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The Campus Carrier Editorial
“Hi, we’re the Slowskys”
Internet, technology updates
for students needed
Walking into Memo-
rial Library, you may
have recently noticed
an increased number
of students clawing
at each other, banging
their heads against a
wall or throwing their
laptops through win-
dows because they are
so frustrated with the
slow or spotty Internet
connection.
Well, that may not exactly
be what’s going on in the li-
brary, but surely it describes
the way many students have
felt lately.
The past week has found
the Internet down, multiple
times, for many hours. Just
Tuesday afternoon, a few stu-
dents in the library were com-
plaining about not having any
wireless Internet access. Some
said the Help Desk wasn’t
particularly helpful and were
told that the slow Internet was
a network problem.
Although Tim Farnham has
been keeping everyone up-to-
date on the festering Internet
problems, the consequences
of some bandwidth-sucking
monster still remain.
We know the IT folks have
their hands full, but good
grief, there’s nothing worse
than being stuck in the library
with lots of research to do and
no way to research.
But it’s not simply IT’s
fault. Someone, something
The Carrier editorial reflects a consensus of the Campus Carrier’s editorial board.
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The Campus Carrier is published
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somewhere is slowing our
connection down. Maybe
we need an upgrade. Maybe
we’ve gotten too big for our
britches, and we just need to
outsource our Internet needs.
IT has been making lots of
promises as far as technology
updates go. The increase in
e-mail inbox sizes has been
much needed and is long
overdue.
Wireless capabilities are
also long overdue. We know
it is in the works, but the way
it seems, some dorms have
to wait their turn before they
are equipped with wireless
Internet.
It doesn’t quite seem fair
that some dorms would get
wireless before others. Maybe
they should get with Resi-
dence Life and make sure that
if one dorm gets wireless, all
dorms get it.
Sure, Dana and the Ford
dorms aren’t as nice (in some
people’s opinion) as New
Residence Hall. But, for the
price students are paying for
New Res, wireless should be
included.
And, if there is a concern
that the increase in students
using wireless will slow down
the connection, that should
be addressed beforehand and
settled before it becomes a
problem.
We hope that with the
promises of bandwidth dou-
bling and new wireless capa-
bilities that it all goes smooth-
ly and works together well,
without bouts of internet-less
libraries.
Ashton Staniszewski, Editor-in-Chief
Christina Saul, Managing Editor
Whitney Kazragis, Business Manager
Rachel White, Asst. Business
Manager
Caleb Bloodworth, Online Editor
Sarah Kohut, News Editor
Lauren Wright, Photo Editor
Katherine Lavey, Opinions Editor
Alex Farrer, Sports Editor
Jessie Edwards, Entertainment Editor
Leigh Jackson, Features Editor
Amanda Griswell, Asst. Features
Editor
Kyler Post, Asst. News Editor
Kim Harbrecht, Asst. Entertainment
Editor
Meredith McDermott, Asst. Photo
Editor
James Crawford, Graphics Editor
Gordie Murphy, Asst. Graphics
Editor
Jessica Hoover, Copy Editor
Kevin Kleine, Adviser
Opinions
Language more than a requirement
Amanda Griswell
Asst. Features Editor
Learning a second language should be more
than just fulfilling a degree requirement. It is an op-
portunity to learn not only another language, but
another culture.
When I decided to change my major to commu-
nication, I was told that I would need to take a for-
eign language through the intermediate level. I was
already in my second semester of Spanish and had
plans of becoming a Spanish minor. I wanted to be
more comfortable with the language by improving
my speaking and writing skills. I had taken Span-
ish throughout high school, but I still had a lot to
learn.
While at Berry, I have had the opportunity to
take foreign language classes that have challenged
me. I quickly realized that I did not know as much
about the language or culture that I thought I did.
I want to know more about the history of the coun-
tries and the people that I hear about in class, but I
realize that this is not the case for everyone.
Some students do not choose to take Spanish as
their foreign language because they want to learn
French, German or another language. Whichever
language a student decides to take will give them
an insight into that culture.
Learning a second language is more than trying
to fit required classes into an already busy sched-
Letting go part of college life
Nicole Nesmith
Staff Writer
College changes everything. I was told this a
million times before I left for Berry and like the
majority of future college students, I was oblivious
to the changes and somewhat unwilling to give
up my routine life. Although I desperately wanted
change, I constantly contradicted myself by hold-
ing on to many aspects of my life that were suffo-
cating ad holding me back.
For the past two months, I had been holding on,
much too long, to a relationship I knew was going
to fail. I was scared to let go because he was like
the thread that pulled everything together. Here at
Berry, I was attending events, working, doing well
in classes and just generally enjoying college, but I
was still enveloped in the one relationship.
Do not get me wrong. Relationships are great,
but only when there is compromise. There would
be times when I really needed to study, but I would
find myself feeling very guilty for not talking to
him. This was especially true when I went to a cam-
pus event or just spent time with my friends. He
expected me to make more time for him and, for
a while, I thought that was exactly what I should
do. The relationship was not one-sided, however,
November 6 , 2008
mct campus
ule. Taking a language with you after graduation
can be a positive edition to a job application or a
resume.
Knowing a foreign language is a benefit when
looking for a job. In today’s society, the job market
is competitive, and everyone is trying to find some-
thing that will put them above the rest. Knowing
another language could be just what an employer
is looking for. Knowing a second language will
never be seen as a negative quality.
Americans speak a variety of different lan-
guages and come from a variety of different back-
grounds. Companies have to consider who their
target publics are and how they are going to reach
them. Knowing a second language might just be
the ticket that a recent graduate from college needs
to make an impact in a company.
While at Berry or after graduation, many stu-
dents like to travel and see the world. Knowing
the language of the country you are visiting can be
a tremendous help, when ordering or shopping.
Even if a person is not fluent, simply being able to
understand what is going on will help add to the
experience in the foreign country.
A second language can be helpful in a career,
on vacation or studying abroad. It can also be fun
to be able to understand another language at least
on some level. There is a lot more than to learning
a foreign language than simply taking the classes
to take the classes. I think that knowing a foreign
language is just the skill that will allow me to work
with a diverse group of people after I graduate
from Berry.
because I too had my selfish moments. The stress of
the relationship caused me to be quite hypocritical
at times because, I too, always expected him to be
there for me.
I never realized that while I was seriously an-
noyed and fed up with him, he was feeling exactly
the same way about me too. Although I was hurt
by our break up and felt a bit displaced, I soon real-
ized that it was an opportunity for me to focus on
the aspects of my life that I had neglected so much
before. I can study without feeling guilty, spend
time with my friends without cutting it short and
be myself without any scrutiny on his part. This
break up, ironically, was probably the best occur-
rence so far because now I can be myself and is that
not what truly matters?
I am not trying to give the impression that rela-
tionships will not and cannot work out in college
because I am certain they can. I do believe, howev-
er, that the right people have to be involved. While
I was ready for a long distance relationship, he was
not. It was not his fault that he had a hard time
dealing with the stress, and it was not my fault
that I wanted something different. Sometimes peo-
ple can really care about each other, but it can fall
short of being enough. Right now, I am following
the cliche and trying to pretend to be happy after a
breakup. Okay, so I may not be fully together yet,
but I do know that with this giant weight lifted off
my shoulders, it will be a lot easier to do.