ByWillAtkinson.com

Proposed Tobacco-Free Policy

Winthrop may soon join the growing legion of tobacco-free American colleges. The administration sent out a campus-wide e-mail Friday stating that, starting Aug. 1, smoking will be banned in campus buildings and university-owned vehicles.

The proposal reads as follows:

Smoking and use of all tobacco products will be prohibited within campus-owned or leased vehicles and in buildings. This applies to offices, hallways, waiting rooms, restrooms, lunchrooms, elevators, meeting rooms, residence halls/apartments and community areas, which are the property of Winthrop University. All students, faculty, staff, clients, contractors, and visitors are expected to adhere to this policy.

Smoking and use of other tobacco products will be permitted on campus grounds, in designated smoking areas only. All students, employees, and visitors are expected to abide by the terms of the Campus Tobacco Policy, both during and after campus hours, and during all university-sponsored events.

Links:
Officially proposed tobacco-free policy
Tobacco Free U - College smoking information
American Cancer Society’s Tobacco-Free Campus manual

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Student Arrested Following Flashing

This is a perfect example of a lede that just tries too hard from the Harvard student paper, The Harvard Crimson:

“An allegedly inebriated Harvard Law School student learned he did not have the luck of the Irish this past St. Patrick’s Day when he was arrested for flashing his pot of gold in public. ”

Staff writer Anna Tong might be better off using her prestigious Harvard education for other things, like reporting the news.

I wrote this piece for a journalism class before I received an e-mail from Tom Moore, vice president of academic affairs, denying my Freedom of Information request:

They help departments decide which professors will receive tenure and promotions. They can be an opportunity for students to retaliate against teachers they find loathsome. Some faculty members grimace before examining them while others look forward to seeing them with smug anticipation.

They’re faculty course evaluations and for the first time, you might get to take a peek at what others are saying about your favorite teachers and those insufferable ones.

After seeking counsel from the South Carolina Press Association’s lawyer, a legal request was made to obtain Winthrop faculty course evaluations. The request is currently pending.

Do professors want this information made public?

“Good gosh no,” said Jack DeRochi, assistant English professor. “There are some students that would be intimidated by writing something for public reading.”

Some professors are aware of the precedent for this request and aren’t surprised.

“A lot of universities have the numerical part of the evaluations online and accessible,” said Scott Huffmon, assistant professor of political science. “I don’t know how many universities our size have [faculty course evaluations] online.”

The clock is counting down for Winthrop administration to respond. The request was made two weeks ago and according to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, the school has four days left to respond.

“They have 15 working days in total to respond. That doesn’t include spring break,” said Bill Rogers, a lawyer for the South Carolina Press Association. “They’re probably having their attorney review it. I would think [faculty course evaluations] are public documents and there aren’t any exemptions that would apply to this request.”

Penalties for violating a Freedom of Information Act request include 90 days in jail, a misdemeanor charge and a $300 fine.
The issue has grabbed the attention of some students.

“These evaluations need to be made public,” said 21-year-old theater junior Kevin Snow. “The sooner, the better.”

Others agree.

“It’d be a good way to find a consensus on what people think of a professor,” said 21-year-old broadcast journalism junior Nicolas Holman. “If it’s public, it’s not really invading your privacy at all. My name is not on [the faculty course evaluations].”

Several professors are content with the private evaluations currently in use.

“I think the course evaluations are primarily for the professor to use and to take those ideas and better ourselves as teachers,” said music professor Katherine Kinsey. “I’m not sure I would want to know about anybody else’s class nor would I want them to know about mine.”

Kinsey said her evaluations are “usually very good” but doesn’t believe evaluations would help students pick a better professor.

Political science professor Scott Huffmon sees course evaluations as a double-edged sword.

“The students want to take the best professors but are probably unaware of one professor who does phenomenal research but know she says ‘umm’ a lot,” Huffmon said. “Students evaluate based on technique. If you’re judging professors based on course evaluations, you have no way of knowing if this person is helping you gain new knowledge or is just giving you a slick presentation.”

Huffmon said most faculty resist presenting their evaluations publicly because they give a one-sided view.

The evaluations carry great weight with Winthrop’s administration.

“I know for a fact that course evaluations are extremely important to department chairs, colleges and the university,” Huffmon said. “We submit an annual report with our research, summary and analysis of our teaching. They take those evaluations quite seriously.”

Tom Moore, vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, said his department is “waiting to receive some necessary information” before it prepares a response to the Freedom of Information Act request.

Ohio State University’s student newspaper The Lantern made a similar request for course evaluations in March. It took the school a month to respond.

The school’s administration provided the information in a hard-to-use PDF format. The Lantern is currently putting in another request to get the information in a database-compatible format.

“We’re still pursuing the matter,” said Annie Hall, a reporter for The Lantern.

Winthrop’s response:

I received this e-mail from Tom Moore yesterday, denying my request:

Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 11:46:41 -0400
From: “Moore, Thomas F” Add To Address Book | This is Spam
Subject: Request
To:

Dear Will,

The Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs received your request for information under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act on April 3, 2006. As you know, we are required to respond to you within 15 working days of receipt of your request, excluding weekends and holidays, to let you know our determination regarding your request, and we are doing so through this communication.

Your request was for “a copy of raw figures of student course evaluations in spreadsheet, database or CVS file form.” As detailed below, this office does not maintain or require maintenance by others of “raw figures of student course evaluations in spreadsheet, database or CVS file form.”

While the above constitutes our full response to your request under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, I am happy, in keeping with our educational mission, to share with you voluntarily further detail regarding how student evaluations are used at Winthrop in keeping with both the institution’s use of recognized best practices in higher education and employment law, as well as guidelines associated with the performance rating system.

* Student course evaluations are one component of the way in which Winthrop assesses how we present academic material as part of an overall experience. Because faculty are key to that endeavor, student evaluations are an integral part of the personnel evaluation system.

* Because personnel evaluations – whether from students, department chairs, or others – are considered personal employment information, those materials on advice of counsel remain confidential within the meaning, interpretation and application of the Freedom of Information Act.

* As students will know from their own experiences, Winthrop requires student evaluations, and allows its various colleges and departments considerable latitude in crafting instruments that reflect the respective natures of various disciplines and programs. These evaluations are used at respective department and college levels in three ways:

o on an on-going basis, to ensure the overall quality and continuous improvement of the Winthrop Experience over time in all academic areas;
o on an annual basis, for individual employee personnel evaluations, which are done at the departmental and college level;
o on a scheduled basis, for individuals’ pre- and post-tenure reviews, which are also done at the departmental and college level.

As noted above, the Division of Academic Affairs maintains no centralized campus-wide data base of this information, nor does it require such to be maintained by any unit of the University. Only individual applications for tenure and promotion or nominations for awards would result in review of student evaluation information at the Vice President for Academic Affairs level.

I hope this information is useful to you in understanding how student evaluations are developed, used and maintained at Winthrop University.

Sincerely,
Thomas F. Moore, PhD
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty
Winthrop University

This story from the Ohio State University paper was my inspiration. My search is not over. If you’d like to see what my FOI request looked like, send me an e-mail (click the Contact section of this Web site).

Links:
Print and distribute this FOI poster
South Carolina Freedom of Information law
A statewide FOI audit by the SC Press Association

I wrote a piece for the Johnsonian on campus police’ use of the social networking Web site Facebook.

You’re already on it. Your friends are on it. You may have checked out new people, laughed at pictures or joined a group on it.

It’s Facebook, a social networking Web site universally popular with college students. Millions have signed up, propelling Facebook to the seventh most popular site on the entire Internet. The site also has a huge “sticky” factor: 67 percent of users log in daily.

In a recent development, campus police and university officials around the country have begun using the Web site to curb illegal behavior.

Winthrop is no different.

“If somebody does something questionable in Facebook, it will get reported to us,” said Dan Yeargin, assistant chief of the Winthrop police department.

Winthrop police does not usually monitor Facebook for violations, Yeargin said, but the department uses it as an investigation tool. He said MySpace.com has also been used in inspections.

“When you post your photos of you taking a big old drag off a joint and somebody gets offended by it and tells the police about it, don’t be surprised if we come knocking on your door,” Yeargin said. “There’s no privacy. It’s open to the public.”

Some schools are more stringent than others.

Police from the University at Buffalo are using Facebook to catch students who appear in pictures smoking marijuana, drinking beer and using drugs. If a Buffalo student appears to be drinking a beer in a picture, they are summoned before the student judiciary council. So far the school has caught over 1,900 students breaking the law. Even a dorm prostitution ring was discovered.

The issue is widespread. Last year, two swimmers from Louisiana State were kicked off the team after posting Facebook messages disparaging their coach. A University of Colorado football player was suspended for sending a racist Facebook message last December.

Kerri Moskow, a 21-year-old graphic design senior, used Facebook to promote her house party. Winthrop police caught wind of the event through Facebook and contacted Moskow the day before her party.

“They looked it up on Facebook,” Moskow said. “They told me to make sure there are no underage drinkers.”

Moskow said Winthrop police warned her she could be charged with a noise violation even if there was no alcohol served. She isn’t offended the police contacted her though.

“This whole Facebook thing is stupid. The police have a right to look at it as anybody else does,” Moskow said. “I know they’re under a lot of pressure from the city to crack down on underage drinking. If you’re putting stuff out there [on Facebook], you might as well expect consequences.”

Still, the incident has left her cautious.

“I’m not listing another party. I’ll tell you that much,” Moskow said.

Moskow’s roommate, 21-year-old early childhood education senior Ashley Sherrer, is annoyed.

“I think it’s stupid police are using Facebook because there’s probably people dying in Rock Hill,” Sherrer said. “I can’t complain too much because I put it out there. I still think it’s wrong for college kids to get other college kids in trouble.”
Some Winthrop police officers are members of Facebook themselves.

“We have officers here that are students,” said Dan Yeargin, assistant chief of Winthrop police. “It wouldn’t be uncommon for them to be members of Facebook.”

Officer Jim Troyan has a profile. Not surprisingly, he is a member of the “Criminology Scholars International” Facebook group. Interestingly, Animal House – a movie that glorifies college drinking – is cited as one of his favorite movies. Troyan currently has one Facebook “friend” at Winthrop.

AllAfrica.com is reporting the offices of Gambia’s the Independent newspaper has been taken over by a security force. The staff has been placed under arrest.

No reason has been given for this arrest.

The Independent has been plagued with problems. In 2004, its printing press was subject of an arson attack. The case is still unsolved.

Gambia:

Links:
Wiki on Gambia
Committee to Protect Journalists’ press release

This was a piece I did on the Winthrop men’s basketball team. I caught them hanging out in our student gym and thought it would make an interesting feature. You be the judge:

Gone are the 20,000 screaming basketball fans. Gone are the ESPN pundits and cameras. The upset predictions proved wrong for the sixth time in eight years.

Winthrop Head Coach Gregg Marshall is no longer sobbing into a towel. Bruce Pearl, Tennessee’s head coach, is home in Knoxville after losing to Wichita State. His solar-powered orange blazer, suspenders and tie are going to get some closet time this summer.

It was the one that got away, the Hail Mary shot that somehow slipped past Torrell Martin’s fingers into the meshed netting waiting below, the over-rated team with the over-heated coach, etc., etc.

Tennessee’s Chris Lofton launched a twisting, fading, turning prayer from 19 feet.

With 0.4 seconds on the clock, it was over. There would be no overtime, no win and no surprise.

The Eagles are picking up the pieces.

“I got net, I got net,” senior forward Otis Daniels said.

He’s talking trash after sinking the winning shot in a pickup basketball game. Daniels and other Eagles are spending a cold, stormy Monday night sparring other Winthrop students in Peabody gym.

“Nothing can prepare you for what happened,” Daniels said. “I’ve got a plan for the future. I’m trying to play ball with these knees until they run out.”

Daniels will graduate in August after completing an internship. He’s in the same class as former teammate Billy Houston, who quit earlier in the semester so he could graduate in May.

The senior sport management senior said he has sport agents interested in representing in Australia, New Zealand or Europe.

Michael Jenkins, the 6-foot-3-inch sophomore guard, is draining shots. He’s put the Tennessee game behind him.

“It’s all over now. We gotta build for next year,” Jenkins said. “We played our hearts out.”

The sophomore sport management sophomore will stay in Rock Hill this summer to keep in shape and work.

Several Eagle wannabes and hopefuls idly dribble courtside. They hoot and holler at sophomore point guard Christ Gaynor. Gaynor gives his trademark smile and sinks a three-pointer with ease.

Gaynor, the 5-foot-10-inch mass communication major, can’t believe Lofton’s shot sunk.

“It was a miracle shot. We feel like we should still be playing,” Gaynor said. “To lose on a crazy shot like that after preparing all year is hard. Some say [Lofton] traveled.”

Gaynor plans on working out and working a mall job this summer. He says he is undefeated in Peabody gym.

Kyle Neeley, a 19-year-old math major, tried his best against the Eagles.

How’d he compete?

“Not so good but it’s fun and it raises the level of competition [at Peabody],” Neeley said.

He watched the Tennessee heartbreaker.

“We played well enough to win,” Neeley said. “It was fun to see a small school like Winthrop hang in with a big school like Tennessee.”

On Selection Sunday before the big game, Marshall said, “Time to pull a Rocky.”

It didn’t go down like the movie. It came close but Apollo Creed, Mr. T and the Russians continue to have the last laugh.

I wrote a story on the professor grading Web site RateMyProfessors.com. It was published in the Johnsonian:

At the end of the semester, many Winthrop students anxiously click on the WingSpan Web site to access their grades. For most, the results are acceptable. The average undergraduate GPA for a semester is just over 2.9.

These days, however, students aren’t the only ones getting grades. Over the last five years, several wildly popular Web sites have emerged that allow students to praise or exact revenge on their teachers in a public forum. Many opt for the latter.

Some highlights:

“Instant amnesia walking into this class. I swear he breathes sleeping gas.”

“If I was tested on her family, I would have gotten an A.”

Web sites such as RateMyProfessors.com, PickAProf.com and Rateaprof.com let students rate professors on criteria such as easiness, clarity, helpfulness and even physical attractiveness which is denoted by a small chili pepper icon. RateMyProfessors rates more than 4 million teachers at 5,000 schools across the country.

Some professors believe these ratings Web sites encourage students to pick easier professors who will not challenge them intellectually.

One annoyed professor who goes by a “tenured humanities professor from a college in the South” struck back with an online retort: Rateyourstudents.blogspot.com. His Web site lambastes students for carelessness, laziness and plain stupidity. The unnamed professor said he began the Web site after a fellow teacher received a caustic rating on RateMyProfessors.

At Winthrop, 475 professors are slain or spared in gladiatorial function.

Clarence Coleman, an accounting professor, encourages his student to explore RateMyProfessors.

“To me, a student has to decide for himself what they want our of a college education,” Coleman said. “I am for free speech.”

Coleman’s ratings on RateMyProfessors were less than encouraging:

“Quite simply the worst teacher I’ve ever had.”

“You will have to teach yourself if you take this guy.”

Coleman isn’t worried though.

“I try to prepare my students for life. It’s a tough class and it could be a situation where some students may not have the background to do well in the class,” Coleman said. “An employer might give you an exam before you get the job and you might not be able to cut it.”

Modern languages professor Sheila Carter-Hill thinks ratings Web sites are a good idea in theory.

“This is a free country. I know that students tend to be negative but people can say whatever it is they wish to say,” Carter-Hill said. “I’ve taught for 43 years and my methodology is above reproach. If I didn’t know what I was doing, I should be shot in the head.”

According to Carter-Hill, if students can rant about professors, it should work both ways.

“Professors should have the opportunity to rant about students,” Carter-Hill said.

Education professor Lisa Johnson received a special chili pepper beside her name. According to RateMyProfessors, Johnson is “hot.”

“Well isn’t that sweet,” Johnson said. “That doesn’t have anything to do with the course though. It’s just one of those things that provide students an outlet for their thoughts.”

Johnson said she would not let opinion on a Web site change her courses.

English professor Max Childers sees no evil.

“Whatever [the students] say is silly and harmless like so many other things,” Childers said. “They’re being good Americans – expressing outrage because their sense of entitlement has been violated. Keep at it.”

On Childers, one American literature student said, “He rambles a lot and it’s very hard to stay awake.”

Childers isn’t concerned.

“Maybe he should be injected with something to stay awake although I don’t advocate drug use. Still, medical science has its limits and they may have narcolepsy,” Childers said.

He said it could have more to do with the student than the professor.

“We’re supposed to make everyone feel good. It’s the Oprah Winfrey-ization of American culture and university,” Childers said. “[Teachers] are supposed to praise mediocrity. Everyone’s a winner.”

There was no chili pepper beside geology professor Roy Jameson. Instead, there was a lot of negative feedback regarding Jameson’s teaching methods.

One geology student wrote, “He’s horrendous. The lecture’s are horrible and not worth your time.”

Another said, “You better S/U this class or you will want to shoot yourself.”

When asked to respond, Jameson said, “I have no interest in discussing that.”

Use of RateMyProfessors among Winthrop students is widespread.

“It gives you ratings on different professors so that you can see which ones are hard and which ones are easy,” said freshman chemistry major Ginger Devinney. “Students want to take the easy professors. That’s why they use RateMyProfessors.”

Others think it’s more than just getting an easy professor.

“I think students usually just want to know whether the teachers give interesting lectures or if they are nice,” said sophomore interior design major Katy Osmelowski. “I use RateMyProfessors to make sure I don’t get a teacher that has a bad attitude or a reputation for giving bad grades.”

Some students use the course schedule book hand-in-hand with RateMyProfessors.

“I use it when registering,” said senior graphic design major Drew Heffron. “I use it so I can focus on my major.”

Others are more apathetic.

“I’ve never been on it,” said sophomore special education major Bailey Williams. “My friends look at it but I don’t know if they take it seriously.”