School of Music | Student Recitals | Bailey Performance Center Morgan Concert Hall | 2:00 - 9:00 p.m.
KSU Owls vs Western Carolina Baseball Game | Stillwell Baseball Statium | 5:00 p.m.
Thursday | May 2nd
First Day of Final Exams
Student Government Association | General Meeting | Student Center University Rooms | 3:30-4:45 p.m.
Friday | May 3rd
Student Recital : Zac Evans, Saxophone | Bailey Performance Center Morgan Concert Hall | 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday | May 4th
KSU Community and Alumni Choir Performance | Bailey Performance Center Morgan Concert Hall | 8:00-10:00 p.m.
Don’t miss any OWL Events!Check back each week for a new calendar of KSU’s upcoming events.Don’t see your event? We want to know!Please send event information to newseditor6@ksusentinel.com
Every semester, students find themselves caught in the maelstrom of registering for classes, causing unneeded stress.
What classes do I need for my major? What classes that are not full can I take instead? Okay… what classes are available that do not start at ten at night? Are there even any classes left?
The process is guided by a plan that focuses on students’ needs and not financial earnings for the school. Supposedly.
Each student is given a time ticket based on their academic class standing and how many credit hours they have. These factors are the only things that determine the time of your registration ticket. The only way to determine these factors is by going on Owl Express and clicking DegreeWorks or by viewing your transcript.
However, what do you do if you need only one more class to graduate and it is conveniently full before you could register because of a hold on your account?
Many students make the mistake of going straight to the Registrar office when there is actually an alternative method.
Interim Registrar Ana Edwards said the Registrar has nothing to do with the scheduling of classes. It is the academic department head’s responsibility to determine what is offered as far as class availability. Edwards also said that as far as holds go, it depends on the type of hold. The Registrar encourages students to check their Owl Express accounts before they head out.
Although students could go directly to the department head, it is also worth the effort to get in touch with the professor who is teaching the class. In this scenario, the professor might send an override request, increasing the chances of getting into the desired class. Of course, nothing is guaranteed.
KSU Political Science Professor Lee C. Jones, Ph.D., said there are classes taught by professors, where they are allowed to schedule the times of their classes. Jones said that he is an adjunct professor that he described as appendages to the departments who have their schedules made by the departments.
When it comes right down to it, you may not even be able to take that class and might have to take a random class to take its place, but who says graduating on time is important anyway. Delaying that graduation date only allows you more allotted time to procrastinate paying off those dreaded loans.
The school is doing you a favor. So what if you have to take out more loans to cover an extra semester just to take two classes, a few more thousand dollars will not make a difference.
Beside the delay in graduation and finances, there is also the impact of stress and anxiety that can have astounding effects on students.
According to an article posted on HuffingtonPost.com, a study was done by EverFi and sponsored by the familiar Higher One, which surveyed over 40,000 first-year students across the U.S., finding that almost 80 percent of young adults worry about debt.
At one time, every college student has been a first-year student. The angst starts in that first year, but it does not disappear. That uneasiness follows you throughout your college years and most likely beyond.
There is not much one can do to deal with the stress of school and finances, well besides paying off your debt, dropping out or trying an alternative method to reduce stress. Take up kickboxing, jogging or yoga to release endorphins.
If that does not send you shout- ing for joy, there is an add/drop period at the beginning of the semester that is the silver lining for many hopefuls.
The designated smoking areas need to be relocated from the current areas because they reside directly outside building entrances, forcing non-smokers to be victims of second-hand smoke.
The conscious decision that smokers make to light up is not only affecting them, but their classmates.
The World Health Organization website states, “Second hand smoke causes 600,000 premature deaths per year.”
Besides the exposure to carcinogens and rat poison, there is also the concern about the harm this smoke can cause to people with asthma and allergies. The apprehension of possibly having an asthma attack by walking outside and receiving a warm welcome of smoke is inconvenient.
According to the Bill of Rights, each citizen has inalienable rights, which include the pursuit of happiness, so long as it does not infringe upon the rights and liberties of others. Does smoking violate these rights? Smokers have a right to smoke, but non-smokers have a right to be free of second-hand smoke.
“You’re not a smoker and you just get a whiff of second-hand smoke it’s a little aggravating, but I understand people are going to smoke,” sophomore Tyler Wheeler said.
However, smoking locations cannot be obliterated, nor should they.
Smoker and sophomore James Childress said, “[non-smokers] don’t want to smell [the smoke] and I get that… I don’t think it’s right necessarily [to] completely cut it out. People have the right to choose.”
Smoking students and faculty have the right to smoke and are allowed to do so in these areas. Unfortunately, if a person were to smoke outside of these areas for moral or convenience reasons, law enforcement would take action to move smokers to the areas that are set up for smoking.
These areas are assigned so that second-hand smoke is not an issue, but they are not working. These areas are hazardous to the people who have a loving relationship with breathing.
If the issue is to be resolved, it might be beneficial to have separate islands for smokers that have access to surrounding motes covered by a large dome with an opening on top so that the smoke is contained in that environment. It is a win-win situation. The smoke is generally contained without much wind interference, making non-smokers happy.
Freshman Tavia Edwards said, “You don’t want people to find secret ways, you know endanger people.”
The next smoking area should be carefully inspected to limit any possible issues.
Fires and smoke will one day be a thing of the past with the new craze of water vapor cigarettes. With the cost of books and gas, water vapor nicotine dispensers are probably not in the near future since they are relatively expensive.
Administrators should consider new locations for smokers. The issue is not how to convert smokers to non-smokers or pillage their lands; it is all about location. Let smokers have their own domain, but let it not be at the cost of those around them.
The mandatory meal plans are not cheap, so what are you getting for your money?
The commons is strategically placed in a location that is easily accessible to all persons on the KSU campus. Although with so many people this creates a problem with the seating arrangements. Some students and are not satisfied with the current environment that The Commons provides. Sophomore Hollie Rhodus said, “we need a new facility… we have out grown this building.” Rhodus also shared that one of her friends that attends the University of Georgia says that they have multiple dining room areas that are compatible with meal plan swipes.
Undoubtedly a new building would most likely cause an increase in meal plan price and tuition in general.
Admittedly, KSU does have other places where one can sit down and eat food and buy food, but doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the meal plans? If you are on campus you might as well go to the place where the meal plan swipes are accepted. After all you were forced to buy them. Nonetheless, you walk in; get your food and all of a sudden it is as if you’ve become a lion in the safari. You just gained dominance over the kingdom, have some zebra meat on your plate, but wait there is no room at the watering hole. Do you ask the live zebra two tables down if you can sit down in the extra seat next to them? Unless conducting a sociology experiment, those encounters usually do not end up going so well.
The building is relatively new, clean, but not spacious. So all that money that is spent on meal plans must be for the expenses of the food.
For those of you who are vegetarians or vegan or somewhere in between, or indifferent to their diet, The Commons provides a variety of options for all diets.
Associate Director, Culinary & Hospitality Services, Jenifer Duggan said, “We serve vegetarian and/or vegan items at every station, every day, and offer a selection of alternative proteins like quinoa and tofu.”
The commons is able to prepare less popular items because according to Duggan The Commons practices small- batch cooking, only cooking the minimum amount of food and composing the left overs.
Although for the rest of the population that has no qualms on what they eat there is a wide variety. There are ten available stations always compiled
with different types of food assembled. All of which are flavorful and different and more importantly hot!
Globetrotter, The Commons’ International cuisine platform has a menu that changes daily. This station also wants international students to submit home recipes that they miss and the cooks will do their best to make it just like their parents.
The Commons is also working on growing its own food as to provide a better quality of freshness to our palate. Plus a lot of the food is cooked from scratch.
So while perfection is not the song everyone is singing, it is the on the horizon.
Valentine’s Day is less controversial than other holidays, but still provokes strong emotions amongst the multitudes. What is so special about Valentine’s Day anyway? Is it the gifts from a significant other that brightens your day or is it the one day self- pity is not frowned upon?
It is definitely not about St. Valentine who died in the name of love. It would be more accurate if he died of shock due to the amount of cash he would have to dish out purchasing a dozen roses.
I doubt teachers in grade school still teach Valentine’s Day history. Instead it has probably been replaced with an accounting class giving children tips on how to budget their bank accounts during this holiday.
The image of Valentine’s Day is usually people in relationships basking in the essence of their sweet heart and single people left alone to count their cats. But is that really the truth or is it a stereotypical representation engraved into our minds? No. Every side has a different paradigm. The anticipation that you might receive a gift that essentially says “I know nothing about you” or “I didn’t really care” send some people spiraling down a dark and narrow path of unneeded anxiety.
This simple holiday ignites the start of the end for many couples. According to an article by Saabira Chaudhuri on The Guardian it found statistics on Avvo.com revealing that divorce filings rise about 40 percent this time of year.
Valentine’s Day should be called Obligation Day because it is essentially a day card companies squeezed the life out of for profit. Many call this day a Hallmark Holiday. Kate Krier wrote an article in The Jersey Journal explaining that a Hallmark Holiday “exists primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a traditionally significant religious or secular event.”
Regardless of whether or not you are in a relationship, there are more than likely people you will wish a happy Valentine’s Day, or buy a small trinket to show that you didn’t forget about them. It might be more beneficial if you don’t buy anything for anyone and opt out of this holiday. If you accidentally forget someone you can start planning out a different path to walk to avoid the awkward confrontations.
The grade school days of handing out small cardboard valentines to a handful of people are long gone. Now it seems there is a silent war brewing beneath the surface between the couples and the single people.
There doesn’t seem to be a winner. People in relationships are broke making sure they make their significant other feel special. The single people are at home with their wallets full of money, scrolling through forever alone memes on the Internet.
I think a revolution is in place where we celebrate this holiday the day after companies deem it appropriate and buy discounted chocolates and clearance stuffed animals for whoever we want.
Stop stressing about Valentine’s Day because whether you are single or in a relationship there are still people who care about you. So what if they didn’t get you that blue teddy bear and they got you a pink one instead? So what if you are single on a day commemorating a day tribute to couples? You have friends that you can spend it with.
There are worse holidays to be lacking in. Instead of walking around upset about whatever it is Valentine’s Day has brought you, break out the box of elementary school valentines and hand them out to your friends, and maybe even some strangers.
Despite the insanity that is Valentine’s Day I think we can all be grateful that it only comes around once a year.
