Facebook during FInals

Tonight marks 8 days until I am finished with all of my finals and papers. Everyone I have talked to is completely buried in work, spending 8 hours of their day in Fondren Library or Bridwell. I decided it was time for a nice study break, and that of course for me means facebook. I got on and saw that I have 215 friends currently online. As you can imagine, most of my friends are from SMU or colleges nearby that are also in finals. I couldn't believe that so many people were on facebook at a time like this, but then again, so was I. Facebook is the biggest distraction hands down for me. Whenever I need to do any sort of research or paper on my laptop I go directly to facebook before opening any documents or browsers. Clicking www.fa...just seems like a habit to my fingers. I don't quite understand why it is I feel so many of us are addicted to facebook. I will admit its easy to get lost in a world of accessing all 1000 of your friends pictures and comments in the click of a button, but that shouldn't be anything of dying importance.

One of my best friends even went so far as to have her roommate change her facebook password for the rest of the week so that she wouldn't have a way to get on and check. At first I laughed at her because it seemed so ridiculous that she couldn't have any self control, but I totally get it now. If I didn't have facebook for this week I would be more productive. It is really interesting how true it is the things that we have learned this semester about our brain and the internet. When I am doing anything on my computer I can't help but want to talk to my friends on facbeook as I do it. I'm not sure if I will go as far as my friend did about giving away the rights to getting on, but I hope my self control gets better as finals week continues.

SMU Reputation

Now that the year is ending and the seniors in high school are making their final decisions on what school to go to, I can't help but be really disappointed in the fact that no one from my high school is coming here next year. My high school is one of the best in New Orleans, and filled with some really smart girls. Over Mardi Gras I approached the senior who I am closest to and told her that she should spread the word that I love SMU and that people should really consider it. Her response absolutely killed me. She told me that no one is going to want to come here because SMU has the reputation of being so "snobby". I already was totally aware of this reputation because it was the only thing on my CON list when deciding between my two top schools. I am aware that there are a lot of people that go here with money, but I don't think the school deserves the stigma that is attached to it.
I personally do my best to tell everyone back home how much I love it here and the great friends I've made. But there really is only so much I can do. I am curious if anyone has any ideas for what can be done to fix this? I have been asking myself this question for awhile and can't think of a solution. I suppose that every school has its own reputation, whether its for money, drugs, party, or too up tight. I can't think of any of my best friends schools without some sort of bad reputation that comes with it. The most important thing that I have learned about how to deal with this is just be proud of where you go to school and do not let it bother you. People are always going to talk, especially if its a good school.

greeks

I have seen a really great side to sorority life now that I am involved. I know that most of the sororities on campus have the reputation of being very involved in partying. This is nothing new. In every movie sororities are portrayed as being slutty drunk girls there only to have a good time. This is not the correct portrayal. Although being social is a definite plus to the greek system there are so many other things we are involved in. Now that I am a initiated member I have quickly been thrown into all of the responsibilities that come with being a member. In order for us to participate in our fun events we must also put in work in philanthropy. Philanthropy is something that the leaders of my sorority feel very passionate about. It is not possible for us to be uninvolved members without getting punished. I wish that the school and fellow students would recognize the positives that the greek system gives to our university.

Our administration clearly has a negative opinion of the greek system. This is obvious when we see how many of our fraternitys are on probation. It seems like the number of fraternitys is dwindling as the years go on.I hope that the fraternitys learn from their probation and I also hope the adminstration can start giving greek systems some credit for all of the good things it is doing. In most schools the greeks are a wonderful asset to the university and I would love to see it like that here

Dorm Life

Now that the year is starting to wrap up, and I have settled my living situation for next year, I can't help but count the hours until I am out of these dorms. I live in Mac which is all freshman and a pretty social dorm. But with that comes the community bathrooms and alot of shared space. I am totally accustomed to waking up for my 9am on fridays and finding vomit in the sinks or stalls. This is not okay. I don't understand how some people can live with no respect for the fact that this is a shared space. All of the residents in my hall have tallyed up a huge bill of damages from people coming home and ruining the walls and ceilings. Its as if it's funny for them to know that someone else is going to take care of it.

But the positive is that I am almost finished with this. I have heard that soon they are requiring that everyone live on campus two years. I am so thankful I dodged that bullet, becuase this community living has been pretty disgusting at times. I hope that in the future the dorms have a better system of making sure people aren't causing damages for everyone to see or pay for. I am sure that before they make this a new rule for two years on campus living SMU will create new dorms. I think suite style is the best way to go because you know whose responsible for the area your sharing. Some of my friends at other big universities don't have to live on campus at all. I am glad I got the chance to experience it but I would never wish to do it another year.