Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Feb. 8, 2013, edition 1 / Page 9
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OPINION February 8,2013 Mary Hobbs postponement could be learning experience A sudden change of financial resources postponed the renovation construction of Mary Hobbs Hall. The postponement leaves unanswered questions and added stress for Hobbs residents and faculty. The construction was set to take place in March 2013. Although Hobbs was in need of some fixes, such as installing a fire sprinkler system, it still had some residents upset about the timing and miscommunication of the project. Residents of Hobbs were not warned of the renovations before they signed up to live there. However, when I spoke with Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Aaron Fetrow, I did learn that the BY MICHAEL CASWELL Staff Writer student housing contract states the school can ask you to move from your dorm at any time. I think the school made a mistake by believing they had a financial source for the project when it was not confirmed, and they could have done a better job of planning the construction so that the residents could have had more warning. Although the residents did not expect this, it is stated as a possibility in the student housing contract, so residents should always be prepared for the unexpected. Even though this situation caused a lot of disappointment among residents and faculty members, I do believe there is a positive side. Residents and administrators should look at this as a learning experience instead of an array of miscues. I believe the residents should take away that it is very important to completely understand your housing contract. That way, when something like this does come up, it will not come as a complete shock. As far as the administration goes, I think they should realize it is advisable not to announce a project until the financial portion is completely figured out. "(The renovation announcement) was handled poorly," said sophomore A.C. Canup. "Everybody in Hobbs was blind-sided. They could have given everyone some warning before we signed up for housing." Fetrow said, "The one silver lining in this whole thing is that by the time people start to sign up for housing again, there will be a warning next to Hobbs stating that you could potentially be moving in the middle of the semester." Hopefully, this postponement will better prepare faculty and residents for future projects such as this one and help the whole campus understand the importance of housing contracts. Facebook envy: isolation in a crowd BYKATY ANDREWS STAffWRITSt Statuses, profile pictures, memes and those pictures you took when you went to that place you've been talking about for weeks — shared. Facebook has become an enormous part of our everyday social networking, defining how we interact with friends and family. Our generation was able to communicate without Facebook because it was created during our high school years. However, younger generations have grown up with Facebook, developing a sense of detachment from interaction with the outside world. In Germany, a study was recently released by Berlin's Humboldt University and Darmstadt's Technical University stating that Facebook has created a sense of "social envy" among users and can lead to an increased feeling of isolation and lack of satisfaction with one's life. Dr. Hanna Krasnova of Humboldt University conducted two studies composed of 600 Facebook users. Her findings revealed that Facebook does stir up intense feelings of envy. Furthermore, the study also revealed that users who communicate infrequently through Facebook but read the posts and click through the pictures of others tend to be less satisfied with their lives. So the question is as follows: is this study actually worthwhile, or is it completely far-fetched? In my opiruon, this study could go both ways. I have felt a sense of envy while flipping through the photos of my friend's vacations to tropical islands and posts about their exciting lives as I'm sitting on my couch eating Ben and Jerry's and watching re-runs of "How I Met Your Mother." But does this create a sense of isolation for me? Not really. It creates a fleeting thought of, "Wow, I wish I could go to Bermuda for my vacation and look that good in a bildni." Then I go back to my ice cream. However, I see how people may feel isolated. Seeing how many "likes" a person receives on a post compared to your own can make users feel like what they have posted is not worthy of that little red number. "Facebook has made me sometimes feel like my social life is inadequate," said senior Caroline Loftus. "I compare my social life to friends who go to larger schools and see these raging parties that they go to. "Also, most days I feel that my day-to-day life isn't interesting enough to put on Facebook," This virtual reality that we have created for ourselves — not just Facebook but the internet as a whole — can be damaging to the overall happiness of a person. "People who project their information on Facebook seem to be seeking validation for relationships, political attitudes and other aspects of their lives," said senior Tali Raphael. "I do not compare myself to others on Facebook or in real life because I have never felt comparable in that way. However, I can understand how this isolation could occur if you are envious, and that envy turns into self-loathing." Facebook has created this virtual reality that most of us have become accustomed to. It is how we communicate with one another, express ourselves and brag about or validate what we do on a daily basis. Facebook envy is both a real and misunderstood concept, and because of this, more people are feeling isolated from the world we live in today. If this feeling of isolation continues because of social networking, where will we be in five years? Bruce B* Stewart Awards I. I Candidates nominated based on meritorious service that goes beyond assigned responsibility Any full-time faculty or staff member is eligible Three awards will be given at $5,000 each -Two teaching awards for jr. and sr. faculty - One community service award for staff Deadline: March 15 at 5:00 p.m. Nominations being accepted in the President's Office fe An update from your friendly newspaper while North Carolina's weather may not realize it, February has just begun and the semester is barely underv/ay. While most Guilford students spent their J-Term traveling, taking classes or drinking hot chocolate under blankets. The Guilfordian staff spent our time stalking other newspaper websites, making notes about layout styles, reading motivational works and practicing writing headlines. We know you've heard this all before, but we are extremely excited for this upcoming semester. We have formatting changes to make; we are slowly but surely making the change from a newspaper design to a news-magazine design. This means that we are putting bigger pictures on the front page, changing up colors and fonts, and generally making the issue more graphic and image-heavy. As a staff, we are also working on expanding our Web operation. We are looking to implement apps that allow for community participation. We want our social media to help speak for us with more status updates, pictures and weekly teasers. We also have a bragging right: The Guilfordian is the only college newspaper in the nation with a Social Justice section (fondly called GuilCo Sojo). Our online Sojo'^blog discusses social justice issues close to home and around the world. Meanwhile, our video team is stocked full of talented videographers who want to document such slices of everyday life at Guilford as favorite napping spots, Kent Chabotar's daily schedule and even where our food waste goes. In a week, we are going to be attending the North Carolina College Media Convention, where we hope to get a critique, learn a thing or two and bring home some awards. We have been working hard to produce a quality paper for you and we hope that our efforts and love for Guilford shine above the competition. But if not, whatever. We are not doing this for the plaques on the wall or the recognition. We want to represent you, your voice, your ideas, your passions and your stress. Are we representing you? No? Tell us. Yes? Tell us. We could do better? Please tell us. For the next few Fridays, Guilfordian staff members will be sitting at a table in Founders, armed with newspapers and a blank sheet of paper. Please jot down any story or video ideas, critiques, compliments, or funny GIFs. If you think about something halfway through the week, visit us Tuesday or Wednesday nights in the Publications Suite, first floor of Founders in the Student Commons. We usually have cookies. We are students. We get busy, we get overwhelmed and we may make mistakes. Help us out. Send an email at guilfordian@guilford.edu. Did we do something you want to see again? Send us an email about that too. We'd love to hear from you. We have 11 issues left. Help us document your Refleqing Guilford College's core Quaker values, the topics AND CONTENT OF STAFF EDITORIALS ARE CHOSEN THROUGH CONSENSUS OF ALL 1 5 EDITORS.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Feb. 8, 2013, edition 1
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