joan nyland
semester system saves study
Time is of the essence in academia, Harry. A
student rushes through four years, often drawn
out to five, digesting too much material in too little
time What students thought was going to be four
years of reading, thinking and writing, often
seems more like three cycles of: registering, book
buying, syllabus checking, mid-term taking, finals
cramming, break
The University Senate is voting today on a
proposed conversion to the traditional semester
system from the modified quarter system cur
rently used here.
Undoubtedly, saving money is one reason the
University is considering a two-term calendar:
$50,000 per year, the registrar’s office estimates.
The administration also realizes the time saving in
one less Mac Court registration nightmare, billing,
and grade reporting circus.
The more important reasons to adopt a
semester system, however, are the academic
advantages it offers.
The semester system offers students and
faculty comparatively more time to study and less
time to register. This means more time to read,
think, research and write papers and less time
to make excuses about being hurried
Most topics cannot be covered in nine to 10
weeks A 15-week term would help, if not elimin
ate, the superficiality of many classes. How many
times have you omitted the last third of the
syllabus? How may term papers are weekend
"whip-outs?”
Opposition to the semester system stems
from such pedagogical considerations as Sep
tember weather and supermarket class taking (i.e
It’s three, three, three classes in one year).
If the semester system, as the counterpoint to
this opinion will undoubtedly point out, limits by
one-third the choices of classes, it increases by
one-third the depth in which a topic can be
covered for instance, micro- and macroecon
omics require at least 15 weeks to cover the text.
Most all courses would better utilize text
books in 15 weeks. Studies estimate a semester
system also saves students $50 a year in books.
Regretfully, the University, as my debate
partner knows, is considering the traditional
semester system. This calendar starts in late
September, breaks winter vacaction in two —
Christmas vacation, followed by dead and finais
weeks, followed by a winter break — and ends in
early June.
An early semester system (used by the
majority of colleges and universities in the United
States) does not “split" Christmas break, gives
students an advantage in finding summer work by
ending the year in May and coincides better with
the public schools.
The University should adopt the semester
system, preferably the early semester system. The
academic calendar should aim at maximizing
teaching and researching ^time, instead, as iazy
students will surely point out, class shopping and
vacation time.
harry esteve
... and limits choices
Joan, you heartless wench.
It’s all very easy for you to sit in front of your
VDT and comment on what's best for under
graduates. You've finished your undergraduate
work.
Put yourself in our shoes — or should I say
our desks Think back to the most boring class
you’ve ever taken. Maybe it was Econ. 202. Maybe
it was fulfilling your health ed. requirement.
Now, imagine starting that class a week
earlier than usual, when the grass is still dry and
the Willamette River is still warm enough for
tubing.
The weeks drag on The only time you've
opened your health book was in the University
Bookstore to check the price. By the fifth week
you're sitting in the farthest corner of the room. By
the seventh week you're wearing a Sony Walkman
to class
And Joan, you’re not even halfway through
the term.
Under the proposed semester system,
classes would last 15 weeks That's five weeks
longer than our current longest term Fifteen
more sessions for most classes.
Try thinking back to what one of your profes
sors told you 15 weeks ago. You will be asked to
do just that during finals week under the semester
system.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of our
current four quarter system is that by the time a
class becomes intolerably tedious, it’s almost
over.
A second big attraction is the variety of
courses students are able to take — if they want a
variety. In my three-year tenure at the University
I've studied everything from Chaucer to chim
panzees I’ve taken acting clasees in which I've
had to impersonate a Hostess Fruit Pie and I've
r
J
learned how to compute second order deriva
tives.
And I’ve been able to study journalism — in
depth
Taking sequence courses allows for as much
depth as the semester system allows Having a
short break between each quarter is refreshing,
alleviates the ennui and lets the brain recharge.
Admittedly, the thought of having to go
through the Mac Court melee one less time is
appealing However, if the University comes
through with computerized, advance registration,
the registration rat race will be pleasant nostal
gia
Under the proposed semester schedule, two
weeks of winter break fall right before "dead
week.” One week after vacation's over -- finals
Some vacation.
I can see it now: sitting in the lodge at Mt.
Bachelor sweating through eight chapters of
pre-renaissance history
The same ridiculous schedule is proposed for
spring smester; spring break, dead week, finals
Some other, more objective, advantages of
the quarter system are listed in a report compiled
by the University of Akron:
• It provides one more term for students to
start their educational programs or to transfer in
from another institution.
•It reduces the costs both in money and time
to the student who must withdraw from school
during a term
• It provides more terms for scheduling such
activities as leaves of absence, faculty exchange
programs and terms of study abroad
But Joan, don’t take my word for it Students
have been writing comments to the Student
University Affairs Board for the past two weeks
An overwhelming majority opposes it
Oregon doily B
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letters
Rebellious
On June 6,1982 Israel invaded
Lebanon, blasted the city of
Beirut, demolished its buildings
and massacred the Palestin
eans — all for the sake of getting
the Palestinean Liberation Or
ganization out of Lebanon!
76 days later, the PLO
departed leaving a question
behind: Why is Israel still in
Lebanon with large military
forces and heavy weaponary
and causing chaos in the
country and horror among its
people?
Perhaps one may understand
such a deep-natured terroristic
behavior from their own holy
scripture: God said in the Book
of Ezekiel,2:3 "I send thee to the
children of Israel, to a rebellious
nation that hath rebelled against
me. They and their fathers have
trangressed against me even
unto this very day!” Certainly
one cannot call such a holy
passage anti-semetic.
Amer Alaghbary
senior, economics
Conducive
I have taken the time to look
around the campus lately. Jus
tice has been exercised for the
good of the student population.
They now have a place to study
as well as relax without the fear
of intrusion of a group of in
dividuals with little or no poli
tical power. The group of in
dividuals with little or no poli
tical power that I am referring to
are the vagabonds of society —
the transients of the Emerald
City.
In response to David Cree's
open letter, I would say these
transients must have gone
further down the road of life.
The absence of the transients
at this university creates a more
conducive environment for
academic pursuit. These four
years of our lives are dedicated
towards this end If it is our
responsibility to help these in
dividuals out, bringing back the
television room for these
wayward souls is not a solution.
I will be honest with you
When I do badly on an exam, the
sight of 10 or more transients
huddled by the television will
not all of a sudden take the
shitty feeling away. I know th*st
there are a lot worse things in
the world than a bad grade, but
the fault lies within me for not
studying well
I have observed that parties
are just one of the outlets for
tension: an undergraduate has
to keep his or her sanity. A
friend has told me once that any
attempt to pretend to be what I
am not will put unnecessary
stress on me.
It would be stressful for me to
watch a show with the tran
sients. Society does not cast
misfortunes on people. Your
personal motivation and direc
tion in life determine the path
you choose to take
Shu-Shing Chen
sophomore, pre-business
Depressing
How long will this depressing
basketball soap opera continue
at Oregon? For the last five
years coach Jim Haney has
brought to the Oregon student
body the boringest and most
lackluster basketball this side
south of the North Pole.
Although I am unfamiliar with
the normal game plan of the
Ducks, their strategy appears
quite simple: have the guards
stand 45 feet from the basket,
dribble a few times than pass to
another player who is no posi
tion to do anything with the ball
The player than looks around
the court, sees no opening and
passes back to a guard at mid
court.
This process is repeated at
least seven times before the
Ducks finally turn the ball over.
This is not basketball, it is
boringball. It is a style of play
that does nothing to enhance
the quality of play nor the quan
tity of wins.
I’m also growing tired of
hearing claims that the basket
ball is “on the rise.” What rise? If
it rose any faster it would come
to a complete stop. Why doesn’t
the Duck personnel just come
out and say “We’ll probably fin
ish near the bottom again,” in
stead of coming out with foolish
statements of a team on the
rise?
The quality of basketball at
the university reflects the
sparse attendance too. There is
only one way to get supporters
and that's to win, not lose.
Coach Haney was recently
quoted as saying “there are
reasons (for not getting fan
support). We’ve changed our
style It takes time getting used
to."
I suggest the coach change
his style again to a more
productive-oriented one offen
sively. As to the comment it
takes time getting used to, he is
correct however, time is
limitless and it will take more
time than my mortal age can
handle
If the Ducks would win games
instead of almost winning
games and if the offense would
stop mimicking a senior citizens
track meet then McArthur Court
would resemble the boisterous,
rowdy place it once was in the
years of Ballard and Lee
Dan Goulet
letters policy
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