Paying for college is almost always something incoming freshmen and their families have to consider. However, according to an annual study conducted by the University of California- Los Angeles, this concern is growing in importance.

Since the economic recession began in December 2007, students have been facing new problems and concerns. Many graduating students are unable to find jobs, and many full-time students are becoming part-time students and find part-time jobs in order to pay for their educations.

The 2009 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey study showed that 53.3 percent of college freshmen claimed to have at least “some” concern about how they would pay for their education. This is the highest percentage since 1971, and an increase of 3.9 percent since 2008.

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Pop Culture Founder, Ray Browne

Pop culture is possibly my favorite subject. There’s just something fun and intriguing about studying the Muppets, Grey’s Anatomy, or sports. At my school, there is a course focusing on the Twilight phenomenon and youth culture and a course studying The Beatles’ impact on music in the 1960s. Some might think these are classes that should not be taught on a college campus, but many think that they are a great way to analyze how current trends affect our culture.

The first man to define pop culture as an academic discipline was Ray Browne, a professor at Bowling Green State University. Browne died on October 22, 2009, from natural causes. Browne founded the first department of pop culture studies in 1973.

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Allow students to watch a XXX porn movie in the student union or risk budget cuts by the state. That was the dilemna facing University of Maryland this week after they’d elected to screen “Pirates II: Stagnetti’s Revenge” in its student union. Students across the country have been attending screenings of the big-budget porn flick on campuses, but when Maryland State Senator Andy Harris heard about the busty event, he made moves to have it stopped, by threatening to suspend state funding (about $424 million).

“I am pleased to know that the university did the right thing and canceled this movie,” said Harris. “Students can’t light up a cigarette in the student union but can watch a hardcore XXX porn film. Occasional viewing of porn is more dangerous than occasionally lighting up a cigarette.”

No surprise that the film and the recent move at U of M are stirring debate, talks of the First Amendment, and whether or not colleges should be an advertising medium for such films. Following the movie at the university, a representative from Planned Parenthood was scheduled to discuss safe sex. In December, the movie was shown at UCLA, after which students held a Q&A with the filmmakers and grilled them about porn’s role in the exploitation of women. Read the rest of this entry »

Four years is the typical degree plan. Fifth-year seniors aren’t uncommon. But a 20-year senior? Rare, and a title Troy Aikman now has.

The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback kept a promise to his mother to finish school. He completed his final two courses, earned an A in each, and will participate in graduation ceremonies this June to accept a degree in sociology from UCLA.

At 42-years-old, Troy Aikman says he’s “finally taking care of unfinished business.”