(no subject)
If you don't understand why I like Nascar, then that's understandable, but this? This is just wrong in so many ways, and I intend to fully prove him wrong. This was posted in the BSC weekly newspaper, enjoy:
READS DOSTOYEVSKY? HARDLY.
By Henry Palmer
Contributing Writer
It has been nearly two years since Birmingham-Southern College made the jump from NCAA Division I into the less competitive and more academic Division III.
Like magic, the original heartbreak that resulted from leaving Division I was cured with the spirit of football. The new football complex went under construction while students purchased a bestselling t-shirt from the bookstore with the catchy slogan, "BSC Football - Undefeated since
1939."
Meanwhile, the Admissions Office set goals for the coming years that would increase enrollment while still maintaining high academic standards. Birmingham-Southern's goal is to hold 1,800 students in matriculation by the year 2015. Perhaps this is the justification for the new five-star Admissions House that is awkwardly stuck between Striplin and Fraternity Row. It replaces the late yet much-beloved green that was often a spot of leisure for the students in the spring.
Because of these developments and others, there is a slight sense of discontent in the air. That magic from the beginning of the season is now replaced with many students feeling like their lives have been invaded by football. There is also speculation that many athletes receive athletic scholarships despite the school's move to Division III. In addition, the Panthers finished just 3-7 (two of those wins against JV squads), and most students chose not to attend home games. To compound this, there are rumors flying about how a majority of the football players received a mark of D or F in at least one class on their midterm grades.
With speculations like these, one must wonder if Birmingham-Southern is holding everyone to the same admission standard.
Sheri Salmon, Dean of Admissions, said that Birmingham-Southern has kept its academic standards for everyone. "The credentials in every standard were either the same as last year or before," she said in reference to the incoming freshman class.
She also says there is a floor ACT, SAT or GPA that all students must achieve to be admitted (21, 970, 2.25, respectively). If a student does not meet those requirements, then he or she is sent to a faculty committee where admission is decided. Athletes have to meet these same requirements.
As to the worry that some athletes may actually be receiving athletic scholarships in Division III, Joe Dean, Athletic Director, said, "There are two basic ways that [athletes] can receive financial aid. One is academic-merit based on their ACT score or their GPA. Almost every student
on this campus gets some form of merit aid. The second way they can receive financial aid is need-based."
Many schools in Division III offer leadership scholarships to student athletes as a way to loophole the system, but both Salmon and Dean say that Birmingham-Southern does not do this.
It is clear Birmingham-Southern has undergone quite a change in the past two years, but this change has not been without controversy. While the numbers and morals may be holding true in the administration, the new faces at BSC that came along with Division III and increased enrollment
have had a hard time being received by the old ones.
There seems to be a disconnect between how the school wants to appear and how the school actually appears in terms of a student body.
An example is the new billboard on Interstate-65 South. There is a picture of a dressed-out Birmingham-Southern quarterback making a pass with text next to him that says: "Reads Defenses, and Dostoyevsky."
How many of our football players do you think have read
Dostoyevsky? Furthermore, how many of our other students
have? I have not.
The same is true of another billboard that says Birmingham-Southern's largest freshman class is here to change the world.
However, I cannot wholeheartedly believe this claim after witnessing two football players from Miles College asking to meet with Coach Jones about playing football at BSC. When Coach Jones was informed of their visit, he was not so concerned with their academic merit or their abilities to perform in the classroom. Rather, his reply was, "Did they look fast?"
In the campaign to become a more academically focused liberal arts institution with a larger enrollment and moderately difficult acceptance standards, Birmingham-Southern has in the process romanticized itself.
The school is striding to make itself seem more diverse, spirited and academically oriented than it really is. In the past two years, the only construction on campus has been the lake, the Admissions House, and the football complex--none of which are academically oriented (one of
which seems to serve no purpose at all).
The campus is so busy building, we cannot even afford to tear down Goodwin.
One only has to look at the college's website homepage to understand how Birmingham-Southern is trying to seem diverse. Of the pictures featured on the front page, at least half are of minority individuals, but according to SparkCollege.com, 90 percent of Birmingham-Southern students are white.
And, although the Admissions Office will hate me for saying it, U.S. News and World Report ranks Birmingham-Southern as 75th in the Top Liberal Arts Colleges of 2008. This is behind Rhodes,
Sewanee and Colorado College.
Perhaps I am losing sight of what is really at stake here. Maybe Birmingham-Southern climbs in
those rankings by doing just what we are currently doing for recruitment. Maybe in today's visual society, the way to increase student numbers is to advertise in much the same way that Chevrolet or Anheuser-Busch does.
However, I can only think of the reason why I enrolled in Birmingham-Southern. It was not because of television ads or billboards, a brand new admissions building or a football team. It was because Birmingham-Southern was, by far, the best academic institution in the state. It was because it was small, charming and quaint, unlike the University of Alabama or Auburn University. It was because of the large amount of academic aid, the atmosphere and because it was just far enough away from home. As we move toward these enrollment goals, I urge the administration not to take their current students for granted.
READS DOSTOYEVSKY? HARDLY.
By Henry Palmer
Contributing Writer
It has been nearly two years since Birmingham-Southern College made the jump from NCAA Division I into the less competitive and more academic Division III.
Like magic, the original heartbreak that resulted from leaving Division I was cured with the spirit of football. The new football complex went under construction while students purchased a bestselling t-shirt from the bookstore with the catchy slogan, "BSC Football - Undefeated since
1939."
Meanwhile, the Admissions Office set goals for the coming years that would increase enrollment while still maintaining high academic standards. Birmingham-Southern's goal is to hold 1,800 students in matriculation by the year 2015. Perhaps this is the justification for the new five-star Admissions House that is awkwardly stuck between Striplin and Fraternity Row. It replaces the late yet much-beloved green that was often a spot of leisure for the students in the spring.
Because of these developments and others, there is a slight sense of discontent in the air. That magic from the beginning of the season is now replaced with many students feeling like their lives have been invaded by football. There is also speculation that many athletes receive athletic scholarships despite the school's move to Division III. In addition, the Panthers finished just 3-7 (two of those wins against JV squads), and most students chose not to attend home games. To compound this, there are rumors flying about how a majority of the football players received a mark of D or F in at least one class on their midterm grades.
With speculations like these, one must wonder if Birmingham-Southern is holding everyone to the same admission standard.
Sheri Salmon, Dean of Admissions, said that Birmingham-Southern has kept its academic standards for everyone. "The credentials in every standard were either the same as last year or before," she said in reference to the incoming freshman class.
She also says there is a floor ACT, SAT or GPA that all students must achieve to be admitted (21, 970, 2.25, respectively). If a student does not meet those requirements, then he or she is sent to a faculty committee where admission is decided. Athletes have to meet these same requirements.
As to the worry that some athletes may actually be receiving athletic scholarships in Division III, Joe Dean, Athletic Director, said, "There are two basic ways that [athletes] can receive financial aid. One is academic-merit based on their ACT score or their GPA. Almost every student
on this campus gets some form of merit aid. The second way they can receive financial aid is need-based."
Many schools in Division III offer leadership scholarships to student athletes as a way to loophole the system, but both Salmon and Dean say that Birmingham-Southern does not do this.
It is clear Birmingham-Southern has undergone quite a change in the past two years, but this change has not been without controversy. While the numbers and morals may be holding true in the administration, the new faces at BSC that came along with Division III and increased enrollment
have had a hard time being received by the old ones.
There seems to be a disconnect between how the school wants to appear and how the school actually appears in terms of a student body.
An example is the new billboard on Interstate-65 South. There is a picture of a dressed-out Birmingham-Southern quarterback making a pass with text next to him that says: "Reads Defenses, and Dostoyevsky."
How many of our football players do you think have read
Dostoyevsky? Furthermore, how many of our other students
have? I have not.
The same is true of another billboard that says Birmingham-Southern's largest freshman class is here to change the world.
However, I cannot wholeheartedly believe this claim after witnessing two football players from Miles College asking to meet with Coach Jones about playing football at BSC. When Coach Jones was informed of their visit, he was not so concerned with their academic merit or their abilities to perform in the classroom. Rather, his reply was, "Did they look fast?"
In the campaign to become a more academically focused liberal arts institution with a larger enrollment and moderately difficult acceptance standards, Birmingham-Southern has in the process romanticized itself.
The school is striding to make itself seem more diverse, spirited and academically oriented than it really is. In the past two years, the only construction on campus has been the lake, the Admissions House, and the football complex--none of which are academically oriented (one of
which seems to serve no purpose at all).
The campus is so busy building, we cannot even afford to tear down Goodwin.
One only has to look at the college's website homepage to understand how Birmingham-Southern is trying to seem diverse. Of the pictures featured on the front page, at least half are of minority individuals, but according to SparkCollege.com, 90 percent of Birmingham-Southern students are white.
And, although the Admissions Office will hate me for saying it, U.S. News and World Report ranks Birmingham-Southern as 75th in the Top Liberal Arts Colleges of 2008. This is behind Rhodes,
Sewanee and Colorado College.
Perhaps I am losing sight of what is really at stake here. Maybe Birmingham-Southern climbs in
those rankings by doing just what we are currently doing for recruitment. Maybe in today's visual society, the way to increase student numbers is to advertise in much the same way that Chevrolet or Anheuser-Busch does.
However, I can only think of the reason why I enrolled in Birmingham-Southern. It was not because of television ads or billboards, a brand new admissions building or a football team. It was because Birmingham-Southern was, by far, the best academic institution in the state. It was because it was small, charming and quaint, unlike the University of Alabama or Auburn University. It was because of the large amount of academic aid, the atmosphere and because it was just far enough away from home. As we move toward these enrollment goals, I urge the administration not to take their current students for granted.