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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2002)
News The Cultural Forum will help turn things Inside/Out at the McDonald Theatre. Page 4 Sports Oregon’s young women’s track team has high expectations for 2003. PageQ Fridayjune 7,2002 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 103, Issue 167 ! Students are expected to hit the books particularly hard during Dead Week, but many unused desks remain Thursday evening at the Knight Library. Studies show grades have been rising over the past several years, but there is no evidence that students have been studying more. Earning their marks Thomas Patterson Emerald On the nS6 ■ Recent statistics from the Office of the Registrar indicate that students’ grades are increasing By Lisa Toth Oregon Daily Emerald An A is meant to stand for academ ic achievement, hard work and care ful thought — given to only the best and brightest in the classroom. But grade statistics from the Office of the Registrar show that, from 1995 to 2001, students have consistently been receiving more A’s and fewer B’s and C’s each year. Fall term grade dis tribution reports show that about 4 percent more undergraduates are get ting A’s than they were seven years ago, up from 26.4 to about 30 percent. Many individual departments have seen similar increases. Although difficult to define, grade inflation has been a buzzword in higher education for years. Universi ty officials and professors have a few ideas why more students are scoring higher marks, but they haven’t found one overall cause. Jim Buch, associate vice president in Enrollment Services, said grade in flation at the University may not be uniform and could just be occurring in a few departments. But many departments graduating Turn to Grading, page 7A grading breakdown Economics SBH A's B's Hi total As B’S er$ total A’s Bs ■1 Hi B’s total As B’s C’s Fall 1995 18.6% #3^% 26,8% 1,454 20.1% 44.8% 20.1 % 4,761 16.2% 40.2% 254% 1,616 19.9% 142% 21.9% 1,847 24.1% 30% 20 1% total 2,420 112002 19.2% 27.8% 28.3% 1,515 30.2% 43.1% 14.9% 3,972 24.1% 44.6% 15.8% 2,029 26.5% 37.5% 21.5% 2,320 24.6% 34,6% 18.5% 1,995 IJO Cultural Forum secures new coordinator ■A highly-qualified professorfrom Arizona State will take over as program coordinator for the UO Cultural Forum By Kara Cogswell Oregon Daily Emerald An Arizona State University professor will be the next program coordinator of the UO Cultural Forum. Justina Parsons-Bemstein, an instructor in the ASU history department, was chosen out of five finalists for the position. Each candidate gave a public presentation on campus and spent a day in interviews with adrtiinistrators » ‘ * and Cultural Forum student coordinators; * * « A search committee composed of stu dents and staff members recommended Par sons-Bernstein to EMU Director of Student Activities Gregg Lobisser, who made the final decision. Lobisser said there were many good appli cants for the position, but Parsons-Bemstein seemed to be the best choice because of her broad experience with cultural programs. “She has a very extensive background in cultural programming,” he said. “It isn’t very easily characterized because much of it has been done as a consultant, if you will.” She is currently the editor of the H-Amin dian Listserv and Websites, a venue for •scholars and native peoples to consider and communicate about the history, culture, ideas and events relating to indigenous peo ples from the North Pole to South America. She has a wide range of experience coordi nating events including conferences, music and film festivals, social events and fund raisers. Nathan Hazard, one of the Cultural Forum’s student coordinators, said Parsons-Bernstein was his first choice for the position because of her energy and optimism. “She stood out as the most capable,” he said. “I think she’ll bring a lot of life to this office.” E-mail student activities editor Kara Cogswell *. at karacogsweH@dailyemerald.Gom. Party host ordinance deemed successful ■The change of focus from partygoers to party hosts is being called a ‘successful deterrent’ By Darren Freeman Oregon Daily Emerald Three years ago, everybody drinking illegally at a party in the University area could expect a citation when po lice arrived at the scene. “They would pass out (citations) to everybody — it was ridiculous,” recalls Ted Welles, a University senior who hosted a handful of parties that ended when police arrived. Police would check identification cards, give sobriety tests and cite near ly every minor in possession of alco hol, every person who illegally sup plied alcohol, every partygoer found outside with an open container and every resident who let a radio blare loud enough to upset neighbors. This was the work of the Eugene Po lice Department’s Party Patrol, a team of officers working overtime during weekends to break up raucous parties and enforce alcohol laws. i^uinig me ntJigni ui nit; rany ra txol’s enforcement in 1999, 909 alcohol citations — nearly half of all alcohol related tickets issued in Eugene that year — were handed to partygoers in the West University Neighborhood, ac cording to police records. But since 1999, budget restraints and an EPD policy shift have changed the way po lice enforce alcohol laws in the Univer sity area. Facing a tight budget and a shortage of officers, EPD disbanded the Party Patrol last year, and police have since given significantly fewer alcohol violations, with 505 issued in the West University neighborhood in 2001. Instead of trying to bust everybody who breaks the law, EPD has focused its attention on party hosts, said Officer Pete Aguilar, who is assigned to the University area. “It is easier to change the environ ment of the parties than it is to change the behavior of hundreds of people at a party,” he said. The result, Aguilar said, is “a lot more people having near misses and warnings than in the past.” Welles said he has seen the change, noting that po lice responding to his parties have sought out him and his roommates be fore ticketing his guests. “I think they’re more interested in me,” he said. EPD Lt. Ron Roberts said the decline in citations is also the result of stu dents partying more responsibly, and he attributed this change to coopera tion between the University and EPD during the past few years. The University has abandoned a Turn to Parties, page 8A
