Curb the Curve

Chris Massad

There are a great number of universities that are academically challenging, to say the least. Georgia Tech, for example, is one of those schools. Because the level of education is so rigorous, many professors curve the grades of their students to offset the lack of good scores. In fact, many students see grade curves as a safety net and a GPA booster, and in turn, support the ideal. But is curving grades really necessary? Is it possible that curving grades is worse for students than they realize? The answer is yes.

It’s understood that professors curve grades because they know their class is so difficult, but does this not counter the rigor of the class? Why not make the class a bit less challenging and actually make it possible for bright students, who attend rigorous universities because they are bright, to get good grades on their own. Colleges do not need to give out F’s and D’s to prove they are challenging. It’s understood that an A at MIT is much more impressive than an A at ITT Tech, and its also understood that any given student would have to work much harder to earn an A at MIT than they would at ITT Tech.

To add on, each professor has his own way of curving grades, but from research, curving the grades of students based on their performance compared to the rest of the class is a popular system among the faculty. The problem with this system is that students know this, and instead of working to be the best they can be, they work to just be better than everyone else. This creates a population of students who may not be studying their hardest, but are studying just enough to beat the rest. Learning should not be a competition, but when grades are curved, it becomes so. Higher education is for students who want to get the most out of their academic careers, and curving grades is simply holding them back.

Race: Factor or Anomaly?

Xavier Baisden
Race has always been a polarizing topic when it comes to many discussions. There are those who believe that race and racial discrimination are no longer a factor in any aspect of life, while there are others who still encounter its effects on a day to day basis. As much as it is denied, there is no doubting the elephant in the room that is race, and its effect oh higher education.
A survey taken at both Ohio State University and Virginia Commonwealth University claims that "African Americans may obtain higher grades if they live with a white roommate". However, the fact that these studies are taking place shows that race is obviously a factor in higher education. If race truly were not a factor in today's higher education society, then studies like this wouldn't go on, as the studies simply compare races in a competition like manner. When the day comes that race is not part of a defining aspect of the college experience, that is when studies like this will not be needed.
Colleges always will feel the need to keep statistics and breakdowns of students' performance, broken down by various categories. Many times minorities are on the lower end of this performance spectrum, and this has resulted in many initiatives to help improve the performance or these minorities. Many schools now have minority development offices tailored to improving the performance of these minorities. However, the day when these offices are able to remove "minority" from their names and change to development offices for all students, then we will truly be able to say race is no longer a factor in higher education.

Cutting the Umbilical Cord: Disengaged Athletes

Aimee Turner

For many first-year college students, transitioning from a high school student to a college student is difficult because of the differences between workload, freedom, social adjustments and professors' expectations. Although some students are able to adapt to the new lifestyle, some students never make the adjustment and are left at a dire disadvantage. In light of these characteristics involved in the new lifestyle of a college student, how does adding another adjustment to your lifestyle affect you success? This is the case for many high school athletes entering into college and not playing an organized sport. These students must adjust to no longer playing sports that, in many cases; they have been playing for the majority of their lives. How could this alteration affect these student athletes more so than the average college students?

According to a study conducted by John R. Lubker, an assistant professor in the Department of Sports and Exercise Sciences at West Texas A&M University and Edward F. Etzel, an associate professor in the School of Physical Education at West Virginia University, there are significant differences in the success rates of first-year disengaged athletes (being those who no longer play a life-long sport), non-athletes, and current varsity college athletes.

In 2006, in the United States, out of the 2.3 million male high school athletes playing football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer combined, only 35,000 of the high school players transition to college freshman roster positions, resulting in an average of only about 2 high school athletes out of every 100 the chance to play at the collegiate level (NCAA, 2006). Although this percentage does not include the number of students playing intramural sports, the drastic decrease in athletic activity from high school to college shows the number of college students who no longer play a sport that they’ve played throughout their adolescence; however, the difference between NCAA divisions’ athletics and intramural sports also play a role in athletes identity and self-analyses.

The conclusion of their study was that, female disengaged athletes reported a higher level of adjustment, attachment to the university, and overall academic achievement than their male counterpart. I believe that this is due to females being more willing to shed their athletic identity than their male counterpart. Overall, the success rate of disengaged athletes, collegiate athletes, and non-athletes could possibly lead to more programs being set up to help these disengaged athletes adjust to college life. Stay tuned!

Should Students Only Learn Practical Skills?

Greg Jones

The purpose of a university is to prepare it's students for a career in a field of their choosing, however students in universities across America often find themselves learning information they will never use in their chosen career. In academia, the question of whether schools should only teach practical things has persisted for hundreds of years. And although academics are no closer to resolving the issue of practical versus theoretical, students across the nation continue to ask why they must learn so much extraneous information.

The fact of the matter is that most classes taken by college students are not applicable to the jobs they will be occupying in the real world. The Princeton Review recently admitted that many courses offered by colleges are not applicable to any job that students may hold after college (HERE). The idea that a college student who is majoring in English or mathematics will need to know how to do general chemistry is somewhat ridiculous. The reality of the situation is that most general education courses required by today's universities are not practical for the careers students are pursuing.

Students actively pursuing degrees at America's universities cannot be absolutely certain what job they will hold when they graduate from college. But it can be certain that the degree they recieve will have some input into what job they eventually choose. With this in mind, it is important to note that degree programs across the nation are forcing students to take courses that are not practical, and will never be used in whatever job they choose to pursue with their degree (HERE). The general education requirements of most universities, while allowing for flexiblility if a student chooses to change majors, end up teaching students things they will never need to know. The fact of the matter is that many low level classes taught to college students do not teach practical skills that are applicable in the work force. As a result, students should only learn practical skills in college.

Beating the Freshman 15

Kevin Brawley

College is a time of choices: classes, housing, and one of the most importantly eating. The Freshman 15 is synonymous with college life. When going to college, students' eating habits will be tested for many reasons: 1. Classes will get in the way of normal eating times; 2. It will be easier to eat junk food, rather than sitting down and eating a balanced meal; and 3. No one will be there to make you eat healthy, it is up to the student. According to kidshealth.org, the change in environment and the stress brought on by getting acclimated to the new lifestyle can make one overeat.

According to a study done by Nicole L. Mihalopoulos, MD, MPH, Peggy Auinger, MS, and Jonathan D. Klein, MD, MPH, Freshman 15: Is it Real?, they found out that, out of the 131 freshman surveyed, 30% gained from 1-5 lbs, 17% gained from 6-14 lbs, 5% gained from 15+ lbs, 15% actually lost weight, and finally 33% had no change. Recently, doctors from Georgia Tech have been trying to come up with an easy way to prevent, or help lose, the freshman 15. Jiten Chhabra, MD, Daniel Serrano, and Chad Bonner, all created a computer program called Dr. J Says, which provides healthy menus for students customized with each students profile in mind. This program can get students onto a positive foot on healthy eating habits that will help prevent or help lose the freshman 15.

Having healthy lifestyles is a good way to get the best education one could get. Without fueling the body the proper way, students will become easily distracted. Eating healthy and avoiding the freshman 15 to begin with can greatly reduce the chances of getting sick which leads to missing classes.

Will There Be Alcohol?

Chris Massad

Alcohol is a timeless problem that plagues college campuses nationwide. Many people don’t realize how destructive alcohol can be on students who drink. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conducted a study that “reveals that drinking by college students age 18-24 contributes to an estimated 1,400 student deaths, 500,000 injuries, and 70,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year.” The same study also reveals that more than twenty-five percent of the students in above age range have driven under the influence in the past year One can easily see that what was once known as a harmless rite of passage, is now a dangerous form of social acceptance.

The problem with students and their view of drinking is that they see it as part of the college of experience. For example, when a tragic accident occurs, such as a death, due to alcohol, students see it as just that. They perceive it simply as a tragic accident and not a teachable moment. Alcohol is part of the college experience, but isn’t college for learning? Lessons can be learned from any unfortunate event.

George W. Dowdall, author of “College Drinking: Reframing a Social Problem,” states that “It’s difficult for many of us to look at alcohol realistically. After all, it’s not a controlled substance, is it?” Alcohol is a dangerous substance and many college students don't think of it as such. Dowdall went on to say,"I asked my own students to rank-order in terms of potential harm some widely used illicit substances along with alcohol and tobacco. Most put the last two 'legal' substances toward the end of the list, even though experts rank them significantly higher." Colleges should look into reaching students by making past accidents real. Instead of trying to monitor alcohol consumption, they should take the tragedies that have unfortunately happened and use them to teach students who attend college to learn. Alcohol is not a toy, and students should know that when played with, it's not fun.

Is ranking really necessary?

Harry Han

When choosing a college, rankings come to a consideration. Some attend colleges of their interest, while others blindly aim for the top-ranking, prestigious schools. But what do these rankings mean?

US News represents one of the most reliable sources of United States college rankings today. According to the rankings, Harvard tops the United States national colleges, and then follows Princeton, Yale, Caltech, MIT, and so on. But how reliable are these ranks? According to Robert Morse, the undergraduate business and engineering programs “were ranked based solely on a peer assessment survey.” Student best notifies the quality of educations of US colleges as they are the experiencing the education. However, as Athens Banner-Herald points out, the surveys are targeted on students of 18 to 24-year-olds who are looking forward to attending college and yet have not experienced the education.

Another point to make, when ranking colleges, is the standards of majors. For example a student got through Stanford University as a golfer while the other got through UIUC with a mechanical engineering major. Rank-wise, Stanford outweighs UIUC, however academically mechanical engineering of UIUC is much credible than Stanford golf. In contrast, if we have similar majors such as mechanical engineering of Carnegie Mellon and biomedical engineering of Georgia Institute of Technology, it becomes a more difficult ranking situation as consideration, such as of the average GPA or the education level of the department of each school, must be made.

Each college has their own weaknesses and strengths, and considering which a better school is, is an arduous task. The list on US News may be the most reliable but it is only a reference for people to consider and never a rank which people should completely agree. Finding the right college is finding the best-fits, and within those choices that suit the best, people may find their own list of top ranking colleges.