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speak
UP!
Where is the farthest place you have traveled?
NIBRAS CHOWDHURY Senior “Bangladesh.”
NEEL SHETH Sophomore “India.”
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HURRICANE
Alexa Pappas, Contributing Columnist
STAFF EDITORIAL
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Bank fees just don’t please As if money wasn ’t tight enough already, banks will start charging debit card users $5 per month for purchases made with their card in 2012. Bank of America is the most recent bank to make this decision and, as UM ’s on-campus bank, it affects most of us very directly. If we step back and take a look at recent trends, this new fee is not surprising. Free checking accounts are a thing of the past; according to a report relased by The Miami Herald, only 45 percent are free, which is down from 75 percent in 2009. ATM fees have also been on the rise. However, being charged for spending our money seems ridiculous. New federal regulations limit the amount banks can charge merchants when a customer uses his or her debit card. This will most likely lower Bank of America ’s revenue and the new fee is being enacted to offset this. In other words, customers are now responsible for paying for what merchants used to. Should we be saddled with this responsibility? It feels more like a punishment than anything else.
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OPINION
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The Miami
We do anything and everything except what we’re supposed to be doing.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alexa Lopez
BUSINESS MANAGER Isabel Gonzalez
MANAGING EDITOR Kyli Singh
The use of debit cards will probably decrease once this fee goes into effect, with people either turning to cash, checks or credit cards to make their purchases. Credit cards present the same ease and convenience as debit cards, but may have some unfortunate consequences. If we become reliant on credit, it sure won ’t be doing our economy any favors. One would think (and hope) that Bank of America would keep us broke college students in mind when figuring out exemptions from the fee, but think again. Only certain premium accounts will be exempt; that is, accounts with more than a specific amount of money in them. These figures haven ’t been released yet, but it ’s probably safe to assume that an account filled with minimum wage paychecks from an on-campus job won ’t cut it. If you still want to use a debit card, the University Credit Union is an option with fewer fees. Changing banks may be a hassle, but $5 per month adds up. Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board.
ADVERTISING EDITOR Demi Rafuls
ART DIRECTOR Allison Goodman
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Maria Jamed
PHOTO EDITOR Cayla Nimmo
ACCOUNT REP Valerie Andrade Cristian Benavides Melissa Castillo Danica Jones Tara Kleppinger
NEWS EDITOR Alysha Khan OPINION EDITOR Darci Miller EDGE EDITOR Margaux Herrera
PUBLIC RELATIONS James Borchers
SPORTS EDITOR Ernesto Suarez
FINANCIAL ADVISER Robert DuBord
COPY CHIEF Stephanie Parra
FACULTY ADVISER Bob Radziewicz
ONLINE EDITOR Amilynn Soto ASST. NEWS EDITORS Jonathan Borge Chelsea Kimmey DESIGNERS Carlos Mella Mariah Price Demi Rafuls
COPY EDITORS Spencer Dandes Nicky Diaz Tasha Giuda WEBMASTER Amanda Zacharkiewicz
To reach a member of the staff visit themiamihurricane.com’s contact page. ©2011 University of Miami
Stop procrastinating, start working TINA LIGHTER Sophomore “Antarctica.”
ALEXANDER VAZQUEZ Senior “Hawaii.” Speak Up answers are edited for clarity, brevity and accuracy. Check out video Speak Ups at themiamihurricane.com. compiled by
Jennifer Levine
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ve r yo ne d o e s it constantly. As much as we enjoy it, we tend to feel pretty bad about ourALEXA PAPPAS CONTRIBUTING selves after COLUMNIST the fact. Yes, I ’m talking about Facebook and Sporcle and StumbleUpon and eating and tweeting and anything else that ultimately boils down to procrastination. We do anything and everything except what we ’re supposed to be doing. Ninety-five percent of people are prone to procras-
tination, 20 percent of which are chronic procrastinators, according to Psychology Today. The etymology of “procrastination ” directly translates to “belonging to tomorrow, ” so your essay can totally wait until later, right? Nope! There ’s no way to cure procrastination — it ’s a decision that you yourself have to make and stick with. Creating a to-do list and tackling the hardest task first will allow you to prioritize and stick to one assignment at a time. Taking mini-breaks (but only mini!) between each task will provide incentive to complete your tasks. Finally, don ’t overthink as-
signments. If you have reasons A, B and C for why you absolutely cannot get your essay done, you ’re not going to get anywhere. Just do it. We were all accepted to the University of Miami for a reason and finishing that seemingly endless essay during junior year probably helped us in some way. I know your Marine Science 101 essay may seem like it will never get you a job as a reporter for ESPN, but somehow, it will. So get it done, do it well and you ’ll go far. Alexa Pappas is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism and sport administration. Oct. 6 - Oct. 9, 2011
The Miami Hurricane is published semi-weekly during the regular academic year and is edited and produced by undergraduate students at the University of Miami. The publication does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of advertisers or the university’s trustees, faculty or administration. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of The Hurricane’s Editorial Board. Commentaries, letters and cartoons represent only the views of their respective authors. The newsroom and business office of The Hurricane are located in the Norman A. Whitten University Center, Room 221. LETTER POLICY The Miami Hurricane encourages all readers to voice their opinions on issues related to the university or in response to any report published in The Hurricane. Letters to the editor may be submitted typed or handwritten (please make your handwriting legible) to the Whitten University Center, Room 221, or mailed to P.O. Box 248132, Coral Gables, FL, 33124-6922. Letters, with a suggested length of 300 words, must be signed and include a copy of your student ID card, phone number and year in school. ADVERTISING POLICY The Miami Hurricane’s business office is located at 1306 Stanford Drive, Norman A. Whitten University Center, Room 221B, Coral Gables, FL 33124-6922. The Miami Hurricane is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the university’s fall and spring academic terms. Newspapers are distributed free of charge on the Coral Gables campus, the School of Medicine and at several off-campus locations. DEADLINES All ads must be received, cash with copy, in The Miami Hurricane business office, Whitten University Center, Room 221B, by noon Tuesday for Thursday’s issue and by noon Friday for the Monday issue. SUBSCRIPTIONS The Miami Hurricane is available for subscription at the rate of $50 per year. AFFILIATIONS The Miami Hurricane is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press, Columbia Scholastic Press Assoc. and Florida College Press Assoc.
THE MIAMI HURRICANE
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