A. Wired

     College quarters are electronic marvels. Television and stereo sets abound. Computers are as common as chairs and tables. How much time do students spend watching TV, listening to their CDs, surfing the Internet, making contacts in chat rooms, playing computer games? What do faculty members think of the time being devoted to nonacademic activities?
     Prepare a script for a five-minute documentary.

B. Population

     A national organization, Population Connection, has initiated a campaign to urge "lawmakers to make a contract with future generations by adopting measures that encourage a sustainable balance of people, resources and the environment." It predicts that, unless efforts are made to curb world population growth, today's population of 5.7 billion could become 19.2 billion at the end of the 21st century. The group urges:

• Universal access to a full range of reproductive health care services.
• Stronger environmental protection and an end to government subsidies that promote wasteful consumption.
• U.S. policies that reduce global migration pressures.
• A comprehensive and compassionate national adolescent pregnancy prevention program.
• Education, employment and training to improve women's status.
• School-based programs that raise awareness of population and environmental issues.
• Increased funding for international population and sustainable development programs.

     Interview authorities on the campus to find out what they think of the goals of the campaign, how feasible population control is politically, who the proponents and opponents of the campaign would be.

C. Decline

     From 1970 to 2000, the number of women attending college increased 136 percent, graduate school 168 percent, professional school 853 percent. Slowly but surely, women began to outnumber men in college so that today there are 1.7 million more women in college than men; women make up 56 percent of the college population.
     The reason may be grades. Girls in grade and high schools outperform boys. They have higher grades, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests of 9, 13 and 17 year-olds show girls score much higher in language skills and also in mathematics.
     What is the enrollment by gender on your campus today, 10, 20 years ago? What is the reason campus officials give for the shift? Gather material for a broadcast documentary for a local station.