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·nm METROPOLITAN
Volume 8
o Pressopolitan
December 4, 1985
Issue 14
Who's The Leader Of The Club That's Here For You And Me?
TODRY lftlWSIT
srsirns ~Contributing cartoonist Jon Walteris an MSC Speech Professor
Fists of Fury?
Students Debate Lactics in Cap Battle Mark LaPedus Reporter
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Metro students are using karate to defend themselves against the enrollment cap. But their fighting tactics to raise the cap may be chopped to bits by the martial artists at the Legislature, according to Blenda Wilson, executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, who spoke at a student leaders conference on campus · last week. "It's unlikely the students will win the battle (to raise the cap}." Wilson said. "Financially, there's a lot of resistance by the Legislature to raise the cap." She said that, as students practice their combat techniques to lift the cap, the real battle determining the fate of Metro's enrollment will be fought amongst the black belts at the Legislature. "Whether the cap will be raised will be a political struggle," she said. The conference, attended by students from colleges around the state and members of the CCHE, dealt with topics including admissions standards:H.B. 1187, affirmative action, the community college system and enrollment caps. Some of the issues kicked around between students and the CCHE were far from aimiable skirmishes. Students from Metro and the Univeristy of Southern Colorado became especially fiesty discussing the reasons for having an enrollment cap placed on their respective colleges. But the CCHE, lowering its guard for just a moment, had a difficult time defending the purpose for having the cap, which was imposed by the Joint
Budget Committee last year. "The purpose of state-wide caps is a mystery to me," Wilson said. "They are arbitrary numbers determined by the enrollment figures from last December. But they are artificial in our judgement." Schools are funded by the Legislature based upon the number of fulltim·e equivalent stu9ents (FTES), but the cap serves as an artificial tool to limit money granted to state colleges, she said. Michael Moore, chairman of the CCHE, said the cap may prevent many students from entering Metro, an open-enrollment institution since 1963. "I have some problems with the cap," Moore said. "It's hard to have a cap without being insensitive to the accessibility to the college. "Metropolitan State College was designed as an open-enrollment institution to serve both the traditional and large populations of non-traditional students. Now you may have a system that could diminish." Last year, Metro had 10,38.5 FTES. But it is limited to 10,257 FTES by this year's cap. Several students, recognizing that M~tro's open-door policy soon may be chopped into a pile of firewood by the Legislature, seemed eager to defend the school. Frank Visconti, student body president at Western State College, said he was willing to help Metro students in their petitioning campaign to raise MSC's cap by floating petition forms around Western State. Because of the declining enrollments at Western State College over the past five years, however, students at Gunnison may not empathize with Metro's opposition to the cap, he said.
Who You Callin' a Chicken? State Rep. Phil Hernandez, DDenver, reminded Chicken Littlethe Metro students-that the sky isn't falling on MSC. "There's a lot of people running around the Legislature saying the sky is falling at Metro because of the enrollment cap," said Hernandez, a UCD history professor speaking at a meeting on campus last week. "But I don't think it's true." The enrolln.ent cap, like the acorn that hit Chicken Little, bas caused a commotion among many students and faculty. But Hernandez said the cap, imposed by the Joint Budget Committee, is actually set at the appropriate level. "I don't think the cap is too high or too low," he said.
The meeting was sponsored by the MSC CoPIRG Organizing Committee. CoPIRG, the Colorado Pulbic Interest Research Group, was established by students as an advocacy organization to take an active role in protecting consumers and the environment. Hernandez suggested that students also can take an active role in raising the enrollment cap. "I think the students could raise the cap by negotiating with the Joint Budget Committee and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. But a protest at the Capitol would be counter-productive because some of the Legislators think students should be seen and not heard."
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Mark LaPedus
"I will do anything to help out a sisThe "Memorandum of Understandter school," he said. "But I don't know ing," orginally set by the Joint Budget what the students on our campus will Committee, calls for 80 percent of think." incoming MSC freshman to meet two Admission standards also caused of the following three requirements: controversy at the meeting. Students • Have a high school grade point from the University of Colorado and average of 2.5 the University of Southern Colorado •Rank in the upper 66 2/3 percent were enraged over the new admission of their high school graduating class. standards, which may be imposed at • Score an overall score of 19 on the their colleges next year. ACT or 810 on the SAT. Wilson attempted to pacify the stuThose standards, however, could dents by specifying what kinds of change again after a one-year trial standards may be implemented at period. Colorado colleges next year. "In the short term, admissions She said the standards, which will be standards could be like those in the established by the CCHE, could 'Memorandum of Understanding','' resemble the criteria outlined under Wilson said. "But in the long run, they the "Memorllidumof Understanding," · · may be different." D