I
The reinstatement of University-wide graduation honors
would be another selling point for students seeking jobs or
admission to graduate schools — something in the same vein
as minor disciplines.
Both graduation honors and minor disciplines
acknowledge extra effort on the part of the student.
What was deemed ‘'elitist” in the early 1970s, when the
honors were discarded, could be another way to separate
those who strive toward academic excellence from those
who “get by.”
The Student University Affairs Board has submitted a
motion to reinstate honors in Latin on diplomas. As the
motion stands, the criteria for graduation honors would be
based solely on grade point averages.
Cum laude honors would be awarded to the top 10
percent of all University students, Magna Cum Laude to the
top 5 percent, and Summa Cum Laude to the top 2 percent.
As the proposal stands, the honors would not take into
account the differing grading policies of department and
schools. How will honors be determined for schools such as
art and architecture where most classes are graded pass/no
pass?
Many departments have their own honors program. How
will these two systems jibe? A diploma could conceivably
read both “magna cum laude” and “psychology,
opinion
Laudable honors
departmental honors.
The Emerald would like to see the graduation honors
returned to diplomas.
However, the awarding of the honorary words should be
based at least on a percentage of graduates meeting GPA
standards within a given department. For instance, the top 2
percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent of the physics and biology
department would receive honors — even though their GPA
range may differ.
Graduation honors would then reflect comparable work
among peers.
Departmental honors — at least in some cases — reflect
extra academic work earned by the student, usually in the
form of a project or thesis.
An agreement should be reached between departmental
honors and the University about the nexus between Univer
sity-wide honors and departmental honors. The Honors
College has their own program which shouldn’t conflict
GPA, even within a department, is not an acid test for
scholarship Departments need the final say on who is
eligible for graduation honors.
To be meaningful, the reinstatement of graduation
honors must show students have done work of value
Otherwise, the honorary words are futile attempts at
prestige, if not pomposity.
W'WkiWw.,
>N
NJWKIW! HBUOl
letters
Incidentally
Incidental fees What the
heck are they? Are they good for
you? Will they make you happy?
Do you care?
Well, in my opinion, you
should care very much about
your money.
It has been said that you can
learn quite a bit about the
meaning of a word if you simply
take it apart. Let's, shall we? IN
to be “in" school as we all are
Cl- closely related to the
Spanish word "si" meaning yes,
as in "Yes, I own that cow ”
DENT- something the cost of
tuition puts in your wallet AL
Surely we all know that any
student named Al is exempt
from paying tuition. (I think).
Well, that was obviously an
exercise in futility Most of you
are still out to lunch when it
comes to understanding what
incidental fees are all about To
be honest with you, when I ran
for the IFC I really did not know
anything about the whole fiscal
process
There is no reason why
letters
Cruel fur
I was invited to the Hult
Center recently to hear Elmar
Oliveira's stunning rendition of
the Tchaikowsky Violin Concer
to No less stunning is the
awesomely spacious Center
itself, with its green floral carpet
and clever artwork. The women
in their fine furs added warmth
and glamour. But I wonder if
they realize where fur comes
from It they don't, maybe they
should be told that:
Most furs comes from wildlife
caught in steel traps and no one
knows how often a trapper
checks his lines The animal’s
terror and pain have been
likened to having your finger
slammed in a car door, then
waiting in the cold and rain for
the trapper to come to bash in
your head and skin you.
Fur prices, not animal
damage or disease, determine
the numbers and types of
animals taken In 1981,
$1,112,302 of taxpayer's money
was paid to U S. Fish and Wild
life in Oregon for "damage
control." Most of it went to
trappers. Do taxpayers want
their dollars spent like this? The
Department also sells the pelts
and collects license fees, so the
trapping business further
enriches them
Over 50 countries have
banned the barbaric leghold
trap
Let’s face it, to wear fur is to
support cruelty to animals; it is
to present oneself in a wrap of
ignorance or insensitivity, or
both
Barbara Kelley
co-ordlnator.
Save Our ecoSytlema
Oregon daily _ .
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students should simply ignore
the budgeting process, after all,
we’re talking about a lot of
green stuff and I don’t mean
guacamole either.
Let me try to clear up this
turbid picture for you.
Fifty-two dollars per term of
your tuition goes directly to the
ASUO in the form of "in
cidental” fees These dollars
are allocated by the seven
members of the Incidental Fee
Committee to the 80 various
student programs who request
funding at budget hearings.
These hearings begin in mid
January
Needless to say, we are play
ing with some sincere dinero
Try $2.2 million on for size
slugger For you economics
majors, it might be fun to dis
cuss opportunity cost For
example, your individual IFC
dollars could buy you 19
pitchers of your favorite suds at
Rennies, 104 Monster Cookies
or 240 games of Pac-Man
Seriously, students should be
concerned about where their
money is going and how it is
being spent All meetings of the
IFC are open to the public and
the budget hearings will be
covered by the Emerald Please
take the time to be informed
aobut the budgeting process
Your input can make a dif
ference If you have any ques
tions, please feel free to stop
by the IFC office. Suite 3 of the
EMU or call at x3749
Jeff Nudelman
member. IFC
Agreement
The University administration
has recently made the decision
not to contract out Physical
Plant Custodial Services to
private contractors This deci
sion should be applauded by all
members of the campus
community.
Under instructions from the
State Board of Higher Educa
tion, the University studied the
feasibility and cost
effectiveness of contracting our
custodial services
Local 085 of the Oregon Pub
lic Employees Union formed it's
own contracting out study com
mittee to meet and confer with
the administration on the
matter. Although contracting
out is technically a management
right, the University agreed to
meet formally with the OPEU
committee on two occasions
These studies and joint
meetings produced several
points of agreement It was
agreed that to contract out such
a large group of state
employees, (about 70) would
leave open the door for
contracting out hundreds of
other jobs on campus, in such
areas as food service, grounds
maintenance, security, general
labor, and clerical work, to
name a few
Such a situation would cause
massive disruptions in
departments all over campus
affecting every one of us
It was agreed that the cus
todial division is already under
staffed and doubt was
expressed that any local
contractor could submit a
realistic bid It was also agreed
that the University would suffer
a genuine security problem if an
outside contractor were
employed
These are only a few of the
many reasons the University
made It's progressive decision
not to consider contracting out
custodial services until at least
July 1.1984
Alan Brown
chairperson, OPEU Local 085
Contracting Out Committee
letters policy
The Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing fair
comment on topics of Interest to the University community
Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, typed,
signed and the identification of the writer must be verified
when the letter is turned in to the Emerald office The Emerald
reserves the right to edit any letter for length, style or content
"Your turn" is an Emerald opinion feature submitted by
members of the University community. "Your turns" must be
limited to 500 words and typed This editorial column will not
be edited by the staff, but selection will be based on appro
priateness
Letters to the editor and “Your turns" should be turned into
the Emerald office, Suite 300 EMU
Unsigned editorials appearing in the Emerald are based
upon the majority opinion of the editorial board