Every so often, when the reality of life as a college student becomes blurred by overwork and stress, and all seems hopelessly lost, one of my roommates has the knack of reminding me why I’m here.

It began one night when all of us were lying around not doing much of anything, and that was the problem. All of a sudden, my roommate sat bolt upright and shouted “State your purpose!”

So now whenever my roommates and I find ourselves straying from education’s path we state our purposes.

We have all decided that we are attending NIU to earn degrees. To do this we have to be students and do all that student-sort-of-stuff like go to class and do homework, so eventually we will be able to leave and find jobs.

Last week in the spring edition of Campus Voice there was an article tucked near the back discussing this very subject.

The article said “If you think a college diploma guarentees you a professional job after graduation, you may be mistaken.”

Then the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that until 1995 one out of nine college graduates will be underemployed because of a limited supply of professional jobs.

Underemployment is “job-market reality.” In this reality graduates will have to work at a job that requires less education than what they have.

That brings some awfully scary thoughts to mind doesn’t it?

There is some hope for students who don’t feel like settling for anything less than their goals. Suggestions made in the article included hands-on experience and internships.

Working previously for my high school and community college newspapers and now for the Star is giving this hands-on experience to me and helping me to put together a clip portfolio which should verify this.

Media internships which pay are hard to find and very competitive. During the summer I need my vacation time, like so many other students, to earn money for education and expenses. So hopefully when the time for me to face the large world of mass media outside this campus arrives, my clip portfolio will give me an advantage.

I know I do not want to hear the words “why don’t you come back when you’ve had some experience.” If graduates can’t get jobs how can they get experience? Sounds like a vicious circle if I’ve ever heard one.

But for some people on this campus hands-on experience is becoming easier said than done.

Contracts might be signed for the Black Entertainment Network’s take over of NIU’s TV-8 student-produced programming.

When the contracts are signed the only part students might play is in the production of the TV-8 news if even that.

The BET is supposed to help add “another dimension to this campus,” but should the dimension be added at the risk of loosing another.

TV-8 provides for broadcast students the chance to put some of what they’re learning in class to use. But more importantly TV-8 can offer students an education that in no way can be offered in a classroom.

Student programs like Paragon, Newsbriefs, Viewpoint and TV-8 News are a way for students interested in broadcast media to get their hands-on experience.

After graduation, students are able to say to potential employers “Hey I know what I’m doing, because I’ve had working experience.”

Shouldn’t that be worth consideration when negotiating contracts.

College students are not little kids any more that need to be entertained all the time, let alone 24-hours a day, even though there is a definite time, place and need for entertainment in a college student’s life.

I thought the purpose of a university was to provide students with an outlet for a well-rounded education.

Maybe before the university strays too far from its path, it should state its purpose before a decision is made.