Students need The Wall Street Journal

As a sophomore finance major in the Robert H. Smith School of Business, I am quite upset every morning when I enter the business school’s cafeteria. I come in every morning to see The Washington Post and The New York Times, but no copies of The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal is one of the most widely read papers in the world, and it is quite essential for a fellow business student to read every day if he or she wants to pursue any kind of financial career, especially if he or she wants to go to Wall Street. Bill Gates, Michael Dell, hell, even Donald Trump, you name any of the richest men in the world today and I guarantee you that they read The Wall Street Journal every day. The top Ivy League institutions with some of the best business programs in the country have this paper provided to them for free.

The New York Times and The Washington Post are almost identical papers, whereas The Wall Street Journal has a completely different focus of news and is a great deal more in-depth. College students need to know what is going on in the financial and the corporate world, no matter what major they are. More and more people are getting involved in the stock market, and the people are coming from a vast array of careers. You have dance teachers investing in stocks right along with hedge fund managers. It makes me sick whenever I hear some ditzy blonde girl say, “Who is Enron?”

College students need to realize they should be taking an interest in this information, too, and the easiest way an extensive amount of college students can get this exposure is for the Student Government Association to spend some money on The Wall Street Journal rather than The New York Times or The Washington Post. So SGA, I am glad you brought the Collegiate Readership Program to campus, but make the program even better by getting The Wall Street Journal for us.

Kunal Mahajan

Sophomore

Finance

Meet your fellow classmates

We get angry at the way tickets are handed out for basketball games. We yell and rally behind causes from tuition increases to war. We hatch up new ways to get into bars with fake IDs. And we are loud enough to easily drown out the band at basketball games. But we walk all the way to the back of the Diner from the Comcast Center and just look for an empty table. We won’t even compromise and sit at a table with just one other person unless we really have to. We also go to class day after day, sitting next to new people every time. But how many times have you talked to that stranger next to you? Are you afraid? Maybe you have too many friends and can’t handle having one more.

I have a challenge for you. Look around. See that person right over there? No, not her, she didn’t shower this morning. Her, or him, or any of those people you’ve never met. Get up, walk over there, sit down and introduce yourself. And next time you go to the Diner and it’s only 7:30 in the morning and you’re eating your bagel with jelly (your first mistake, I go with Trix – it’s not just for kids), instead of looking for a table all for yourself, find the most crowded table and sit there, right next to somebody. Leave no seats between you. Do this for every meal. Talk to people in your classes. College is great for sitting in class and reading and doing homework, but college is better for networking and meeting people who may change your life, make you laugh or piss you off so much you’ll never want to talk to anyone again. Usually the last one only happens when you talk to me, but don’t let it stop you from meeting new people.

When I walk into the diner or into class, I feel like I’m in middle school again: Looking for the table where I will fit in, but not finding it, then commandeering my own table, knowing that no one is going to sit with me as long as there is another empty table somewhere. SIT WITH SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW. THESE PEOPLE AREN’T STRANGERS, THEY’RE YOUR CLASSMATES. I promise they won’t bite, but as for me, I make no promises. Good luck.

Phil McCauley

Freshman

Undecided

íLucky & thankful ticket holder

I am writing to express my thanks and gratitude to the hardworking staff of TicketReturn for producing a quality system. It allowed me to acquire a ticket to this Saturday’s Men’s Basketball game against Duke, with a meager 4 loyalty points. Only in America. Keep up the hard work, and I look forward to next season. Go Terps.

Tom Decker

Class of 2008

History/English