Broward Community College - Silver Sands Yearbook (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

Page 11 text:

eviews roblems During a brief lull in classes many serious and informative discussions take place. I ' 1 I I I doubt that that will ever happen. Still another student stated his philos- . ophy on church services through the ' words of Mark Twain who said that l man's most dreaded obligation is the Sunday church service. He is off in another world when the sermon is given, and only when the last amen is said, does his face light up with piety and spiritual enlightenment. EMost BJC students, it seems, agree L with Twain's philosophy, On the other hand, however, one student said, I do attend regular services and I feel religion is very much a part of my life in that it is the foundation from which I make my decisions. I believe in my religion, ualthough I am not a Hholier than thoui' person. I think it is more a matter of having faith, believing. It is NN-llhin, ..-1 right for me. Perhaps this last line explains the dilemma of attending church services, for some it is right and beneficial while for others it can be a complete waste of time. This then leads into the question of religion and the realm of its moral significance. Many students say that religion is most closely related to what is right or wrong. As far as religion providing the student with answers to the moral decisions, he faces, 4472 of B.lC's student population said yes. religion does provide them with the answers on moral issues, and 51? said no. The other 421 offered no response. Why, you may ask, does religion seem to leave a void in over half of the students' lives when it confronts moral issues? One said this: l'm sure that I do rely on religion for decisions I may make. At other times, I rely on my own common sense which, in a way, may also be a form of religion. Another student said, Religion can be a guideline to solving moral problems. but I don't think believing in a religion makes you any more able to make moral decisions than an atheist, and still another student replied that religious training does help him in regard to his friends, neighbors, and business, but in personal morals as related to a more intimate relationship or to marriage or even family morals, religion is as useful as a pen without ink. Religion as a moral guideline on this campus seems to be rather unstable at this time. Another debatable issue is whether campus living or home living is more beneficial to the college student. With over 87fZv of B.lC's students living at home, the question of dormitories on campus received a 6062 favorable reaction while 3712 were not in favor of campus living and 342 were indifferent. Some of the affirmative reactions for dormitories went as follows: By living on campus a student has more time to be strictly concerned with himself, his future, and his studies. He is not burdened The mile - long walk from the library is shortened when cr friend joins you for the journey. 1 Q av- I ,,.,

Page 10 text:

J A I I 6 i x r r I 5 r l l l v 2 i Creating a sang on a harmonica seems to quickly pass the time between classes. Discussing my studies with my parents always ends in conflict because my father refuses to listen to me when I talk. He has to lecture us every time he feels up to talking to anyone in the house. No one can state his views without having a 24 hour lecture take place. Discussion on my side is never heard. This was a response received from one of BJC's students when he was given a questionnaire from this magazine and asked whether he discussed his college studies with his parents. Perhaps you're response to this question would be similar to this student's if you had the chance to answer the same questions, or perhaps you would respond quite differently. For instance, another student who received the same question said, Yes, l discuss the school with my parents when I feel there is a topic that would be of interest to them. After all, they are human and only wonder what our life outside of the home is like to us. This comparison brings to light an important issue called the generation gap which is being debated among the students and parents alike. On a recent poll, 72'Zn of BJC's students said that they do discuss college studies with their parents, 26? said that they didn't, and ZW abstained from submitting an answer. From these results it would apparently seem that the generation gap has been slightly exaggerated by most people, at least as far as BJC's campus is concerned. Religion is another issue which confronts the students on the college campus today. ls God really dead?', asks many students. On BJC's campus God seems to be quite alive. but rather unemployed at this time. For example, when this cross-section of students was asked whether they attended religious services regularly, only 3471 replied that they did. However. when these same people were asked whether religion is relevant to their life. 6896 said yes. Apparently religion is a large part of these Campl Student .t f N ' .... . Xxx is t at student's lives, but they would rather practice their views outside the institu- tions and walls of a church. For example, one student expounded on his ideas regarding this question by saying, I believe in a God. Many people feel that in order to have a religion or be a religous person, attending church services is most necessary. But you know, getting up Sunday morning and standing in church, your mind on your activities for the day or what you're going to wear when you go out tomorrow night. doesn't make you any holier than staying in bed and catching a little extra sleep. Believing in God is what the faith is. Another student further explained that organized religion could be relevant if it would cut out the politics and hypocrisy, but

Page 12 text:

QQQ 1, ..'. r-:ag gf, t .., aff lg s.,-i,.,',',,ut,--.win , ,..,. , , . i ,A ..,-, p5 3.9. Nga -. ti- it ,Tsvbfi sJv r 1516, f. Cixi'-:. - Protection from the brisk campus wind is provided by the administration wall during a discussion of today is pro blems. with who will walk the dog, babysit with little brother. or patch up things with mother and dad after a family disagreement. I would much rather pay dorm fees than an activity fee that spends money on the college news- papers which are rarely read. Another favorable response was, I feel the atmosphere for college learning would be enhanced by campus living. The atmosphere of the campus has a way of making one want to study and ask his fellow classmates questions about the subject. When the student goes off campus he leaves this atmosphere for his job or apartment or home, where the mode of living makes the student forget about classes, homework, and studying. Away from the campus, the student has too many distractions and is really not in contact with his academic peers. Negative responses tagainst dormi- toriesl gave the following reasons: They are not needed. The whole purpose of junior colleges is to be close to the student so he can commute from home. Also, I would not favor dormitories on campus because l do not see the need. As far as enhancing the campus, I cannot see 4 where more buildings would make an improvement. Besides, where would the students who live away from the college park when there is already a parking problem. Dormitories, how- ever, seem quite possible for the future of BJC as the campus expands. Of the random sampling of Broward Junior College students, 77? of them are employed. Does this extra work conflict with college studies, Most of those who work agree that it does, but that it has advantages too. For instance, it provides a means to acquire spending money, to gain insight into the outside world, and to meet many kinds of people. HI feel that having a job has helped me to be a better student at BJC and will be of more help to me in the future than many things I could ever get out of books, said one student. The pres- sures of obtaining tuition fees, book costs, and car upkeep can also be remedied by an outside job. A full-time student who also has a full-time job is not advisable,however, as many students can testify. One student had his opinion on the female student working, I think girls Work just to keep themselves busy. Many working girls would probably violently disagree with this opinion. Another question that received interesting results was whether the student feels secure as to what his role in the future will be. The answers were almost equally divided. Forty-seven percent said that they were secure in their future role, and 5O'k said that they weren't, while 3? refrained from answering. I feel secure knowing what the future will hold, said one female student. To me it is impos- sible to feel secure about anything that deals with the direct future. as the future changes many things, said another student. One student replied, as far as what profession I will undertake. I am not secure, but in the duties of marriage etc., I am sure. Attitudes toward the future are intluenccd by the male and female role in society. One student says, The student should be able wt make his own decisions about his profession and goals in life. Many students feel that the goals of his parents were adequate at one time, but not at the presentfl think that most students would try to better themselves and set their goals higher than their parents. Support for this could be found in the fact that 88? of the female students polled said that their roles would differ greatly from their mother's and 8379 of the male students said that their roles would also differ from their fatherfs. These results clearly indicate the change in the roles of men and women taking place in today's society. Other interesting results from the questionaire that was submitted around the campus to various English classes were that 5576 of BJC's students pay for their own education, and that 89? of the students discuss what they are studying with people their own ageg it also revealed that 6511 of the students know what profession they will enter after college, and that pay scale, security, and the opportunity to make meaningful con- tributions, are all important factors when the student chooses his future profession. Friends gather at the hospitality center for a late afternoon chat. f- 5,86-