Student Loans: The Good, The Bad, And The Impossible

As college students, I'm sure most of us have had some experience with student loans. While student loans are, without a doubt, a worthwhile investment, they seem to be an increasing burden on the typical American graduate.

With the price of tuition constantly increasing, loans have become another necessary evil in the lives of students. Sure, they're a great way to build credit, they have a low interest rate, and they're absolutely necessary for most students, but how big are the consequences?

It's no secret that graduates have been having a hard time finding employment in their fields after college. Yet, they leave college with roughly $27,000 in debt with no way to pay that back.

With tuition increasing and career availability decreasing, are student loans getting young adults in over their heads right out of the gate? What can be done about the situation? How does this debt end for graduates?

I don't pretend to have the answer. I can't see how this will all work out. I just hope we can find a solution before higher education become unattainable for the average American.

"There's an App for that"

With iPhones constantly being updated, it seems there is an app for virtually everything these days. From alarm clocks to Angry Birds to calorie counters, apps are almost a neccesity when owning a cell phone.

I stumbled upon an article about how busniesses, in the future, can use an app to do some of their public relations work. This app will track tags of the comapny's name and create watchlists that lets the company know who is searching for them. The link to the article is http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/having-pr-crisis-there-s-probably-app-147998

My question is, do you think we are becoming too dependent on our apps? I rely on my alarm, weather, and Twitter app every day and that's not even counting when I'm bored or have nothing to do.

Also, with apps becoming smarter and more efficient, do you think they could eventually replace jobs? An app like the public relations example above does many things that a PR agency does but at a fraction of the cost.

My Cup Runneth Over

Coffee cups, tea cups, mugs...they are all different and all used daily by different people to satisfy a need or addiction. My cup runneth over. Does yours?

Four Hundred New Perceptions

The goal for this project was to capture the reflection of the image in a wine glass all the way through town. I knew that I had seen some pictures of neat images reflected in glasses, so I thought it would work pretty well. After I had taken over 400 pictures, I got back and began to edit them together. Most of the images didn't have the reflection that I had hoped for, but it still turned out pretty neat. I would do a few things differently if I had the opportunity, but I learned a lot throughout this project about photography and how tedious the process of creating good content can be. 

Our Shoes and Our Journey Soundslide

This video is about how our shoes take us on our journey in life.

Fountains

This is a slideshow description of a fountain in the park in downtown Florence, Al.

Jasmine C. Redus

Around the World in 80 Seconds

"Around the World in 80 Seconds follows the story of the international students at the University of North Alabama. Although each student is incredibly different, they are all bonded together by their love of learning and of seeing the world. All music used in this Soundslides video was legally downloaded. All photographs taken by Corinne Beckinger.

-Corinne Beckinger

Doors

Soundslides project on doors. This project focuses specifically on closed doors and the secrets that may lie behind them.

Music: http://www.purple-planet.com

From Gangnam Style to Harlem Shake

Baauer's name is almost as unknown to the American public as Psy's began, despite the wave of "Harlem Shake" videos bombarding YouTube within the last few weeks. From UNA to professional sports teams, everyone is making their own "personalized" 30 second videos. Just like all the Gangnam Style parodies, people are following the same formula with their own spin. 

Are these videos a chance for people to be original and customize a widely disseminated idea? How much is something customized if it's essentially the same as what everyone else is doing? Is it simply a creative way to fit in with the newest trend?

In a trend-driven society that's always looking for the next big thing, how do we value content and originality in entertainment? Do we have any real concept of "good" or "bad"?

Life with Multiple Sclerosis

Stacy Depew, a college student and paraeducator, shares what it is like to have MS.

Music: partnersinrhyme.com

-Lynn Eccleston

Vine

It has never been easier to take and share pictures and statuses with the world through social media, and the new Vine app is now making it possible to bring the words and pictures to life with videos. 

“Vine is the best social networking app since Twitter,” said UNA senior Adam Talmage. “It’s the easiest way to make someone laugh in under ten seconds.”

Vine is an application for smart phones that allows users to record six-second videos and post them on a feed. 

“You can record in segments so you can be really creative with it” Talmage said.  “You can record something two seconds at a time and wait to finish it so that it gives a different illusion and tells a story.”

Love REALLY does HURT!

This past Wednesday, NBC’s Law & Order: SVU caused a huge uproar with a fictional love gone wrong story that was ‘surprisingly’ similar to Chris Brown and Rihanna’s real-life story. The episode which is titled “My Funny Valentine” focuses on a rising pop star Micha Green and her violent hip-hop boyfriend Caleb Bryant (Really?). The opening scene shows Micha being attacked by Caleb after she questions him about flirting with a backup singer. He is shown cursing at her, throwing her down, pulling her hair, choking her and then punching her. The next morning her battered face is seen on the cover of a major newspaper and it is all over TV.