Man, I wish I'd thought of such a cool idea when I was in college! Not that I have a flair for art, but I just think that this project is awesome because the students involved learn so much and everyone loves the new, original t-shirt designs. I would still buy an Oxy t-shirt that featured images of, oh I don't know, the Greek Bowl where I graduated or my favorite smooshy library couches.

More and more, we're hearing stories of college students learning the ins and outs of business not from a book, but from getting out there and doing it on their own campuses. Kevin wrote about Cafe Norris at our alma mater and the students at Oberlin are another great example. It's about doing something to better campus life while learning useful skills and information at the same time. Now if only I could draw…

What kinds of entrepreneurial endeavors have you seen on college campuses? If you could, what kind of business would you start at a university?

As a senior in high school, I got peripherally involved in a Students for (John) Kerry group and even though my participation was limited, it was still an excellent way to connect politically before I could vote. When I got to college the following year, I was more than ready to jump into volunteering on a pro-choice ballot campaign in California. This was a great way to learn about issue-based campaigns and immerse myself in political topics relevant to my new state. It also introduced me to many students on campus with whom I shared political views and passions that I might not have met otherwise. I volunteered on a similar campaign the following year, which conveniently coincided with my decision to major in politics, another excellent tie-in between academics and outside endeavors.

And of course, interning for Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. to support Barack Obama’s campaign was an incredibly valuable experience. I met a range of people from recent college grads to mid-career professionals choosing to volunteer on top of their day jobs. By interning in the local office near my campus, I learned more about campaigns and the individual policy points relevant to such a momentous election. On election night, I wore one of several Obama T-shirts that I own. A friend said to me, “For me, it’s pretty much just a shirt. For you, it’s something way more important.” So very, very true. (And kind of him to say out loud.)

Make a T-shirt mean more than just a T-shirt: get involved in a political campaign. Why? The reasons are numerous.

Getting political in high school provides early exposure to skills and issues relevant in college.
Working with new people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, talking to strangers, learning to communicate concisely and effectively—it’s all there. I only wish that I’d gotten more involved in a campaign in high school because doing so, even on my cursory level at the time, motivated me to really learn about current affairs, which prepared me for discussions inside and outside of the classroom in college. Furthermore, I think that campaign experience can only help a college application because it demonstrates the kind of initiative, work ethic, and passion for pertinent issues that colleges look for in applicants. And who knows? You might even discover a skill or interest that you didn’t know you had and want to pursue in college.

Getting political in college means connecting on campus—and off.
The first two campaigns that I volunteered for in college shed light on California politics and unique policy procedures. Many hear “campaign” and think only of national, high-profile campaigns, but more local campaigns are such a great way to connect with the community surrounding a college and learn about the city or state. Moreover, most colleges have campus groups for political parties as well as specific issues or even timely campaigns, making political participation another method of getting involved on campus. Interested in a campaign that lacks a campus group? Start one!

So there you have it, my political nerd’s soapbox speech for getting political. But honestly, watching a certain primary’s results on Tuesday made me so proud that I volunteered for it during its earliest days last summer. It was so worth the hundreds of cold calls and collating for hours. So very, very worth it.

I’m honestly not entirely sure when I became interested in exploring both halves of my religious background. I can’t identify a key moment or event that pushed me in that direction, but around the beginning of my second year at Oxy, I made a conscious decision to explore the Jewish and Christian faiths through student groups on campus. I already knew a girl involved in the campus Hillel and I asked her to tell me more about their activities and how to get involved. The Christian side was a little trickier because more than one group existed on campus and I did not know anyone involved with the one that fit best with my existing beliefs, a club called Progressive Christians United. I found out when they met and just showed up to their next meeting. I attended PCU meetings regularly for a few months and spent a great deal of time with the Hillel students.

My original point of contact in Hillel became a good friend and I enjoyed their weekly dinners on campus and learning more about Judaism—particularly Reform Judaism—from the Rabbinical advisor and another student who was a Religious Studies major and extremely knowledgeable on the topic. At first I treated both new endeavors like an academic class: I asked a lot of questions and scribbled down notes to Google later. I fixated on the question that had emerged: Which one am I? I felt immense pressure to choose one religion. I think that this came partly from a desire for simplicity and partly from a broader change that I was experiencing at this point in my life and in college. I genuinely enjoyed spending time with both groups, especially as PCU worked on a project related to Darfur and Hillel prepared to attend a conference in Washington, D.C. I was also breaking apart from my original group of friends from my first year and figuring out my course of study. The ready-made bonds in both of these groups were extremely appealing to me. I fit in more with my Hillel friends but maintained an interest in learning about both religions—for a while, anyway.

Four or five months after my initial leap of faith, so to speak, I started to feel a little drained by the whole process. I fit in better with my Hillel friends and thus spent more time with them, but I no longer felt as intrigued by the religious basis of either association. Exploring my dual background started to feel too much like homework and I grew resistant; I stopped attending PCU meetings and preferred to see some of my Hillel friends outside of that particular context instead. By the end of sophomore year, I no longer attended any kind of religious meeting or event.

This sounds kind of depressing on paper, but it really wasn’t. When I first got involved with both groups, I made that choice. And when I phased myself out of them, I made that choice as well. I needed to see what was available to me after years of curiosity. I learned that I can be spiritual without subscribing to organized religion. I learned that I can be friends with those who are more religiously observant than I am—that first Hillel friend remains a close friend, for which I am very grateful. I learned that even though I look at this phase as a significant experience in my overall undergraduate education, it’s also an aspect of my life that continues to evolve today.

Were/are you involved in religious groups in college? What’s available at your school? Is there anything you would change about your involvement (or lack thereof) in religious organizations on campus?

Ohio State's Evan Turner, Kentucky's John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, are part of a growing class of exceptionally talented first-year players who otherwise would have made the jump after their senior years of high school to The Association (the nickname for the NBA).

The only rule that stopped them from doing just that was one enacted in 2005 by current NBA commissioner David Stern. Concerned with the number of recruiters and agents making their way into high school gymnasiums, and the notion that many of these young athletes viewed the NBA as a financial security blanket, Stern believed that something had to change. Even the past successes of current Boston Celtics star Kevin Garnett and Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, who both made the leap from high school to the NBA in 1995 and 1996 respectively, could not sway Stern from establishing new NBA eligibility rules.

Basically, Stern's new rules stated that players must be 19 years of age and one year removed from high school before they could be eligible to play with the Pros. And so began a trend of players (see Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, Derrick Rose, etc…) who were labeled "One-and-Dones."

This title was handed to players who otherwise would have made themselves eligible for the NBA draft after their graduation from high school, and instead were required to play one year of college ball.

However, this trend might reverse. One impetus is the possibility of an NBA lock out next season (translation: We can't watch basketball on television as the players go on strike). As result, first year college players would be incentivized to stick around for another year or so, taking classes toward the completion of a degree.

Additionally, the NCAA is mulling over the idea of expanding March Madness from 64 teams to 96, that's right, 96 teams. And while this decision certainly impacts the class time college athletes will miss while on the road to the Final Four, such a decision may persuade many first-year players who would otherwise depart for the grand life in the NBA, to play for all four eligible years.

Think about it: A 96 team tournament would make some student athletes believe that their team has a chance to compete for the NCAA championship during their four years of school. Why leave for the NBA when the probability for glory in the collegiate game is greater?

So, to those Parade All-American and other highly-touted, soon-to-be graduating high school b-ball student-athletes: Please consider your college careers beyond one season. And if you are looking for more reasons to do so, please read any of these BG articles.

Let's cut to the chase. Community college has a bad rap. While I could have a field day listing numerous stigmas and stereotypes about community colleges, I'd rather divulge the impressive accomplishments I've witnessed from my peers at two-year schools. While I bypassed community college (adding onto my ever-growing student loan…) I look back on the debt and general education classes and wonder if I wouldn't have been the same–or better–getting those first two years out of the way at one of these underdog institutions. Perhaps next week's post will detail some common myths about community college. For now, it's story time.

One Example of How Community College Students Hold Their Own

As a budding member of my four-year university's speech & debate team, I practiced my speeches and performances religiously leading up to my first tournament as a varsity competitor. Scanning the list of schools entered in the competition, I noticed several had the phrase "Community College" in their name. Community colleges compete against us? I snickered. I chortled. I fondled elitist notions of superiority, assuming the smaller, less-robust schools would bring weak competition against which I would prevail. Ha!

And it's exactly that kind of elitist thinking that handed me a big, honking piece of humble pie.

Expecting to have the upper hand as a "real" college student, I was surprised to encounter stiff competition at my first tournament. The community college speakers were eloquent, prepared, well-dressed, and many of them had been competing far longer than me! A few community college competitors boasted that they had traveled to Argentina the year before to compete in an international speech competition. I had only been to a nearby town to compete. I was befuddled, instantly embarrassed by my judgmental attitude. In fact, nearly every tournament for the rest of the year was overwhelmingly dominated by community college attendance, and I found myself fighting to be recognized and awarded as a member of a four-year university.

With only two years to cultivate their students, many institutions like Glendale Community College, Los Angeles Valley College, Mt. San Antonio College and Las Positas Community College (to name very, very few) are churning out some of the most professional, polished and persuasive college-aged public speakers in the country. (That 'P' alliteration would sound way cool if it were spoken… by a community college speech competitor.) Instead of wasting away two so-called embarrassing years at a community college, these students take advantage of resources available to them on their campuses. Considered a "senior" by their second year, these students gain the advantage of owning a larger stake in their campus, rather than getting lost in the muddled numbers of freshmen that can reach up to the tens-of-thousands at some four-year schools.

I had some exhilarating wins as a speech & debate competitor at my university, but my successes sometimes went largely unnoticed by the tons and tons of other activities my campus offered to the 30,000+ students. My community college cohorts, however, had opportunities to connect with a larger percentage of their student body, recruiting fresh, unsuspecting new students onto the team, who otherwise may never have encountered speech & debate. For example, Glendale Community College began their student-run speech & debate team in 2004 with only three students. At the start of the 2010 season this semester, the team reached an all-time high of 50 speech & debate team signups, after much-deserved on-campus press coverage for their impressive wins at the annual national tournament for four-year schools. I was so impressed by my former competition that I wrote up this press release touting their successes.

Speech & debate is one of this country's oldest and most respected academic activities, and it is alive and well among community colleges in California.

While this example is highly personal and specific to my college experience, it opened my eyes to the abilities of community college and the types of students it can produce. The many community college students I knew back then are either now thriving at four-year universities or just graduated, most of them with only two to three years of student loans to repay.

I don't regret my decision to attend a four-year university for all four years. I do, however, regret writing off community colleges as unimportant, as many of these institutions offer opportunities to excel, thrive, and accomplish great things.

More on community colleges next week.

Have an idea for an angle on community college? Leave a comment.

Unfortunately, publicizing my writing turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. As an English major, I expected to find many different outlets for publication. Aside from the selective and esoteric creative writing journals on campus (Fourteen Hills and Transfer), not many options were available. So, I turned to journalism. However, my articles were rejected many times—not because my writing was bad, but because I was not a journalism major. Fifteen articles later, annoyed by my unrelenting persistence, the editor finally submitted one of my articles for publication.

I quickly found out that my cumbersome trek toward publication was fairly common. Departments without publication options severely limit the ability of students to publish their work. Moreover, I discovered that publishing outside of my department is a bureaucratic obstacle course. If I had not been as persistent in my submissions, the newspaper might not have eventually published my writing, simply because I had not taken certain journalism classes.
At this point, I was convinced that there must be a way to both retain the quality of collegiate publications and give students from all departments an opportunity to write for a publication. Immediately, I realized what had been missing from the newspaper: a blog! On a whim, I walked into the publication room and introduced myself to first person I saw. He happened to be the faculty advisor for the online publications with the newspaper—what luck! I spent the next few months slowly warming him up to the idea. Big projects don’t happen over night; it took many conversations before he was sold. The online advisor had me write up a formula proposal, outlining the features, benefits and costs of adding a blog to the journalism department's Web site to present to the rest of the faculty.

Having convinced the journalism department, I immediately began the work designing the site with a friend. Next, I began advertising for contributors, using the slogan: "a blog for anyone to talk about anything." My primitive advertising tactics attracted a diverse group of bloggers. We have been posting for about four months now and have outpaced the university newspaper’s Web site in the number of hits.

In conceiving this project and carrying it to maturity, I have learned some valuable lessons. First, I learned the difference between coming up with an interesting idea and pushing it toward fruition. In college, people develop ambitions, dreams and goals, but unless you are willing to put in the time and effort, those ideas will fade and dissipate. Especially in a college environment, one needs patience and resolve to overcome the entrenched bureaucracy—particularly in my case at a state-funded university. Second, I learned that I must be flexible with my ideas. Coming into this project, I had a particular vision for it. But as I involved more people and more perspectives, I understood that the vision must be fluid and adaptable. In the end, I opened a new door for college student-driven publication, but also, I learned some real-world lessons that I can carry over into my future career.

Jordan Mattox
San Francisco, CA

The author is a history major at San Francisco State University and active member of the school's speech and debate team. He is the founding editor of The [X]press Blog, a university-wide student-run blog operated through the journalism department.