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The drop-out dilemna
■ OUR OPINION:
High college
drop-out rates
can he linked to
cutbacks at the
high school level
The statistics are nothing
new. In fact, for people
who have been at the Uni
versity for a while, the
numbers may be getting old, but
they still deserve repeating. Of all
the incoming freshmen, the Uni
versity reports only 40 percent will
leave with degrees from the Uni
versity.
No matter how many times that
statistic is repeated, it is still
shocking. Admittedly, the statis
tics are a little deceiving. Many
students transfer, some leave for
jobs and others enroll again at a lat
er time. Still, a good percentage of
these students simply disappear
from the academic scene, never to
return. Why do these students
drop out, and perhaps more impor
tantly, who or what is to blame?
To some degree, it is natural that
colleges would experience a signif
icant amount of drop-outs. College
is the first time many people are
completely free from parental
guidance, and some students can’t
handle it. They party too hard and
study too little. With no one to en
force attendance, they choose sleep
over class. In other words, they just
mess up.
This is to be expected, and there
is little the University or anyone
else can do about it. The problem
isn’t with these drop-outs — it’s
with the ones who just seem to
fade out of the college picture alto
gether. It’s with the ones who prob
ably shouldn’t have come to col
lege in the first place. And
surprisingly, the problem revolves
more around high school than it
does college.
At one time, high school was a
place to get young people ready to
enter the working world. Now it is
a place to get young people ready
for college. More and more, high
school is becoming a form of col
DROP OUT FACTS
■ 25 percent of incoming
freshmen at the University will not I
return to school here next fall.
■ 40 percent of current freshmen j
will never graduate from the
University.
■ 50 percent of current freshmen j
will not have a University diploma j
five years from now.
■ 26.6 percent of Oregon high
school students entering college
in 1992 left school before their
class graduated in 1996.
■ 7.2 percent of Oregon high
school students dropped out
during the 1995-1996 school
year. I rrelevant classes was the
main reason given for dropping
out.
lege training — a prelude to a col
lege education, worthless on its
own. For those people who are col
lege bound, that’s great. For every
one else, it poses somewhat of a
problem.
With cuts in education at all lev
els, high schools have had to cut
back on the non-essentials. This
means non-academic programs
like shop and the arts are usually
the first to go. What is left is a basic
academic curriculum that is geared
specifically for college-bound stu
dents.
Unfortunately, not all students
are college bound and for those
that aren’t, high school can become
a waste of time. If someone is not
planning on attending college, a
strictly college-prep education
may not provide as much value as
one that incorporates other ele
ments. It isn’t surprising to find
that as the high school curriculum
becomes more and more narrow,
the high school drop out rate con
tinues to rise. Many students find
high school has nothing to offer
them.
But not everyone who is not
“college material” drops out of
high school. Many go with the
flow, doing just what it takes to get
by. When high school ends, these
students are faced with an interest
ing dilemma. Even though they
have no idea what they want to get
out of a college education, they see
few other options. Their whole ed
ucation has been to prepare them
for college, so it seems natural that
they should go. As natural as going
to high school after junior high.
Students who end up in college
because they think that’s where
they’re supposed to be don’t stand
much a chance of succeeding. With
no real plans or goals, it’s easy to
see how these students slip
through the cracks of the system
and drop out. Many realize that
college isn’t for them. In many cas
es they learn the lesson a couple of
thousand dollars too late.
Instead of assuming everyone
should go to college, high schools
have a responsibility to satisfy the
needs of different kinds of stu
dents. Even bringing back basic
shop classes could provide an al
ternative for people who really
have no interest in traditional aca
demic courses.
College isn’t for everyone and
further, it shouldn’t be. People not
interested in pursuing academic
career could better meet their
needs outside of college. As long as
there aren’t alternatives for high
school graduates who aren’t ready
for college, however, high drop-out
rates will continue to plague the
college atmosphere.
This editorial represents the
opinion of the Emerald editorial
board.
To ABC News:
After losing a $5.5
million lawsuit to
Food Lion Inc. on
Jan. 22 for using
false resumes for
an investigation of
the supermarket
chain, the network
has set a danger
ous precedent in
its deceitful ac
tions. While most
muckraking must
involve some level
of deception,
ABC's blatant lies
harmed the media
more than Food
Lion — even if the
story in question
was right.
To bike owners:
We all know the
campus is a bicy
cle black hole,
with 834 thefts in
the University sec
tor in 1995 alone.
Regardless of all
the tips police pre
sent each year, the
real solution is not
to ride an expen
sive bike on cam
pus. It’s too dan
gerous, and if one
does so, there’s
no excuse if the
bike is stolen.
To Mayor
Jim Torrey:
Torrey’s one-on
one meetings
with citizens on
Wednesday may
have been poorly
attended, but its
symbolic effect
was undeniable.
By reaching out to
the average citi
zen, not just peo
ple of power, the
mayor displayed
his willingness to
at least listen to
common con
cerns. The only
thing left to be de
termined is
whether he will
act on any of
those ideas.
To Pi Kappa Phi:
We hope the new
fraternity, with its
hopeful and en
thusiastic new
leaders, will take
the place of such
Greek tragedies
as Sigma Chi,
which lost its lo
cal charter last
year.
Ill
Drawing
Board
I Propose
Sweeping
CAMPA*GiM
FINANCE
reform
...JUST LET US
FINISH Our
Sweeping..
A penny...
(and maybe more)
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