Burnt Orange Report

Ack! They're On To Us!

By Jim Dallas

The Associated Press ran a story Wednesday about college students being lazy (as if that were newsworthy!):

A national student survey recently found that nearly two-thirds of students spent 15 hours or fewer per week doing coursework, and about 20% of both freshmen and seniors claimed to spend fewer than five hours per week.

For the truly lazy, a feature on the Web site student.com generates automatic excuse-requesting e-mails. Users pick the phrases they want, asking for "a bit of slack" or a "slight favor" because they "have SO much work to do" and could never finish the assignment "in the complete way you deserve."

"As an isolated phenomenon it might not be so serious, but it has to be seen in the overall context of diminishing expectations," said Bradford Wilson, executive director of the National Association of Scholars, a group that is working to combat what it believes is a decline in college standards.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, non-farm payroll employment was up this last month by 288,000, or about 2.7 percent (annualized over 12 months). Meanwhile non-farm business productivity was up 3.5 percent. Translation: The Man currently has more interest in screaming "work faster!" at current employees than it has in hiring new ones.

Which reminds me, Byron and others, are y'all still planning on graduating this month?

:: stifles evil laugh ::

On the upside, though, wages are finally starting to go up (at a snail's pace). Over two years after the official end of the recession.

UPDATE: While I'm on topic, I'd just like to complain about having to pay $1.80 per gallon for gasoline. This is so ridiculous I may start riding my bicycle again.