Letters:
Party to be held for Chinese
students
I was a Chinese student in the School of Mechanical
Engineering at Purdue and graduated last December, while my wife is
still studying for her Ph.D. in chemistry at Purdue. I was very glad
to read the Exponent’s Jan. 24 report about the Chinese New Year
on your Web site today. While I am pleased to know that there will be
a celebration party for Taiwanese students on this Saturday night, I
would like to inform you that there is another big celebration party
for all Chinese students from mainland China. That party is hosted by
Purdue University Chinese Students-Scholars Association every year.
The attendance was huge (more than 500, and can be more this year considering
the population of Chinese students at Purdue University is around 600
now). I think it may be of interest to many people and a good piece
of news for you to report. The 2001 Chinese New Year party will be held
on Jan. 27, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Class of 1950 lecture hall.
Bin Chen
Purdue
alumnus
Parking system doesn't make
sense
In regard to the Exponent article published Jan.
22 entitled "Renovation forces street, lot to close," I would like to
state that this is utterly ridiculous. I commute daily to campus to
attend my classes and on the rare occasion that I would even attempt
to use the parking garages, I find that, at least in the garage located
on Northwestern, there are complete levels empty that are reserved for
A parking. I don't know if it is like this in the other garages, but
I find that to be completely absurd. Why should those who commute be
forced to have to park so far away and then have to be shuttled to class?
Now they are talking about closing off some of the parking over at the
stadium! Where exactly are they thinking we should park? The moon perhaps?
Sure they are trying to make a better stadium, but does that have to
be started this early? Why can't it begin in May after classes have
ceased and the demand for parking is not nearly as great?
Kristin Tomey
Sophomore,
School of Consumer and Family Sciences
Evening exams should be
eliminated
I am perplexed by the supposed logic expressed
in the January 23 article and editorial on evening exams. If three nights
of exams cause student stress, how will adding one more night help relieve
it?
When I came to Purdue 12 years ago, the "institution"
of evening exams baffled me. At my previous institution professors were
expected to take care of all class business — instruction and evaluation
— during their assigned class periods. Arguments about fairness
and cheating aside, it can be done without any academic unfairness,
although admittedly requiring more work and planning on the part of
professors.
I chair a department that offers several undergraduate
courses in the evening, and the current system makes a shambles of those
classes many nights. Some students miss class to take exams, while others
are in a zombie-like state, focused on their exam the next hour. Since
I teach in the "Hall of Testing," I am regularly confronted by irate
professors who ask me to stop my class because the "noise" bothers test-takers.
A university degree is about more than just the
academic experience, and required evening testing four days a week makes
it nearly impossible for students to experience all that this University
has to offer, let alone prepare for the next day's classes. Realizing
this suggestion will alienate many of my colleagues; the best solution
is to eliminate evening exams altogether.
It’s time to stop this mindless escalation
of the almighty exam night and return to the conducting of all class
business during scheduled class hours. If we want to help students cope
with stress, let's think clearly about the best way to do it, unfettered
by a tradition that is nothing more than an academic convenience for
the few and a burden to many.
David A. Leppla
Director
of University Bands
Network alternatives could
fix problems
Judging from the response from students in the
Exponent about ResNet's dramatic decrease in speed, it's safe to say
that there should be enough backlash from the slow service to warrant
a responsive action on account of PUCC and ResNet.
Unfortunately, this won't happen. Why? Because
there is no other feasible alternative to the ResNet service for most
of this campus's students. Think about it; we live in a free enterprise
society where quality is maintained by pressure from competition. ResNet
has a monopoly on Internet access for students. Complain all you want,
they could reduce our bandwidth to the speed of a 2,400-baud modem and
you'd still end up paying for it. Perhaps the Exponent could publish
an article on viable alternatives to campus Internet service.
I'm sure many of us would be interested, and the
threat of competition could force ResNet to straighten up its act.
Kevin Farabaugh
Freshman,
School Of Technology
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