Thursday, November 17, 1983 The Pendulum
Other Opinion
Page 3
Elon needs ‘good study atmosphere’
Elon College has, in recent
years, made many attempts to
improve its academic reputa
tion. It has been strengthened
programs and added majors,
such as psychology and foreign
languages, and has recently in
stituted the MBA program.
Such academic programs do
help the school become stron
ger academically. However,
one aspect of a strong
academic institution that con
tinues to be missing at Elon is
what might be called “an
atmosphere of learning.”
New programs may have
been created, and the curricu
lum may have been streng
thened, but the prevailing atti
tude of students at the college
continues to be one of expect
ing easy classes and assign
ments. “Getting by” is the key
phrase for many students at
Elon to describe their
academic goals: they simply
want to maintain the grades
necessary to remain in school
and eventually to graduate.
. There are a great many
reasons why a good atmos
phere of learning does not ex
ist at the school: the quality of
students is not as high as at
many good schools; the major
ity of classes and majors are in
business or some professional
field rather than liberal arts
study; and student interest in
learning does not generally ex
ist to a high degree.
It is dangerous, however, to
simply cite these problems and
fall back on them as reasons for
the lack of academic excell
ence at Elon. A good atmos
phere of learning has not been
established at Elon, and the
reasons for this do not rest
solely on the shoulders of “dis
interested” students, but
rather on the shoulders of
equally disinterested faculty
and administration.
The teaching staff at Elon has
not set as a priority estab
lishing a demanding, challeng
ing curriculum for students,
but has generally (as students
well know) fallen back on the
assumption that Elon students
are not capable of succeeding
in such a curriculum.
Classes, therefore, inspire
that famous “get by with as lit
tle effort as possible” attitude
of Elon students. Students can
afford to try to get by with as
little as possible, simply be
cause too many professors
seem to expect as little as
possible from them.
But there are other elements
which contribute, in their own
way, to the lack of a good
academic atmosphere at Elon.
One of these problems is the
brevity of library hours during
which students may pursue
their studies. McEwen Library
is open only until 11 p.m. on
week-days, and for very short
hours on weekends. These
hours do not allow enough time
for students to pursue their
academic studies.
There are many students who
simply cannot do ample study
ing in their residence halls,
even late at night, because of
noise and other distractions.
The library, or some other type
of study room, is the only place
where these students can have
enough quiet, and freedom
from distractions to get the
needed studying accom
plished.
In addition to the pragmatic
problem of students simply not
having ample time and an
appropriate place in which to
do good, quality studying,
another problem exists which
is linked to the overall
academic problem of the
school. The short library hours
exist, we are told, as a result
the lack of students’ demands
on the facility. In other words,
we are told that students do not
use the library enough, or
would not use the library
enough to warrant longer
hours.
This attitude channels back
to students, and once again
they are given the feeling that
they are not expected to accom-
plish a great deal academi
cally.
Football
America loves the foot
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Thousands of times
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This football season, enjoy
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Domino’s Pizza Delivers.'
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If the problem of inadequate
library hours cannot be re
medied by increasing library
hours, for financial reasons,
then an alternate studying site
could be established to give
students ample opportunity to
do their work at any hour they
choose.
Since no rooms at Elon are
large enough to accomodate
such a “study room,” one of the
halls in the Alamance or
Powell Buildings could be kept
open, with security guards
(who must work during these
hours anyway) maintaining
order. Many students in the
past have relied on these build
ings to study in when the lib
rary closes, but recently they
have not been allowed to stay
in these rooms after midnight
or 1 a.m.
Increasing library hours, or
creating an alternate study
site, should be as high a prior
ity for the school as adding ma
jors or other academic prog
rams. The root of the problem
of low academic standards at
Elon does not lie in a dearth of
good academic programs:
rather, it lies in the prevailing
attitude which is caused by low
expectations of both profes
sors and students concerning
academic performance, and by
problems such as the short lib
rary hours. /
The attitude which prevails
is that students can, and will,
do as little as possible to get by.
This can only be improved by
creating a good academic cli
mate, and one way to do this is
to give students a good, quiet
place, and plenty of hours in
which to study.
Longer study hours will not,
alone, create a good atmos
phere of learning, but it is a
positive step that must be
taken.
Yard Service
The brothers of Sigma Pi Fraternity are offering free help to
citizens of Elon College who are unable to perform simple jobs
around their houses or yards. Anyone interested in this service
can call either Richard Young (584-7937) or the Sigma Pi house
for information. Any reasonable tasks will be performed by the
fraternity at no charge.
OAK GROVE CAFE
^£.zuii
Home-Cooked Vegetables
Hot Biscuits
Open Lunch and Dinner
1826 S. Church St.
Burlington, N.C.
226-7392
Alamance
Newest
402 Huffman Mill Rd.
Burlington, N.C.
584-1378
Dining Room 11 AM - 11 PM
Daily
Lounge 11 AM till 1 AM Sunday 1 PM - 1 AM