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Show THE F THE 4 DAILY CHRONICLE UTAH mK op-e- p ih CHRONICLE'S VIEW The U Has an Obligation To King and His Dream Rights Day this like every year, year, JL JL seems to just be too much of a patn in the neck for Utah's leaders. Rather than push tack the start of this year's legislative session, the state's esteemed lawmakers will once again begin their work next Monday, vhile the rest of the country, including the University of Ujah, will take 3 day to remember Martin Luther King Jr. arid his work. The legislators' actions are very indicative of Utah's attitude when it comes to recognizing such an important figure in the United States' history. It's almost as if legislators and public figures alike realize that they must reflect on Ki ig's contribution to society, but they constantly look for ways to get bv with limited recognition .and a token celebration. The University of Utah begins its celebration on Wednesday with a keynote address from Michael Eric Dyson, an author and professor from Depaul University ki Chicago. That the U is net patting on enough events, honoring. King": legacy ii obvious. Members of the U community can complain about the lack of events and genera! sense of apathy thai surrounds the upcoming weeK. but thos pointing fingers shov.id evciUi'ai-l- y Y wrap aruund towaid their source, After all, the university can hardiy be expected to stage Vlo,, SURE Your TumoM uiASNr events that nocne attends. If people' want to see the U 'adopt a more substantive commitment to honoring King and his legacy, they need to show up to the events that sre offered Whether a campus like the. U, which is so void of ay kl&d o? diversity, wiii ever becom a place where King and those who shared in his dream are remembered should not rest solely on the shoulders of the people who promote awareness every dayiilce the Center for Ethnic Student Affair. The responsibility belongs to the entire ln m W& Ikf&&Utk) nvJv . RELATED I MC DENT. tffW vx 1 U i i y III sj mri$ J - i IA r community. It starts with an education that should not wait to begin to address issues unSil the first few years of a liberal education at the university level The exposure cannot begin only when a student fulfills his or her divssiry reqdie-mer the age of iS. The only Utahns wiK ever reach a thst hope where King lives ia alf their point rrdads and hearts begins with a conscious, collective and community-civil-righ- ts nt effort Children of all races benefit from education about Ring's message of empowtrcneat, peace and progress. Once society "at large begins to understand the essence of King's dream, people will never again have to rely upon legislators, policy makers and public figure' to give us a tvken celebration for such an importtni historical .con. , ' based LETTER TO THE EDITOR Article Made Unsupported Claims Editor: We would like to make a few clarifications and corrections on two articles published on Jan. io in The Daily Utah Chronicle that cited a recent survey of students conducted by our office. In "Students Kurt by Scholarship Shortage," Scott Lewis reported that 40 percent of the students were not enrolled at the University of Utah after one year, from Fall 1998 to Fall 1999. This statistic includes students serving a religious mission. Federal reporting allows institutions to exclude missionaries: from the retention-rat- e calculation. When excluding the missionaries, only non-returni- ng percent of the students transferred to another institution, stopped out, or dropped out. In other words, the retention rate. university has about a 73 percent one-yeAndre a Baksh is research analyst in the Additionally, Office of Institutional Analysis. He no longer works for the J. Wiliard Marriott Library, as was reported. In the opening paragraph of "Scholarships Should Support Diversity," Kathryn Cowles stated that our office Kcited a lack of financial aid and scholarships as the No. 1 reason, aside from LDS missions, that students leave the 27 ar see SURVEY, page 7 Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Deily Utah Chronicle Editorial beard, editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on She Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual orientation will be edited or will net 'oe published. Grade Inflation Hurts University DAVE HANCOCK Chronicle Editor In Chief pnivcrsity of Utah President J. Bernard 1 Machen talks constantly about his V-- X goal of improving boih the quality of education offered at the U and the school's national reputation. Doing so will require higher admission standards, a more distinctive and elite mission reflecting the school's flagship status and, of course, money, he says. 1 All these things are beyond the U's control. It would be counterproductive for the U to enact meaningful admission standards so long as funding is tied to enrollment. The Utah State Board of Regents ostensibly assigns to each school its mission, and the Utah State Legislature determines how much money the U will get. What, then, is the U supposed to do, Machen seems to ask. How can he possibly be expected to lift the U out of the depths of mediocrity with a Legislature that is visceral-l- y opposed to anything that could conceivably be interpreted as elitist and Regents who are unwilling to even tell St. George residents r colthat Utah doesn't need another four-yea- lege? Here's a pretty simple idea: Make the students who graduate from the U really earn their degrees. In other words, end grade infla CHRONICLE , tion. Everyone at the U knows students who coast from class io class, always picking courses from professors with reputations for easy grading, turning in half the required assignments and, in the end, passing the class 2nd fulfilling their graduation requirements. These students' motivations for attending college are varied. Many undoubtedly go to school because their parents foot the bill, and they have nothing else to do; college, after all, is better than getting a job, most would say. For these students, a college degree represents nothing more than an ability to see a distasteful and burdensome project through to the end. Beyond that, a college diploma has become the ticket to financial success. There will always be students who are not interested in learning and are only willing to do the bare minimum necessary for a. passing grade and degree. They see a college education as an expensive investment of time and money that will pay off in the end when they can write "Bachelors of Art, University of Utah 1999" on their job applications. For these students, a degree is a ticket to an interview, nothing more. Every college in the country, even the very best, has students who are not really interested in achieving excellence. There are obviously students who go to Harvard not to challenge their intellects, but because of the career opportunities a Harvard education brings with it. That's fine. Students' motivations for attending college are unique and personal. It is not the administration's job to tell students OPINION EDITOR what their reasons should be for attending college. It is the administration's job to make sure that standards are high; so that no matter why a student is attending college, he or she will have to achieve much in order to earn a diploma. That the U's administration is no,t doing a good job of fulfilling that responsibility is Those who are giving up io 60 percent of their students "Ap?s should be prepared to justify why so rnsny of their students' performances deserve to be characterized as excellent which is what an iJA" is supposed to signify. obvious to any student who has ever received an "A" for work that did not merit such a grade. That means just about any student at the U. In order to end this problem and do a decent job of enforcing standards. Machen would have to exert some real leadership. He would have to get the faculty to buy into ending grade inflation. After all, it is professors, KATHRYN COWLES IFTTER5CHR0NICLE.UTAH.EDU not Machen, who hand out grades. Beyond that, Machen would also have to have the courage to stand up to students, some of whom would undoubtedly be angry that they are expected to work for their diplomas. It is always difficult to tell consumers, which students in some ways are, that they cannot have exactly what they want. Most faculty, in fact, refuse to do just that. It is easy to see why. Because just about every professor on the U campus engages in grade inflation, the anomalous exception will receive poor student evaluations and maybe even hurt his or her chances for tenure. This is where Machen can step in. He needs to attend the next Faculty Senate meeting and let the U's professors know that not only will he personally insulate those who enact real classroom standards from punitive measures, but that he will also look closely at the average grades a professor consistently gives his or her class. Those who are giving up to 60 percent or their students "A"s should be prepared to justify why so many of their students' performances deserve to be characterized as excellent, which is what an "A" is supposed to sig; nify. If a professor is giving out good grades without demanding that students meet tough standards, Machen should deny him or her tenute. By effecting these' common-sens- e changes, Machen will in the end be doing U students a see GRADES, page 581-704- 1 7 |