AND Column Resume: Hype or reality? By Greg Stone ■ The Daily Pennsylvanian U. of Pennsylvania 1 guess we are all a little embarrassed bv selling our selves on resumes. It seems so uncomfortable and so neces sary. We try to both stand out and fit in. We estimate what the tribunal of job-granters want, and then mold our experiences into a limited number of multi syllabic words in an attempt to satisfy them. Exaggeration tempts all hut the most principled. The pressure is intense, and some of the criteria seem relatively innocuous. Who would ever know whether you were presi dent of the Finance Club i According to Career Planning and Placement tit the U of Pennsylvania, 13 seniors claimed that post last year.) Why do we submit ourselves to this inane procedure? Why do we embrace the matching resume, cover letter and enve lope as a reincarnation of the holy trinity? I suppose it’s because we’re insecure. We are awed by the power of The Firms We so des perately need the job, money and acceptance that we’ll do whatever it takes. Problems arise, however, when the resume links our lives and our marketability. Our personas become formatted, typeset and stock white. I'd bet that over three-quar ters of the readership has par ticipated in an activity because of its appearance on an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper. I still tend to view my achievements in terms of paper value as well as person al satisfaction. But I do know that hollow feeling of volunteer ing without being interested. Many of us do. Making a difference is more important than titles. I see that that is what our society and our own securities dictate, but do you really want to work for someone who hires sheets of paper and not people? Market madness The AT&T collegiate challenge gives students an oppor tunity to play the stock market without the risk Pago 19 ‘Pampered’ MBAs Japanese business leaders sav hands-on experience is more valuable than an MBA Page 21 PAWNING: A quick fix for cash crunch By Dana Albrecht • College Heights Herald Western Kentucky U. When Maurice Mitchell needed cash quickly last quar ter, he went to a pawnshop The Western Kentucky U student came into the E-Z Money Pawn Shop one day last fall and handed some gold necklaces to Sandra Mills, whose husband, Edgar, owns the shop. After looking them over, Mills wrote a description of the necklaces and put them in a small brown envelope. Then she handed Mitchell a receipt and some cash Mitchell said it was his second trip to the shop in tin1 last six months “I come here when I'm in trouble, like when 1 write a bad check or have a money shortage," Mitchell said, adding he planned to get the necklaces back and repay the loan by Saturday. Some people find pawn shops a quick alternative for fast cash Instead of signing papers and waiting days to get a bank loan approved, people go into a pawnshop, put an item up for collateral and leave with cash in hand. The process for pawning is easy. People bring an item in to pawn; the pawnbroker determines the item's value and loans that amount. People have up to 30 days to repay the loan and get their items hack Or, they can pay a small storage fee for every 30 days that their belong JOSEPH* GARCIA Li .i -r '.('! •«-iv: WtSttHN*fcNI>. «* . Instrument are among some of the unclaimed merchandise for sale at E-Z Money Pawn shop ings are in the shop until they can pay back the loan. People who come to pawnshops have “run out of money before the nextcheck," said the owner of the West date Pawn Shop < 'harles Throneherry The manager of the Bowling Green Pawn Shop, B •) Richardson, said mans students come in needing money for textbooks, tuition or emergencies Pawnshops are crammed with items that were pawned and never taken back or bought from other shops and wholesalers Their sales bring in money to hum Pawnshops have been m America since around the early 1800s but weren't recog nized by state laws until the late 1800s In Kentucky, pawnbrokers must record a detailed description of items pawned and submit the report to the police Although it varies from state to state, they also need a license, Throneberry said, and they can’t charge more than 22 5 percent interest on loans Because of their work in jail bonds, pawnbrokers have tra ditionally had a seedy image, said lowell Hughes, owner of the Bowling Green Pawn Shop Pawnbrokers said they hope the image of pawnshops is changing But, “pawnshops are the tiling,’ 1 lugiies added, indicating mat some shops are irancnismg Pawnshops can be good businesses depending upon the economic situation, L&S Pawn ( Kvnor Larry Yeckering said "The economy has to go up and down like a yo-yo for pawnshops to work,” he said. Pine dreams come true for loft makers I By Sonya Goodwin ■ The lumberjack Northern Arizona U. “The whole idea was to make a lightweight loft that could he easily shipped and could lx’ earned in a nylon hockey bag," said Steve Schulte, one of two Northern Arizona U. students who has challenged the traditional concept of lofts. Schulte and John Hurry have designed a loft made of polyvinyl choloride pipe that is easy to assemble, lightweight and durable. Hurry said they want to call their ere ation “K-Z Loft" and choose to market women because "most guys want to build their own lofts.” Schultz said it takes five minutes to put the loft together and fits in almost any car Constructed of3-inch white PVC pipe, their first model stands 5 feet, (i inches high, weighs about 35 pounds and can See LOFT, Page 21 Making millions for the fun of it By Roy R. Reynolds ■ The Shorthorn U. of Texas, Arlington Clay Jett, dressed in a pinstripe suit, sits on his desk in the Finance Society office talking intensely on the phone. Jett, a '22-year-old business major at the U. of Texas, Arlington, looks like a typical stock market investor. But the stocks he trades are not so typical. Jett, president of the Finance Society, heads a group of students that will participate in the second annual AT&T Collegiate Investment Challenge. The Challenge is probably the quickest way to turn $49 95 into $500,(XX). For a $49.95 fee, any college student gets a game packet that includes a portfolio, a list of stocks and $500,000 of play money to invest in regularly traded stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. “Last year we were one of the six schools to put three play ers in the top 100,” Jett said. “I think we can do better this year.” Student Rich Hahn increased his 500K by about 30 per cent last year. “I got in the top 10 percent of the country last year, and I think this year I can do a lot better,” he said. “I've got another year of experience under my belt." Afler investing the $500,000 from last November until Feb. 28, 1990, the player with the most fake money gets a trip for two to the Bahamas and $25,000. In addition to the top prize, there is a $ 10,000 prize for second; $7,500 for third.