College Today

Internet Use Dangerous?

2008-05-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

Close your Internet browser.

It might be hazardous to your health.

Is the picture of the dog distracting to the blog?

students are often
distracted by internet use
or textmesseging)

psychiatrist

Jerald Block, M.D., proposes adding Internet Addiction the condition to a highly-regarded psychiatrist handbook used to diagnose patients called the (DSM) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

According to Block Problems that can occur from this disorder
(
are

computer gamin

sexual content and

text messaging or email messages

“These compulsive behaviors can have very serious health and social consequences ranging from fatigue, depression, social isolation and poor work performance. In some very extreme cases, those addicted to Internet use have suffered cardiopulmonary-related deaths.”-Block
linkhttp://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/internetaddiction031808.cfm

I Think

As College students we should ask our self's Important questions?

Is text messaging getting in the way of other priorities?

Do you feel anxious when you are not connected to the Internet?

Is most of your day spent in front of a computer screen?

If you feel you need help with these issues you can contact Csun counseling officehttp://www.csun.edu/counseling/s to set and appointment.

Side Note

increasingly students life revolve around computer/cellphone use.

Media use has so much affects on students life that the future seems somewhat scary to me.

will schools like Csun become a thing a of the past?

Currently Csun offers many online courses which are becoming increasingly popular with working and lazy students.

Many aspects of life our being replaced with time spent on computers and with that we loose interactions with people.

we should shut off our browsers and enjoy a sunny or cloudy day with a friend.

_dan

College Drug Bust

2008-05-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Prof. Hatfield Recommended this article to us on our blog.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-drugbust7-2008may07,0,3741335.story

96 arrested in San Diego State drug bust

University police began an undercover investigation a year ago after a 19-year-old female student died of cocaine and ethanol intoxication.

During their under cover investigation the undercover officers dressed like students

and collected information on drug dealer's at parties.

on Tuesday officials announced

"On Tuesday, authorities announced that 96 young men -- including 75 students -- had been arrested on a variety of drug charges as a result of Operation Sudden Fall, which infiltrated seven fraternities on Fraternity Row and Fraternity Circle. Officials said the name of the operation referred to the prospect of sudden death from drug usage" (Toni Perry Los Angeles Times)

This is an interesting news story!

I know that many people are going to be outraged that the police violated students privacy.

But I feel violating student privacy is sometimes necessary to protect students.

Drugs should not be associated with any type of college life. Especially when hard working parents pay the school fees students should be protected from fraternity houses that encourage or allow illegal activity. Even tough many college movies idolize drinking and doing some drugs schools should do what ever it takes to prevent students from drug addiction. It is true that students are adults and they make their own decisions regardless of school supervision but even adults need help when making dumb decisions.

-Daniel

Channel Surfing the College Life

2008-05-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Alex, we all know that college life has filtered through and found a home on the big screen, but it has also made its way into our living rooms. We are seeing more and more images and scenarios of college life on our television screens.

Take for example ABC's television show Greek. It is about a group of people who are in college and who are either associated with or in a Greek community. ABC claims that it is a "dramedy set at fictitious Cyprus-Rhodes University, which focuses on the social minefield that is the Greek System. Viewers will see this unique cast of characters navigate through this treacherous terrain as they try to find their place at Cyprus-Rhodes University". I myself am not in a Greek community, and can't tell you how accurate this show may be, but it seems to me that there is some exaggerating going on within the show. It is a constant parade of gorgeous people, partying it up, and always creating drama. To me, this show tends to portray college just as a big party, well that is if you are in the Greek system....
http://abcfamily.go.com/abcfamily/path/section_Shows+Greek/page_Detail

Another television show that incorporates college is VH1's Tommy Lee Goes to College. It is a realty show where we find a "notorious rocker" going back to college. The University of Nebraska at Lincoln accepts this reality show to be filmed, and allows this middle aged star to gain his "academic redemption". Now I might be wrong, but i haven't seen any rock stars on campus lately... have you? The point is, that Tommy Lee is definitely going to have a different experience at college than the normal student. He is going to be followed by cameras and 'fans', and surely going to feel the pressure to make his college experience "exciting". http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/tommy_lee_goes_to_college/series.jhtml

Yet another reality show that went to college is BET's College Hill Atlanta. It is about the lives of eight college students studying at various prestigious universities in the Atlanta area. The series explores the stories of these students’ hectic and crazy lives, their academic and career goals, their love and sex lives, their friendships and their personal trials and tribulations. Unlike Tommy Lee's reality series, this one may be more realistic, but yet again since it is a reality series which wants viewers, some of the stories and experiences may and probably are highly exaggerated. http://www.bet.com/OnTV/BETShows/collegehillatlanta/

Ok, I'm not saying that every aspect of television that 'college life' enters is bad, I'm just saying that it is usually exaggerated in some way if it is a "reality" show or series. One way that college enters television in a good way is through sports, College Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Football, Soccer, Wrestling, and many others are continuously being aired on TV. This not only brings the School advertisement and notice, but it allows people around the Nation and even around the world to see the talent that some of these young men and women have. College sports that are aired allow a variety of people to watch and to realize the school spirit that is within these college communities. Here is CBS' College Sports website http://www.tvshowsondvd.net/graphics/news3/TommyLeeGoesToCollege.jpg, Now I know CSUN probably isn't highlighted, but I'm sure some of your favorite teams are on there = )

The last point that I am going to touch on is that of college entering television with their own stations! Many of the Colleges and Universities today have their own television station and/or share one and have specific hours that they are aired. I think this is a really good idea, it allows college students to get experience within the media, and also to bring their opinions and issues to a wider audience.

In the end, Television can do a lot to a college community, it can exploit it's ideas, exaggerate the reality of it all, and create a poor image, but on the other hand, it can share students' talents with the world and open the door to it's audiences.

~Mary S. =)

College movies, fact or fiction?

2008-05-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

College movies today seem to litter the silver screen every summer. These movies tell stories of seemily average college students going through their lives at college and coming across something extraordinary. One such example is the movie Accepted, in this movie we see the protagonist a kid named Bartlby (who names their kid Bartlby since like 1600 right?) inventing his own college that allows the students to teach themselves. If that were to happen there would be so many lawsuits and so many charges that it would send Bartlby to jail for a very long time instead.
Another movie that tells a college story is National Lampoon's Van Wilder. In this movie there is a guy who is afraid of the real world, something that everybody in college is feeling, but unlike regular people he spends 7 years in college, and over the course of this film we see him learning to cope with the real world with the help of one wicked beautiful news reporter from the school paper. In the movie there are many stereotypes of college kids that are almost never true. We see the nerdy fraternity getting the hot girls because they ask for Van Wilder's help. then when Van is almost expelled they all chomp at the bit to help him. Another is the party stereotype. in this movie every single party that Van is part of becomes a huge party with hundreds and hundreds of people. these parties are never broken up by the police, whereas in the real world these would be broken up by 11pm.
another thing that they show is college itself, it is never as they show it, especially here at csun. here, people show up for class then leave. at some schools a lot more people are around on a daily basis, but they arent doing anything like what the movies show. like one movie would be American Pie's The Naked Mile. this movie shows an entire college that lines up and runs for a mile completely in the nude. the best part is that it is sanctioned by the school. i may be mistaken here, but in no way would that be allowed at CSUN, or any other college i've ever been to.
the reality of college is there in these movies, but then the creators take it and turn it into something that an audience wants to see, almost like a fantasy. I personally have never been to a party with more than 350 people, and even that one with 350 got broken up before midnight.

-AK-

You Got your Degree Where?

2008-04-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

So, it has come to the point in this blog where the beloved university professors and teachers come into play. I have been at Cal State Northridge for 2 years now, have had an older sister also graduate from here, so I have come to know some of the best professors, and some of the worst.

Thanks to my sister, her friends, my friends, and a little website called http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/,I have done a pretty good job at avoiding some of the, what you might call... undesirable teachers at CSUN. But, every once in while your scheduled a class that has unfortunately a pretty bad teacher scheduled to teach it. I think we all have experienced this, the feeling of not wanting to go to a class, that feeling you get when you walk in and painfully sit down in the desk, pulling out the notebook that you'll prob. end up doodling in later that hour. Do these teachers realize that they are thaatt boring? Do they set up the syllabus including attendance points just so they have a class to lecture to? Now I do feel bad for some of these people, I usually end up going to their class just cause i feel bad that no one else will show up. I also end up talking to the professor after class painfully listening to their not so personable stories, while everyone else filters out not caring at all.

Although there are those teachers that students avoid at all cost, there are those certain professors that students try their hardest to get into their classes,they get on wait lists to get in, and some plan months in advance to take their class.There are also the students like me, who register for a class and 2 weeks into the course thank the Lord that they have gotten such a brilliant professor!! I have had a couple of those, especially this semester, I am taking a Culture and Personalities class with one of my friends, and the professor who teaches it is unbelievable. Her name is Melanie Klein, and she is beyond inspirational. She is one of the people who when they talk you can't keep your eyes off of them. Her lectures are hilarious but true, the books and movies we watch spark a desire within you to change the world!! ( or at least the fucked up America we are living in) I have only missed one of her classes, and that was because I was dying sick. She doesn't take attendance and yet the auditorium is always 75 % full. It takes professors like this to fuel Universities and keep students' minds ever wondering.

All in all, I hope every college student reading this has a chance to have a class with someone as brilliant as Melanie Klein. But if not... good luck dealing with all those other professors, hopefully you'll be able to take something decent from the class ; )

here are some other Professor related websites: Enjoy!!!

http://www.pickaprof.com/

http://www.knowyourprofessor.com/

http://www.reviewum.com/

http://www.profrater.com/

http://www.whototake.com/?55&357

Here is also something I found... It's a CNN report on ratemyprofessors.com and how certain teachers are rated "hot", and how they really feel with having that red chili pepper next to their name!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CFjnjDEBA2k

-Mary S.

Becoming a College Counselor

2008-04-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought of what our counselors have to do to become college counselors? I would have never thought that any one of my counselors actually had to do so much to be where they were. I had a counselor once tell me to go online and figure out the answers to all of my questions. This of course was not at CSUN. I thought it would be a good idea to show all of you what the requirements are to become a college counselor.

Job Description
Counselor - Higher Ed.
Offers professional counseling to students on a variety of matters. Other responsibilities include developing and evaluating programs, coordinating outreach activities, and vocational testing and assessment. May counsel individuals or groups. Requires at least a master's degree in clinical/counseling psychology and 4-6 years experience. Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. Typically reports to department head.
The typical salary of this position in the United States today is $47,239.
I got this info from: http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_ED03000058.html

This website is a list of other websites that would serve as a resource for people who want to be college counselors:

http://www.collegecounseling.org/resources/links.html

What you need: Bachelor of Science in Psychology (B.S. Psych) - Psychology Applied in Helping Professions
You can also apply to Walden University and obtain this degree at this website:
http://www.classesusa.com/af/featuredschools/waldendm/form.cfm;jsessionid=B6BA1152C85A108C661B6D22247B0910?nopopup&interestsnum=3&interest2num=2

CSUN’s page for course requirements to become a college counselor:
http://www.csun.edu/edpsy/ccss.html

After reading this, I hope you have a better understanding of college counselors. They had to learn a lot to be in their position, so if you need help, you can go to them. They can serve as a great resource for college students today.

-Kourtney

Websites

2008-04-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that in our generation there are many different websites that are somewhat school related. People use these websites to complain about school, stay linked to school friends both previous and current and to even rate their professors. These websites were not created by the schools, they were brought about by students. Some websites even require a school email address to register with them, or at least they used to. I even have a professor that said if she ever found any videos of her on youtube that she would fail us all. I think that having these kinds of websites is a great thing and that it encourages people to go to school so they have more in common with the rest of the people on these sites. This whole internet exchange thing I know was not around when my mom was in college. Is it going to be played out by the time our kids are in college? Are professors going to take comments on rating websites personally?
Here are a few websites that I have heard about:
www.ratemyprofessor.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com

-Kourtney

The Ideal Schedule

2008-04-19T02:03:00.000-07:00

One thing I have noticed at CSUN is that I can never get the classes I want/need at the times I want/need. I work full time and it is so hard to manage both school and work when I have 4 hour gaps in my classes. I wish that I could write the schedule sometimes. With it being so hard to get the classes that I need, I take classes at Pierce to make up for the lack of available courses/seats. In almost all of my classes, there has been a ton of people trying to add the class for the first 1-2 weeks. I would not be able to do that. The odds are so slim that it seems like a lost cause. Maybe if we didn't have to take so many GE's that usually have nothing to do with our major, there would be more seats available in classes.
I do not know why I am complaining, eventually the world will be completely online anyways. I am now discovering the online classes available at other colleges and see the future. I am shocked that people can take these classes 100% online. I would think they would want to see your face when taking the exams at least...
Good luck to all who have the same scheduling issues that I have.
-Kourtney

School Spirit!

2008-04-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

hello Everyone!
So as many of you who attend CSUN already know, we are a college who isn't necessarily known for their school spirit. Some may say that it is because we are a commuter school, and it's hard enough for people to bring themselves to come to class! I myself am a commuter, and have to drive at least 30 minutes to get to school, and that time could be longer depending on traffic, so for me, if i don't have to drive out to Northridge, I won't. Another reason for the lacking school spirit may be because we don't have a coveted football team, which tends to bring students together more so than any other sport. I'm not saying there isn't any spirit at all, i myself own a bunch of CSUN clothes, and on the back of my car proudly have a 'California State University Northridge' decal on it. But what I'm basically saying is that we all, in my opinion, need to be a little more spirited = )

Here's the CSUN athletics website, so you can see whats happening with sports, http://gomatadors.cstv.com/ and maybe try to go to some events. Also, I'm giving you the Current Students link from the Csun website, https://www.csun.edu/currentstudents/.

Lets all try to get more involved! =)
-Mary

Parking Sucks

2008-04-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about the parking at CSUN, but it really sucks. First of all, we have to pay a lot of money to park our cars, this amount being on top of our tuition and books. Then, when it is time to actually park our cars on campus, there isn't a spot in sight. Usually when I find a spot, I am so far from where I need to be that it is annoying. I will never forget driving around the parking lot my first day at CSUN for 30 minutes looking for a spot. Oh, and then there are those people who take up 2 spots..... I hate that.
-Kourtney

1st post

2008-04-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

hey everyone in blogland. this is the first post of our blog. we are writing for prof. H's english 313 class. our blogs over the next few weeks will be posted individually by members of the group on varying aspects of college life today, through our eyes. the subjects will be determined during class meetings then we will all try to get a post up by the next class. so we are gonna start posting regularly probably after wednesdays class..... hope you like it