Jessica Rodriguez/Contributing Writer
Every semester, SGA collects roughly 14 million dollars from student tuition. With this money, they provide funding for the student body, one being the distribution of the latest agendas to welcome a new semester. They are practical, small and free.
But students are wondering whether it would be a good idea to switch from paper agendas to something more eco-friendly, like an electronic agenda.
Freshman biology major Andres Lopez believes that agendas are only used at the beginning of the year and then they are “forgotten or lost.” He prefers the use of his iPad calendar app. Not only would an electronic agenda be easier to maintain and not lose, but it would also help save paper, kill less trees and possibly save SGA a lot of money.
These days everything is electronic, so the idea of having an app students can download as an electronic agenda wouldn’t surprise us. However, some students feel comfortable going the paper route.
“A lot of people get it because it saves money. They don’t need to buy their own agenda,” said sophomore chemistry major Diana Ospina. Not every student can afford a smart phone or tablet to download an electronic agenda or even a pricey $20 agenda from an office supply store. Passing out these agendas free of charge is more convenient for some and lest costly.
Joanna Garcia and Franklin McUne, coordinators from the Center for Leadership and Service, admit that students don’t just get the agendas because they are free, they feel that “the agendas are useful as students need them to stay on track and aware of new information that comes along with the new year.” With so much positive energy coming from these agendas, SGA guarantees to have them for the upcoming years.
However, having an electronic agenda means having it with you at all times. Sophomore chemistry major Brian Weeks saves all his homework assignments and important dates in his phone because he can refer to it at “any time” and it is “one less book to carry.”
If there is one thing we can all agree on it is that textbooks are heavy, and any extra weight counts. But what happens if your phone gets stolen or you leave it in the bathroom? We’re more likely to get our phones stolen than our agendas, so are these chances we want to take?
Technology has advanced but it’s not perfect.
The paper agenda is not going to run out of battery or get a phone call the second your professor decides to dictate the homework assignment that will be worth 10% of your grade. Paper or electronic?
Whichever way you choose to get organized, until an electronic option is available, you can pick up your agenda in GC 2240.
–life@fiusm.com
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