The Social Network

Mike Madarasz

Facebook’s initial public offering is now less than two weeks away.  The craze surrounding it will almost certainly cause it to be overvalued initially.  More importantly, the release raises the question of just how viable Facebook will be in the long run.  Whether Facebook will remain mainstream in the future or join MySpace in the digital graveyard is a hotly debated topic. 

Many people believe that at this point Facebook is so widely used that it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to take their place in the realm of social media.  The way I see it, it is only a matter of time until the “next Zuckerburg” arrives and offers something that trumps Facebook.  There is always going to be something better and more advanced that will come along.  If you asked anyone five or six years ago if AOL Instant Messenger would ever be dated, I’m sure you would get the same response as if you asked an identical question about Facebook today.  Ultimately, I see two factors opening the door for competitors down the road.

1.    A site with a more narrow focus will move in.  Facebook seems like they are already starting to over expand.  Newsfeeds are now cluttered with notifications about Words With Friends, Spotify and friends viewing videos and reading articles.  I can see this trend starting to frustrate people in the future.  Much like the way Facebook originally catered to college students and made MySpace obsolete, another site with a narrower focus could crop up and get a foothold in the market. 

2.    A site will be able to aggregate everything and make the internet a one stop experience (cough cough Google).  Google now competes with Facebook via Google+ .  Users can already search the internet, access their e-mail, get directions, instant message and search YouTube on one site.  It is only a matter of time before Google, or another site, is able to patch all of these services together under a single umbrella.

I am now about to post the link to this blog on Facebook.  Stay tuned though because at this time next year, it may be posted to MySpace, Google+ or something we haven't heard of yet.

Spring Fling

Shavonna Hinton

I miss being a kid (but I’m glad I’m growing up). Based on the events of this past weekend, however, it sure was great to be a kid again if only for a couple hours. The 5 hours of fun provided by the SAPB of Binghamton at Spring Fling were arguably some of most fun and enjoyable hours I’ve spent on Binghamton’s campus all year.

From fried dough and candy apples to carnival rides and bouncy houses, I really felt like I was at a carnival right in the middle of the Peace Quad. I won prizes and amassed copious amounts of candy and sweets. In addition, it also happened to be Cinco de Mayo which meant there were also strawberry daiquiris and margaritas for just $2.

Hearing grown college kids screaming like 8 year olds at an amusement park and getting to do arts and crafts, like splatter painting Frisbees, are events not commonly found on a college campus but Spring Fling had that sort of effect on stressed out overworked students. In the midst of preparing for finals and getting prepared for the summer, it was great to sit back and relax and let my mind take a break on a great Saturday Afternoon.  I’m sure everyone else appreciated it too.

Meeting the POBUS

John Minami

Tuesday night I was cordially invited to attend a dinner meeting with the POBUS (President Of Binghamton University SUNY).  It was just one of a series of dinner meetings that the POBUS was having with various students ranging from freshmen in Dickinson to seniors living off campus.  And overall, I enjoyed the evening pretty well.

I had expected to dine with him alone, but instead there were about eight students and two faculty members present at the dinner.  We pushed together a few tables in C4 and sat in a misshapen circle talking about how our lives were.  The students shared their majors and campus activities while the POBUS gave us some insight into the inner workings of a university president.  The revelation of the night: Harvey Stenger (a.k.a. the POBUS) is a person. 

All year I was plagued with news of a “new president” who would be presiding over Binghamton University.  However, in all honesty, I didn’t really care.  I had never met the man and I had absolutely no choice or say in whatever decisions he made regarding the campus.  I had not consented for this person to decide how my college life would go.  For all I knew, he could’ve disbanded the Crew team (a huge part of my college life) and hiked tuition up a thousand dollars.  He was a far-off giant who apparently had a significant amount of control over my life and I didn’t know how he would use that control over me.  When I had invited to the dinner, I didn’t expect much out of it.  My mindset walking into the dining hall was: “He’s just doing this as a formality to make it seem like he cares about the students.  In the end, he’s going to have the school and his own best interest in mind.”  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

What I learned about the POBUS through our dining experience was that he used to be a chemistry teacher at the University of Buffalo who also taught a computer science class.  He’s a loving husband who is taking his wife out to a play this weekend.  He recently defused his first student protest (the grad students wanted more money for Teacher Assistantships).  He is a great father who has a daughter in college.  He’s working with various local and state groups/organizations to control our exploding deer population.  Most of all, he cares about the students.  I had expected him to treat this dinner with little interest or care but I could see that as our dinner conversations progressed he genuinely cared about the Binghamton students.  I was amazed at how much interest he took in what we had to say to him and the way he shared so much of what was going on in his life with us, a group of younger (but not that much younger) adults. 

Sitting next to him in C4, I didn’t feel like I was talking with the POBUS.  It felt more like talking to an old acquaintance who I was catching up with.  It felt very relaxed and casual and I loved every moment of it.  We got to know each other as actual human beings and as more than just faculty and student.  I am not sure if the POBUS is holding any more of these dinners but if anyone has the opportunity to attend them, I would definitely do so.

To President Stenger: Good luck with running the university because your job and my future depend on it.  But I’m not worried because I am sure we will both be fine in your very capable hands.

Student Tracklete

Shavonna Hinton

After several weeks of trying to avoid this topic, I’ve finally realized it was inevitable that I was eventually going to have to write about it. Ever since I’ve been in middle school I’ve always been known as the “tracklete”. I was hoping I might be able to shake this title once I got to college but sadly, I haven’t.  I’m not saying I don’t love the sport I just feel as if there’s so much more to me as a person but everyone always gets hung up on  the fact that I run track. However, being in college I’ve learned to embrace my role as a student athlete.

From my first day at Bing I was already at an advantage socially considering that my roommate was also a runner, which made the bonding process a little easier. Not to mention the fact that I would also be instantly connected to a group of 90 plus people all just by being on the team. I’ve grown to respect and admire many of my teammates for the hard work they put in on and off the track. Whenever I’ve had any questions about academics or finding a balance in college I could turn to someone who had gone through similar experiences and who could guide me through it all. I know it’s a cliché but my team is like a family. For the most part we are a pretty tight unit and we look out for each other. We celebrate each other’s victories and help each other out when someone might be down.

When I tell people I’m an athlete they’re usually very impressed with the fact that I’ve chosen to make a huge commitment aside from being just a student. Additionally, I hear you earn big points with job recruiters because of all the life skills you learn to develop as a student athlete.  All in all, being a student athlete is a badge of honor at Bing and I’m proud that I get to represent this college every week when I step out on that line to race.

Astronomy 100 to Management 580

Mike Madarasz

There are a handful of classes I have taken in my college career that I would consider vital moving forward into the professional world.  The Excel classes I have taken have no doubt made me proficient in a very important program. 

However, realistically, in my case a good percentage of the things that I have learned in college are not going to be overly relevant when I get my first job, whenever that may be.  Any kind of elective I’ve ever taken automatically falls under that category.  Nothing against astronomy but unless there is a company camping trip it’s very unlikely that it will be pertinent to a job in marketing.  This could even be said for some material in SOM classes that I have taken (professors, notice the emphasis on some).  For example, case studies and class discussions can be very valuable in obtaining an understanding of a subject.  However, I don’t see myself pulling out the “Four P’s” of marketing very often in a real business setting. 

That being said, college, and especially grad school, have provided me with skills that are much more important than much of the concrete knowledge I will come away with.  For example, I would say I have done upwards of thirty presentations in my life.  Public speaking is one of the most desirable traits for an employee and college has gone a long way in helping me perfect this skill. 

I can’t say enough about the communication skills that I will leave school with.  In grad school especially, group work is constantly required.  It forces you to be in constant communication with your group and make sure everyone is on the same page.  Not only that, in a competitive school such as Binghamton you are constantly working with very intelligent people and there is something to be said for that as well. 

Finally, if nothing else, college has taught me to be organized and on top of things.  Especially as a grad student with a 19 credit schedule, you need to manage your time in order to be successful.  You always have to be aware of what’s going on and have a plan for everything.

I may be graduating after five years with a significant amount of student loans to pay back but I think I can justify them pretty easily. 

Don’t “Be You” at BU, but “Find You” at BU

John Minami

If you looked into my closet, you won't find a single Binghamton University hoodie.  Looking at my friends and random students on campus, it appears that almost everyone has a university hoodie.  There are probably a multitude of reasons why everyone has one: it was on sale, it was supposed to be for a family member, they have a lot of school pride, etc.  As for me, I never really got around to getting one.  I've always wanted one, but various reasons (low cash, school store was closed, too lazy to walk to the school store, etc.) have always prevented me from making the purchase.

Since my time at Binghamton University, I have acquired these two hoodies.  The left one is from the Korean-American Baptist Organization or KABSO for short.  The other one is from the Binghamtom Crew team. 

To me, these are more or less my "Binghamton University hoodies".  You see, for me, Binghamton University isn't about the buildings or the classes or even our prestigious name.  To me, Binghamton University IS KABSO and BU Crew.  Without these two organizations, Binghamton University would cease to be what it is.  Both organizations have had such a profound impact on not only my first year of college, but my first year living on my own.

In KABSO, I was able to discover a new support system of emotional ties that act as my "pseudo"-family when my real family cannot be with me.  Without it, I don't know what I would do.  Sharing not only a faith, but also feelings and problems with this group has been an amazing experience for me.  Being so far from home, it is difficult to find people who truly love you. Luckily, I was able to find those people in KABSO. 

In BU Crew, however, I have found a different sort of support system.  Whereas, KABSO catches me when I'm down, BU Crew does something slightly different.

BU Crew pushes me past my limits.  When I am tired and dying, it drives me to continue moving.  Rowing every morning makes me believe that I can do anything.  If I can wake up at 5:00 AM every morning to kill myself for an hour or two BEFORE going to classes, I think I can pretty much do anything.  You know those billions of e-mails that SOM students receive from Christina Whitney?  I apply to every single one that doesn’t have a credit restriction.  Even though, my chances of getting that internship or job are slim, I persevere regardless because that’s what Crew has taught me to do.  It doesn’t matter how the odds are stacked against me, I just keep moving forward, doing my best.  I believe this determination will get me far in life.  Heck, it got me into EY Connect, which I never had believed I would be good enough for.  I also decided to double major in English because of Crew.  The workload will be hard but it is something I want to do, so I will reach for it with all my strength and effort.

To me, college isn’t about a time for getting good grades or a degree.  It’s about exploring yourself, and discovering parts of you that you never knew existed.  It’s about finding out how much you really miss your family and crave a close emotional connection.  It’s about realizing your full potential when you try your hardest. 

I’ve learned a lot about myself this freshmen year, but I’m still not done. I still have 3 more years to learn even more about myself.  And I can’t wait.

It's That Time of Year

Mike Madarasz

This is my fifth year in school and I can see a way too familiar time of year right around the corner.  It’s that time of year when the weather gets nice, academic motivation suffers and it becomes exponentially harder to bring yourself to be a diligent student.  It’s when you begin to see that stereotypical college scene of kids laying out and playing Frisbee on the college green.  I don’t know what it is about nice weather that makes college students “lose it”, but there is definitely an inverse relationship between temperature and academic achievement. 

I would be lying if I said I have not been guilty of this in the past.  Once the weather gets warm, I can’t help but let my mind wander to the golf course while sitting in class.  Whatever the topic in class is that day is not nearly as important as what I’m going to shoot on 18 holes later on.

After careful review and scientific analysis, I think I can partially explain this phenomenon.  First, suffering through winter comes with going to a school in upstate New York.  There are only so many weeks of good weather during each school year and students feel like they have to take advantage of them.  Also, by the time April comes around everyone is just plain tired of class.  I don’t feel I need to elaborate on this point.  Finally, everyone can taste summer right around the corner and the anticipation alone is enough to make students “lose it”.    

That being said, I have a tee time to make.