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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITORS
Kameron Cole
Stefanie Knowlton
Idle minds
Many students are proudly not making the grade, but
they’re only hurting themselves
(
There I sat, trying honestly to ace a
final that was worth 40 percent of
my grade, and everyone was look
ing for excuses.
It was a 400-level music class last term,
with four short film criticism papers and an
essay exam making up our entire grade.
Not exactly rocket science. But as more
than a few students turned in their exams,
they slipped into long tales about how they
hadn’t turned in any of the short papers
and weren’t sure about the exam either.
Could the professor give them a few days
to turn the papers in? And just how impor
tant was this exam to their grade anyway?
Opinion
Ashley
Bach
I cringed in my seat,
knowing just how stupid
these people had been, but I
wasn’t surprised. Stories
like this one pop up in class
es every day. We’re sur
rounded by unbelievably
horrible students. Papers are
being written without atten
tion to basic composition, or
not at all. And tests and pro
jects are being botched with
wild abandon.
I’m expecting a lot of Fs
and Ds and Cs to be entered into grade
books next week, but the scariest thing is,
students don’t care — or rather, they do a
good job pretending.
Exactly why this is so can be explained
in a variety of ways. The easy answer, as we
know, is the University is a sub-par school,
with horrendously low admissions require
ments. A few terms of a foreign language, a
3.0 grade-point average (which is nego
tiable) and the mere submission of your
SAT or ACT scores practically guarantees
your acceptance.
With standards like these, one
can see why so many students
come to the University more inter
ested in burning “incense" than
writing a good thesis. Bad high
school students become bad col
lege students. We’re bred to be
underachievers from the begin
ning.
But college should be a place to
reach higher goals. Tm a better
student than 1 was in high school,
but that’s with no help from peers
or a school that pushed me to do
better. In fact, I’ve been pushed to do
worse. My good grades aren’t because
I’m such a great student, but because I’m
good relative to everyone else.
This isn’t really encouraging, knowing
my A paper is only an A among the oth
er Cs and Bs, but it’s the truth.
And we face bigger problems. Bad
grades aren't just expected by fellow
students; they’ve become a religion. Stay
ing up all night to write a paper, or turning
one in late or not at all, is something to brag
about. Skipping class is a part of life, and
just getting by is a badge of honor.
It’s “slacker chic,” centered around the
belief that doing anything else but acade
mics should always take priority. Many
students make this their motto for four,
five, six or seven years.
There are some inconsistencies in this,
however. Students relish laughing off their
bad grades, as if they don’t care. But many
care, and they should. Despite the wildest
hopes of the masses, grades are important.
In many majors, transcripts are used to
choose the best candidates for jobs, schol
arships and internships. Smart students re
alize this, knowing that they need to keep
all options open by maintaining a decent
GPA.
Grades also matter in just about every
student’s mind, no matter how much they
deny it. Every student
pores over professor’s
comments on graded pa
pers, eager to see how
they measure up, and
posted exam grades always
attract a crowd.
But slacking off is expected,
even enforced. It’s no wonder that
so many students moan in disap
pointment after seeing their grades.
They didn’t follow their heart’s de
sire.
Some students, I must concede,
don’t have the ability to get good
grades. While their mere presence
at a university is questionable, they
can get help — from professors, fel
low students, tutors or Academic
Learning Services.
And in an ideal world, the mere
process of gaining knowledge and enlight
enment would take precedence over any
written grade. Unfortunately, anyone who
thinks this is what college is all about is
fooling themselves.
College is an investment, not just an ex
perience. And getting respectable grades
is a way of maintaining the value of that
investment. But many students would
rather spend their study hours with more
fleeting pursuits. Keeping up with your
classes may not be as fun as say, a
Wednesday night at Taylor’s, I admit, but
its value will last far longer than closing
time.
Ashley’ Bach is a column ist for the Emerald.
His views do not necessarily represent those of
the neivspaper.
Letters to the Editor
Bigger isn’t better
Since I transferred from Lane Community
College, 35 percent of my classes have been
taught by student teachers, and every class
has relied on GTFs to do the majority of
classwork critique, feedback and grading.
Why am I paying more to get feedback
from students? We all pay big bucks to learn
from professors, not from students. I want
the expertise of my professors and their in
sights, critiques and grading policies for all
of my coursework and not just at special
times for special papers at special office
hours.
At LCC, where prices are cheaper, profes
sors grade student course work. Students
there can feel secure with their grades and
know that they adequately reflect the quali
ty of work expected by their teachers.
Time and time again I have experienced
burnt-out GTFs already pushed to the limit
form their own schoolwork. Their tight
schedules result in poorly grading students’
work throughout the term. I don’t pay big
bucks to learn from GTFs, and 1 resent hav
ing students determine my course grades.
We aren’t getting what we pay for; we are
getting ripped off.
Rachel Rosnor
Political Science/ Philosophy
Campus trees
This letter’s purpose is to clarify the cir
cumstances surrounding the removal of a
big leaf maple tree by the south side of
Gilbert Hall on Feb. 18. The day had been
stormy, with gusty winds. By early evening,
several people reported to the Office of Pub
lic Safety that they had observed a large
crack opening up in this tree in the main
trunk.
This information was relayed through
channels to me as campus arborist. By 7
p.m., I had inspected the tree. It was clear
the tree was in imminent danger of com
plete failure and would have to be removed.
No horticulturally sound measures could
have saved the tree. Upon removal, the tree
was found to be almost completely hollow
in the main stem.
Please understand, we take no joy in re
moving a tree. The decision to remove is
not done lightly or capriciously, as we care
about our trees, too. However, there are
times when concerns for public safety clear
ly must dictate our path. We mourn the
tree’s passage, but feel relief that no one was
hurt or killed.
John Anthony
Campus arborist
Gracious Ducks
I am from Los Angeles and the father of a
sophomore at the University. I have always
enjoyed all sports. Because the University’s
women’s softball team was playing close to
my home at California State-Northridge, I
was able to attend their games on Feb. 27
and 28.
A mother of one of the players recognized
me on Sunday from Saturday’s game. She
asked me if my daughter played. No, I said,
I just enjoy watching. I told her it sure
would be nice if I could have a softball as a
memento. Before I could bat an eye, she re
turned with a ball signed by all the players
thanking me for my support!
I returned home glowing. You would
have thought I had received a ball from one
of the home runs hit by Sosa or McGwire.
Thank you and Go Ducks!
Howard Benjamin
Los Angeles
CORRECTION
In the March 11 edition of the Emer
ald, the men's basketball photo with Flo
Hartenstein scoring over Georgia Tech’s
Alvin Jones was taken by Scott Barnett.
The Emerald regrets the error.
LETTERS POUCY
The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to
print all letters containing comments on top
ics of interest to the University community.
Letters must be limited to 250 words. The
Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter
for length, clarity, grammar, style and libel.
Letters may be dropped off at EMU Suite 300.