Loquitur
Friday, March 11, 2005
The
Features Learn to speak Irish page 8
Cabrini College’s Student Newspaper
Radnor, Pa.
www.theLoquitur.com
Sports Junior represents page 14
Vol LXVV, Issue 18
Torn between passion, paycheck LAURA VAN DE PETTE ASST. SPORTS EDITOR LCV722@CABRINI.EDU The clock is ticking down on the second semester, the deadline for students to declare their major is looming and students like Carolyn Steck are climbing into the ring again to fight the neverending battle whether to choose a major for the paycheck or her passion. Steck, a sophomore accounting major is growing anxious as fall registration approaches. “College is half over for me and it is do or die now. I need to know what I’m doing or at least be sure of my major. Every time I register for more accounting classes I wonder if I can really make a career out of this after I graduate. My dad is an accountant and majoring in accounting has been my plan forever. I know the money will be good after graduation, but right now I’m bored working in a small accounting firm for my internship. It scares me to think that accounting is not for me,” Steck said. This accounting major is not alone in her confusion; students across the nation and on Cabrini’s campus are pressured every semester to choose between financial stability and their passion for a
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CECELIA FRANCISCO/PHOTO/WEB EDITOR
Students need to weigh their options in regards to what they wish to do after college. The choice for a major for the most part comes down to the passion for a specific job or the reassurance of a good paycheck.
possibly less lucrative career. According to a recent CNN report, “Students that are reported to get the most for their money are those with pharmacy and chemical engineering degrees, with average starting salaries of $52,853 and $81,235, respectively.” Unfortunately, the top two majors at Cabrini College are education and English and communication, with average salaries starting at about
$30,000 after graduation. “It’s always good to get lots of input when you’re choosing a major. Parents, friends, professors, they are all good sources. But ultimately, it is the individual who has to be motivated, whether by love or money. Otherwise, it will always feel like the individual is living someone else’s dream,” Dr. Charlie McCormick dean of academic affairs said.
Senior English and communication major Shaun Smith said, “When I changed majors from biology and premedicine to English and communication, I was told that there was not much money in the profession I was interested. I did not care about that, I just wanted to do what I loved on a regular basis.” Business administration professor Ruby Remley said, “I think there is a balance
McGowan death hits home
Soldier, brother to Cabrini senior killed in Iraq KRISTEN CATALANOTTO NEWS EDITOR KMC723@CABRINI.EDU Like more than 1600 American families around the country, the McGowan family received notice that Stephen McGowan, 26, brother to senior Michaela McGowan, was killed Friday, March 4, while serving in Iraq. McGowan was serving in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army when a roadside bomb exploded, killing him and three other fellow soldiers. The United States Central Command said in a press release, “Four soldiers assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in action March 4, while conducting security and stability operations in the Al Anbar province.” McGowan is one of 12 U.S.
COURTESY OF KRISTA MAZZEO
Wearing sunglasses, Stephen McGowan posed for a picture with some of his fellow soldiers while serving in Iraq.
soldiers who have been killed since the start of March. Fiftyeight U.S. soldiers were killed last month, and 1685 U.S. soldiers have perished since the start
of the war. The death of Stephen McGowan brought the Iraq war close to home and forced students to look at the war with dif-
ferent eyes, “It gives us a reality check of our own mortality,” junior Chris Friel said. “This tragedy hitting so close to home certainly does put a face on the human suffering that is always the result of the senselessness of war,” said Chaplain Father Michael Bielecki. Michaela McGowan was volunteering on the annual Project Appalachia in West Virginia and did not find out about her brother until she returned on Saturday. “She’s surviving, she was so close to her brother,” friend Christina Callahan said. This wasn’t Stephen McGowan’s first experience serving in the military overseas. Since he joined the Army three years ago, he was stationed in Korea for 15 months. He then MCGOWAN, page 3
between passion and money driving students to their majors. Most fields regardless of the income require passion. Most people who stay with a field really have a passion for it. You’re going to give up weekends and evenings so it’s really important that you love what you do and not just the paycheck.” Lisa Defino, a junior elementary education major, said, “I am choosing to teach in a Catholic school regardless of the fact that they do not make as much money as other teachers. I have gone to Catholic school my whole life and my faith in God has always been a big part of my life and a factor in shaping the person I am today. For this reason, I feel that religion is an important subject that I want to be able to teach to children. Money has never been the main reason for me wanting to teach. Rather, I want to be able to wake up in the morning and truly enjoy what I do. Inspiring children and making a difference in their lives is more rewarding than receiving a big paycheck. Someone once said, ‘In a hundred years from now it will not matPASSION, page 3
Inside
A&E Miss Julie page 5
Perspectives page 12