Please choose the best answer.
Multiple-choice examinations are:
a) Easy as pie
b) An insult to your intelligence
c) A waste of your time and money
d) Far too common in science and large courses

To figure this out, let’s do some math. UM costs full-time students $12,919 per semester, in just tuition. At 15 credits, the average course load, this averages to $861.27 per credit, or $2583.80 per 3-credit course. In certain courses (in the biology and chemistry departments, for example), your grade for the semester is solely based on three multiple-choice examinations of, let’s say, fifty questions each. Therefore, $2583.80 divided into these 150 questions that determine your entire grade gives an average of $17.23 per question. Obviously the value for each question would be different under other circumstances. If there are more questions or four instead of three tests, the value will decrease, and if the teacher determines the grade by using a curve, some questions will increase in value while others decrease.
However, the problem is that no student realizes, when in the high-stress environment of the examination, how much these questions are worth, both academically and economically. If you studied and were well prepared, then you are closer to realizing the full value of your education. But the average student is susceptible to the Glorious Xmas-Tree Method of Multiple Choice Tests. Under the pressure of time, the honor code, and the myriad of other stressors of student life, we forget how much we’re spending to choose between the letters A, B, C, and D (or T and F).
We deserve better for our tuition payments. Yes, professors have argued for years that M/C examinations are much more convenient because (choose the best answer): A) the class size is too large, B) the material is not suited for essay format, C) The TA doesn’t like to do work, or D) Because I said so. Yet it is a tragedy of modern education when we exchange convenience for the chance for a more thorough and expressive (rather than recall) learning.
It is obvious that at $17.23 per question none of us is paying that much attention. When we accept the “norm” or M/C tests, we are denying ourselves the access to a more comprehensive relationship with the professor and the material; we just repeat like parrots what we learned in the text. In the absence of M/C exams, we can be assured more patient and intimate contact with the course and ultimately more bang for our bucks.

The Miami Hurricane will soon consider applications for the position of Opinion Editor for the spring semester of 2004. Applicants may be of any major or school, or any grade level, but must be students. It is encouraged that applicants be able to hold the position through the fall semester of the next year. Stay tuned to this space for more information regarding application dates, portfolio requirements, and interviews.

Dear Hurricane,
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received several Public Safety crime alerts on campus involving sexual assaults. Although not typical of the UM campus, after speaking to friends of mine attending other schools, I realize this type of crime is common on college campuses. However, I’m still concerned. I’m a commuter student who’s on campus all the time: day and night. I need to protect myself. I don’t want to become a statistic. And I definitely don’t have time to fill out a lengthy police report. Any suggestions?

Signed,
Trying to Stay Safe

Dear Trying,

Your friends are right – it is common for college campuses to experience some strange behavior. And believe me, we’ve had some pretty strange things happen on campus lately! Anyway, try the following to help yourself feel and be safer:
First, if you’re ever afraid while walking alone, use the telephone polls with blue lights on top of them that connect directly to Public Safety and identify the location of the caller if he/she can’t speak.
Use the phones to report suspicious behavior or obtain information.
You also can use it to request a security escort, usually student security guards who will escort you and chat all the way to wherever you need to go.
Both men and women are encouraged to request escorts.
Don’t forget that the blue-light phones can also be used to access MAP [Motorist Assistance Program] to jump-start cars, unlock vehicles and temporarily fix flat tires.
There are more than 70 blue-light phones on campus.
Second, consider self-defense classes. I realize this may sound rather boring, but self-defense provides students with the skills and confidence to respond to an attack.
The Wellness Center, in conjunction with Public Safety, offers Rape Aggression Defense [RAD], a 12-hour, comprehensive self-defense course for women, as well as, SAFE, its two-hour, abbreviated counterpart.
The Wellness Center also teaches a co-ed Okinawa Karate class and oversees the Karate Club.
Also, a newly developed six-week, co-ed self-defense course will be available in a couple weeks.
Call the Wellness Center at 8-LIFE for details about these programs.
If you go through the program, you will increase your chances of escaping from an attacker. The programs have also been known to increase self-esteem and confidence.
Who wouldn’t feel better after learning tips on fighting off and outsmarting a criminal?
Right now, the buzz on campus is to watch out for assaults by strangers; however, acquaintance and date rape are much more of a problem among college students.
PIER 21 Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs and Bacchus & Gamma are constantly educating students to control their substance use.
More than 85 percent of acquaintance and date rapes involve substances.
For more information, contact PIER 21 at 8-6120.
Additionally, the residence halls offer programs on sexual assault prevention throughout the year. Ask your RA if a related presentation is scheduled for your floor or building.
Finally, if you or a friend are caught off-guard and an unfortunate incident occurs, the best resource is the Counseling Center’s Sexual Assault Response Team, more commonly known as SART. Specially trained professionals or advocates from UM man the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The phone call is confidential.
Advocates impart guidance on handling the situation and referrals to other professionals. All students should know the SART line number, 305-796-6666.
Write it down.

Sincerely,

Javonne Stewart

Javonne Stewart is a freshman majoring in English. She works in the Wellness Suite of the Wellness Center.

Micky Tsouprake, 76, didn’t initially plan on spending 50 years of her life in a building full of books; just long enough for her husband, Ted Tsouprake, to graduate from the UM School of Law.
Yet 50 years later, she is still working at the Otto G. Richter Library as the supervisor of the periodical department. She helps record nearly 5,000 publications to which the University subscribes.
“The Richter Library is like my second home. I have spent as much time here as I do at home,” Tsouprake said.
When Tsouprake began working at Richter, the campus consisted of only three main buildings: Memorial, Merrick and Richter Library.
At a time when copying machines were nonexistent, Tsouprake remembers when UM had one of the only two dry-powdered Xerox machines in Miami.
Tsouprake most recently recalls when the library’s index card catalog was thrown away and replaced with digitalized references.
What has kept Tsouprake at Richter for so many years?
“The periodical staff has always been very cooperative and congenial. I enjoy working here because of them,” Tsouprake said. “I also never had any children, so it is nice to be in an atmosphere surrounded with so many bright young people.”
Students and coworkers have only good things to say about Tsouprake.
“Micky loves young people and is never afraid to learn, especially when it comes to the computer,” Karin Muniz, student, said.
“She is very knowledgeable, and she loves to share her knowledge and experiences with others,” Gladys Ramos, coworker, said. “I always feel that I can go to her for anything.”
Tsouprake’s sense of humor became apparent when the reporter of this article mentioned that this was her first article for The Miami Hurricane.
“Well, this is my first 50 years,” Touprake replied.
Currently, Touprake is not considering retirement, but she says she looks forward to traveling.
In fact, as a 50th anniversary gift from the library’s catalog department, Touprake was given two round-trip tickets to go anywhere in the world.
Although she has not yet decided where she will go, she mentioned that she will probably go on a Caribbean cruise.
As for her coworkers, they hope she returns from her trip.
“Micky truly is the foundation of this department – it would not run smoothly without her,” Maria Garcia, coworker, said.

Caralyn Pearson can be contacted at japxangel@aol.com

The schools of Communication, Engineering and Music have undertaken a collaborative project aimed at generating a greater awareness concerning worldwide water issues. Proposed by the Modern Media Collaborative, The Water Project has three main formats: a documentary film, a 200-page book and a related website.
“Safe, potable water is an important topic with global implications,” Sanjeev Chatterjee, the project’s director, said.
Chatterjee, also the associate professor and director of the Center for the Advancement of Modern Media at the School of Communication, said he developed the idea for the project following the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002.
“At the time I felt there were important visual stories to be told about the subject,” he said. “As a media maker within academia, I have always found myself to be fortunate to have the freedom to explore important topics that mainstream media does not focus on.”
The project has already produced a 20-minute documentary film, a prologue to the feature-length documentary planned.
Over 20 hours of footage shot in India, the Canary Islands, South Africa and the U.S. were condensed by film editor Ali Habashi into a 20-minute collection of visual stories describing how different cultures use water.
Setting it apart from traditional documentaries, the film does not use narrative voice-overs. Instead, accompanying the images is original music composed by Thomas Sleeper, director of orchestral activities at the School of Music.
“We tried to make it engaging and truthful by showing real people with real problems,” Habashi said. “We wanted the audience to feel emotion. This is a documentary about pain and sorrow.”
While filming in South Africa, Ed Talavera, director of photography, witnessed the injustice of the water problem.
“I was shocked to film in the same country a woman who had to travel a mile uphill to collect water for her family and a man that bottles water at home and sells it for $1 a bottle,” he said.
If the visual evidence is not compelling enough, the proposed book will add a scholarly dimension to the project. Book editor Loup Langton explains that by having several mediums, like the book complementing the film, a larger audience will be reached.
“The important point is that there is a global crisis that is below the radar screen for many,” Langton said. “We hope to develop several different products for varied audiences that will help to put this issue on the screen.”
Langton envisions the literary work as a coffee-table quality book that merges essays written by water experts and intriguing photographs.
Among those interested in contributing to the book is Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project in Amherst, Mass. and author of several books dealing with the water issue. Also scheduled to participate are photographers Peter Essick, Melissa Farlow and Randy Olsen, all who photograph regularly for National Geographic.
Although the project is still in its initial stages, the outlook is positive. Chatterjee explains that, if the resources needed are in place on schedule, the major elements of the project should be delivered by the end of 2004. However, he also hopes the project does not end there.
“The products cannot be ends in themselves,” he said. “It is my sincere hope that in terms of a university-wide collaborative effort this is only the beginning.”
One of the next endeavors the project will embark on is filming in Iceland. Project administrator Dr. James Shelley described the country as being one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world with respect to water usage.
“In the U.S. we take it [water] for granted. In many other countries life is about getting adequate water,” he said.
While some may argue that the project should try focusing more on solutions to the problem than on the problem itself, Chatterjee is confident the aim of the project is realistic.
“The Water Project is not about solutions; it’s about raising awareness and perhaps a sense of responsibility within ourselves,” Chatterjee said. “Few of us are aware that perhaps only one percent of all the water on Earth is really potable. There are no immediate solutions, but there is a need to change the way we think about water. It is not a limitless resource – it is finite.”
Students interested in participating in The Water Project should contact Sanjeev Chatterjee at 305-284-2235 or visit the website at www.miami.edu/com/water.

Paul Fajardo can be contacted at www.pfajardo@umsis.miami.edu.

Pick up the paper every Friday to read the Public Safety call log and learn ways to protect yourself and your belongings.

Safety Tip of the Week: For your safety on and around the Coral Gables campus, Public Safety offers the following services.
Security Escort Patrol: a free, safe means of travel for students, faculty and staff on the Coral Gables campus 24 hours a day. To request a security escort, call Public Safety at 305-284-6666 or use one of the many emergency telephones on campus. Escorts are limited to the geographic boundaries of the Coral Gables campus.
Evening Transportation: from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m., minibuses run the same routes as the Hurry ‘Cane shuttles, providing reliable and free transportation to the University community.
Sunset Shuttle Service: from campus to the Shops of Sunset Place on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 17
12:06 a.m. 1306 Stanford Dr. Petit Theft
8:56 p.m. 5050 Brunson Dr. Burglary

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18
11:59 a.m. 1251 Memorial Dr. Theft
6:30 p.m. 1000 Memorial Dr. Theft
10:40 p.m. 1101 Stanford Dr. Theft
10:54 p.m. 1101 Stanford Dr. Petit Theft

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19
9:44 a.m. 5500 San Amaro Dr. Petit Theft
12:17 p.m. 1100 Stanford Dr. Burglary
2:15 p.m. 5801 San Amaro Dr. Burglary
10:35 p.m. 5638 Merrick St. Criminal Mischief

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20
2:54 p.m. 1221 Walsh Ave. Grand Theft
9:47 p.m. 1101 Stanford Dr. Harassing Phone Calls

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21
10:20 p.m. 1101 Stanford Dr. Theft

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22
9:58 a.m. 1231 Dickinson Dr. Grand Theft
10:11 a.m. 1239 Dickinson Dr. Grand Theft
10:21 a.m. 1206 Stanford Dr. Petit Theft
4:40 p.m. 1239 Dickinson Dr. Burglary
8:23 p.m. 1306 Stanford Dr. Grand Theft

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 23
9:20 a.m. 1252 Memorial Dr. Stalking
9:47 a.m. 1200 Memorial Dr. Petit Theft
11:30 a.m. 1314 Miller Dr. Grand Theft
12:35 p.m. 1239 Dickinson Dr. Petit Theft
2:50 p.m. 5185 Ponce de Leon Harassing Phone Calls
3:28 p.m. 5300 University Dr. Hit and Run

The Miami Hurricane is currently working to improve Police Beat by working with Coral Gables Police Department.
For more information on crimes and crime prevention contact Public Safety at 284-6666.