Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Students and the News

Students and the News
By Kate Molander

           For many college students, the news is no on the top of their “to watch” list. Some students can’t find the time to watch the news or just don’t want to bother with it. The news can be a difficult thing to watch, but it is a necessary component to understand the world we live in. Senior Jenna McGoogan, Fine Arts Major at Frostburg State University, said, “I don’t really keep up with the news around here but the Kony story is what I’ve been hearing most about.” McGoogan added that this story first caught her attention because pictures and comments on the Kony situation were continually popping up in her Facebook news feed.
Katie Ecker, a junior Psychology Major at FSU, noticed that she has been seeing a lot of stories that are a few years old and recently began resurfacing. Stories like, “news on the trial for the hate crimes of the Rutgers University suicide scandal.” Eckers feels that the news needs to also give more attention to some of international stories: “I feel like everything going on in Africa, like disease and such, is under-reported.”
Some college students have started feeling the pressure of graduating and finding jobs in this economy. Richard Zimmerman, a senior Business Administration Major at FSU, has been paying close attention to the economic aspects of the news. He has been interested in “the fact that people are debating whether or not the economy will grow or enter another depression. It relates to my ability to get a job after I graduate.”
There are, however certain types of news that may catch a student’s interest enough that they decide to tune in. McGoogan recalls a story that really caught her interest when she was working as an intern at a newspaper in her hometown: “I heard this story about a cop who stabbed two firefighters while he was on a ‘journey to meet Jesus.’ I don’t think that was reported enough.” Zimmerman stated that he felt more that information about business and our government was under-reported. “I think in general all news media needs to push for more transparency in business and government meaning more exposure of all their activities, which helps prevent poor ethics.”
Regardless of what really interests the average student, it is becoming more and more important for students to tune in to the world around them and pay attention to the news. 

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