Prosperity or a collapsing institution?

By: Rick Pollo

It is no new news that Youngstown State University’s enrollment rates are higher than they’ve been in three decades. This is a statistic that has not only boosted the university’s credibility but has proven to be beneficial to it as well. When enrollment is high, funding is high. And when funding is high, student loans and grants are even higher. In turn, enrollment, especially that of non-traditional and returning students, becomes even higher. But beneath the surface, it’s not all high times.

Easy come, easy go.

Unfortunately, the statistics hint that a number of students who withdraw within their first few semesters receive loans and student aid but do not graduate. According to YSU’s Office of Financial Aid, more than half of the students attending the university receive some form of student aid. So is all this money just being wasted? Well, if a student registers and applies for the aid, receives it, and then withdraws quickly thereafter, then yes. Many students abuse the system by qualifying for student aid only to later drop out and walk away with some extra cash in their pockets.

Youngstown State currently has a graduation rate of only 36 percent after four years; meaning close to two-thirds of the registered students will end up dropping out before they receive a degree.

YSU is an easy access sort of school, in its open enrollment policy and ample financial aid, scholarships, and opportunities for student loans and state and federal grants. This is certainly a direct contributing factor to the university’s high enrollment as well as the large portion of non-traditional students found throughout the campus. The ease of returning to (or arriving late) to college equals a lot of people jumping on the college bandwagon.

A common explanation of such resurgence to the college campus, both here in Youngstown and abroad, is the slumped economy and lack of security in well-paying jobs. A lot of non-traditional students feel that returning to school and receiving a degree will boost their chances in finding a job that’ll secure them in a career and life path. Traditional college students are probably on the same page, even though their experiences in the job market are limited. Receiving a college degree just tends to be a wise decision.

However, there is still the matter of those not making it to the end. If this trend of low graduation continues, Youngstown State will quickly lose its funding outlets and credibility, therefore possibly having to end its open enrollment and student loan opportunities.

It is time the entire campus becomes aware of this misuse of financial aid. Students should be aware of the repercussions of failing out of or leaving college halfway through and appreciate the opportunities they’re given at this university. It’s not the job of financial aid advisors to deny students these opportunities, nor would we want to encourage it, but maybe it’s time it was brought to their attention more vividly. These numbers could prove detrimental to Youngstown State University, and perhaps it’s an issue the new president should look into hastily if the school is to continue to prosper.

From Law to Lame… I Mean Fame

By Chelsie Hazenstab

One problem about YSU is that it is located in Youngstown. Youngstown is not the optimal college town. After all, the city, defined as “where Satan threatens to send residents of hell who are deemed unworthy,” is not the safest place to “hang out.”

YSU’s campus is not what makes YSU an undesirable college; it is the city it is located in. If one were to take a trip from campus, in any direction, that person’s view would be as follows: an abandoned building, an empty lot, glass shards, an abandoned house, a bar and an abandoned building. Anyone going on a college visit to YSU would, at the very least, second guess the option.

Youngstown, in 2007 was ranked the 15^th most dangerous city. Within Youngstown’s population bracket, it ranked fourth. On campus, there are fewer crimes than in other parts of the city, for example there were only 122 thefts in 2008. This is partly due to the fact that YSU has its own police force, which has all the same powers as any other police force. Security at YSU is doubled up.

At a city council meeting on April 7, 2010, two of the seven wards said that their biggest priority was getting the youth crime under control. There is story after story in the Vindicator on the crime that rocks the city; most recently there are stories like a teen murdering an elderly woman at a church and two shootings on the same night, involving a teenager.

Instead of the student imposed motto of, “You Screwed Up,” the motto should be, “Youngstown Screwed Up.” The city had a good thing going when the university first started. Even though some classes date back to 1888, YSU was started in 1908 as a law school. A LAW SCHOOL IN YOUNGSTOWN! It seems that Youngstown can, in fact, follow the law.

The burning question is, “What went wrong?” Well, the law school eventually became the Youngstown Institute of Technology and added some courses in business. YSU continued to grow as Youngstown grew. When the Youngstown boom fell through, so did YSU.

When one thinks of a college town, things like cafés, book stores, parks and college housing come to mind. Yes, YSU has those, but not like in Williamsburg, Virginia. The College of William and Mary is a research school, located in a historic village. It is not scary to walk around. One learns about life now and life in the colonial times, not about some guy named Spank and his art plastered on barren walls.

There are things to do in college towns. In Youngstown the things to do are going to class, partying, hoping not to get caught drinking under age and avoiding getting shot in the wrong parts of town. Other college towns have more constructive activities like reenactments, hands-on museums and tourism. These activities are safer; they also have more learning and economic potential than the ones at YSU. These activities define a college town.

In an informal poll of students in the spring 2010 editorial writing class, 10 out of 12 students said that they would leave Youngstown after graduation. Reasons as to why the students would leave range from the economy and the safety.

In order for YSU to become a potentially great school, Youngstown must get its act together. The city needs to clean up its streets and get off their rears. Sitting around waiting for buildings to magically catch fire or crumble apart is not going to make the city a better, more presentable, place. Giving the city a little bit of credit, the recent economic downfall has hit the Valley hard. The economy was lacking in Youngstown before the national crisis, but it would probably be better for the economy if the city were a college town.

Access for All

By Daniel Brown

"Youngstown State University is committed to providing all students, faculty, and staff, access to technology.” – Donna Esterly

This made me laugh. Access? Really?

Sure, students and faculty have access to labs with Mac computers, various hallways with plasma screen TVs, an alert system that will send texts straight to your cell phone and even ZoomText Xtra software for the visually impaired. Unfortunately, access to our MyYSU is an e-mail juggernaut. If you do manage to sign into this mess of a system sending and receiving e-mails is always an adventure. E-mail may not be as “cool” as plasma TVs and Mac computers, but it’s probably the most important technology a university needs. If YSU is committed to technology then it must improve the e-mail service for students and faculty.

Everyone should still remember the MyYSU portal meltdown from earlier this semester. Many students gathered around computers and tried to access their e-mails and instead were greeted with loading screens. In the hyperlinked article Paul Carrier, who works at the Tech Desk, said, “We see more panic when the portal doesn't work at all.” The panic is justified. A working e-mail system is something every university must have. It’s the primary mode of student/teacher communications. Teachers send class cancellations, test information and important class documents to the students through MyYSU e-mail. Many students save important information in their e-mail using it as a large internet flash drive. They also send homework to teachers and communicate with class members via the service.

I have fallen victim to the faulty e-mail myself. Unable to access MyYSU, I’ve driven 45 minutes only to find out my class was cancelled…the teacher informed everyone via e-mail. I haven’t received study guides sent by teachers through the service and I’ve also sent homework in only to have it not find its destination. Some teachers understand, others have been less understanding thinking I lied about sending or not receiving items. These issues could seriously affect a student’s grade or relationship with a teacher, I know in my case it has.

This is not something that has just become a problem this semester. A Facebook group dedicated to the shoddiness of YSU’s e-mail service was started in 2007 with the title MyYSU is a JOKE! Fourteen members still remain in the group, though the administrator has left the group. The description of the group says, “The largest communications hub for YSU never works, has [too] many things to work with and all I want to do is check my E-MAIL! If I want to see campus [announcements] I will check out my Facebook damnit.” Three years after this group was made, problems still remain.

Current YSU student Ashley Urmson is fed up with the YSU e-mail.

“My god, we can’t even use it and they keep messing around with it, not fixing anything. It’s perfectly fine and they keep trying change it,” Urmson said, “Right now, it’s worthless.”

Urmson said she tries to check her e-mail from her smart phone but always gets a “username and/or password not found” message.

“I plan around being able to check my e-mail at my convenience, it’s so annoying when it doesn’t work,” Urmson added.

It’s not just students who are fed up. Bob Hogue, a YSU associate professor of computer science and information technologies said that the YSU e-mail “is nearly useless and is a horrendous mis-expenditure of money.”

I asked Mr. Hogue what could be done to fix the e-mail; he just didn’t know exactly what could be done.

“I don't know, but judging from how long it has been a piece of junk, it must be extremely difficult to fix. Either that, or there is no commitment from anyone at the top to fix it,” Hogue said.

There are three reasons Hogue feels a university established e-mail is important.

1. It is a quick and efficient way for people to exchange important information.
2. It is a normally-expected element of the educational environment of any institution that hopes to call itself a university. 3. It provides a way for student to contact their instructor and for the instructor to know that it is really the student (using things like Hotmail or Yahoo addresses doesn't prove that the sender is who he or she says it is.)

Hogue suggests that other universities, such as Arizona State, have saved money using Gmail as an alternative to having their own e-mail. Regardless Hogue isn’t happy with the current state of YSU e-mail.

“YSU mail is a joke,” Hogue said.

Early semester e-mail malfunctions were blamed on old technology. I guess YSU didn’t “maintain a current, reliable, and secure computing and networking environment” a statement that was found in their Technology Master Plan. The plan is dated 2003. When it comes to e-mail the university has failed its students as well as its master technology plan. All is not lost, now is the time for our university, armed with a new president, to take up the challenge of providing a current, reliable and secure e-mail for students and faculty. I hope the university will address this but until that time you can reach me at my new e-mail address, FinallyHadEnough@Gmail.com.

Advisory Overload

Courtney Denen

Instead of graduating in five weeks time, I will be prepping for summer, only to come back three months later for another semester here at Youngstown State University.

At the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year I had every intention of graduating. After taking five 18-hour semesters and a few summer classes, I was sure that I would be in good shape.

Especially since I met with an adviser and was told I would be graduating in the spring of 2010.

Last fall I made an appointment with the chair of my department. I went to the appointment and left the office with a small sheet of paper. On that paper was a list of five classes. Those were the five final classes I needed to take before graduation.

A few weeks later I held in my hand a very different piece of paper. I received a letter from the English department. In the letter it said I was 24 hours short of upper-division classes and my graduation would be pushed back until the summer of 2010.

After making several phone calls, I discovered there was a “computational error” with my records and I was indeed lacking necessary hours.

Despite meeting with advisers prior to every semester I will not be graduating in four years time like I had originally planned.

I never met with the same adviser more than a few times. I tried to, but scheduling was difficult and I took what I could get.

Maybe if I were able to be with the same adviser over the years I would be graduating in five weeks. But I’m not.

In most cases, advisers are not really advisers. They are teachers and professors. In my case, every time I met with an adviser it was with someone from whom I had taken a class.

Teachers and professors are certainly capable of advising a student, however, they are tackling so much other work it’s most likely not their priority. Most of the time, their desks are covered in stacks of paperwork. At one of my advising appointments the “adviser” literally lost my paperwork amidst the piles of papers and folders that had been collected on the desk.

When we all first started at YSU, most of us were constantly being encouraged to visit the Center for Student Progress. The CSP provides assistance in many different areas. I visited the Center, I was told I could set my educational goals, so I sat in a corner cubicle with a peer counselor and laid out my plan for my time at YSU.

An adviser’s job is providing a student with her road map. Without that road map, the student would be very lost. Sure there are some that can find their way without the map, but most need it in order to succeed.

Perhaps YSU should invest in positions for full-time academic advisers. Their only job would be advising students.

Every student should be provided with an advisor; one that sticks with them through their entire academic career.

Maybe this would also help YSU with its unimpressive graduation rates.

If the students were better directed, maybe they would stick around.

YSU’s undergraduate academic advising claims to “provide assistance to you in fulfilling your degree requirements,” it also says that the “responsibility to do so rests ultimately with you.”

I really don’t know what more I could have done. I made a plan, met with an “adviser” every semester, and took numerous 18-hour semesters. I feel I took on the responsibility. But I did not reach my goal, even with the help of professionals.

Advisers are responsible for making sure we take the appropriate classes, they keep track of what we have taken and what we need to take. If I had an adviser who wasn’t juggling class work and lesson plans, I would have been told that I needed to take some upper-division classes.

But I don’t blame the advisers; I blame the system.

I can do one more semester, unless of course they find another “computational error.”

A digital future for a paper past

By Adam Planty

The semester is drawing to a close and I finish my final exam ensuring that every question is properly answered to the best of my ability, placing it in front of the professor as I wish him a happy summer vacation. As some friends and I walk outside the spring weather is doing everything in its power to bolster my already fantastic mood. We joke about classes, girls, and party plans for the evening as we make our way to the bookstore to sell back our almost brand-new textbooks. We wait patiently in line to see what the damage will be, our moods darkening as we move closer to the counter. I’m handed a voucher to use at the candy machine and told that my $325 worth of textbooks will net me $35.

And a gumball. Cue the rage.

Fortunately, I will never again have to face the rage-inducing situation of attempting to sell books back to the Youngstown State bookstore. I graduate in two months. But the rest of YSU students and college students in general could be facing a drastically different situation if e-readers begin to gain ground across the country. With Apple’s iPad launching this weekend many people, including those in the publishing industry, are hoping e-readers will breathe new life into how people consume books.

Every semester students spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks that they end up either selling back for pennies on the dollar or are forced to keep because the publisher released a new edition. But some progressive colleges have been experimenting with e-readers since last year in an attempt to provide a better and more affordable learning experience to students.

Starting this fall Seton University, a private Catholic school in Pennsylvania, will be giving all incoming first year undergraduate students an iPad. Princeton is pushing to go all e-reader on its campus to avoid paying $5 million for the massive amounts of paper used at its university. While YSU is nowhere near the size of a Princeton, it definitely has enough money to provide students with an e-reader device, for a price. Even if YSU doesn’t provide the devices for students directly the iPad is projected to sell between 6-10 million units by the end of the year, so the chances are high that e-readers will be a common sight on campus regardless of what the university does.

By at least presenting students with an option to use e-books in place of old-fashioned textbooks, YSU can relieve its current student body of the exorbitant prices they pay on a yearly basis while also appearing tech-savvy to potential freshman. If students are wary about purchasing e-books, YSU could “rent” the digital copies for a semester or full year as needed, allowing students to pay much less and not feel they are being forced to retain an unwanted piece of literature. However the transaction process works students can save money, have all of the textbooks needed for an entire semester housed on a single device and be freed from the traveling weight of 25 lbs. worth of textbooks. This is a beautiful thing.

Protecting students form the cost of textbooks should be reason enough to begin changing the ways of college learning. A survey conducted in 2005 points out that the prices of textbooks “jumped 62 percent since 1994, while prices charged for all finished goods increased only 14 percent.” Additionally it says that of the textbooks surveyed “new editions of textbooks cost 45 percent more than used copies of previous editions.” The survey attributes these increased prices to publishers bundling unnecessary materials with textbooks that professors rarely ever use. The Association of American Publishers and National Association of College Stores says that paper, printing and editorial costs account for an average of 32.3 cents of every dollar of the textbook cost. The other 68.7 cents is derived from a mix of marketing, author income, operations, publisher income, and freight.

So as I waltz away with my chump change from another one-sided transaction, I can at least be happy with the fact that it doesn’t have to be this way, but only if the students act with their most vital resource: their dollars. Students should avoid the bookstore and opt to get their books either online through sites like Amazon.com and Half.com or if the texts are available, on an e-reader. Hopefully the choices made by students will YSU push professors to start incorporating textbooks with digital copies into their courses, making the university more e-reader friendly, so we can all enter a new era together.

It's what you make it

By: Robert Merz

Everything is a lie...

This clever quip comes from one of our classmates, and it has become a humorous mantra of sorts for its ability to fit so many situations where we find ourselves disillusioned. I can think of one specific example right here in our YSU environment, where it proves its worth again.

"You Screwed Up."

We've all heard it, and frankly, it's funny. I laughed the first time I heard it… but it's a lie.

We did not screw up. YSU is not a "last chance" university. Like so much in life, the experience here is going to be what one makes of it.

Why then, do so many students not succeed? Some are simply not prepared academically for the rigors of a university environment. This is a problem YSU administration must now grapple with as it addresses the established policy of open enrollment. Others simply don’t have a clear reason for being here other than they don’t know what else to do.

Statistically, I am a failure. This is not my first college experience; I have attended three Ohio universities. In high school, I did well. I was an honors student, a speech and debate champion, and a member of the varsity football team. My goal was to use those successes to carry me forward. Just two weeks after graduation, I found myself with another four years of school looming.

At first, I did quite well; it seemed the momentum I carried with me from high school would suffice. It did not. Eventually, I was overwhelmed. For the first time I was juggling my class schedule, a 40-hour workweek, and all of the other responsibilities of a young adult. I lacked the maturity to cope, and this caused a lot of stress; my autism surfaced, and I found it increasingly difficult to interact. This sent me into a tailspin. I withdrew from classes and became a statistic.

I was in a “deep blue funk" for a long time afterwards, thirteen years, to be exact. Fortunately, I slowly matured over that span. I became a stay-at-home father of two, and did some work as a freelance writer and editor. I felt comfortable in this life, and wasn't sure if I could, or cared to, face finishing my degree work... but, life has a funny way of changing things.

I'm back.

And this time I know why I’m here. And where exactly is here? YSU. I could have gone anywhere... Penn State, Kent State... I had my pick. I chose YSU for what it has to offer.

Like so many, the impetus for my return has been a life-changing event. I am faced with the daunting responsibility of maintaining a home, and helping to raise my two children… alone. I am 40 now, and I have overcome a lack of maturity and a disability to get here. What I have learned is that college is not about getting grades; that is a lie. College is about doing one's best; it is about completing the coursework and gaining knowledge. I think so many of my fellow students miss these important concepts.

If we reach the end, we are handed a degree, and this does serve as a key to future hopes and dreams, but it is no guarantee of obtaining them; it is really the effort we put in, and the knowledge we take with us, which matters most. This is what our future employers will see in us... they will not ask to see our degrees or our transcripts.

Everything is the truth...

I know. It isn't as funny. But everything above is the truth, and I hope students reading this will listen to me, because I have been where, statistically, many are going.

YSU is not a last chance university. It is not a glorified community college. YSU offers so much to those willing to accept the challenge. Here, one can find a real chance to excel in a university environment.

YSU offers a sense of family that other universities do not have. We constantly read how Youngstown is resilient, and it is usually attributed to a strong sense of family unity. Folks, we have that right here. We are a family of 14,000, and I will say unequivocally, this is the nicest student body I have ever experienced.

YSU is a joke…

There will always be people who make fun of YSU. These are slings and arrows we must suffer, but to believe what is said is another matter entirely, because it is a lie. YSU is a first chance university. Take pride in yourself and your coursework; take pride in our school. Take from your experience here the work ethic you develop, and the knowledge you gain... then the joke will be on everyone else.

A different kind of education

By: Tyler Landis

I currently stand a year away from graduation at YSU, and will be the first male in my family with a college degree. This is a big deal, as I eagerly await the day. I attended Kent State University for my freshman year, but the experience and I didn’t agree. My grades weren’t up to snuff and the experiment of living away from home clearly didn’t pan out as I had envisioned. Classes were challenging, and if I got just a little behind I knew I’d be in trouble. Grades rolled around after the first semester and I had done just enough in three of my classes and had failed another. My mother’s reaction to these grades was stern and unforgiving, after all, she as a single mother was paying for my tuition, and she had good reason to be upset.

I promised change and better study habits for the second semester, but things remained the same. My overall work habits improved, but I still ended up failing the same class after the second semester. After that, I knew attending YSU was a foregone conclusion. I had been a journalism major since my enrollment at Kent State, and had every intention of continuing down the same path at YSU.

Now, a year away from being propelled into the real world, I feel my sweaty palms, think my nervous thoughts, and can’t imagine where I’ll end up in 10 years. Has YSU, as an institution, done its best to prepare me for the modern workplace where having a job means being lucky? I think the majority of my classes outside my particular major have been dull and un-inspiring. It’s too easy for students at YSU to coast by and remain unchallenged by their instructors and professors. The last thing I want to do is come across as the sole voice of YSU, but as I leave some classes, I wonder to myself why I had to pay money for a class that I could have slept through, still receiving a passing grade.

Some classes have been easy A’s, and while the grade registers fine into my GPA, what has it done for me in the long run? Some may argue that classes outside of my major shouldn’t matter since they’re pre-requisites to distinguish where a student stands. I am paying for these classes, and they should all challenge equally. I don’t have a proper solution to the problem, but it’s something that YSU should take a closer look into. With Cynthia Anderson as the new president, she will have her hands full in getting YSU back on track. The new formula for YSU funding has been initiated and supports the fact that YSU needs improvement. The current YSU retention rate sits at 68.9 percent, meaning less than 70 percent of first year students are returning for their sophomore year. YSU’s 2008 state report takes pride in itself, but why are some of these statistics being praised? While the stats aren’t flattering, the results raise the question of whether YSU should become a selective enrollment university. If the school should ever decide to do so, I would imagine that courses would become appropriately challenging to all students.

Those who know me well enough can attest that I am a lover of film. I eat, breathe, and sleep cinematic thoughts all throughout the day and night. My dream is to become a film critic, even though the days of one trick pony journalists may already be over. For me, there is no greater feeling than digesting a film, writing about it on my blog, and eventually discussing it with others who have seen it. I have my own little niche, and I like to think that it will get me somewhere one day.

Raising the question of whether my education from movies outweighs my YSU education may seem unfair. Both educations cost money, but I prefer the cheaper one. YSU has taught me how to learn properly, but it’s a framework that couldn’t even compare with my passion for film. I constantly find myself comparing my YSU education with my film education, where I have learned how to live and behave from the characters in my favorite films. I have grown into this self taught education, as it has molded me into the adult I am today. I can’t help but compare YSU to Wonderland or Oz, knowing that the best education has been in my backyard the whole time.