TUESDAY
DAILY EGYPTIAN APRIL 16, 2013
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
SINCE 1916
VOLUME 98, ISSUE 126
First signs of SpringFest
University petitions green card policies MATT DARAY Daily Egyptian Chancellor Rita Cheng says she fully supports the new immigration reforms congress will consider this week. The U.S. Senate will see a bipartisan bill as soon as Tuesday that will change immigration and address the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants. The bill comes in light of a large protest Wednesday, when hundreds of immigrants protested in Washington, D.C. to demand action concerning the country’s immigration policies. Along with creating a path to legalization for immigrants who meet a strict set of criteria, the bill would establish new visa programs for high- and lowskilled foreign workers and crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers. Cheng asked recipients in an email Wednesday to join her in contributing to immigration reform by joining other universities Friday to ask for better green cards for exchange students who graduate in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. “University colleges and chancellors around the country are advocating for immigration changes to the law that make it easier for educated citizens of foreign countries to stay in this country and contribute to the economy after they receive a U.S. education,” she said in the email. Please see POLICIES | 3
NICOLE HESTER | DAILY EGYPTIAN
This must be the Band, a Talking Heads tribute band, performs Saturday at Hangar 9’s first SpringFest. Caylan Hill, general manager at Hangar 9, collaborated with owner Sally Carter, craft beer specialist Daniel Enriquez and the event’s main sponsors, Shiner Beers. “From the artist, to the attendees, to our sponsors, everybody here at Hangar 9 had a very positive response, and we’re very encouraged to continue and to keep putting on similar events,” Hill said. Samantha Henick, a senior from Western Springs studying communication design, worked at the event as the hospitality coordinator. “Next year we want to make it even better than this year,” Hennick said. “We want to continue to bring big names down here and put Carbondale back in the party mix.”
Exam types might not determine student success ELIZABETH ZINCHUK Daily Egyptian Some students might think a cheat sheet or open-book is the best way to get an A on an exam, but one study suggests that might not make the grade. The Psychology Research journal recently published a study that found students who take an openbook exam score better than those who take exams that allow cheatsheet use. However, it also discovered students who fare well on either type of test, or even a closed-book exam, will excel on any of the three testing
types, disproving that the type of testing matters. While the study suggests the exam type is irrelevant, several students and staff members agreed all three types of exams have respective positives and negatives. Psychology assistant professor Chad Drake said having a textbook open during an exam makes a student more comfortable. However, he said a cheat-sheet has limited information compared to a textbook, which usually applies to more on any exam. “The textbook contains all the information the students need,
whereas the cheat sheet may be incomplete in some matters,” Drake said. Drake said the fact that students who perform well on either exam type will do well on any type of exam makes the study seem questionable. He said it is suspicious because the information seems to make the study contradict itself. “It makes you wonder about the methodology of the study and what was all done in a well-controlled fashion,” he said. Even though open-book exams give students an advantage, a university
tutoring center academic coach said she would prefer her students to take a closed-book exam. Madalyn Gillis, a sophomore from Edwardsville studying general management, said she aids students’ studies until exam time. “When you take a closed-book exam and do well, you know you actually learned and retained something instead of having to refer to a book or cheat sheet,” she said. However, Gillis said the students she helps have less anxiety when taking an open-book exam versus a closed-book exam.
“They can easily go back and find the answers often with a open-book exam,” she said. “They feel like they don’t have to study as much.” Gillis said she advises students to study as much for either type of exam and to start studying at least a week before it to break up studying tasks. While the study indicated students who excel on one form of test will perform well on any kind, several students were not surprised that students fare better on openbook exams. Please see EXAM | 3
Medical simulators provide nursing majors experience MITCH SCHAFER Daily Egyptian Hands-on experience is a key element for students in nursing programs, and a new program allows university students to gain experience without tending to a single human patient. The SIU-Edwardsville Nursing Simulation Laboratory at Lindegren Hall, part of a partnership between both SIU campuses, gives nursing students the opportunity of hands-on practice without the risk of injuring a human by using computer simulated “patients.” To boost program interest, an open-
house tour took place Wednesday. The SIUE Nursing program is run through Carbondale’s campus because of the difficulty to start up a program, said Susan Winters, director of the SIUE Regional Nursing Program. Both SIU campuses pooled their resources to bring nursing education to southern Illinois, she said, as there was no nursing program below Interstate 64 before the collaboration. “Starting a nursing program is very expensive, and (it is) hard to find faculty,” Winters said. Please see NURSING | 4
Aaron Gajowiak, left, of Goreville, Amy Pritchett, center, of Herrin, and Kwamane Robinson, of Chicago, all juniors studying nursing, demonstrate taking vital signs Monday on Aggy, one of six robotic patients in Lindegren Hall. The robotic patients simulate real-life medical situations and responses, said Mary Smith, office support specialist for the SIU-Edwardsville Regional Nursing Program that recently expanded to SIUC. “It’s a safe environment because it gives students a chance to practice on the simulators before live patients,” she said. TIFFANY BLANCHETTE DAILY EGYPTIAN