Wednesday
Editor in chief: Jack Clifford
Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
EDITORIAL EDITOR; MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
Paying into your college experience
Three weeks ago, when the Emerald
editorial board sat down and dis
cussed the series concerning higher
education we've been providing on
the Perspectives page, I chose to play the role
of Disillusioned Student.
My opinions on the-sub- „
ject were harsh, ranging
from the notion that uni
versity attendance was
nothing more than 13th
through 16th grades, to
the complaint that a four
year degree today isn’t
much more prestigious
than a high school de
gree was 20 to 25 years ago.
While the froth at my mouth has dried a
bit, especially after reading Carol Rink’s com
mentary extolling the virtues of higher edu
cation in Monday’s Emerald — part of being
an educated person is understanding that
your opinions aren’t always set in stone and
can be complemented by a convincing argu
ment, right? — I’d still like to throw in my
two cents.
Wait, make that my $20,000 worth.
Of course, that’s where any beef with high
er education begins: the cost.
Ten years ago, the average undergraduate
Monday:
Carol Rink wrote
in support
of the college
experience.
Today:
Jack Clifford
writes in
opposition
to the college
experience.
resident paid $1,965 in
tuition and fees to attend
the University, according
to the Oregon University
System Budget and Fis
cal Policies Division.
This year, the tuition is
$3,819, a 194 percent in
crease. Sure, University
of Oregon students were
lucky to see a tuition
freeze for several years,
but state legislators in
Salem are getting ready to jack it up again.
And if Mom and Dad aren’t paying for
your college, then you are, or will be eventu
ally.
In an Oct. 27, 2000 article in The Chronicle
of Higher Education, it was pointed out that
loans are continuing to displace grants as the
primary source of student aid. Borrowed
money now represents 59 percent of all aid,
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
compared with 41 percent in 1980, according
to the story. Terry Hartle, senior vice presi
dent for government and public affairs at the
American Council on Education, said that “it
is not uncommon for a student to graduate
with a bachelor's degree and $20,000 worth
of debt.”
That’s a lot of pennies for just a few
thoughts.
Which brings me to my next gripe about
college: grade inflation and the dumbing
down of education.
I’m far from the smartest apple in the bar
rel, yet somehow my cumulative grade point
average for nearly four years of schooling
hovers well above pi. (That’s 3.14159265 for
you freshmen; don’t worry, you’ll learn all
about it again in one of your college algebra
classes.) How I have attained such a GPA is a
mystery to me; “slack” doesn’t even begin to
describe my study habits.
Grade inflation is nothing new, though.
The topic has been controversial for decades,
with its genesis dating back to the Vietnam
War. Professors dished out higher grades
then to keep their male students from falling
below a magic line that would eliminate their
deferment and likely send them off to war.
Nowadays, the whole point of a generous
grading system is that “education must make
students feel good about themselves,” Har
vard University professor Harvey C. Mans
field recently told The Associated Press.
Mansfield has taken it upon himself to
straighten out the curve and hand out a few
C’s and D’s, but he still has a heart. Mansfield
is using a two-grade system in one of his cur
rent philosophy courses, with an official
grade to go on students’ transcripts and also
an unofficial mark the professor thinks they
really deserve. Hmm, I’d hate to see my “un
official” transcript.
So, should I be complaining about grade
inflation, or should the 4.0 student who busts
his or her butt every night to keep that perfect
score be trumpeting this theme? Both of us
can moan a little, I guess.
The straight-A students should be pissed
off that students who put in less effort are
staying right behind them on the track. And
the slackers should feel a bit shortchanged by
a system that cares more about herding them
through classes — and racking up their pre
cious tuition dollars in the process — than
actually motivating them with tougher cur
ricula and a stricter grading structure.
This doesn’t mean that my experiences
with professors at the University have been a
total waste. I’ve passed through several enter
taining and challenging classes, taught by
Cheyney Ryan, Eleen Baumann, Clyde Bent
ley and Marion Goldman, among others. For
every respected professor, however, it seems
as if I’ve had to put up with my share of
blowhards.
Insufferable are the days when you should
be learning about the development of sociol
ogy, but have to instead endure stories about
personal protest actions during the Vietnam
War, the Kosovo crisis and beekeeping. All
admirable subjects, yes, but mostly irrelevant
to the class syllabus.
Apparently I’m not the only dissatisfied
student on campus. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, the
Emerald online poll shows that 62 percent of
149 respondents believe “There is no satisfy
ing aspect” to their education at the Universi
ty. That highly unscientific sample could be
an aberration or a prank, or maybe they’ve all
had to endure lectures on beekeeping.
All in all, I can’t say that there has been no
satisfying aspect to my time at the University.
I did, however, enter college with great ex
pectations and feel as though I’m walking
away with just a tad more awareness than I
had four years ago, a decent GPA that some
how materialized and a degree that is al
legedly worth more than your standard high
school diploma.
Oh yeah, and $20,000 in debt. Oh well,
live and learn.
Jack Clifford is the Emerald’s editor in chief. His views
do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald.
Party hardy—with caution
Happy 21st birthday! It’s a day
that most, if not all young
people eagerly anticipate.
Plans are made to get drunk,
enjoy the newfound adult right in the
company of friends and try not to re
member any of it the next day.
Celebrating one’s passage into full
adulthood is great. At the Emerald,
we’ve had five staff members turn 21 in
the last month, and each of them has
partaken of some tasty libation. One or
two got fully ripped. Good for them,
and good for everyone crossing the
great divide.
The editorial board was horrified,
however, to learn of the “21er” books
recently seen on campus. These scrap
books commemorate the big night with
pages describing each drink con
sumed, where it was drunk and who
purchased it, coupled with photos of
the fun time. But the books count up to
drink No. 21. Twenty-one drinks? This
is ridiculous. Apparently, some people
think it’s both fun and friendly to en
danger a friend’s life and encourage
grotesque immoderation. For shame.
Don’t get us wrong; drinking is fine.
We’re no Oregon Commentator, but we
can enjoy a swanky 40 oz. bottle of
Olde English or a ghetto Jameson sour
with fresh-squeezed lime juice,The ...
point is, these scrapbooks endanger
lives.
Consuming 21 drinks over the
course of a few hours is not healthy.
Vomiting, dehydration, organ damage
and death are likely results. And here
we thought the point of celebrating a
21st birthday was to have fun.
Older students who take their
friends out on a 21st birthday should
know better. Rites of passage are one
thing. Getting nice and drunk will have
the desired effect — nausea, vomiting,
hangover. There’s no need to try to kill
a friend in order to make him or her
feel crappy in the morning.
So for everyone’s safety (not to men
tion legal liability), we hope that peo
ple will stop using books that encour
age friends to consume 21 drinks in
order to “prove” something about their
adult status.
Your 21st birthday should be spent
having fun with friends. You could
even drink a lot. Your friends should
be watching out for you. But if the peo
ple you’re with demand a drink count
that reaches 21, they’re not your
friends, and you probably won’t end
up having fun.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent
to.adf ©Oregon .uo rego n. ed u.
Letters to the editor
Conference price tag too high
I am completely disgusted at the price tag on
Eugene’s “Eliminating Bias” Hate Crime confer
ence. $295 per person excludes the majority of us.
Chief of Eugene Police Jim Hill stated in a report
to KMTR on Jan. 19,2001, “Understanding the dy
namics, working to prevent hate crime, creating a
no tolerance for hate crime in a community is ab
solutely vital; it’s important that the entire com
munity be involved in dealing with this issue.”
I absolutely agree that the entire community
must be involved and educated on hate crimes.
To stop hate, we must educate. The price tag for
this event excluded the greater community. The
community has already paid to attend with the
$10,000 that helped underwrite this conference,
and the city (us) has also volunteered two em
ployees to help coordinate the event.
Perhaps a hate crime conference that would
be affordable to the majority of us in Eugene
would be more beneficial, informative and
would get much more community involvement.
At such a high price, it is hard to help prevent
hate crimes. This creates tolerance of hate
groups due to lack of knowledge, and the entire
community is not involved in dealing with this
issue. The rest of us have been left out.
I am sure that I could have been sponsored to
go to this event; however, if it is closed to the
general public (because of the cost), I do not
want to attend. Perhaps a conference that is af
fordable is our next response.
Scott Britt
student
Opportunity missed
I saw a number of University journalism stu
dents at the Monday evening talk at the Central
Presbyterian Church by Jeff Cohen, founder of
FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting). It
would have been of benefit to most Allen Hall en
rollees to have heard Cohen’s evaluation of U.S.
journalism and its failure to “cover the story.”
This was not a trashing of the profession as
much as it was an alert to undergrads to avoid
the pitfalls of “easy” (handout) reporting, and to
dig for the full story. Among us, my two sons
and I have had 13 years of college journalism
education, and never has one of us heard a
classroom presentation as valuable as Cohen’s
talk.
Class schedules are important and not to be
changed without reason. But cancellation of
Monday afternoon classes for a convocation ex
posing all students to his insights (he was avail
able) would have been of greater value than a
week of classes. Actually, it would not have had
to involve all students. Those majoring in ad
vertising and public relations could have been
excused. This talk had no relevance for them.
George Beres
graduate student
community education program
CORRECTION
The photo with the story “Little Big Man’’ (ODE, Feb.
13) should have featured Oregon wrestler Eric Webb.
The Emerald regrets the error.