As intelligent and ambitious as Quinnipiac students may seem, it’s funny because the majority of students here should be receiving majors in Facebook and a minor in the Jersey Shore, because unfortunately that’s what we really study. As students who attend the prestigious institution of Quinnipiac, our educations should reflect the University’s good reputation.
It’s obviously understandable for our age demographic to be interested in surrounding media today, but where do we draw the line? There has to be some boundary between checking Facebook status updates and checking world news updates. Obviously, and discouragingly, the former is what’s prevalent in our world.
Think about it, how many times a week do you check your Facebook versus how many times you watch or read the news? And no, that doesn’t include your newsfeed.
As a communications major, it is an unspoken requirement to keep up with the news, yet when asked about current events in class, only a handful can answer. Specifically when my journalism professor casually quizzed us on current events, the only one that we identified without hesitation was Lindsay Lohan and her ventures back and forth to rehab.
At Quinnipiac, we pay a pricey tuition for a high-quality education to graduate and be prepared for the real world. Hopefully this standard still applies regardless of how many hours we spend in the library on Facebook and how many times we sit in front of the television.
An education today is something that is somewhat easier to attain then it was in earlier times, however, it is still something that should be valued and not taken advantage of, and potentially that’s what we’re doing. Yes we’re in college to have a good time but we’re also here for a purpose: to learn.
I admit that I’m a reality television junkie, and regularly check my Facebook, so I’m not condemning anyone for keeping up with these trends, I’m saying that maybe we should try to take it down a notch.
Instead of browsing Facebook aimlessly, go to the New York Times website, or even Yahoo! or AOL News for just a little bit. Get a gist of what’s going on in the world, not just within the world of Facebook.
And yes, it’s okay to get your “T-shirt” on for the Jersey Shore, watch one episode and leave it there. Our future employers won’t be impressed with the fact that we can quote mindless reality shows and successfully play Farmville, or whatever the popular distracting game is now.
Frankly, we learn so much in school, but we really know nothing. Yes, we study, and yes we maintain a good GPA, but how intelligent do you sound when all you can talk about is Angelina’s exit or Ronnie and Sam’s terrible relationship?
Not intelligent at all, actually stupid.
There are bigger things going on in the world then what happens on the Jersey Shore. The reason why I keep making this reference because it is unfortunately such a phenomenon.
We need to learn how to balance our guilty pleasures such as this show or any other pop culture event, with things that are actually important, like natural disasters, tragedies and different occurrences not only in our country but around the world.
Put on the news for a half hour instead of a Jersey Shore re-run and see how much you learn. You might be surprised.
Let’s actually start to sound like the intelligent cultured adults that we are and show off the type of education we’re getting here at Quinnipiac. Start now, not after Thursday’s episode of everyone’s favorite show.
