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.