Facebook feedback

Facebook’s letting us give feedback, but how effective with the new forum be?

Red & Black is pleased, but skeptical.

Facebook announced Thursday plans to discard its Terms of Use completely in an effort to be more transparent with users.

Two new documents – Facebook Principles and the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities – are available for users to read and, subsequently, offer feedback.

Users also will have the opportunity to vote for or against proposed changes before they go into effect, the site’s creator, Mark Zuckerberg, explained in The Facebook Blog.

We’re glad Facebook is reaching out to users, especially after it made changes to its Terms of Use earlier this month without informing anyone. In Facebook lingo, we like this item.

However, we’re not convinced the transition will go smoothly.

Millions of users visit the social networking site daily. Even if just a fraction of them provide comments, Facebook will be hard-pressed to weed through them all.

Already, hundreds have commented, and the information has only been available for less than a day. Striking a compromise between so many conflicting ideas? Forget it.

As one user commented, “Having people ‘vote’ on terms can only lead to havoc.”

Just add “Facebook watchdog” to our activities.

- Kelly Shaul for the editorial board

Delayed degrees

Students should make the most of their time here and not rush to the workforce.

Some colleges have begun a new initiative to help students and families save money: offering degrees in three years.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that several small liberal arts schools have created alternative three-year programs for some of their majors. This is done to alleviate the financial strain caused by tuition and get them out earning money a full year early.

Although this is a great idea, is it really worth it – especially now – to give up an entire year of your college experience to graduate and maybe get a job? Perhaps at schools where tuition is upwards of $40,000, but certainly not here.

We think having a full four years – or more – to learn and mature is invaluable. Regardless of the job market, this is our college experience. We should not be so anxious to give up the good times.

And no one should be racing to graduate when the cost of living is higher than the cost of tuition at the University – with or without HOPE. So relax, take it easy and enjoy the relative ease while you can. Because once that tassel is turned, chances are high that our lives will never be this carefree again.

- Megan Otto for the editorial board