Residents complaining about drugs, noise
East Hall besieged with problems By Gary Roughton Fires, drugs, alcohol and loud noises are increasingly becoming a problem in East Hall, residents there say. "Rules are not observed at all, freshman Eddy Eronini said. "There is a lot of alcohol usage, and much of the time you can smell marijuana in the halls." Eronini added there have been some problems with racial discrimination and prejudice among residents. East Hall Resident Assistant William Lee Master said, "Resident assistants usually work from 5 to 11 p.m. So it's hard to keep anyone out after those hours. It's even harder to prove a girl is
in a room after she's there. If we do catch them, then those involved are written up on an incident report which is sent to the dean." Head Resident of East Hall George Tetteh says, because of budget cut backs, they are understaffed. "When there is no RA on the floor to see anything or smell anything, there are going to be problems," Tetteh said. "We have nine floors, but only four assistants, and there are 450 students living in the dorm." Tetteh said RA's can search the dormitory rooms. "We can search or enter a room," he said. "But we can not open the
refrigerator to look for alcohol, or open the closet. So you can see how a girl could be hidden in a room while we are there. "All female guests are supposed to be checked in by the resident and their ID cards left with the desk," Tetteh said. "The guest is to be checked out in the same manner and her ID card returned at the end of visiting hours. "What led to the alleged rape incident was a violation of campus policy by all involved," he said. Tetteh said there was not an RA assigned to that floor the night when the alleged incident took place.
Not every floor in East Hall has a resident assistant. The athletes' floor is one of them. "The noise is so bad on that floor," Tetteh said. "Nobody is brave enough to be an RA there. Even if I could hire more RA's I doubt I could get them to volunteer for that floor." Tetteh said he has worked in East Hall for approximately three years and although there are problems now, the situation has improved. He also said he has not noticed any marijuana use in the dormitory. "I don't even know what it smells like," he said.
TH E YI~Tg April 10, 1984
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Vol. 82, No. 49
Cadet Motoko Hulme waits as the UH-1 "Huey" prepares to lift off from the practice field near Broncho Fieldhouse. Cadet Holme was one of 18 cadets from the ROTC detachment who participated in weekend training exercises with the 1/179 Infantry Battalion located in Hominy, Okla. The cadets were flown to Hominy aboard three "Hueys" from the National Guard 149th Air Calvary Division. Vista photo by Matthew Driskill
Development Act sparks hope in educators By Melissa Mercer Expected passage of the Science and Mathematics Teacher Development Act sparks hope in political circles as well as in higher education to drastically improve the state of public education. The bill will allow funds to be allocated to provide scholarships for individuals to teach mathematics and science where they are not currently qualified to do so. As much as $5000 may be used for each scholarship. To be eligible, an individual
must have a bachelor's degree and must be able to become qualified to teach science or math within one year. In his 1983 statement before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, T.H. Bell, Secretary of Education called the declining competency in education, especially mathematics and science, a compromise of the "cornerstone on which our success as a nation is built." Bell stated the American edge in economic strength, military
In this issue... Photographers awarded by OPA...page 3 Do CSU students feel less pressured?...page 4 Cadets on location with National Guard...page 6 Fiesta big success for CSU...page 7 Orwig sets autograph party...page 8 Placement office schedule listed...page 9
strength and health depend to a large degree on the future abilities of the nation's youth. Statistics supporting this view report that in addition to ailing proficiency exam scores, nearly 5 percent of all high school students have taken no math courses and 8 percent have taken no science courses. According to Bell, the problems lie particularly at the secondary level where a growing shortage of qualfied teachers exists. "There is a much wider range of students going to school now," commented Dale Mullins, dean of the School of Education. "I have a suspicion that has been more responsible for the test scores dropping than has been the overall decline in the quality of students and the quality of educational programs in schools." In contrast to Bell's position, Mullins stated that the ability and preparation of the upper 25 percent of a graduating class is as good now as it was 20 years ago. While many feel reports of declining aptitude based on test
score evaluation among high school students entering college is the result of a crumbling educational system, others contend that tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are outmoded and are poor indicators of the student's competence. Opponents of proficiency testing argue that verbal and mathematical knowledge are only a portion of the actual knowledge learned in high school courses. A test covering a greater variety of subjects such as foreign language and history is preferred. Leading the trend in this direction, a 1984 report from Harvard College indicated it was considering permitting future applicants to forego the SAT in favor of testing to evaluate achievement in five high school academic subjects. Approach to testing reform however, is handled cautiously. "I have reservations about changing the requirements to get into school," Mullins said. "We should emphasize academic achievement more than we have, but I'm not sure a test is the cor-
rect way of determining who is accepted in college and who isn't." Proposed reforms have encountered criticism that more stringent testing based on achievement as well as proficiency would favor affluent school systems and discourage an open educational policy. At present, nearly two out of three American high school students continue on to college. "I'm not in favor of biased testing happening in a democratic society," Mullins said. "I'm more inclined to open the doors and let everyone have a chance to succeed. At the same time we need to maintain reasonable academic standards to be sure that we're not letting people through just on an attendance basis."
Correction In the April 15 issue of The Vista, Bolanle Olaniran was reported to have been from Nicaragua. He is in fact from Oyo, Nigeria.