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JerseySmarts.com

Busy Day of Running Around the State

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Today is going to be a busy day running around New Jersey for me. I have to go up to Wayne, New Jersey today for a Sigma Pi Fraternity New Jersey Pledge Province Workshop. This is somewhat exciting since I am no longer the Province Archon for New Jersey and I get to sit in the back of the room and just enjoy the show. I’ve been kept up to date on how this workshop was planned, though, and it sounds like it’s going to be a great day for our undergraduates.

Once that event is over, I have to get back down to Monmouth County to meet up with some of my fellow alumni to “celebrate” the 40th anniversary of our chapter’s chartering at Monmouth University. We tried to have an actual anniversary cocktail hour and dinner at the university to celebrate and while the response was very good, the action (guys sending checks to reserve tickets) was woefully underwhelming (less than 4% of total membership paid to attend). We had to cancel, obviously.

In the mean time, feel free to check out some of this site’s partners by clicking around to some of the links on the left and right side of this blog. There are some really great websites linked here – go and see for yourself!

So while I go running around New Jersey, remember to check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!

Google Book Search is an Amazing Service

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Whether the masses know it or not, Google has been recreating the Library of Alexandria in an online format. While it is still a work in progress, the Google Book Search is home to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of printed documents that have been digitized for your searching needs. In terms of actual books, works that are out of copyright are available for full download and printing at no cost to the user.

The applications of the Google Book Search are almost endless. The first things that pop into my mind are the English classes that I had to take in college. Well, not the classes themselves, but the hundreds if not thousands of dollars that I spent on books. Take Shakespeare – I had to buy two different anthologies of Shakespeare titles. In the mean time, Google Book Search has the entire works of William Shakespeare available for full download. Full download! Come on!

I could easily be in a few thousand dollars LESS of student loan debt if this service was available ten years ago, damn it.

Since I know a lot of college students (and those who talk to college students) find their way on to my blog, I’m making the strong recommendation that you check Google Book Search for the texts needed in your literature and English classes before you go spending hundreds of dollars on anthologies. Speaking as someone who is in a great deal of student loan debt, trust me – every little bit counts when trying to save money in college!

Taking Off A Year – Next Year, Actually – Could Be Worth It

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Last April, I posted an entry talking about how taking a year off after high school would be a good way to broaden a young student’s world view. This mindset is something new for America, but it is one that I think could really help some of our younger citizens develop personally. As an adjunct professor and a guy who volunteers as an advisor to young college students around the state, one of the more concerning phenomenons that I’ve witnessed over the last few years is the increasing amount of sheltered young people that our society is producing.

While I understand that the transition from high school to college is literally life-changing, many students are entering college without any ability to live on their own. I see kids who are constantly on the phone with their parents, make daily trips back to their hometowns, and cocoon themselves from any new experiences on campus. To some small degree you have to appreciate why employers don’t want to give these people jobs once they graduate. The ability to think on your own and solve problems as they arise is critical to being successful in today’s world.

Anyway, the point of this entry is how taking a year off between high school and college might have always been a good idea for some students, but it might be a good idea for all students given some pending legislation. As the New York Times reports:

Last month, President Obama proposed what some experts called the most sweeping changes in federal college aid programs in decades. But even if Congress approves the new and expanded programs, they will not take effect until July 2010.

So here is a heretical idea for this year’s high school seniors: Take a year off and go out and do something else. Then, when it is available, see if you can take advantage of that aid money — more fixed-rate student loans and bigger grants to the poorest students.

Brilliant! This is a great idea that has many unintended (or perhaps intended) consequences. First, those who take next year off to develop themselves as human beings will be better prepared for the rigors of college life. Second, colleges will be forced to re-evaluate their expenses and whether or not they offer a valuable service given the realities of today’s market. And last but not least, you have the actual intended effect of the recommendation above – take a year off and wait until more subsidy dollars flow to your educational pursuits.

If coordinated correctly, this idea could initiate a great shift in the higher education system.

Happy 112th Founder’s Day Sigma Pi!

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To all of my fellow Sigma Pi Fraternity brothers out there – here’s wishing you a happy 112th Founder’s Day! I’ll be spending tomorrow evening with our chapter at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey. They have one of the best annual Founder’s Day dinners in the entire northeast region and I have never had the opportunity to attend one until tomorrow – so I’m looking forward to it!

Anyway, Happy Founder’s Day to all of my fraternity brothers all over the world!

Obama’s Hope on College Affordability

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President Obama gave his first address to the Congress last night and he addressed a variety of topics. The one topic that piqued my interest was his discussions about education and higher education specifically. Higher education affordability for all Americans is one of my major issues as a voter so I thought I’d offer some comments here. The text from Obama’s speech:

I know that the price of tuition is higher than ever, which is why if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford a higher education. And to encourage a renewed spirit of national service for this and future generations, I ask this Congress to send me the bipartisan legislation that bears the name of Senator Orrin Hatch as well as an American who has never stopped asking what he can do for his country – Senator Edward Kennedy.

You know – that’s a very inspiring thought and a good idea. I wonder about how realistic it is in action, though. For example, what will the cost be to the government if High School Student A volunteers X amount of hours in his or her hometown and thus meets the requirements of this program? Will the government pay all of their tuition at a public school? Half? A quarter? What is the number that makes college affordable for a student?

Further, what happens if High School Student B – who is from a better off family than Student A – does the same amount (or more) of volunteering than Student A? Since Student B is from a well-to-do family, then does he or she get anything for their community service? The same end was achieved – citizens served their community. Right?

And what happens when High School Student C needs another 50 hours of community service by the deadline date to qualify for whatever this grant money will be? Are we to believe that if Student C’s family knows people who know people that they won’t write-up false letters showing all of the service hours that Student C volunteered?

I don’t want to sound like a negative guy on this proposal, but it seems like it’s a bit too nebulous right now. I’m all for college affordability so long as 1) it is a program with no discrimination (income included), and 2) it’s fiscally responsible. We didn’t get that information last night. Other than that, I thought the President’s speech sounded more like a campaign speech than anything else, but I had no major fundamental problems with it.