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Show Page Forum 2 December 7, 1984 news Good Instructors Eliminate Anxiety SALT LAKE CITY (CFS)-Col- lege classes can give students harmful doses of stress and pressure, according to a new University of t Utah study. In many college classes there is an overemphasis on grades and other academic requirements that put unnecessary pressure on students, says David Spendlove, one of three Utah medical instructors who conducted the study of professional, graduate and undergraduate students here. . Withholding grades and test scores, publicly posting grades, and not clearly defining what kind of performance is expected of students create needlessly high levels of anxiety among students, the study reports. A lot of times it seems like teachers enjoy hiding things from students, trying to make it as difficult as possible for them to learn, Spendlove says. This is not teaching. Its just hurting the students, he adds. "Many students have stress because they feel they have no controlover their academic lives, Claire Clark. says study Stress, she adds, is a discomforting response of a person in a particular situation. "Not all stress is negative," Clark says. In fact, the right amount of stress is positive because it is motivating. But too much stress can damage students learning abilities, she adds, causing them to become confused, frustrated and out of touch with their schoolwork. students overstudy . Frequently, stressed-ou- t or study minute details, missing the big picture of a class, the study says. But good instructors, the researchers note, can eliminate much of the excess stress that ' . plagues students. For one thing, teachers should emphasize excitement about a subject rather than competition, says Spendlove. "Excitement is much more rewarding. Instructors also should mingle with their students, and get to know them as people, he . Chris added that the feelings of confusion that she felt upon becoming anorexic are still present, and she said that it is something she realizes she cannot handle alone. And instructors should encourage students to socialize with each other, too, by allowing advanced students to tutor beginners, the study suggests. Students also should know early in the class what is expected of the, the study says. Clark adds it is vital for instructors to give feedback to students so they have some idea of their performance level. Bonnie McBride studies for finals. Not all stress is negative, uThe right amount of stress is positive because it is motivating. by Susan Skorupa . (CPS) Faced with student apathy, money woes and mismanagement, college yearbook staffs this year are finding it takes more than snappy copy and pretty pictures to sell yearA number of colleges, weary of late yearbook deliveries and having to bail yearbooks out of financial trouble, now are demanding the books pay their own way. Last week, for example, the University of Alabama simply slashed the press run of its yearbook to cut losses because it came out late. . komg to go into therapy designed for people with eating disorders, said Chris. I used to think I didnt need any help, but I know that I do need someone who I can talk to about these feelings, someone .who will help me understand why I became anorexic in the first place. Therapy isnt giving in, its putting up a fight for your life. ar m ed ... a U of U study indicates. In fact, Many Yearbooks Face Reorganization books. (CPS) The American college and university presidency is in trouble," a new study reports. Things are so bad, the study says, that qualified applicants dont want to become col-- . lege presidents, and, in some cases, incumbent presidents want to get out of their jobs. The study, conducted by the Commission on Strengthening Presidential leadership, warns the presidents job has become too difficult, stressful and constrained at many institutions. Colleges have unnecessarily and unwisely" diminished the power of their presidents in tion. Colleges need to look at the position and the past 20 years through increased govern- make it as attractive and desirable as it once ment controls, and meddling by faculty and asserts. she was, governing boards, the study says. Increased faculty influence in hiring teachThe study adds the problems are driving board intervention in daily and ers away the top academic officials most qual- decision-makin- governing g also discourages presidents. ified for the job. of a governing board and how it The power Institutions must ask how can we make relates to the president in many cases rethe presidency attractive to qualified applithe power of the president, maintains cants, suggests Nancy Axelrod, spokeswo- duces Larisa Wanserski, an AGB spokewoman. man for the commissions sponsor, the Associboard actions can isolate (a Governing ation of Governing Boards of Colleges and the public, making it hard from president) Universities (AGB). to make decisions, Wanserski her or him for Presidential search committees cannot says. simply sit back and wait for applications, To do it, the study recommends governing she adds. They must carefully seek out canreview their provisions for presidenboards for the position. didates who qualify tial support yearly, evaluate their president Rut only about half of the nations academic officers want to become a in ways that do not encourage organized attacks upon them and do not unduly emcollege president, the study claims. or weaken them, and make barrass And while finding presidential applicants changes necessary to attract and retain suitis frustrating, retaining qualified presidents able presidents. Continued on page 7 is often harder. best-qualifi- i socializing with students," Spendlove explains, faculty makes themselves more approachable, more human. - - Presidents are stymied by federal and state controls, particularly sunshine laws requiring that they conduct official college business in open meetings, the report asserts. The beleaguered presidents often react by resigning. period, the study reDuring any two-yeof 30 the nations college about veals, percent or are leaving thinking of leaving presidents their positions. A fourth of them are dissatisfied with their jobs. The average president stays at a college seven years, Wanserski says, not enough time to implement long-terplans for an institu- Susan Skorupa I I By College Diminish Presidents Roles by t says. Anorexics, Bulimics Suffer Emotionally, Physically Continued from page 1 Chris said that the impact of what her condition was doing to her didnt come until months after being anorexic, I didnt even know what my problem was called until Karen Carpenter died from a cardiac arrest as a result of being anorexic, Chris said. By that time I was pretty sick. I was tired all the time and dizzy, I stopped having periods, I couldnt lift my little girl and I even started blacking out while I was driving my car. I was killing myself, both emotionally and physically. Although Chris feel3 she has made a great deal of progress in dealing with the anorexia, she does not feel that she has reached a point where she is cured. f The Corolla staff bitterly called the move a lack of faith jn our abilities. But many of the yearbook ventures seem to be responding by installing more efficient, professional operations. The University of Massachusetts yearbook staff, for instance, last month confronted an ultimatum to do better or junk its book by bringing out the 1983-8- 4 Index three weeks ahead of deadline. -- Students were getting tired of the yearbook, says John Mooradian, UMass Student Government Association (SGA) treasurer. It was always late and the quality was bad. And the student fund cant support a late, expensive yearbook. The SGA, after initially trying to withhold all funds for the yearbook, told the staff it had to prove it could produce a book on time, and then sell it high-quali- ty This year the book is of exceptional quality, Moordian boasts. .Student reaction has been very good." Alabamas Corolla staffers recall someone stole their computer and five disks that held a third of the book forcing them to start over and change deadlines. Yearbooks also have suffered from student apathy, observes David Honnold of Taylor Publishing Companys College and University Division, which prints many campus yearbooks nationwide. If a school with 10,000 students includes the yearbook price in its student activity fees, only about 40 percent will actually pick up a yearbook, he says. Students think. Why buy a yearbook when, for the same price, you can buy a couple of six packs? agrees Brian Mooar, 1984-- , 85 editor of Kent States yearbook. Usually, the combination of high costs and the student apathy caused by poor quality can kill a yearbook without student government or administrative threats. Thats what nearly happened at Pacific Lutheran University in 1981. The quality was poor, admits 1984-8- 5 Saga editor Dana Tigges. But since then weve hired and maintained a good staff. The quality of the book has gone up and the administration is more enthused about financing it, so were really encouraged. ' Kent State felt the student apathy crunch in 1976 when the university transferred yearbook funding from the school budget to the Student Publication Policy Committee. Funding dropped from $15,000 to $1,500, Mooar realls, forcing students to buy the books separately instead of paying for them as part of their tuition. Since then, weve had to change our thinking around, he concedes. Weve had to take a large step away from making it a photographers gallery with no copy. Kent State now publishes more color, more copy and more names with faces, to entice purchasers, Mooar notes. Arizonas yearbook staff hopes the same tactics and providing free coverage to all clubs, fraternities and sororities will con-- . vince more students to buy books this year. Bradley Universitys staff expects a price cut and more student portraits will boost sales of the financially-trouble- d Anaga. But at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., student apathy is only part of a "domino effect threatening yearbook financing, contends yearbook advisor Connie Beacheler. We seem to start with a decent staff that dwindles, so quality goes down, she laments. Fewer and fewer students buy the book and that exacerbates the financial situation. While many schools face the same problem of falling subscription sales and declining quality, Taylors Honnold says the number of colleges with yearbooks has remained fairly stable for the last five years, and has risen since the late sixties and early seventies decline. During those years, yearbook publication dropped off, probably because of student apathy, the same a3 with fraternities and sororities. It wasnt the thing to do at the time, he says. i Now schools that produce a quality yearbook find students are willing to buy it, he adds. You have to appeal to the masses and still cater to your own sense of journalistic excellence, Kent States Mooar agrees. There has to be a happy medium or you wont sell books. |