The following article is part of an April Fools’ Edition of The Etownian: the stories are fake the but interviews/quotes are real.
Kids these days think college is so old-school. Well not anymore. Elizabethtown College announced a transformative measure this week with the introduction of the JayCoin, a school-sponsored cryptocurrency. Students will be able to use JayCoin as currency at popular places on campus, such as the Jay’s Nest and College Store. They will also have the opportunity to “mine” JayCoin, much like popular cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum.
“We might as well be called Ethereum College,” Etown marketing professor with mixed opinions about the JayCoin Kathy Schwab said. “I don’t think students would use it,” she said.
The college is also introducing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are virtual assets that can be traded. Etown has announced the creation of a Blue Jay token and a virtual Truman, the College therapy dog, that can be purchased exclusively with JayCoin.
Students are excited for what this might mean for the college. “This is the coolest and most creative idea a college has had since the 1950’s,” junior engineering student Alex D’Amico said. “I own some cryptocurrencies currently, and I’m excited to have a personal connection to the origin of this one!” he said.
This project hasn’t come without setbacks, though, as creating a cryptocurrency platform is an uncommon and unconventional task. One of the biggest issues has been creating a blockchain that does not consume an enormous amount of power for students to mine JayCoin. This is one of the main concerns with the sustainability of Bitcoin, as the amount of power that is used to mine Bitcoin currently could power an entire country.
Etown is one of the first colleges in the nation to try to create a cryptocurrency and platform for NFTs of its own. The College wants to see itself as a leader in this regard, as it believes many other schools will follow once they see the success of the JayCoin. The world has already begun to shift away from cash as many businesses across the nation no longer accept cash as payment. This leads the way to a shift away from the US dollar as a primary form of currency due to its loss in value over time due to inflation. With cryptocurrency, the appeal and hope is that it actually gains value over time as more people utilize it. The College feels that JayCoin is a way to both jump into the modern world of finance as well as put some extra money in its pockets.
The College also wishes to expand its NFT platform with time, opening the opportunity for students to create and sell their own NFTs on it. This not only allows students to feel a connection to this change, but also an ability to impact it. Creators of NFTs across the globe have seen success in monetizing art, music and even trading cards on websites such as crypto.com. The College has begun challenging its art and music students with making and selling the first NFTs for the platform’s launch, coming this fall.
“I think this will be popular because of the connection students will be able to feel knowing they are able to buy their own NFTs using JayCoin they mined,” D’Amico said. “I really think this is going to take off.”
The College believes this will prove to be a valuable recruitment tool as well, since no school has attempted to create anything of the sort. They feel this will help make Etown look more unique and engaged with their students than competing colleges.
“I would’ve stopped my college searches then and there if this existed when I was looking at schools,” D’Amico said.
