Before I walk to class, there are a few accessories I carry with me. My wallet, keys, pen, college-ruled notebook and my laptop. Looking around the classroom, I wonder why many other students haven’t taken advantage of using a laptop for note-taking. The difference between paper and pencil and a laptop is enormous. Why would you use five separate notebooks for five classes if you could store every single note on one laptop? Simply put, laptop computers should be in the hands of every university student. Laptops are easy to use, readily available, relatively cheap and much more efficient than paper and pencil.

First of all, computers have been around for private use since the 1980s. They may not have been cheap back then, but times have changed and now they are all over the place and can be fairly inexpensive. Most public libraries I visit have them for public use. Not only that, some public schools set up special funds to equip their students with laptops to aid their learning. By now, I’d wager that most people have come into contact with computers and know how to use them to some degree. Even if by chance you don’t, most software these days have helpful tutorials that show you everything you need to know.

By now you might be thinking: “I like the idea of buying a laptop, but I have become too accustomed to paper.” Sure, paper might have been sufficient in high school, but college is an entirely different ball game. Graduate schools have already picked up on this trend — the law school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has made it a requirement to own a laptop to attend class. Notes you take are important to keep with you. Your classes and knowledge link together and thus the sheer number of notes would become unwieldy. Not only would it be nearly impossible to carry all your paper notes around, it also would be extremely inefficient to try and search through them. With a laptop, you can easily search for files that you need. It is even possible to search through individual files for text. With a convenience like that, why would anyone not want a laptop?

Let’s face it, computer technology is vastly superior to pen and paper. Not only is the actual note-taking process made much easier, but carrying your notes around in a compact way is greatly simplified with a USB drive. This is not to mention how taking notes on your laptop simplifies making study guides and sending notes to friends that missed class. With a computer or laptop, it is easy to post your work on a Web site or e-mail your work to anyone who wants to view it. No need for costly mistakes. With electronic media, both production and distribution are free.

Don’t inconvenience yourself with the mess of pen and paper. Go out and do yourself a favor and buy a laptop. You will save yourself time, money and embarrassment. Just think about it; while J. Random Guy is fumbling around with his massive paper notebooks, you could already have your notes open and ready to go.

Alex Ketay is an opinion columnist for the Northern Star.