T ,,.. 11E September
Vol. 89, No. 4
VISTA
Thursday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Overcrowding "crisis" exists, Lillard states Bush summons staff to brief Gulf situation WASHINGTON (AP)—President Bush summoned his Cabinet for a post-vacation briefing on the Persian Gulf crisis Tuesday while two congressional teams ended a first-hand look at the situation in the region. The president, returning to the capital just five days before he holds his third summit with Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, also was dispatching two top aides to solicit donations from wealthy allies to cover expenses of the massive U.S. military operation in the gulf region. Bush ended a three-week vacation in Maine on Monday evening and scheduled the morning meeting with his Cabinet.
By Mark Schlachtenhaufen
Staff Writer
Central State University is in the midst of a "crisis" due to a lack of classroom space with no immediate solution in sight, said President Bill Lillard. A multipurpose classroom building and a two-tiered parking facility would increase CSU's ability to serve its students, Lillard said. "We're not asking for the Taj Mahal or a pie in the sky for the future," Lillard said.
"We're saying our students have needs that are here now." Initial efforts by CSU officials seeking additional state funding have met with mixed results, and legislators "haven't denied them, but they haven't been implemented or approved," Lillard said. The parking facility and the building, which have been tentatively discussed by Lillard and his assistants, could be constructed east of University Center, Lillard said. Funding for the building project would come from state monies or a bond issue, and
a student parking fee could pay for the parking facility, Lillard said.
Theoretically, the multipurpose building would group classes of different sections into one location where students would near, for example, a well-known lecturer. Additional room could be used for physical science laboratories, Lillard said.
"We would hope to have varying-sized classrooms up to 80 or 100 students," Lillard said. "We do not want any sectioning for 300 or 400 students; we do not prefer to teach our students that way."
White House aides, meantime, worked intensively to prepare for Sunday's superpower meeting in Helsinki, Finland, announced on unusually short notice last weekend. The aides prepared for the possibility of a Friday departure, giving the president a chance to meet with Finland's President Mauno Koivisto on Saturday before he sees Gorbachev on Sunday. Bush will meet with the Soviet leader for five hours, then return to Washington.
U.S. infant mortality rates at lowest mark WASHINGTON (AP)—Infant mortality in the United States inched down last year to the lowest level ever recorded, but the U.S. rate is still higher than many industrialized nations, officials said Thursday. "Although we've made progress in reducing this nation's infant mortality, we must do better," said Louis Sullivan, secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. The provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics would rank the United States below 21 industrialized countries on a list cornparing 1986 rates, said center spokeswoman Sandra Smith. The ranking is probably still accurate, she said. "We make progress, but so do other countries," she said. Please see WORLD WRAP on page 2.
Seen by the glow of its own lights in the evening hours, Garfield's on Broadway in Edmond is a popular gathering place for Central State University students and faculty. (Photo by Ken Freeman)
Professor says easier grades linked to anti-draft movement By Mark Schlachtenhaufen
Staff Writer The Vietnam War initiated an era of easier grading to keep eligible draftees in college, and it still affects Central State University, a CSU professor said. But a cross-reference of administrators, faculty and students revealed a difference of opinion about current CSU grading practices. Some said existing standards harm the school image, while others said academic policy is adequate. An official with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education academic affairs office said all state colleges are on a 4.0
system with an A being a 4.0. The regents have no blanket policy for faculty grading. John George, political science professor, said faculty grading was tougher when he arrived to teach at CSU 23 years ago, before the draft-avoidance mentality of the era. College was a way out of military service unless the nation's manpower need increased, said Bill Parker, College of Liberal Arts assistant dean. "Students that made their grades and stayed in school retained their non-draft status until graduation," Parker said. Now, colleges produce better students than 20 years ago, said CSU President Bill Lillard. Contemporary students have educa-
tional advantages. Technological advances accompanied the Vietnam Era, particularly in informational systems. The world has changed politically, and academically. "They have access to broad experiences and computer information that wasn't available 20 years ago," Lillard said. Today, a majority of professors grade easier than those who grade more stringently, George said. He upgraded his grading scale several years ago from a 91-100 for an A to 93-100. Most faculty members contacted by The Vista stressed that grading should be left to Please see GRADES on page 12.
