Daily Trojan
USC

“Variety in social options needed”

Is “party etiquette” an oxymoron, or a new initiative launched by a college administration? It seems to be both.

The Office of Campus Activities recently sent out an email containing a set of partying guidelines. Though some of these guidelines are perfectly logical, some are completely unrealistic — such as “Do not allow drinking games.”

USC students should certainly be respectful of their neighbors, but the university can help the problem by being more sensible in its expectations of students.

We can address off-campus partying by looking at why students party. USC does offer many great events, such as intramural sports or Visions & Voices, but these events usually don’t run at the times parties are occurring — evenings on weekends. If an organization does run an event at this time, that event is usually a party — thus circling back to the original issue.

What’s more, late-night options for socializing on campus are virtually non-existent. Ground Zero Performance Café could become a hub of late-night activity, but it closes at midnight. Coffee shops that stay open past midnight are a staple at some other colleges — why shouldn’t USC have one?

Email guidelines aren’t effective. Well-promoted on-campus socializing options would help reduce the number of wild parties and, thus, the number of irritated neighbors.

— Tim Clayton, March 6 issue

The Daily Utah Chronicle
University of Utah

“Bad teaching is a culprit in ‘hard’ majors’ grades”

Grade inflation has been frequently cited as a major problem with education. Getting an A might be easier now than it was 30 years ago.

A 2010 study titled “Grading in American Colleges and Universities” concluded that, on average, science departments grade .4 points below the humanities on a GPA scale and .2 points below the social sciences.

The study shows that the sciences generally give out lower grades. But this statistic can be misleading. It seems to imply that the sciences are inherently harder than the humanities.

First of all, because science departments have the oh-so-prestigious title of the “hard major,” they get a lot of street cred. Potential employers value a more difficult degree because they know graduates either had to be smarter or work harder to get it. This, then, gives science departments an incentive to keep their pass rate low.

Consider the fact that most professors in the hard sciences are primarily researchers. They have an advanced degree in their field of research. This doesn’t necessarily make them good at teaching it.

In short, the hard sciences might have the claim on the hardest classes to pass, but this doesn’t give them the claim over the hardest subject. We often assume that fewer people pass in the sciences because they are harder to understand, but it might also be because they aren’t taught as well.

— Savannah Turk, March 1 issue

State Press
ASU

“Social media and its effect on privacy”

When you look back on the past decade, there’s no doubt that social media has made a huge positive impact on people’s lives. But what about its negative impact?

Because of social media people tend to be more open about their personal lives than they have been in the past. You now have an outlet where you can say what’s on your mind and post pictures of everything you do. With all of this freedom, people fail to realize that their private lives are now public.

In 2010, a Massachusetts high school teacher lost her job because of what she posted about her students on her Facebook page. June Talvitie-Siple referred to her students as “germ bags” and called parents snobby and arrogant. The teacher was unaware that her privacy settings allowed people other than her Facebook friends to view her comments.

“I take full responsibility for my stupidity and I hope it serves as an example to kids that they need to be very, very vigilant about their privacy,” Talvitie-Siple told ABC News.

Regulating behavior on social media networks is also important for those who are searching for jobs.

According to MSNBC, a study in 2010 showed 70 percent of company recruiters have rejected applicants based on information they found online. While social media is a good tool to escape from the real world, you should always think before you post. You never know who might be watching.

— Arselia Gales, March 5 issue