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New placement system
quizzes math students
By Wendy Navratil
Senior Reporter
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
students planning to enroll in
math classes this fall will have
their first test before classes even
start.
Last year, UNL’s math department
began requiring three-part placement
tests for incoming freshman who
wanted to enroll in math classes.
This year, all undergraduates who
want to enroll in math classes must
take the test or obtain a waiver from
the math department, according to
Leo Chouinard, associate professor
of mathematics and statistics.
The only enrollees exempt from
the test are those who have completed
another math class at UNL with a
grade of C or better within the past
year.
The decision to revamp the math
placement system accompanied a
decision to revise course offerings,
Chouinard said.
The new system is designed to
make results of the placement exam a
more accurate indicator of a student’s
skill level, increasing the chances of
students passing math courses, he said.
Unlike the test that was admini
stered last year, this year’s test in
cludes four parts instead of three.
Students are instructed to complete
three out of four sections, depending
on if they have studied trigonometry.
The test results, which may be
obtained within one day of taking the
lest, are valid for one year. Students
who do not take a math course during
that year will be required to take the
exam again before enrolling in any
math course.
If more than one year has passed
since students completed a math course,
Chouinard said, “we will ask you to
take the test again to show that you
remember the previous material and
that you are ready for the next course.”
If the student does not pass the
lest, he said, a waiver may be consid
ered if other indications, such as strong
ACT or SAT scores, show the student
is prepared.
So far, he said, 92 waivers have
been granted for the fall semester.
Chouinard said preliminary results
indicate the new placement system is
a success.
Of the students who enrolled in
Math 104 after taking the math place
ment test last fall, Chouinard said, 75
percent passed the course with a grade
of C or better. Only 47 percent of
those who did not take the placement
test passed the class. Four of the eight
people who were granted waivers into
the course passed.
Since last March, when the test
was revised to include four parts,
3,792 students have taken the exam,
Chouinard said. About 900 more are
expected to take it this week during
foreign and new student enrollment.
Another 500 are expected to take the
test Thursday and Friday, he said.
Students also will have the option
of taking the test during the first week
ofclasses at either 2:30p.m. Monday,
Tuesday or Wednesday, or at 7 p.m.
Monday or Tuesday in Hamilton Hall.
Chouinard said he advises students to
take the exam as soon as they possi
bly can.
Welcome Back
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INDEX „
Wire 2
Opinion 4
Classifieds 16
I---—
Professors not surprised
by attempted Soviet coup
By Jeremy Fitzpatrick
Senior Reporter
and Stacey McKenzie
Senior Editor
Although the recent dramatic
ousting and return of Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev
caught many Americans off-guard, it
came as no surprise to two UNL pro
fessors.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Professors Raphael Zariski and David
Forsythe said they had been surprised
at the suddenness of the takeover but
had expected that worsening condi
tions in the Soviet Union might lead
to a coup.
“Any shift from one kind of soci
ety to another involves hardship,"
Zariski said. “There is always a ten
sion between freedom and order.”
Forsythe agreed.
“People have been talking about a
coup for a long time," he said. “Gor
bachev himself said several weeks
ago that unless this chaos came under
control, there could be a coup."
Both professors thought Gor
bachev’s ousting was caused by two
factors: Worsening economic condi
tions, and specifically, a treaty Gor
bachev was to sign Tuesday.
Forsythe said the treaty would have
granted greater authority to Soviet
republics and decreased the power of
the central government and the
Communist Party.
Zariski said it would have given
the republics control over their natu
ral resources and greater autonomy
than American states.
The treaty would have further
reduced the power of established
Communists and hard-line bureau
crats, who felt threatened by changes
and would be receptive to a coup, he
said.
Now that the coup has failed, For
sythe predicted Gorbachev, at least
for the short term, will resume his
position with the previous central
government.
‘‘Now Gorbachev will come out
more strongly for democratic and
economic reforms,” he said. “Many
See USSR on 12
♦ c
* Michelle Hauimarvuany neoraMian
Students and patents move belongings by armloads and carloads into Schramm and
Smith halls last week.
Official: Residence halls a good option
By Michelle Paulman
Staff Reporter
Although fewer students are
choosing to live on campus
this fall, the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln residence halls
remain a competitive option, ac
cording to UNL’s housing direc
tor.
Doug Zalechka said he expects
about 4,600 students to move into
the halls, which opened Wednesday.
Maximum capacity, with two stu
dents to a room, is 5,000. Last year,
4,750 students lived in the residence
halls.
Zatechka said the number of resi
dents expected to live in the halls is
“changing every minute... It’s wild.”
He said daily fluctuations of 50 to
100 residents are not uncommon.
A head count will be taken Mon
day to determine how many students
actually are living m the halls.
Zatechka attributed this year’s
decline in residents to a smaller
freshman class. Fewer students
graduated from high school last
spring, he said.
As well as a smaller freshman
class, more upperclassmen are
seeking year-round housing off
campus. The number of apartments
See HALLS on 9
Fewer freshmen
to be enrolled .
at UNL this fall
By Alan Phelps
Senior Editor___
While UNL’s overall enroll
ment probably will be slightly
higher this year, the number
of freshmen will decrease by about
180 students, an official said.
James Griesen, v ice chancel lor for
student affairs at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, said that although
final enrollment figures will not be
known until after general registra
tion, July pre-registration and new
See ENROLLMENT on 12