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NEWS
THE BATTALION
student finds
)w donor
ear-old Blinn graduate,
id with Non-Hodgekins
na, a cancer of the
odes, has found a bone
match with the help of
tt and White Morrow
rograms and the Blinn
Vocational Nursing
Association.
Reed, from Caldwell,
agnosed with Non
as lymphoma in the fall
and has been undergo-
ootherapy for the past
marrow drive was held
;linn campus Thursday,
176 peple tured out,
a Parsons, Blinn public
on officer.
avels to M.D. Anderson
enter in Houston today
preparations for stem
ment.
isponsibility
begins at A&M
t Health Services will
Sexual Responsibility
ab. 10-13, to provide
with valuable informa-
jut relationships and
ealth.
lek-long event will fea-
els on practicing absti-
ae difference between
d female communica-
s and free, anonymous
ig-
icr you're abstaining
or are sexually active,
/ important to know
take care of yourself,”
irgaret Griffith, M.S,
iducation Coordinator
sexual health specialist
eutel Health Center,
nee is a choice anyone
a, even if you have pre-
been sexually active,
hd.
Aggielife
The Battalion
3 A • Monday, February 10, 2003
Fish out of water
freshmen blame inflated high school grades, time management issues for poor study habits
By Shena Bausch
THE BATTALION
A new class of freshmen walked onto
college campuses this past semester, but
a national study said they were anything
but prepared for the task of studying.
CBS News reports that a survey
designed by the Higher Education
Research Institute at UCLA said this
year’s college freshmen have the worst
sludy habits in 15 years. Dr. Alexander
Astin, director of the Higher Education
Research Institute started the survey in
1966. Astin said high school teachers are
being pressured to inflate grades, and
students’ study habits have gotten worse.
Astin said he thinks high school stu
dents pressure their teachers into help
ing them make higher grades to com
pete for college admission. Astin said
tbe grades of graduating high school
seniors become inflated every year, and
15 percent of this year's freshmen
reported graduating high school with an
“A” average.
Liz Hudson, academic adviser for
General Academic Programs, said she
sees new students struggling with new
responsibilities every year, and she
thinks this year's freshmen aren't any
different than in years past.
“Students don’t have that much
homework in high school compared to
college,” Hudson said. “So freshmen
don't expect as much outside work
when they come here, but that’s all pro
fessors expect of them. You can do both
the outside reading and be prepared for
the lectures, or be unprepared; it’s
something that freshmen have to get
used to.”
Jacob Jones, a freshman general
studies major, said freshmen would be
better prepared for college if high
school teachers were not so lenient.
“Once, I talked my teacher into giv
ing me a higher grade in high school,
but I am a pretty convincing guy,” he
said. “High school should have been
harder and more strict on cheating, too
because it was too easy.”
Jones said that high school and for
mer teachers may not have adequately
prepared students for their first college
experience, but he said there are other
reasons freshmen don't have good
study habits.
“We don't have our parents here,
we're not disciplined enough, and
we’re only 18,” he said. “Also, I think
living off campus has a lot to do with
my study habits, because it's too easy
to miss class. I think living on campus
would make attending class much more
convenient. When you live away from
campus, you have to find parking or
catch a bus to get to class; it’s just easi
er to sleep in.”
Jones said it almost didn't matter
how long he studied for his psychology
final last semester.
“I mixed up the time for my final
with the time for another section, and
slept through my final,” Jones said.
“I was grateful to be able to bargain
with my professor to let me take my
final on another day. Maybe high
school did teach me something.”
Jones said he is studying a lot more
this semester compared to last semester.
“This semester, I'm already four
chapters into a book,” Jones said. “I
also haven’t been going over to friends’
houses as often. I think parties were my
biggest distractions last semester.”
However, according to UCLA’s sur
vey the United States freshmen class is
at an all-time low percentage of drink
ing, 46.5 percent this year, compared to
a high of 73.7 percent in 1982. The sur
vey determined that 35.8 percent of
freshmen said they don’t attend a single
party during the week.
Alissa Harrison, a freshman Spanish
major, said she doesn’t attend any par
ties on the weekdays.
“I’m not a procrastinator, so I study
right away,” Harrison said. “I probably
study an average of three to four hours
per night. Although on the weekends, I
drop everything and go out to relax; I
don't worry about studying then. I
think studying like this has really
helped me out.”
Harrison said she never experienced
teachers inflating grades for students at
her high school, and she said she felt
that her teachers did a good job prepar
ing her for college. Harrison said she
was better prepared for English than
history and math.
David Moyer, a freshman biomed
ical engineering major, said high
school wasn’t challenging.
“I think teachers should have
taught on a more rigorous level, and
that would have helped us adjust bet
ter our first semester of college,”
Moyer said. “In high school we were
given notebook tests to check our
organizational skills, and they counted
as a test grade; anyone can keep all
their papers in a notebook.”
Moyer said he started studying a lot
more this semester and has found a
place to study that suits him.
“1 probably study about three
hours a day now, compared to last
semester when I studied only seven to
10 hours a week,” he said. “I found
that the best place to study in the
dorms is in the study carrels; there
are three or so per floor.”
Moyer also said that he attended four
supplemental instruction sessions last
semester that helped him out, and he
said he plans to attend them again this
semester if they have any for his classes.
Assistant Director for the Center
of Academic Enhancement Joel
McGee said the center offers several
services to students.
McGee said about 85 percent of the
students that enrolled in CAEN 101,
“Succeeding in College Courses,” dur
ing the fall semester were freshmen.
McGee said 100 and 200 level
RADHIKA THIRUNARAYANAN • THE BATTALION
courses, which mainly have underclass
men enrolled in them, are the primary
target for SI programs.
“We do tend to find that many of the
students we work with are not as pre
pared for college classes as one would
hope, but usually if students are willing
to seek help, they can learn to be effec
tive students,” McGee said.
The Center for Academic
Enhancement is located at 525 Blocker,
and can be accessed at its Web site,
www.tamu.edu/cae.
larification
ie article enf#f
t Senate passes-kt
Friday, Feb. 7, the
Senate approved a
e at its meeting
day, Feb. 5 that will
axas A&M students to
n the sports fee
; Feb. 26 and 27.
tball League
;ion Tournament
A/ednesday Nights
, 2003
ryan
am
"enter at 209-5210
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