With the semester coming to a close and the weather turning nice, it is easy to procrastinate and blow off assignments. But down the road it will be worth staying focused now.
It’s not about how you start, it is about how you finish. The months of school may have seemed endless, but many classes have a majority of their points still to be earned in the last week or so of the year. Now is the time to focus.
With now being the most important time in the school year, there are many ways to trick yourself into studying.
One of the biggest distractions for students is the Internet. Facebook, Twitter and random web searches are some of the best time killers for college students.
Cell phones are also good instruments of distraction. Texting and calling friends are easy ways to get distracted.
Turning off the phone and closing the computer when it is not needed can help keep one on task. This will take away the temptation to check them constantly.
Studying in solitude is another great way not to get distracted by friends.    Some students decide to break up the work into smaller chunks.
“I take short breaks throughout studying, drink coffee and listen to music so I do not get distracted by others,” junior Michelle Miller said.
Planning ahead and prioritizing work also lead to students being as efficient as possible.
“I write down lists of things I need to accomplish,” junior Sarah Jacobsma said. “I start with the more difficult things and the things that take the longest and end with the easier, shorter assignments.”
Students should remember that this is the most important part of the semester and staying focused on studies will pay off in the long run.

When posting to public media sites, students should be more conscious of the images they are creating.
Over the past few weeks, Butler Confessions and BU Secret Admirer have become widely popular on Twitter and Facebook. These sites  have more than 2,000 Facebook likes and Twitter followers combined.
While most of the people who view these posts are probably students, anyone on Facebook or Twitter can see the pages.
Prospective students and parents can see these pages, and some of the posts are not great displays of class.
Some comments  are innocent and funny, but other comments  have lewd descriptions that are inappropriate.
The  comments make Butler students look like a bunch of sex -addicted young adults.
One anonymous commentor posted, “I jacked off in JH 342 last night. Have fun in class tomorrow.”
While statements like this may be true, it is not necessary that students say this on the Internet where anyone in the world can see.
All comments are anonymous and monitored by university employees, but there should be more done to regulate these pages, especially if they have Butler’s name in the title.
The site is not monitored by Butler. .
Only  a few accounts in violation of the social media guidelines have occurred, and none of the posts are affecting the marketing and image of Butler, Kaltemark said.
After reading some of the lewd comments, I personally do not understand how these are not negatively impacting the university. These comments are not a good representation of the “Butler Way”. Many schools around the country have similar social media pages but that does not mean Butler has to lower its standards and have social media pages with bad comments as well.
The two social media pages are not affiliated with the university, and the school can do little to regulate the pages. But Butler is in the title of these pages, and, therefore they are a direct representation of the Butler students.
The web marketing team keeps a close eye on the pages,  Kaltenmark  said, but with all of the posted comments falling under the guidelines already, there is little that can be done to be more selective of the comments that make the page.
The pages can be very entertaining and interesting to read, but the fact is that some of these comments are protected by the rules. Students need to realize the potential harm these comments can do to the reputation to the school.

For the benefit of students and teachers, more professors should allow students to take final exams online.
Taking exams online is  convenient for students. This would allow students to take the exam any time during finals week. This would also allow students who live farther away to have a better idea of how to make their travel plans so they can leave campus at a decent time instead of in the middle of the night because they were stuck in an exam all day.
This also would help students who have vacations scheduled right after the school year.
If students had the freedom to take exams any time they wanted, they would have more time to prepare.
Finding the time to adequately study for exams is a big problem for many students who have jam-packed schedules. The extra time for studying could mean better overall scores for students.
Professors would not be obligated to sit in a classroom and proctor exams. Every student on campus has access to an adequate computer, so technical difficulties could be easily managed and kept to a minimum.
Opponents of this plan may say students might have a better opportunity to use notes and books.
Teachers could make questions hard enough or put a time limit on exams. This could make shuffling through notes and books obsolete because it would be too time-consuming.
Electronic exams could be  very beneficial in terms of allowing students and teachers to effectively use their time and allowing students to adequately prepare for exams.
There is the potential that electronic exams could fail but there is also the potential that every could benefit from them as well.

Butler once again increased its tuition, but in reality most students are paying a similar price.
Many students do not realize two things about financial aid. Most of the $52.3-million financial aid budget does not actually exist, and the 3.75 percent hike in tuition will not affect students as badly as they might think.
The largest portion of the financial aid budget comes from discounted tuition, said Melissa Smurdon, fiancial aid director.
What this means is that a student who has $15,000 in scholarship will have this reduced from his or her tuition instead of having that money come out of  an actual financial aid budget.
If this budget is physically nonexistent, then where does all the money generated from donations go? Most of that money goes toward specific Butler issued scholarships.
Financial aid does not increase dollar for dollar with tuition, but aid is based on a percentage. This is why students will still feel the effects of the tuition increase, but not to the degree most think.
The percentage is related to the projected number of students expected to be enrolled at Butler, Smurdon said.
The 2013-14 budget will be $2.2 million more than the budget from this academic year.
Not all students are eligible to receive financial aid. Some students who are eligible might opt not to use it.
Butler students bring in $10 million in scholarships outside of Butler.
Looking at the glass half full, yes, everyone’s tuition will increase, but not at the rate one would think based on raw numbers.

With more students enrolling at Butler, housing costs should remain the same or decrease.
As more students enroll at the university each year, residence halls are becoming more and more crowded. No residence halls are being constructed, which means more and more students are being crammed into an inadequate space.
If Butler continues to admit record numbers of freshmen into the school, something is going to have to give.
Ross and Schwitzer Halls are no five-star hotels, so students should not be made to live in over- crowded conditions in an already less than desirable location.
Simple math should tell administrators that if they fit more people in the same amount of space, then the price should be less because it is dispersed between more people.
Although the school opened up Christian Theological Seminary apartments  this year, every year the freshman class is bigger than the previous year’s.
We are at the point now where we are at capacity.
Some three-person rooms in Ross currently house four people. Those residents are paying a reduced rate, but the more people who use the bathrooms and facilities will certainly have an impact on the facilities’ wear and hygiene.
If it only costs so much money to maintain residence halls, then the school should disperse this cost between however many students are living in them.
If the school will not allow students to live comfortably, they should at least allow students to live at reduced rates.

It would be beneficial for Butler to gives students and faculty a few days off for Easter.
There are many schools around the country —not all of which are necessarily tied to a specific religion— that get a few days off to allow students and faculty to celebrate the holiday.  If Butler gave students a few days, they could be with family and attend all religious activities and services they wanted.
Sophomore David Leach said  the short break would allow him to participate in more activities and events leading up to the Sunday.
Not having to focus on schoolwork during this important holiday would be a blessing for Christians. We get a month off for Christmas; the least the school could do is spare us a couple of days for Easter.
Not only should the school be more accommodating toward Christians, but it should also be more accommodating toward other religious such as Islam and Judaism.
Like Easter, many major holidays, such as Hanukkah and Rosh Hashanah, happen during the school year. Hanukkah fell a week before finals week last semester. This is a big problem for staff and students who wish to celebrate the holiday.
Butler groups host religion themed events, and Residential College even served potato pancakes and matzo at the end of last semester.
Groups on campus already support various religions, but it would be nice if the university were a little more flexible with major holidays.
“It would be beneficial for students of all faiths,” Leach said. if Butler was more accommodating for holidays.

The Butler Way is something that most students strive to live by. The athletics department goes above and beyond to fulfill this mission.
The community service student-athletes perform is a reason Butler is so greatly esteemed.  On and off the field, athletes are known for abiding by the Butler Way.
In recent years, Butler has had very successful athletic campaigns. Butler should be proud of that success but more proud of the work its athletes do in the community. Not many people know how much work it takes to be a student-athletes.
Not only are they constantly practicing or playing games, but they also spend countless hours serving in the community and helping others.
The athletics department is always sending out emails and reminders of key events at which athletes are wanted.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams raise money and awareness for cancer research. In April, men’s basketball coach Brad Stevens hosted a basketball tournament where all proceeds went to the American Cancer Society.
The basketball team annually volunteers at North United Methodist Church, said Darnell Archey, head of basketball operations.
The basketball team goes there one Saturday each fall and helps the hungry and homeless in any way they can.
This semester, the football team has made several appearances at the Special Olympics and the Gleaners Food Bank. As of last Saturday, the team has bagged more than 6,000 meals for the hungry.
Student-athletes are praised for their athletic abilities and achievements,  but they really should also be commended for positively spreading the Butler Way throughout the greater Indianapolis area.

College is a time to explore interests, but balancing interests with school and social life is the key to success during this time.
College provides students time to find and develop their passions and discover what careers they want to pursue after college.
More than 165 student groups exist at Butler University, so there are plenty of opportunities available for all students to get involved.
While trying a multitude of activities is good, students can over-involve themselves just to say they are active on campus.
As students get older, some feel they are expected to be involved in multiple clubs as resume boosters.
Meeting people one would have otherwise not known or getting to do things one would have never had the chance to do are some benefits of joining on-campus groups.
In spite of these benefits, being spread too thin could be detrimental to any student’s overall success.
The pressure and stress of doing too much could have negative mental, physical and academic impacts on any individual.
Butler is good at attracting students with a great deal of drive and initiative.
With all of the motivation and opportunities on campus, students need to find a good balance of school, extracurricular activities and free time.

Valentine’s Day is approaching, and if you have not been lucky enough to be struck by Cupid this year, do not panic.
Valentine’s Day is a made-up, commercialized holiday. It holds no real value. Being single on this day  is no reason to sulk while everyone else  schmoozes with their partner. People are not defined by their relationship status, so being sad on Valentine’s Day is a waste of time.
Going out with a group of friends is the perfect activity to do. Having a bad time in the presence of good friends is difficult.
If the funds are short or there is just a need to do so, one can always spend the day volunteering.
“My roommates and I are volunteering at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired,” said Junior Emily Persohn, junior pharmacy major.
Other students are treating Valentine’s Day just like any other day.
For students who do not have a ride and cannot leave campus, having a movie night is a fun activity to do with friends. Staying in is not bad because as long as we treat ourselves,we all can be happy.
Having a date on Valentine’s Day means you have to go out and spend money—something most college students do not have. Think about all of the extra stress you are saving yourself by not going out and struggling to make reservations at the  city’s finest diners.
Last year, Residential College hosted a speed-dating activity in its dining hall. Even though it is not hosting the activity this year if you are in need of a date, there are other  options available.
One could always test his or her luck on Tinder. With a wide database of singles, the chances of meeting eligible suitors  is very high.
Some students leave the day
However the day turns out, Valentine’s Day comes around only once a year. Do not let a lonely heart ruin the day.

Road safety is a two-way street. Pedestrians and drivers need to be more respectful and aware of each other on the streets.
Walkers are a little too comfortable crossing campus streets. Last week, I almost hit two pedestrians because they walked across the street without paying attention to oncoming traffic. One of them was on the phone and did not look up the entire time he   was crossing the street.
If a driver happened to be distracted at that moment, the pedestrian could have been seriously injured or killed because of their disregard.
Nighttime drivers have to be especially cautious because walkers will just move into the street without regard to any oncoming traffic. Pedestrians act as though they are invincible.
Students walk down the middle of the street that runs behind Atherton and in front of Fairbanks with a sense of entitlement. Walkers could share the road and walk on the side, allowing traffic to pass.
Now that the weather has made driving conditions worse, pedestrians should be more cautious when they are on or around streets.
Safety and respect go both ways. Everyday drivers roll through stop signs and fly through crosswalks like they are the only ones on the road. It seems like every time I slow down to drive around the bend in front of the HRC, I have someone riding my bumper because I am going too slow for them.
Now that we are in the thick of winter, drivers need to be extra cautious about pedestrians and other drivers.
By slowing down and abiding by the laws, drivers drastically reduce their chances of harming themselves or someone else. Drivers need to remember that, if they hit someone, they will be held responsible if it is their fault or not.
It is in everyone’s best interest to respect others on the road.