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Show Monday, January 13. 1992 The Daily Utah Chronicle Imagine, for a moment, that Ping, an immigrant from China and the world champion table tennis player. His English is shaky, when comprehendible, but he can do advanced calculus in his head. been of attending The University of Whopperville, L' 'kJu which has boasted the national undisputed champion table tennis team for the past five years and also has one of the best physics departments in the world. Unfortunately, Mr. Ping will spend the rest of his life working in a Chinese restaurant for one simple reason. Last Thursday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association strengthened Proposition 48 standards which currently set the academic standards for student athletes. The new policies, Proposition 14 and Proposition 16, raised the and standardized testing requisites, as well as toughened the requirement that grade-poi- nt athletes make significant progress toward a college degree. It but that's where they run into problems. What exactly is the average American student? America has very culturally Robert v52$ Gehrke by various colleges, but dreams By definition, the tests contain the standard knowledge needed by the average American student, Jo heavily recruited is Proposition 16 that is drawing the most criticism from coaches and athletic directors. The proposition requires a 2.5 grade-poiaverage, on a scale of and on the SAT or a 17 a 700 4.0, on the ACT. The scale may vary, allowing for lower grade-poiaverages. For example, a 2.0 GPA would be allowable with a 900 SAT or a 19 ACT. The problem with Proposition 16 lies in the concept of these nt nt "standardized" tests which are very ironic by nature. Chronicle Columnist diverse, but h t e standardized tests reflect only the white, middle-clas- s society. This focus on such a narrow scope of society, discriminates against those of a different culture or ancestry. These tests are only standardized in theory and make no efforts to account for social diversity. While I, for example, could do very well on these standardized tests, our hypothetical student, Ping, would do very poorly. He is obviously not familiar with the language, history or culture necessary to do well on such a wholly American test, and because of his inability to do well on these tests, he will fall victim to Proposition 16. Proposition 16 is not a bad idea in theory and the same is true for standardized testing. The bus pass program should not have been listed as the year's biggest letdown UTA always been He has Five Letters Testing athletes not fair to ethnic groups there is a young man named - Page academically inept athlete has been receiving (referential treatment for too f ong and for the academically athlete who challenged actually wants to graduate from college, Proposition 16 gives him the opportunity to catch up and focus on his education. The intentions of the NCAA are obviously good, but they must be careful in enacting measures like Proposition 16, until there is a culturally level Editor: While there are many things wrong with the University of Utah, there is definitely one thing it has done right this year, and that is the free UTA bus pass program. $15 a month. Now a student can ride for free, saving that $120 it would cost to ride to school for three academic quarters. Free is good word to most people. A real solution to an parking problem is welcome news to most of us. No one is requiring Mr. Sessions or anyone else to ride the bus if he doesn't want to. Certainly, this program is more convenient for some students. However, many depend on the bus to get them where they need to go and this program is utilized and appreciated. Every time I ride the bus, at least half of the people riding are students (more at peak hours). Many of these students are also studying for classes. I have been a long-awaite- d ever-increasi- However, in Steve Sessions Jan. 7 article, "The in, the out, and the ugly of the common era," this program is listed as the "Biggest Letdown" of the year. I have no idea how or why he, or anyone else for that matter, has been let down by this program. Free bus passes only benefit including students everyone who have no other way to get to school. The bus was already a bargain last year at the student rate of able to add about 45 minutes of reading time to my day by taking the bus (very important to an English major). Easily available and free transportation to school and many other places can only be a benefit. This program is good for everyone involved and all I have heard is positive responses. And above all, shouldn't we all try and make our contribution to cut air pollution and make an effort to "save the world" in our own small way? If this great program is truly the "Biggest Letdown" of the year, we have it pretty good. If anything, Mr. Sessions' article was a letdown. Katie Nelson Senior English Combating sexism towards women means eliminating stereotypical images of men Editor: It is always refreshing to read a illustrious, thought-provokin- g well-presente- d, essay on the obvious inequalities which exist between men and women in our society. It is equally always nauseating to read an essay full of hackneyed generalizations about men. If we want to get our society as close to homogeneous and equal as possible we need to have more open dialogue and less broad gender-bashin- g between the sexes. In reading Jennifer Gully's latest article ("Love in a steamy Chevy back seat presents sexual double standard," Jan. 8), I found, after mucking through glittery, glentorious globs of "giddy language, (which is another topic worth griping to the editor about), field, so to speak, for academic competence to be judged. that what could have been a provocative exposition on the apparent sexism of some New turned out instead to be another package of tripe. yet Jennifer tries to convince us men that we unfairly dominate this culture by tactlessly attaching Freudian motives to everything we York cops' do. No, Jennifer, I don't believe that women are supposed to be only nurturing and "pure" (whatever the hell that means). No, it's not good to generalize women as merely potential mothers. No, I'm not trying to preserve your "purity." No, you're not making any headway with me, the chauvinist pig. Yes, your contemptuous language shuts my If Jennifer wants to get through the thick skulls of the people who actually hold the views she is (I think) trying to eliminate, she needs to start by dropping the "extreme generalizations that shouldn't exist." These destructive, counterproductive generalizations still remain because "they find their way into practice" via people like Jennifer. Jennifer needs to "take" the political, shame-on-you-me- n bullshit out of her writing and "give" us a chance to hear what she is saying before we stop reading and throw away the Chronicle. Mike Bodily Senior marketing mind. Got a Gripe? Write the editor! Hundreds 8t hundreds OF BRIDAL SETS IN STOCK. IF WHAT WE HAVE DOESN'T SUIT YOU, WE WILL CREATE AN ORIGINAL. (AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT DIAMOND AT THE RIGHT PRICE.) HANCOCK MARTIN Goldsmiths ' S : ' Vrw KjTjs . -- . ' 'its y 2 lb-- . ' r (r" Goldsmiths Extraordinaire Jewelers 4751 SOUTH HOLLADAY BLVD (2390 EAST) If you can imagine it... We can 272-903- 2 create it. l |
