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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2001)
Page 3 In the middle of spring semester, fewer students seem to be showing up for lectures ay, March 5, 2001 Jews in sulates tart of I utive Vice Pre and Provost[( ffirmed the F internations) &M to morel lerai and General Lunci uncheon, pa eek, brought ■resenting conij ates. The evert! and their $ta ; i also recogi students jIs provide visl no want to tral :ultural displal n educational: ’eredo, an ikmei issa Sorola-Bilano t mal Student K s springtime, and along with the change in weather. Aggies may start to 'ard comes« ics a change in class attendance. Look around a class of 20Q and see how lip and is the nyieats are filled. Either everybody is sick, or those who aren’t going to /ed on a cur ss know it everything already and don’t need to hear lecture. Right? dent. Dr. William J. Leonhirth, visiting assistant professor in the journalism ernationalstu oartment, said he sees a pattern in student attendance, anding Inter “As the weather gets warmer, attendance tends to drag,” Leon hard present: ft said. „ Leonhirth said a lack of motivation also plays a part in a Ramasv,c vnlim5ers _ on andajr sernes j; er drags on, some students get dis- aresident o- uraged and stop comin g” he said - ssociation ^’nhirth said he has never considered rewarding iduate sti )se p udents who do attend his classes because it is 250 schoie # es P onsibilit y to he there. While'he does not duct points for not attending, Leonhirth said stu nts] will suffer by not getting information that riwhelp them. orrectior Dr Claude Gibson, associate professor and di- iy's article dor (if undergraduates in the English department, ; say love professors should do their part to maintain \pry| R e j c gh attendance by making lectures interesting. Natiom ^ want m y stud ents to attend, then it is up to e to make lectures engaging,” Gibson said. L]( f . Gibson said because students and professors no April e f rom different generations, professors need to ■dent of ^knowledge they learn in different ways and adapt ? directoro!: students’ learning styles to keep them engaged in eir classes. “Young people change, and the best professors change ith them,” Gibson said. Gibson said students also benefit from attending his lectures icause a percentage of his test questions are taken from the lecture, ie said students who buy their notes from a note-taking service instead f attending class miss out on the interaction taking place during lecture. Aguirre, ar “A person at lecture heard everything; a person just reading notes does- da Gammaai’t,’^ Gibson said. r, was runiM Some professors follow strict attendance policies. Evan Palomeque, assis- and receivo. int lecturer in the Spanish department, said students in his Spanish 101 and 102 iecond runiic. . ship wereav i - li, ., • nia, niemtej* a seniorta 20 RUBEN DELUNAAThe Battalion classes are only allowed to have four unexcused absences before losing points. Palomeque said lectures in language classes are especially important to students. “The student gets exposure to the language they can’t get from a book,” Palomeque said. “The main thing they can get from lecture is the language, hearing it, com prehension, and just being able to practice.” The University only excuses absences that fall under certain condi- .-i*. dons in its attendance policies. A death in the family, a UniversityT approved activity or an illness would be excused. If a student is sick, they must provide written documentation from a physician saying the student is too ill to attend classes'. University Student Rules states professors do not have to make accommodations for students who do not have an excuse. “The instructor is under no obligation to provide an opportunity for the student to make up work missed because of an unexcused absence,” states rule 7.6 of TAMU Student Rules. Michael McElroy, a senior journalism major, said he learned the hard way about the conse quences of not attending classes. “If you don’t go to lectures you won’t pass,” McElroy said. “I don’t think you have to take a lot of notes, but if you read (assignments) and pay attention during lecture you have a better chance of doing well.” Vanessa Spencer, a freshman physics major, said because most of her classes are small math classes and some professors take points off for missing class, she makes it a point not to skip. Tn a lot of my classes, attendance counts, and we have sign in,” Spencer said. Spencer also has an additional reason for going to class. “I’m paying to be there, so I might as well be,” she said. Gibson said there are numerous distinguished professors on cam- , and students should take advantage of learning from them. He sug- doing a little research about a professor before registering for a class. “Who wants to graduate from A&M and never have learned from a dis tinguished professor?” Gibson said. “I would have rather been in [Albert] Einstein’s classroom than any other teacher’s.” ILLANUEVA/Ih! sorority aod Greek from I of Delta Sign I LITE AL 1 s TATI0N SEARS, A PEOPLE- \ FOCUSED FORTUNE 25 COMPANY, HAS BEEN REINVENTING RETAIL SINCE THE 7880S. Our outstanding career development programs and our highly supportive culture can put you on the fast track while preparing you for long-term success. 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