FALL 2012 Volume 7, Issue I

EMORY’S FINANCIAL LITERACY NEWSLETTER

DECISION TIME

Election

Internships

Loans

Professions

EM

ORY

’S F

INA

NC

IAL L

ITER

AC

Y N

EW

SLET

TER

Page 2 MINT

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

CURRENT ISSUES

11 Your Vote Matters

12 Urban Development

21 Scam Alert

YOUR MONEY

04 Internships

15 Humanities & Arts Professions

CAREERS

17 Loan Repayment

“I know I can (I know I can)

Be what I wanna be (be what I

wanna be)

If I work hard at it (If I work hard

at it)

I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be

where I wanna be)

Be, B-Boys and girls, listen up

You can be anything in the world,

in God we trust

An architect, doctor, maybe an

actress

But nothing comes easy it takes

much practice” -from “I Can” by

Nas

“You can’t always get what you

want But if you try sometimes well

you just might find You get what

you need” -from “You Can’t Always

Get What You Want” by The

Rolling Stones

“I’ve had enough of scheming

and messing around with

jerks My car is parked outside

I’m afraid it doesn’t work I’m

looking for a partner,

someone who gets things fixed

Ask yourself this question: Do

you want to be rich? I’ve got

the brains, you’ve got the

looks Let’s make lots of money

You’ve got the brawn I’ve got

the brains Let’s make lots of

money” -from “Opportunities”

by Pet Shop Boys

Lyrics about Money (Continued from page 14)

Page 23 Volume 7, Issue I

“Bien pagada Si tu eres la bien

pagada Porque tus besos

compre Y a mi te supiste dar

Por un puñal de parne Bien

paga, bien paga Bien paga

fuiste, mujer” -from “Bien

Paga” by Bebo & Cigala

Page 3 Volume 7, Issue I

08 E-books vs. Books

18 Legal Music Downloading Services

ENRICHMENT

TECHNOLOGY

07 Best Lyrics about Money

EDITORS

Joo Y. Kim (14C)

Emily A. Thomas (13C)

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ADDITIONAL EDITING

SUPERVISOR

Maria Carthon,

Assistant Director of Financial Aid

Emory University 200 Dowman Drive

Boisfeuillet Jones Center Suite 300

Atlanta, GA 30322-1960

Shannon Tarbell (12GSAS)

Emanuel Henighan (MDiv 14)

FRONT COVER: Charlotte Watts (13C) BACK COVER: Charlotte Watts (13C)

Scam Alert (Continued from page 21)

MINT Page 22

The pie chart presenting the age

distribution statistics of the com-

plainant also offers an informative

perspective. There isn‘t a huge dif-

ference in vulnerability to fraud

after the age of 20. It seems that as

people grow older, their chances of

encountering frauds increase slight-

ly. The data also reflects that in the

two age groups, ―Over 60‖ and

―Under 20,‖ the percentage of com-

plaints are significantly lower in

comparison to other age groups. Ra-

ther than indicating that these age

groups are less at risk, such differ-

ences could indicate their lack of

ability or willingness to report a

fraud when victimized. In fact,

many incident reports written on

blogs or websites made specifically

for those who have been scammed,

are about the elders who have been

scammed and didn‘t know what to

do (if they even found out that it

was a fraud). More importantly,

these reports are written not by the

elders themselves but by others (e.g.

family members, close acquaintanc-

es). It is everyone‘s responsibility to

help one another from becoming

victims and reporting the fraud inci-

dents. We can see that all age

groups are at risk and the best pre-

caution one can take is to stay

aware of the many scams out there.

The issue specifically concerns us,

college students, as we apply for

financial aid. Some students who

did not go to FAFSA.GOV but in-

stead were directed to a fraudulent

site ended up making a payment. If

the students were informed that the

first letter F of FAFSA stands for

FREE, would they have made the

same mistake? Probably not. In

many instances, if the victim had

stayed aware of the scams circulat-

ing at the time, he would have

saved himself from being drawn

into the whirlpool of fraud. The loss-

es reported range from minimal dol-

lar amounts of money to hundreds

of millions of dollars. In a blink of

an eye, your money can become a

mere statistic.

Always remember: When it sounds

too good to be true, then it probably

is. Never exclude yourself from the

chance of being scammed. You can

never be too careful, even on

―secured websites.‖ Read the web-

sites reporting new scams occasion-

ally and stay informed. As it is the

case with most crime preventions,

fraud prevention begins with self-

awareness and responsibility.

USEFUL WEBSITES:

http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/e-scams

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/scam_alerts/scam_alerts.htm

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.phtml

Internships Joo Y. Kim

Page 4 MINT

Over the summer break, many stu-

dents gained either an internship or

other work position experience.

Those who have actively sought out

an internship should know how im-

portant it is to get started on the in-

ternship applications early in order

to increases the chance of being ac-

cepted.

Most of the time, applications are

reviewed on a first-come-first-served

basis. While this does not mean that

the chance of acceptance decreases if

you apply a week before the deadline,

it is still better to apply as soon as

possible. When you wait until the

last minute, it shows the recipient

that you have not prioritized the ap-

plication process. There is also a

strong chance that some of the seats

have already been filled. (Think of

the financial aid applications for col-

lege: The earlier you apply the bet-

ter!)

Applying for an internship or other

student employment is much like

applying for college and student fi-

nancial aid. You need to do your re-

search before narrowing down your

options to a manageable number.

Start your resume process as early as

possible, and polish up your inter-

view skills.

You will need an updated resume,

recommendation letter, statement of

purpose, cover letter and any other

documentations required by the posi-

tion you are applying for. The Career

Center hosts excellent information

sessions on Internships throughout

the semester. The Career Center is

located on the second floor of the

Boisfeuillet Jones center (aka

B.Jones). The advisors are divided

according to majors (you should be

getting emails from your advisor re-

garding career center activities if you

have declared your major). Set up an

appointment with your advisor to

discuss any concerns or questions

you may have while seeking employ-

ment opportunities. They are availa-

ble to review your resume and to con-

duct a mock interview. The Emory

Career Center is waiting with open

arms for eager students seeking op-

portunities—you just have to ask!

The Career Center website (http://

www.career.emory.edu/) allows you

to view the upcoming events and pro-

grams. You can also find more de-

tailed information about the events

by clicking on the link. The right side

of the page also lists electronic re-

sources such as Eagle Ops (Emory‘s

job search site for internships, full

time, part-time, and work study posi-

tions) and document critique ser-

vices.

In the meantime, Don Cornwell, As-

sociate Director of the Emory Career

Center, has provided basic tips and

answered common questions asked

by students to help you succeed this

year!

There are many resources available

at the Emory Career Center: the In-

ternship information sessions are

held a couple of times per semester;

one-on-one appointments with your

Career Center advisor; and panel

discussions that allow students to

interact with peers who have had

previous experiences in internship

positions.

A common mistake students fre-

quently make in searching for an in-

ternship is not starting early. Accord-

ing to Mr. Cornwell, you need time to

research your available options, to

get critiques on your resume, to have

several mock interviews, and to at-

tend to whatever else the position

you are interested in may require. To

get all the necessary steps done

properly and on time WHILE juggl-

ing academic work means that the

best time to begin looking for sum-

mer internships would be during

winter break. This is usually the

time when you don‘t have much on

your plate. So why not take ad-

vantage of the time, which you prob-

ably won‘t have as soon as the new

semester begins?

You must have your resume cri-

tiqued. The service is provided to you

at no cost at the Emory Career Cen-

ter. Make the effort to submit the

(Continued on page 5)

Internship - “any carefully monitored work or service experience

in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects

actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience” -

National Society for Experiential Education

Don Cornwell

Scam Alert Joo Y. Kim

Volume 7, Issue I Page 21

We are all familiar with the basic

economic notion that if something

sounds too good to be true, then it

probably is. Perhaps overuse of this

statement has rendered it meaning-

less, as it seems that more and more

people are taking the advice lightly.

It is often the case that people are too

occupied with their lives to pay much

attention to the scams around. How-

ever, nothing seems to discourage

scammers from experimenting and

coming up with more tricks. The dan-

gers of scams loom in our society as

part of the criminal scene. Especially

with the advancement in technology

and worldwide use of the Internet,

people are more vulnerable and the

scammers more cunning.

According to the 2010 Internet Crime

Report, the Internet Crime Com-

plaint Center (IC3) received the se-

cond-highest number of complaints

since its inception in 2000 (Figure 3).

IC3 also reached a major milestone

this year when it received its two-

millionth complaint. On average, IC3

receives and processes 25,000 com-

plaints per month.

Here is a percentage division on In-

ternet Frauds in 2010:

1. Non-delivery Payment/

Merchandise 14.4%

2. FBI-Related Scams 13.2%

3. Identity Theft 9.8%

4. Computer Crimes 9.1%

5. Miscellaneous Fraud 8.6%

6. Advance Fee Fraud 7.6%

7. Spam 6.9%

8. Auction Fraud 5.9%

9. Credit Card Fraud 5.3%

10. Overpayment Fraud 5.3%

(Continued on page 22)

Caveat Emptor—let the purchaser examine the article he is

buying before the bargain is completed, so that in case of

disappointment after purchase he may not blame the seller. (OED)

Internships (Continued from page 4)

Page 5 Volume 7, Issue I

document. Furthermore, the im-

portance of mock interviews can‘t be

emphasized enough. Getting into the

habit of practicing and developing

talking points will allow you to per-

form better on actual interviews. The

more confident you are, the better

the quality of responses.

As Mr. Cornwell confirmed, the

Emory Career Center considers the

possibility that you may get too com-

fortable with your career center advi-

sor to have a realistic mock inter-

view. If that is the case, the career

center will be more than happy to

arrange another advisor to get you in

shape for the interview.

The Emory Career Center also holds

corporate mock interviews, where

corporate associates visit campus to

mock interview students. This is a

great opportunity for the students to

get a more realistic practice and for

the corporations to get to know the

students, or rather the possible can-

didates, better.

Students can find internship listings

through Emory Eagle Ops. The

Emory Career Center encourages

students to utilize the Emory-

oriented resources.

University Career Action Network

(UCAN) and LinkedIn are also great

places to search for internships. Ac-

cording to LinkedIn Press Center, as

of February 9, 2012, LinkedIn oper-

ates the world‘s largest professional

network on the Internet with more

than 150 million members in over

200 countries and territories. UCAN

is a shared database with 22 national

colleges and universities. Listing

thousands of domestic and interna-

tional internships, UCAN is said to

be one of the most comprehensive

internship resources on the internet.

By scheduling appointments with an

advisor, students receive the speciali-

zation of an advisor who has years of

knowledge and critical evaluation of

internships, especially in regards to

their area of interest. The advisors‘

insight on the likelihood of landing a

particular position is a great re-

source.

The dividing line between paid-

positions and non-paid positions ulti-

mately comes down to the nature of

experience. Excluding non-profit or-

ganizations, the phenomenon of more

than enough eager students striving

to land an internship, whether paid

or non-paid, allows a leeway for cor-

porations to take ―advantage of‖ and

offer benefits other than money.

Sometimes such benefits take the

form of a summer credit program,

where students pay ―tuition‖ to ac-

quire that summer credit hour

through the internship. It is im-

portant to know that if the corpora-

tion, excluding non-profit organiza-

tions, in which you are interning falls

(Continued on page 6)

Ph

oto

by:

Ch

arl

ott

e W

att

s (

13

C)

MINT Page 20

Legal Music Downloading Services (Continued from page 19)

and Pandora. It also means that a

user with a premium membership

can listen to Spotify off line. Spotify

allows users to create playlists, not

just from their online catalogue, but

also from their own music. The ser-

vice has no time restrictions. Spotify

is also adding a radio option, but

playlists and favorites are still easily

accessed.

One of the service‘s main selling

points is that any playlist that‘s

made on Spotify can be transferred to

any music listening device. And the

user can listen to tracks without hav-

ing to buy a track or album. There

are some tracks that aren‘t on Spoti-

fy, and some artists, such as the Red

Hot Chili Peppers, only have a select

number of tracks available for

streaming. Not every service has eve-

ry song. The difference is that Spotify

makes it obvious which ones they

don‘t have by listing the tracks off

the albums.

Service Number

of Tracks

(approx)

Users

(approx)

Available in Free

streaming?

Subscription costs

Rhapsody.com

9 Million 800

Thousand

USA No Premier: 9.99$/mo.

Premier Plus: 14.99$/mo.

Pandora.com

700

Thousand

100

Million

USA Yes 36$/yr.

(About 3$/mo.)

Grooveshark.com

22 Million 35 Million Everywhere but Germany Yes Premium: 6$/mo. or 60$/yr.

Anywhere: 9$/mo. or 90$/yr.

Spotify.com

15 Million 13 Million Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Fin-

land, France, the Netherlands,

Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzer-

land, United Kingdom, USA

Yes Unlimited: 4.99$/mo.

Premium: 9.99$/mo.

Page 6 MINt

under the 6 criteria (refer to the ta-

ble), you should technically be get-

ting paid (or receiving a type of bene-

fit).

Lastly, Mr. Cornwell advises stu-

dents to ―start establishing your net-

work.‖ He emphasizes the benefit

behind strong networking as stu-

dents begin to seek opportunities,

whether it be paid or non-paid.

One way to establish a network is to

have conversations with people. For

instance, talk to the faculty members

in your major department or your

advisors. Inform them that you are

trying to earn a research opportunity

this summer and ask if they have

any contacts.

Take your chances. You‘ll be sur-

prised to find the quantity of re-

sources available through your net-

work. As previously mentioned,

LinkedIn is a good way to start

searching for internships as your pro-

fessional presence on the Internet is

also important. As social networking

becomes more and more prevalent,

you may find it useful to establish

your network!

Internships (Continued from page 5)

The Test For Unpaid Interns (The 6 Criteria)

There are some circumstances under which individuals who participate in “for-profit” private sector internships

or training programs may do so without compensation. The Supreme Court has held that the term "suffer or per-

mit to work" cannot be interpreted so as to make a person whose work serves only his or her own interest an em-

ployee of another who provides aid or instruction. This may apply to interns who receive training for their own

educational benefit if the training meets certain criteria. The determination of whether an internship or training

program meets this exclusion depends upon all of the facts and circumstances of each such program.

The following six criteria must be applied when making this determination:

1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training

which would be given in an educational environment;

2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;

3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and

on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;

5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the intern-

ship.

If all of the factors listed above are met, an employment relationship does not exist under the FLSA, and the

Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions do not apply to the intern. This exclusion from the definition of

employment is necessarily quite narrow because the FLSA’s definition of “employ” is very broad.

Courtesy of U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division

Legal Music Downloading Services (Continued from page 18)

Page 19 Volume 7, Issue I

dent who decides to travel abroad.

That aside, Pandora is one of the most

popular services for a reason: it works

really well and allows users to listen

to their favorite music. New songs and

old songs are played in a rotation that

won‘t let the user get tired of hearing

a song like a normal playlist would.

The service itself allows for free music

streaming, though there is a premium

option for $36 a year. The premium

option removes ads, has higher quali-

ty audio, and allows for longer

streaming without having to actually

interact with the website.

Grooveshark (Grooveshark.com)

Grooveshark is a free service. It was

very popular at Oxford College a few

years ago, and the reason was that it

allowed for more control than Pando-

ra. Grooveshark allows the user to

create a playlist, arrange songs, and

favorite songs, it also has a fairly wide

selection. If the user likes a song and

wants to purchase it, there are very

simple links to iTunes or Amazon. It

also has a radio function, making sug-

gestions based on what was already in

the playlist. In some ways this gives

more control to the user. On the other

hand, Grooveshark gives recommen-

dations based on all songs in the us-

er‘s playlist, even if the song is not

like the others. For instance, if your

playlist is almost entirely Rock music,

but you have one Beyoncé song that

you really enjoy, you will get recom-

mendations based on that song as well

as all the others in the playlist.

Another problem is that the service

can slow down the user‘s computer,

especially if the user has an older sys-

tem. The slowness will increase by the

length of the playlist. Grooveshark

also has problems with errors. Still,

the service does allow for a lot more

control than Pandora, and is good for

making playlists or listening to a song

you specifically want to hear.

Grooveshark has more tracks availa-

ble for streaming than any other ser-

vice on this list. It does have a premi-

um option, like all other services on

this list, but the links to the premium

services are oddly hard to find. The

least expensive option (Grooveshark

Plus, $6 a month), removes ads, has a

desktop application, and gives users

unlimited space in their Grooveshark

library. The more expensive option

(Grooveshark Anywhere, $9 a month)

gives users all the features of

Grooveshark Plus, while also allowing

users to stream from their mobile de-

vices.

Spotify (Spotify.com)

Spotify is a relatively new service, at

least in the United States. The service

only became available to the US last

summer, but since then it has become

quite popular. For one thing, Spotify

has a partnership with Facebook. New

users have to sign up for Spotify with

their Facebook account, though old

users have the option not to connect

through Facebook. Because of this

partnership, Spotify users are able to

post playlists on Facebook and share

tracks with their friends very easily.

Spotify, unlike Pandora or

Grooveshark, is downloaded to the

computer, an option only available for

premium members in other services.

This means that Spotify does not slow

down Internet usage like Grooveshark

(Continued on page 20)

Page 7 Volume 7, Issue I

“Can’t forget we only get what we

give.” -from “You Get What You Give”

by New Radicals

“Tell me that you want those kind of

things that money just can’t buy For

I don’t care too much for money For

money can’t buy me love” -from

“Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles

Lyrics about Money Emily A. Thomas

Page 18 MINT

Obtaining music illegally has been a

big deal since way before Napster.

For instance, in the USSR it was ille-

gal to listen to American rock music.

It was amazing the lengths that peo-

ple would go to in order to get a rec-

ord album of American music. Now,

because of the Internet, it‘s just be-

come much easier to access music

illegally. In fact, it‘s a fairly good bet

that many students with a computer

or an mp3 player have at least one

illegally downloaded piece of music

on their devices. Since it‘s physically

easier to hit the download button ra-

ther than plug in your credit card

numbers, or go out and buy a CD, it

comes as no surprise that so much

music is pirated.

And yet it doesn‘t have to be this

way. There are numerous websites

where people can listen to music for

free or very little. In fact, there‘s ac-

tually a list of both online radios and

of online streaming services on Wik-

ipedia, both of which are very long

and very easy to find. This article

reviews a few of these services that

are known to work, are easy to use,

and have a good music selection.

Rhapsody (Rhapsody.com)

Rhapsody is a music service which

allows the user to download an un-

limited number of songs for $10 a

month from Rhapsody‘s library of

over 9 million tracks. The tracks are

downloaded directly to the user‘s

computer, which can then be trans-

ferred to an mp3 player. For $15 a

month users can have direct access to

their Rhapsody account on three mo-

bile devices instead of just one. Rhap-

sody also happens to have many

more tracks than most popular ser-

vices on this list. Rhapsody is best for

a family computer, allowing everyone

in the family to download as much

music as they want, without the

price being too harsh on a family

budget.

The selection is also diverse and ec-

lectic, featuring a range of music

from Classic Rock, to Pop, to Norwe-

gian Black Metal. Besides that,

Rhapsody features a radio-streaming

option, similar to services like Pando-

ra, except that since you‘re already

paying for it there aren‘t any ads.

Pandora (Pandora.com)

Pandora may be the most popular

way to

listen to music online. Most students

have either heard of it or used it.

Pandora creates a ‗station‘ based on a

type of music, an artist, or even a

specific song. Songs for the radio are

chosen by something called the music

genome project. Music is randomly

selected based on how similar it is to

the station. For example, a station

created on the basis of ―Harry Potter

Movie Scores‖ will also play movie

scores from Inception or Tim Burton’s

Alice in Wonderland. The song selec-

tion is also modified through ‗thumbs

up‘/‗thumbs down‘ controls that allow

the user to remove a song or encour-

age other similar songs to be played.

Users can also skip some songs, but

if they have different stations, some-

times it‘s just as easy to try and wait

out a song while listening to another

channel.

Pandora used to have a 40-hour limit

on listening per month, though this

limit has since been removed. Pan-

dora‘s major limitation comes from

the fact that it does not work outside

of the United States, even if the user

registered the account in the United

States. This is a problem for any stu-

(Continued on page 19)

Legal Music Downloading Services Emily A. Thomas

Photo by: Charlotte Watts (13C)

“A well money’s gettin’

cheaper Price is gettin’

steeper I found a little woman

But I just couldn’t keep her

Times gettin’ tougher than

tough Times gettin’ rougher

than rough Well I make alot of

money I just keep spendin’ the

stuff” -from “Times Gettin’

Tougher Than Tough” by Van

Morrison

“Question, tell me how you fell

about this? Try to control me

boy you get dismissed Pay my

own fun, oh and I pay my own

bills Always 50/50 in

relationships...Question,

how’d you like this knowledge

that I brought Braggin’ on

that cash that he gave you is

to front If you’re gonna brag

make sure it’s your money you

flaunt Depend on no one else

to give you what you want ” -

from “Independent Woman”

by Destiny’s Child

Most articles comparing eReaders to

books come down on one side or the

other—either you should only read

books or just get a Kindle. It is com-

pletely possible to have it both ways.

This article focuses on reasons to use

an eReader vs a Book while in col-

lege. Having a Kindle or a Nook for

pleasure reading makes sense. How-

ever, if you‘re thinking about one for

school, you may want to consider the

pros and cons first.

eReaders are great for a number of

reasons: lower book prices, less

space, less weight. For anyone who

has to lug all their books around

campus, an eReader can very well

be a godsend. Let us talk cost for a

moment. For example, Jackie C., a

sophomore in college, spent about

$32 for textbooks this past semes-

ter. She needed eleven books for an

English class. She already owned

two of the books and had to physi-

cally buy one book (which cost her

$22). She bought the other nine

books on her Kindle and paid only

about $10. Because of the Kindle she

now has the complete works of

Shakespeare (which she will proba-

bly need in the future). To compare,

if she‘d bought the same books from

the bookstore she would have spent

over $95 and taken up at least a

quarter of her bookshelf.

The question of price becomes an is-

sue when buying an eReader, specifi-

cally if the price of the eReader will

balance out the price of books. If

you‘re an English major, most of the

texts you need will probably be fairly

old and therefore under three dollars

or even free. Multiply that by four

years and figure out if it‘s worth it.

While not every student at Emory

studies abroad, many come from oth-

er states or countries, or frequently

travel, which would make having

something as mobile as a Kindle

much more useful than lots of books.

For students who don‘t move around

as much, considering what books to

purchase is the key. If buying clas-

sics, it may be much less expensive to

buy a Kindle and several of the un-

der-three-dollar books. On the other

hand, some more popular titles can

cost as much to buy on Kindle or

Nook as to buy them in the store.

Mostly, the price is less per book, and

that does add up over time.

Another factor when buying an

eReader is convenience. While this

won‘t really apply to anyone who

buys a Kindle now, there are Kindles

that will not work with Emory‘s wire-

less network. The reason is that

Emory dropped the B band of wire-

less. Some older devices, like Kindles

purchased before December, only

work on the B band. This means that

anytime a student with an older Kin-

dle wants to buy a new book, he

would have to find a store that offers

free Wi-Fi (like Panera or Starbucks)

in order to get his book.

Any Kindle bought after this past

December won‘t have this problem.

However, it‘s a problem for older de-

vices. Even if you have to walk to

Panera, there is a convenience to an

eReader that books don‘t have. Jack-

ie stated that she bought a new book

recently ($17 hardcover plus ship-

ping, or $12 for the Kindle off Ama-

zon, $27 in store from Barnes & No-

ble). She knew that she wouldn‘t find

it in the campus bookstore, and that

ordering it would take a few days.

She wanted to read it right away, so

she bought it on her Kindle. She got

the book that afternoon when it could

have taken as much as a week to get

it otherwise—and it cost her less.

An eReader is very portable, and fits

easily in almost any purse or book

bag. Most of them have fairly long

battery lives (a month or more) and

can possibly be more ―green‖ than a

regular book. That being said, there

are potential problems. eReaders are

only really more environmentally

friendly if you read several dozens of

books per year. Otherwise they aren‘t

as eco-friendly as a good old paper-

back, simply because the materials

that make up an eReader (which

needs to be replaced every couple of

years because of wear to the device

and updated technology) are often

more harmful to the environment

than a paperback.

Second, eReaders are a lot harder to

make notes in. They also can be prob-

lematic to cite, especially for a class

that isn‘t using classics. In a class

that uses fantasy novels, or chil-

dren‘s books, or essentially any books

that are normally for pleasure read-

ing, the Kindle is probably not going

to be conducive to citations. In fact, it

may or may not have page numbers.

For a class on British fantasy, any

student who decides to write a paper

(Continued on page 9)

E-Reader vs. Books Emily A. Thomas

Page 8 MINT

Photo by: Jiye Lee (12C)

Student Loans...Decision Time! Maria Carthon

Volume 7, Issue I Page 17

With commencement day in full view,

many students are finding them-

selves at the crossroads of their fu-

ture—continuing their education or

entering the workforce. There are

many decisions and plans to be

made. For many students, repaying

student loans is on the top of their

shortlist of things to begin planning

for.

In many cases, obtaining a college

degree would have been virtually im-

possible if it were not for the assis-

tance of student loans. However, the

mere thought of repaying student

loans can be as confusing as it is

frightening. Student loan repayment

can take a hefty toll on one‘s salary,

even for those who have been in the

workforce for several years. Since

student loan debt cannot be walked

away from, careful planning and

strategizing is essential in making

the student loan payment process a

lot easier to handle.

Depending on the type of student

loan you have and from where you

received it, there will be varying

rules regarding when you will begin

repayment, how much you are re-

quired to pay monthly, and the

length of time you have to repay the

loan. Most student loans become pay-

able when a student graduates or fall

below half-time. Federal student

loans (except for the Perkins Loan,

which offers a 9-month grace period)

and many private student loans al-

low a six-month grace period before

actual repayment begins.

Deciding what student loan repay-

ment plan is best for your individual

situation will take some time to re-

view. There are many repayment

plans available. The Obama admin-

istration recently improved the stu-

dent-loan repayment plan known as

Income-Based Repayment (IBR).

Under the IBR plan, a person‘s

monthly payments are capped at an

affordable level relative to his or her

adjusted gross income, family size,

and state of residence. This plan is

especially attractive to those who are

low-income, unemployed, or work for

public service, education, govern-

ment, or nonprofit organizations.

If IBR does not satisfy your individu-

al situation, there are other repay-

ment options available such as

Standard, Extended, Graduated, In-

come Contingent, and Consolidation.

These repayment alternatives should

be explored in order to make the re-

payment more feasible. If you have

difficulty making payments on your

loans and need to postpone your re-

payment, the lender can assist you

with an economic hardship defer-

ment or forbearance, which will allow

you to suspend or reduce your pay-

ments on a temporary basis.

The Project on Student Debt

(www.projectonstudentdebt.org) pro-

vides valuable tips for recent gradu-

ates on repaying student loans. Some

are: Know Your Grace Period, Stay in

Touch with Your Lender, Choose the

Right Repayment Option, Don‘t Pan-

ic (know your options), Pay off the

Most Expensive Loans First, and

Stay Out of Trouble! (do not ignore

your loans).

Your decision to attend college on the

promise of meeting new and interest-

ing people, gaining a valuable educa-

tion, and, most importantly, having

endless career possibilities as a re-

sult of a great education has all been

realized. With good planning and

research, you will be able to repay

the student loans that made it all

possible.

For further details on student loan

repayment or postponement, visit the

Federal Student Aid site,

www.studentaid.ed.gov or

www.finaid.org. It’s always a good

idea to consult a tax or financial ad-

visor for specific information on how

certain laws apply to your individual

financial situation.

LOAN REPAYMENT?

Photo by: Charlotte Watts (13C)

E-Reader vs. Books (Continued from page 8)

Page 9 Volume 7, Issue I

on The Golden Compass, for in-

stance, is given the choice of citing

using ―locations,‖ and there were

5369 of them in the Kindle edition.

Hopefully the professor won‘t mind.

There‘s a much bigger problem when

it comes to texts with line numbers.

If you don‘t get the correct version of

a Shakespeare play, then there

might not be notations for Act/Scene/

Line. Trying to use a Shakespeare

text with no line numbers for a class

is as close as it gets to being unpre-

pared while still bringing the actual

text.

An eReader is great for any class

that isn‘t using a large textbook. This

means that an eReader, even if it

sells textbooks, isn‘t really ideal for

math books, science books, or foreign

language books; essentially any text

that it would be great to be able to

write in the margin of. If you need to

take notes on a book while using an

eReader, then you would probably

need to write them on a separate

sheet of paper. While most eReaders

probably have ways to highlight, or

bookmark pages for easy searching,

it can still be more time-consuming

than just dog-earing a page. One

good feature of eReaders is that you

can search the book, which is great if

you know an exact phrase, or are

searching for a minor character. On

the other hand, if you‘re looking for a

major character, this option can easi-

ly be more time consuming than flip-

ping through a paper and ink book.

eReaders are more convenient and

cost less over all. Yet they are not

really ideal for a classroom. What

you get in exchange for price and

convenience is texts that are harder

to cite, and may even be harder to

read. The cheaper the translation,

the worse it‘s probably going to be,

and this includes Shakespeare texts.

Even modern and new books may

have scene jumps that seem awk-

ward because page dividers are miss-

ing. If you are willing to accept the

trade, an eReader can be very good.

It will save a lot overall in cost, in

bookshelf space, and in carrying

weight. Also, remember that just be-

cause you have an eReader does not

mean you have to read all of your

books on it. As though the rating on

the Kindle may not have been as fa-

vorable, many people still love it. At

the same time, nothing replaces the

feel of a real book.

Photo by: Jiye Lee (12C)

Humanities & Arts Professions (Continued from page 15)

ue, such as a specific skill set, but not

every degree offers the same skill set.

Each professor interviewed for this

article highlighted different skills

that his or her department is geared

towards. Professor Dorothy Fletcher

(art history department), Professor

Lynna Williams (creative writing

department), Professor James Morey

(English department), Professor Mi-

chael Sullivan (philosophy depart-

ment), and Leslie Taylor and Robert

Schultz (theatre department)

weighed in on this subject.

For a theatre degree, possible profes-

sions range from those that directly

relate to the degree (acting, directing,

set design) to those that are more

abstract in their relationship. Stu-

dents who work with set design can

usually acquire a position in interior

design, landscaping, or architecture.

Many times students involved with

theatre will have dealt with advertis-

ing or the box office, so students with

a theatre degree can work with ad-

vertising or public relations (PR)

event planning. Furthermore, the

theatre is a huge collaborative pro-

cess, which means that students

leave college understanding how to

work in large groups. Students who

are actors also have the unique skill

of being able to talk in public confi-

dently, which can lend itself to trying

to sell an idea or product, or to giving

a presentation.

Some degrees, such as art history,

have more obvious and interrelated

applications. There are teaching pro-

fessions both inside a classroom and

in museums. Much of the work that

relates directly to art history is with-

in a museum. However, a lot of it re-

lates to other degrees as well. A stu-

dent who studies law can go into art

law, which helps museums to acquire

and protect art works. An art history

student who is interested in science

can go into restoration, which uses

chemistry to help repair damaged

works of art. A student who also

studies business can go into museum

administration.

Other degrees promote essential sets

of skills more so than those for a spe-

cific profession. Philosophy and Eng-

lish degrees are both excellent criti-

cal thinking classes. A student who

studies English may be particularly

good at communicating effectively

and analyzing texts. A philosophy

student will also utilize analytical

skills to contemplate upon various

philosophical works. The importance

of a philosophy degree is that it

teaches students how to think,

whether it be concrete logical or ab-

stract thoughts. Both English and

philosophy degrees allow room for a

range of professions. Dr. Michael Sul-

livan pointed out that while other

degrees may teach for a higher pay-

ing entry level job, a philosophy de-

gree gives students skills which allow

them to rise to higher paying profes-

sions over time.

Humanities and arts degrees can di-

rectly apply to specific professions. At

the same time, the point of such de-

grees is to teach students skills that

can be applied to different profes-

sions. In a job market where many

people change jobs several times

throughout their lifetime, such skills

may be just as important as learning

to be an effective scientist or a busi-

nessperson.

(reference: http://finance.yahoo.com/

news/wealth-or-waste--rethinking-

the-value-of-a-business-major.html )

MINT Page 16

Photo by: Jiye Lee (12C)

Lyrics about Money (Continued from page 7)

“Money makes the world go around

Of that we can be sure (…) on being

poor.” -from “The Money Song” in

Cabaret

“If I were rich, I’d have the

time that I lack To sit in the

synagogue and pray. And

maybe have a seat by the

Eastern wall. And I’d discuss

the holy books with the

learned men, several hours

every day. That would be the

sweetest thing of all.” -from “If

I were a rich man” in Fiddler

on the Roof (musical)

Arts & Humanities Professions Emily A. Thomas

Page 10 MINT

For many years, the study of human-

ities has been a mainstay of higher

education. Recently, however, de-

grees in the humanities have come

under attack as being less useful

within today‘s job market than de-

grees in the science, business, or

technology. Each fields of study all

serve important roles as each are

specialized to adhere to certain needs

within our society. As a matter of

fact, the division of roles occurs natu-

rally as not every person is suited to

every degree or profession: some sci-

ence majors just cannot wrap their

minds around an English class, as

some English majors cannot wrap

their minds around a science class.

So what professions are better suited

for a holder of an arts or humanities

degree?

Humanities and arts degrees gener-

ally are not career specific. Though

they generally have a chosen concen-

tration within the department, they

are also exposed to acquire various

writing styles, discussions and think-

ing skills. According to an article in

the Wall Street Journal; "The biggest

complaint [about business degrees is

that] the undergraduate degrees fo-

cus too much on the nuts and bolts of

finance and accounting and don't de-

velop enough critical thinking and

problem-solving skills through long

essays, in-class debates and other

hallmarks of liberal-arts courses.

Companies say they need flexible

thinkers with innovative ideas and a

broad knowledge base derived from

exposure to multiple disciplines."

What an arts or humanities degree

essentially does is allow more flexi-

bility in choosing a path after college.

Every degree offers something of val-

(Continued on page 16)

Photo by: Jiye Lee (12C)

“Give me a job give me security Give

me a chance to survive I’m just a

poor soul in the unemployment line

My God I’m hardly alive My mother

’n father, my wife and my friends

You’ve seen them laugh in my face

But I’ve got the power and I’ve got

the will I’m not a charity case I’ll

take those long nights, impossible

odds Keeping my eye on the keyhole

If it takes all that to be just what I

am Well I’m gonna be a blue collar

man” -from “Blue Collar Man” by

Styx

“It’s a sacrifice working day to

day For little money just tips for

pay But it’s worth it all Just to

hear them say that they care She

works hard for the money So

hard for it honey She works hard

for the money So you better treat

her right” -from “She Works Hard

For the Money” by Donna

Summer

Page 15 Volume 7, Issue I

Your Vote Matters Emanuel Henighan

Volume 7, Issue I Page 11

November 6, 2012 is the United

States quadrennial presidential elec-

tion. Registered voters will be select-

ing the nation‘s next president and

Congressional representatives. Col-

lege students are a very vital bloc

within this group of electorates; all

political parties acknowledge their

importance and aggressively seek

their votes. Due to their temporary

residential status and political famil-

iarity, most students vote absentee

within their home state. Voting regis-

tration deadlines may vary from

state-to-state. Find out more infor-

mation on absentee voting and dead-

lines (state of Georgia), log onto

http://www.sos.ga.gov/ivote/ or your

home state‘s Secretary of State

webpage. Regardless of your political

affiliation, it is very important to reg-

ister and vote.

Although not a constitutional respon-

sibility, the Congress controls the

nation‘s ―money purse‖ and deter-

mines the amount of funding the De-

partment of Education receives. This

funding includes the financial assis-

tance for college and graduate stu-

dents (Pell Grant, Federal Supple-

mental Educational Opportunity

Grants, Federal Work-Study Pro-

gram and Stafford Loans and Federal

PLUS Loan). The funding assists stu-

dents in paying for college and post-

graduate school; including tuition

and fees, room and board, books and

supplies. Title IV of the Higher Edu-

cation Act of 1965 is the federal law

that regulates the administration of

these financial aid programs and

must be re-approved or reauthorized

by Congress every five years.

With the yearly costs of attendance

continuing to increase, more students

are seeking federal aid assistance to

pay for their educational endeavor.

For example, the 2012-13 cost of at-

tendance for Emory College is

$58,180, Business School $48,092

and the Candler School of Theology

(graduate) $43,009. According to

Emory University‘s Admissions

webpage, sixty-eight percent of its

undergraduates receive financial aid.

The aid received may be need

(income) and merit (scholarship)

based.

The graph below illustrates the

amount of financial assistance (need-

based or scholarship) granted to

Emory and Oxford undergraduate

students by average family income.

As the average U.S family income

continues to shrink, the amount of

funds families can contribute to-

wards their student educational ex-

pense also shrinks.

Average Grant Aid by Family Income

(http://www.emory.edu/home/

admission/financial-aid/index.html).

According to the Federal Student Aid

(an office of the United States De-

partment of Education) 2011 Annual

Report, there was 15% increase from

the previous year‘s (2010) in aid dis-

bursement within its Loan Programs

- William D. Ford Direct Loan, Per-

kins Loan, 24% increase within its

Grants Programs - Pell, Federal Sup-

plemental Educational Opportunity

Grants, Teacher Education Assis-

tance for College and Higher Educa-

tion Grants, and 17% increase in its

Work Study Program

(http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/an

nual/2011report/fsa-report.pdf).

On December 23, 2011, changes were

made to the federal student aid pro-

grams. Some of these changes in-

clude: 1) Pell grant eligibility reduc-

tion of income level for student

(dependent and independent) to be

automatically eligible from $30,000

to $23,000. 2) Maximum Pell grant

award – increased to $5,500 for 2012-

2013. 3) Temporary elimination of

interest subsidy – eliminates

(temporarily) the grace period inter-

est subsidy for Direct Subsidized

Loans.

As mentioned, regardless of the polit-

ical affiliation, students should take

a closer view of the importance of

voting. The representatives within

our Federal levels of government

have the influence and power to de-

termine the amount of financial as-

sistance students may receive to at-

tend college/university. Each year as

the cost to attend college continues to

increase, so will the number of stu-

dents applying and receiving federal

student aid. Do not forget to vote, It

matters!

“They say that money

can’t buy everything

but I’d like to see you

live without it.” -from

“Tomorrow” by

Silverchair

Lyrics about Money (Continued from page 10)

MINT Page 14

“I’d rather be rich, it

sounds a little funny

If diggin’ a ditch

would earn me lots

of money, I’d dig like

a fool in the land of

milk and honey

Where everything’s

cool Provided you

have money” -from

“I’d Rather be Rich”

by Chicago

“I don’t have digital I don’t

have diddly squat It’s not

having what you want It’s

wanting what you’ve got” -

from “Soak Up The Sun” by

Sheryl Crow

“First story about the many problems

caused by credit cards Park Sat Gat’s

short story Students without an

income swiping away their credit

cards Overdue payments on top of

more overdue payments Cosmetics

clothes shoes extravagant spending

she is now heading to a bar before

her credit card payments are due

Drinking and with a bad credit he’s

getting himself into robbery and

murder crimes what madness in this

world A single plastic card and

money everyone goes crazy Easy to

spend think it’s easy to earn?” -from

“Now” by Park, Sat Gat

“These bill collectors, they ring my

phone They bother me when I’m not at

home Ain’t got no time to be fooling

round...I want money, lots and lots of

money...I wanna be rich for a little love,

peace and happiness” -from “I Wanna

be Rich” by Calloway

Worldwide sporting events such as

the Olympics and the World Cup are

major initiators of grand urban de-

velopment. Brazil is currently gear-

ing up for the World Cup and the

Olympics. Simon Romero reported in

a New York Times article that ―a net-

work of activists in 12 cities esti-

mates that as many as 170,000 peo-

ple may face eviction.‖ Residents fac-

ing eviction, especially those of Vila

Autódromo (a decades-old squatter

settlement that officials plan to raze

to make way for an Olympic Park),

are standing their ground. They are

waging a fierce battle to protect their

properties. The authorities have also

been criticized for giving out short

notifications to the favela (shanty

towns in Brazil) residents. For in-

stance, residents of Manaus found

the initials B.R.T., referring to a new

transportation system, spray-painted

on homes to be destroyed. Such ac-

tions of the government are deemed

by the favela residents as contrib-

uting to considerable inequalities.

Some even argue that the evictions

around the country are sometimes

independent of the Games.

The 1996 Centennial Olympic Games

in Atlanta can be easily compared to

the more recent occurrences in Bra-

zil. As Atlanta prepared to host the

Games, many public housing resi-

dents were relocated, which led to

frustration among low-income neigh-

borhoods. It has been theorized that

if increased business activity and an

enhanced image are the goals of the

host city, then low-income areas near

venue sites are likely to suffer (Logan

and Molotch 1987, 17-20).

The Atlanta Committee for the

Olympic Games (ACOG) was criti-

cized for leaving out the low-income

citizens from fully engaging in plan-

ning decisions for their own commu-

nity. As Charles Rutheiser, author of

How Atlanta lost the Olympics

(1996), observed, Atlanta ‗lost the

Olympics‘ by failing to use the games

to regenerate its poverty-stricken

heart.

Therefore, it could be argued that

Brazil should, rather than being

stubborn and forcing its way through

constructions, allow the low-income

residents to engage in the planning

and enforce laws to make the reloca-

tion process smoother so that it

doesn‘t have a negative impact in

their daily lives. Then, as Inalva

Mendes Brito, a schoolteacher in Vila

Autódromo said, ―…the Olympics will

be something to celebrate in the end.‖

In Decatur, GA, we can see urban

development in a more applicable

sense, more focused on everyday

needs rather than a huge world

event. Decatur added 8% more hous-

ing, a lower amount of housing by

units and percentage than surround-

ing communities, during 1980-2000.

There was also an increase in single

family units and a decrease in multi-

family housing units. However, since

2000, due to the City‘s development

and land-use policies for downtown

development, the development of

townhouse and multifamily dwelling

units increased.

Decatur is not a new community, but

a well-established one, dating years

back. Hence, it has a large number of

older dwelling units: nearly 1/3 of the

housing stock was constructed in

1939 or earlier. Despite the age of

housing in Decatur, more than 99%

of all housing units in Decatur had

complete plumbing and kitchen facil-

ities in 2000. Decatur has also had

its moments of sudden dramatic in-

crease in cost of housing. It has had

to address this critical issue as resi-

dents have expressed a desire for in-

creasing diversity and affordability

for all income levels.

The City came up with a limited pro-

gram of housing assistance, where

the Decatur Housing Authority pro-

vides public housing and programs

for the residents with the most need.

In 2004, recognizing that the afforda-

bility issue must also be addressed

through the development process,

Urban Development Joo Y. Kim

Page 12 MINT

Photo by: Jiye Lee (12C)

Urban Development (Continued from page 12)

Page 13 Volume 7, Issue I

Decatur utilized a development in-

centive for affordable housing. The

City of Decatur Commission ap-

proved a life cycle ordinance which

enables the City to negotiate with

developers in order to deliver guaran-

teed affordable units in exchange for

density bonuses. Here, a higher den-

sity building does not mean a bigger

building and a smaller building does

not translate into lower density. Den-

sity is determined by the size of the

project area and the number of units

planned within the structure. Some

of the notable cases are the develop-

ment of the Talley Street Lofts and

201 West Ponce De Leon. The devel-

opers of these structures both re-

ceived a 20% density bonus, with the

buildings containing75 to 90 dwell-

ings and 135 to 162 dwellings respec-

tively.

The Housing Authority is faced with

greater maintenance challenges due

to the aging housing and the ongoing

need to provide for severely cost bur-

dened residents. For this reason, re-

duction in Housing and Urban Devel-

opment (HUD) funding is a critical

issue for the Authority. Additional

funding sources may be necessary to

maintain current and future levels of

services.

By 2025, The City of Decatur is ex-

pecting a population growth of ap-

proximately 5,000 people. High-

density residential and commercial

development is slated for the down-

town central business core. Medium

density residential corridors have

been identified along Clairmont Ave-

nue, Church Street, Scott Boulevard,

and East College Avenue. In addi-

tion, the community has underscored

a strong preference for maintaining

existing single-family neighborhoods

at current density levels of 6.57 peo-

ple per acre. Most importantly, devel-

opable land is nearly 100% built-out

throughout the City. If land use poli-

cies change, then anticipated resi-

dential growth may occur in areas

outside of the downtown area. Other-

wise, the possibility of accommodat-

ing 29% population growth and 32%

household growth by 2025 will de-

pend on planned redevelopment of

existing underutilized properties pre-

dominantly located in downtown De-

catur and nearby areas.

As of 2005, The Housing Community

Vision of Decatur reflects three main

areas of concern: affordability;

maintenance and renovation of single

family housing; and additional well-

planned multifamily and townhouse

development in an active downtown.

In both examples of development,

Brazil being at a greater scale and

Decatur at a greater length of time,

the lack of accommodation for low-

income residents is prevalent.

Though the issue is addressed better

in a local continuous development,

the issue still continues to exist. The

problems the two development plans

deal with are rather different and the

two essentially have a different goal

in mind. However, in the end, it all

comes down to making a better com-

munity. Therefore, when a develop-

ment plan is set in motion, the devel-

opers should cater to its population

as a whole when making decisions.

Persuasion is the key strategy, not

aggression.

Photo by: Jiye Lee (12C)