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