We are undoubtedly living in a tech-savvy world where colleges are increasingly moving toward the worlds of multimedia and online. According to the article “Online Housing Lottery a First for McMahon Hall” on page one, the university has made a conscious effort to adjust to this change. With the housing lottery online, picking rooms is now less time-consuming and more convenient for students. In addition, our emails have been upgraded to allow for better features such as Google Docs and greater customization with new Google apps.

While we appreciate the strides Fordham has taken to embrace technology, we can’t help but think that we’re still behind. Some universities, like St. John’s, offer students free laptops. As we continue our transition to this wireless and paperless world, there are a few things that we feel would benefit our growth as students here.

We could cut back on textbook use and instead offer E-readers as an affordable option for students.  We lay out hundreds of dollars each semester for textbooks that we won’t look at again after classes finish in four months. Offering more E-reader textbook options would not only save money and space in our bags, but would also save paper and allow for a better learning experience as we could then look up words and highlight text digitally. If we can implement Google apps for our emails, why not re-evaluate the tools we use to learn in the classroom as well?

Our IDs are also due for an upgrade. Smart IDs could recognize students via scanners or turnstiles at all Lincoln Center’s entrances, like NYU has with their dormitories. This would cut down the stress on security guards who must check every student who currently must raise IDs as they rush to classes or into McMahon. If properly carried out, such IDs could be a better way to keep intruders out of our school. In the near future, students could load up their new IDs with Ram Van passes instead of keeping track of paper slips.

It’s time that not some, but all professors, allow laptops in class. We admit that they can be potentially distracting but the benefits of laptop use far outweigh the risks. They allow students to take notes, look up terms and ideas discussed during lectures and serve as a resource without wasting paper on handouts. Wouldn’t it be great if we could write our midterms and finals on our laptops, too? All of us are comfortable with typing; in fact, most of us type faster than we write.

Our university prides itself on its successful alumni, Fullbright scholars and ever-expanding campuses. But the technology its students use every day is what it needs to invest in. Speed and function, not abstracts and aesthetics, are the priorities of its students. That may not be as easy to brag in a Fordham brochure but it is the reality of our time.