thebattalion march 24, 2010
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texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media
Evan Anderws — THE BATTALION
● wednesday,
!mplic@tions of $ocial ne+work1ng Grammar not affected by Web sites, texting Katy Ralston The Battalion Facebook, Twitter, texting, Second Life, e-mail — the list goes on. In the past few years, technology has saturated the life of the college student. These new mediums have opened the door to shorthand typing, abbreviations, emoticons and instant message lingo, causing some people to fear the decline of the formal English language. The question of whether it is making a difference in student’s formal writing is debatable. Texas A&M University Writing Center Executive Director Valeria Balester says it does not have an effect. While there are still mistakes in stu-
this day in
world history
dent’s grammar usage, Balester said she has not seen an increase or decline in the amount of errors in the 20 years she has taught writing. “Any teachers who are assuming [errors] are increasing don’t have any evidence for that. It’s just anecdotal,” Balester said. Freshman architecture major Corinne Nelson said she doesn’t think social networking plays a role in student’s grammar abilities either. “If someone has good grammar it’s not going to make it worse,” Nelson said. See Grammar on page 4
Game plan Students can waste days fake farming or collecting Farkle chips on Facebook. Avoid these games or try to log off the site before it becomes an addiction and sucks all the studying from your life.
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Workplaces should avoid stalking employees online
G
loria Gadsden, a sociol ogy professor at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania was suspended for comments made on her Facebook page.
As social networking sites grow in popularity, more businesses are disciplining employees because of online content. Instead of overreacting to off-color remarks made outside of work, employers need to stop invading employees’ personal lives. Sites like Facebook and MySpace are
‘Dwell time’ for military to change
Ian McPhail well-known even to those technologically illiterate. Content placed online, especially on networking sites, has become accessible to almost anyone. Gadsden believed her Facebook status would remain private, and despite having no student listed as a friend, a pupil
Student loans to shift hands Robert Carpenter
Samantha Johnson
March 24, 1874 Harry Houdini (18741926) was born (as Erik Weisz) in Budapest, Hungary. He came to the U.S. with his family as an infant and lived in New York City. He began as a Coney Island magician, then became a world famous escape artist, known for escaping from chains, handcuffs, straightjackets, locked boxes and milk cans filled with water. He died from a burst appendix and was buried in Queens, N.Y.
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The Battalion Lt. Gen. David Huntoon Jr., the director of Army Staff, spoke to a group of junior and senior Corps of Cadets under contract with the military about changes to time length between deployments. “I want to thank you for raising your hand and volunteering to serve your country in a time of war,” Huntoon said. “You have lots of options, but you decided to put on this uniform when we need you.” One issue that Huntoon addressed is referred to as “dwell time,” the amount of time that soldiers spend home in between deployments. The rate is one year deployed, followed by one year at home. “We know that if we want to sustain an all-volunteer military, we have to improve that,” he said. Huntoon said the goal was by early 2011 soldiers can begin to have two years at home for every year they are deployed, but the time spent at home will not be all rest. “There will be a deep breath where you See Army on page 4
See Facebook on page 7
Sam Smith — THE BATTALION
Lt. Gen. David Huntoon Jr., the director of Army Staff, speaks to a group of junior and senior Corps of Cadets under contract with the military about their future.
The Battalion Beginning this summer, Texas A&M students seeking student loans will be doing business with the federal government. The change comes as the University transitions from the Federal Family Education Loan Program to the Federal Direct Loan Program Formerly, students received student loans through private banks, however, these loans were insured against default by the federal government. Under the new program, students seeking loans will skip the middleman and receive loans directly from the U.S. Department of Education. Joe Pettibon, assistant provost of student financial aid, said the University could have made the transition as early as 1993, but rejected the opportunity because private banks typically offered better options to students. This changed, he said, when the credit crunch began driving banks
Fast facts ◗17,500 Texas A&M students have student loans ◗ Approximately half of A&M undergraduates will have student loans upon graduation ◗ The Congressional Budget Office anticipates $61 billion in federal savings over the next 10 years
◗ 4.4 million direct student loans in the U.S.
See Student loans on page 4
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