BEYOND THE HEDGES: Low percentage of MIT freshmen pass writing exam

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by Felisa Yang

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The drop in the number of passes is due to increased grading standards.

Faculty members believe that the new number accurately reflects the number of freshmen who can write competently.

The quality of writing of MIT students leaves a little to be desired, said Kip Hodges, chairman of the committee that oversees the writing requirement.

The exam required the students to write two essays in 40 minutes. One essay asked students how the mode of transportation which brought them to the university could be improved.

Many students were disgruntled because they were not informed of the change in grading standards prior to the exam. Most expected a 50 percent passing rate.

Hodges insists that the quality of writing is no lower than in previous years. MIT has placed more emphasis on clear and concise writing, he said.

Students who fail the writing exam must either take a composition course or demonstrate by the end of their freshman year that their writing has improved through papers from academic courses.

Likewise, Rice freshmen who failed the English Composition exam must also take English 103. The number of non-passes this year, due to the raised grading standard, surpassed the number that the English Department can accommodate. The department decided to lower the standard back to the mark used two years ago, dropping the number of failures from 195 to 111.

Exam Administrator Linda Driskill could not attribute this year's high failure rate to anything in particular.

"There wasn't any intent to make things more difficult," Driskill said. "Maybe one poem one year is more difficult than another year. Quality of student writing has changed over time. There are fewer grammatical errors. The main problems are with argumentation."

Source : The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 15.

Colorado State paper offers advice on preventing rape

A recent edition of the Rocky Mountain Collegian offered advice to both men and women about preventing rape and what to do in case it should occur.

Last year at Colorado State University, eight women reported being raped to the University Disciplinary Committee. According to statistics, only 10 percent of rapes are reported, which means approximately 80 women were raped at CSU last year.

The low number of reports is due to many reasons, including the fact that many victims do not know they have been sexually assaulted.

Lieutenant Karl Swenson of the CSU Police Department said, "Many victims don't even realize what's happened to them is a crime.

"Ninety to 95 percent of assaults are acquaintance rapes, and (the victims) don't want to admit that someone they know would do something that horrible to them.

"We need to make women understand that it was in no way any fault of their own, and the victim should not feel embarrassed about reporting the crime or seeking help," Swenson added.

The article cites a rape pamphlet published by the National Crime Prevention Council for advice on what to do in the case of rape. According to the NCPC, the best thing to do is to report it immediately, whether to a friend or a rape crisis center.

Also, the Council advises to "not shower, wash, douche or change your clothes, [even if] that's your most immediate reaction" in order to preserve evidence. There is a "72-hour window" during which authorities can collect evidence.

At this point, several options are available. The victim can file either an anonymous or a known victim report with the local authorities or a rape support network.

From there, the person can opt to put the case on file, with or without an investigation into the identity of the assailant.

If the identity of the person is known, the police can inform him that the report is on file. Finally, the victim can choose whether or not to press charges.

Leigh DeFreece, coordinator of CSU Campus Women's Alliance, stresses the importance of reporting sexual assault or misconduct.

"It is so important for women to report sexual assault because our society has several misconceptions about rape and abuse.

"If women continue to stay quiet, our community will continue to believe that sexual assault is not a problem and not take steps toward solutions," DeFreece said.

The article acknowledges that sometimes, men aren't aware that their actions are technically considered to be sexual assault. However, the article goes on to give men advice on how to avoid being in such a situation.

1. If you can't talk about sex, you shouldn't be having it.

2. Avoid one-night stands or casual sex without knowing how she feels about it.

3. Avoid trying to push to see how far you can get.

4. If she says, "no," believe the "no."

5. When assaulters were asked about their victims' level of enjoyment, they didn't know.

6. Recognize the difference between participation and no-resistance.

7. Make sexual decisions while sober. If she is passed out or not in control of herself, having sex with her is rape.

8. Stay out of situations where you are under peer-pressure to score.

9. If there's no care and no relationship involved, the sexual relationship is inherently dangerous.

10. Don't feel you're entitled to something. Just because she goes off with you doesn't mean she's going to go all the way.

Source: The Rocky Mountain Collegian, Colorado State University -- Fort Collins, Sept. 6 .

Minority access to higher education limited

Recent changes in admission policies at several university systems and state governments are reason for alarm for many concerned about the role of higher education for minority students.

Ray Winbush, director of the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University, is among those who feel that such actions will have dire effects on the enrollment of minorities in college.

"There's a chilling effect around the nation that's occurring right now in terms of any efforts related to affirmative action," he said.

"It's okay now to be overtly racist. We don't need coded words anymore," Winbush said.

The policies in question include actions taken in the University of California system and recent rulings in college-desegregation lawsuits in the South.

Last July the University of California Board of Regents stunned many by voting to end racial preference in admissions and hiring.

The move is expected to reduce both black and Latino enrollment, both of which are already underrepresented in the UC system.

The new admissions policy will be put into place in 1997, and in the meantime, the board plans to expand programs targeting disadvantaged high school students to better prepare them for college.

Under the new policy, race will not be a consideration. Instead, the admissions committees may take into account the applicant's socioeconomic status.

Still, some say, enrollment of underrepresented minorities will drop. In the South, particularly in Georgia, many regard recent rulings in desegregation lawsuits as strikes against predominantly black colleges. One federal judge in Alabama criticized two traditionally black colleges for their racial and cultural homogeneity, saying that such an atmosphere turned away white would-be applicants.

Ironically, only a quarter of a century ago, white colleges in the South were accused of being unwelcoming to blacks. Winbush feels that this is a sort of revenge issue.

"The idea of whites is, `We're going to get you for what you did to us in the 1960s. We're going to challenge whether you've resegregated higher education in the region," Winbush said.

Southern schools have also been accused of accepting students who performed below the normal admission standards. By the new policies, those who are below standard cannot be enrolled in a four-year university. Instead, they must take remedial classes at community colleges before transferring to a four-year school.

Many feel, however, that by moving remedial classes, more students would be turned-off by the idea of going to college. A disproportionate number of these students are black.

Proponents of the policies say that they hard-pressed to relieve the tension between the goals of maintaining high quality in education through merit-only admissions and that of opening doors to racial groups who have historically been barred from such opportunities.

Ward Connerly, the UC Regent who proposed the ban, said that the old system hurt white and Asian students while stigmatizing blacks and Hispanics. Critics, such as Winbush, see the actions as overt racism due to a national conservative mood. Others pinpoint national economic insecurity.

Stagnating enrollment and tuition hikes are subjects of concern to parents. Some believe that in such a situation parents' anxieties for their children override principles that might otherwise lead to support for affirmative action.

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 15.

This item appeared in the News section of the September 22, 1995 issue.

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