The “F” Grade Getting the Ex?

In a recent news report, school officials at West Potomac High School, located in Alexandria, Virginia, opted to drop the traditional “F” letter grade. Instead students who do not do well will be given an “I” for incomplete. This will allow them to learn the lesson over and replace the ‘Incomplete’ grade with a more promising letter grade be it an “A”, “B”, “C”, or “D”. The controversy surfacing around this new policy has been an option for colleges in New York for a while now. At The City College of New York, our grade policy consists of the tradition A-F rubric. However, we, as students, have been given a few exceptions. Entwined into our “F” grade policy the following apply:

1) “F” grade policy: If a student gets an “F” in a course, it will not be counted in their overall GPA if the course is taken over and the student receives a “C” or better.

2) “Incomplete” policy: Like West Potomac High School, this grade will give CCNY students a chance to retract the mistake they made in any class. This grade gives them ten weeks into the following semester to redeem themselves.

3)  “W” grade: As explained in previous CCNY article, The Big W: How to Know When to Withdraw, students opt to withdraw from a class if they know they are bound to get an unwanted grade in it. This grade holds fewer consequences than an “F” grade because it does not affect your GPA.

4) “WU” grade: This grade stands for Withdraw Unofficially. If the student refuses to attend class, the professor will take it that the student withdrew from the class without getting the formal documents from Registrar. This grade has the same consequences as an F grade because it will affect the cumulative GPA if the class is not retaken.

During a time when we have all of these “failure grading options”, the “F” grade policy would not hurt to be dropped. If the “F” grade policy was dropped, college students would not have the pressure that exists now. The fear that goes along with getting a failure, does not mesh well with the average stressed out college student. What we fail to realize is that there are other ways to dodge an “F” grade (as shown above).

Dropping the “F” grade policy would also lessen the chaos students have when it comes to getting their final grades. Because there are so many options, dropping the “F” grade would make explanation lighter on registrar when students go to them for advice.

West Potomac High School has decided to give their students the chance to redeem themselves. However, colleges across the nation already do this. If the dropping of this grade policy does have an effect on high school students, it’ll be the same effect it has on present college students.

“Getting To Happy”: Harder than you think!

Book Review

Coming back after their fifteen year hiatus, Terry McMillan’s womanly quartet come back as strong as ever. Known as the sequel to McMillan’s best seller Waiting to Exhale, this titillating novel, Getting to Happy, once again exposes the rainbow of sadness these four women have to once again go through.

Now that they are entering their 50’s, the new prospect of getting older has burdened them. However, the main cause of their stresses has remained the same-- men. The once fiery Robin has decided to step back into the dating game after her fifteen year old daughter signs her up to three dating sites. Fed up of her ten year marriage, Savannah confronts her husband with a plea for divorce after finding out he has an addiction to porn. Bernadine is still miserable six years after her second divorce from a conniving polygamist and Gloria must now contend with getting her life back in order after the sudden passing of her husband, Marvin.

This novel was filled with drama and never ceased to dim down the shock factor. Known for her strong characterization with female protagonists, McMillan included a selection of feminist problems that can be related across the racial board. Shedding light on the troubles middle-aged women, like her, have to go through; McMillan is a standing figure in why this novel was filled with the drama of these four popular female characters.

Following the publication of Getting to Happy, Terry McMillan had her second appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, September 27^th, 2010, where she revisited her tragic media-swollen divorce from ex-husband Jonathan Plummer. Stating on the show “my private life became a public circus,” McMillan admitted that this sequel to Waiting to Exhale was inspired by her break up with Jonathan. Though tragic as the book may seem, McMillan balances these stresses with the burst of laughter her readers will experience while entranced in its page-turning plot.   

Take Cover! Dirt in “Safe” Places!

           Last year officials installed a number of hand sanitizing stations in classrooms around campus. With campus and commuter life combining at City College, from the constant interactions and exchanges we have with one another, we are constantly exposed to different viruses every day. Now that flu season is already here in full swing, it is important that we protect ourselves from such bacterium which means cleanliness is a must in order to keep students healthy and efficient. 

A student reporter for The Pride, student newspaper of the University of California at San Marcos, recently ranked the dirtiest places on that campus. The top spot was the drinking fountain. According to the article, the drinking fountain was not only found to harbor up to 2.7 million bacteria at a single station, but it was also labeled by NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company™, as being dirtier than a public toilet which only contained an average of 49 bacteria. “That is kind of frightening,” stated Katherine Matos, 21, a rising senior at Pratt Institute. “I would’ve guessed public toilets would have come first on that list.”

Surprising to many, the drinking fountain is posted as the dirtiest place on a campus because of its characteristics. Water fountains are constantly wet and, noted the Pride article; wet surfaces are a breeding ground for bacteria such as E. coli and staphylococcus. Not to mention, it consists of your most vulnerable body part being in contact with such a dirty surface—your mouth.

To top off the dirtiest list:

2. Classrooms: Desks in class harbor 20 times the amount of bacteria than a regular workplace desk does.

3. Restroom doors:  They’re the one place everyone has to touch.

4. Stairway rails: Bacteria survive for a longer amount of time on metal than on wood because it is a non-porous surface. This means metal cannot absorb water or liquids the way wood can and because absorption cannot occur on non-porous surfaces, we are more susceptible to coming in contact with the bacteria.

5. Vending machines. They also feature a non-porous surface where bacteria can live on for long amount of times. And when combined with money, which gets very dirty from constantly circulating into the hands of others, you find yourself with no chance of protection.

To help keep students, faculty and staff germ-free, officials installed new hydration stations in the Marshak Science Center and the NAC. These systems provide chilled, filtered tap water free of charge and will help to reduce CCNY’s carbon footprint. Fortunately for CCNY students, they also prevent students from coming in contact with a non-porous or potentially threatening surface.

“Call me a germaphobe, but I wash my hands every chance I get,” says Elizabeth Mohamad, a tutor at CCNY’s Writing Center. “That’s exactly why I’m happy to see they put in the Hydration Station water systems. It helps that you don’t even have to touch the station.”

Where the Boys Aren't—In College

It’s raining women—well at least at The City College of New York.

“It’s obvious! Women are way more motivated than men when it comes to getting their education, stated Krystal Bennet, a 22 year old Advertising and Public Relations major at CCNY.

According to the latest edition of City Facts, the statistical snapshot put out by the Office of Institutional Research proved women outnumber men by 6.4 percent. Compared to the previous edition of City Facts—which showed that women outnumbered men in 2008 by 5.8 percent—the overall female to male ratio has risen 0.6 percent.

“Maybe there are more men at John Jay though because of the schools focus on criminal justice—a manly major,” says Bennett.

These ratios may not seem like a dramatic increase but when looking at the technical figure, statistics show that the CCNY campus has over one thousand more female students than male students. To top it off, City Facts stated in their most recent edition that, “the percent of women in the total student population of the College increased by 6.2% compared to the previous year.”

This female to male ratio at City College is part of a larger national trend. In a recent article by Mary Beth Marklein of USA TODAY, the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights publicized in January that they would investigate the admissions process at a stream of colleges to figure out if these schools were discriminating against females in order to once again even out the tipping gender scale.

“I feel prestigious school would be the culprits for doing such a thing, stated 23 year old Management and Advertising major, Andrea Freire. “To discriminate against females is wrong but Ivy League schools could possibly take that advantage to prove they matriculate an even amount of male to female students every year.”

Since this evaluation started, reports predicted that the gap may expand to an unbelievable 59% female to 41% male by the time 2018 rolls around. Why? Because not only is there nationally a larger number of females than males but other factors like minorities encouragement to apply to college, can eventually hinder this statistic as well.  

 

 In another article written by Marklein, she addresses the fact that while many colleges are trying to form a gender balance on their campuses, national data still proves a 57%-43% difference favoring women who are in college. This is no different from CCNY statistics which almost mimic these same figures.

            “I think it’s great to know more females are enrolled in college than males, stated Freire. “Think about it! Just a few decades ago, women were not even looked upon to further their education.”

           

During a time when genders are looking to balance one another out, there continues to be a negative but stable gap; that being the 57%-43% female to male ratio.

“I don’t believe the gender gap I see hear at CCNY will ever close,” stated Economics major, Kawanny Catr, 22. “You have to consider all the factors and that includes how future generations will be nurtured as well as if education will still be of importance to men.” 

--This article first appeared in CCNY's newspaper, The Campus