North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 12, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 25, 2012 Page: 5 of 6
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Tuesday, September 25,2012
iews
Page 5
James Rambin, Views Editor
ntviewseditor@gmail.com
Cflmtiuts
Chat
What do you think
of the new iPhone 5?
"I don't have an iPhone and
don't really care much about
it. I think my phone is good
enough, and I'm not willing to
upgrade."
Joshua Wilson
AIuimmms
Its more useful and more
upgraded. It serves the same
purpose as the previous
models."
Aw.£tli/\, vasquez.
Hospitality
,lor
"I'm going to get it eventually,
I have an [iPhone] 3GS and
hoping to upgrade. I like how its
expected to operate;
Koc>k
£>evelopi/vteiA,tal a^d family
studies :u.ialor
Not really different. Its pretty
much the same thing. Androids
are so much better'
'BriaiAsdre sterling
French -freshmmia,
LET US KNOW!
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What is your favorite place to eat at the
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^ Potbelly's. (41 %, 6 Votes)
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Other: Tweet your answer to ©ntdaily, (t%, 1 votes)
Total Voters: 22
The Editorial Board
and submission policies:
Chelsea Stratso, Alex Macon, Hol-
ly Harvey, Brittni Barnett, Joshua
Friemel, James Rambin, Jessica
Davis, James Coreas, Therese Men-
dez, Daisy Silos.
The NT Daily does not necessar-
ily endorse, promote or agree with
the viewpoints of the columnists
on this page. The content of the
columns is strictly the opinion
of the writers and in no way reflect
the beliefs of the NT Daily. To in-
quire about column ideas, submit col-
umns or letters to the editor, send an
e-mail to ntviewseditor@gmail.com
Staff Ed itor a I
No need to panic about ailing test scores
Last week, the College Board released
their annual report on the state of the
SAT, and faster than you can say "pencils
down/' commentators across the political
spectrum gasped in horror and promptly
fainted headfirst into their Op-Ed pages.
The discovery that the average
American SAT score is dropping, about
three points on average for each section,
certainly seems like excellent fodder for
concern at first glance.
The 2012 scores have been proclaimed
a harbinger of this country's down-
fall, yet another indication that brainy
students overseas are already outpacing
the United States as a powerhouse of
innovation.
But grab your smelling salts, because
it's time to quit panicking and come
to your senses. Before you declare our
nation's education system fatally flawed
and throw up your hands in dismay, you
might want to consider the possibility
that none of this news is particularly
dire. In fact, these findings might be a
sign of educational progress.
Here's how: since 2007, the nation-
wide participation rates for minorities
taking the SAT have steadily risen across
the board. This means that the 2012 test
causing so much panic saw a turnout
of more than 750,000 minority students
total, not to mention about460,000 partici-
pants who reported that they didn't speak
English as their first language.
More important is the fact that 36
percent of SAT participants in 2012 didn't
even have a parent who attended a four-
year university.
Compared to the average scores drop-
ping about two points each, the rapidly
growing participation rates among
minorities are practically earth-shat-
tering.
The fact that more students from
less-educated background s are entering
higher education - and barely bringing
the scores down despite their families
lacking any college experience whatso-
ever - shouldn't just be brought to public
attention, it should be celebrated.
By treating this report as simply
another stock of ammunition in the
country's ongoing education debate,
we're doing a massive injustice to these
first-generation scholars.
In a tough economic climate, these new
students are undoubtedly seeking both a
college education and upward economic
mobility once they enter the workforce -
and some of them will make their way to
the University of North Texas. If you're a
graduating senior, you may find yourself
hiring them in a few years' time, and if
you're a freshman, you'll probably share
a few classes with them.
Thankfully, human beings can't
be reduced to a number, and there's
no entrance exam for achieving the
American dream - so let's ignore the
scores and just be glad that everyone
gets a shot.
Columns
College gender
equality rules
hurt women
"You go, girl" is a phrase empow-
ering women to aim for their dreams
and surpass typical standards. Female
college students now outnumber men
nearly 60 to 40 percent at many public
universities, and 20 percent more
women achieve college degrees than
men, according to "University Business"
magazine. Now women face an even
greater challenge caused by their
success: universities across the country
are enacting male affirmative action to
compensate for the fewer numbers of
men at colleges and universities.
The College of William and Mary
in Virginia routinely accepts only 26
percent of female applicants. The dean
of admissions eloquently explained this
disparity by saying, "It's not the College
of Mary and Mary; it's the College of
William and Mary" In an Op-Ed column
in the New York Times entitled "To All
the Girls I've Rejected," a former admis-
sions officer for Kenyon College in New
York said the "standards for admission to
today's most selective colleges are stiffer
for women than men." Scott Jaschik,
editor of "Inside Higher Education," said
while many universities would never
admit male affirmative action exists,
most engage in the behavior.
In a survey conducted by that publi-
cation, public university admissions
directors admit nearly 20 percent of
men with below-average test scores a nd
grades compared to only 5 percent of
women with below-average credentials.
The University of Richmond in Virginia
specifically limits its admissions to
have no more than a 10 percent gender
difference, even though on average
their male applicants have a lower GPA.
Clark University in Massachusetts even
started a support group for males to cope
with their minority status and "what it's
like to be a man in our culture."
Thankfully, UNT does not seem
to have implemented male affirma-
tive action, as the undergraduates are
about 52.5 to 47.5 percent female to male.
Graduate studies are even more polar-
ized, as women comprise 63 percent
of master's students and men only 37
percent, according to the 2011 UNT
Factbook.
Women today are excelling.
Seventy-two percent of high school vale-
dictorians are female, and college enroll-
ment rates for women are projected to
increase 21 percent from 57 percent by
2019, according to the National Center for
Educational Statistics. Gender shouldn't
be used for admissions purposes, and
admissions directors need to be held
accountable for turning away women
in favor of men with poorer academic
records. Women have overcome so
many obstacles, and having to stand
by as lesser-qualified men are gifted
into schools shouldn't be one of them .
Holly Harvey is a political science
senior. She can be reached at holly.
harvey@unt.edu.
sraeli conflict
could harm the
home ront
In a particularly venomous
and radical speech in New York
on Monday, Iranian president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad echoed
his previous message calling for
the fiery destruction of the state
of Israel.
He also alluded to Iran's rumored
massive bounty on British author
Salman Rushdie, and denied claims
that Iran has been sending arms to
Syria. But what has Ahmadinejad
so fired up?
It surely couldn't be the threats
that Israel has made against Iran.
Hundreds of miles away, Republican
vice presidential candidate Paul
Ryan was giving a speech in Lima,
Ohio.
He made the comment that the
Middle East looks like Tehran in
1979 and called for an increased
US. presence in the region, coupled
with continuing support for Israel.
He must have forgotten that it
was both of those things that led to
the 1979 American Embassy crisis
in Iran - not to mention the deaths
of eight American soldiers.
Let me predicate my statements
with this: I am by no means anti-
Israel. However, I am against Israel's
current foreign policy and I am
against the idea that the United
States must support Israel at any
cost.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has made it clear that
Israel will attack Iranian nuclear
enrichment facilities before the
end of the year. Why? Netanyahu
would love for us to believe that
Iran is manufacturing nukes, but
the fact of the matter is that all of
our intelligence says their facilities
are peaceful.
They signed the 1979 Treaty on
Nuclear Proliferation, and so they
get to enrich uranium.
It is Israel who refuses to sign
the treaty or even admit to having
nuclear weapons - conservative esti-
mates are that they possess over 200
of them within their borders.
However, it is still political suicide
to speak out openly against Israel
in the United States government.
We need to call on Israel to cease
its incessant warmongering. If Israel
attacks Iran, we need to immedi-
ately remove any American pres-
ence in their country.
Failing to do so will only lead
to American casualties. Israel only
makes these threats because they
have us to back them up. We are
on the brink of World War III, and
it's time we took a few steps away
from the edge and reconsidered
our options.
Nicholas LaGrassa is an emergency
administration and planning senior. He
can be reached at NicholasLaGrassa@
my. unt.edu.
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Stratso, Chelsea. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 12, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 25, 2012, newspaper, September 25, 2012; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth291791/m1/5/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.