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Show COMME NTARY HUNDER THE THUNDERBIRD - SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1992 - PAGE 4 IT’S GOOD TO ‘OVERBOOK’ SUU s like wherian/altline company selis/510 tidkets fora flight that only seats 500. NOT UNTIC GAUMAN 92 Thuedorbird SUU% aduiiniserators are pushing thie Hmies, of maximum enrollment levels set by the Board of Regents and the Utah State Legislature. Administrators bet that annual enrollment will average out, because many students tend to drop out for various reasons after fall quarter. An estimated drop out rate of 300 students winter and spring quarters will free up “seats” for returning students and new students and allow SUU to stay within its projected enrollment limit. Exact data concerning the average drop out rate and average number of new students admitted was prepared by personnel OPEN 17501 the Vice President for Student Services Office. This information was presented to the Board of Regents in Salt Lake City Friday but was not yet available at press time. One official commented that the regents’ decision will determine how SUU could meet the annualized enrollment figure and still allow as many students as possible into the university. Increasing enrollment is a good idea for at least two reasons. One, SUU is increasing its classroom space, and secondly administrators are also making admission requirements more stringent to improve the minimum educational requirements of new and transfer students. An increasing student population will fit into the 12 new classrooms and laboratories of the new Science Center, expected to be operational winter quarter. The current science building will be remodeled as a “general classroom” building. With the regents’ approval, SUU will admit students according to this priority: first, those already attending the institution and then students who attended SUU formerly and are now returning. Admission of new and transfer students depends on the number of seats vacated by students who drop out after this quarter. A greater demand for admission and the limited number of “seats” set by legislative funding are making SUU a very selective institution, possibly one of the most selective institutions of its size in the state. Quality of students being accepted is also improving. SUU’s new admission policy says that incoming high school graduates and transfer students must have at least a 2.0 GPA. This new standard brings more educationally prepared students to SUU. Student interest in completing degrees is also increasing with 92 percent of SUU students taking approximately 15 credit hours this quarter. SUU should be “overbooked” to keep classrooms filled, to give as many students as possible a chance to get into the institution, and to push admission requirements higher. LETTERS ‘Thunderbird’ has two major problems “spin doctors” representing the Where is the harm in allowing the information to look at the piece First, if you are going to print a because they think the practice is fundamentally wrong or is it just because they feel they rightfully letter to the editor, it ought to be the unaltered version that is submitted. If the letter is too long, then talk to the author and see if should have the monopoly on doing it? This leads me to my second criticism. Recently I was phoned by will have no idea that anything has been reported inaccurately. you can get a shorter version from the author rather than taking it one of your reporters about our TO THE EDITOR: I have two complaints with the way our school paper is operated. upon yourself to edit it. On two occasions | have written letters to the editor that were not printed in their entirety. In the one case, the edited version SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY - CEDAR CITY, UTAH Editor Cheris Tucker Associate Editor Jennifer Morley Opinion Director Jason North Photo Director Eric Roderick Sports Editor Jay Hinton Advertising Reps Brian Co Travis Newman Faculty Adviser Larry Baker Arts Editor Ben West Associate Adviser Lynn S. Dennett ‘The Thunderbind is published each Monday and Thursday of the academic year by and for the student body of Southern Utah Universiey and is not affliaed with the Universiy's department of communication. The views and opinions expressed in The Thunderbind are those of individual writers and do not necessarly reflect the views of the instinution, facuhy, saff or student body i general. The unsigned editoral direcly above is the opinion of The Thunderbird 38 3 single ency. Leters w the editor must be typed and include the name and phone number. Only the name will be printed. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances and the editor reserves editing privileges. Leters must be submitied by noon Fridays for Monday editions; 5 pam. Tuesdays for Thursday editions. Grievances: Any individual with grievance against The Thunderbind should direct such problem first © the. editor. If unresolved, that grievance should then be direcied ® the adviser. If stll unresolved, the grievance should be direcwed © the SUU Publications Coundil, 586.7710. The Thunderbid offices in SUU Technology Buikding 003. Mail ac SUU Box 9384, Cedar Ciy, UT 84720. Phone (801) 5867757, 5867758, 5867750, 586.5488. FAX 586.5487. actually misstated my position. In the other one, public policy and economic school's budding Russian connection. | gave him the information he wanted and asked if he had gotten it all. He said he thought he had. I said, “If you have any questions or need clarification, one who was the source of the before it is published to make sure that doesn’t happen? After all, whose reputation is on the line—not the reporter’s, since the reading public 1 would hope that our journalism students are taught better ethics than what | am seeing with respect to the above matters. If they are not encouraged to be responsible reporters and editors at the college level, what can we expect from feel free to call me. Better yet, why don’t you let me see your article them when they leave here! If you at the paper don’t clean up for my position were before it is published in case you your act, you will find that many of totally deleted from the piece. 1 was very angry in both instances. If I am willing to inject myself understood something so that we this campus will dry up. If people arguments into THE THUNDERBIRD various political candidates. Is this the public arena on a particular topic and thus open myself up to public criticism, it is only fair and reasonable for me to expect to be criticized on my own work—not your edited version of it. Because 1 was burned the first time, | tried to protect myself the second time. In my cover letter © the editor on my most recent piece 1 expressly stated that the letter was submitted on the condition that it either be printed in its entirety or missed something or mis- can clear up any problems before publication and not have to worry about publishing a correction in will print this piece in its entirety He told me that this couldn’t be person who provided the information until it was actually published in its I will be interested to see if you or whether I will be burned for a third straight time. final form. If this is true, then this Tim Lewis policy should be changed. If it is the press’ responsibility to print information truthfully and accurately, doesn’t the above policy fiizsmongering and sensationalism without first putting your own “spin” on it. The press criticizes the participate will cease. This amounts done because it is the policy of the paper not to show the article to the So, what is my conclusion? It is this: I cannot trust you people over willingness to print something and accurately, their willingness to to a selfgenerated “chilling effect” on the reporting of the news. encourage just the opposite result’ there. I have no confidence in your cannot trust you to treat them fairly the event something is wrong?” not at all. Even after being that specific, about half of the letter was edited out before publication. your sources for information on It looks more like a policy to rotect and encourage arrogance, rather than accurate reporting. In your editing process you may be unwittingly (I hope it is not done purposefully) destroying context and/or creating false impressions. EDITOR’S NOTE: Pressures of time and publication space occas- ionally lead to errors. We apologize if we have unintentionally changed the meaning of any letter, and with some difficulty, also apologize for any such actions of previous years' editorial staffs of which Lewis writes. We do reserve the right to edit letters; and those between 500-800 words |