Ripon College - Crimson Yearbook (Ripon, WI)

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»■■ — ■ ■ - Giles Triumphs The Ripon College debate and forensics team com- I pleted another successful season, placing fourth in for- i ens cs and second in debate at the state tournament and seeing Trevor Giles become the first Ripon student to reach the finals of the national tournament. Giles finished sixth in the impromptu speaking cate- gory at the eighth annual American Forencisc National Tournament held April 12-15 at Towson University in Bal- timore, Maryland. He also reached the semi-final round of the extemporaneous and persuasive speaking I events. Giles, who had also qualified for nationals in after dinner speaking and informative speaking, finished 10th in the overall Individual Sweepstakes. This is only the second time that Ripon has been represented in the national tournament; last year Giles and Chris Leland I qualified Earlier in the season. Ripon found success at the Wis- consin Collegiate Forensics Association State Tourna- | ment at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The de- bate duo of Tim Vasquez and Reina Owen placed sec- | ood m the overall competition. The forensics squad finished fourth overall at Oshkosh. Gies placed first in after dinner speaking and third in the | mpromptu event. His performances in the persuasive category qualifies him for the Interstate Oratorical Asso- ciation Contest, the oldest collegiate forensics compe- tition in the country, to be held at Bradley University in I Peona. Illinois on May 3-4. Angie Mertig placed sixth in the extemporaneous and impromptu categories I (Stay courtesy of The Ripon College Days) Prior to the national tournament. Giles and Leland took sixth in a team competition at Iowa State Universi- ty. That placing was out of 28 teams. Both competed in six events. Placing 6th in the Extemporaneous Speaking ond 1st in the Informative Speaking was Chris Leland. Gies finished 3rd in Persuasive Speaking and in Im- promptu Speaking. Overall. Giles finished 5th and Le- lond 7th. Winter vacation was a time for Giles to take a first place in the pentathalon at the University of New Mexi- co This feat included victories in persuasive, informa- tive. impromptu, and after dinner speaking. He qualified for the national tournament because of his showing that week. Reina Owen placed second in competition, be- hnd the first place finisher by only one point. M ftgnt Trevor Gdes. qualifier for the national tournament n Forenses There Was A Stranger In Town Security On Campus Increases For several months in the Fa semester, students were under quite a scare, from someone they did not even know Beginning in early Sep- tember and lasting nearly two months, a man delighted n scaring and exposing himself to women on campus The man began by scaring women in areas such as the cemetery near Merriman House and n the path between Scott and Johnson Hals. As time grew on. he began exposing himself to and touching women m places bke Tri-Dorms and near Bartlett Hcfl He was eventuoly recognized in Bender's Pub by a college woman who had seen him in the bathroom in Bartlett He was held at Bender s by eolege men until police arrived to apprehend him As a result of the scores women on campus were receiving. the mtrafratemity Council sponsored on escort service for women By col- mg any fraternity, women were able to get where they were gong safely

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Student Opinion Determines Salary Professors Evaluated By Peers As Well As Students During the final days of last semester (Fall. '85), stu- dents were asked to evaluate their teachers. The eval- uations consisted of questions about the teacher's atti- tude, preparation and technique Most students me- thodically filled out the computerized questionaire. not realizing the importance of their responses. Debby Westfahl. a freshman, referred to the evaluations as a waste of time because she thinks nobody takes it seriously However, the student's evaluations are important. These evaluations, along with peer evaluations, help Ripon's Dean of Faculty. Douglas Northrup. administrate the Faculty Evaluation and Merit Award System The purpose of this system is to insure the continued excel- lence of Ripon College, and to provide a basis for re- warding those members of the faculty who have contri- buted to achieving this goal. The rewards the professors receive consist of salary increments A teacher's salary increases according to his merit category. The Dean of Faculty places a teach- er in one of five categories. A professor in category one receives a salary increase $1000 and an across-the- board (A.T.B.) increase each year for three years. Indivi- duals in categories two and three also receive an A.T.B. increase However, their raises are $750 and $400. Per- sons in category (four) receive an A.T.B. increase and persons in category five receive no increases Though student evaluations existed, this is only the second year that the results influenced a teacher's sal- ary increase The results of the students' responses opinions of each teacher are compiled and then aver- aged Professor James Beatty compared the evalua- tions to Olympian competition. “You can take the eval- uations to Olympian competition You take the me- dian. You throw out the highs and lows. Dean Northrup uses an average because, as he said, student evalua- tion corresponds to student satisfaction, not necessarily teaching quality. For this reason, a talented t may attain a low rank because his subject material difficult to comprehend. The Dean stressed that student's opinion by itself determines what a prof: makes. Another determining factor is the results of peer ev uations. These consist of reports from two designat members of the teacher's department, from a i outside the department and from the Chair of department. The peer reports con be rather lengthy os the evaluators comment not only on the evaluates teaching techniques, but also on his scholarship anj and on his contribution to the college community. After attaining this information, the Dean reviews the r( with the individual being evaluated, revealmg only the composite results. Finally, the Dean ranks the foe into the varsious merit categories and the t receive their salary increments. The Faculty Evaluation and Merit Award System now in a two year trial period By next year, the syst will be in a triennial program. Each year only one-third of the faculty will be evaluated and be rewarded. A i review will occur every third year. Presently, the Dean is compiling the results of the pee evaluations. He hopes to have the merit cat distinguished and publicized by March 1. The salary in- crements and A.T.B. increases then take effect in the 1985-86 academic year (Story by Lynn Probst courtesy of the College Days, Friday. February 1. 1985.) EDITOR'S NOTE. The student evaluation system as de- scribed above, as of the Spring of 1985. is no longer used. The students will still evaluate the faculty as al- ways. but the salary increases, or lack thereof. w« no longer be determined by student evaluation influence 28 StuOent Life: Faculty Evaluations

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RFS Folds Student Apathy Blamed It was the end of a long, hard- fought battle. For years the mem- bers of the Ripon Film Society have struggled to keep the orga- nization above water. It has had its share of ups and down in the past, but members have always managed to rescue its life. But with the rising cost of movie rent- als. the club was forced to fold. 1984-85 president Chris Hahn announced the unfortunate news in November of this past year. It was his feeling that the largest reason for the demise was stu- dent apathy. The club was not drawing enough people to the movies which were shown Wednesdays and Fridays. Hahn believed that another reason for the small audiences was that the movies were not appealing to students. The mov- ies. however, were the selections chosen by students in surveys dis- tributed in the '83-'84 school year. However, only 50 out of 900 surveys were returned. Again, apathy can clearly be blamed In order to break even, the or- ganization needed at least 90 people over the three showings to break even on movies which cost at least $120.00. Hohn was justifiably disappointed in the fold of the organization. It is a shame that apathy is to blame, as well, when the movies offered an al- ternative to those members of the student body who could not enjoy going to the bars down- town. or who did not choose to do so. Hahn did not feel that the students had to attend the show- ings. and felt that other things, such as low rental cost of movies downtown, and the competition from the Campus Cinema, and some mistakes made by the RFS were to blame. Whatever the case, it is unfortunate.