February 25, 1999
Campus quiz: These stacks let off steam from the roof of which campus building?
Record support
In the 1997-98 academic year, voluntary gift support from alumni, parents and other Washington University friends broke three records, in the total amount given, the number of donors and the number of alumni who gave. Gifts totaled $188,032,526 and came from 33,153 donors, of whom 25,852 were alumni. Voluntary gifts support virtually every part of the University's work, including attracting and retaining extraordinary faculty and students, encouraging excellence in teaching and exceptional learning experiences, and supporting research.
Survey surprises
Results released recently from an annual survey of freshmen, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, revealed some surprising trends: Only 51 percent of freshmen believe that abortion should be legal, a decline of 14 percent since 1990. Only 40 percent of freshmen, a record low, view casual sex favorably. Only 20 percent of freshmen identify themselves as "conservative" or "far right," the lowest level in 11 years. Only 24 percent call themselves "liberal" or "far left," the smallest proportion in 14 years.
Among the survey's other findings: Catholic institutions had the highest percentage of freshmen who said they drank beer in the past year. Fewer than one in five freshmen said they checked a book out of the school library last year. Freshmen at black institutions were most likely to have attended a religious service in the past year.
Computer grading
As of Feb. 10, Educational Testing Service is using a computer program to read and score essay answers to the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), the exam required by most U.S. business schools. E-Rater software, developed by ETS, compares submitted essays to the hundreds of responses previously graded by humans and fed into a computer. GMAT essays that were previously read by two human graders will now be read by the E-Rater and one human grader. Critics say one problem with the program is that it cannot mimic the analytical skills of human graders.
Did you know?
The University's first Rhodes Scholar was Samuel E. Eliot, '05, grandson of University co-founder William Greenleaf Eliot. Samuel Eliot studied theology at Oxford for three years, returning in 1908 with a second bachelor's degree. He then took a teaching position in psychology and public speaking at the State University of Oregon in Eugene.
Answer: The chimneys top South Brookings Hall.
"News Briefs" includes short items on a wide range of subjects, typically information about resources, benefits and opportunities available to faculty and staff. Readers are invited to submit briefs, which will be used as space permits, to Betsy Rogers, Campus Box 1070, or by e-mail, Betsy_Rogers@aismail.wustl.edu. Please include your name and phone number.
