Thursday
Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
Newsroom: (541)346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
February 3,2000
Volume 101, Issue 89
Emerald
Fred M.
Collier
I was talking with a friend just be
fore midterms last fall, and she
mentioned she was worried about
the test coming up in our class. I
wanted to be sympathetic, but be
cause I have good test-taking skills, I
puffed my chest out a little and said,
“I’m not worried about it. I know I’ll
do well.”
She kind of glanced at me out of
the corner of her eye. “How do you
know that?” “Easy,” I answered. “It’s
because I have good test-taking
skills.”
After more than 230 college level
credits, I should have acquired some
good skills in taking tests. And taking
tests is a skill. Most exams measure
students’ knowledge of how to take a
test as much or more than their
knowledge of the material being test
ed. The best example I can remember
is a test I had in junior college that
covered two books, one of which I
hadn’t read. I asked a friend what
that one was about. After a descrip
tion of the plot that lasted less than a
minute, I took the test and did better
on the questions that covered the
book I hadn’t read that the one I had.
Fortunately, test-taking skills can
be learned.
So what are these skills? How can
you maximize your chances of suc
cess if you don’t have good command
of the class material?
The first thing to focus on is pre
venting or reducing stress. This
sounds easy, but it probably isn’t. My
wife always tells me to get plenty of
sleep, and I believe her because she’s
a better student than I am. I like to
skim the material in the books, just
getting the general concepts and ig
noring the details. And I get plenty of
sleep rather than spend all night
cramming and going to class with a
head full of cobwebs and disjointed
facts. If worrying about the test keeps
my wife awake she blanks her mind
and concentrates on her breathing,
but I don’t have the discipline to do
that so I picture the worst thing that
can happen. Even if I totally bomb
the test I can put it into perspective
by comparing it with real disasters,
such as getting hit by a bus as I cross
the street on my way to class.
I like to review my notes for a few
minutes before the exam, unless the
stress in the classroom is so thick I
feel like I can cut the air with a knife.
At these times it’s better to do any
thing to relieve stress than to do more
studying. I do a crossword puzzle,
breathe deeply and slowly, chew
gum, read a novel — anything to get
my mind off the material and relax.
If, when I finally get the test, I read
the first question and my mind goes
totally blank, I don’t panic. I go
straight to the next question, and the
next, until I reach a question I can an
swer. This helps in several ways.
First, at least I get some of the an
swers right. Second, I won’t leave
any blanks for questions I know.
Third, success builds confidence,
while failure ruins it and increases
stress. Last, sometimes the answer to
three is written in question 47.1 like
to take advantage of it. I’ve had tests
where I didn’t answer a single ques
tion until halfway through the sec
ond page, but I still had time to go
back after I’d warmed up and got
enough of the tough questions right
to do well.
After I’ve gone through the entire
test and answered all the questions I
know, I go back to those left blank. (If
it’s a scantron, I make sure I fill in the
right questions. I’ve gotten mixed up
by skipping questions but not bub
bles). I just start over and do the same
thing again, going through the test
from front to back and filling in more
spaces until all the questions are an
swered. I even answer the questions
that I have no clue about. If it’s so far
above my head I can’t even guess, I
try to be creative. Sometimes you can
get partial credit for totally off the
wall answers that at least show you
tried. Sometimes you can’t. But you
certainly won’t get the credit if you
don’t try.
And when I’m done, I turn it in
knowing that I gave it my best shot.
That’s what I did with my
midterm. I eagerly waited for it to get
graded so that I could see how well I
did. It was a tough test. I figured I
might have gotten as bad as an 89
percent or so. Imagine my surprise
when I finally held it in my hand,
turned to the grade...
66!
Oh well. Some tests are like that.
Fred M. Collier is a columnist for the Oregon
Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald. He can be
reached via e-mail at fmcollier@aol.com
Freedom underfire as legislators look to reverse Roe vs.Wade
The Roe vs. Wade 27th an
niversary was Jan. 22 —
the date Supreme Court
Justice Harry Blackmun
ruled to recognize a woman’s
right to choose whether or not to
continue an unplanned pregnan
cy or a pregnancy with dangerous
complications or health defects.
This landmark decision establish
ing the right to obtain a safe and
legal abortion in this country also
recognizes that women should al
ways have control over their own
bodies and consciences.
If this law — which is in com
pliance with this country’s found
ing principles of freedom and lib
erty — is overturned in the up
coming years, as current legisla
tion implies, the guiding
principle of freedom will be
grossly violated.
The Pro-Choice Coalition of
Oregon has reported that Ore
gon’s 1999 legislative session was
the largest anti-choice session
since the Roe decision in 1973!
Never before have we seen so
many attacks on every aspect of a
woman’s right to choose, such as
the Parental Notification Bill and
a host of other bills aimed at mak
ing abortion more difficult or
mor® dangerous to obtain. These
Commentary
Corina Alexander
threats to reproductive freedom
are at the federal level as well and
will continue throughout the
2000 legislative session. The re
sults of the presidential election
this year may take away the right
to choose indefinitely.
Gov. John Kitzhaber and pro
choice legislators (of both major
parties) are the reason these many
anti-choice bills are not taking ef
feet as we speak. Now as active
constituents you have the power
to elect representatives who will
continue to protect our freedom
to make our own choices about
parenthood.
We, as the co-directors of Stu
dents for Choice, recognize that
the decision of abortion is an ex
tremely personal and emotional
issue. Each woman’s choice
should be respected as her indi
vidual decision about her life and
body. Although there are great di
vides about this personal deci
sion, and the life of a fetus, we be
lieve that once the respect for a
woman’s choice about pregnancy
is recognized by everyone, this
universal respect will create more
peaceful human relations. Final
ly, we want to stress the impor
tance of educating yourself about
these issues and find out which
representatives and future candi
dates will uphold the freedoms
for every human to decide.
Corina Alexander and Brenna Patterson
are the co-directors for University of Ore
gon Students for Choice. They can be
reached via e-mail at s4choice@glad
stone.uoregon.edu. The views expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect the
views of all Students for Choice members.
And these views do not necessarily reflect
the views of the Emerald.