Grading System to Get Report Card S.J. Officials Say Money Available For
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Su, su, sushi Sweeping up fun Yuppie 'find is centuries-old tradition SJSU broomball pair plays fast, funky sport Li ENTERTAINER PAGES 6 & 7 Voluble 87, Serving the San Jose State 1' wersity Community Since 1934 No. 50 Thursday. November 6, 1986 Playing around Grading system to get report card Plus-minus policy questioned By Frank Michael Russell Plus-minus grading has affected some Daily staff writer graduate students in this way, but not in large Student members of the Academic Senate numbers, said Serena Stanford, associate aca- are calling for a re-evaluation of SJSUs plus- demic vice president for graduate studies. minus grading policy. Determining an exact number of students The policy can hurt SJSU students, partic- affected would require a lengthy records ularly some in graduate programs, honors stu- search, hut the number is less than 10. she said. dents and those on academic probation, said Undergraduate students, who must keep a student Sen. Daniel Downey. pro- Downey has called for the senate's Stu- 2.0 average in order to stay off academic dent Opinion Poll Committee to measure how bation. face a similar problem with C'- grades. faculty and students feel about the plus-minus Rowen said. grading system by March. The grading policy also harms students in The grading policy was approved by the qualifying for recognition as honors students. Academic Senate and SJSU President Gail Ful- Downey said. lerton in 1983. It first took effect in fall 1984. The senate's Student Honors Committee 'I'm not interested in necessarily getting sponsors an annual honors convocation in the rid of it.' Downey said. spring. The move would he a first step, measuring To qualify for President's Scholar honors. campus sentiment about the policy . he said. students must have received a 4.0 average in at The senate approved the move at its Oct. least 12 units in the two regular semesters be- 20 meeting. fore the convocation. Student Sen. Jim Rowell. a graduate stu- dent in political science, said the grading sys- A student can earn straight A's. hut with tem has hurt students working on master's de- one A- would be ineligible for President's grees. Scholar status, Downey said. "You can he helped by plus-minus." Pluses can add an extra three-tenths of a Rowen said. "You can also be hurt by it.' point per unit to a student's GPA, but minuses Graduate students. under California State take the same amount away. University system policy. must maintain a 3.0 Under plus-minus grading, students re- grade point average. ceive no points toward their GPA for an F to A student who receives 13 grades through- 4.0 points per unit for an A or A + out his whole program, then one B-, would for which they have to take another class, earning at least a Students can repeat courses If the student is eligible B . he said. earned a C- or below. renewal, the nds grade will re- "One grade can determine your entire fu- for academic in calculating the GPA. ture at the university." Rowen said place the old John Duus Daily staff photographer Sen. Louie Baiuzzi of Counseling Serv- Fullerton said at a news ccinference last week that there have been probkstons with plus- Steve Le Doux, local resident and 14 aiter flute with radio accompaniment be. to practice and ices agreed. enjoys coming to campus minus grading. at Hobees in Mountain View pia% s his tw een the science buildings. He said he to get out of his apartment. "One minus in 30 units of credit seems not enough to disqualify the student." Bamzzi While the effect of pluses may help some said. See GRADING, page 8 S.J. officials say money available for Spartan City By Brian Fedrow -The cii) has significant money for low- and moder- ate for him to do so." imiersity. Daily staff writer ate-income housing." he said. "If people have projects. The construction of student housing is funded through "It's something worth pursuing," he said, adding that The 19118 closure of Spartan City apartment complex they should come to us. The city shouldn't have to go to the state tax bonds, according to Housing Director Willie he has had no contact with any university officials. Cook will leave a vacant lot on the corner of Seventh and Hum- university and say we have all this money to bomiss" Brown. A 1947 state law gives priority to single student said whether the housing is for married or single students boldt streets and no redevelopment plans. dwellings. He said he doubts whether SJSU can ;accept Mercury News columnist Pat Dillon quoted City Coun- wouldn't matter because under state redevelopment law, Gail Fullerton said the university has no money from the city to build low- or moderate -income President cilman Jim Beall several weeks ago as saying that the city who occupies the house is not an issue. funding in sight to replace the 100-unit apartment building. housing at South Campus. and university could work together to rebuild Spartan City. An SJSU policy decision Any construction would be for single students, not married may be blocking future con- with alms -interest or no-interest loan. struction at the South or single-parent families, she said. "We have significant need for student housing." Campus site, he said. Spartan City location is in the university Fullerton said the Fullerton ordered the complex to be closed in August Fullerton dismissed the offers and the rumors. Brown said. "The university may re-examine the pur- master plan for housing." pose of the Spartan City site when it is tom 1988 because of excessive fire and safety hazards that "That was essentially a figment of Mr. Dillon's very down. would be too costly to upgrade. creative journalistic imagination," she said. Fullerton said Tom Cook, a housing supervisor in the city redevel- "We need to do a careful physical master plan for the But San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery. who spoke on she talked to Beall about Spartan City casually at a lun- opment agency, said there are no legal problems with SJSU South Campus area,she said. campus Oct. 23, said the city is willing and able to help cheon. "He certainly never said the city would be able to borrowing money from the city as far as he knows. He also Fullerton said Spartan City has never been part of the SJSU fund rebuilding Spartan City. put moneys into (rebuilding), and it would not he appropri- said the agency would like to work cooperatively with the See SPARTAN CITE. page 8 Newspapers violate restrictions Decisions '86 CSU By Paula Ray Christiansen fired for publishing ed ,101 !al% endorsing candidates, Daily staff writer CSU is the only system that even though a disclaimer was used. Skelly said. Election results CSU schools are waiting for a decision from the Enforcement of the law is being left to individ- chancellor's office before deciding whether to take bans editorial expression on ual universities until the Humboldt case is decided, action against newspaper editors who illegally en- which could be a matter of weeks. Chapman said. U.S. Senate dorsed political candidates. political issues. Once a decision is made, individual universities Title V of the California State University ad- Sherry Skelly will be advised as to what action to take toward fu- Democratic Sen Alan Cranston fought ministrative code prohibits editorial endorsement by hesaid. off a determined challenge from CSSA legislative director ture newspaper editorial staffs, school newspapers without the writer's signatures, Chapman refused to comment on whether edi- Republican Ed Zschau to win his fourth said Mayer Chapman, CSU general counsel. torial staffs involved this election year will be repri- term in the Senate Cranston edged A lawsuit against CSU challenging this section tern. Skelly said. manded. Zschau by lust 119.000 votes out of the of the code is in progress, he said. Students view Title V as a violation of the First Individual CSU schools are taking a "do-noth- 7 2 million votes cast Zschau. a two - A telephone survey last week by the California Amendment, she said. Student newspapers want to ing" stance so far, Skelly said. term congressman from Los Altos who State Student Association, an organization rep- be taken seriously and fed they deserve the same The Humboldt State Lumberjack chose to en- gave up his seat to run for the Senate, resenting CSU students, indicated that 12 out of the protection as professional newspapers. Skelly said. dorse candidates this year despite the firing of editor wasn't able to hold his own in his own 19 CSU campus newspapers were considering en- CSU is the only system that bans editorial ex- Adam Truitt who filed the 1984 lawsuit. back yard, Santa Clara County. dorsing candidates or propositions, said Sherry pression on political issues, she said. Lumberjack editor-in-chief Mark Anderson Skelly, CSSA legislative director. Assembly Bill 1720, an attempt to amend the said it was a matter of continuity and a statement Student papers have not endorsed candidates in 25-year-old section of the code was vetoed by Gov. about the responsibility of student newspapers. Governor at least two years, she said. George Deukmejian last month. ''We are standing by the conviction that student The overriding factor in decisions to endorse Chapman refused to comment on the 1984 law- newspapers have the same rights as professional the Nov. 4 election by Humboldt State University suit filed against CSU by the editorial staff at Hum- newspapers under the First Amendment," Anderson and California State universities at Fresno and Long boldt State.