(Ari Davis)
Social media danger
Technology has become the staple of our generation. We can tweet, post, and snap to our heart’s content and connect with people all over the world, but technology is a double-edged sword and damages anyone who naively gives themselves to it. Our generation has become too reliant on technology. We need to learn how to unplug and interact in real life. Why is social media so dangerous? The immediate answer is that social media fails to tell the whole story. People don’t take a selfie of their bedhead in the morning and post it. They post the photo of them all dolled-up for their date. They don’t disclose all the things that go wrong throughout the day. They post the few highlights that come their way. And, most of all, they almost never post about their crippling insecurities, opting instead for sharing moments of triumph over the hard things. It isn’t surprising that spending hours of our time on social media can lead to ailments like declining self-worth and depression. Our time on social media can be time well spent if we are judicious with how we spend it. Quality face-time (not FaceTime) is where we find not only happiness, but fulfillment. Our great responsibility is to know the traps that are laid before us. To protect ourselves and our loved ones, we need to be honest with ourselves and determine to what degree we will allow technology to run our life.
Bryce Gosar
Highland, UT
Financial illiteracy
With financial illiteracy so high among American college students, learning institutions should require finance courses that would benefit students both now and later. Important topics such as 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, investment portfolios, interest rates, taxes, etc. should be commonplace vocabulary of those who have recently graduated from college. Students are graduating unprepared to make lasting financial decisions because their learning institutions have not made it a priority. Wells Fargo found that over half of millennials say that debt is their “biggest financial concern.” In addition, Fidelity found that 39 percent of millennials feel concerned for their financial future “at least once a week.” Family Finance is currently offered at BYU to fulfill the Quantitative Reasoning GE requirement; however, an ACT or SAT math score of at least 22 or 500, satisfies this requirement. With the 2017 BYU entrance average of 29.5 on the ACT and 1300 on the SAT, the Family Finance course is often overlooked because the majority of students fulfill this requirement prior to taking their first step on campus. The Family Finance course should be a priority and BYU should consider making this course required. Students would no longer live in fear of important financial decisions, but rather be well prepared for starting a career. Family Finance would be beneficial to every student no matter their major or future career.
Alex Radle
Flower Mound, Texas
Color is more than visual
Whether it be on our way to class, waiting in a long line or in our free time, we often find ourselves making small talk on campus as friendly BYU students. We’re always getting to know new people. We ask the same questions over and over, “What’s your name?” or “Where are you from?” or “Have you served a mission?” However, we’ve forgotten to ask a question that can get you to know someone’s personality faster than any of those questions. “What is your favorite color?” has become a seriously underrated question, thus we should take into consideration its underlying meaning, remember the importance it contains and ask it more frequently. The thalamus is the part of your brain that processes sensory information. This part of your brain helps you understand that when you see a color, there is some specific feeling or meaning to it. For example, red is warm, blue is cold. Seeing colors has been wired into our brain since birth. We need to take into account that colors are almost as complex as human personalities. They have specific things that make them complex and unique from each other. Each property of color can be referred to a property of personality. Thus, all of the layers tell you about a person’s individual and unique personality. If you take the time to really understand the emotions and motifs each color portrays, you can understand how favorite color can and does reflect the personality of a new acquaintance, or even your closest friends.
Darekah Meldrum
Provo, UT
NCAA exploitation
Athletes and their respective universities should be more heavily compensated, and athletes should receive employment benefits. Participation in the NCAA is hardly voluntary for athletes who are serious about competing. Many professional leagues demand young competitors be graduated from high school for a minimum of one to two years before signing a professional contract. This obligates athletes to participate at a lower level before playing professionally—it is not voluntary. The only other option they have is to forgo practicing competitively. The NCAA, in order to monopolize the situation and abuse unpaid labor, does not allow athletes to receive monetary payment if they want to remain eligible for competition. Some argue athletes are compensated in other ways. I am not suggesting that the universities use students’ tuition or other sources of academic funding to provide for players. Rather, I am demanding that the NCAA, which gains its revenue from collegiate athletics, provide a fair share of this revenue to universities. This way universities are able to financially compensate all of their athletes.
Zachary Buell
Idaho Falls, Idaho
