Dear Editor:
Students seem to resist measures that might deny them access to the University as much as efforts to improve learning. The axis of the debates on tuition and alcohol policies is skewed. The confusion arises by a failure to realize that the coveted "college experience" is a myth. One does not need to be in college or even live in a college town to drink a lot of beer. One can do volunteer work, make new friends, play sports and join clubs without paying tuition.
Instead of chattering about the so-called "college experience," students concerned with their futures need to think hard about the meaning of a college education. If you are not studying five hours a day, you are not getting a college education. If your studies consist of memorizing material you do not understand and will soon forget, you are not getting a college education.
If you are not studying a foreign language, you are not becoming an educated person. If you cannot do high school math (e.g., solve x/3 + x/5 =1 for x; find the volume and surface area of a cube two inches on each edge), you cannot benefit from a college education. If you are being examined with multiple choice tests, you are not attending an institution of higher learning.
If your advisers suggest courses to "help your GPA," you are being screwed by the system and yourself. If SIU students want the state to underwrite their efforts to become educated, they must convince the general public they are a viable investment. This then is the crux of the debate.
Michael Sullivan
associate professor, mathematics
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
