1991_03 The Daily Collegian March 1991

              .Opinion
Students have
a lot to learn
The Collegian • March 1, 1991
• You can't
always learn
all that is
needed in
school
By Darrin Jones
JTtve-year-olds are great.
They look at the world through
eyes that are seeing things for
thc first rime. They question
everything. The most common
experience to us is an exciting
adventure to a pre-schooler.
I always try to spend time
with my cousins. One's five
and the other is eight-years-
old. They make me remember
how was to be inquisitive and
excited about life. This is di¬
rectly related to their lack of
time SDent tn classrooms.
Before thc letterscome pour¬
ing in saying "the only way to
get an education is through
school", let me say one thing.
Sure, school (and 1 use this term
loosely, because life in genera!
is a school) is important, but it
is like any other tool. If it is
forget it.
Most would not directly
fault the universities for thc
deficiencies of the modern
student. They blame the ele¬
mentary and high schools for
turning out an inferior prod¬
uct, which is true. But colleges
don't have to admit everyone
who applies, or at least they're
not supposed to. In an effort to
makeacollegeeducation more
available, the universities arc
making it more worthless.
College wasdesigned forthe���topstudents out of high school.
The cream of the crop; for stu¬
dents who were exceptional.
OK, thafs an elitist view, but
am 1 the only one who thinks
that by letting more into col¬
lege, what comes out is of lesser
value? In fact, colleges arc
contributing to the problem by
further diluting education.
Make the requirements on
entering college stricter, and
better students will graduate.
Then there is the further
problem o( once the students
actually get into college. What
are professors supposed to
teach and how? I think most
students have had what I call
old-dead profs. You know thc
types, they're about 60-years-
old and they've taught thc same
Colleges are spending an
inappropriate amount of time on
trying to bring students up to the
level necessary for doing
university work.
misproperly used, it won't do
what i t is supposed to do. And
that is this column's point of
ponrification.
My youngest cousin can
rattle off questions at machine
gun Speed. He's interested in
thc simplest workings of eve¬
ryday life. I showed him how
to tie his shoes last weekend
and this wasagreatoccurrcncc.
He beamed at his new found
knowledge, even though he
was unable to actually tie his
shoes.
This is learning at its sim¬
plest, most basic unit. The
passing of a skill from some¬
one learned to another. The
theory goes something like this:
as the studentbuilds his knowl¬
edge and experience, the skills
they acquire become more
complex. Supposedly, the ba¬
sics arc firmly entrenched way
before highereducationiseven
started.
Wrong. Colleges are spend¬
ing an inappropriate amount
of time on trying to bring stu¬
dents up to the level necessary
for doing university work.
Remedial classes on the col¬
lege level don't make sense. If
you haven't learned it by now.
intro to whatever class for 25-
straight years. Students have
the average attention span of
about 45 seconds during the
professor's lecture. Thc most
exciting thing to ever happen
in one of these classes is when
the person next to you starts
drooling in their sleep.
So, get rid of the tenure sys¬
tem. Professors hide behind
this rule, saying they need the
protection of not getting fired
to be able to teach as they sec
fit. Ridiculous. Have you ever
heard of job where you can't be
fired if you don't performup to
par? Responsibility fordoing a
good job is lifted by removing
them from blame.
That's not to say all classes
are like that. Most classes fall
into the 80 percent bracket of
being fairly good. Ten percent
are taught by people who
should be on golf courses, and
the other 10 percent are taught
by professors who haveenergy,
enthusiasm and ability. I revel
everytime I get such a profes¬
sor, lam like my young cousin,
eager for the next class, anx¬
ious to learn. I've always said
SeeJONESpage7
% h—& ft a—^
WAR IS OVER1
I (if you want it.)
LOVE,
GEORGE and SADDAM
Letters to the Editor
Students can vote to abolish ASI fees
On Monday, I wrote a letter
asking that thosestudents who
felt that their ASI fees have been
misspent,and they themselves
have been misrepresented by
ASI, to protest them by not
paying your $16, ASI (Student
Body Association) fees in the
upcoming semesters.
Friends, we can do much
more. I call your attention to
page 71 of the current CS^IF
catalog to thc fine print under
Student Body Association fees.
In 1959, mandatory ASI fees
came into effect when a major¬
ity of those students who voted
decided mandatory fees would
be a good thing. From this, the
legislation also says tha tat any
time, if a majority (2/3 vote) of
the voting students choose to,
those manditory ASI fees can
be abolished.
You need to ask yourselves,
what does ASI do for me? Does
ASI still represent the majority
ofthestudents?Ifyouranswers
arc nothing and no, join the
growingdissatisfied majority.
Listen, ASI is not an evil em¬
pire; there is no single Individ
ual ruining student govern¬
ment for us. ASI as a whole,
over the years, has become ir¬
responsible to thesrudents that
they were chartered to repre¬
sent. The senators and office
holders pursue private inter¬
ests, using our funds accord¬
ingly.
1 give you this metaphor:
Imagine ASI asa child who has
been given a golden pen. This
golden pen is the $336,000
given to them every semester
through our mandatory ASI
fees. Since 1959, this child has
had money to assist and sup¬
port us with (I detailed this
suport in my letter on Mon¬
day). In thc past few years, this
child, instead of usingit'spen
in creative and positive ways,
has wasted and abused the
golden ink; ASI has scribbled
on the wallsof our educational
home. Now, we as responsible
members of our educational
community must take that pen
away from the child, and teach
it a lesson in respect. In the
future, in perhapsone year, ASI
will learn once again how in
represent thc TOTAL student
population.
To achieve this, 10 percen t ol
the student body (about 2,000
of us), must sign a petition to
place the NO FEE proposal on
this semester's election ballot.
Once on the ballot, 2/3 of all
those voting must vote against
the mandatory $16 fees. Last
year there were approximately
5,000 people who voted for thc
ASI elections. I think there are
at least 5,000 of you who feel
ignored by ASI: Those of you
who arc re-entry, part-time,
and night-class takers. Let us
not forget one of the main ten¬
ants of the American Revolu¬
tion^— taxation without repre¬
sentation. Think about it
people, what has your student
government done for you?
Seus Aminadab
Commencement decision not arbitrary
Recently you have printed
letters critical of the fact that
students will not be recognized
individually during the
University's annual Com¬
mencement in May. The critics
have tended to characterize this
situation as an arbitrary posi¬
tion of "the administration"
devoid of a valid basis. This is
certainly not the case, and at
the risk of further inflaming
emotions, 1 will attempt to
explain the rationale for the
current practice.
First, let me point out that
this spring's Commencement
will be the 20th in which I have
personally participated. Thus I
can attest to the fact that indi¬
vidual recognition has notbeen
practiced at our Commence¬
ment for at least 20 years. I
understand it has been much
longcrthan that, however. Each
graduate is listed in the Com¬
mencement Program by aca¬
demic school and major.
Ou r current commencemen t
ceremony lastsabouttwohours
and involves recognition by
major. If the ceremony were
redesigned to include thc per¬
sonal recognition of each
graduate as suggested (calling
the name, walking across the
stage, shaking hands and re¬
ceiving a certificate of partici¬
pation) it is estimated that the
program would be lengh tened
by an additional five hours, at
least! A seven to eight hour
Commencement ceremony
does not seem reasonable —
especially when the ceremony
is normally held out of doors in
late May. I doubt that most
graduates{or their families and
friends) would be willing or
able to sit patiently and com¬
fortably, in what is usually
oppressive heat, for a fleeting
ten seconds of recognition.
Because of renovation of
Bulldog Stadium, this year's
ceremony is being held at Sel¬
land Arena. It isbeing split into
two progra ms beca use Sel la nd
Please see LETTER page 7