StudyBlue.com

by Joe Anello

Like most of her colleagues, University of Michigan student Rebecca Solomon was merely trying to catch a flight back to Detroit after spending the holidays with her parents in Philadelphia. Instead, she ended being the victim of an airport prank that unequivocally qualifies for a College News Epic Prank FAIL.

As detailed by her January 10th column for the U of M’s newspaper, the Michigan Daily, Solomon’s bags were being checked at Philadelphia’s airport when a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee stopped to ask her questions.

A pro at air travel,Solomon could not fathom what the problem could be. After failing to adequately answer the employee’s questions, he pulled a small plastic bag filled with white powder out of her laptop case.

Shocked and confused, Solomon ran through every possible reason why the suspicious powder was in her possession. Did a terrorist drop it in her bag? Was she caught up in drug trafficking?

In tears, Soloman desperately tried to explain her almost improvable innocence. Then, the security worker smiled at her. Holding the bag in his hand, he told Soloman that he was only kidding. It was only a joke.

After emotionally explaining her situation to a total stranger, Soloman met with the director of security to explain the incident. She filed out a complaint form and didn’t understand when the employee in question wasn’t removed from his post. Two days after she arrived home, she called the airport and was informed that “disciplinary action had been taken.”

A recent New York Times article quotes TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino as saying that, “The behavior exhibited by this TSA employee was highly inappropriate and unprofessional.”

The worker was also described as no longer employed at the agency but without an explanation as to the terms of his absence.

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Saul’s View:

Jokes in airports just don’t fly anymore (pun intended). I can appreciate a good practical joke in most situations and often feel like we too uptight about things on a societal scale. But this was ridiculous. Imagine if it had been the passenger joking with the TSA agent. “Oh that suspicious white substance is just laundry detergent. Just trying to keep you on your toes.” Handcuffs, jail cell, “no-fly” list.

And don’t TSA agents have better things to do than scare unsuspecting passengers? I would hope so. I’m happy this particular TSA agent is no longer employed in the business of keeping our airplanes safe.

Feel differently? E-mail me. I’d love to hear your take. saul@studyblue.com

Have a good week, everyone.

Saul

Hey StudyBlue,

These are exciting times around college campuses. This is the first week of class here in Madison, so many discussion sections aren’t meeting, reading assignments are mostly lax, and professors expect little more than for students to attend lecture while enrollment becomes final.

Now that my schedule for spring semester is (mercifully) finalized, I’ve been going through my SB account to drop last semester’s classes and add my new ones. It’s a pretty gratifying experience. Removing old classes elicits that same feeling of joy you get from tossing out old syllabi and selling textbooks. Priceless enjoyment.

I’m also excited to add my new classes. I’ve seen a handful of students doing the same thing during class as professors drone on about the importance of regular attendance. You should, too – attend class. Then upload your notes. But you should also take advantage of this calm before the storm and update your SB account with your new classes.

It’s a good idea to clue your classmates in, increase the pool of resources for your classes.

Enjoy the early (easier) days of the semester.

Saul

Welcome Back!

Now that break is over and classes are back in session, it is time to jump back on StudyBlue, the smartest way to better grades.

We hope you had a relaxing break be cause we were certainly busy.  While you were on break we updated our electronic flashcards. Now it’s even easier to search, create and study flashcards, giving your GPA a boost in 2010.

Get better grades and cash too! The StudyBlue Rewards Program is Back.

Upload your notes or turn them into flashcards. Make cash each time you do. Here’s how it work’s:

•    $1.00 for each class note you upload
•    $1.00 for each flashcard deck you create
•    $1.00 each time you refer a friend
•    $0.25 each time someone in your class studies your files

**If you school is not part of the rewards program you can still make ca$h by referring classmates.  The more people from your school on StudyBlue, the better StudyBlue is for you.

The Champs Fundraising Program is back!

We’re giving a select number of student organizations the opportunity to raise money by spreading the word – championing – StudyBlue.

Your org will get paid $1 for every new user you refer to StudyBlue, plus other huge bonuses. This is a great chance to earn some real cash.

Interested in learning more? Visit http://studyblue.com/#champs or email champs@studyblue.com
Good luck this Spring.  And remember the smartest way to better grades is to StudyBlue.

Hey all you StudyBlue users out there! My name is Kelli and I have been a campus representative with StudyBlue for the past two years. This is THE best job to have while in college! I really consider myself lucky to have been able to work for StudyBlue. As an avid StudyBlue user myself, promoting the site is so easy! As a campus representative I am responsible for getting the word out about StudyBlue. StudyBlue provides me with all the materials I need such as t-shirts, flyers, bookmarks, highlighters, and other promotional materials to give out to students. I also talk about the site a lot, not just because I am a campus representative, but because I really believe that the site is a great tool for all students to get better grades!

As a campus representative I am able to meet tons of people! From going to sorority and fraternity meetings, meeting with athletes, and other students on campus, there really is not a group that I have met! It’s fun being able to meet so many people on campus promoting something that they will actually use. Honestly, the only difficult thing about being a campus rep is convincing people that the entire concept of StudyBlue is NOT too good to be true!

Being a rep is awesome for a lot of reasons, but the money you make has got to be the #1 reason to want to be a campus representative. I get paid an hourly wage for 10 hours a week every week PLUS crazy bonuses based on how many users I get signed up at my school. I’ve worked really hard at it these past two years and have made a lot of money. I’ve definitely made a lot more money than I would have made with any other college job. It is possible to make over $5,000 a semester! All in all, being a rep is a great college job to have, and I would encourage anyone and everyone to apply for being your campus’s representative!

If you are interested in joining our team of Campus Representatives email:  jobs@studyblue.com

For more information about our Campus Rep program please visit:  http://blog.studyblue.com/about/jobs/campus-representative

Billy Madison

Hey StudyBlue,

First, congrats on an awesome 2009. After watching Ben’s video blog, it’s easy to see you really rocked last year. More than nine Statues of Liberty worth of flashcards? Amazing stuff.

The work you did last year is a great foundation for what can happen this year, specifically spring semester. I actually think it should be called “second, more brutal half of winter semester.” Those of you reading from the South or West Coast probably see no problem with calling it spring semester but for us northerners, it’s like a cruel reminder that we won’t feel warm breezes for another four months (if we’re lucky). But I digress…

I’m sure more than a few of you made new years resolutions sounding something like “study more,” “actually read for class,” or “take better notes.” I think those are all admirable. I also think we sometimes have theses misguided feelings that resolutions should be really, really hard – nearly impossible – to actually achieve.

At StudyBlue, we believe that making yourself a better student isn’t so hard. You can do it, and StudyBlue can help you.

I’ve never advocated the position that StudyBlue alone can turn C’s into A’s and B’s. I’m still not. It will take some work on your part, but StudyBlue helps you work smarter. You’ll get way more mileage from your studying with StudyBlue’s innovative features.

If you’re really serious about setting a specific schedule for your studying, check out Premium Service. It’s like a personal trainer for your academic fitness.

Maybe you’re not ready for Premium. That’s fine. StudyBlue has plenty of features to keep you on track this semester. Tell your friends to get a free account, too. The bigger the community, the more resources there are for all of us.

See you around campus,

Saul

On behalf of the StudyBlue team we wish you a happy, safe and studious 2010.

I’ll be honest. Finals are a little scary.

Final exams are especially frightening when they are cumulative or even semi-cumulative. Do I remember what my professors lectured about two months ago? Not likely. Like most of you, I consider myself a fairly responsible and well-intentioned student who attends most of the classes and completes at least the majority of the readings. But preparing for four or more exams that take place in the span of just as many days in an unenviable task. Sometimes we just need some help (or divine intervention).

StudyBlue is not divine intervention, but it can definitely ease your burden during these last few weeks of the semester. Don’t take the best notes during lecture? Some of your classmates do. Search the public notes on StudyBlue and see what you’re missing but others are catching. Reading your classmates’ notes really helps to supplement your knowledge on subjects. Be a good StudyBlue citizen and upload your own notes, too – even if you don’ think they’re the greatest. Somebody else might find an important nugget in there somewhere.

Flashcards are awesome. Especially when you actually have time to study them instead of hastily throwing them together. Start making your decks today. It’s true, StudyBlue’s decks are so easy to use that it doesn’t take long to make them. Kudos to our developers. Still, the more times you go through your decks, the better. And if you have the iPhone and iPod Touch app, you can zip through your flashcards anytime – when avoiding conversation with the awkward guy on the bus, when waiting for lecture to start, or when waiting in line while holiday shopping.

The more you do now, the less stress you’ll have later. Now I’m off to practice what I preach and add to my history of journalism deck.

Catch you later, StudyBlue.

-Saul

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Thanksgiving with friends and family.

Did you know that turkey can make you smarter?  Check out the top 100 foods that can help you ace your upcoming exams: http://go.studyblue.com/turkey.

Enjoy this long weekend and remember to check out StudyBlue in the coming weeks because nobody can help you ace those exams and beat the curve like StudyBlue.

What’s up ghosts and goblins?

I hope everyone is enjoying some well-earned relaxation after these past couple weeks of midterm insanity. How did everyone do? StudyBlue save anyone besides me? Tell me about it (saul@studyblue.com), and you might earn the prestigious distinction of being published in the StudyBlue Blog….!

But seriously, we like to know what works for you guys and what you want changed. So drop me a note.

Here’s some awesome news: This weekend is Halloween!

Even better news: We get one extra hour of sleep. The “spring forward, fall back” adage tells us we’ll be adjusting the clocks back one hour early Sunday morning. Tell me that doesn’t make your day.

Here’s your Halloween treat (no tricks)…

We’ve unveiled the Quiz tool!

I’ve personally be waiting for this study tool, and I’m loving it. You can customize your settings to create quizzes with multiple choice, true/false, or a mixture of the two. It’s a great way to turn your decks into even more useful test prep resources.

I’m having StudyBlue quiz me on my Communication Arts material this week, and I can honestly say my comprehension has improved.

That’s it for now, but we’ll be talking again soon. Happy celebrating.

And don’t forget about those clocks,

Saul

Hey StudyBlue,

Here’s a little clip for your amusement.