College requirements
Students go for high-tech back-to-school items
By Dolly A. Butz, Journal staff writer | Posted: Monday, August 20, 2007
Cell phone. Digital camera. Laptop. Flat panel TV. iPod. X-Box 360.
Gone are the days of spiral notebooks, pens and pencils.
Today's college students are hoping to check these high-tech gotta-have items off their back-to-school lists. Although they aren't essential to academic success, for some they are essential for college life.
Ross Baldwin and his mom, Shelle, of Anthon, Iowa, were back-to-school shopping at Best Buy on a recent weekday afternoon. A black iPod 30G MP3 player was at the top of the Northwest Missouri State University freshman's list.
"A lot of my friends got them," he said. "It's not something that I need to have."
"It's more like you want one, and your mother's going to buy you one," Shelle Baldwin added.
In addition to the iPod, the Baldwins have bought a TV and all the needed accessories.
Shelle estimates they will spend between $1,000 and $1,500 on back-to-school items.
"College students are definitely buying the Wii and X-box 360," Best Buy store service manager Sean Hansen, said. "They're fun interactive things."
An X-Box 360 is a video game console developed by Microsoft that allows the user to play against others online and download arcade games, movies and TV shows. Wii is a game console produced by Nintendo that features a wireless wand controller that detects acceleration in three dimensions.
Hansen said Sony's PSP, PlayStation Portable, is also a hot entertainment item for the dorm. PSP allows its users to watch movies, play video games, listen to music, browse the Web and take photos with its portable controller.
Back-to-school shopping isn't all fun and games, however. Notebook computers and USB flash drives also are hot sellers.
"Flash drives are very big right now," Hansen said. "This is the future of college."
Hansen said students will do their homework on the notebook, save it to a flash drive and then turn it in to their professor.
A special section of the Target Greatland store is dedicated to back to school.
"We're definitely in the heat of back-to-school shopping," executive team leader Ali Bogenrief said. "Our back-to-school area has definitely been shopped a lot."
Bogenrief said college students are filling their shopping carts with such dorm accessories as storage crates, dorm refrigerators and reading lamps.
She said "rocker chairs" are one of the most popular dorm items this year.
The suede and leather floor chairs come in a variety of colors and either fold up or spin.
A high-tech version of the chair, called a "video rocker," features built-in speakers, an amplifier and cords and ports to plug a game console, TV or music player into.
During a weekday afternoon shopping excursion at Target, Jamie Wiemann and Beth Kosters weren't looking for items to furnish their dorm room, but storage bins to keep it clean. The Northwest College sophomores said they already own a combination couch, futon and chair.
"We're trying to be clean," Kosters said. "We're not good at that."
Fashion trends
With high-tech gadgetry and furniture taking a big bite out of back-to-school budgets, students -- and their parents -- will no doubt be relieved to know they don't have to spend a fortune to dress like their favorite celebrity on the first day of school.
"If you look at fashion magazines, you definitely see the fashion styles we're pulling out as well," said LeAnne Schulz, visual manager for Younkers department store.
For teen girls this school year, Schulz said it's all about the trapeze jacket, a short jacket with belled sleeves. Skinny jeans are popular again, as well as dark denim and babydoll tops in a variety of fabrics and knits.
"Babydolls I'd pair with leggings, and the trapeze jacket I'd put with a skinny pant," Schulz said.
Shoppers can finish off their back-to-school outfits with patent-leather shoes or a pair of metallic flats and a set of bangles or some chunky metallic jewelry.
Schulz said teen guys are buying jackets with extra linings in different colors and fabrics. Faded denim is in, as is layering long- and short-sleeved shirts. Schulz said no shoe trends for guys have emerged yet this season.
Annika Hauan, Younkers' juniors sales manager, said the store's juniors area is targeted toward 14-year-olds to 20-somethings. She said the Iowa sales-tax holiday Aug. 3 and 4 was a busy weekend for back-to-school shoppers.
For those who missed out on the sales tax holiday, Hauan said they can still save with coupons and other store promotions.
"A lot of people I know have been talking about a certain limit," she said. "It's a good place to go if you have a budget."
Classes resume in the Sioux City School District on Thursday. Superintendent Larry Williams said school starts on a Thursday rather than a Monday for three reasons:
1. Faculty members attend in-service Monday through Wednesday.
2. The shortened week is used as a transition to help students and teachers adjust to the classroom routine.
3. The district prefers to get a full week of school in before Labor Day.
Gone are the days of spiral notebooks, pens and pencils.
Today's college students are hoping to check these high-tech gotta-have items off their back-to-school lists. Although they aren't essential to academic success, for some they are essential for college life.
Ross Baldwin and his mom, Shelle, of Anthon, Iowa, were back-to-school shopping at Best Buy on a recent weekday afternoon. A black iPod 30G MP3 player was at the top of the Northwest Missouri State University freshman's list.
"A lot of my friends got them," he said. "It's not something that I need to have."
"It's more like you want one, and your mother's going to buy you one," Shelle Baldwin added.
In addition to the iPod, the Baldwins have bought a TV and all the needed accessories.
Shelle estimates they will spend between $1,000 and $1,500 on back-to-school items.
"College students are definitely buying the Wii and X-box 360," Best Buy store service manager Sean Hansen, said. "They're fun interactive things."
An X-Box 360 is a video game console developed by Microsoft that allows the user to play against others online and download arcade games, movies and TV shows. Wii is a game console produced by Nintendo that features a wireless wand controller that detects acceleration in three dimensions.
Hansen said Sony's PSP, PlayStation Portable, is also a hot entertainment item for the dorm. PSP allows its users to watch movies, play video games, listen to music, browse the Web and take photos with its portable controller.
Back-to-school shopping isn't all fun and games, however. Notebook computers and USB flash drives also are hot sellers.
"Flash drives are very big right now," Hansen said. "This is the future of college."
Hansen said students will do their homework on the notebook, save it to a flash drive and then turn it in to their professor.
A special section of the Target Greatland store is dedicated to back to school.
"We're definitely in the heat of back-to-school shopping," executive team leader Ali Bogenrief said. "Our back-to-school area has definitely been shopped a lot."
Bogenrief said college students are filling their shopping carts with such dorm accessories as storage crates, dorm refrigerators and reading lamps.
She said "rocker chairs" are one of the most popular dorm items this year.
The suede and leather floor chairs come in a variety of colors and either fold up or spin.
A high-tech version of the chair, called a "video rocker," features built-in speakers, an amplifier and cords and ports to plug a game console, TV or music player into.
During a weekday afternoon shopping excursion at Target, Jamie Wiemann and Beth Kosters weren't looking for items to furnish their dorm room, but storage bins to keep it clean. The Northwest College sophomores said they already own a combination couch, futon and chair.
"We're trying to be clean," Kosters said. "We're not good at that."
Fashion trends
With high-tech gadgetry and furniture taking a big bite out of back-to-school budgets, students -- and their parents -- will no doubt be relieved to know they don't have to spend a fortune to dress like their favorite celebrity on the first day of school.
"If you look at fashion magazines, you definitely see the fashion styles we're pulling out as well," said LeAnne Schulz, visual manager for Younkers department store.
For teen girls this school year, Schulz said it's all about the trapeze jacket, a short jacket with belled sleeves. Skinny jeans are popular again, as well as dark denim and babydoll tops in a variety of fabrics and knits.
"Babydolls I'd pair with leggings, and the trapeze jacket I'd put with a skinny pant," Schulz said.
Shoppers can finish off their back-to-school outfits with patent-leather shoes or a pair of metallic flats and a set of bangles or some chunky metallic jewelry.
Schulz said teen guys are buying jackets with extra linings in different colors and fabrics. Faded denim is in, as is layering long- and short-sleeved shirts. Schulz said no shoe trends for guys have emerged yet this season.
Annika Hauan, Younkers' juniors sales manager, said the store's juniors area is targeted toward 14-year-olds to 20-somethings. She said the Iowa sales-tax holiday Aug. 3 and 4 was a busy weekend for back-to-school shoppers.
For those who missed out on the sales tax holiday, Hauan said they can still save with coupons and other store promotions.
"A lot of people I know have been talking about a certain limit," she said. "It's a good place to go if you have a budget."
Classes resume in the Sioux City School District on Thursday. Superintendent Larry Williams said school starts on a Thursday rather than a Monday for three reasons:
1. Faculty members attend in-service Monday through Wednesday.
2. The shortened week is used as a transition to help students and teachers adjust to the classroom routine.
3. The district prefers to get a full week of school in before Labor Day.
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Diane wrote on Aug 20, 2007 6:38 PM: