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“You are the weakest link, good bye!” were words contestants dreaded to hear in “The Weakest Link? Credit Cards and the Economy” workshop sponsored by the Phi Beta Lambda business club of Eastern Oklahoma State College. The workshop was held on the Wilburton campus to inform students about the dangers of credit card debt and the responsible use of credit cards.

In honor of American Enterprise Day, members of the Eastern PBL chapter conceived the idea of using the Weakest Link game show format as a fun way to interest students in learning about the use of credit. Statistics compiled by Nellie Mae, an organization that gives financial aid to college students, show that 83% of college students have at least one credit card; a 24% increase since 1998. The median credit card balance is $1,770; a 43% increase above the median in 2000. Twenty-one percent have high-level credit card balances between $3,000 and $7,000; a 61% increase over the 2000 college population. Graduating students have an average of $20,402 in combined education loan and credit card balances.

After a welcome given by Dr. Bill Campion, Eastern President, contestant names were drawn at random from the more than 90 students who signed in at the workshop. Contestants were Lindsey Hatcher, freshman, Antlers; Chastity McMillan, freshman, Burneyville; Courtney England, sophomore, Shady Point; Jonathan Close, sophomore, Wilburton; Fawn Wood, sophomore, McAlester; and Brock Hill, sophomore, Finley, OK. The workshop followed the format of the popular TV game show with several rounds of questions. PBL chapter members gathered questions asked during the workshop from research. Chris Butler, Eastern history instructor, filled in as the “abrupt” game show host. Hill was the winner at the end of the final round winning a $100 Wal-Mart gift certificate.

Pam Joslin, Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Oklahoma, followed the game show portion of the workshop. She presented handouts with additional information and conducted a question and answer session with members of the audience.

Lowell “Buddy” Sandefur, Eastern Spanish instructor, was also honored as the PBL chapter’s 2002-2003 Businessperson of the Year. Sandefur, a recent retiree as Deputy Director of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA, spoke to the students about the efforts needed to achieve one’s goals.

“We conduct a program every year in honor of American Enterprise Day and we had a record number of students in attendance,” said PBL co-advisor Estella Bennett-Mask. “After reading the evaluation forms of those in attendance, it seems everyone is concerned about incurring debt in these difficult economic times.” The workshop was also videotaped and placed in reserve at the library for viewing by students who could not attend the workshop. Phi Beta Lambda is the post-secondary division of Future Business Leaders of America an organization with more than 200,000 members in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam, Japan, and Russia.

Cut line for group picture:
L to R Fawn Wood, sophomore, McAlester; Brock Hill, sophomore, Finley; Jonathan Close, sophomore, Wilburton; Lindsey Hatcher, freshman, Antlers; Chastity McMillan, freshman, Burneyville, and Courtney England, sophomore, Shady Point.