Registration? Maybe in 2-3 hours...

So these past few weeks I’m sure everyone has been stressing out about their class schedule for next semester and whether or not they are going to get the classes and times they want. I personally wanted to make sure I had a decent schedule for next semester because of all the courses I need to completely for the business subset. Not to mention pledge ship and the amount of time that will take up next semester.

As I sat down at 3:00 (my scheduled registration time) I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was able to get all the classes and times I had wanted. I looked over my schedule one more time and pressed “register”. All of the sudden, seven red x’s appeared on the screen. To my surprise there was a hold placed on my account. I ran to my advisor and asked what the hold was for, she told me it was for a $10 charge I had placed at the SMU bookstore. After running over to financial services and asking to pay for the $10 charge, they said that paying in cash will take 24 hours to unlock my account, but paying by credit card would unlock it in 2-3 hours.

After paying the $10 with my mom’s credit card given over the phone because financial services neither took Visa or American Express, I went back to my dorm to wait it out. Once my account was unlocked in exactly 2 hours 34 minutes, I went back to register and found that my perfect schedule had been all booked up and I needed to choose new classes at very different times. I then looked back through my old emails and found no notifications for this fee that needed to be paid.

Now trust me, I completely understand that I am not going to get the perfect schedule every semester but I do expect that SMU would give me a heads up for a fee that needs to be paid before I can register for classes. To me, it seems like SMU made it very hard to complete the necessary tasks and get through registration smoothly. Did anyone have a similar problem?

Football in college

I recently commented on Thyrston's blog "How important is football?". I encourage you all to check it out and see Thyrston's opinion on the importance of a decent football program in college.

Heat-Moon question and answer

Question:  Is Heat-Moon dealing with his problems with his journey, or is he running away from them?

Answer: I think that in the beginning, when his problems at home first surfaced, Heat-Moon was in a sense simply running away from his problems. I think the only way he knew how to deal with them was to run away. However, once he was on this journey I think he started to realize that his trip was allowing him to cope and learn how to deal with his problems. Many of the main themes in the book represent ways in which Heat-Moon can deal with his problems back home. The idea of change that is represented by Fritz, "...we all have to choose either the new ways or the Hopi way...A lot of us try to find the nest in both places" (183). Fritz helped Heat-Moon realize that change wasn't a bad thing and to welcome it. The idea of isolation and being "alone" was represented by Alice and the fact that you have to be able to be by yourself before you can be around others. Alice made Heat-Moon realize that he must know who he is as a person before he can know how to deal with his problems at home. So, I believe that Heat-Moon's journey did begin as a way to run away from his problems, but i think it ended as a way to learn about how to deal with them.

General Motors: America's Company?

      Today I read an article about the General Motor Company’s economic crisis. The article read “SUV Deathwatch: GM Shuts Down More Plants, Sheds Thousands of Jobs.” As I read more into it, I began to realize that GM’s decision to make their key market the SUV market is doing way more than just tanking there company finances.  They are killing Middle America, and sending the American economy down with them.

            So with the new gas crisis at hand, it’s obvious that GM’s decision to focus on the SUV (gas-guzzling) market was anything but a smart move. It is because of this that the company will close two SUV plants in the states of Wisconsin and Ohio on December 23, 2008. This closure will create a job loss of about 2,500. They are also shutting down a stamping plant in Michigan at the end of 2009. This shutting down will create a job loss of about 1,340. 

            When you look at these numbers and think about who are loosing these jobs it’s fairly obvious to see that it’s the middle class Americans that are suffering. The middle class is the largest group in the United States. I think we can all agree that increasing percentages of unemployment among the largest group in the United States cannot be good for our economy.

            Now, forget, unemployment, General Motors owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. That is a large number of companies that make up basically all of the American-made cars (other than Ford, which is also going downhill). So, again, it is fairly obvious to see that all these companies being shut down is horrible for our economy because, after all, cars are one of the largest world markets.

            In conclusion, I believe that this General Motors shut down is going to have a huge effect, not only on our economy but also on the life’s of Americans all over the country. I believe that our government needs to treat it like the priority it is because of the impact the General Motor company has on America. 

SMU's Food Shortage

I recently commented on Lynn's "SMU Food Selection...Is There Enough". I encourage you all the check it out

"...One Nation (under God)..." (Revised)

      Many changes have taken place throughout our society in the past century. From technological advances like the colored television to the institution of gay marriage in the state of California, these things have all shaped the culture we live in today. One change that I would like to address in this blog post is the topic of political correctness. Now trust me, I am a huge advocate of political correctness and believe that it needs to be taken seriously, but when does it go to far?
       A few days ago, I came across a website called "Restore the Pledge". This website was put up in order to dispute the fact that the words “under God” should be used in our United States Pledge of Allegiance. The writer talks about all the different changes that the pledge has gone through throughout the years, many of which did not include the words “under God.”
      The writer of the website believes that the Pledge of Allegiance is not politically correct if the words “under God” are used in it. They refer to it as “un-American”, and if not changed, they believe it goes against everything the United States stands for.
      After looking through this website I do understand the argument that “under God” refers to a deity that only certain people in the United States worship and that there is a large percent of people whose religions are not represented by this pledge of allegiance to our nation, but I believe that the Pledge of Allegiance should stay as it is and the words “under God” are representative of our nation’s history and are anything but “un-American.”
      The first six generations that came the America were of the Christian faith (the majority being Puritan). These early settlers set the standard for moral codes and work ethics for generations to come. Many people have said that Puritan morals and work ethics are still prevalent in our culture today, and some even go as far as saying that they are what drive America to be as great as it is (anyone can make a name for themselves if they work hard enough).
      The words “under God” was not put in the Pledge of Allegiance in order to offend those who do not worship God, or to ensure that no other religions were able to be worshiped. It was put in place to represent the history of our nation and taking it out would be like taking out a piece of our nation.

Credibility in the Media

I recently commented on Patrick S.'s post "If Everything is Credible, Then Nothing is Credible". It is a very well-written blog about the status of our nations media and the political bias that comes with it.