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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1996)
VIEWPOINTS ( PIT QRlAt S OPINIONS iHffBS TO THf f OUOR Ignorance is not bliss; pay attention to media ■ OUftOPSttON: College students receive the# news visuaHy. tf a! ait In thi* age wrb«n» most college students would rather receive their music from (Th and their new* from TV, live media *uch as radio are often lost. Though we are conscious of this preferenc e, many of us still reach for the remote control rather than the radio dial for the latest in news and music. Not to say that college stu dents who do choose to niisorh the merlin do not receive a large amount of their news from newspapers and magazines, but these media are visual as well Students st the University are no exception With the recent election limy expressed their opinion of c ampus radio, voting down ail three of KWVA's funding requests The station now has no choice but to function with out the increased funds for advertising, new equipment and larger stipends The radio program at the school of grumahtra. is suf fering as well, not from lack of funds and quality teach ing. hut from the apparent, lack of enrollment Though the actual enroll ment of the radio program is difficult to determine because it is encapsulated within the electronic media sequence, the fad that the program does not merit its own sequence could be an indication that there is a lack of student interest in radio as opposed to other media. According to Jim Upshaw, a professor in the electronic madia wqucna*. thara it only one radio booth avail able for student use in Allan Hall. However. this one booth it used to satisfy all of the students' need* for msura* lapaa. Professor Alan Stavitsky says that radio it a vary vibrant field these days and that radio iistenership is high. According >o Stavit sky. people still listen in their cars, offices and even while they are togging Hut when was the last time that you, the Universi ty student, sat in an office? How often are you in a tar driving to data? Do you whip out that Walkman and flip to KWVA or another local station when you hear! to Essiinger to workout? What are the (Kids that someone, like a college student, who is not often in these environments, will go to great lengths to turn on the radio? If our observations are any indication, the answer is that the odds are not very good When was the last time you observed someone turning on anything besides a CD or a tape in the dorms? This brings us to a much larger point: many students don't even pay attention to news. These students prefer to exist in a state of ignorant bliss, completely unaware of the media It is important for us to remember that we, as stu dents. have a responsibility not only to work bard at obtaining good grades, but to work hard at staying well informed listening to the radio, and helping this particular medium io thrive, is a way to do just that I Hunt / OK.votm loocto OHIO TARGET- TV€ MISSILE IS ARMED FIRE WREN REACT. BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE Nf VOUNGKT US H6WTW PHOT DfcDCY fi Skip Professionalism 101 at Hypocrisy U I have ««i in tl*ii whii* • pnifnuot tn lt«* dyad apparel fold her rtudent* — wtlhoul Irony — that th*v needed tu dt»»# pro few tiooally I have overheard GTFa. lilting in (ha bat k row. openly ridiculing the fwotaaarw* •bay work few while nearby undergraduate* reveadrop 1 have bwn lold that attending a time in which NOTHING waa going on wa* more 'profeMMionai* than_r_ few people employing me in my (to) [ a project Thia la tha Uni vanity of Oregon, a third-tier collage with a party achoot reputation, and defi nitely not tha real world Pmfoawwa need to acknowledge tha different e Some of them (uu need to gat pertpective Far them, (he classroom it tynon ymout with tha workplace For ua. tha classroom postpones tha workplace, or it makes possible the wort;, piece; it la tha tepid incubator readying ua few the biggest workplace UFE — but it U not in iiaetf anything like a workplace Tha uaual argument* few treating tha claaa room like a workplace it that arhooiwork utach aa ua discipline. and that attendance la a aign of dedication The realities am that nothing teaches diaci pliu* better than knowing vour livelihood depoiwia on completing your work on u hrdule. and that low attendance sometimes has aa much to do with a taw her s performance aa the stu dents In the workplace, the fruits of our Labor* rep resent the bread on our tables; in the classroom, what we produce is diffused between four or five different curricula, resulting in a level of quality impoverished by busy-work, journal esonise* and fruitleaa group pn> Joels In the workiibu». your follow co-workers are inspired by talent, dedication or wages to get along with other*, to contribute and to achieve. In the classroom, your pears are as likely to be inspired by an illicit high as they are by higher - education If professionalism means that you toady to the power* that be. then you are no more profoe atonal than Homer Simpson if it means you must replace your comfortable shoes and cli mate-smart clothing with exscu-wear just to appaase the sensibilities of professors decked out in tie-dye. then you are seriously mistaking your prioritise How often is a talented, hard-working student denied opportunity because he or she doesn't dress as if everyday were a fob interview? About as often as a professor Is fired because be or she teaches class wearing comfortable shoes and climate- smart clothing. Students don't need professors telling them whet la professional Moat students realize that whatever else professional may be. it la not col lege They will either learn it on their own after graduation or learn it from their bow at Bob'* Burner Express learning it from a University professor is not a good idea. OPINION The professional standard* that surround us here are at somewhat mythical, sometimes hypocritical, and at worst, totally false. What sort of professional prepares sloppy assignments, or lousy lectures? What sort of professional hits cm students or rewards personality rather than aptitude? Sure, college imitates lue rwai warm, our only jo DM extent mat me mm) world Minks, too. Professor* maintain that skipping class is a sign of poor professionalism: so what does it mean when a professor flounders in his or her material, or can't control disc ussions, or regales students with lectures left over from the 80s* We re not supposed to notice when study mater ial is out-dated or irrelevant What do we know? We're not professionals. Resl professionalism means mote than Just showing up: that goes for faculty and students It means more than just complimenting your peer*, positing a few theorems and wearing the right tie It’s not how well you accommodate your superiors that should count, it is what you do — and how well you do It. Anyone can clean up their set for ■ job inter view. but they won’t get the job unices they are capable of performing and producing quality work. This university is filled with people pursuing professional jobs who know what to do to suc ceed — that’s why they’re here They don’t need to be reminded of the consequences of their absenteeism or told how to dress. They don’t need tough love techniques from quasi-parental teachers What they really need and want — but rarely get — are classroom experience* that send their heads into s tailspln they never get out of. The student body could strike a deal with its mental mentors: shake yourselves out of post tenure malaise or adjunct anxiety and in exchange, we’ll show up to class everyday, wholeheartedly pursue that subjective "parties pation grade." and paste gold stars on all our teacher evaluations We’ll do the most professions! genuflecting imaginable if you in-turn set aside some time from your research projects and textbook deals and professional advice and just. well, do your job*. Son/a Sherwood. a senior ma/onng in Journal itm and English, is a columnist for fne Emerald She can be reached by e-mail at cheerHtglad stone
