359 Freshmen May face QRR Penalty

By the end of their freshman year, "entering students must satisfy the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement (QRR)," the Handbook for Students says. Yet many freshmen seem to be disregarding these words-almost a quarter of the Class of 1985, having failed to complete either the data or computer portions of the QRR, may face still penalties come this fall.

The QRR, initiated by Core Curriculum planners in 1980, requires all freshmen to pass a data exam. testing their facility with statistics, as well as a computer test, which involves writing a simple program.

In a letter sent Monday to the 359 freshmen who have not yet fulfilled one or both halves of the requirement, the Core Committee warned that the Administrative Board would review records of all students who still had not passed both tests after their first year.

The letter continued that most delinquent students would be allowed to sit for make up exams during next fall's freshman week.

Jeffrey Tocosky, a Core Curriculum teaching assistant, explained yesterday that students who fail or do not appear for these make-up tests will be placed on academic probation until they fulfill the requirement by completing Quantitative Reasoning A or Applied Science II, "Computers, Algorithms and Programs."

"Students who don't pass the requirement by the end of the fall semester of their sophomore year may be asked to withdraw." Tecosky said.

Sophomore Alison Taylor who had to take a make up test last fall said yesterday that the data test is ridiculous. They don't teach you anything that's applicable today life.

After failing the make up test Taylor was put on probation and forced to enroll in Quantitative Reasoning A under the threat of expulsion if she failed the course.

Slothfulness

Most of the administrators of the requirement agreed in interviews yesterday that laziness on the part of freshmen and a general lack of seriousness toward the requirement are the main reasons for the failure of many as pass one or both tests.

Edward T. Wilcox, director of the Program of General Education and also head of the Core Curriculum, explained that "when we started back in 1980 we were concerned with people who couldn't I handle the test. But we've found that the problem has been people who don't show up for the test, who just stonewall it."

"I think that students got the impression that the computer requirement would be a farce like the old swimming requirement, that it wouldn't be enforced," Seltzer added.

Most of the delinquent students have not even attempted the computer test once.

I'd think anyone who calls themselves educated would want to know something about computers," Tecosky said.

But many students disagree, especially those under pressure from the Core Committee. "The whole thing is a hassle. If I'd wanted to learn about computers, I'd have taken a course," Susan Ishikawa '85 said.

The computer requirement has created further problems in the Science Center terminal room. Students in the demanding computer course. Applied Mathematics 110, "Introduction to Computer Programming," complain that reserving terminals for students preparing for computer tests ties up already stated computer time unnecessarily.

On the 359 delinquent freshmen, 280 must fulfill the computer requirement, 25 have to pass the data test, and 54 others still must pass both tests.

Two more computer tests will be given this term, but 79 students will definitely be asked to return freshman week for date tests, because no more will be administered this spring