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Show Letter To The Editor Student Begs Us To Invest Ranked among the top 25 liberal arts colleges in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, 1988." Thats what it says in every issue of The Westminster Review. Thats what gets printed in every viewbook the college produces. Thats also, if Im hearing my stories correctly, what is printed on the letterhead stationery used in the office of the president By now the fact in at very least, the figurative sense, is getting old. 1988. You know ... when Bush was running lot president. The USSR? Its way back. Old news. History. B ut when I was an impressionable high-schograduate it looked good, it sounded better, and it was sure one hell of a trendy fact to tell my father when I tried to justify education $10,000 per year on an ol in-sta- te resident. for an So, in 88 the college was ranked among the top liberal arts colleges and in 1989 1 came to Westminster. u1989, and another sucker! Thats how the song by Public Enemy goes and, this year, thats how I feel like a chump. Some admissions counselors punch line. As Im sure all of us have heard, classes are packed this semester and' in-sta- Quality Education, Before It's Too Late Ive heard beaten Dear Editor: . In te (perhaps correlationally) class selection sucks. So whats up with that? Grade inflation is a myth only in the sense that too few students woke up from their Shakespeare and The Media Room class in time to complain about it, but who wants to make a fuss about that anyway? And, as before, the familiar drum of No tax money from the Federal Government means higher tuition next year has been struck up again. (A theme probably more familiar when sung to the tune of Money for Nothing or Fortunate Son students choice.) J ustification for, aside from tuition, a multitude of issues: too few qualified faculty; a poorly stocked library; even an invisible student union building, or wait, what is that immobile mass behind the fountain? --r- my mistake again, its ASWC. . So whats worse, funds not given or funds misspent? Never mind that the amount of money spent on repairing the Hogle Hall ice machine last semester alone class load on roughly equals a part-tim- e campus, or is this not a good time to bring that up? (Theres one for the viewbook.) But, alas, there will always be more freshmen, sighs Mr. Green, in the Office, with the Rubber Stamp. Or, better yet, non-traand MBAs. They talk more, sure, but not before they pay dearly through the teeth. What are we paying for? Where does the money go? Students joke incessantly about paying for the presidents bills or lunch reimbursements for the Christmas trees, food buffets and interoffice gifts under the guise of office supplies. But they are right Well, what else do we get? We read ancient texts on contemporary figures in the library; we admire the beauty of the new Converse Behnken Room from out-- " ds dry-cleani- ng , side its locked doors ; we all try to study in the student union building during finals week, book buyback, lunch rush, dorm dinner, Turkey Bowl day, orientation social hour and Cameetings, every-hou- r reer Expo; we watch PBS for credit; were e English requirements graded on not out of sense of duty but of a sense of amazement that we can even accomplish such a thing; were treated to an electronic noon-tim- e bell; we have spacious parking (and here people will also complain); we have a building erected solely in which to perform understaffed, underfunded productions; we have too many adjuncts and ie too few full professors; we have movie night. We have, essentially, all the makings of a college, minus the makings of a college. Instead of increasing Westminsters true capability and potential as an institution of credible background and influence in the academic community, the post-198- 8 sought to practice business first Business means money, after all , and what better business to invest in than one that seduces the young, the old, and, as admissions requirements most certainly affirm, the academically kaput all under the rosy of a good ol private school. There isnt even an entrance essay question to get in this place. So, is this college or was I holding the application to work at the Red Lobster? (Name, address, previous schools attended, astrological sign Yirgos apply elsewhere.) If even this item was added to the application for admission, think of how many less Comp. & Research classes students would need to frustrate themselves over before realizing that they have to be able to write in order to Westmin-- . get by at least at the once-kin- g ster they should. Facilities and faculty added to improve Westminsters previously stolid reputation have now become near-toke- n gestures to students to assure the that, yes, Virginia, school education. In there is a post-hig- h turn, improvement in the academic, even scholastic attributes of the college have become progressively undermined and underrated. Why stop progress with the computer lab? Why stop with a few new minor and major programs? Why are Popich, Cottier and the other biggies exceptions to the faculty standard set? Why spend money on Snowy River and Star Trek and not films that maybe teach us a little something about the corporate world were in (Roger & Me, School Daze, geez, even Wall Street)? Why not just buy a real noon bell? My point is this: I want to say that I spent a good four years getting more than a substandard, even average education at a school of choice that will not only prepare me for a career, but one that I can be proud . to have attended. PLEASE, ADMINISTRATORS, FACULTY AND STUDENTS! STOPSPENDE ING YOUR MONEY ON BULLSHIT AND START INVESTING IT ONLY IN THE NECESSARY PRODUCTS AND OF A QUALITY EDUCATION (Is now a good time to mention the Hogle ice BE SERIOUS. LEARN. machine?) GROW UP. HIRE ONLY THE BEST FACULTY, ACCEPT ONLY THOSE STUDENTS WHO SHOW EARNEST, SINCERE, HEART-FEL- T DESIRE TO LEARN AND KNOW AND BE. TAKE CLASSES ONLY FROM THOSE PROFESSORS WHO MAKE YOU THINK AND FEEL WORTHY AND PROUD AND AT THE SAME TIME LOST IN THE BEAUTY OF TRUTH-SEEKIN- lOth-grad- G. ANDIFYOUCANTDOTHATTHEN GET OUT. GET OUT, YOU WHINY BASTARDS, WHILE YOU CAN. GET OUT BEFORE ITS TOO LATE FOR BOTH OF US. Its almost top late now. $200-a-mov- William Cuthbertson Junior, History (Ed. Note: The Forum editorial staff encour- ages letters from students, faculty and all other readers. Please send to Converse 205.) Waiting Lists Help (Not Hamper) tax-shelt- er all-Ameri- . Student Progress by Don Wagstaff Forum staff writer Regardless of five inches of snow on the ground it is spring semester. With the beginning of a new semester, waiting lists for the most popular classes will grow. Those waiting lists were initiated with student interest in mind, according to Mindy Wennergren of the Registrars Office. She said the primary reason for the lists is to make it easier on students. Increasing enrollment means more students filling a static number of scats. Waiting lists provide a method of balancing a growing student population with reasonable class size. Fairness is the underlying rationale for waiting lists. It means getting into the most first-serv- e popular classes is on a first-com- e basis, Wennergren said. The alternative would be to have students fight and beg instructors for space in crowded .classes. The waiting list simplifies the process. Students are automati- . noon luaai vm isHsiMigSii Hi w vain ingi itsKpi liUiW ig i S ilfil iWcW Wfinfr loiw vhjiii m wm ig) ,l' Vft ) Ml R life 'THUntm an mmi &!i MWi D gntali imsm nn mm am " mat) & atiws) nmi 1 cally added as space opens up. Some classes fill up the day spring semester registration begins. Classes which PROP-COLLEG- TS ll HI j .Yt rV 0 to . . invariably fill quickly include, environmental biology, pottery and beginning speech classes, Wennergren said. The lists also provide a gauge of the demand for classes. When there is obvious call the administration tries to respond to the demand and will often add new sections for the current semester, said Wennergren. So waiting lists become a way to keep in touch with student needs. We have an interest in seeing students get into classes, Wennergren said. Waiting lists can ease the hassle of the frantic rush to fill a semester schedule. They can give students an idea of their chance of getting into a crowded class. 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