Life outside the newsroom: March 2009 Archives

The excitement and fear of graduation approaching faster than expected is really starting to become a reality.  I can't wait till graduation day when I get to walk down the hill towards the graduation commencement.  With all this excitement building up I also have that twinge of fear of not having a job after graduation.  I would love to tell family and friends at graduation that I have a job all lined up after graduation but unfortunately at this time I don't.  It would definitely make celebrating graduation a lot less stressful and more exciting if I had a job afterwards.  However, job or no job it will still be exciting to tell people I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kansas' distinguished William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications.  It is also a sense of pride and quite an accomplishment because I will be the first in my family to receive a four year degree.  I am extremely proud to very soon be a first generation college graduate.  I know my family is just as excited as I am and that means a lot to me to hear how happy they are for me.  So in order to get this far there are a few important things you have to remember along the way and the path can get a little fuzzy sometimes...especially with a tough course load. 

            So as a guide for graduation:

1.      Sign up for graduation on enroll and pay.

2.      Decide how you want to receive your diploma on enroll and pay.

3.      Go to the graduation fair

·      Purchase tassel

·      Rent or purchase a cap and gown

·      Visit numerous stands to explore other graduation materials and benefits

4.      SHOW UP for graduation!

What took the University of Kansas so long to send students an email in regards to traveling safely over Spring Break?  Especially if their travels took them to Mexico.  Numerous universities, like Colorado State University sent out campus-wide emails to inform its students of the dangers in Mexico over the last couple of months.  However, the University of Kansas did not send out an email to its students until March 9.  I appreciate the fact the university even sent out an email but it would have been more beneficial to the K.U. students had it been sent out earlier.

 The U.S. Department of State renewed a travel advisory for Americans traveling into Mexico, whether that is by land, air or sea.  The advisory comes as a warning to students to ensure they realize the increase in crime in Mexico as many college students travel to popular destinations in Mexico for Spring Break.  The dangers in Mexico have included shootings, violent attacks and shoot outs, which can be traced back to the drug cartels.  Although these dangers seem to be in more towards the boarder towns and on the roads at night, college students need to be aware of what is going on around them for their own safety. 

The University of Arizona warned its students to be extra careful if they were traveling to Mexico during Spring Break back in February, while Arizona State University in Tempe and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff at that time mentioned they too would release an advisory to its students.  This is where the disconnect is.  What took K.U. so long to advise its students about traveling to Mexico?  Maybe if the advisory was sent earlier students would change their minds about traveling to Mexico or at least make sure they were going with a larger group of friends.  Then again maybe it would have no effect.  I just think it was poor planning by the university to not release an advisory to our campus until a week before Spring Break when other universities were advising and warning their students all the way back in February. Even the Arizona Republic was writing stories back in February about the dangers of students traveling to Mexico and advising them to avoid vacationing there for Spring Break.  What took the K.U. community so long for a warning?