Times Roundtable kicks-off semester with housing market discussion

Leslie Ovalle/Assistant Entertainment Director

leslie.ovalle@fiusm.com

 

Tuesday Times Roundtables, the famous weekly discussions centered around a New York Times Article, began in 2009 and have continued every Fall and Spring semester since then without fail.  

This Spring semester is definitely not an exception. Tuesday Times Roundtable will be kicking off the semester on Jan. 19 at GC 150 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.–it’s regular time and place.

“These [Tuesday Times Roundtables] are not lectures, everyone is encouraged to participate,” Said Eric Feldman, FIU alumn and coordinator for the office of Global Learning Initiatives.

Vickie Toranzo, a librarian at FIU specializing on government documents, will be leading the first roundtable of the year. She will be talking about how the costly housing market will impact South Florida graduates.

The topic seems fit to begin the semester, especially after South Florida’s housing market continuously ranking among the least affordable.

Just in September it was reported by the SunSentinel that Palm Beach and Broward counties ranked in the 35 least affordable housing markets nationwide with buyers needing to spend around 50 percent of their income on housing, utilities and commuting.

Miami-Dade County did not fall short on the list, ranking third overall only falling behind San Francisco and Los Angeles. In Miami-Dade buyers need to spend 69.2 percent of their income on housing and commuting expenses.

“On a personal note, I am a relatively recent graduate and I am at the point where I am hoping to have a house instead of renting,” said Feldman, “I am definitely looking to get something out of the discussion.”

These Tuesday Times Roundtable events can also be valued as points towards the prestigious “Excellence in Global Learning Medallion.”

The medallion requires students to participate in global co-curricular activities, conduct a research project, complete four global learning classes, create an eportfolio and have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA at the time of graduation.

According to Feldman, as soon as someone is interested in the medallion they can sign up online at goglobal.fiu.edu/medallion.

Tuesday Times Roundtables happen weekly, at the same time and place. The offer free lunch, occasional prizes and an interactive discussion with a professionals and insightful peers.

Feldman recommends arriving early, “some of them get rather packed, so sometimes the food is gone before everyone arrives,” he said.  

For details on this semester’s Tuesday Times Roundtable sessions visit goglobal.fiu.edu/ttr.         

 

Photo by Creative Commons

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