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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 9, 1950)
On the, Bex}, The Same Story, The Same Examination A Jlett&i Dear Editor: The subject of cheating has come up repeatedly in the Em erald in the last few months and the culprit in the story has al ways been the student. The bur den of responsibility doesn’t fall entirely on the student. It is the teacher’s responsibility to re move temptation from the stu dents by giving fair and just ex aminations. Too many teachers exert very little effort in this di rection. The fraternities on the campus have fairly complete files of all previous examinations in many of the departments. In view of the fact that previous examina tions are available to a portion of the student body, an honest attempt should be made by pro fessors to avoid duplicating old examinations. It has been the practice of many professors to change old examinations around and pre sent them as new ones. This in itself does not constitute a com pletely unfair examination as is the case when a professor uses an examination identical to one previously given. Such was the case this year when the head of the Chemistry Department gave a midterm in General Chemistry that was identical in form, con tent, order, and answers, to last year’s examinations in the same course, general chemistry. Students with copies of the old examinations have the advant age, when studying for coming examinations. An argument ad vanced by a professor, that no knowledge was had that the coming examination was to be identical with an old examina tion—thus did not give students having a copy of the old examina tion any advantage—would only hold true if the duplication was made once and once only. In the above case, this was not the first time that the same examination was used. The same professor had used the old examination twice before making a total of three identical examinations in the last four years. Under these circumstances, students familiar with examina A foie ii a foie And Something More Lif M&UaSl I&OtVuH When the black-garbed Mortar Boards wind their way through the picnic Saturday afternoon to tap new members, they will be performing one of their last official functions of a busy year. Behind this simple process of presenting outstanding junior women with the traditional red rose is a long and thorough pro cess. As Mortar Board is a natioinal honorary, each women who is selected for membership must have the qualities by which each Mortar Board member in all of its chapters has been chosen—scholarships, leadership, and service to the Uni versity. The process of selecting new members for Mortar Board is a careful and thorough one. When the Mortar Boards begin to scan the lists of outstanding women, they consider not only what they know about each girl, but also what deans, depart ment heads and campus leaders have to recommend. If possible, no avenue of student participation is overlooked, in order to obtain faculty and student opinion about each prospective member. When the lists are complete, the affirmative plan ot voting goes into operation. By this system, no one is “black-balled.” The whole process is a positive one—positive discussion and positive voting. When any girl receives a unanimous vote, con ducted by written ballot, she is declared elected to membership. The course of each girl’s college career is carefully taken in to consideration. One of the first points is the scholastic rec ord, for scholarship is one of the three prime requisites. The minimum requirement is .3 above the campus average for the past five terms. This year, each girl considered had to have at least a 2.75. Those who had cumulatives of this figure would pass the first qualification of scholarship. The second criterion is leadership. To qualify each girl had to have shown definite signs of capable leadership, ability to handle responsibility by herself. Contrary to a common mis conception, Mortar Board is not a collection of presidents. Leadership ability is probably most frequently evidenced by election to a position of president, but being a president of some organization is not in itself a qualification for the senior women's honorary .The ability to lead is found in those who may not hold the "top spot" and Mortar Board has sought to recognize this. The third necessity is service to the University. This does not mean a girl must have kept busy for three years in a large number of campus activities. The activities of the girls, whether they be in several fields or in only one or two, should add up to some definite accomplishment that is a credit to the school. Thus each year, the wearers of the gold tassel have taken their responsibility seriously. They have tried to overlook no girl really qualified; they have tried to extend membership to only those really deserving. They are proud of each girl to whom they will present the rose Saturday afternoon. Members of Mortar Board tions for the course could expect much similarity in the coming examinations. This unfair and unjustified method of examina tion can only give a negative at titude toward cheating and ex amination. No student should suffer in dignities of this type and at the same time be given lectures on cheating and its good and evils. True, cheating represents a problem in many schools. More attention should be given to ex amination methods and types of examinations in the same pro portion as to cheating—both go hand in hand. The over-emphasis on cheating without equal em phasis on construction of exam inations makes a farce of the whole issue. Until professors make a sincere effort to alleviate the situation, and be fair as pos sible to all their students, little can be done. No professor has the right to think that any examination iden tical to the one given before is in any way a fair one. Fair ex aminations will do more to elim inate the problem of cheating than international police force to solve the same problem. Its the same old story of locking that barn, that wonderful old barn, after the horse, that wonderful old horse, has been—pardon the expression—STOLEN. I do believe that old examina tions have some value in study ing for midterms or finals, but, all students should have access to those examinations and no forthcoming e x a ms should be identical to any old one. Let the professor take a step in the right direction and with fair and just examinations help this problem of cheating by elim inating much of the temptation brought about by unfair exam inations. Less reason to cheat can lead to nothing but—less cheating. Very truly yours, Art Baumohl The Buchwach Editorial (Here is one tradition the Emerald supports every year—the Buchwach Editorial. It was first printed on May 6 for the 1941 Junior Weekend, and since that time, running every year at weekend time, the edit has prevented the rain from falling at Oregon’s Junior Weekend—or so Emerald staffers like to think. It was written by Aaron “Buck” Buchwach, who now resides in a land where such pleas are not necessary—Hawaii.) ous occasions, the Portland Oregonian and Oregon Journal have resorted to their editorial columns in an attempt to in fluence weather conditions. Now there is no exact procedure for a journalist to follow when he is begging for rain for poor farmers gazing at the sky with parched throats, for verily, it takes a combination of subtle demanding, varied pleading, and good-natured hoping to achieve such desired results. The Emerald, although of course it adolescently blushes when compared to such time-honored organs as the Oregonian and Journal, is driven to adopt such tactics, however, by Jupe Pluvius, that old gentleman who loves the Oregon country so well apd so much that he delights in spraying it often and thoroughly... especially when asked to by the Portland papers. But now, Mr. Pluvius, the Emerald asks you politely, but firmly, to shift your schedule in such a manner so as not to spoil our Junior Weekend ... The farmers have had their misty blessings, and the Oregonian and the Journal have received their just due, and the city pavements, too, are washed clean by the sweet Oregon mist. What the University asks now is for you, Mr. Pluvius, to rest on your laurels, for a while, and visit someone else. There is reason to believe that you intend to scare us a bit. In fact, you have. The rain clouds have washed our baseball teams hither and yon, our track meets have been held in semi wintry weather, and our golf and tennis teams have been forced to completely abandon their frolicking. But please, Mr. Pluvius (or Jupe, for we know you but too well), don’t come around with your clouds and your tricks . . . Our Moms will be down for thet weekend festivities, and for sooth—they will be attired in their springiest of spring outfits, and their hats will be of the kind to bring male smiles. But we want to take them to the campus luncheon to see the queen and her court of beautiful princesses crowned, and my goodness how the raindrops do raise havoc with even a proud mother’s finest apparel. The Portland papers have more important advertisers and have more influence, perchance, Mr. Jupiter Pluvius, but not even they will praise you with more honest enthusiasm and open-mouthed admiration if you will but take your vacation. And if you have to take that storm which is declared by some pessimistic meteorologists to be coming from out of Newport way somewhere, perchance you could deposit it at Stanford, California, or even USC. Just for the weekend, you understand. We want you as our permanent resident up here in Oregon, Jupe, to freshen our flowers, to clean our streets, and to keep our soil rich and red. But not Junior Weekend, please. * * * * With excavation on the new science building proceeding rapidly, there may be much speculation as to which will be ready for use first—the science building or the student union. When the occasion demands, and in truth it has on numer jh the IsGXf, A Challenge for Skull & Dagger A jHetten. Open letter to Skull and Dagger (Sophomore Men’s Service Honorary) : This is to inform you that the members of Kwama, soph omore women’s service hon orary, hereby challenge you to a softball game to be held at the coming Sophomore Pic nic, May 20. Here is your chance to prove your ability in fair combat1 against your femi nine counterparts. (In order to insure fair play, we state as a requirement that you play left-handed.) We feel that it is only right to give you some warning of the caliber of players you will be up against. Managed by Lorna (the Lip) Larson, our team will include such well known ladies of the diamond as Shirley (Ten-ton) Hillard, Georgie (the Stork) Oberteuf fer, and Virginia (Muscles) Wright. * Wf| If you feel that you will be capable of standing up against this battery of ath letic beauty, please submit your answer in writing to Emerald Editor (and honor ary Kwama) Don Smith by no later than 5 p.m. today. Anxiously yours, The members of Kwama (P.S. Okay, smarties, if you are naturally left-handed you play with your right hand.) The OREGON DAILY EMERALD, published daily during the college 3'ear except all Saturdays but Junior weekend, Sunday, holidays, final examination periods, Mondav pre ceding Junior weekend m May, and the last Thursday in May by the Associated Students, University of Oregon. Entered as second class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Oregon. . Opinions expressed in editorials are those of the writer, and do not claim to represent the opinions of the ASuO or of the University. Initialed editorials are written by associate editors. Unsigned editorials are written by the editor. Opinions expressed in an editorial page by-lined column are those of the columnist, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editor or his associates. Dow A. Smith, Editor_ Joan Mimnaugh, Business Manager Anne Goodman, Tom King, Associate Editors Glenn Gillespie, Managing Editor Shirley Hillard, Advertising Manager News Editors: Lorna Larson, Ken Metzler. Assistant News Editor: Gretchen Grondahi. Assistant Managing Editors: Norman Ander* son, Hal Coleman. Mac Epley. Merle Gcrs, Walt McKinney, Bill Stanfield. Spelts Editors: John Barton, Sam Fidman. Chief Night Editor: Mary Hall. Copy Editor: Marjory Bush. Desk Editors: Marjory Bush, Bill Frye, n~-*ohen Grondahl, Larry Meiser, Jackie Pritzen* __— «