Newspapers / Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper / Nov. 20, 1992, edition 1 / Page 2
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Pursuing Excellence in Academics or... Some of you might recognize this say ing, others of you might not. Before we [Gardner-Wehh] became “People Who Care,” we were “Pursuing Excellence in Academics and Athletics,” and for various reasons GW changed this motto. Well, we’ve always been pursuing excellence in both, but the academics, from a students standpoint, seems to be receiving the short, end of the stick. For those of who come back to Gardner- Webb after Christmas we will have become a university. It has a nice sound. An institute of higher learning, or is it? Currently, a group of students will have us believe that this is not the ca.se. They feel that GW is failing to prepare them through poor academic instruction. First, cheating and lying are two of the biggest problems hindering Gardner-Webb from being strong academically. Students and faculty should not accept or allow either. Second, testing procedures span the gambit from abysmal to superior. A set of testing standards must be established. Practices where professors GIVE answers to students prior to examinations are not acceptable. Third, violations must not be tolerated and dealt with as such. But all these things go on because it is the accepted practice and we look the other way. To the faculty and administration un derstand that the students speaking out are hard-working, conscientious students. Sure we might be considered radicals, but only in the sense that we have opinions about better ing ourselves and our school. We are going to be a university, and with this change comes a certain expectation of quality. To the students I believe we are finally being heard. We are the backbone of Gardner- Webb. We are Gardner-Webb. We must take pride in our institution. Realize also that a university looks to its graduates for help and support. Although it is not stated too elegantly in our current Alma Matter, consider supporting Gardner-Webb when you graduate. Remember the profes sors and the time you spent here. Gardner- Webb will always have needs and we can help. Some may feel that I have no voice about matters at Gardner-Webb, but GW is a place of second chances. I am very proud that I will graduate from Gardner-Webb Univer sity and will continue to be long after I leave. They say that hindsight is a wonderful thing, so before I leave consider what I have learned; remember Gardner-Webb before you act. The Pilot Staff Christopher A. Glaves Dr. William Stowe Iiditor Advisor Marty White E.J. Dolce Sports Editor Proof Editor Staff Writers Abdul Asghar Greg Carpenter Brian Saitkowski Aimee Stewart Kevin Walter Debra White Printed by Shelby Printing ...UNIVERSITY, from page 1 the stability and reputation of the school while still working on expansion and im provement. He concludes, "My biggest chal lenge is to see this [advancement! continue." The official announcement of Gardner- Webb as a university will be made in the opening Convocation in the spring semester. Many other events marking the transition have been planned by a university transition committee, headed by John Brock. Those plans will be revealed later, but it is hoped that students will take an active interest through clubs and organizations on campus. Efforts are being made to invite campus orga nizations to add to the celebration. Congratulations Bulldogs Drawing by John Miller, Jr. ...REFORM, from page 1 The other two are freshman, one opposing and one endorsing the bill. The Senator who initiated the bill through Senate was Jeff Price. Price felt that the bill was necessarily because of the “apathetic feeling towards academics on campus.” His point was that the faculty was having to cater to quite a few students who are just here to get through four years of College and not really learn, and this was adversely affecting those students who did want to learn. Through this bill Price hopes that those students not want ing to learn would get “weeded out.” A freshman backing this bill is Nicole Brown. Brown, an ardent supporter, said about the academic standards: “there’s obvi ously a need for change; if we’re lowest academically in our conference something is definitely wrong.” As a result of this. Brown said that our GPA of 2.5 is probably compa rable to another school’s (in our conference) 2.0. Both Brown and Price expressed an uncanny number of similar viewpoints, even though interviewed separately. They both felt that the changes currently going on on- campus were “cosmetic” and that change needed to come from the “inside out.” Both Price and Brown said that essay type testing formats were a must because after College in the real world there would be no room for multiple choice. Both also felt that the se niors and the freshman were generally in support of the bill. The only place the two felt differently was in regard of administration acceptance of the bill. Whereas Price felt that the administration would go along with the bill. Brown did not. Chris Johnson, who was the only sopho more to vote against it said that he did not agree with the bill becayse it seemed “kind of stringent”. He felt that people should be able to do as well as they can and that GPA should be a reflection of one’s desire to perform well, i.e. “self-driven.” Johnson has “high expectations of the school and that the school is respected academically.” Alecia Clifton, a freshman who spoke with The Pilot, said that it would not be fair to penalize a student who might have a bad semester due to personal problems. She pointed out that Gardner-Webb would be come too academic, and that a healthy bal ance between sports, academics, and other activities needed to be maintained. She said that true/false and multiple choices helped her “develop her own ideas,” and that she did not test well under essay type questions. Both Johnson and Clifton agreed on a number of things. Their basic idea was that Gardner-Webb is a “second-chance” school and that the current standards were fine for both of them. Clifton hoped that the bill would not pass; Johnson doubted it would. The bill has raised quite a few questions and concerns both on-campus and off. The bill was featured in The Charlotte Observer on November 12th and on the front page of The Shelby Star, November the 11th. The bill was presented to Student and Campus Life Committee on Friday, Novem ber 13. After through discussion, the com mittee recommended that the faculty and its Educational Policies and Standards Commit tee initiate a review of academic standards at the college and that interested students from the Senate and from SGA assist. The particu lars of the bill itself were sent "as informa tion." Dr. Stowe, chair of the committee, said that, "While I cannot condone some of the tactics used by these students to get our attention, how could I — or we — ignore student interest in high academic standards? Our committee has acted in good faith to hear these concerns and to initiate a faculty dialog. However, we expect our own efforts to be supported by some very tangible changes in student attitudes and efforts." "We do not agree that the methods sug gested by the bill will necessarily raise the standards or reputation of Gardner-Webb. However, students, faculty and administra tion can work together to make some positive changes." The committee's recommendation will be presented to the faculty on November 20th. f COLLEGE BOWL ^ Now is the time to begin to collect your question for the Fourth Annual Bowl Tour nament. The Event will be held next semes ter. See Professor Tom English for more information concerning questions or teams
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