The All State

Last week’s issue featured an article that was incorrect. The TVs on display in the food court area are actually free, according to an e-mail from Charlie Partain, marketing manager for Chartwells Dining Services at APSU.

Both the screens and the programming featured on them are provided by AKOO International.

Partain said the screens will be paid for through advertisements that will pop up on the screens. The advertisements will likely begin next semester.

APSU will also be able to make use of eight 15-second spots every hour so that university groups and departments can advertise or make announcements. This will greatly benefit APSU and will help students become more informed.

Partain said AKOO covers all costs, including installation, shipping, marketing collateral and maintenance.

AKOO will hire one student on campus to help with the cleaning of the screens, maintaining table tents and other responsibilities.

The content played on the TVs is determined by students via text message to the APSU music server that came with the AKOO package. Students can also vote online for their choices at www.myakoo.com.

If no one votes for a music video, a random loop is played, according to Partain.

Partain said the audio level of the televisions is supposed to adjust according to the noise level of the room.

For example, the louder the noise, the louder the televisions should adjust, and vice versa. He said the perfect sound level has yet to be achieved, but that AKOO is currently working on the project.

The TV screens near the microwave have had electrical issues when the microwaves are turned on, so AKOO will cover the costs to install a new outlet for the screens that have trouble.

The students, faculty and staff and the university as a whole have not been negatively impacted by these screens as far as costs are concerned.

The students, faculty and staff of APSU did not have to contribute to the costs or maintenance of these TV screens.

By Nicole June | Perspectives Editor

Editorial

Everyone must travel through the UC at some point or another, and typically every day while on campus. Everyone also must eat, and therefore make a trip to the delicious food court. Everyone in the food court must watch 12 televisions while they eat.

No, that last one definitely isn’t necessary. This semester, I noticed when walking into the UC 12 shiny new flat screens had been added. That’s right, 12. They hang in side-by-side pairs in one approximately 40 foot section of space. Convenient, isn’t it?

Wrong. These TVs are completely unnecessary. If you were to survey the room you would see no one is even watching them. Even if you had some desire to watch the same music videos over and over, it wouldn’t matter because you can’t hear them anyway.

Nothing educational or pertinent to students is played on these flat screens.

Not everything must be academic, but if they aren’t serving a good purpose, they seem like a waste of time and one other very important thing: money.

I Googled around for awhile and eventually landed on www.toptenreviews.com. It gave a listing of 10 of the top brands and their average prices.

I didn’t measure the TVs because for once in my life I wasn’t tall enough. So I’m emphasizing that this is just an estimate.

Back to business. The most expensive brand listed costs $4,299. That’s a little hefty. The cheapest brand was $829. Better, but still not cheap. I got out my handy-dandy calculator and figured out the average cost for the listed televisions is $2,443.90.

Let’s assume (yes, I know what they say) APSU went in for the mediocre. That means 12 of them would cost $29,326.

I don’t think I know any college students have $29,326 in pocket change.

I also don’t know many college students with even one flat screen TV, not including the one at their parents’ house.

I do, however, know plenty who struggle to pay their tuition, especially now the prices have gone up. I also know many students who work two jobs on top of school to survive.

My question is this: how does the appropriation of funds work?

It seems odd that a university would spend so much money on lunchtime “entertainment.” There are far more important and useful things that kind of money can be spent on.

Perhaps more potted plants to block off stoops in designated smoking areas would be a good investment.

Speaking of which, if I get one more e-mail about designated smoking areas, I may have to — well, go smoke, I guess.

– Nicole June, Perspectives Editor

CORRECTION: This editorial contains inaccurate information. The TV’s were actually free. APSU received the television screens along with the programming free from AKOO International in exchange for the attention of our students according to Charlie Partain, marketing manager for Chartwell’s at APSU.

By Nicole June | Perspectives Editor

It is typical to see many students walking around campus, earbuds in place, bobbing their heads, mouthing empty lyrics and running into people.

Now ask one of these students how they can possibly afford to have upwards of 9,000 songs on their iPods. Most of them will likely and unwisely tell you they downloaded them illegally.

This issue was brought to my attention recently when I was asked to read an article for one of my classes.

The story was about a 25-year-old Boston University graduate who was brought to trial and sued for $675,000. The charges? He downloaded 30 songs about six years ago.

At first, I was enraged. $675,000 is certainly not chump change. Even a graduate of a prestigious university would have problems coming up with that kind of cash, which he is. According to the article, the man will likely have to file for bankruptcy to even begin to make up the money.

As a law-abiding citizen, I am not advocating illegal music downloading. However, I find it a little absurd this man will be paying out the nose for the rest of his life because of a few songs he downloaded as a kid.

I also don’t understand why he is being condemned now, six years after the fact. There are plenty of file-sharers out there who are sharing important and private records that could cause far worse damage. I don’t think making this guy some sort of an example is the right course of action.

The article also stated the majority of cases of illegal music downloading have resulted in fines of anywhere from $3,000 to $12,000. So where did this huge sum come from? The record labels must have been hard hit in these economic times if they have to prey on someone like that.

I understand that the law is the law; and, when broken, there are ramifications. I also understand the eminent dangers of file-sharing. I do not understand, however, why this man was chosen for punishment.

In a closer corner of the world, the designated smoking area near Harned Hall has been adorned with a new sign: NO SMOKING. Confused? The stoop adjacent to the area, where many students have been known to rest or take shelter from the elements, has now been roped off, and a decorative flower arrangement has been placed to block the entrance.

Perhaps this was done because of the law stating that smokers must stand 20 feet from the nearest building. Or perhaps the cigarette butts have piled up too much in that corner. (They’re still there, if you were wondering). Or maybe an actual smoking shelter will be built there instead, but probably not. Hopefully no one ever needs to exit that door.

By Nicole June | Perspectives Editor

It has come to my attention some people on campus are displeased with the article printed in last week’s issue about Middle College. I would like to make some clarifications about this.

The article expressed my personal opinion, and was intended to be mildly humorous, not to offend anyone. I do not wish to create any animosity between students on campus. Some of the information in the story was somewhat inaccurate, as can be seen in the letter to the editor. I stand by my opinions, but I have no actual qualms with Middle College students or what they represent.

All of us at The All State strive to gain readership and to inform the campus, and to express our opinions from a factual standpoint.

– Nicole June, Perspectives Editor

By Nicole June | Perspectives Editor

Middle College: It’s something of an oxymoron in the eyes of most traditional college students.

What is Middle College, you ask? It is a dual enrollment program offered to local high school students in which they can take classes at APSU for both high school and college credit.

According to APSU’s middle college Web site, the mission of Middle College at APSU is to “engage students who find it difficult to connect or become engaged in traditional high school programs.”

These students are required to have completed their sophomore year of high school and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. They are even eligible for certain scholarships.

While this may seem to be an innocent addition to our fine university, it in fact has its own seedy underbelly. This mission statement does not mention these students are receiving the same privileges as full-time undergraduate students.

While sitting in a lower-level communications class, it came to my attention a Middle College student was in the class. This student seemed ready to embrace the college experience, prepared with a new patterned bookbag and freshly sharpened pencils. I am not the only one who noticed this student.

The professor of the class addressed the student, explaining she was very lucky to be in the class. Why, you ask? Several upperclassmen had been vying for the same spot in the class, which has limited availability, but were unable to get in.

However, little miss Middle  College seemed to get in just fine. Is this an injustice? Should middle college students have priority over upperclassmen struggling to keep their heads above water and graduate?

Upperclassmen students should be permitted entrance into a class before Middle College students. Upperclassmen have more at stake and less time to meet their requirements than these mutated high school students.

APSU is growing larger and larger every semester. Each time we come back, the freshman class seems to be larger than the last.

Now we not only have to fight with freshmen for those coveted desks, but also with students who are not even of legal age. Where does the madness end?

That’s not to say Middle College students are not welcome at the Peay. Anyone who wants to take on such responsibility at a young age is admirable.

However, these students should be placed at the bottom of the list when an upperclassmen needs to take a certain course.

The next time you see a Middle College student gallavanting around campus, give them a pat on the back — and a warning glance.

By Nicole June | Perspectives Editor

You hop in your car on a bright, sunny morning. You’ve purchased all your books, bought a new bookbag, hey, you even brushed your teeth today.

As you pull up to the vast brick buildings of APSU in grandma’s old clunker, you turn the corner and a plane of shining metal awaits you.

Welcome to the land of APSU parking. Those who actually wish to arrive on time to class are instead plagued by an hour-long ride of hornhonking, nailbiting and chainsmoking (in the haven of one’s own car, of course).

Several new construction projects and reassignments of parking lots have drastically changed the landscape of campus. APSU is small as it is, and it now looks like a crowded sardine can.

Imagine what this scene must look like to incoming freshmen, eager to begin their next four to 10 years in college. Devastating, huh?

And for those of us who are veterans of the Peay, this situation can only be described as annoying.
Throughout the years, students have been able to park in the lot near the Trahern and Music/Mass Communication buildings.Now, however, the entire lot now resembles something like the Red Sea. Each space has been given its own scarlet stripe to designate it as faculty/staff parking. Students have been thrown out of this parking lot and must now park near the Dunn Center or further. Perhaps this was the idea of someone at the Foy, eager to spread the message of fitness to avoid the dreaded freshmen 15.
But never fear, a handy-dandy, color-coded map has been provided on the APSU Web site. Strain your eyes and point your fingers, and maybe you’ll locate a spot within a 15-mile radius.

But wait. There’s more. For the low, low price of somewhere near $25 a day, you can park wherever you want.

An officer will put a decorative sticker in your window while you slumber in class, and when you find it you can empty your wallet.

APSU has also added the convenience of paying your parking ticket online through Web Self Service. How thoughtful.

So newbies, brace yourselves for a year of scrounging for change and rousing games of bumper cars. Good thing we have those nifty bus passes now, no?

– Nicole June, Perspectives Editor