VIEWPOINTS
EOlTORtRLS OPINIONS LITTERS TO THE I0IT0R
Drop-out rate isn’t just
the UO’fe responsibility
■ OUR OPINION; A Jack of
siudeni locus and passion
»s part ol the problem
Whose fault is it?
Ac curding to statistics
frown the University, one mil
of four first -year students
here will not return nest
fall. Five years from now.
only half the freshman class
will have a University
diploma hanging on their
wall*.
Some will drop out and
pursue careers, others will
transfer to smaller schools,
or schools with better
weather, and still others
will |ust disappear into that
nebulous mas* we call the
real world
While that may sound dis
turbing to some, that 77 per
cent-retention rate i* higher
than it was 12 years ago and
is 5 pen ent higher than the
national average Certainly
the University should con
tinue to find ways to make
the campus a more fresh
man-friendly environment
Hut in the end. student
drop-out rates say more
about the students than
about the University,
Mwl young people t!at hie
to attend college Imk hum it
is something they are "sup*
pawd to do " They satmd
good grades in high school,
ami their parents just
assumed that their child
would continue on to higher
education. Pew freshmen, it
swm*. have a focused rea
son to Isa in college other
than "l don't want to »[xmd
my life working at Burger
King"
Thi* is a valid reason for
attending college, hut it
doesn’t help motivation
much when the mid-term*
are piling up. 300 pages of
Bemmlf are waiting to tie
read, and there's a party at
the coolest fraternity house
on c ampus Under these
conditions. and with no rani
passion for their major*, it’s
no wonder these students
head for home? when things
became difficult.
To that end. that level of
apathy for one s major does
n’t seem to change much
even when the students do
stick around Walk into any
class on this campus and
ask the student* why they
are there Menu of them will
say they need the class to
graduate, or it fulfills a
major or minor requirement
Few, it seems. would claim
an intellectual curiosity on
the subject or a desire to
become an export in a given
field.
Even fewer students will
be able to explain how ihev
expect their major to lead
them into a career. With all
that shoulder shrugging
going on. It's a wonder the
drop-out rate isn't higher
This streaks more to the
nature of youth than it does
to the nature of higher edu
cation
College has become a lima
for bright teenager* to figure
mil who they are among a
lot of other bright teenagers
If* fun and enlightening,
but il doesn't form a strong
foundation for the financial
and personal storms that
batter at students' windows
This may explain why
mom freshmen drop out
than more senior classes
and why older returning
students tend to stay, get
higher grades and graduate
High school graduates who
attend college without a
clear sense of who they are
and what they want to do
will be more prone to leave
under a cloud of stress
We shouldn’t worry to
much about It They'll make
it back if and when ih«n fig
ure it out
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Of OWE
UTTERS"
Ad Club important
Monday evening I attended
tho ASUQ Progrwu Finance
Committee budget hearing for
the University Advertising
Club, • student chapter of the
Aim-fu an Advertising
non
! do not want to debate the
nmmnnoo's dec nuun lor the Ad
Club to n»wni* its goal state
moot I do want to address on#
(amniiiiw) member's mtjutsi
lion of whether pre profession
•I societies should receive
student foe* imifu’y Thu person
quMtlonod whether a prepro
fmaionat mm toty, such a* tho
Ad Club, promotes cultural
and Ax physical development at
tho University
Students may nobly say
lhoy re bore to ' broaden their
Iwriion*" or to bec ome 'more
responsible citizen*.*' but it’a
common know lodge that moat
students attend college in order
to get decent fob* after gradua
tion
In the University's (tiumtl
i»m school, il is also l ummon
bowMgi that gnimaluin rtu
d»nl*. in advertising or any
other fourrialum sequence,
muil participate in pw-pml«.
sional airtivtliet in order to find
employment after graduation
Any toumaiism professor wilt
loll you thal ju*l doing your
ctasswork won'! land you a job
Kmptoyef* want to see that stu
dents went out of their way to
gam work ekpenerure
Without the Advertising
Club, which present* intern'
*hip* to it* member*, fund* the
University Advertising Team:
provide* student advertising
opportunities fur nonprofit
organization*, and facilitate*
connection* between students
and advertising professional*, I
would be lacking the pre-pro
fessional esperieme I need to
get a job nest year I am thank
ful for all the opportunities the
Ad Club afforded me that my
< lasses do not.
The Ad Club facilitates stu
dents' move from the School of
journalism and Communication
into the field of journalism. Il
enables students to procure jobs
in their chosen field* 1 think
that t« the moat important phys
fcal development the Universi
ty provides to students, don't
you?
Ruth Bartmess
Journalism
New car degree
A* • new student to the Uni
versity. I’m amaxed at the
things l loam each day I'm not
talking about what is learned in
the classroom or in te&tbooka.
but rather what I learn about
roy fellow students.
Many students tell stories of
financial need and what a pain
it is to eat Top Kamen noodles
all the time However, I wonder
how many people era attending
this school without any finan
cial help from their parents
Some people are lucky
enough to be ham into families
that are able to support their
children through college or
after graduation. Maybe that
doesn't include paying for
everything the student would
like, but mans student* do get
at least some form of help
I was stioMied the tuner day
when 1 heard a couple of stu
dents talking of their ensuing
graduation presents — cars*
Graduation presents? Shouldn't
a degree from a university be
rewarding enough?
Do they really need to he
materially reinforced for their
efforts? Shouldn't receiving an
education he an intrinsic value?
Michael Bros!
Psychology
River threatened
lane County Commissioner
ferry Rust was correct to
observe that "We've got some of
the worst environmental
destruction on the planet right
here ... the great public lands of
the Northwest are up for grabs"
f Of*, Jan. 25).
Certainly these are bad times
for the few remaining parcels of
ancient forests But. as tragic as
this it. we shouldn't overlook
the environmental destruction
occurring righi here in Eugene
along the south hank of the
Willamette River — and we
should not forget the crucial
role Rust continues to play in
advancing this destruction.
In ta»8. Rust's support for
the Riverfront Research Com
pies was pivotal in undermin
ing the efforts of University
student activists and Eugene
citizens who fought to stop this
ill-conceived project Oppo
nents to the project, including
the ASUO president and mem
bers of the University Survival
Center, succeeded in getting the
issue before Eugene voters But.
they lost the election, largely
due to Rust's overt support tor
the complex
Rust's role in advancing the
destruction of the Willamette
River and in undermining
efforts of local activists didn't
stop m 1988. however As
recently as last month. Rust,
along with his political assort
ales {including a few muddle
headed faculty members from
the University's School of
Architecture), managed to get
the Eugene City Council to rub
ber stamp another til-conceived
plan
K implemented, this plan
would lead to the overdevelop
ment ol the river in the vicini
ty of the Kerry Street Bridge a*
well a* seriously degrade the
organization of Eugene * public
realm
These plan* to urbanize Eu
gene'* magnificent Willamette
River acMtic corridor are part of
a far-reaching development
objective that will define Rust '»
legacy more than anything else
Rust, like every "successful"
politician, hat learned that
staying in office mean* not
crossing certain line* — espe
cially the line* drawn by the
local economic development
(lower brokers
Studeni activist* mutt help
stop the bulldozer* from push
ing toward the river and keep
Jerry Rust from advancing
urban sprawl over Eugene s
moat valued natural resource
Thomas Lanier
Eugene