Today is National No Phone Zone Day, brought to you by the one and only Oprah Winfrey and her production company, Harpo Studios. Now before you start to have cell phone withdrawal, know that Oprah is not asking us to stop using our phones completely, but rather to stop using them while we’re driving.
I don’t text or talk on the phone while I drive. I’m not saying this to be all high and mighty—I’m saying it because I just can’t do it. For me, multitasking is best left at the office and not behind the wheel of a car. I’m clumsy to begin with—just ask my friends and family members who have seen me fall up the stairs or trip over absolutely nothing on the ground—so why would I want to further impair myself while driving? For those of you who think you can text or do any number of things while you are driving, please don’t prove it. I’m sure you can, but the thing is, YOU SHOULDN’T.
Oprah is known for her good advice, but frankly, not texting or using a phone while we drive is something that we should have arrived at a long time ago. However, since we clearly haven’t figured out the dangers of this on our own, Oprah has put a no phone zone pledge on her website, encouraging people to sign it and commit to, at the very least, using hands-free access to their phones while driving. She even went as far to tell the limo company whose drivers take her guests to and from her show in Chicago that she’d fire them if they didn’t stop talking on their cell phones. Way to use your super powers for good, Oprah!
Graduation is just around the corner, and it seems that every year there is some tragic story of high school grads getting killed in a horrific car accident. We used to think that drunk driving was our only enemy, but driving while distracted is a completely different animal that has reared its ugly head. Take a look at this public service announcement from the U.K. that made its rounds on the Internet a while back. WARNING—It is graphic, but a nightmare or two is definitely worth the message that you take home from it:
Be careful. Be safe. Sign Oprah’s petition. I did.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported yesterday that a study at the University of Maryland suggests that students are rather fond of Facebook and their cell phones.
Hold on. Before you roll your eyes and say “duh” to that groundbreaking piece of news, it gets better. The research also indicates that when students are denied technology and social media, some will exhibit similar withdrawal symptoms to those of drug and alcohol addicts. I guess they don’t call it a Crackberry for nothing!
Joking aside, this is pretty crazy news. The Chronicle states that students showed “withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, misery, and being jittery.” One student said that texting was a “comfort” and when the ability was taken away, the student felt “quite alone and secluded from my life.”
I myself have become rather attached to technology. Just yesterday, I IMed a colleague who sits five feet away from me. I realized how absurd that was, then got up and walked around the wall of my cubicle to speak with her. That said, my entire office had to shut down their computers for an hour this morning while a crew worked on the electrical system, and I was fine. And yes, my Blackberry stayed untouched in my desk drawer–no jitters or symptoms of withdrawal, either.
As a blogger, I know that I rely on the fact that people like to stare at computer screens, but then again, I don’t want to be responsible for sending people to social media rehab. Social media and technology is awesome, but getting addicted to it to the point that you actually feel like a limb has been amputated? Not so awesome.
There’s got to be some sort of happy medium here, especially if you are a student about to go off to college. The next four years will be full of new faces and new friends, and you should be interacting with them in person, not via text or the odd Facebook wall post. I calls to mind the very sad image of everyone walking on my college campus on this beautiful spring day, heads down and thumbs working like mad to get out one more text before class.
Think you’ve missed out on college scholarships? Think again. There’s money out there, and it’s not just offered up by the schools themselves. Here are three contests offering up to $5,000 and with early May deadlines, so get moving and enter to win!
Great American Grad contest
Write 200 words or less about what makes you a great American grad in this contest by Great American Cookies (the one with the yummy cookie cakes). The winner will get $5,000.
Put this on your list of things to do now because the deadline is May 2. Here’s a snippet from one of the entries you’ll be competing against in the public vote, like an American Idol for grads:
“What makes me a Great American Grad? That is a very hard question to answer, but I’ll give it a shot. This year I will be graduating from high school as well as receiving 54 college credits. For the past two years, I have attended my local community college and taken all of my courses there. This has allowed me to aim to obtain my high school diploma and come very close to receiving my Associates degree, all while I’m still 18! I have been blessed to advance so much before even graduating high school and this money would be another great blessing to advance, just as great as the cookies!” Briana from Kissimmee, FL
American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship Program
This organization will give 10 college scholarships worth $2,000 each to students who win its annual contest. So what do you have to do? Read an essay the organization provides about automatic fire sprinklers and answer a 10-question multiple-choice test about the essay (it’s open-book, so you can print the essay beforehand to use it during the test). Each question you answer right gets you an entry into the scholarship drawing. Sound good? You have until May 3 to try for this scholarship.
We’ve mentioned the Ayn Rand contests before, but the cash is so good that we have to remind you to take a shot at it. The individual novel contest deadlines have passed, but if you have read Ayn Rand novels during school – either as a class requirement or on your own – you may want to look at this contest coming up. Write an essay on how Ayn Rand’s works have influenced you, and you could win $50 to $2,000.
You’ll need to make some time to write the essay, which has to be between 700 and 1,500 words. The last day for submissions is May 14, so this may be something you’ll need to work on this weekend or next weekend.
There’s cash for college out there, so take some time and go after it. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky few to win!
It’s the last week of April, and while we know that most of you are closing in on your college decision, there are quite a few of you hanging out in the limbo that admission offices like to call “the wait list.”
Edward B. Fiske, the author of Fiske Guide to Colleges, calls wait lists the “safety valves” of colleges, because schools are never sure how many students they admit will actually enroll in the fall. The wait list more or less ensures that they will have a full class coming in. That’s all well and good for the colleges, but where does that leave you? Never fear; Mr. Fiske also has some advice for those of you who are feeling a little left out in the cold:
If you really want to go to the school for which you are waitlisted, let them know. Send a letter to the admissions director to jog their memory of who you are and why you’d be such a good match for their school.
Arrange a campus interview. If you’ve already had one, try to schedule a second one and arrive with your latest grades and test scores in hand.
Brag a little. Send some artwork, a short story, a recording of your music—anything that will impress the admissions committee and encourage them to see you as an individual, not just an application.
Ask for another letter of recommendation or for an updated one to be sent to the school. The more people who can speak on your behalf, the better.
Ask your college guidance counselor for assistance. Perhaps they can call the school on your behalf. At the very least, keep your counselor informed of your interest and your recent grades and accomplishments so that they continue to be aware that you are a great catch for a college.
Don’t consider your wait list decision as another form of rejection just yet. Many people have been called up from the wait list, although it could take longer for a final decision. So if you are still set on a school, make sure they know it and you could find yourself on that same campus in the fall.
The CollegeBound Network has always been a proponent of reading. Illiteracy is a growing trend in America, and sadly, the trend now appears to be affecting the canine population.
Take Duncan, for example, in this photo. He is a Labradoodle that had so much potential, but instead of staying in school, he preferred to hang out at the dog park and play fetch. Now look at him. Not being able to read has gotten him into a sticky situation.
Aren’t you glad you’re going to college? Aren’t you happy that you are not one of those terribly sad statistics that we hear about on the news? Of course, some of you may not love reading as much as we do—our careers as writers, bloggers, and editors sort of depend on it—but at least you can read.
Never underestimate the power of literacy like Duncan did. Who knows what he could have become, and who knows what you will become?
Yesterday I focused on some environmentally savvy colleges that have built green dorms on campus. But some eco-friendly students want more, and they are looking at colleges that can help them make an even bigger impression with Mother Nature. That’s right—I’m talking about green majors.
What’s a green major? Basically, it’s a program of academic study that focuses on ways to sustain the environment. Check out these three green-tinged majors and see if any of them fit your philosophy of preserving Planet Earth:
Food Science. If you think that what you eat only affects the way your hips or thighs will look, think again. What we put on our plates also affects the environment, so farmers, grocers, chefs, and government officials are looking towards food science to help us stay healthy. Food science—which is essentially a combination of basic sciences like biology, chemistry, and physics—helps determine how food is produced, processed, distributed, and evaluated. University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Arkansas, and Meredith College in Raleigh, NC are three schools that offer food science programs.
Urban Environmental Studies. Urban planners known all about how cities are designed and developed. But how do cities coexist with the environment? That’s where a major in urban environmental studies comes in. Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama has one such program in which students work to understand the sustainable relationship between humans and the environment. A program like this is very focused in the liberal arts: sociology, political science, ecology, and urban biodiversity are just some of the many ideas covered in a program such as this.
Marine Biology. If you are more of a dolphin or porpoise person than, say, a dog or a cat lover, then perhaps you’ve thought about becoming a marine biologist. The ocean is, after all, the largest ecosystem on earth, and there’s a ton of life forms out there to study. In a marine biology program, like the one at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, students will learn about life underwater and how it balances with human life above. A green focus of marine biology is how human pollution upsets the balance of our water-loving friends and what we can do to stop it. At Mansfield University in Mansfield, PA, you can even major in fisheries science, a biology-based program that has focuses on aquaculture, fisheries biology, and fisheries management. Talk about interesting internship opportunities!
I don’t know about you, but I’m enjoying Earth Week at The CollegeBound Network. We’ve been hearing from our friends all across the higher education universe about the great things colleges and universities are doing to preserve Mother Nature.
While it’s not necessary to break the bank when it comes to initiating greener living on campus—after all, recycling paper and plastic is a cheap and easy way to begin—a growing number of colleges and universities are setting aside a good chunk of their budget for eco-friendly initiatives, which include constructing LEED-certified buildings and dorms.
What’s LEED, you ask? It stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a designation that means the building in question meets the strict green standards as set by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)—the same organization that recently teamed up with The Princeton Review to produce the Green College Guide.
Check out these dorms that LEED, um, lead the way in greener living:
The Eco House at Westminster College in Fulton, MO is not just a place to live, but to learn. It houses three to five students who are chosen to live there for a year based on their personal commitment to the environment. For one of the two semesters, each student must complete an internship that requires them to maintain the house and design an environmentally focused program that can be employed by the campus.
At Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, The Oaks, a suite-style residence hall, opened in time for Fall 2009. It was the first new dorm to be built on campus since the 1970s, but boy, did they catch up quickly with the times. The building, which features four-bedroom and two-bedroom suite layouts, earned LEED Silver certification. It’s pretty cool to know that a building with such traditional architecture on the outside could have such a great environmentally friendly space on the inside.
Emerson College’s Piano Row Residence Hall and Campus Center, is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise bustling city. There’s a lot going on in this building that’s located on the corner of the Boston Common, but it’s all environmentally friendly; in fact, the “Living Green” learning community calls Piano Row home. Also at home in Piano Row are the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams, who play in the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym located on one of the floors of this LEED-certified structure.
At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, six out of 10 freshmen dorms are LEED-certified. An ongoing project at Vandy involves building brand new buildings that are LEED-certified, as well as embarking on renovations of older buildings to make them greener. Vanderbilt was one of 10 schools recognized by U.S. News & World Report for having green dorms, which is sure to attract future environmentally minded students.
If the school you are attending in the fall doesn’t have any LEED dorms to choose from, don’t fret: you can still make your own dorm eco-friendly. Check out these three green ideas courtesy of Planet Green:
Use a BPA-free water bottle to stay hydrated.
Plug all dorm appliances and electronics into power strips.
Opt for fragrant plants rather than air fresheners that plug in.
How are you celebrating Earth Day today and (hopefully) every day? Leave a comment below.
If you’re a senior approaching your college decision with Earth Day in mind, or even if you’re a junior applying in the fall, maybe you’ve wondered about how “green” the schools are on your list. Do they recycle, use organic food in the dining halls, or have solar panel and other energy-saving features in buildings?
The folks at The Princeton Review recognize that choosing an environmentally responsible college can be an important factor in your decision, so it announced this week (in conjunction with Earth Day), the debut of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges. TPR found that 64 percent of nearly 12,000 college applicants and parents surveyed said having information about a school’s commitment to the environment would impact their decision to apply to or attend the school.
There are a few things we love about the news of this guidebook. For starters, it’s free. Also, it’s cool to see that 286 colleges made the book – it wasn’t long ago that students were having to push for on-campus recycling and other green initiatives. And the guide can be downloaded, so there’s less waste of paper.
The Princeton Review partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council to create the guidebook, spotlighting schools that have “demonstrated an above-average commitment to sustainability in terms of campus infrastructure, activities and initiatives.”
You’ll find schools standing out for their recycling and conservation programs, use of renewable energy resources, sustainability initiatives, and environmental literacy efforts. Here are just a few examples:
Arizona State University and The Catholic University of America both spend 35 percent of its food budget on local or organic food.
Chatham University in Pennsylvania purchases 15 percent of its energy from wind-generated sources and has a 32-acre arboretum on campus
At Towson University in Towson, Md., all incoming freshman participate in a “Go Green” orientation program filling them in on eco-friendly activities and how they can help out on campus.
At Tufts University, 10 percent of buildings on campus have, or are seeking, LEED certification, an industry standard, and 100 percent of its cleaning products on campus are Green Seal-certified. Students are a key part of the equation, with the student-run sustainability group, ECO, helping with programs such as “Do It in the Dark!,” where students compete to conserve the most energy over a month.
By choosing a college that pays attention to its impact on the environment, you might find opportunities to do good green-wise by living and learning in a setting that wants to lead change in a community.
We’ll be attending the 140 Conference today at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. The 140 Conference all about the social network phenomenon that is Twitter. More specifically, it is a two-day conference packed with engaging speakers and events that allow Twitter users to listen, share, and interact with others.
There is a long list of great people lined up for tomorrow, but we’re especially looking forward to hearing Ann Curry, Donny Deutsch, and Ivanka Trump. We’ll also keep an eye out for MC Hammer, who will also be in attendance. (Yup, that’s how we roll at The CollegeBound Network).
We’ll have a lot of fun networking at the conference tomorrow, but we’ll be thinking of our college-bound readers out there, too. So please log on to Twitter tomorrow and follow our tweets, which will feature the hashtag #140 conference. We’ll be live tweeting from @CollegeBoundNet and @CollegeSurfing, as well as from our own personal accounts: @GinaLaGuardia, @DawnPapandrea, and @TheWriteWoman (Barbara had the nerve to go ahead and be different with her Twitter handle).
Earth Day is this Thursday, and during the week, we’ll be spotlighting some colleges and universities that are doing great things to preserve our environment. (Except for tomorrow. We’ll be at the 140 Conference in NYC. More on that later…)
Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA. With a name like Evergreen, it’s difficult to think that this Washington State college could be anything but BFFs with Mother Nature. The good news is that ESC does live up to its name, thanks to its 100 percent commitment to green power usage on campus. It’s even listed as one of the top 20 colleges and universities that are part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership. The commitment to sustainability came about in December of 2004, when Evergreen students voted to make the campus green. Students pay $1 per credit which goes toward the purchasing of green power from renewable sources throughout the state. So if a student takes 15 credits per semester, $15 goes towards the bill. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but this plan actually foots the bill in full. Maybe politicians need to take a page from EGC when it comes to balancing the budget…
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH. UNH has long been a friend of the environment, no doubt spurred on by the fact that New Hampshire has some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. Which is interesting, because UNH’s Durham campus is fueled by pure garbage; that is, a man-made landfill about 10 miles away that produces methane, which is then purified and sent to UNH’s power plant. It’s hard to believe that the smelly pile of coffee grounds and fruit peels can amount to much of anything, but it does add up to 85 percent of the campus’s power. Those New Hampshirites are wicked smaht.
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AK. We love a school that helps students go green AND stay fit. At the University of Arkansas, there is not only an active ride share program on campus, but also a Razorbikes loaner program. The program allows U Ark students to sign up—for free!—for a passcode that will unlock any of the many bikes located throughout campus, making it easy and green to get anywhere on or around campus.
What does your school do to stay green? Leave a comment below and let us know how you make Earth Day every day on your campus.
Find out more about the popular Twitter chat, #CollegeBound, which can connect you with college respresentatives and others who have the same goals, struggles, and questions you have. Every Monday at 4 p.m. EST on Twitter. Get detailed info here.
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Today is National No Phone Zone Day, brought to you by the one and only Oprah Winfrey and her production company, Harpo Studios. Now before you start to have cell phone withdrawal, know that Oprah is not asking us to stop using our phones completely, but rather to stop using them while we’re driving.
