Long-distance College Life
Fall Semester 2006 at Texas A&M University Commerce has been an awesome experience, that I have thoroughly enjoyed. All of my teachers at this university have been kind, caring, and dedicated to educating their students – at least the students willing to dedicate time to learning. I enjoy being able to sail away from home for a few hours each day and see this new world that I have thrown myself into. This college campus had many extraordinary benefits that until now I hadn’t been fortunate enough to enjoy. The outstanding new recreational center (fully equipped with fabulous fitness and exercise equipment) has been the number one place where I spend my free time, allowing me to relieve some of the tension placed on me by my demanding life.
Many students at this University enjoy the privilege of living on campus and all the benefits that come with it. Benefits like: socializing with other students, joining clubs, Fraternity/ Sorority houses, and participating in the many exciting events that take place on campus. Great events like: cookouts, touring bands, local parties, and even a memorial for the deceased Vietnam veterans of this country. I have been very fortunate to attend two of the art galleries’ held this semester, however since I must commute to school there is only so much I can take part in. I am missing out on what I believe to be a very important part of the college experience – simply because my circumstances will only permit me to drive to school each day.
Commuting for me is quite a hassle, but I don’t have a choice. Since I am financially part of a lower-middle class family, I can’t afford to live on campus. I also must work at least thirty hours per week to ensure that my monthly expenses are covered. Expenses such as: car-insurance and monthly payments, which most people can relate to. I drive an hour roundtrip to school everyday, work, and do homework therefore I have very little time to ever get socially involved in college life.
Commuting to school, working, and trying to deal with homework is very common for many students attending college, and many of them feel the same way I do. They feel as if college is ‘missing something,’ and it isn’t as fun as they thought that it would be. College life for commuters is often times very limited, and it is unfortunate that we are able to partake in very little of the out-of-class ‘lessons’ that other students receive. Students who live on campus are more likely to learn better and more effective ways to interact with others on a friendly and sometimes even personal level.
Several universities offer extra benefits for students which are specifically helpful to college commuters. These benefits include campus wide email, school lockers, and student lounges – to relax and meet the residents, and residence halls where students may stay over night.
These privileges are certainly accommodating and very usefully, however we need something more. If colleges set forth an organization to better unite commuting students, enticing them to join a club which grouped students by where they live. Students who live in a common area would be given names and phone numbers of other members in their area. These students could then organize meetings, study groups, carpool to a local art gallery, and even entertain them selves at an amusement park. This would allow students to participate in the much needed social side of the college experience.
The organization could schedule and plan events nearby to commuters. The organization could then notify its members about the up-coming events through campus email or newsletters. Students who reside on campus may don’t have to be the only ones to fully enjoy college, let the university come to you.
Works Cited
Rutger's University. “Fight the College Commuter Blues.” iVillage
http://parenting.ivillage.com/teen/teducation/0,,9tkw,00.html
Spelman College. “Commuter Student Services.” Spelman College
http://www.spelman.edu/students/commuter/
eCampusTours “Commuter Students: How to Become Connected to Your School” eCampusTours
http://www.ecampustours.com/campuslife/commuterstudents.aspx
Cornell, Gary. “Does college matter?” ablog (2005)
http://ablog.apress.com/?p=579
“Commuting Students” Drew University
http://www.drew.edu/catalog/cla/student/slife_commuters.php
“Commuter Students” University of Minnesota
http://www.osa.umn.edu/resources/commuter.html
“Dorming vs. Commuting” Team Liquid
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/information/37262/2/Dorming_vs._Commuting.html
Monday, March 31, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Nonverbal Communication Influenced by Cultural Values - Introductary Paragaph, submission 1 (Incomplete)
Nonverbal Communication Influenced by Cultural Values - Introductary Paragaph, submission 1 (Incomplete)
Nonverbal communication plays an enormous role in our everyday lives, this form of communication influences the way we express whatever it is we are communicating and also influences the way in which the receiver understands. We aren’t born with an understanding of nonverbal communication; we learn it through our parents, friends, relatives, and visual media. Our understanding of nonverbal communication is by-product of our surroundings, where we live and with whom we associate with. For instance, a child who grows up in America learns different ways to communicate nonverbally than a child who grows up in war torn Afghanistan. I plan to research how different cultures use nonverbal communication and what influenced them while growing up to learn to communicate that way. I expect that the state of ones country, being war torn, food deprived, or extremely wealthy has an effect on how a person learns to communicate nonverbally.
Nonverbal communication plays an enormous role in our everyday lives, this form of communication influences the way we express whatever it is we are communicating and also influences the way in which the receiver understands. We aren’t born with an understanding of nonverbal communication; we learn it through our parents, friends, relatives, and visual media. Our understanding of nonverbal communication is by-product of our surroundings, where we live and with whom we associate with. For instance, a child who grows up in America learns different ways to communicate nonverbally than a child who grows up in war torn Afghanistan. I plan to research how different cultures use nonverbal communication and what influenced them while growing up to learn to communicate that way. I expect that the state of ones country, being war torn, food deprived, or extremely wealthy has an effect on how a person learns to communicate nonverbally.
Term Paper Mills - Final Draft
Term Paper Mills
Term paper mills are an easy way out of an assignment or semester final, and are commonly used by many students all over the world. “Anywhere from 9 to 95 percent of students surveyed admitted to some form of academic dishonesty” (Maramark and Maline – 161). Paper mills have been supplying illegal essays for decades and are easily accessible through the internet. However, the invention and growing uses of paper mills have created a need for a cure.
Plagiarism detection services, which are found online, are actively fighting against this disease that plagues millions of people all over the world. These detection services are moderately effective against plagiarism; they tend to act more as a deterrent then actually preventing plagiarism. When used correctly these powerful detection services can search through thousands of archived papers and tell the user if there has been plagiarism involved. Every day, services like Turnitin.com grow and therefore become more effective at finding copied material.
Despite the advancing technology that merely deters plagiarism; college students are plagiarizing more and more. Many of these students feel that they just don’t have the time to devote to an honest essay assignment, whereas others may be subconsciously forced into it by peer pressure. “If students perceive that a majority of their peers are going online to plagiarize, they may be more apt to plagiarize themselves” (Scanlon and Neumann-383).
Thanks to our advanced technology computers are allowing students extraordinary access to a vast array of internet sources. Using the internet students can easily enter a web site that sells term papers and choose to receive an essay in a matter of days. With an option so simple who wouldn’t choose a bought essay over hard work and hours of research? The offer is almost too tempting, even when one knows the consequences of using illegal written material as your own. One may think, “Well I won’t get caught,” or “my teacher will never know the difference.” However professors hold their high esteem position because they worked for it. As a student, would you want a professor who’s used someone else’s research and finger-sweat as their own? If you knew, could you be sure that they weren’t just feeding you a bunch of garbage and un-researched topics?
Students often rely on paper mills numerous times for their source of trust ‘worthy’ material. What if this inadequately rehearsed student becomes a surgeon or even a pediatrician? How would you feel if you knew an unstudied, unqualified doctor was treating your child, your mother, or your spouse? The reality is however, that most people don’t know. This could be the case for many people in the near future. In these times people are always moving full speed through each and every day, always looking for a faster ways to get things done. After all, ‘time is money.’ Students don’t take time to stop and think about the repercussions of taking the quick and easy way through college. Students also do not seem to realize that plagiarism is illegal. This means serious consequences if they are caught. Students caught using a term-paper mill essay could receive anything from a slap on the wrist to expulsion. Commonly students manage to slip by, and this could put many people in danger.
Paper mills are not cheap, in fact essays could run you about 20 dollars a page -depending on your source. I could never afford to buy an illegal term paper and still make my car and insurance payments, not to mention all my other expenses. Does this mean that mostly the wealthy upper-class students can afford to spend money (which is probably their parents) on these ‘quick and easy fix’ papers? And how would these parents (who probably worked hard to get wherever they are in their career) feel if they knew that their little ‘over-achiever’ is skating through school and is not really learning much of anything?
Below I have listed some of the going rates on term papers:
$4.95 per page
007termpapers.com
$16.00 per page
1sttermpaper.com
$14.95 – 1 year membership
4termpapers.com
$12.95 – $26.95 per page
100percentcustomtermpapers.com
$6.95 per page
abtermpapers.com
$8.99 per page
ghostpapers.com
I spent many hours looking through articles, essays, and countless web sites painstakingly trying to find information about the writers ‘behind the curtain’ of illegal essay distribution. However I had absolutely zero luck. The only source available to me was given to my by my written argument professor, Dr. Susan Stewart. This document by Abigail Witherspoon titled “This Pen For Hire,” is an excellent 11 page account of what this “academic call girl” encounters on a daily basis. The author begins by telling the reader about her “specialties” and how well she has learned to play to professors and especially teachers assistants’ interests. Abigail Witherspoon wraps us in a vivid detailing of her work environment, home, co-workers, and customers. She describes the majority of her customers as classy and sophisticated. These customers however, show anything but class. Their only purpose for being in that office is purchase a term paper written by someone else’s had. Students usually buy these papers with the sole intent of using its material as their own. This is illegal; however paper mill web sites casually state that these bought essays are to be used for research purposes only, and credit should be given to the paper mill site for its contribution.
How can this epidemic be solved? Can we save ourselves from a future of unethical slackers and uneducated leaders? Universities should be responsible for instructing students about plagiarism and what they can know to avoid it. Freshmen should be required to take an in-depth class to learn how to not only stay away from term paper mills and other forms of plagiarism but to recognize the threat paper mills have on the future of literature.
The bottom line is that this disease has the potential of drastically lowering the quality of creative written work. Term paper mills prevent students from thinking creatively for themselves and act as a mental crutch that could and will most likely last for the rest of their life.
Sources
Bates, Peggy; Fain, M. “Cheating 101: Internet Paper Mills.” Coastal Carolina University (2006): http://www.coastal.edu/library/presentations/mills2.html
Maramark, S., and M. B. Maline. “Academic dishonesty amound college students. Issues in education.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (1993) ERIC Document No. ED 360903.
Scanlon, P.M., and D.R. Neumann. “Internet plagiarism among college students.”
Journal of College Student Development 43(3)(2003): 374-85
Whitherspoon, Abigail. “This Pen For Hire.” Harper’s v290 (1995): 49-57
Term Paper Mills - Rough Draft
Term Paper Mills
Term paper mills are an easy way out of an assignment or semester final and are commonly used by many people in many different careers and time zones. Paper mills have been supplying illegal essays for decades and are easily accessible through the internet.
------End of par. 1--------However the creation of paper mills have created a need for a cure.
------begin of par 2.-------Plagiarism detection services, which are found online, are actively fighting against this disease that plagues millions of people all over the world. This disease has the potential of drastically lowering the quality of creative written work. Term paper mills prevent students from thinking creatively for themselves and act as a mental crutch that could and most likely will last for the rest of their life time.
Plagiarism has grown vastly among college students, many who feel that they just don’t have the time to devote to an honest essay assignment. Others may be subconsciously forced into it by peer pressure. *****If college students believe that the majority of their peers plagiarize, this includes purchasing papers from a term paper mill, then those students are more likely to commit an act of plagiarism. *****
**Thanks to our advanced technology computers are allowing students extraordinary access to a vast array of sources.*** Using the internet students can easily enter a web site that sells term papers and choose to receive an essay in a matter of days. With an option so simple who wouldn’t choose a bought essay over hard work and hours of research? The offer is almost too tempting, even when one knows the consequences of using illegal written material as your own. One may think, “well I wont get caught,” or “my teacher will never know the difference.” However professors hold their high esteem position because they worked for it. As a student, would you want a professor who used someone else’s research and finger-sweat as their own? If you knew, could you be sure that they weren’t just feeding you a bunch of garbage?
Some students rely on paper mills time and time again for their source of trust worthy material.
What if this student became a surgeon or even a pediatrician? How would you feel if you knew an unstudied, unqualified doctor was treating your child, or mother?
Paper mill prices and those who buy
Paper mills are not cheap, in fact essays could run you about 20 dollars a page depending on your source.
I could never afford to buy an illegal term paper and still make my car and insurance payments, not to mention all my other expenses. Does this mean that mostly the wealthy upper-class students can afford to spend money (which is probably their parents) on these ‘quick and easy fix’ papers? And how would these parents (who probably work hard to get wherever they are in their career) feel if they knew that their little ‘over-achiever’ is skating by through school (probably an expensive one) and not really learning much of anything?
--------------------------------------Add in a list of term paper prices and their sources-------------------------Stating: Below I have listed some of the going rates on term papers
‘Writers Behind the curtain’
I spent many hours looking through articles, essays, and countless web sites painstakingly trying to find information about the writers ‘behind the curtain’ of illegal essay distribution. However I had absolutely zero luck. The only source available to me was given to my by my written argument professor, Dr. Susan Stewart. This document by Abigail Witherspoon titled “This Pen For Hire,” is an excellent 11 page account of what this “academic call girl” encounters on a daily basis. The author begins by telling the reader about her “specialties” and how well she has learned to play to professors and especially teachers assistants.
Next Abigail Witherspoon wraps us in a vivid detailing of her work environment, home, co-workers, and customers.
******************Be carfull ----------- this is not an article review*************
Term paper mills are an easy way out of an assignment or semester final and are commonly used by many people in many different careers and time zones. Paper mills have been supplying illegal essays for decades and are easily accessible through the internet.
------End of par. 1--------However the creation of paper mills have created a need for a cure.
------begin of par 2.-------Plagiarism detection services, which are found online, are actively fighting against this disease that plagues millions of people all over the world. This disease has the potential of drastically lowering the quality of creative written work. Term paper mills prevent students from thinking creatively for themselves and act as a mental crutch that could and most likely will last for the rest of their life time.
Plagiarism has grown vastly among college students, many who feel that they just don’t have the time to devote to an honest essay assignment. Others may be subconsciously forced into it by peer pressure. *****If college students believe that the majority of their peers plagiarize, this includes purchasing papers from a term paper mill, then those students are more likely to commit an act of plagiarism. *****
**Thanks to our advanced technology computers are allowing students extraordinary access to a vast array of sources.*** Using the internet students can easily enter a web site that sells term papers and choose to receive an essay in a matter of days. With an option so simple who wouldn’t choose a bought essay over hard work and hours of research? The offer is almost too tempting, even when one knows the consequences of using illegal written material as your own. One may think, “well I wont get caught,” or “my teacher will never know the difference.” However professors hold their high esteem position because they worked for it. As a student, would you want a professor who used someone else’s research and finger-sweat as their own? If you knew, could you be sure that they weren’t just feeding you a bunch of garbage?
Some students rely on paper mills time and time again for their source of trust worthy material.
What if this student became a surgeon or even a pediatrician? How would you feel if you knew an unstudied, unqualified doctor was treating your child, or mother?
Paper mill prices and those who buy
Paper mills are not cheap, in fact essays could run you about 20 dollars a page depending on your source.
I could never afford to buy an illegal term paper and still make my car and insurance payments, not to mention all my other expenses. Does this mean that mostly the wealthy upper-class students can afford to spend money (which is probably their parents) on these ‘quick and easy fix’ papers? And how would these parents (who probably work hard to get wherever they are in their career) feel if they knew that their little ‘over-achiever’ is skating by through school (probably an expensive one) and not really learning much of anything?
--------------------------------------Add in a list of term paper prices and their sources-------------------------Stating: Below I have listed some of the going rates on term papers
‘Writers Behind the curtain’
I spent many hours looking through articles, essays, and countless web sites painstakingly trying to find information about the writers ‘behind the curtain’ of illegal essay distribution. However I had absolutely zero luck. The only source available to me was given to my by my written argument professor, Dr. Susan Stewart. This document by Abigail Witherspoon titled “This Pen For Hire,” is an excellent 11 page account of what this “academic call girl” encounters on a daily basis. The author begins by telling the reader about her “specialties” and how well she has learned to play to professors and especially teachers assistants.
Next Abigail Witherspoon wraps us in a vivid detailing of her work environment, home, co-workers, and customers.
******************Be carfull ----------- this is not an article review*************
‘D’ Is For ‘Dummy’
‘D’ Is For ‘Dummy’
Comprehending and truly knowing a subject requires a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and hard work. This rule-of-thumb is common knowledge to most anyone seeking a higher education.
Chris Piper brings up a very interesting point in his essay “‘A’ Is For ‘Absent.’”
He states that, “If a student can earn good grades on required work without attending class, then instructors should grade that student accordingly.” In such a case should I worry whether my mother’s neural surgeon attended class each day? Is there reason to be concerned when my dentist casually informs me that he skipped the class where his professor taught the proper way to drill a tooth?
Any respectable professor does not enforce an attendance policy to “stroke their own egos.” Rather, professors encourage you to attend class because they have read all the books, and studied for countless hours and they earnestly want to share loads of knowledge with their “eager masses.” This kind of instruction can’t be found in any book or well written essay.
Chris Piper’s argument may sound reasonable at a glace however, finding an excuse to miss class is pure laziness, and laziness can only breed more laziness and uneducated idiots.
Sources
Chris Piper “’A’ Is For ‘Absent’”
Nancy V. Wood, Essentials of Argument, New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2006
Comprehending and truly knowing a subject requires a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and hard work. This rule-of-thumb is common knowledge to most anyone seeking a higher education.
Chris Piper brings up a very interesting point in his essay “‘A’ Is For ‘Absent.’”
He states that, “If a student can earn good grades on required work without attending class, then instructors should grade that student accordingly.” In such a case should I worry whether my mother’s neural surgeon attended class each day? Is there reason to be concerned when my dentist casually informs me that he skipped the class where his professor taught the proper way to drill a tooth?
Any respectable professor does not enforce an attendance policy to “stroke their own egos.” Rather, professors encourage you to attend class because they have read all the books, and studied for countless hours and they earnestly want to share loads of knowledge with their “eager masses.” This kind of instruction can’t be found in any book or well written essay.
Chris Piper’s argument may sound reasonable at a glace however, finding an excuse to miss class is pure laziness, and laziness can only breed more laziness and uneducated idiots.
Sources
Chris Piper “’A’ Is For ‘Absent’”
Nancy V. Wood, Essentials of Argument, New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2006
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