Cabittet to Air Grading Pi
(This is the first in a Mies of
two articles on this prineMed
gradingstem. TonWriPOW's
article will sy deal with a student
opinion poll, and. wading sys
tems at other school?, and honor
points.)
A report on a possible new
grading system for the Uni
versity, and an evaluation of
the present system will be pre
sented to All-University Cab
inet tomorrow night.
The study was done by Rudolph
Lutter, a committee-of-one, at the
request of Cabinet. The report
contains past studies • concerning ,
the problem, a student-opinion
sample, and a proposed grading
system. • .
The proposed syStern suggints
using number's from 5 to sip,
with the addition of dicisnals
Today's Weather—
• Cloudy and
Warmer
VOL. 55, No. 82
Kaminsky to Present
'Dixieland' Concert
Max Kaminsky will present a two hour Dixieland jazz concert
beginning at 7iBo tonight in Schwab Auditorium. One of the charter
members of the "Chicago School of Jazz," he has been acclaimed
for his new interpretations of standard jazz numbers.
Max has played with every top jazz man in the world. When
Artie Shaw recorded the all-time
record hit "Begin the Beguine",
it was Max's trumpet passages
that contributed much to 'its suc
cess. Max has recorded with his
all-star group on RCA Victor,
Blue Note, Decca, and Columbia.
Many of his earlier discs are now
among the rarest and most valu
able jazz collector's items.
Introduces "Saints"
One night at the Village Van
guard with his trio, the opening
act did not arrive on time, and
the owner asked -Max to fill in a
number on the show. That num
ber was "The Saints Go Marchin'
In," which Max has almost single
handedly made the national an
them of Dixieland.
Tonight's concert will feature
several campus sit-ins, Fred War
ing, second, semester hotel ad
ministration major, and William
Rother, eighth semester forestry
major, will sit in for a while with
the Haminsky group.‘Waring will
play the trombone and Rcither
the electric guitar.
500 Tickets Sold
Approximately 500 tickets have
been sold so far for the concert.
'rhe Jazz Club and Campus Chest
are sponsoring it, with the pro
ceeds to go to Camptui Chest. -
Tickets' are $l.OO and are on
sale at the Student Union desk
in Old Main ! , the Harmony Shop,
at the bulletin-board on the Mall,
slid from members ce-thi Jazz
Club. They will be on sale , et the
SU desk gran' 6:30 p.pi. until the
concert begins: . •
- Members of. the Jazz Club can
pick up their membership cards
in the lobby: of Schwab Audi
torium before the concert. A re
served block of seats will. be set
aside for members of the club:
Eng Scholarships
Available Now
Several '
scholarships carrying
awards varying from $250 to $5OO
annually are alrailable to students
in electrical engineering, indus
trial engineering, and mechanical
engineering, B. B. Stavely, assis
tant dean of the Colleg' of Engi
neering and Architecture, has an
nounced.
Students who are in •the upper
two-fifths pt' their class may apply
for these scholarships, immediate
ly at Dr. Stavely's office, 204 Main
Engineering.„
Dean's Coffee Hour Set
'Adean of men'scoffee our
*ll be held ,at 4 pp.' Awnon:ow
In 'lO9- Ord: Kali.
for accurst!. The number is
requirld-fOr the use of decimals
and *Malady. the .2 presently
• Used. The sip, under the pr..
Posed system. is equal to a value
of titty to sero, which is the .
same as our present .1 and be
low. •
The removal of the -2 is based
on the fact that the student is
penalized three times for one of
fense. 1. The student must repeat
the • course material. 2. he gets
negative grade reports, 3. if he
passes the repeated course, his
college record still includes the
the negative grade points.
A grade of 2 or ahoy.. would
be required to got credit for the
course, but a course could be
passed without credits, with a
grade bf 1 td 1.9. Any grade be
, math a sip .9 will be considered
as failure.
Two alternate plans were sug
gested for the transition from the
13 a ity
STATE COLLEGE
Max Kaminsky
Presents Jazz Tonight
Chess Club Beaten
By Altoona Team
The Altoona Chess Club de
feated the Penn State Chess Club,
5-0, in competition held Sunday
afternoon in 3 Sparks.
Members of the Penn State
team,. who played Sunday are
Fredrick Kerr, second semester
science -major and president of
the Chess Club; Robert Dejaiffe,
second semester chemical engi
neering major, William 'Friedman,
sixth semester science m'a jo r,
Owen Webster, graduate student
in chemistO, and Ferenc Toth, a
resident of State College.
H-Bomb Affects 7000 Sq. Miles
WASHINGTON, ,Feb: 15' (X)—
The 'Atomic Energy Commission,
in a new warning of the horrors
of atomic war, said today its H
bomb blast in the Pacific last
March seriously Ontaminated
7000 square miles.
The areas affected was almost as
great -as the 7836 square miles
coVered,by. the state of New Jer
.
s,ey.
AEC - Chairman Lewis L. Strauss
discussed "radioactive fallout" in
a report which included' some in
formation that has been secret up
until now. '
"Since nuclear weapons are in
possesion of the U,S.S.It i ". Strauss
Ai "the commission believes the
ericen people •wish -to- be in
formed..-regarding the. danger of
present system to the neW one.
Alternative one is that all final
grades be recorded in decimals on
the student's transcript. A simple
key could be provided so the read
er could evaluate .the decimal
grades in terms of grades record
ed under the present system. a
The second alternative is that
grades be reported in decimals.
The rscordees office would then
record the decimal grades be
ginning with the freshman class.
Grades would be translated to
their equivalent for those who
have gradei reported under the
old system. This means that an
upperclassman who obtained a
4.5 in a course under a now sys
tem would have a 4 recorded on
his transcript.
Some of the factors which Lut
ter felt the new grading system
included were:
1. Elimination of the possibility
of a superior student being rated
FOR A BETTER PENN. STATE
PA., WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 16, 1955
Traffic Court
Sets Record;
$159 in Fines
Keeping pace . with the increase
in traffic violations, traffic court
established a new record for fines
when it levied $159 against viola
tors Monday night.
The previous high was assessed
at the court's Nov. 8 session when
it levied - $124 against offenders.
The total could have been much
higher. One violator had a ten
dollar fine suspended, while four
others had their cases dismissed.
The court ordered two cars be
sent horn?, and suspended the
campus driving privileges of three
more for 60 days.
Three first offenders were fined
a dollar each. Six three dollar
fines were given to second viola
tors. Five third-time infractors
were assessed $25, and seven had
ten dollar fines given them for
four or more offenses.
Along with the record-setting
amount of fines, the court issued
a warning to people who drive
their cars on campus for three
weeks or longer. They must have
their, vehicles registered with the
Campus Patrol. Failure to com
ply with this regulation will re
sult in a fine of two dollars.
Infirmary Visiting
To Be Restricted
Visiting hours will not be
obsorved at the University Hos
pital for the next two or three
weeks.
Accoiding to the T.lnivenity
Health 'Service, the restriction
of visiting hours for a short
period of time is believed to
minimize the spread of illness.
Students suffering front colds
and virus • have kept the in
firmary filled to capacity dur
ing the past week, It was filled
again yesterday.
nuclear explosions and the meas
ures' which individuals can take
to protect themselves if an atomic
attack shguld ever occur.
"In the event of war involving
the use of atomic weapons, the
fallout from large nuclear bombs
exploded on or near the surface
of the earth would create serious
hazard to civilian populations in
large areas outside the target
zones.
"The Atomic Energy Commis-.
sion hopes that these dangers will•
never' be experienced by man
kind."
Today's report dealt largely with
radioactive perils far beyond the
point of explosion. The commis
sion has, in earlier reports, given
details . on the devastation tti be
-
expected close to target points.
beneath an inferior student in a
semester or an all-university av
erage. An example is of a student
carrying six 3 credit courses, get
ting 89 in each course, and being
given a 2 semester average. A se
cond student, also carrying six
3 credit courses, gets 90 in three,
and 80 in three. He receives a
numerical semester average of 85,
or under our present system, a 2.5
average. This effects all students
who place.in the upper half of a
present grade unit, from 3 to -2.
2. Letting the instructor
place students in their true rela
tive position of accomplishment.
This system would let the in
structor differentiate between
an 80 and 89.
3. Accurately reporting the in
structor's final evaluation, while
not interfering with his freedom
in establishing a final grade, or
his choice of a method for arriving
at that final grade. ,
Totte . gitut
Improved Administration
Of Justice is Needed,
Says Forum Speaker
Dr. James M. Hepbron, noted criminologist, called for an "im
provement in our administration of justice" as a partial cure for the
high rate of crime in the United States at the fifth community forum
last night.
"When we make apprehension highly certain, trial prompt, con
viction final, and treatment ade
quate to suit the needs of the in
dividual, crime can be reduced,"
he said.
Dr. Hepbron told the forum
audience the United States has
the highest crime rate in the civi
lized world.
Compares Crime Rate
He pointed out that while 28
crimes of violence were commit
ted on London streets last year,
280 were committed in his home
town of Baltimore, Md.
Dr. Hepbron said many Euro
pean criminologists attribute the
United State's high crime rate
to inefficient and corrupt ad
ministration of justice.
As a help toward improving
the situation, Dr. Hepbron called
for "community organization on
a continuing 'basis."
Cites Program
As an example of how such an
organization can help the ad
ministration of justice, Dr. Hep
bron cited a program which was
undertaken in his hometown re
cently.
The police department and• the
justice system were studied to
evaluate their function. Steps
were taken to improve the sys
tem through careful coordination
of the various branches and im
proving the calibre of men.
He pointed out that . when the
program was begun only one per
son was arrested for every five
crimes. Today the ratio is one ar
rest for every two.
According to a recent study
(Continued on page 'eight)
,On the basis of test data from
"the very large thermonuclear de
vice" set off at Bikini Atoll last
March and other information, the
commission made the following
estimates:
"Following the March 1, 1954
expiosion, there was sufficient ra
diotictivity in a downwind belt
about 140 miles in length and of
varying width up to 20 miles to
have seriously threatened the lives
of nearly all persons in the area
who took no protective measures.
"Some distance farther from the
point of detonation. at about 160
miles downwind and along the
axis of the ellipse, the amount of
radioactivity would have serious
ly lhreal,eneti , the lives of about
one half of the persons in the area
who took no protection measures.
4. Giving the present semester
and all-university averages, corn•
puted to the hundredth, validity.
The average is written in the hun+
dredth, for example, an all-unia
versity average of 2:56, gives the
appearance of a precise ealcula+
txon. In the new system this would
be true.
5. Establishing the butrueb.
or's right to have his evaluation
of the student's relative positias
reported as he evaluated them,
and establishing the student's
right to have a true picture of
his attainment in the course.
6. Giving the University a grad
ing system which would be corn•
parable with systems used at units
versities of similar size and sari ,
ricula.
Lutter felt that some of the re
sults of the system would be that
it would encourage students to
work at top efficiency, as they
(Continued on page eight)
By DON SHOEMAKER
Men's Team
Is First
In Debate
The Men's Debate team took
first place in the Marshall-Wythe
Debate Tournament, held at Wil
liam and Mary College last week
end. This is the first major tourna
ment the University has won
since the Eastern Forensic Tour
nament in May. 1952.
Twenty-six colleges and uni
versities were represented at the
debate. The question was Re
solved: That • the United States
should recognize the Communist
government of China.
Affirmative Team
Members of the affirmative
team for the University► were Sid
ney Goldblatt, eighth semester
pre-medical major, and Benjamin
Sinclair, eighth semester arts and
letters major. The team has five
wins and one loss. It defeated
Princeton University, East Ten
nessee State Teachers College,
Emory and Henry College, Bridge•
water College, Hofstra College,
and lost to Notre Dame.
David Mechler, eighth seine..
ter pre-medical major, and Jona
than Plaut, fourth semester in
dustrial engineering mnjor, de.
bated the negative side. They had
six wins, defeating the University
of Richmond, the University of
Pennsylvania, Washington and
Lee University, Hampden-Sidney
College, the University of Ten•
nessee, and Rutgers University.
The University tied with Georgr
Washington University in flu
number of wins and losses. Howes
ever, Penn State was 40 point@
higher in speaker rating points.
The debating team won a silver
trophy cup for its victory. Dr.
Harold J. O'Brien, assistant pro
fessor of speech at the University
and coach of the debate team, am
companied the group to the tour
nament.
On Thursday the team will de
bate at the Federal Penitentiary
at Lewisburg on the recognition
of Communist China. Debating
the .ffirmative side for the Uni
versity will be Irwin Weiner.
eighth semester journalism major,
and Sinclair. The negative side
will be upheld by the prison.
r di j
Week?
See Page 4
FIVE ' CENTS
Ties G.W.