Volame 34, Namber 13
Friday, Moy 2, 198-0
Poor dance attendance prompts board concern By Jeanette RamUlon The quc51 ion of whether or oot high school students should be able to :mend NIC da.nccs wru; raised 10 the April 24 Studen t Board meeting. bul the policy was not changed . In the pa ~t the policy for such a decision has been left to the board to determine before each dance. While ASNIC President Ken Kohli said he is in favor of allowing high school studcolS 10 011cnd. opposition was e1prcssed at the meeting Kohli ~aid thnt by charg.ing the high school students to attend. the student bod) could hold more dnnces throughout the year, nnd the enra people would create a "·ider variety ond pos~ibly more ru n. In voici ng disog reement. La ura Haman. freshman senator, said many ~tudcnu have complained that the donces arc ~lmilar to high 5ehool dances. Student Act lvitic~ Choirmon Je ff Prysc uid the dance held on April 18 in the Christiam,011 Gymnasi um was not successful, but not because of Haman's rea~ns. He s aid mos1 of the conflict was caused by switching the scheduhng of Campus Day~. He asscn cd that rock mu6ic ins tead of tl1c b luegrass offered by the group Stone J ohnny may have drawn more people and al.1.0 ~aid there wn~ a conOicting dance a1 the high school 1hn1 night. In another oc,ion 1he results of 1he g rndu a1ion poll to.ken were presented 10 the board by Tony Stcwor1 . The poll of 72S stud ents will aid the s1udcn1 officers in malting II recommcnd11lion for next yen.r. The first choice of 1he acad emic nnd vocational program~ was a form11l graduauon with voluntary n1tcnd11n ce. The pre:.c nt policy is for mal "Ith mand11011 oltendoncc . An Informal social event for gr11duntcs and their families with ,'Otuntary attendance "'~ second choice or both groups. A committee headed by Brad Sau)scr resenrch ed the custom) of suicide v1cum Efroim Arbcdul so that the Studenl Board could send his family on appropriate memorial. Sausser said lhc dorm 51udcnts "'ere circulating II card for signatures. Sausser nlso reported that oll senators elected were eligible nnd that the election was fairly held with rotoled ballots .
Rot diggi1y Friti Kn.nu de,-ours a wiener on his w11y to second p!act, lo the- bot dog-eating contest held Monda) as part ol Campas Days. Ben Cam:phouse woo !he event, but Knui11a1e the !DOSI ~ I o n Wednesda) . Campus Days wnps up today " Ith a Crtt barl>ecue for stlldents 110d swf across from the SUB at 3:30 p.m.
Learning skills center faces staffing problems By Teri Worley Since Its inception. the NIC Learn• iog Skills Center has helped many students develop basic skills in such areas as reading, En~lish and mMh. Now the cen ter 1s expe riencing growing pains. and only partial relief may be in sight. Accordlog to Edwina Gustafson , director of the learning skills center. lh e program Is understllffed and ca.nnot provide Its services to all the students who may need them. The director said that the problem fim appeared a couple of years a,go when enrollment in the ccn1er's developmental classes sur passed its student capaciry. "At first we carried the overload," Guslafsoo said, "and then we "'ere forte<! to limit enroUmcnt. I hated to do lbat because lhese are s elf· lmprovemcn1 classes.·• Even with the addition of pan-time Instructors, ctus size at the learning lkllls cco1cr is limited, and the impact or the c:cntc:Y's uoderslaffi ng may become apparc:ot when this fall's
st udents "ill bC' required to take both English proficienC) and readmg skills tests. The only immediate relief for the center ma) come from funds pro,'lded in a federal gmnt. This money m:iy be u scd 10 hire a learning skills specialist to assume pan or the work at the cent er. Even with the crcario.n of this n~ position , however, Gustafson uid tba1 staffing wiU still be iosu ffid ent a1 the learning skills center. Gustafson said tha1 s he b ad examined several altcrnarh es that might increase the a vailability o f s tills classes for those who need them. One possibility would be to "Ort ""ith n:~d teachers "'ho would be willing to "oluntcer their services to the center. She said that this op tion would crcue a "problem with legwork." She would need time, she said. to get the program set up and approved - time Utat she needs to d.evote to her dasscs at the cenlcr.
Another alterna°'c she had con· sidered "IS to wort out 1n amLOgc· ment b~ "b1ch members of NIC's English depa.r1m c nt would t'arry 3 class at the leunmg skills ceotcc u pan of their teachmg !Md. English deportment Cb111 r pe rsoo V"irgtnill Johnson said tha1 allhough she is supponh·e of the plllJI , the English department is haVU1g s taffing problems of its ov.-u. ··t hlld considered wing a position at the learning skills center myself. but I doo· r se e how we cou ld d o ii ,·· J ohnso n sa id , adding th at she is asking for fou r add itiona l full -1ime English personnel to accomodate the demand creaied for composition class openings by increasi ng enrollment figures. To illus1u.te the rate of growth. J ohnson said th:u sbe bas nine sections or English 100. a developmental composition cou.rsc:. scheduled for nen fall. Only one section of this course W:lS offered in 1976.
To suppon her convictioo that 1he ctntcr should be fully staffed. Gustaf. son Yid that NIC", dropout level hos dec:reued S111Ce the basic skills classes of 1he learmog skills cen ter h~ve been offered to NIC siuden1s. "These classes have aide d in keeping students in school.'· she s aid. Gust afson ind ica ted 1h11 s1udent fr us tr! lion in high.er level English composition courses may be due In pan to the u11availa.bility or openings in basic level courses. Gusufson said that she feels 1he administmioo has been su pportivc of hCT goal s for the ccirter and thal she blames the suifftng problems on fund shOTU1ges. According to President Barry Schu· ler . fu1ure staffing may well be a matter of compromise. " We must both deal with growth and accomodllte the taxpayers." he said. cootlaued oa pqe 12