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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1978)
———— editorial — The D grade’s here, but problems remain A lot of times it seems as if the only way you can be sure you’re meeting the University requirements for graduation is to get consistently good grades so you won’t have to worry about it. But always in the course of an academic program there are problems: the class that was completely uninspiring, taught by a professor of the same uninspiring character; the regulation you forgot about or never heard of in the first place; the term you just couldn't seem to get interested in anything. When the “D" grade was reinstituted by the University in September, a little more confusion was thrown into the system. The “D” grade has been treated in two different ways under the graded and pass-no-pass systems. Differ ent departments view the “D” grade in different ways as well. Some changes in the way the grading system works are definitely in order. The immediate problem is to eliminate the difference between the graded and pass-no pass options. Currently, if you get a “D” in a class you decided to take graded, you can earn credit for the class. The University views the grade as “satisfactory” in terms of earning credit. But if you change that option to a psss-no pass early in ther term when you’re not sure you can do well in a class, doing “D" grade work may mean you’ll get a no-pass in the class. The “D” should be viewed as a satisfactory grade in both categories. In addition, different departments and schools treat the “D” grade in different ways. Just how the departments view the “D” for the purposes of assigning credit for de partment work is more or less up to the department. The standards used to judge the “D” grade should be standard ized for the entire University. As it now stands, the grade is arbitrarily used. The University seems headed toward a return to the old system of calculating a grade point average. There have been some rumblings in the administration and in Oregon Hall for such a system. Under the present system of the “D” grade, under which the administration seems hell-bent on discouraging the pass-no pass option for stu dents, a return of the GPA might not be a bad idea. The current rules state 85 percent of the classes attempted must be passed satisfactorily for the student to graduate. If that requirement isn’t met, you have to take more classes — and pass them all — until the 85 percent of the classes you’re taken have been passed. For example, if you start out your academic career with a hot streak and then slump into low grades because of involvement in other activities you might have a reasonable grade point average, but you still can’t get out of school because of the 85 percent requirement. Moreover, you can’t graduate if you have more than 10 percent “D” grades, no matter what your other grades are. This places a hardship on students who perform well in some kinds of classes but not in others. The institution of a GPA could solve that problem. Also, there has been a considerable amount of confu sion over what the requirements are and how you’re sup posed to meet them. Some problems in the registrar's office have emerged because students who have prob lems with the requirements have run into differing interpre tations of the rules. Another problem often cited is a disadvantage to the no-GPA system is that transfer students have difficulties transfering their credits from one school to another. With the University’s confusion over the “D” grade, the confu sion among schools about whether or not to accept trans fer grades is further muddled. A GPA system, under which a ’’D” should be consi dered a satisfactory grade for the purposes of receiving credit for the class, would also give the student a clear, precise analysis of where he stands. Currently, the grading standards often don’t let a student know where he stands until it is late in the academic program—just in time to get caught by the 85 percent requirement. We were a bit leery of the “D” grade when the Univer sity passed the use of it for fan term. Now, we re not so sure. It seems that the grading system is in limbo; somewhere between having no "D” grade and having a standard GPA system. The University should go one way or the other: either drop the ’’D" grade or establish the GPA system. V. / Off the Wally Another bad parking plan If at first you don't succeed, wait a year and try, try again. That appears to be the philosophy of the South University Neighborhood Association (SUNA) when it comes to the parking situation in their neighborhood. It’s impossible, they say, for them or thei r friends to find any parking spots near their houses due to the number of students gobbling up all the spaces. Last January, they decided to do something about it. At SUNA’s urging, the Eugene Traffic Engineering Depart ment decided to con duct a 90-day test in the residential area south of the Univer sity. In this experi ment, they put up 1-hour parking signs in the area (even though the SUNA had asked for 3-hour limit). Problems arose immediately. One hour isn’t enough time for students to even at tend one class, not to mention two in a row. With the amount of free near-campus parking al ready minimal, effectively removing another huge chunk was crippling to students. And even the residents found themselves in a quandry, as they couldn’t park in front of their own houses for more than an hour. Needless to say, last year’s plan was dropped. They’re back with a new plan now, how ever. This year they want a two-hour limit, which SUNA Pres. Leslie Childress-Ullman says would allow enough time for students to attend two classes. Evidently she doesn’t figure in the walking time necessary to get to and from class. And thinking students only need to be on cam WALLY BENSON Emerald Editor pus for their classes doesn't show much know ledge of University life. Attending the University is much more than taking classes, and much of a student’s time on campus is spent socializing, studying, eating lunch or participating in some other such form of diversion — and all this eas ily takes morethan two hours. It would be a drab life just to attend classes and then head home (I know, I did it for two years). The other difference in this year's plan is the proposal of parking permits for residents, which they would have to purchase from the city and which would allow them unlimited parking in the area. Though this irons out the one major problem of the first attempt, the idea whole of limited parking in that area is unfair to students. Outside of this area, there isn’t much free park ing for students close to campus. And if this neighborhood succeeds in their two-hour limit venture, what will keep the other University area neighborhoods from trying the same thing? Soon students would all be parking in Glenwood and hitchhiking in (until the Glen wood residents complained). I realize it may be silly to complain about the lack of parking available for students when the student parking lots aren’t even full, but when students are trying to cut corners and keep expenses at a minimum, they would rather not pay $18 for a full-year parking permit. With tuition, books, housing and all the other fun incidentals adding up higher all the time, another charge only makes it worse. So I guess we should feel lucky that this plan is just in the tentative" state and that the city council will hold public hearings before any thing is approved. If the idea is turned down, SUNA members can always consider the comment made by one of my co-workers here at the Emerald: “They don’t have to live there.” fiVE ,F$#$PHSlK,SECOND UNfc.THE W> "THE", IF USED IN THE ANCIENT ARAWJC SENSE, COJLT) BE CONSTRUED &CHAN6INGTHE ENTIRE WEANING? OF fe preceding sentence and shculd UTOORE It wlfD OT CHANGED .j 1® Letters Divest The State Board of Higher Edu cation should stop stalling and dump its S. Africa stock now. The "legal" excuse that it has conven iently discovered is nothing but a transparent cover for their opposi tion to disinvestment all along. All of a sudden, the board is afraid it doesn't have the authority to dis invest even though it's been di recting the investments for years! The people of Southern Africa are rising up more strongly every day against the vicious system of apartheid and white minority rule. Their struggle to bring down the apartheid system and gain real control of their country has the support of us in this country and of people all around the world. De spite its lip service to "change" in South Africa, the U.S. government has been and still is one of the main supporters of a system that is a source of superprofits for U.S. corporations; these corporations have invested nearly $2 billion in South Africa. This investment has also kept the South African economy afloat in the face of mounting opposition from the people. By retaining its stock in corpora tions operating in South Africa, the board is declaring its support for the apartheid system and is taking part in the wholesale robbery of the South African people. It is try ing to get out of the decision it made last Nov. 18todisinvest,but students have a commitment to support the people of Southern Af rica to gain liberation and we re not going to allow the big businessmen who run this univer sity to use it to squeeze profits out of the sweat and blood of the South African people. Getting the University out of Southern Africa is part of a nationwide campaign against U S. involvement there. People all across the country are realizing that the same rich class that is profiting from the op pression of South Africans stands over us here and is responsible for the rotten conditions that we face. We have no interest in standing on their side and every interest in standing with the peoplee nof Southern Africa. Get the State Board to dump the stock — demonstrate on Wed., Jan. 25 (beginning at 12:30 on the EMU terrace) and attend the State Board meeting on Fri., Jan. 27!! Myra Delay Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade
