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FEBRUARi24, 2005 - Page 3 NEWS IIAcademically deficient" students a concern ROB GOEKE accepted back According to GailAnn with an academic dean at We try to do as much as we can. NEWS EDITOR "These statistics are Rickert, Dean of Academic least three times during the Also, if a student is showing a higher than normal." said Advising at Gettysburg Col- semester to keep track of the downward trend, we take a dif- More than fifteen percent Henry Reiff, Associate Dean lege, roughly 6% of students student's progress. ~f first-year students have a of Academic Affairs. "But there are deemed academi- The third level, Aca- ferent look. We always attempt to get the best picture possible grade point average under 2.0 they can be misleading. We cally deficient by much of the demic Probation, includes of a student." following the Fall Semester are concerned about this same criteria that exists at contact between Academic After taking a year off af- 2004. That statistic is the high- year's freshman class, but McDaniel. Affairs and the student that ter graduating from high school, est that it has been in a decade, upperclassmen numbers "Sometimes raw num- indicates criteria a student freshman Thomas Dean of the First Year Program have been consistent." bees do not give you the en- needs to meet in order to pre- Quackenbush, who was placed Barb Horneff announced at a The first-year classes of tire picture," said Rickert. vent academic dismissal. on the Academic Deficiency list, recent faculty meeting. 2002 and 2003 had rates of "You always have to take a Finally, the fourth level, had difficulty adjusting back to Approximately 59 of 358 10.2% deficiency and 13.0%, closer look." first-year students, or 16.4 per- respectively. The four levels of Aca- Academic Dismissal, is a academic life. clear minimum GPA a stu- cent, have been declared Ace- Of the 1,579 under- derruc Deficiency are out- dent must earn to stay at "I was just really lazy and demically Deficient, according graduates currently attend- lined in page 29 of the Stu- McDaniel J never felt like doing work," said Quackenbush. to statistics provided to the Free ing McDaniel College, 103, dent Handbook. The minimum level Press by the Academic Affairs 6.5% of the student popula- The first level, Aca- rises with each semester the Various distractions and office. tion, are considered Aca- demic Warning, is' when a student is at McDaniel, from the adjusting to college life were I McDaniel's definition of derrucally Deficient. student's CPA is lower than .67 after the first semester to all part of why the numbers have increased, Horneff sug- "academically deficient" in- "Frankly, we expect a 2.0, but not significantly. 1.8 after seven. dudes students with less than fluctuations in these num- Students receive a letter in the Reiff noted that flexibil- gested. a 2.0 CPA. In turn, a 2.0 CPA is bers," said Joan COley, Prest- mail notifying them of their ity and "a lot of gray" exists "Quite simply, students the minimum level needed to dent of McDaniel COllege. "I need to make the appropriate graduate from the college. am not sure that this is a sta- status. "The [Academic Warn- within the four levels. adjustments for success," said "We try to take every- According to Horneff, tistlcally significant change Horneff. "[First-year students] four other first-year students from our norm." ing] letter acts as a notifica- thing on a case by case basis," will truly enrich their college ex- were dismissed from McDaniel School wide, the num- tion for students," said Reiff. said Reiff. "if a student has perience by actively participat- The second level isAca- consistently done well, then because of academics and two bers are comparable to simi- demtc Committee, where the has a bad semester, it isn't ing in class and communicating successfully appealed and were lar liberal arts schools. student is required to meet right tojust send them a note. with their professors outside the classroom." College launches wireless network project continued from page 1 dents, but most of all he said have on the entire campus he is excited about "being community," Coley stated in WiFi Pilot Program Launch where they would like to have able to sit outside rather a letter thanking the additional wireless access," than being stuck in the li- Alperstein's. said Michelle Reid, chief infor- brary all day." In order to connect to mation officer and director of Funding for this pilot the wireless network Win- Go WIRELESS Hoover Library. program came from grants as dows users must have an Junior Nicklas Troxel, well as a gift of approxi- 802.lIb or big wireless - who received the first wireless mately $17,500 from Les Ethernet card. Mac users on the Hill e-mail, was also involved in and Lois Alperstein. Les must have an Airport card. testing the new wireless net- Alperstein is president of Most newer laptops come work. He described the wire- Washington Analysis, LLC, with this equipment, so stu- McDANIEL less network as "very reliable." and an alumnus from the dents should double check Other students who class of 1963 Western Mar-y- their computers before buy- Signed up for the free Memory land/McDaniel College. ing any new hardware, Stick drawing echoed Troxel's _ Lois is a graduate of Ceorge which will be available in the sentiments with shouts of Washington, and she has school bookstore soon. "sweet" and "awesome." been an active member of the Registering for the ~ Senior Chris Slemp, one B'nai Israel Congregation wireless service is just like of two student members on the since 1989. connecting from a dorm WIFI Wireless Sub-Committee, noted "While all gifts to the room. Just select wireless reg- HOTSPOT that this "technological ad- College are important, this istration from the college's vance for the institution" may gift of the wireless project is Main Page and you'll be led help to bring in prospective stu- unique in the impact it will through the process. Best buddies offer unique friendship KEeLY RAMPMEYER a relationship with a peer close friend STAFF WRITER who may be 'different' in College buddies are asked some ways than other peers to have at least weekly contact Sophomore Ashley Chan- a student may have- butthe dler and her roommate Sara students who participate in with their buddy through email, phone calls, letter writing or get- Franz have more in common Best Buddies can see the per- togethers. . than their address. son, not the disability. Both They are both involved in Buddies benefit from the re- There are also group ac- the Best Buddy program here lationship." tivities once a month on campus, and share the same Ashley got involved in Both Chandler sisters - buddy. the program through her agree tha t the program is a re- "The program is about older sister, Crystal Chandler, ally wonderful experience. college students reaching out to who is vice president of the "It feels great to be a part the community by building organization here on campus. of the program. You learn so special friendships with local "Anyone who is look- much about yourself and about mentally challenged teenag- ing to gain a valuable friend- the other person," said Crystal. ers," said Ashley. "We do ac- ship and gain new experi- "1have gained new experiences tivities where we can bond with ences can, with a peer buddy and knowledge that Iwill never the buddies, while actually match," said Crystal. forget and that I could never helping them learn ... some ac- College students are have learned with out the expe- tivities we did last semester in- Simply forming a friendship. rience of participating in Best cluded a movie night, a winter program's advisor, and there are students who are so They are providing a Buddies." dance, playing board games, would like to see more stu- motivated to give back to the source of companionship for Anyone interested in get- going to the game room, and dents getting Involved in community in such a special a member of the community ting involved with the program participating in the hay maze." such a wonderful program. way," said Medina. "It takes who is intellectually disabled can contact Helene Ver Ecke at Dr. Janet Medina is the "I am very pleased that a lot to work on developing and they in turn can gain a extension 8292 for more infor- mation.