HEALTH Sneezes and sniffles Allergy season is back and the Student Health Center offers many treatment op tions, from nasal spray to antihistamines PAGE 3 SPORTS Men, women track shine Some of the nation's track stars shined, but Oregon in dividual wins help teams to reign at Hayward Field during the Pepsi Team Invitational on Saturday PAGE 7 n MONDAY, APRIL 20, 1998 TODAY 7heShoah Week Exhibit, held by theJSU, begins at 8a.m. in the EMU Fir Room. WEATHER Today Mostly cloudy High 68. Low 40. Tuesday Partly cloudy High 70. Low'44. Educate your mind Students ‘Reach for Success’ Students of color from middle schools around the state got a chance to visit the University for a taste of college life ByTeri Meeuwsen Higher Education Editor “Is it frozen?” “Why does it smell so bad?” "Whose was it?” “Is that a real brain?” Questions for middle school students from around the state were encouraged and answered during the University’s 11th An nual “Reach for Success” visitation day on Saturday, April 18. More than 150 middle school students of color surfed the Internet, saw how televi sion commercials are produced, experi enced college life and held, felt and took in the formaldehyde smell of a human brain. “It’s so squooshy and weird, but I’m get ting used to it,” one of the students said of the brain. “It's kind of cool.” The visitation day was designed to give middle school students a taste of what col lege life is like while giving parents a chance to see what they need to do to help their children succeed in school. “It’s one of our most enjoyable programs because we get to meet and talk with the parents about classes [students] can take as well as talk about financial aid to assure stu dents about what they can do,” said Pro gram Director Jim Garcia of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Parents had a chance to talk with admis sions and financial aid counselors during parent workshops about “cultural survival in a non-diverse society” and “helping stu dents succeed in school.” Some of the work shops were also held in Spanish. Middle school students were invited to attend the program because middle school is the best age level to begin talking and thinking about students’ futures, Garcia said. “Students need to be aware of opportuni ties [in college],” he said. “Everything starts Turn to SUCCESS, Page 6 LAURA GOSS/Emerald Terry Takahashi, associate professor of Biology’, gives visiting middle school students a hands-on lesson on the human brain. Graduation preparations commence The Office of the Registrar will begin checking the transcripts of graduating students this week By Doug Irving Student Activities Editor It’s about time. The years of rushing through books, sweating through tests and pounding out papers are almost over. Saturday, June 13 is the big day. The University expects about 2,000 stu dents to graduate that day. And there are still a few things those seniors need to worry about. Everyone planning to graduate should have applied for graduation already. Those who haven’t can still petition the Office of the Registrar to apply late, although that’s not a sure bet. The office will begin checking transcripts this week, said graduation specialist Estelle Forster. It will post its comments on the Web version of every graduating student’s transcript. The address for DuckWeb is duckweb.uoregon.edu. The office will also mail two kinds of cards. You want a green card — that means the Registrar agrees you can graduate. You’re in trouble if you get a yellow card. Seniors who run into trouble need to talk with student-records specialists in the Of fice of Academic Advising. About 85 percent of seniors who apply to graduate actually do, Forster said. Most of the remaining 15 percent graduate the fol lowing term. Students who get the green card aren’t done: they still need to prepare for the com mencement ceremony. The University has no dress requirement for the ceremony, said conjmencement co ordinator Mary Hudzikiewicz. It recom mends a cap and gown. Not one student attended the main cere mony in anything different last year, she said. Turn to GRADUATION, Page 6 Prospective CPAs will need to take five-year program in 2000 A recent legislative bill requires five years of study before students can take the CPA examination as of2000 By Amalie Young Higher Education Reporter Accounting students will soon have to walk a slightly longer road before they can become full-fledged Certified Public Ac countants (CPAs). According to a legislative bill passed re cently, accounting students will be re quired to go through a fifth year of study to be eligible to take the Certified Public Ac counting examination as of 2000. The State Board of Higher Education voted Friday to reinstate a one-year Masters in Accounting program at the University to compensate for the fifth year. New accountants without five years of university-level education will be denied membership to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, according to a decision made nearly a decade ago that will kick in on January 1, 2000. That deci sion has spurred the implementation of leg islation in Oregon and many other states that will also require five years of study be fore taking the CPA exam. The University's original masters pro gram was removed because of a lack of in terest in the accounting program and diffi culties with gaining masters program accreditation in the early 1980s, said Helen Gernon, director of the accounting masters program in the Charles H. Lundquist Col lege of Business. While the four-year undergraduate pro gram was considered adequate preparation at that time, professionals in the field have said that a four-year program does not do enough to develop students’ oral and writ ten communication skills or their critical thinking skills, she said. Students without five years of prepara tion are less competitive in the job market, said Mike Lewis, a University graduate and shareholder in Jones and Ross, a local ac counting firm. “National firms are going to other states to recruit students with five years of educa tion and students from other states are coming to Oregon to compete for "jobs,” Lewis said. Students who complete the five-year program “will be ready to engage in finan cial, tax, and managerial accounting and have developed skills in auditing and ac counting systems,” according to a proposal for the reinstatement of the masters pro gram. Training in accounting research and communications as well as general busi ness will also be provided. "It has to do with preparing a profession al for a lifetime of learning, providing stu dents with skills to be successful in the ac counting profession,” Gernon said. Like other students who prepare for pro fessional careers in other disciplines, such as law and architecture, accounting stu dents should be required to go through an extensive educational process, Gernon said. For more information on new legislative requirements and the Masters in Account ing program, call Gernon at 346-5127.