Opinion
Grade on content, not format
By CHRISTEN CROLEY According to MSNBC.com, 1 in 5 college students
Staff Writer constantly feel stressed over massive workloads, tight
CMCS4O3@PSU.EDU deadlines, financial struggles and immense pressure to
perform academically. Another staggering 40 percent
of students report stress most of the time, mainly due to the unlucky distribution of major
assignments at once. Most students reading this can probably agree to some degree that
homework piles up easily, as does the motivation to just get it done. It’s hard enough to
pay the bills, let alone enjoy life when a mountain of term papers and reading assignments
are looming over that metaphorical shoulder. It is in these moments of crunch time that
students hammer out the best of their cumulative knowledge, agonizing over pages of
notes and diagrams, delving deep to extract the most pleasing, impressive and appropriate
answers. It doesn’t matter if no one has slept or showered in four days—all of that effort
and hard work will surely translate into an amazing grade worthy of framing.
Unless of course, the paper wasn’t stapled correctly.
It’s impossible to deny that some professors’ neuroticisms are encroaching on the sanity
of their students. Though one might take offense, it’s important to note that anxious and
controlling people exist worldwide, and their wrath upon society is painful. The stress of
few becomes the stress of many, and deeper messages responsible for communicating the
important facets of life are lost on anal-retentive shortcomings.
Any college student can attest to that one professor who gripes about handwritten
assignments or despises Internet research. Mind you, these are milder examples. Although
every instructor has a specific style and certain requirements, some push the meaning of
fastidiousness to an entirely new level.
For some reason, the first bone of contention in any class taught by these difficult-to
please professors regards paper formatting. It’s not the APA, MLA, ASA crap that induces
stress and possible mental breakdowns among students, rather it’s the tiny, insignificant
elements that cause fits of rage. Losing points over the placement of name, date and class
is not uncommon, as well as the manner in which you stapled that IS page research paper
that took five hours of your life you’ll never see again. It’s not a stretch in the least bit to
say students receive zero points on weighted assignments because the professor didn’t
like the paper clip that held it together.
Then there is the great cell phone debate. As younger generations seamlessly transition
into the technological curve of instant communication, our conventional professors are
cursing AT&T and Verizon Wireless for their detrimental effect on lectures. Yes, it is
rude to text and surf the web as the teacher struggles to educate and inform their classes.
However, it’s illegal to take that inconsiderate student’s cell phone. It’s understandable the
frustration professors everywhere must feel, but most take the high road and appropriately
lower the student’s grade. The reality is college students are adults, and as such pay their
own bills, including cell phone and tuition, therefore reserving the right to utilize either
as they please.
Ultimately, a professor’s demanding and difficult standards only hinder classroom
performances. How can an instructor refuse to read something incorrectly formatted? Why
on earth is it acceptable to fail a hardworking student because he or she overlooked some
insignificant detail about page numbering or stapling? It is infuriating and discouraging,
and it creates a stigma that success is an impossible dream. Students are not children to be
patronized on behalf of a control-crazed instructor and their thoughts deserve evaluation,
stapled or not.
The Bowl Championship Series is in serious need of change
By Seth Goodyear The Bowl Championship Series, or BCS, is the current way that
Staff Writer that college football decides its champion, however it is a flawed
SMGS27B@PSU.EDU system that needs changed.
The BCS is made up of three elements: the first element, the Harris Interactive poll is
made up of 114 influential members of the college football world. They come together
and vote on where they feel the teams such be ranked awarding them points. When the
points from each writer are added together, the teams are ranked in order with the teams
receiving the most on top of the poll.
The second element is the USA Today Coaches poll. This poll is voted on by the most
informed coaches in the country that the NCAA feels can put any personal bias aside
while voting. Their votes are all added together and they rank the team in order based on
which team receives the most votes.
The third and most control controversial element are the 5 computer polls. These polls
rank the teams based upon different elements. They are strength of schedule, wins and
loses, and margin of victory. They also give bonus points to teams that undefeated no
matter what conference they play in.
This all sound pretty fair, but when this system has been used it has two distinct prob
lems. The first problem is that if three teams from the six major conferences have no
November 4.2009
THE CAPITAL TIMES
Making time to volunteer
By FARISA PARVEEN I come from one of the poorest countries in the world,
Staff Writer Bangladesh, where more than half the population is
FIP9OOS@PSU.EDU below poverty line. Bangladesh falls in the UN’s list
of “World’s 50 Poorest Countries.” I always thought I
had a fair perspective on people in need. However, after coming to the United States, the
perspective that I had before changed significantly.
First of all, I was astounded by the number of people suffering from mental and/or
physical retardation in the US. I was even more shocked to see beggars on the road when I
went to Maryland to visit family. That was the last thing I expected here. There are barely
any opportunities to help people in need back home, which is why I was adamant about
taking full advantage of the system here which takes care of people in need relatively
well.
Even though I had some experience in working with the underprivileged, such as orphans
from back home, I knew working with mentally retarded people would be a completely
different experience. I started working as volunteer for the United Cerebral Palsy, UCP,
in Mechanicsburg, PA two months ago.
UCP operates all over the US to advance the independence of people with disabilities,
including people with cerebral palsy. Working at UCP made me rethink the way we, as
college students, citizens of our respective countries or just being the privileged section
of the society, are living our lives. If this country has so many people in need and lacks
people to help them, shouldn’t we make it our duty to do something about it?
If the people we love ever got themselves into a position where they became helpless,
and even ourselves for that matter, wouldn’t we want people to help us? I wonder how
hard it can be to take an hour off from our busy schedule to do something nice for these
less fortunate ones.
The whole concept of going to college is to make us stronger and well-rounded, which
should mean doing things outside the box. We, as a whole, can make a big difference if
our motives are similar and pure enough. Of course, being a college student myself, I
know how stressful college life can be. However, every other weekend, we can take an
hour off at the least, and devote our time to rehabilitations, orphanages, group homes such
as the ones under UCP or other NGOs, or non-governmental organizations that work with
issues such as domestic violence, child abuse, etc. The list just goes on unfortunately.
Attending reputed universities like Perm State should help us realize our responsibilities
more and set a better example for the next generation. I think we need to get a strong
grasp on the fact that these less fortunate and helpless people are our own, and we should
be more responsive in the name of humanity at the very least.
I met a former Perm State graduate, Michael Haron, who works as a manager at one of
the group homes under UCP in Mechanicsburg. He started his volunteer work as a Big
Brother for United Way in his junior year and has been involved in activities that help
the underprivileged ever since. I felt that we should be able to relate to people like him
since he graduated from our very own college. There is a lot to learn and be motivated
by people like him.
People are so selfish in today’s society and detached from humanity that they have
become insensitive towards the less fortunate. I believe by volunteering, college students
and anyone for that matter can regain a sense of social responsibility, and also reap an
emotional reward by knowing that they are making a difference in someone’s life.
losses or the same record, it splits the championship and does not give all of the teams a
fair chance.
A perfect example is the 2004-2005 football season. USC, representing the Pac-10,
Oklahoma, representing the Big 12, and Auburn, representing the SEC, all finished the
regular season undefeated. The BCS voted USC and Oklahoma to play in the champion
ship game. USC won beating Oklahoma by 35 points and Auburn won its bowl game as
well. This caused the championship to be split by both USC and Auburn while neither
team got the chance to earn the title outright.
The other problem with the BCS is that it does not give teams that play outside the six
major conferences a fair shot at the title. Several teams have been able to earn a BCS bowl
and they are 3-1 in those games.
To fix the problems with the BCS, I suggest that the NCAA switch to eight-team playoff.
The winners of the six major conferences would get automatic births and would be two
wild cards for Mid-Major schools. The games would be played in the major bowl games,
and would make television networks, the NCAA, and the schools and conferences a lot
more money. Not only would it be one of the most exciting tournaments in sports, but also
it would be a fair way of giving every team a shot at winning a championship.