October 2, 2006 Keeping Butts at Bay By Christina Felizzi and Ashley Salada Staff Writers clf5050@psu.edu & ans5075@psu.edu Currently, it is estimated that there are approximately 11 million smokers between the ages of 19 and 25 in the United States. A study was done by the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey and results showed that 70% of college students had tried smoking. Among those who had smoked, 42% were current smokers, 19% were current frequent smokers, and 13% were cur- rent daily smokers. Of the students who had smoked daily, 81% began at age 18 or younger, and 19% began to smoke daily at age 19 or older; 82% of the students who had smoked daily had tried to quit, but a ratio of 3 to 4 students were still hooked. Plus, females were just as likely as males to have tried smoking daily or to have tried smoking a whole cigarette. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts shows that 85% of colleges consider students’ smoking a problem, and 81% of colleges prohibit smoking in all public areas; 27% forbid smoking in all indoor areas, such as stu- dents' dormitories and classrooms. The students on our Delco campus seem indifferent to the clouds of smoke near the buildings. Four students were questioned on their feelings about smoking on campus - two smokers and two The Lion's Eye a i hss ’ a denen TC aid WALL Page 3 non-smokers. When asked if they smoked closetothe |= .. . building (closer than the 20 feet advised by various | signs,) both smokers, who were in sight of the main building doors, confessed to smoking closer than they should. The smokers had seen the signs; one said he just ignored the signs while the other said he smoked there because it was more comfortable. The school |i has park benches with overhead umbrellas closer to the school than 20 feet, a safe haven for smokers in the rain. Yet there appears to be no rain coverage pastthe = . 20 feet. One student said that smoking next to the = .- building is a lot easier and faster than going to one of | ** the designated areas. Non-smokers feel the effects of smoking, too. Many non-smokers on campus have to walk through the ; clouds of smoke that gravitate to the doorways, but the i two interviewed seemed not to mind too much. Both non-smokers confessed that the smoke bothers them, but not enough to complain about it. When asked what could pos- sibly be done about it, one non-smoker said the school should be a little stricter with the rules they are making, but not committing to. Another girl reasoned that the smokers would be pushed fur- ther back than the advised 20 feet, but it seems like that would not matter much away. So, what exactly can be done about the smok- a oy & ge , id Y a ae 5 § ELAINE ai Je | q as Afl{iss 40 the as Fas. Dwiding overcorne The Wall of Smoke. ing, besides wearing a gas mask? Nothing really. If the smoke does not bother us, we have got nothing to say. And if it does, maybe a friendly cease fire could be arranged. Either way, it seems that the students at Penn State Delco either love smoking, orhaey Art by Christina Felizzi Beating the System: Late Adds and Independent Studies By Dr. Andrew Walter D.D. DrAndrewWalter@psu.edu Staff Writer Ever get bogged down in a semester with too many hard classes, but if you were to late drop any, you'd lose your full-time status? Have you ever been one those stu- dents who are mid-semester and found out you need an extra couple credits to graduate or accomplish some other goal such as changing assignment to University Park? Conversely, maybe you're a student who wishes to remain here all four years and wants to do everything possible to accomplish this goal. Well, even if you aren't and just are someone looking for a few more classes or opportunities not offered on the regular schedule of courses or through e-Lion, this is the article for you. The answer to these problems and more may be solved by one or both of two resources often left untapped by the everyday Penn State student, late add and the independent study program. Late add allows students to add courses to their sched- ules after the deadline for drop/add. At first, this seems trivial, but the applications are far greater. Diana Branch, Registration Staff Assistant, explains "[Unlike late drop,] you can actually late add a course up until the last day of class, [although] I don't encourage it." What this means, is that if at any point during the semester students need to boost the number of credits they are taking, they have the means. This comes particularly in handy for students who either realize that they need certain other courses as requirements that they haven't scheduled, or students who can't afford to fall into the realm of a part-time student. In order to late add a course, students must first find a course they wish to take. They then must speak with the professor to see if s/he is willing to allow them entry. Next, the student must obtain a regular drop/add form from the Registration office (105 Main) and fill out the necessary information (including having their advisor's and professor's signatures). This is then handed back to the Registration office and the course is added to the stu-- dent's schedule. 1 FE ARE ~ 7% BL SEE i = SE when considering late adding a course. It is under the pro- fessor's own discretion as to whether or not the student will be allowed into a course. Branch warns, "[Professors] they may not want to add a student into the class after drop/add because it may already be full, or, they may have other reasons." If a professor denies a student entry into a class, that student may then research to see if another professor is offer- ing the same class or if: there" is another professor qualified to teach the class (the latter i i of these examples will be explained in detail later). The student may then try again to gain entry to the course. Students who are attempting to avoid the part-time status should also dou- ble-check their late drop credit availability, as only 16 late drop credits are allowed per student. Additionally, late adding a course further along in the semester obviously means a game of tortoise and the hare in terms of "catch- up;" make certain the hare wins. One other thing students should be aware of is that there is a $6 charge for all trans- actions made after the drop/add period, so one must pay off that crippling balance sometime between the time of the transaction and the next semester's tuition. The second topic of discussion is the independent study program. What this program allows is for students to receive credit for work they do outside of the normal schedule of courses. Students may receive anywhere from 5 to 18 credits for work they complete based upon the amount of work and approval from Academic Affairs and a professor willing to oversee course material and its qual- ity. : : The applications of this allow for some interesting opportunities. Students with hectic work schedules are able to complete work on their own time, avoiding painful time-conflicts. They also, and more saliently, are able to schedule courses not offered during a particular semester, or even at that particular campus. For example, a student 1 [a ad 1 graduate with his or her desired major may remain at the Delaware County campus and take the course under the guidance of a qualified teacher willing to grade the stu- dent's work. This technique can be utilized as many times as students wish during their Penn State careers (given the proper approval and guidance), allowing many, many pos- sibilities for requirements to majors and minors not offered to be completed right here at our own beautiful campus. Going about setting up an independent study is similar to the late add process. A form can be obtained through the Academic Affairs office (212 Main). Students must first decide what course they'd be interested in taking (this can be done through the use of the Penn State Bluebook [available in almost every office on campus as well as found online through www.psu.edu] which lists all the courses offered throughout the university [when doing this don't forget to copy down the schedule number as well as the course name and number as the needed forms require it]), then they must find a professor qualified to teach the chosen course. E.g. if one wished to take a 400 level psy- chology course, they'd most likely have no problem find- ing someone in our HDFS staff more than capable of over- seeing that particular course. This professor must then supply the student with a syllabus for the course including grading policies and a brief description of the course. The student may then submit the form after receiving and advi- sor's signature to Dr. George W. Franz, director of aca- demic affairs. If the form is approved, the student then must take the signed paper to Registration and have them add the course to the student's schedule. As with late adding, students must be aware that profes- sors as well as Dr. Franz hold the ability to deny any pro- posal. As before, if a professor declines a proposal, it may then be submitted to another qualified professor. As one may be wondering, both of these methods of late adding and forming an independent study CAN be uti- lized at the same time. The rules and processes for both apply as to how this is gone about. However, students, as always, should first seek the counsel of advisors before making decisions which may affect their education to ensure the best course of action is taken.
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