EDITOR
Josh Funk
OPINION
EDITOR
Mark Baldridge
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Lindsay Young
Jessica Fargen
•Samuel McKewon
Cliff Hicks
Our
VIEW
Cream
of the crop
Magazine s poll
rankings are deceiving
Evpry fall, one magazine grabs the
undivided attention of college and univer
sity administrators across the nation.
We’re a little confused as to why.
U.S. News and World Report ranks
schools based on factors such as academic
reputation, financial resources, alumni
giving, faculty resources and student
selectivity.
It was this last factor that boosted UNL
from the third to the second tier this year,
meaning UNL is ranked between 51 and
120 out of 228 universities.
But wait. Don’t reach for those
hats yet.
The validity of the rankings is question
able. Let’s take a look at the top of the list.
The cream of the crop.
You’d expect to
see Harvard, Yale and
Princeton. Typically,
those three do grace
the top of the chart.
But this year, the
California Institute
of Technology took
the top spot. It moved
from No. 9 to No. 1 -
in one year.
Possible, perhaps.
But not really.
Come on, nine to
one? We don’t think
so.
The magazine
«—
Who s going
to keep
buying the
rankings if
the same
colleges are
always on
top?
admits a change in methodology helped
CalTech move into first place. U.S. News
simply placed more weight on one factor:
how much the school spends per student.
CalTech spends $ 192,000 per student,
more than any other school.
Other than that characteristic, not much
else shifted for CalTech. So, its sudden
jump into first is a surprise.
That leaves us wondering whether the
change in methodology was made to add a
little excitement to the magazine’s annual
issue.
Who’s going to keep buying the rank
ings if the same colleges are always on top?
True, these changes in methodology
don’t really affect schools, such as UNL,
that are in the middle somewhere.
But the truth is, no college on that list -
not even CalTech, and definitely not UNL
- improved drastically from one year to the
next.
The rankings are deceiving.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
James Griesen has said in interviews two
years in a>row now that the university’s
academic reputation continues to be
strong, regardless of what tier UNL is
placed in.
We agree.
Numbers don’t say it all.'
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the Fall 1999 Daily Nebraskan. They do
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' Obermeyer’s
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DN
LETTERS
A Good Johnson
Trevor Johnson’s column “Sex,
lies & eggplant” in the Sept. 8 Daily
Nebraskan was one of the best arti
cles I’ve ever read in the Nebraskan.
It was funny, sweet and
above all, realistic. I too v *
have the odd habit of s-V. ^
falling madly in love with^ j
people not interested in guys. ^ j
Keep up the good work! J
Jeremy Patrick ■
Lincoln 1
Red Letter Days
When I was informed by the
“parking guy” that I could not park 'A
in the Beadle Center lot early last ^
Saturday, I left uttering a few U
choice, yet obscene, words. /
Why is it that the university r
sees fit to make academic endeav- \
ors so difficult on game days?
Does the university exist only as
an excuse to have a foofball team or
does football exist because the uni
versity allows it to?
Somehow we have gotten con
fused about what is more important.
lci me emignien you ... acauemics is ,w ’ \ V '
more important than football. . f
Football should not be allowed to punt/kick decent price for our own team,
interfere with academics. returner, not as a quarterback. I guess we aren’t paying the full
John H.A. Amery ^ change should only strength- price/scalped ticket price that most
graduate student en the team. ' everyone else does. But if students
chemical engineering ' are going to have to shell out the big
Mike Larson bucks for these tickets, shouldn’t they
Newcombe to wingback ' Joplin. MiSS. at leas, get to ^.somewhere other
Kudos to Samuel McKewon for , have„., had t0 sit in the corner
’ Dear Doctor «U. like this since ! r 5 and picked a
the switch to wingback Your ,etter t0 Mr. Byrne fight with my brother.
It illustrated the kind of character (Wednesday) truly opened my eyes to A little respect is all the student
Newcombe possesses, a refreshing the extent that we are getting body wants but I guess we are seen as
attitude of “I’ll do what’s best for the screwed. It really makes students second rate when people like Mr.
STmlhis eraortoS-pnma more aware - no. tot to eos, of to Byrne feel,ha, it’s “all about the
donna athletes. v skyboxes isq’t enough to make us benjamins.
Newcombe will be a fantastic awa£e- ^ D _
wingback and punt returner, plus I’m But the fact that all other Big 12 gg
sure he knows that if he has a future in schools pay little to nothing shows , .
the NFL, it will be as aVeceiver or their team spirit. business administration
We can t even get decent seats for
N
P.5. Write 3ack
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