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     Y‘é'a‘r‘I-i...a.t. rheuumvefsi‘tv ' ~ 
     
     of Prince Edward Island~,ih 
     
     stipulated that all in; '0 
     
     coming students take a 
     
     course in composition. Such 
     
     action was prompted by the 
     
     results of an objective 
     
     test on basic grammar 
     
     written voluntarily by many 
     
     freshmen students in l975. 
     
     The fact that 60% failed 
     
     the examination confirmed 
     
     the suspicion of many 
     
     professors that a majority 
     
     of students had insufficient 
     
     writing abilities. 
     
    
   
   
    
     COURSE REQUIRED 
     
    

    
     Last year all incoming 
     
     students were informed 
     
     that they were required to 
     
     take English l5l, College 
     
     Composition, before com- 
     
     pleting their degree. The 
     
     course stressed such things 
     
     as common errors in 
     
     writing, how to organize 
     
     and write an essay, and how 
     
     to make the best use of a 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     co M in l s on v” "Co MP 0 SIT 
     
     cons DEREDJC'RUC IAl 
     
    
   
   
    
     library. Lprm,Terny Pratt, 
     
    
   
   
    
     .competency test coordinator; 
     
    
   
   
    
     stated that most professors 
     
     who taught the course saM_ 
     
     a marked improvement in the 
     
     work of,their students, 
     
    
   
   
    
     Those who completed the 
     
    
   
   
    
     ' course had various opinions 
     
    
   
   
    
     on its effectiveness. One 
     
     student said, III was glad 
     
    

    
     I was forced to take the 
     
     course. It was quite help- 
     
     ful.” Another student 
     
    

    
     felt it was an unjust 
     
     imposition and said he “did 
     
     not learn a thing.“ 
     
    
   
   
    
     TEST GIVEN 
     
    

    
     Due to economic restraints 
     
     and a great number of fresh- 
     
     men students, there were not 
     
     enough professors to 
     
     accommodate all the students 
     
     whp had to take the 
     
     compulsory course this year. 
     
     So, for the purpose of 
     
     reducing enrollment figures, 
     
     a test was written by the 
     
     incoming students during 
     
     orientation week. 
     
    
   
   
    
     New. s.u. Vite—President 
     
       eya k' 30’u     
     
    
   
   
    
     by Keyin Gauthier 
     
    
   
   
    
     During Sunday's Student 
     
     Council meeting: the 
     
     council voted to withhold 
     
     our dollar-per-student 
     
     contribution to the 
     
     Atlantic'Federation of 
     
     Students. It was the 
     
     council's opinion that we 
     
     could not commit_the 
     
     students' money to A.F.S. 
     
     until the federatidn ' 
     
     established a clear set of 
     
     goals and plans for the 
     
     coming year. We are also 
     
     waiting for the declaration 
     
     of a clear, written 
     
     constitution for the 
     
     federation. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Everyone realizes that 
     
     A.F.S. has great’potential 
     
     to work on behalf of the 
     
     students of the Atlantic‘ 
     
     Provinces. But; with its 
     
     members scattered over the 
     
     entire eastern coast of 
     
     Canada, it will be difficult 
     
     for the executive of A.F.S. 
     
     to maintain close contact 
     
     with everyone. At present, 
     
     .nobody at this university 
     
     knows exactly what A.F.S. 
     
     Plans to do this year and 
     
     where it plans to take the 
     
     _students of U.P.E.I. That 
     
     IS the reason for the 
     
     council's decision to with- 
     
     } hold our contribution.' When 
     
     - we are satisfied-that w.e 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     'cah hold full confidence in 
     
     A.F.S. as our regional 
     
     respresentative body, then, 
     
     and only then, will we 
     
     authorize the donation of 
     
     our membership fee. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The federation's financial 
     
     position is very shaky, but 
     
     this is because they have 
     
     not yet received money from 
     
     the member universities. 
     
    

    
     The president of Dalhousie 
     
     University Student Union has 
     
     said that his council will 
     
     not commit themselves to 
     
    
   
   
    
     'support of A.F.S. until the 
     
     federation issues a written 7 
     
    
   
   
    
     constitution and plans 
     
    

    
     for the coming year. The 
     
     U.P.E.I.S.U. council 
     
     decided that this move was 
     
     entirely appropriate, and 
     
     we decided to follow suit. 
     
    
   
   
    
     I hope that nobody gets 
     
     the impression that the 
     
     council is opposed to 
     
     A.F.S. and working against 
     
     it. The students of 
     
     Atlantic Canada need an 
     
     organization like this to 
     
     help protect our interests 
     
     against government and 
     
     university administrators. 
     
     But juSt because we need. 
     
     the federation, that I 
     
     doesn't mean that we have 
     
     to rush into it blindly 
     
     without any thought to- 
     
     ward its actions and 
     
     possible consequences. 
     
    
   
   
    
     ' education and such a void 
     
    
   
   
    
     nges-wi h insufficient ,‘ ‘ 
     
     .édaptation-to,sociological 
     
    
   
   
    
     .any sort of dignity for the 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     ' exception of 2 math courSes, 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Sim Thursda?Q$eDt:-”29r,*2i977? Page 3.4? 
     
    
   
   
    
     ION CO U RSE 
     
    
   
   
    
     at any level, and 3 
     
    

    
     required englishes, students 
     
     may fail two subjects and 
     
     still receive a high school 
     
     diploma. 
     
    
   
   
    
     This gruelling exam— 
     
     ination entailed writing 
     
     a 300-WOrd essay-on one‘of’ 
     
     ten intereStingLand diverse- 
     
     topics. The-tests were 
     
     graded on the exchtion ofg’ 
     
     the fundamentals of writing 
     
     such as spelling, grammar, 
     
     sentence structure, para- 
     
     graph development, and 
     
     overall organization and 
     
     expression. The freshmen 
     
     students seemed surprised 
     
     when the posted results 
     
     showed that only lhO, out 
     
     of the “Oh who wrote the 
     
     examination, employed 
     
     sufficient writing ski]ls 
     
     to warrant a pass. 
     
    
   
   
    
     RATIONALIZATION 
     
    

    
     Mr. Steve Connolly, 
     
     guidance counselor at 
     
     Colonel Gray Senior High 
     
     School, expressed the 
     
     opinion that it is essential 
     
     that all students be given 
     
     a good opportunity to 
     
     complete grade l2. 
     
    

    
     “Most job entry levels 
     
     new require completion of 
     
     high school regardless of 
     
     whether this program meets 
     
     entrance requirements of 
     
     post-secondary institutions. 
     
     The long range implication 
     
     of not graduating from high 
     
    

    
     .mwgchool canygeriouslx.affect 
     
     the entire lifestyle of a- 
     
     student,” stated Mr. ' 
     
     Connolly. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Twelve years of formal 
     
    
   
   
    
     of knowledge.; The problem; 
     
    
   
   
    
     pressures placed on both 
     
     the educators and.the 
     
    
   
   
    
     students. . - . 
     
     . Administrators recognize 
     
    
   
   
    
     that not all students have 
     
     the ability necessary for 
     
     university studies even 
     
     though they have completed 
     
     high school. But if a 
     
     student decides to go to 
     
     university, and he gets 
     
     accepted, he has the right 
     
     to attend. 
     
    

    
     Students may have found 
     
     it possible to complete 
     
     their secondary education 
     
     without~too much academic 
     
     challenge. Many realized 
     
     this year, in” the area of 
     
     english composition, that 
     
     this was not to their 
     
     advantage. 
     
    
   
   
    
     CAUSES OF PROBLEM 
     
    

    
     The idea of higher 
     
     education going hand in 
     
     hand with a higher standard 
     
     of living predominates in 
     
     our society. A person can 
     
     no longer quit school with 
     
    
   
   
    
     age of the selfemade man is, 
     
     dead. 
     
    
   
   
    
     In order to achieve an 
     
     established goal of educ- 
     
     ation for the masses 
     
     curriculum must be 
     
     attractive, and success 
     
     attainable, in the eyes of 
     
     the student. To meet 
     
     individual needs there 
     
     ~must be flexibility in 
     
     education programs, and 
     
     achievement must be 
     
     relative to ability.~ 
     
    
   
   
    
     UNIVERSITY RESPONSIBLE 
     
    

    
     Once students have been 
     
     admitted to a university 
     
     the institution is ' 
     
     responsible for their 
     
     academic development. in 
     
     order to establish and main- 
     
     tain credibility a school 
     
     must set standards. And 
     
     studentS' must meet these 
     
     standards in order to 
     
     obtain a degree. 
     
    

    
     The compulsory english 
     
     course at U.P.E.I. is a , 
     
    

    
     ,step in the right direction. 
     
     This in itself is not 
     
     sufficient in up-grading 
     
    

    
     the standards of an all- 
     
     round university education. 
     
     But it is a recognition of 
     
     an unacceptable level of 
     
     english competency and a 
     
     positive attempt to 
     
    

    
     correct it. 
     
    

    
     Language skills are of 
     
     major importance and 
     
     relevance for the entirety 
     
     of one's life. In the words 
     
     of Sir Francis Bacon in his 
     
     essay Of Studies, “Reading 
     
     maketh a full man, ' 
     
     conference a ready man, and 
     
     writing an exact man.“ 
     
    
   
   
    
     SOCIAL PROMOTION 
     
    

    
     Education boards have 
     
     recognized a need for 
     
     social promotion, especially 
     
     at the junior high level. 
     
     It is generally an 
     
     accepted policy that no 
     
     student should spend more 
     
     than four years in the 
     
     three year junior high 
     
     program. A student is 
     
     then promoted to senior 
     
     high. The responsibility 
     
     moves to the high school 
     
     to find Suitable programs 
     
     for all individuals in 
     
     order that they may 
     
     graduate within a reason; 
     
     able amount of time. 
     
    

    
     Most high schools on 
     
     P.E.|. operate on a credit 
     
     system. In such a program 
     
     students take 6 courses 
     
     each year but it is only 
     
     necessary that they obtain 
     
     l5 credits within the 3 
     
     year structure. With the 
     
    
   
   
    
     I,