Ohio University - Athena Yearbook (Athens, OH)

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Craig Holman Above: Dr James Walters works at his desk in the university ad- missions office Loft: A student volunteer gives a tour to prospective freshmen during a winter weekend program designed to bring high school students to campus for recruiting. Craig Holman Above: A student checks her transcript on the computer terminal in the Registration office in Chubb Hall Below: West Green, the future site of expansion of the medical school and allied health services Craig Holman C.J. Hamplon Risk, Life, Go to the Head of the Class 23

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Risk, cont. whole, students were becoming more study-minded. Those who dissented cited last spring ' s riots as a step backward for O.U. ' s public image, and one response described the new students as duller people. We want to provide a ' reasonable ' place for students to live. They should enjoy the living learning environment and want to return. states Arthur Gibson, director of housing. The enjoyment of dorm living is a personal thing, but the administration does keep tabs on what options could improve the situation. Freshman dorms were established two years ago and no serious problems have appeared from the Housing office ' s point of view. International students have now filled two dorms, and the number of graduate students living in University housing has increased by 30 per cent. Of the 43 dorms in existence. 39 are now occupied. Because the enrollment has increased, four previously closed dorms were reopened fall quarter. We expect the present number to be sufficient for any future ex- pansion, however, said Gibson. What changes will the future bring? Tentative suggestions include offering more room and board plan options, or more special interest activities. Another plan would allow students to live in dorms with others in their own academic major, somewhat like the Honors Tutorial and graduate students programs. Is the Housing office providing an enjoyable, reasonable place for students to live? The student opi- nion on freshman dorms was split down the middle: half felt it was a good program, half disliked it; the ad- ministration saw no real problems. As for the ten- tative suggestion for dorm divisions by academic major, 64 per cent thought the idea would be too confining. The future of the curriculum and faculty areas hinges on one phrase: budget cuts. This year, we just have to cut and get by, said Dr. Joseph Tucker, assistant provost. And it looks like the curriculum will have to continue to get by for the next several years unless the state increases its support. The situation isn ' t totally dismal, however, because of the addition of a seventh college, the new College of Osteopathic Medicine. A freshman class of 24 students initiated the program which is expected to grow to 500 students within ten years. Promoters of the school an- ticipate that all of the West Green will eventually be eaten up by medical services. President Charles Ping, in his State of the University address in September, expressed his desire that O.U. emphasize its liberal, rather than professional, studies. Will there, consequently, be more strict general educa- tion requirements? The Freshman ABC grading policy, which allowed freshmen to drop D ' s and F ' s, was abolished in November. At that time the Faculty Senate was also considering a university-wide English com- position requirement. Any additional new courses will create a need for more professors, a need which might feel the financial pinch. No new professors are being hired, and those who go on leave or retire are not replaced, according to Faculty Senate Chairman Richard Bald. Full-time Athens campus faculty numbers have dropped from 1 ,- OOO in the 1 960 ' s to 700 at the present time. We were really in the doldrums two years ago because of the interim president, the severe budget problems, and the dropping enrollment, said Bald. The faculty attitude has improved some lately. he added. Mostly, it ' s just a watch-and-wait-and-see feeling. Everyone watches and waits to see what kind of reorganization and shuffling will occur in the curriculum and faculty areas due to budget cuts. One accepted fact is that tuition will continue to go up. Other than that, the future lies in putting our imagination to work on the task of becoming more comprehensive. said President Ping. With little money to work with, it may take a lot of 22 Risk, Life, Go to the Head of the Class

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Risk, cont. imagination. When questioned about the abolition of the ABC grading policy, only half of the students thought that its abolition was a good idea, whereas the prospect of a university-wide English requirement brought a 70 per cent agreement Faculty size and availability were deemed sufficient by 79 per cent. What is the typical Ohio University student doing about his own future? One outlet for personal planning is membership in an organization and the number of groups in existence is increasing. By the end of the year, we should have 200 groups listed, said Carla Hirschfeld, director of student organizations. Students first organize their own clubs and find their own advisers. Then they petition for funds from the University. The current total organization allocation is $40,000. Each request must be approved by the Stu- dent Financial Board, the Student Activities Commis- sion, and the Student Senate before any money is doled out, but the funds are available. The money is impor- tant because it is the most tangible way students see that the University supports them, stated Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld feels that more and more students who are joining organizations realize that it ' s not just what goes down on the resume, but what is gained from the experience. Recent trends show an abundance of club sports cropping up. What future plans are in the works for student organizations? Such activities as leadership con- ferences and special help sessions for goal setting, agenda planning, and personal conflict problems are of media coverage . . . already being attempted. damental shift in attitude We intend to do more work with groups, said Hirschfeld, With our limited manpower, we want to serve as many students as we can and give them more than they ' re expecting. Of these students polled, a vast majority belonged to a campus organization, Greeks included. Only 19 per cent admitted to joining a club strictly for use on a resume. The administrative plans and perceptions and stu- dent reactions given above are only tentative. Who knows what financial miracles may occur, or what tragedies? It ' s all a game of chance no matter whose viewpoint is taken. Most administrators and students are optimistic. When asked what they thought were the two biggest improvements O.U. could make, students offered anything from the practical, more parking spaces, to the strict, accept only those in the top 1 5 per cent of their graduating class. Lower tuition was consistently mentioned as was the need for more con- certs and campus entertainment. President Ping summed up the question of Ohio University ' s future in his September address: The debt problem is acute and all predictions for the 1 980 ' s suggest crisis, but we have had a good year in terms 24 Risk, Life, Go to the Head of the Class