University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 31, 1990 Page: 1 of 6
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Friday, August 31, 1990
Lamar University • Beaumont, Texas
V& 67 No. 2
w
’Mental fingerprints' reveal
increase in college cheating
WASHINGTON (UPI) - At least
5 percent of college students appear
“to cheat on multiple-choice exami-
nations, and computer programs may
help nab the dishonest test takers,
•Canadian researchers reported
JMonday.
David Harpp and James Hogan,
'fchemistry professors at McGill
JUniversity in Montreal, said their
computer analysis of exam results
Yrom the two entry-level science
glasses at McGill found about 50 of
1,000 students probably cheated.
‘ When results of multiple-choice
tests from other fields and insti-
tutions were added in, the rate of
cheating continued to hold steady at
£bout 5 percent.
“The basis for the detection of
cheating is the ‘mental fingerprints’
students leave when they copy from
one another. These fingerprints or
patterns can be easily detected by
statistical methods,” Harpp said.
The Canadian researchers used
*
such methods to develop two com-
puter programs that weigh the
possibility of two students getting the
same answers. If students’ tests share
too many similarities - especially in
the number of questions answered
wrongly in the same manner - the
students are targeted as suspects and
their seating assignments are
checked.
In every case flagged as suspicious
by computer analysis, the suspect
students sat close to one another in
the exam room, said Harpp, adding
that he was not surprised by the
amount of cheating turned up by his
computer sleuthing.
The researchers, who presented
their findings at the American
Chemical Society’s national meeting,
said their work confirms the value of
common-sense, anti-cheating tactics
employed by many old-time school
marms: random seating and using
several versions of the same test.
“Cheating on multiple-choice
exams was completely eliminated
when students were seated randomly
and-or multiple versions of the exams
were passed out,” Harpp said.
Random seating during testing
currently is not a very common
practice at most universities,
although it does take place, the
McGill professor said.
The Educational Testing Service
in Princeton, N.J., which administers
the Scholastic Aptitude Test and
other multiple-choice exams often
used in college admissions, has been
using statistical methods to flag tests
with possible cheating since 1980.
But Harpp said his computer
detection method is more detailed.
Harpp said one reason he set out
to catch and prevent cheating is that
“it punishes good students who work
hard.” 'T'he simple threat that test
results may be subjected to computer
analysis dropped copy-cat cheating
on multiple choice exams to near
zero, he added.
The researcher concedes his
computer programs are not designed
to catch cheaters who work on their
own by using crib sheets or those
who copy off other students on non-
multiple choice tests.
: Profile of a killer
; Guard, orderly psychological guess
| GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UPI) -
The serial killer who stabbed and
bludgeoned five college students is
possibly a security guard or hospital
orderly and has knowledge of wea-
pons and crime scenes, a psycholo-
gical profile reportedly shows.
The Miami Herald, quoting
sources, reported Thursday that the
profiIe,prcpared for jnvestif ^tOrs
shows the killer who has terrified the
University of Florida community
probably is in his late 20s or early
$0s.
The Herald report did not
indicate what the profile was based
pn but said the killer probably is not
a sworn police officer or a doctor, but
frorks more along the lines of a
security guard or a hospital orderly.
The report said authorities
believe the five slayings are the work
«f one person who is knowledgeable
of weapons and crime scenes and
who frequents places where students
Congregate - bars or clubs.
The killer has sought out petite
young brunette women, knew his
Victims and forced his way into their
apartments, police said Wednesday.
“We’ve got a rather shrewd
Individual on our hands,” Police
Phief Wayland Clifton Jr. said. “He’s
proved that several times. We have
tots of physical evidence. We are
developing suspects at this time.”
“It does appear that he had some
prior knowledge of the suspects and
their dwellings. We’re not saying he
Jjncw the individual people over a
long period of time. He seems to be
very familiar with apartment com-
plexes in the area, very comfortable
in the area,” Clifton said.
Fear has permeated the Univer-
sity of Florida community since
authorities discovered the bodies of
four young women and one young
man in a three-day period in apart-
ments within two miles of the
campus. Four_wpre University of
Florida students and the fifth was a
student at Santa Fe Community
college, and police believe all five
were slain by the same one or two
people.
Clifton did not discuss the killer’s
possible motive or say if the victims
had been robbed or sexually
assaulted.
“We’re still trying to find if there’s
any common denominator or com-
monalities between the five victims,”
Clifton said. “Dark hair seems to be
one of the commonalities. Obviously
he likes young people.”
The four women victims were all
petite white women with brown hair.
The male victim was the boyfriend
of one of the women. All lived in
first-floor apartments except one,
who lived in a basement apartment
Police said the third victim,
Christa Hoyt, 18, a student at Santa
Fe Community College and clerk for
the Alachua County Sheriff’s
Department, had been stabbed to
death.
The Gainesville Sun, quoting
sources, said Hoyt had been deca-
pitated and her body sliced open
from the pelvis to the breastbone,
apparently after she had been killed.
The newspaper said Hoyt’s decapi-
tated head had been propped up on a
shelf as if to shock anyone who
walked inside her apartment.
“The first three victims died of
multiple stab wounds, and their
bodies were mutilated,” said Lt.
Sadie Darnell of the Gainesville
Police Department.
The last two victims, University
of Florida students Tracey Paules,
23, of Palm Springs North and
Manuel Taboada, 23, of Carol City,
were apparently bludgeoned to
death, but their bodies were not
mutilated, said sheriffs Lt. Spencer
Mann.
Autopsy results were pending for
the first two victims, University of
Florida freshman roommates
Christina P. Powell, 17, of Jack-
sonville and Sonya Larson, 18, of
Deerfield Beach.
A task force of more than 100
officers, including the crime lab
specialist who helped catch serial
murderer Ted Bundy, were working
on the case. Clifton said the task
force was fielding some 1,400 calls
per hour.
“This person’s first victims will be
the most indicative of what he’s
seeking,” Clifton said. “It’s not
unlikely he can change his M.O.
(mode of operation) and might
change his M.O. simply on the basis
of convenience.”
In all but the first instance when
See KILLER, peg* 2
Photo by Drow Loker
Gaged already
Robert Kelly, Sugarland freshman, gets a start on his first reading assignment in
English as he finds this spot outside his dorm room on the second floor of Combs
_Hall._._-
Enrollment up, hours down
By Brad Wills
UP news features editor
Student enrollment in the Lamar
University System is on a three-year
increase, if only by a little for the fall
1990 semester, but enough to ensure
Lamar’s piece of the budget pie in
1991.
Registration figures for the
Beaumont campus show 12,045 stu-
dents enrolled for the fall semester.
From the two previous years,
more students are attending Lamar
University, and from the looks of it
the loss of the football program has
not affected enrollment, said Elmer
Rode, dean of records and registrar.
The Orange and Port Arthur
campuses have increased enrollment
steadily over the last three years.
Figures show 1,225 students enrolled
in Orange and 2,014 enrolled in Port
Arthur.
Graduate enrollment is down
from last year, but, Rode said, “We
feel very good and very comfortable
with the enrollment figures.”
Although student enrollment is
up, the number of semester hours the
students are taking is down.
All figures are still tentative.
Since enrollment figures have
risen during what Rode calls an
“accounting year” - a year the state
tallies figures to decide, how much
money state-funded universities will
receive — Lamar will obtain its share
of state monies for the next two
business years.
However, figures show freshman
enrollment is down. While incoming
freshmen reached 11,192 in the fall
of 1989, freshman enrollment has
dropped to 11,177.
“New students straight out of
high school is not where we’re
strongest,” Rode said, citing
readmits - former students returning
- as the area where enrollment has
increased.
TASP test scores are required of
all incoming freshmen, and their
performance on the test may restrict
the number of hours they can take,
Rode said.
“We’ll see more students suf-
fering in certain levels of learning
(because of TASP),” he said.
Rode said he is still positive about
TASP, seeing that it helps those with
skill problems.
Tom Neal, vice president for stu-
dent services at Lamar-Port Arthur,
is happy to see growth at the Port
Sm ENROLLMENT, page 2
Fine Arts to take programming cfownfown
Lamarissimot, the 1990-91
Premiere Concert Series presented
by Lamar University,, will treat
Southeast Texans to a musical magic
carpet ride featuring five diverse
concerts and more than six hours of
entertainment
The series will begin Oct. 2 with
a performance by the Symphonic
Band. The Nov. 8 performance will
feature a faculty recital. The Grand
and A Cappella choirs will perform
Feb. 12, and the Jazz Band will be
featured March 5. The last concert
will be April 16, featuring the
Cardinal Singers.
Music department chair James
Simmons and conductors L.
Randolph Babin, Barry W. Johnson
and J. Wayne Dycss are preparing a
mixed bag of music that will appeal
to any taste.
“We are very high on ourselves
and excited about drawing more
exposure,” Babin said. “There are
many good things happening in the
Music Department, and we arc very
proud of our groups. I am very
excited about showcasing them and
drawing more exposure in the
community.”
From the world’s opera stages to
its sound stages and from its jazz
festivals to its supper clubs, Lamar
musicians have always made im-.
portant contributions to the world of
art
Roots in Lamar’s music program
belong to Kelly Dennis, who’s been a
drummer with Les Brown; Neill
Herndon, with the Air Force’s
Dimensions in Blue; Greg Pryor, who
tours with New York big bands; and
Bill Rogers, composer-arranger for
performers such as Ann-Margret and
Shirley MacLaine.
Lamar inspired the careers of Jay
Wadenpfuhl, first-chair horn with the
Boston Symphony; Gary Weldon,
trumpet, harmonica and soloist with
the Houston Pops; vocalist Sharon
Thomas Montgomery of cabaret trio
Montgomery, Plant and Stritch (now
performing in Houston); and opera
talents such as James Broussard,
CeCelia Chaisson, Jeanette Hall-
Wood and Jeanine Thames.
Simmons wants to make the area
more aware of Lamar’s fine student
musicians. The Symphonic Band, for
example, “is much more famous
outside Beaumont than it is in
Beaumont,” he said. Last January,
Lamar’s blue-ribbon band was one of
the few selected to perform at the
College Band Directors National
Association national convention in
Norman, Okla.
“We get a lot of national
exposure,” Johnson said, “but we
haven’t had as much on the local
level. It’s still somewhat of a best-
kept secret in Southeast Texas.”
Simmons and the conductors think
Lamarissimot will go a long way to
unearth their buried treasure.
The series opens with the 65-
piece Symphonic Band, conducted by
Johnson, director of bands. The band
comprises Lamar’s top instrumental
performers, selected from among the
department’s 160 students.
Johnson plans a light format - a
nostalgic evening along the lines of a
John Philip Sousa concert
The second concert will present
several music faculty members in solo
and ensemble performances, in-
cluding Robert Culbertson, French
horn; Michael Denham, tenor; Kim
Ellis, clarinet; Kurt Gilman, violin;
Raul Ornelas, trumpet; Dwight
Peirce, piano.
Also, Barbara Mathis and Betty
Shine-Gale, sopranos; Simmons,
clarinet; and Dyess, trombone.
Featured adjunct faculty will include
Sm FINE ARTS, page 6
Symphonic Band members rehearse.
Photo by Drow Loker
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Casey, Jay. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, August 31, 1990, newspaper, August 31, 1990; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth499972/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.