Safety in numbers

The plus/minus grading system should include the A+ and eliminate the C-

A Student Government Association senator has requested the University Curriculum Committee re-evaluate the plus/minus grading system initiated during the summer semester of 2006.

Jamie Beggerly of Terry College suggested adding an A+ and eliminating the C- from the current plus/minus grade scale, which the Board of Regents approved for a trial run that will end in 2009.

The Red & Black editorial board supports both the addition of A+ and the removal of C-.

As the system stands currently, if a student maintaining an A Grade Point Average makes a single A-, he has no chance to restore the subsequent GPA drop, even if he makes a 100 percent in every other class.

Why punish dedicated students for making a 92, for example, but not reward them for making a 99? Essentially, students have no motivation to excel beyond 93 percent when it equates to 100 percent and a 4.0 in the eyes of the University.

On the flip side, a C- no longer satisfies policies stating “a grade of C or better is required,” as most major classes require, but it does count as a passing grade in non-major classes.

We wonder why a single grade can grant or deny credit depending on the class taken and who’s enrolled. Again, this arbitrary cut-off can serve only to punish students.

We hope the University reconsiders the letter grades included in its plus/minus system to heighten student morale instead of perpetuating a system that punishes, but never rewards.

- Kelly Shaul for the editorial board

Stadium seating

The Athletic Association is considering the addition of 9,020 seats to Sanford

If the Athletic Association approves the plans to renovate several complexes on campus, our football stadium will get an additional 9,020 seats. The proposal for Sanford will add 26 luxury-suites and a 600-level enclosing the stadium’s east side.

The Red & Black editorial board encourages these renovations, and not only for bragging rights about having a 100,000-seat football stadium. The project would improve bathroom facilities and stadium accessibility. It also allows the University to address the annual outrage over student ticket allotment.

The University should grant at least half of the 8,500 general seats to students. If it doesn’t want students in the 600-level, student sections in other areas of Sanford should be expanded.

This year, 22,852 students requested tickets, and only 18,026 student seats were available. An extra 4,250 seats in the pool would not have satisfied every request, but it would have eased the frustration felt by underclassmen who were dealt partial ticket packages.

We understand the profitability of offering extra seats to alumni or donors. Considering the amount of money that will be spent adding these seats, the University probably hopes to charge more than $8 a game for them.

However, if the University continues to increase the number of admitted students, it must be prepared to deal with the increase in ticket requests. We may be biased, but we’re pretty sure students cheer louder than other fans.

- Drew Wheatley for the editorial board