The Towerlight, March 4, 1988

tl19880304-000 "Inside Billions & billions Coca-Cola: catching a wave of money page The � Tower11 ht Published weekly by the students of Towson State University Towson, MD 21204 Index news j 2 features & entertainment . ... 3. 4,8 sports r 5 8,7 photo contest 7 business 8 classifieds 7, 9,10 editorial 11 perspectives & letters 11 weekwatcher 1"" cl. 81 No. 16 March 4, 1988 Academic standards revised, raised by Sean Brohawn News reporter A proposal to aid Academic Pro-gress and Good Standing at Tow-son State University dated Septem-ber 18, 1987, has been approved in he University Senate. Last fall, University Registrar illiam Reuling said the proposal mild represent a ""major change n the way we do things,"" if reti-ed. He expected the policy would raw many questions and con- Ferns, delaying e. final vote. Iron- Cally, though some questions were ised, it was both offered for a ote by the Academic Standards ommittee and passed by the Sen-te February 1, 1988 with very lit-le opposition, according to uling. As secretary of the Committee r Academic Standards and rong supporter of the proposal, euling said it ""passed rather rnoothly."" He later cited the main eels of the policy revision: ""To ise academic standards, stop the ear door [opportunity], and re- - phasize the need for proper and ely academic advising."" The rear door opportunity refers o the present ability of .aca-mically dismissed students to eapply at Towson as non-degree eeking, Continuing Studies stu- - ents. This path is taken by 50 to 0 percent of all academically dis-issed students, according to eu ling. Under the new standards, eademic dismissal means dis- , issal from the University and the eability to attend in any capacity xcept in cases where extra-rdinary circumstances apply. Academic dismissal specifically eprives students of their rights to ousing, athletic participation, lid financial aid at Towson State, well as degree candidacy. Before reaching academic expul- Ion from Towson State, students ill now undergo a ""Four tier pro-cess of academic progress,"" said Reuling, ""[Namely]Academic War-ning, Suspension. Probation, and Dismissal."" Under the new policy, degree candidates who fall below the mini-mum GPA required for good aca-demic standing (listed on page 24 of the current catalog), will receive an academic warning. Students will be notified of the warning, but no notice of academic warning will be placed on the students' perma-nent record. Students who do not reach the minimum grade requirement in the subsequent semester will be suspended, academically for one regular semester and any inter-vening mini-semesters. During aca-demic suspension, students will lose their rights to attend schodl at Towson State and may lose their rights to participate in sports. The purpose of suspension is to give students ""time to think about their career and educational goals . and interests,"" Reuling said, adding that students often ""under-estimate the academic demands of Towson State."" Furthermore, a survey of Maryland colleges con-ducted by the Registrar's Office concluded that many institutions require a period of suspension for students in poor academic stan-ding. After the semester of suspen-sion, students may return under academic probation. This status lasts for one year, during which students must take between six and thirteen credits a semester, or up to fifteen with approval from the Director of Academic Ad-vising. Consultation with an academic advisor is required during the period of probation, ""to outline a program of study and to reevaluate academic priorities bald career goals,"" according IA) the September 18 pro-posal. Advisors are gi n the power to recommend against further pur-suit of specific majors during this period. Notations of academic sus- , pension and probation are placed on students' permanent records. Students who do not attain good academic standing by the end of the probationary period will be academ-ically dismissed under the revised , definition. According to the newly-accepted policy, however, ""Ap-peals of academic dismissal will be heard by the Academic Standards Committee, which will give special consideration to students who have maintained a 2.00 GPA or better during the probationary period."" As before, some special consid-eration will also be given. to inter-national, freshmen, and first-time transfer student& Some dismissed seniors may also be allowed to attend intervening sessions, and with a successful appeal for readmit-tance, reapply for graduation, accor-ding to Reuling. The relative ease with which the proposal was passed can be par-tially explained by the common eagerness of all University of-ficials to raise the quality of their school's degree. The major push to raise the quality of a Towson State degree, however, began five years ago. As early as 1983, there have been ""major changes"" pertaining to an ""overall thrust"" to modify aca-demic standards, according to Reuling. The ""increasingly compet-itive student body"" that the Septem-ber proposal refers to, seems to have necessitated the changes. Briefly, these changes have occur-red in the business major, in ad-vising, in the University's com-puter system, in admission require-ments for transfer students (re-quiring twenty-five credits to be considered a transfer), in the Gen-eral University Requirements (now allowing students to take higher level courses to satisfy GUR's), and most recently, chan-ges in the control of academic pro-gress. Reuling has worked with Barry Redmond, Assistant to the Regis-trar, and Lonnie McNew in Aca-demic Services as well as the entire Academic Standards Committee, to produce this latest modification. The work on a proposal for aca-demic progress and good standing began about a year and a half ago, according to Redmond. Reuling added to the reasons for better control of academic progress by mentioning both the fact that the academic dismissal percentage for first-time transfer students is currently about 14 ' percent, and that about one hundred. students attending Towson State have been academically dismissed two or more times. Concern for a possible negative effect of the proposal produced the question: Would the change hurt student enrollment and retention? This concern was mainly voiced by the Department of Student Ser-vices. As if in answer to this, Academic Services constructed a computer model of 1,574 records of academic dismissal from spring 1985 up to and including spring 1986, esti-mating the net change in number of dismissals and net impact on enrollment, according to McNew. He said the model led Academic Standards to the conclusion that the ""overall net effect on enroll-ment would by minimal,"" espec-ially when combined with a re-corded consistent drop in the num-ber of dismissals over the past few years under the old policy. Reuling added that the policy's impact on retention of students is expected to be ""minimal,"" and that the ""full impact [of the new policy] will not be felt until the spring of 1990,"" when students will first be subject to the modified definition of academic dismissal. Porum discusses ""real world"" ethics by David Baker News reporter The Towson State University Peech and Mass Communication ePartment held its ninth media thics forum in the University thi-n Potomac Lounge February 24. The purpose of the forum was to orm students of the issues confron-g professionals and staff mem-is regularly, according to the ee president for student services orothy Siegel. Siegel said there is a need for ,Odents to become more aware of hat is considered ethical ""in the world."" Dr. Theodore Glasser, a mass Glasser said broadcasters do not communication professorattheUniver-sity of Minnesota, addressed some facts about the Constitution's First Amendment and the Fair-ness Doctrine. Glasser said the First Ammend-ment is not supported as a national right, but as a private one for the few. ""Freedom of speech today means we can engage in displays of displeasure,"" Glasser said, ""and freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one,"" not the reporters. He also said freedom of expres-sion enables individuals to partici-pate in the larger community or democracy, but the opportunity is rarely made available. S photo by Dave Hammond I. �ring preview of the Towson State University men's ultseball team. See page 5. support the Fairness Doctrine because it undermines indepen-dence and gives people more free-dom, which owners do not like. According to Glasser, profes-sionals neglect to assert their stan-dards and rationale of conduct, and do not negotiate them with the public. ""Ethic centers are currently boom-ing, but the problem is they're too opinionated and personal; it's not a personal issue, it's fundamen-tally social. If it were a personal issue, there would be an endless shouting match of opinions,"" he said. After Glasser's address, host Dr. Ronald Matlon, Towson State speech and mass communication chair, turned to a panel of four reputable individuals for their re-sponse. When Wiley Hall, an Evening Sun columnist, was intro-duced, he said he was ""glad to be here because there is little ethical discussion"" elsewhere. Hall said that individual ethical decisions on what is right or wrong are the responsibility of the jour-nalist. He also said the media should be truthful and support the corn- Silkin munity, not harm it. Director of Towson State Univer-sity Relations Dan McCarthy ap-proached the topic from a public relations viewpoint and said, ""Print reporters write more objec-tively than broadcast reporters."" Next, Director of Encore Produc-tions Charles Mann emphasized that one should ""treat others as you wish to be treated yourself, be fair and concise, and remember there are two or more sides to every story."" Mann also said that television broadcasters are not accountable or involved in the community like they say they are; ""they're fac-tories to make money."" Executive producer of Sound-print William Siemering said ""eth-ics measure respect"" and it is shame-ful that a Mass majority of the public rely on television news for information. Siemering said, in television, news is cut down to fit a time frame which takes away from the reality and quality of the story. The Media Ethics Forum Commit-tee has held similar ethic pro-grams the past eight semesters and is committed to have another one in the fall. p1lOLOhyAic.,111,111 -ilkiMM Read it and weep. Story below. Bowling alley tightens poligy Pitcher sales discontinued by Robert Pattison NCIV8 reporter It was in the ""best interest of the bowling alley"" to stop selling pit-chers of beer, said David Garafola, associate vice-president of Auxil-iary Services. This decision was made because of an incident which occurred during the first weekend of Feb-ruary� a young man became intox-icated and was found unconscious in his car, according to Garafola. The pitchers stopped being sold Feb. 15. Robert E. Campbell, Recreation Center manager,added that the young man was seen earlier in the bowling alley drinking pitchers of beer and was found later by the bowling alley staff. Lieutenant Herbert University policeman, said no official report was filed with the police, therefore the young man's name was not available. Robert Baeuerle, University Union director, said, ""I became aware of the incident and ques-tioned my staff, asking them why that young man became intox-icated."" ""The staff is trained to notice when someone has had too much to drink...and is instructed to get information from a drunk person-whether they are driving or not� and then if necessary detain them. ""In some incidences, the staff has been known to take car keys from drunk individuals to prevent them from driving,"" Baeuerle said. Baeuerle speculated that stu-dents, not wishing to waste money on half a pitcohfe berer,, w ill force themselves to finish it even though they have already had too much to drink. Baeuerle said, ""What might go through a student's mind is 'I've paid for this and I'm not going to waste it' and he then will finish his beer."" Even though the sale of pitchers of beer is banned in the bowling alley, beer can still be purchased in cups and bottles. Pitchers of beer are also still being sold in the Rathskeller and Potpourri. Baeuerle also said, ""We are real-ists. People will still get drunk [but] if we avoid one situation where a person gets drunk then this pitcher ban has worked."" SGA allocates funds by Doug Wood News reporter Five bills were passed at Tues-day's SGA meeting. Senate Bill 1987-88 #17 allocates a supplemental budget of $968.25 to the Grub Street Wit for the pub-reads his poetry by Michael Raymond don Silkin, introduced by the English department's Clarinda Lott as ""one of England's fore- NOTES The Financial Aid Office will not accept Guaranteed Student Loan applications for the current 1987-88 academic year after March 15, 1988. Further informa-tion on this program is available from the Financial Aid Office. Students are not permitted to park on the Lambeth House park-ing lot (mid-rise across from the Administration Building). That lot is private for the use of Lam-beth House only. Students' cars will be towed at their sole risk and expense. most, world renowned poets,"" read from his work in the Potomac Lounge Friday night to a crowd of about 75. Silkin, whose classroom visits end evening readings were part of a major tour of American univer-sities, is author and editor of nine books. His latest, The Ship's Pas-ture, served as the primary source for his hour of reading and com-mentary. ""It seems to me that in England we no longer like each other, and that is the worst thing that could happen to my people,"" said Silkin. ""I think sometimes that violence is very close to spilling over."" Stressing his identity as Jew be-fore Englishman, the poet re-marked that often he feels less a home product ttqin a stranger ""with an extendet. invitation."" Perhaps it is this self-assigned wandering Jew status that gives Silkin's poems their unique, re-vealing perspective. The works hit home hardest when the subjects are foreign places in which the author has travelled. ""Paying For Forgiveness,"" a treat-ment of the post-Civil War South, speaks of a railroad tax Southern-ers paid until 1947 as a result of their defeat. The poem is an exam-ple of the often profound contrast between the way people view them-selves and the way others view them. ""We believe that England has no racism in the same way as you in America think you have no class system,"" said Silkin. The poet re-vealed his own preconceptions by admitting about his first trip to the American South, ""I went with a bag packed with cliches."" Geography is often a crucial ele-ment in Silkin's poems. Setting is as fundamental to his themes as character or plot, and description lild place lb integral tu eaci of his verbal introductions, from ""The Achievers,"" his opening poem, which revolves around ship-building in England at the end of WWII, to ""Climbing to Jeru-salem,"" an odyssey of the railroad from Tel Aviv to Israel's most sac-red city. lication of its spring issue. ""We met with the Grub Street Wit and we looked over the budget. We felt everything they asked for was absolutely necessary. They didn't ask for anything extra,"" said Senator John Long of the Appropriations Committee. Senate Bill 1987-88 #19 formally changes the name of the Towson State Honor Society to the Omi-cron Delta Kappa Society. A measure to allocate $432 to ODK for the purpose of attending a 75th anniversary convention in I..ex-ington, (Bill 1987-88 #21), and a senate bill to revise ODK's bylaws (Bill 1987-88 #20) were also passed. In addition, a budget of $1325.25 was allocated to the Black Student Union. ""We met with the BSU. They originally asked for $2236.25, but we explained to them that the SGA funds are getting very low and we cannot afford to fund a lot of activities,"" said Long. Also, the constitution of GLADD (Greek Leaders Against Drunk Driving) was re-introduced. Senate Bill 1987-88 #23 is a mo-tion to allocate a sum of $200 to ' Circle K for use at their 1988 Capi. tal District Convention, to be held March 18-20, 1988. Senate Bill 1 987- n""1 iS C mot; t) to Illocate a but,Wet��404750 to the Physical t ducators' Club. Finally, the American Lung Asso-ciation is sponsoring Laps for Lungs April 9, 1988. Volunteers will collect pledges for swimming laps. Forms are available at the Health Office or from the Ameri-can Lung Association. "