Show T t ermany: fui of arching processional Unfits went streaming Gerstreets of Bonn down ming their way streets into the course we follow- Of ltd The 1979 ljgae 19 - mid-do- s ns shining brilliant- observed this impressive resitv students and chan- - took mutt interest in the nuoa In fact police bai the train of students as ineity of onlookers iiceaunon practice in the beat loudly 1 The soft singing of the i Ktompanjed the mock black-j- b procession Six carried a black casket in the city it platform the corpse university I sen complaining about i(hch they were forced to r wtrcrowded classrooms discovered Ulioo These led departments the quick of peaceful what be the i ri- d the demonstration is my could not one consider nd insufficiency in a as well as universities dm this have to do with alight want to ask lihan you are or even why life German academies I Vocational standards katimal system is organiz-nala- e that no child leaves ie academic hoot adequate skills to of young Jaqueline Castillo undent from Lucerne We knew which wm in whit we were exit know and how to get a ask more aid d sleoenUry school he placement exam to deter-dehe will go to secondary Tran this lest the 10- - vear-dw- t e attend the Gymnasium university study is stressed Competition is fierce Students learn early that GPA determines who is admitted "Sometimes a student has to repeat the entire school year If he fails a subject he is forced to repeat it" said Castillo Statistics indicate suicides are increasing among elementary school students as well as among university students A young woman from Zurich Switzerland related the story of her girlfriend who had received failing marks at school Her body was found in the Zurich take "She 'waSLffijtog average work She wasn't really that bad in her math But when she received her poor marks she was afraid to tell "Never before in our history was ' the percentage of pupils going on from the Gymnasium to the university as high as today In 1960 79 percent of the young people headed for the university Today (Nov 1978) the figure is nearly 20 percent In the 1980's 25 percent is anticipated" Rieger said it is a hard battle to get good grades and the good job opportunities later "Yet by many a chance to attend the university still is seen as a chance to reach a very special qualification a kind of opening to the lop ranks in society Here the old patterns still prevail" he said I n 1 976 the number of beginning university students was 169000 in 1984 200000 are expected Thus students interested in measures that would shorten the length of study and subject it to strict regulations Students reacted with strikes of a highly political nature "If their major field of study is no longer open many students study whatever they can get into" said Dr Lynn R Eliason USU of languages and philosophy They may be acuniversicepted to a ty and agree to study whatever is available he said Eliason said other problems which students face are the impersonal nature of the professors and associate professor d extremely stringent requirements Questions and discussions are only allowed in seminars The professors don't give periodic exams In reference to the exam system PROFILES her parents" she said Scala a German youth magazine said hundreds of kids run away from home each time marks are handed out This pressure develops intense emphasis on grades The exams taken determine the student's future employment and education The Abitur the final exam given by the Gymnasium determines the graduating student's GPA Abitur grades are the basis for university American universities admission recognize the Abitur diploma as equivalent to two years of study in the United States So upon entering the university the German student has already completed general education of an American university Wolfgang Rieger political editor and commentator with the Broadcasting Corporation said more students are going on to universities n university study are on the increase and the demands for graduates are on the decline A stiff selection process was developed for admission to medical studies in 1963 For instance typical student "Helmut" has to read 150 pages of explanations just to fill out the application He must have been very attentive in high school because he can't afford to make any mistakes The master the computer has the final word In computing the whenever a student feels prepared he may take the final exams which test specific knowledge Exam periods vary according to but the Slaatsexam for one's master's degree is usually taken after eight semesters or four years “But some postpone the exam and thesis writing" said Dr Eliason"They become professional major students" A part of this professionalism occurs because students cannot graduate with hopes for employment with anything less than a average school grades the master's degree said Anne Ander"numbers after the period become son German student at USU very important" Rieger said "I had to have 26 hours of oral Many students are refused or they exams and the final exam to are on a waiting list for years graduate" she said On the other hand financial proAt one point 41 fields of study used this selection process Since blems are minimal for students then the number using the com- The government pays for almost petitive process have declined to everything including a general 12 support grant of up to $200 which Authorities tried to solve the students receive monthly The in- space problem by introducing legal students pay only $70 for health any enter a Haupt-k-r vocational training a hr admission to a com-- I technical college or the which gears the to the universi- tqcrity of students attend uptachule ij the final vocational year grade 1®ly student may gmvaty after attending ° gifted" ul if i rare students who 3age 1 9 the corpse is education North-Germa- i child has completed four he Utah StatesmanMondayNovember5 Suicides are increasing among elementary school students as well as among university students surance and social service semester per However students complain that they are unable to live on these starvation wages They are too busy to work because class loads are heavy Jaqueline Castillo said she was amazed when she learned that students could have part-tim- e jobs while studying at USU “In universities in Switzerland and I guess Germany classes begin at 9 am and continue until 5 pm Then when they go home they study rather than work" in Because of the late baby-booGermany (1955 to 1968) a strong decline in projected student-ag- e Abroad said population is Therefore building activities and little if any university enlargement is expected At present there are not sufficient places for applicants And fields in teaching are limited "Once a postdoctorate begins to lecture at the university he may be eligible for tenure” said Eliason "A tenured professor has tenure for life If they increase staff to teach students and the student population declines tenured professors will have little to do but will remain on the payroll” he said The problem has no immediate solution Eckhard Stegmann chief government inspector of secondary schools and president of the Association of German Teachers “Until then no decisive improvement in the situation of young people can be expected Unrest and ina comforsecurity will remain-n- ot table thought in view of the appalling recent terrorist actions commitr ted by young radicals" Dr Wolfgang Rieger said “That is the paradox! Never was West Germany so free and open never was the society more prosperous but still those willing to study and to be creative feel their chances are (mid-80's- ) too restricted" The European students at USU commented on the drawbacks of the American institutions par- ticularly USU “I have become like the rest of the students here Not that much is required so I don’t have to work that hard" one source said Another source said “Some girls have admitted to me they just come here until they find a husband With an attitude like that you can't really run a university” For those of you who choose to go to a movie rather than to study think twice You may not realize how good you have it It could have been you who had struggled through years of hard work only to be rewarded with placement on waiting list and the vague promise of university admission |