College Newspaper Article 1

The other day, I was looking through some of my things from college when I came across a few articles I wrote during my sophomore year while I worked for the school newspaper, the Lakeholm Viewer. I had almost entirely forgotten about them, and it was fun reading back through them. I figured since this is my collection of things I have written, I would add them on here. Sorry if they aren’t amazing. I was only a sophomore!

Pros and cons of marriage while in college weighed by students

By Zach Zeltman

Staff Writer

September 24, 2010

The majority of students at Mount Vernon Nazarene University seem to want to get married . . . soon! Many people joke about getting a ring by spring, but quite a few students have already taken the plunge.

According to research assistant Carla Parsons, MVNU has more than 80 traditional students who are married. So despite what many people think, only about four percent of students at MVNU are married.

Out of 34 students polled, nearly 40 percent said they either plan to get married while in college or at least meet their future spouse during that time.

Broken down by gender, the numbers are closer than one might have thought. Forty-one percent of females compared to 33 percent of males thought they would get married or find their future spouse while in college.

Multiple students responded by saying that finding a spouse was not on the top of their priority list of things to accomplish while at MVNU, but they were still open to the prospect of finding a potential husband or wife.

This summer, junior business management major Scott Hilbert married his high school sweetheart, Haley Dunham, a junior nursing major. He says getting married was an easy decision for him. Scott and Haley Hilbert had been dating for almost five years before tying the knot. Both of their parents were married at a young age so they were fully supportive in Scott’s and Haley’s wanting to get married while they were still in college.

Haley Hilbert says being a married student at MVNU is “super convenient.” She can always be with her best friend and can escape from campus life when needed. She adds that she gets homesick much less now because she feels that she is now in her own home.

“I love being married in college. It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” she said.

One can imagine that being married in college can be challenging for many reasons. The most obvious reason is the time commitment of being a student, participating in extracurricular activities and just wanting to spend time with friends on campus.

There are benefits to being married while in college as well. The state and federal governments help married students quite a bit, and the MVNU family discount is nice too.

Scott and Haley Hilbert both talked about how they enjoy the married housing provided by MVNU because it is close enough that they are still around their friends and can be at events if they want, but they aren’t stuck on campus all the time.

“I think that students can find their spouse here because of the Christian atmosphere,” student body president Jameson Seymour said.

“Most of the students want to have a healthy, Christ-following relationship, and since MVNU is a Christian campus, it is easier to find a life-long companion.”

Seymour also says that he thinks sometimes students think they need to find a relationship at the University, but this should not be the norm for college-age students.