4A Monday, February 26, 1996 OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN VIEWPOINT Recreational center fees could be hard on students Tuition already is hard enough on the bank accounts of KU students. Although it may seem small in comparison to the total amount of costs to attend the University of Kansas, an extra $77 added to the current student fees to build a new recreation center should not be the legacy the student body would want to leave behind. The debate about whether to build the proposed student recreational center will end tomorrow and Wednesday in a student referendum vote. For the referendum to pass, 10 percent of the student body must vote, and of those 10 percent, a majority must say yes. Aren't there alternatives? Last week the recreational facility program planning committee passed out fliers illustrating the need for this new center and reasons to vote for it. According to the committee's fact sheet, the center will give students greater employment opportunities, a jogging track, an aerobic studio and a rock climbing wall. And all areas will be climate controlled and handicapped accessible. So why should students say no to such a great opportunity? Because a student recreational center shouldn't be our top priority at the University of Kansas. Jason Fitzell, a founding member of Students Against the Recreation Center, said that the organization's first priority was to educate students so they could be more informed about the recreational center situation. We all are in favor of improving recreational opportunities, but not without having the opportunity to explore plans other than the one for which students are voting. "We want students to know that this isn't their only choice," Fitzell said. "We can go back to the THE ISSUE: Recreation center drawing board." Shannon Tauscher, another founding member of Students Against the Recreation Center explained that students' arguments that they have to wait up to 10 minutes just to use a weight machine doesn't hold water when compared to some of the other problems students face on campus. "Ive had to wait over an hour to use a computer at the computer center," she said. Can we afford to vote yes? Why couldn't some of the money allocated toward building a new recreational center improve some other student resources such as providing more computers for the computer center or providing more efficient late night transportation for night classes and activities. One wonders if the money allocated to the center also would provide transportation opportunities for the students who would rely on the bus system to get to the center? If the recreational center is built, would that give Student Senate an open invitation to tax student resources even further? What would happen if Student Senate required more resources for the center than allotted? The burden to correct the problem would be placed on the students. An issue such as this might not seem important enough to convince students to vote against the center. However, considering the implications a referendum like this could have on students, many can't afford not to. Proposed fee for student recreation center Starting in Fall 1996, the proposed Student recreation center would raise student fees an increasing amount each year, ultimately reaching $90 per semester. Fall 1996 Fall 1997 Fall 1998 Fall 1999 $43 $65 $65 $90 DOUG WEINSTEIN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD KANSAN STAFF ASHLEY MILLER Editor VIRGINIA MARGHEIM Managing editor ROBERT ALLEN News editor TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser Jeff MacNelly / CHICAGO TRIBUNE Editors Qualified admissions can't be explained by statistics The numbers don't lie, but they can make things confusing sometimes. HEATHER NIEHAUS Business manager KONAN HAUSER Retail sales manager JAY STEINER Sales and marketing adviser JUSTIN KNUPP Technology coordinator Campus ... Joann Birk ... Philip Brownlee Editorial ... Paul Todd Associate editorial ... Craig Lang Matthew McDonald Sports ... Tom Erickson Associate sports ... Bill Petulia Photo ... Andy Rulletstad Matt Flookner Graphics ... Noah Musser Special sections ... Novella Dummers Wire ... Tara Trennay Illustration ... Micha Leaker Business Staff The faculty here, from the chancellor on down the ladder, all work to give the University an academic feeling: the feeling that an education really means something in the day-to-day humbug of burgers, ESPN and the World Wide Web. The University of Kansas should be the best in areas other than basketball, and everyone in the nation should know it. — that is the real pursuit of intellectual knowledge beyond statistics and dates and vocabulary terms — should be something that every student, teacher and faculty member wants more than anything at a university. It should be evident in the students' faces as they walk to class and study on the Hill. Wes Williams, dean of educational services, said the best recruiters for the University were not the people that go to high schools with videos and viewbooks. The best recruiters are students who come here and have a good educational experience to tell their friends back home about it. Freshmen who are unprepared by their high-school curricula and drop out after a semester or a year won't do this. if the KU student body was made up of entirely of hopeful, qualified students, then one statistic wouldn't lie or confuse anyone. One hundred percent of the people attending this University would be here to gain this feeling of academic achievement. Qualified admissions would be a step toward this goal. And more important than the numbers is the education itself. The need and desire for education Campus mgr ... Karen Gorsch Regional mgr ... Kelly Compson Mark Olmsted Special Sections mgr ... Rachel Gahill Production mgr ... Rachel Gahill Marketing director ... Heather Vailer Public Relations dir ... Angie Adamson Creative director ... Ed Kowalski Stacey Wongham Internship/o-op mgr On Wednesday, I wrote an editorial about the University of Kansas' need for qualified admissions. The editorial used 20th day enrollment statistics from the University and peer institutions to help make the point that fewer freshmen make it here than at peer schools. One statistic in particular may have caused some confusion. It said that there were 32 percent fewer KU freshmen after the fall semester. Actually, many of these freshmen became sophomores at the University and did not leave for greener pastures. Paul Todd is a Littleton, Colo., senior in lournalism and environmental studies. What matters is the student's experience while he or she is here. I think that students who read this statistic realized that moving up a level would account for part of the decline. But I also think that it is the University Daily Kansan's responsibility to be clear and not assume that anything is obvious. With this in mind, I have some more statistics that may prove a little better the need for qualified admissions. From Fall 1993 to Fall 1994, more frosh left the University than at any of its peer institutions. According to the office of institutional research and planning, a frosh is a freshman who never has attended college, has attended only a summer term just prior to admission in the fall or a student who earned college credit in high school without being admitted to a university. A freshman is any student who has completed fewer than 30 credit hours. About 25 percent of the University's Fall 1993 frost left during the school year, reducing the class headcount to 2,700 from 3,603. At the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, which probably has the most stringent qualified admissions of our peer schools, only 6.7 percent left during the 1993-94 school year. The other peer schools had drop-out rates between 17 and 22 percent. EDITORIAL EDITOR Again, though, those numbers From 1983 to 1992, the freshmen attrition rate at the University was about 20 percent. In 1993, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences began a new policy of academic probation for freshmen and sophomores. The policy contributed to an increase in the freshman dropout rate to 25.1 percent that year. In 1994-95, the rate fell slightly, to 24.4 percent. Perhaps the college's new probation policies further prove that a lot of fresh who are admitted to the University aren't prepared. These unprepared students are being monitored and caught sooner, and they are dropping out earlier in their college careers. could be deceiving. These statistics demonstrate the need for qualified admissions. If not for academic reputation, than we at least need a qualified-admission policy to keep those individuals who are not ready for college away until they are better prepared. For people who come here and fail, it can be devastating to their future endeavors. The whole story cannot be told with numbers. Students leave for reasons other than bad grades. Freshmen on the way out
SchoolPercent of 1993 freshmen who did not return in 1994in-state Admission requirementsSource: KU Office of Institutional Research and Planning
KU25.1%None.
University of Oregon23.4%3.0 grade point average minimum. Students with just below a 3.0 would be considered if test scores are high.
University of Oklahoma22.2%A 3.0 grade point average and a ranking in the top one third of the student's graduating high school class are required.
University of Colorado20.1%Creates a rating index combining student's grade point average and test scores. 50 percent of freshmen admitted in fall 1996 entered with a grade point average between 3.14 and 3.67,and ACT scores between 23 and 27.
University of Iowa17.0%Creates a rating index combining student's grade point average and test scores. Students must also be in the top half of graduating class.
University of North Carolina6.7%No exact standards must be met,but admission is very competitive. 74 percent of freshmen admitted in fall 1996 graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Noah Musser/KANSAN I've noticed something lately that has me a little worried. OUT FROM THE CRACKS People are not getting as much work done since the Internet became so prevalent in our lives. I'm guilty, too. There are times when I should be researching an author for a paper and I eventually end up in the CBS chat room, talking to fellow Young and the Internet can be dangerous if not travelled in moderation Restless fans about why Keesha doesn't deserve Malcolm and how Nikki needs to get a life and leave Sharon alone. Or, I'll spend an hour drafting an e-mail to the writers of *ER* about how I think they are messing with Carter's character too much. Before I know The Internet is just plain fun, and we would rather be having fun than doing real work. Maybe once the novelty wears off, people will get busy again. But when we think about how many "novelties" are still around (cybermovies and cybertelevision, just to name a couple!) we need to understand that like most things in life, the entertainment of the Internet should be enjoyed only in moderation. It is going to be hard, though, not to say something to NBC about Carter. E-mail is another dilemma. Students and staff legitimately need e-mail to get things done, but too often we use e-mail in place of personal phone calls, logging on for extended sessions and just shooting the breeze with friends and family. Again, who's going to know what you are doing as long as you look professional doing it? And it is too tempting for some of us not to get sidetracked. it, I'm too tired to actually do anything, and my eyes hurt from staring at the screen. The scary thing is that workers can look as if they really are doing something important just because they are poised in front of a monitor. The boss walks in — so what? You're doing on-line research for something or other. Or, you can do what my sister does. She has a program where she can click on an icon that says, "Quick, the boss is coming!" and a fancy, fake spreadsheet miraculously appears on the screen. The rest of the time, she could have been logged onto the MTV web site, getting nothing done but having a nice time at work and finding out where all the new concerts will be. The problem is that Internet software has become so userfriendly that even the most cyberspaced-challenged folks can move out of the slow lane on the information superhighway. Most popular web sites have spectacular graphics and unique ways of interacting. For a Hollywood groupie, the Internet is a dream, offering what seems like intimate discussions with glamorous stars. I haven't done any scientific research, but I have walked into a few offices on campus where a staff member is clearly not at work, but is instead cruising the Internet looking for cool new sites and reading about fun stuff. You can find everything on the Internet it seems. And you can find people just like you who want to talk about it. Donna Davis is an Overland Park graduate student in education. By Jeremy Patnoi