The Towerlight, September 7, 1979

tl19790907-000 "OL. LXXIII No. 1 oiverliabt PUBLISHED BY THE STUDENTS OF TOWSON STATE UNIVERSITY Weekend Weather: Sunny today, highs in the mid 80's. Fair, tomorrow and Sunday, less humid, temperature mid 70's to low 80's. September 7, 1979 ""rowar DUNKIN More than 60 male Towson State students were forced to stay in the Yorktowne Village Apartments in Cockeysville while about 40 women were assigned to the Towson East TTII TV AR CL 100 students moved into 'new dorms' Motel on Joppa Road. The students were put up in Riese ""new dorms"" because the housing office over-accepted about 100 people. TL Photo by Rill Breidenbough Approximately 100 students, promised on-campus housing, are being forced to stay off-campus because of a housing office error. About 40 women are assigned to the Towson East Motel on Joppa Road while over 60 men were placed in the Yorktowne Village Apartments in Cockeysville. According to Terry Smith, director of auxiliary services, the women will be moved to campus in about 4 weeks, while the men will have to stay at the apartment complex for the entire semester. For a revised shuttle bus schedule, see pg. 3 of Towerlight EXTRA! The overflow of resident students occurred because of an unusually low number of residents cancelled their room reservations. Smith said between 100 and 130 residents normally don't return. The housing office always accepts the extra 100 with the expectation that that number won't return. The housing office first realized there was a problem at the beginning of August. The students forced to stay off-campus were ""randomly picked,"" but the majority are freshman and incoming transfer students, Some of the students at the apartment complex had requested a specific roomate and a specific dorm and their needs could not be met by on-campus housing. Because of the distance of the apartments and motel from the university, shuttle buses are transporting the students to and from school. Residence is also providing bus tokens to be used for the MTA. Also, the restriction on freshmen and sophomores not being allowed to have cars was waived. However, as soon as the students are moved on to campus, they must get rid of their cars. According to Bob White, assistant manager of the Towson East Motel, some consideration was given to housing the students. ""It was thoroughly considered that college students could come in and wreck things,"" White said. ""It's not that we're afraid anything will get broken up necessarily, but mainly just to get in the frame of mind that we might have to be ready to some unusual events,"" he added. Smith said that the apartment complex was more hesitant but wanted the business. The housing office received many complaints from both students and parents. Some said they are paying to be resident students and are actually commuting. The estimated motel fee is $14,000 for the expected stay and the lease for the apartment is $35,000 for the semester. The university was also required to rent furniture for the apartments at an estimated cost of $3,800. Smith said that student housing fees should pay for almost all of the expenses. Any other expenses will be taken out of the residence budget. . The university has tried to get dorm space for the increasing number of resident students. The university has ""tried for the last 6 capital budgets to get dorm space and the board of trustees has never recommended it,"" said John Suter, director of campus planning. Suter said that there has to be a way to change the thinking of the board of trustees. There are three possible solutions to the housing problem Smith said. The university could either construct new residential facilities, purchase space or enter a long term leasing agreement with area apartments, said Smith. The easiest, Smith said, would be the long term lease, which would be comparable to the arrangement the university already has with Goucher College, Now, 126 resident students stay at one of Goucher dorms. That lease is negotiable year to year. continued on page 3 Grade inflation ending after 10 year stint by Michael Bennett While the wage/price index continues to spiral higher and higher, it seems the period of grade inflation, which saw the mean Grade. Point Average (G.P.A) rise steadily from 1964 to 1974, has come to an end. According to Dr. Arvo Juola of the Michigan State University Learning and Evaluation Service, grades began to level off in 1975 and have remained relatively stable since then. Dr. Juola is currently studying national grading trends. A pre-liminary analysis of his survey, to Which 185 colle es and universities responded, shows that in 1974/75 There was a drop in the mean G.P.A. from 2.77 to 2.74. In 1975/76 the mean G.P.A. dropped from 2.743 to 2.737, and in 1976/77 it dropped from 2.73 to 2.71. In 1977/78 there was a slight rise from 2.719 to 2.721. Juola said he was surprised by one aspect of his findings. ""It's amazing that it is happening all across the country. I used to think that colleges and universities acted more or less independently with a great deal of variation in standards, but research has shown that the trends in grading are nationwide,"" he said. Towson State has kept pace with the national grading trends. A study prepared by the Office of Academic Systems Research charts the stead rise in the average grades at the University during the years 1964 through 1974. The study show that during the ten year period the percentages of A grades increased substantially, while the 03ercentages of C and D grades dehreased. In academic year 1970/71 the F grade was eliminated and replaced by an unrecorded NC (No Credit(. In 1974/75 the NC grades became part of a students record, According to the study, before 1970/71 the F grades never 'exceeded 3.55 percent of the total 'grade distribution, but in 1974/76 the percentage of NC grades rose to as high as 13 percent in one academic division. Many peo le believe the NC grade, which eliniinated the negative effect that failure used to have on G.P,A's, was an important contributor to grade inflation. At Towson State the F grade returned in 1976. Gerard Sartori, registrar, said it was his impression that grades had leveled off in 1975. He said the percentages of students making the Dean's list and graduating with honors had gone down. ' When asked why attitudes on grading changed in the late 60's and early 70's, Dr. James Binko, dean of teacher education, said we should keep in mind that grading systems are an artifact of school life.. ""No one gives you A's or D's in life,"" he said. Binko said there were too many variables involved to make general-ized statements. ""There can be as many grading systems as there are individual instructors,"" he said. He did say that since grade inflation began in the late 60's.. a time of experimentation and cEang-ing attitudes, it could be a reflection of a generally held view that conventional grading systems had not worked to improve education or to accurately evaluate a students ability. He said the 60's were a time when many people had doubts about ate world around them. Naturally these doubts found their way into the classroom. Dr. Binko said he feels many people may have shyed away from more rigid approaches to education, because they lacked confidence I � II Binko mentioned some of the problems that could be caused by the interaction of shifting grade patterns and other factors, such as the shrinking job market and decreasing university enrollments. He said that as employers and professional schools became more selective, students will need better grades to get good jobs. A student with deflated grades could be placed in an inferior position vis-a-vis his competion. He also said that as university enrollments shrink, departments within universities will have to consider how grades, high or low, will effect a students decision to take courses offered by that department. continued on page ,9 The Smith interviews: Part I Dr. Hoke L. Smith assumed the Presidency of Towson State in mid- July. He was interviewed in late August by Towerlight's Editor-in- Chief Patrick Casey, Managing Editor Debbie Pelton, News Editor Katherine Dunn, and Assistant News Editor Pat Voelkel. TOWERLIGHT: What are your impressions of Towson State now that you've been here more than a Month? � HOKE SMITH: Obviously the school has an excellent physical Plant, and the faculty and staff are very dedicated. I'm particularly iMpressed by the attitude of caring Shout the individual student. I think that's very good for an institution of this size. TL: What do you percieve as your role as president of the University? HS: To deal with whatever the major problems, which sometimes are inside, sometimes are outside. I'm responsible for the total ad-ministration of the University. Also there is the function of setting the general tone and direction for the institution. TL: Are you satisfied with the vice-presidents as they are? There's always that option when a new president comes in that you can put new people in. HS; The option is more theoretical than practical. But yes I am satisfied. I think its a good group. 'FL; A lot of people here have been close colleagues of Dr. Cox for a number of years. Have you found In this Issue Gonzo meets the girl scouts? Musicians take some time off stage for charity. Page 5. PRI Soccer rolls. Coach Ratios 4, a boys surprise powerhouse w Loyola. Page 6. that there's any resentment that he get to be a finalist but that you were chosen over him? HS; I haven't found it. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but I haven't found it. TL: Now that the University is 'moving into Division I, what do you think is the role of intercollegiate athletics in the University? HS: I don't think the role changes. Perhaps the public attention to it changes, but the role is still much the same�that is to give the opportunity for participation in intercollegiate athletics to a number of students. And, I think, to act as a focal point for student and community interest in the school. TL: Do you think that will improve as 'we move up to Division I? HS: Probably that will depend somewhat on the extent to which we win. I've noticed that's true whether you talk about the Towson Tigers, the Baltimore Orioles or. the Baltimore Colts. TL: Of course you didn't have a role in making the decision, but had you been able to participate do you think you would have supported making the move to Division I?, HS: I don't know all the factors that went into it, I probably would have. ji There are many problems connected with it, but certainly athletics are an important part of life in the United States, and there is a tendency to evaluate schools on the basis of whom they play on the athletic field. So I think in that sense I probably would have. TL: Do you think you can give it your full support now that we're in Division I? HS: Yes . . . football is an entirely different proposition because of the cost of running the program. I think that any decision about change in category in football would have to be studied very carefully. TL: Do you think ii Division I program is compatible with the academic standards here? HS: It doesn't sdem to inhibit Michigan's academic standards. The existence of Division I athletics is not ' incompatible with high academic standards. It is if it drains money that should be spent on academic activities. 'FL: Better maybe to ask if the same standards will be applied fully to athletics as to other students? HS: I would expect they would be. TL: Do you think a sports program that gets more attention in the Baltimore area would draw more students? TL Photo by Lester Shbgannan HS: It won't hurt. Very few students come to a school because of the sports program. They may have an image of the school because of the sports program. But no, I don't think it will materially effect the number of 'students that we draw. 'FL: What do you think of the new athletic director, Joe McMullen? HS: I think he'll do a very good job. I have met with him a couple of times, and I've outlined the three priorities that I would set for the inter-collegiate athletic program. One is that we don't violate NCAA rules; two is that we try to graduate 90 percent of the students who we continued on page "