This past weekend, BYU attempted to break the world record for the largest water balloon fight. They attempted to get over 4,000 participants and 120,000 water balloons. I have no idea if they succeeded.
The reason for the attempt and sponsorship by the school is that they want more students to stay at BYU in the summer in order to get the most use out of the facilities and resources, and to encourage students to take summer classes and graduate sooner. This makes me think that BYU-Provo is going to be shifting to a similar "track system" that BYU-Idaho has where students enroll in a Fall/Winter, Winter/Summer, or Summer/Fall semester program. I mean it makes sense. They already have the buildings - kids might as well be in class so they can get in and out faster. However, I do enjoy not having to take classes or do homework in the summer.
I think a problem that BYU has is that it is very affordable as far as college education goes (Super cheap and great programs - for the most part) and kids aren't worried about getting it done quickly because the expense isn't that great. Now, I'm not complaining. I'm grateful for the education that I'm receiving at a 1/3 the price of other law schools. I went to the University of Michigan for my undergrad and graduated a semester early for numerous reasons - the main one being that it would save me at least $6,500 in tuition. I don't know how I would feel about the track system being implemented, but that's probably because it doesn't really affect me as I already have a bachelor's degree. I think there are always pros and cons, but I really think that the summer is a great opportunity for students to do internships and get work experiences that really set you apart from other applicants. I think if they stress graduating in 2-3 calendar years instead of the 4-5 typical school years, it is going to put some students at a disadvantage because they are not gaining any real work experience. That's my 2 cents.
Here are the photos from the event. Blogger put them in reverse order, and I'm not going to switch it around because it always gives me problems. So enjoy...
The after (my scalp got burned at my part!)
The ammo - they gave everyone a bag of 30 balloons, I think.
The before... cheesing it up
Let's get this party started
The pink and green team crowd. The other team wore orange and blue.
2 comments:
I do think that the "track system" makes a lot of sense though. Say if you are on the Summer/Fall track then you can use that winter term to do internships with less competition and not feel like you are going to be behind on your graduation track. Non-summer internships are easier to get because there is less competition, though there are fewer formal programs at that time. Though, I think when you are outside of a formal program you often get more real world experience. That's just my two cents on the matter.
As long as people are still traveling and getting life (work) experience, it's good with me.
But, I feel like this is the Mormon version of hash bash or something like that.
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