SA groups continue campus reform

---

by Felisa Yang

---

Introductory physics

One of the issues of greatest concern which was brought up at the retreat concerned the quality of introductory physics courses.

The SA has established working ties with the Physics Department, namely Department Chair Marjorie Corcoran. This week, students currently enrolled in the introductory classes will receive mid-semester evaluations to fill out.

In addition, all students who have taken an introductory physics course will receive an evaluation via campus mail.

Hanszen College President Tara Miller, who is on the committee, said that Corcoran was "very helpful and realized that this was a serious problem."

The committee hopes to garner feedback from the students and present the information, along with possible changes, to the Committee on Undergraduate Education.

Fondren Library

The SA is still working with Vice Provost and University Librarian Charles Henry on establishing a dialogue regarding Fondren Library. Although little has been done as of yet, they have made some headway in establishing a 24-hour facility at the library.

Teaching evaluations

Another committee has been working on improving professor evaluations.

At the retreat, one of the proposals that was drafted was to have professors sit in on each other's classes in order to learn and assess each other.

According to SA committee member Elaine Ho, however, Political Science Professor and Head of the Committee on Teaching John Ambler and Dean of Social Sciences Bob Stein were not optimistic about this idea.

Instead, the committee is working to implement an idea to allow students to evaluate professors at the middle of the semester, in hopes that professors can respond to the feedback immediately, rather than wait until the following semester.

A pilot project for next semester is being developed. Ten classes will be used for the test run, and students will be asked to provide teaching evaluations.

Another idea that will be implemented is a questionnaire for students who drop classes, indicating why they dropped. A Scantron form with a variety of reasons will be provided for students.

"We figure students who stay in the classes must like it, but there is a big majority who don't like the classes and we want to know why," Ho said.

Athletic spirit

At the retreat, the SA identified the decrease in attendance at athletic events over the past years as a central concern.

SA External Vice President Charles Klein is working on the Activities and Services Committee to reach this end.

"I went into this year thinking I could do something good for athletics," Klein said.

Klein has tackled several projects to promote spirit, including purchasing a flag for the cheerleaders, helping with athletic recruiting and opening Hot Dogs 'n' Hoops to the Rice community. The flag will be unveiled at tomorrow's homecoming game.

Klein is also working to create an integrated announcement system that will facilitate publicity for athletic events.

A new Sammy the Owl costume is also being looked into. Although two bids have already been submitted, neither was found satisfactory.

The format of Midnight Madness was also changed this year. Whether or not this is a permanent change depends on the success of the event, called Jungle Gym Mania. According to Klein, the Athletics Department has not ruled out Midnight Madness.

Representatives of different athletic and spirit groups on campus also met in an effort to coordinate and brainstorm ideas for increasing spirit and support for athletic events.

"Our main concern is getting students out to the games," Klein said.

Other goals

The following objectives have been or are in the process of being implemented, according to the SA:

* Career testing will now be billed to students' university accounts in the Cashier's Office.

* All existing classrooms will be fitted for left-handed desks to fill a criteria of 10 percent left-handed desks per room. All new classrooms will also meet this criteria.

* The pass/fail deadline has been moved to the 10th week of classes, to coincide with the drop deadline and will take effect in the spring semester.

* The commencement speaker selection process has been modified. (See related story, page 1)

* Standing Committee student representatives will now report decisions to the SA Senate.

* A new bell has been installed in the Rice Memorial Center tower.

This item appeared in the News section of the November 1, 1996 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.