With 2008 halfway over, SayCampusLife has published over 200 articles since we launched this site in December 2007. Your interest in what we have to share with you as well as your valuable input has helped us reach the point where we find ourselves today — a valuable source of information for college bound and matriculated students.

Quite a few of our articles have been very well received, information that has been picked up by wire services or linked to from other websites and blogs. There are too many to mention individually, but the following half dozen are among the highlight articles for the first half of 2008:

College Newspapers: A Dying Breed? — The fourth estate has long played an important part in shaping our nation. Free press on college campuses has done their part as well, but their very existence is threatened. Yes, some colleges no longer support an independent voice working on behalf of students, a change that has been picking up pace over the last few years.

Columbia Prof In Plagiarism Scandal –  Sadly, plagiarism continues to be a problem on many college campuses, no less frustrating then the occasional scandal involving a faculty member. Unfortunately, Columbia University, hasn’t done all that they can do to nip this problem in the bud, preferring to retain the services of one professor whose antics are nothing short of a disgrace.

Putting the Accent on Hyundai — We launched a new feature for this site, Campus Cars, earlier in the year to help students and their parents navigate the various small car offerings available to them. Understanding that some students need transportation while living on or near campus, we feature from time to time economical and fuel efficient cars that appeal to most college families.

The 19 Year-Old College Professor — Alia Sabur isn’t your typical on-campus 19 year old. Most people her age are in their first or second year of college, but Sabur finds herself in her first year of teaching as a college professor. The daughter of Iranian immigrants was a gifted student while quite young, therefore her parents accelerated her education to bring her to where she is today — teaching at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea.

Is There A Serial Killer Stalking College Men? — A pattern of mysterious deaths across our nation’s college campuses is turning up a chilling similarity — were as many as 40 men killed over several years time the victim of one or more people who did them harm? Some law enforcers do not see a pattern, while two New York detectives say that the “Smiley Face” killers are on the loose and hunting for their next victims.

Free Tuition Colleges Really Do Exist! — That’s right, there are a handful of colleges where tuition is covered and not just for the academically or athletically gifted student. With elite schools now charging just shy of $200,000 for four years of school, parents are desperately seeking alternative schooling options for their adult children. We cover those schools which take the pain out of higher education.

SayCampusLife extends a hearty “Happy Fourth of July!” to all of our readers and invite you to bookmark this site and subscribe to an RSS feed to keep up with the many interesting topics we plan to cover over the coming months.

Tags: Alia Sabur, Campus Cars, college newspapers, Columbia University, free tuition, Hyundai Accent, Recap, serial killer

Today’s students prefer to read what they want online. 

Way back during the days when I attended college, the student newspaper was a hot mover. Everyone knew where they could find the most recent issue and if you didn’t snag your copy soon after the news stands were filled with them, then you were out of luck. Yes, the library always carried back issues and various pages could be found scattered on tables in the student center. Still, to get a fresh copy with the ink still wet you’d have to move pretty fast.

Here in the 21st century, the student newspaper is under siege. It isn’t difficult administrators withholding funding that is causing the problem, rather it is the way that people get their news: the internet is taking its toll on the college newspaper, much as it has been on your local daily. In a few more years, will the dead tree media depart from your local campus? It could, if a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is on the money.

Community College Newspapers: R.I.P.?

College students don’t read anymore. Well, that is not an entirely accurate statement as many college students do read, but they are reading what is posted online instead of what has been printed. True, many classes require students to purchase textbooks, but the bulk of student’s private reading is through social networks (MySpace and Facebook, for example), forums, blogs and news sites.

In Washington State, many community colleges have axed their newspapers for a variety of reasons including staff turnover and funding, but also because no one is reading them.  At North Seattle Community College, the student newspaper — The Polaris — took a break for the summer, but when the students returned in September, the newspaper stayed on break.  Never mind that the college doesn’t even have a journalism department — the newspaper apparently died because of lack of interest.

The Dead Tree Media

Of course the death of dead tree media begs an important question: why can’t college newspapers make the transition to online media as so many daily newspapers have done? Likely, many won’t and for the following reasons:

• Journalism departments at some colleges are non-existent or poorly staffed.
• Staff turnover, always a problems with student newspapers might be just as common with online versions of the same.
• For most students, working on a college newspaper is an extra-curricular activity.  Balancing studies, social life, and work keeps people busy with other pursuits.
• Oversight could be an issue. Inasmuch that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled several times in favor of free speech for college students, university administrators may be hesitant seeing instantly updated college news posted to the web. Just think about this: posting an unflattering photograph to the newspaper’s website could cause some ruckus. Perhaps that is why some schools would simply prefer to allow their student papers to die.

Start Your Own College News Blog?

Of course, there is an easy way around this problem, one that anyone can handle: start your own blog based on what is happening on campus and you’ll soon attract a healthy following. Isn’t that what student news should be all about anyway?

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Tags: blogging, blogs, college newspapers, Facebook, Google News, internet, MySpace, North Seattle Community College, online journal, online news, print daily, print news, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, student news, The Polaris