The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 15, 1979 Page: 2 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 20 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Rice Thresher, March 15, 1979, Page 2
Guest Editorial
Katherine Brown
Last fall I circulated a questionnaire to a number of Rice students asking
them to select from a list of eighteen long-term goals, those which which had
the highest priority for them individually giving particular attention to their
first choice. I set no specific number of goals which they might mark, but
suggested these should not exceed five or six.
The goals presented were taken without change of wording from a portion
of a poll published by the Chronicle of Higher Education in January 1978
which reported on the responses of about 200,000 first-year college students
from several hundred colleges and universities across the country. Their
choices interested me in terms of the highest expectations which these
freshmen had for themselves. Later in the year, when I happened to be asked
to give a talk on Rice students today in comparison to Rice students of the late
sixties, it occurred to me to see how Rice students today from all four classes
might respond to the same list of goals. For the sake of comparison I made no
changes in the wording and no additions to the list.
Altogether about 120 questionnaires were mailed out of which 84 were
returned. Admittedly this is a very small sample and may have little if any
validity beyond these 84 students. In order to make the sample both random
and representative I began by sending questionnaires to the eight College
presidents and the principal Student Association officers. To balance these, I
included questionnaires in correspondence from my office with students who
had brought petitions to the Committee on Examinations and Standing. This
group included both academically strong students and students with personal
or academic problems of various kinds. Then over about two months I
gathered names and addresses from on-campus and off-campus students with
whom I happened to be sitting at lunch or dinner in the Colleges who agreed to
return the questionnaire. This group included some minority students though
1 have no way of knowing whether these particular students returned their
questionnaires. In no case did I tell anyone what the responses to the
Chronicle's poll had been. Finally I walked around to the eight College offices
and stuffed a few mail boxes in each College completely at random, asking the
owners to pass the questionnaire to a friend if they had already completed one.
At the beginning of the questionnaire I asked students not to sign their
name but to indicate their sex, class, major, and whether they had every held
or were holding student office in the College or on campus. Thirty-eight of the
eighty-four described themselves as former or current office holders, which
may indicate that students who are elected or appointed to office tend to
return questionnaires. The Colleges at Rice increase the opportunity for this
kind of responsibility and experience.
While I was collecting addresses last fall I promised to publish both the
results of the Chronicle poll if perrmission was granted, and also the res-
ponses from the Rice poll. The Chronicle of Higher Education has kindly
granted permission to the Thresher to publish not only the results from the
1977-78 freshman poll but also those from a similar 1978-79 freshman poll
which have recently been released. The student poll which appeared in the
Chronicle, January 23, 1978, was reprinted there with permission
from Editorial Projects tor Education, Inc., Copyright 1978. 1 he student poll
for the current year appeared in the January 22, 1979, issue of the Chronicle,
Copyright 1979, by tne Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.
Considering the very small size of the Rice sample and the fact that it
included respondents from all four classes, the correspondence between the
percentages seerrjs remarkable. The difference in percentages on performance
and minority-related goals can be attributed directly to tne small size of the
Rice sample and the overall small numbers of minority and performance-
related students at Rice. The information on first priori ties was not included
among the eighteen. The goals are listed in groups of three solely for ease in
reading the answers.
The Rice Thresher
Letters Policy
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 250
words and are subject to being cut to th ,t
length or less if longer. The editorial staff
reserves the right to edit such letters and does
not guarantee to publish any letter. Each
letter must be signed, show the address of the
writer and list a telephone number for
verification.
Address correspondence to Letters to the
Editor, The Rice Thresher. Box 1892,
Houston, Texas 7 7001.
Guest editorials are welcome and are
encouraged.
The Rice Thresher is represented
nationally by Communications and
Advertising Services to Students,
Inc., Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas,
Detroit, New York, San Francisco
and Los Angeles.
The Rice Thresher is published on
Thursdays during the school year
except during examination periods
and holidays. Mail subscriptions are
$15 each year.
Business and editorial offices are
located on the second floor of the
Rice Memorial Center on the Rice
Campus.
Advertising rates are furnished on
request. Phone 527-4801 or -4802.
Rights of reproduction of all
matter herein are reserved.
Published since 1916 by the
students of Rice University
1978-79 Thresher Staff
Editor—elect Matt Muller
Editor Michelle Leigh Heard
Managing Editor .... Jamie Strauss
Business Manager.... Jay Oliphant
Advertising Manager Dale Charletta
Copy Editor . i A1 Hirshberg
Sports Editor Greg Holloway
Back Page Editor . John Szalkowski
Photography Editor Wayne Derrick
Photographers Buster Brown,
Steve Home, Jim Jistil, Tom Scales
Humor Michael Cruzcosa.
0 Richard Dees
Staff Writers^.. F. Brotzen,Richard
Dees, Bert Baker Martha Ramos,
Steve Sailer, Russ Henderson,
Norma Gonzales, Jeanmarie
Amend, Randy Jones, Elisa Ugarte
Margaret Schauerte, Wendy
Kilpatrick
Production Debra Davies Huffman,
Wendy Kilpatrick, Richard Dees
Matt Dore, Bert Baker
Circulation . .. Tim Haney, Martha
Espinosa
'Copyright ® The Rice Thresher
Objectives student considers essential
Jan. 1978
Jan. 1979
Fall 1978
Fall '78
Chronicle
Chronicle
Rice poll
Rice poll
or very important
Fresh, poll
Fresh, poll
priority
first
priority
priority
choice
priority
choice
choice
(percent)
(percent)
(percent)
(percent)
Achieving in a performing art
13.4
12.8
7
Becoming an authority in
74.8
72.6
47
7
one's field
Obtaining recognition from colleagues
48.4
50.3
51
4
Influencing the political structure
15.7
14.6
21
1
Influencing social values
30.8
31.1
33
6
Raising a family
58.8
61.8
51
9
Having administrative responsibility
34.4
35.6
34
3
Being very well off financially
58.2
59.7
56
7
Helping others who are in difficulty
65.1
65.5
45
1
Making a theoretical contribution
14.1
14.5
19
2
to science
Writing original works
13.8
12.7
19
1
Creating an artistic work
13.8
12.7
19
2
Being successful in one's own business
15.7
14.1
9
10
Helping clean up the environment
47.1
47.9
42
5
Developing a philosophy of life
29.4
27.5
^25
38
Participating in community action
59.0
56.5
56
Promoting racial understanding
29.4
33.8
9
Keeping up with political affairs
39.9
36.6
19
<■
J
Readers may draw their own conclusions from the responses on the polls as
shown above, an<J I should be happy to receive anyone's comments. Rice
students may not themselves be aware that they share such a broad concern
for developing a philosophy ef life. Rajsing a family seems to be in high favor
here, as among freshmen on the Chronicle poll, though more men than
women here gave it first priority, and a concern for influencing social values,
helping others in difficulty, and establishing one's own business all seem to
support traditional American values in a reassuring manner.
In the high percentages for recognition by colleagues, becoming an
authority in one's field, and being very well off financially, I see a concern for
professional and financial security overriding an ambition to break new
ground or to expose oneself to risk, change and failure. Even developing an
individual philosophy of life can be a comforting form of security. Looking
back at student attitudes of the late sixties as I knew them at Rice, the low
priority for categories of creativity and for political issues and involvement
strike me as marked changes. Though students ten or twelve years ago were
less willing to accept discipline, self-imposed or institutionally imposed, many
of them certainly perceived themselves as original and potentially very
creative persons. They wanted to nurture and express that creativity even if
they were reluctant to accept the discipline which must accompany creativity
if it is to be fruitful.
The political climate even on such a relatively apolitical campus as Rice was
also very different in the late sixties. When I recently asked a young woman
who graduated during those years what stood out in her memory from her
undergraduate days, her immediate answer was:
The people I knew were talking about politics. We talked about politics all the time. The
issues seemed so real and important.
My recollection is that a high value was placed on exploration, accidental
encounters or opportunities, and on human relationships for their own sake.
As a goal-oriented person myself, students at the time struck me as
remarkably unselfish. I learned a great deal during those years for which I am
very grateful. On the other hand, many students drifted about, unwilling to
acknowledge responsibility even for themselves and apparently unable to
focus their attention and efforts. The dark cloud of the draft and the war hung
over every semester.
Overall the answers to the Rice questionnaire correspond to a serious ancj,
strongly motivated group of students who are aware of their own abilities.
The majority I would describe as modest optimists. When I talk to them, they
take pains to reassure me that they are also realists and intend to tailor their
goals to feasibility. As juniors and seniors, many of them are surprised at the
complexity of problems which they are able to handle, and some of them may
surprise themselves later with the contributions they make to our society.
Those who do indeed develop a personal philosophy, will probably live
individually rewarding lives.
Right now, however, they talk about their courses and their four years at
Rice as though a university education were only a way of getting better at
doing something fairly concrete. I would like to see a better mix of risk takers
on tnis particular campus.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Heard, Michelle Leigh. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 66, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 15, 1979, newspaper, March 15, 1979; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245399/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.