouldn't just be about co-ed dorm rooms it should be about co-ed levels. These kids are only 18 years old. Just because the law decides that they are "adults" doesn't mean that they are. How does one day between before and after an 18 year olds birthday make them mature enough to begin to live with the opposite sex? If you asked my mother today, she would still consider me a kid. I'm almost 19 and I guarantee you she would not approve of me rooming with a girl for the year. The question I ask you is would your parent approve of you moving in with a member of the opposite sex?======

How to Decide Which College is Right For You

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There isn’t just one factor that can help you decide which college is right for you. There are a lot of things you need to think about before making your final decision. Factors range from size, money, location, majors, and many more. You can’t just decide a college based on one particular factor. You must consider all parts in the decision making process. College is a long process that you spend four or more years attending, and it is crucial that you are completely happy with your decision. ======

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Choosing the right college is an important decision that one makes in a lifetime. There are many factors that go into the final decision, and whether or not to stay close to home is important to think about. ======

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We recently interviewed students about how they came up with their college decision and more than half said one of the main reasons was distance. One should think about if they want to stay close to their family and friends, or go further away and really begin their independent lives. ======

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Some people may choose to stay home because they choose to be close to their parents and friends. Your parents have been there with you since the day you were born and the idea of leaving them for a period of time may be overwhelming to some. If you go to a college that is close to your family, you can easily get home and be with them whenever needed. ======

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While some choose to stay close to home, there are others who are willing to travel a great distance for a school of their choice. Distance may not be the issue to some people, and they are focused more on the college that best suits their preferences. The reasoning why some choose to travel far is to prove their independence, and prove that they are capable of being on their own for the first time. Some people believe that going to college is the start of a new life, by making new life long friends, and getting the education they need for their future. ======

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Money is often a factor that turns people away from certain colleges. Some colleges are going for $50,000 a year, and that multiplied by 4 is $200,000. To some families, that is an immense amount of money to spend on a school. The country is in debt now, and we are sending our students to college where they are forced to take out loans. The second they are out of college, they begin their new lives in debt, and paying off your loans is not how anyone wants to start off their life. ======

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Another main factor in deciding which school is right for you is the academics a school offers. While searching for colleges, you must consider the majors that you are interested in and be sure that the schools you are looking at offers those majors. Class size is important to think about because if you are someone who needs more one on one with the teacher, then you should choose a school that has fewer lecture halls. Academics is important to think about because some schools may offer certain programs that are beneficial to your major, which would be a good reason why that school could be a potential school for you. ======

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Some people choose schools because they were offered a scholarship in academics or sports. Being able to attend a school that is Division I in sports is an amazing opportunity in the fact that you get to be in the stands, cheering on your school. Schools with a great sports program is an important factor in your decision making process because not only does it give you the opportunity to go to the games and be apart of the team, but it makes the whole college experience an amazing four years that you took a lot of time to think about which school is right for you. ======  College Sports

In every college across the world there are large portions of the students that participate in school sports. These men and women are called //student athletes//. And as much as the school likes to stress that the kids are “students first and athletes second” it is widely known that to many, their school sport is their life. These five star students that have been scouted for years are there for one thing, to win. Sadly, these hotshot quarterbacks could care less about school and because of that, do the bare minimum to pass school. The fact that we have scouts in our children’s lives as early as their freshman year in high school should stand out to someone.

Whether it be football, basketball, soccer, or even track, high school student are recruited 24/7 across the nation. A talent scout has become an actual yearlong job. Colleges put millions of dollars towards scouting. These schools are willing to put that much money into their athletic departments because it is that department that brings in the most money for the school. But the part that’s puzzling is the fact that these five star athletes are wined and dined just to attend these schools, make the universities millions of dollars, and then see none of it in return.

However, not everyone is that five star quarterback who was scouted since his freshman year of high school. Credit must be given to the other millions of athletes who find a way to balance the temptation of college life, their schoolwork, and the hours of dedication to the sport they participate in. It’s a remarkable task. There are thousands of student athletes that are not only elite performers on the field, but in the classroom. Almost every school has separate awards for all the student athletes that participate in sports as well as get selected to the honor roll as students. Those are the students that deserve the real standing ovation. Not just the MVP of the Rose Bowl. All he did was throw some touchdown passes and have his buddy take his final exams. (Although this is a joke, sadly, many stories have been released about student athletes having other people taking their tests for them so they can focus on sports. I could write an entire other article about all the scandals that go on within college sports. But I could be writing for days)

College sporting events not only make the school money, but they keep school morale high. After a college wins a championship game, studies have shown that school performance generally increases. Just as the losing schools grade have generally decreased after a big sports loss. Being able to go to the “big football game” every week is a great stress release for students.

As anyone who has played any organized sport can attest to, perfecting your craft isn’t easy. But student athletes put their lives on the line day in and day out. But what do they get in return? Over 70% of college athletes do not go on to a career in sports. That is why their actual education in school is so vital. Teachers and even coaches stress the importance of schoolwork. Coaches will even sit a student who is failing a class! Graduating college is a very important thing. Even for the students who go on to play sports as a career, most sports careers don’t last long and students need to have a degree to fall back on.

The decision for some athletes to leave school early to enter a professional draft is always a topic of discussion. Superstar at Stanford Andrew Luck was all but a lock to go number 1 in the 2011 NFL draft. But Luck decided that it was a better idea to stay his senior year and graduate. Andrew Luck left at least a guaranteed $50 million dollars on the table when making that choice. And with a new rookie signing cap as a possibility there is a chance Mr. Luck will never see that kind of offer again. But he made the intelligent choice. Clearly his education at Stanford has helped him because he realized that graduating with a degree from Stanford could be more beneficial to him in the long run after football is over.

Making the right decision isn’t always easy. In the case of Andrew Luck, it was probably the most difficult decision he’s ever had to make. But when a student can understand the value of his or her education that is the true definition of “knowledge is power”. College can be a dangerous place with many options, some good and some bad. But sports play a role in most students’ lives whether they want it to or not. We can only hope that they make the decisions that will be most beneficial to these student athletes in the long term.