Oregon Daily
MONDAY. JUNE 1, 1992
Is SAT a thermometer or a symptom of bias?
□ Critics say college en
trance exam subtly discrimi
nates against different cul
tural, racial backgrounds
By Rivers Janssen
t merald Reporter __
The while student leans hack in his
chair. His sweaty palms finger the
tightly sharpened No. 2 pencil as he
ponders carefully the question before
him.
He is being asked to compare the rela
tionship between the words dashikl and
garment to two other words
It's a standard Scholastic Aptitude
Tost analogy question. It's challenging, a
liltlu obscure and completely uncon
nected to the; student's lifestyle. Nothing
new about that.
But this ono Is a little harder for the
average white student He loans back in
his chair, looking for the word dasbikl
in his memory bank. He has never seen
the word, and he’ll probably never see it
again But ho still must answer the ques
tion.
If he knew that a dashiki is a Yornhun
word fur a loose-fitting tunic worn in
curtain parts of Africa, ho might have
chosen the correct answer for the analo
gy something like spoon utensil. But,
not knowing what a iloshiki is. he puts
down hat coat. Unfair you say? He'll
have to live with it There's nothing else
ho t an do
Now turn the tallies around a hit
Imagine an African-American student
from a low-income family is taking the
SAT lest He gets a question asking ihe
relationship between runner and mar
athon Not o problem, most students un
derstand that relationship
Hut tno correct answer for this analo
gy I* oarsman regalia Ah Is the ease
with the white student getting n qties
lion relating to African culture, n low
income btai k student may not have had
exposure to this item, given that crew is
considered a relatively upper-class
sport.
But what cun he do? Bias in the test
ing process won't preclude him from
needing the test score All he can do is
ignore the frustration and answer the
question anyway
k_
Turn to SAT, Pago 4
1
Making waves
xi.
Thomas Faulk. 57. of the Multnomah Swim Club swims to a third place
finish in the men's 200-meter freestyle at the Oregon Masters Dolphin
Swim Meet, held Saturday at Leighton Pool The meet, which drew
— —- pt*xo by Jaw «<***
some of the nation's top swimmers, was a fund raiser for the University 's
club swim teams
Recycling program cuts campus waste
□Campus paper recycling has in
creased from five tons in 1990 to be
tween 12 and 16 tons
By Mandy Baucum
Emerald Reporter
With the creation of the University Student Recycling
Program in the fall of 1990, the amount of recyclable
materials and student involvoment in recycling pro
grams has dramatically increased
Before campus recycling made its debut al the Uni
versity, paper recycling was operating on a minimum,
said Karyn Kaplan, the recycling, education and promo
tions coordinator for the University Physical Plant.
The Physical Plant was taking in about five tons of
paper a month before campus recycling was implement
ed It now takes in between 12 and 16 tons. Fifty cents
per student per term goes to funding this program, a
yearly total of about S25.000 The program has given
students many opportunities to participate in campus
recycling.
Since its founding, campus recycling has worked to
get unbleached paper on campus, made posters for re
cycling. cut down napkin use and put plastic mugs In
the EMU Fishbowl to cut down on paper cup waste.
Even colored paper, which makes recycling difficult,
has been almost completely eliminated from the Uni
versily, with Footnotes being the exception. Footnotes
relies on dark paper for its footnoting needs
A food composting project at the Physical Plant, start
ed by student Nonn Alloinun, Is an odorless pilot pro
ject that uses worms to compost focal scraps, and may
be a solution to food wusto problems In the coming
years.
Kaplan, recently selected as lire University employoc
of the year, is a strong advocate of the campus recycling
program because she believes that it has saved the Uni
versity money, und will continue to do so.
"If every person who comes to the University of Ore
gon used both sides of their paper, we would save
20,000 pieces of paper daily and over $30,000 in paper
costs," Kaplun said.
Student Alexandra Foote came up with the Idea for a
plastic mug us u solution to the University's paper cup
waste problem. The program has saved the University a
great deal of money in pa per wusto costs, not including
the money it lakes to pay for the person who disposes
of the waste, Kaplan said.
Kaplun said she gives credit to students for helping
her with the program. Instructors such as John Baldwin
have helped to make possible, she said
Baldwin, an associate professor in the Department of
Planning Public Policy and Management, has made it
possible for students to earn 30 percent of their grade
Turn to RECYCLING, Page 5
SOUND OFF
The results of the Emerald's diversity
survey are in. Pat Malach, next year's
editor, discusses the survey's results
and what they will mean for the paper,
its staff and its readership.
SeeTHE hne print; Page 3
I GO TO RIO
The world's leaders are getting set to
participate in the Earth Summit, which
begins Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.
The problem is. no one really knows
what can be accomplished.
Sm STORY, Pag* 12
I'LL TAKE EUGENE
Despite salaries that rank 10th in the
Pac-10, Oregon coaches generally stay
awhile. The Eugene scene, they say.
has a lot to do with it.
See SPORTS, Page 8