More on Free
Speech

Dear editor:
I, too, am concerned about free
peech at the university, but it should
be informed speech. That is why I am
upset at an article that was in the
paper January 28th.
The article mentioned the right of
he Catholic Church to set moral stan-
dards for its members, but it had both
rrors and gaping generalities.
Annulments can occur when there
s no true and informed consent at a
marriage. An example of this would
be one party hiding problems from
he other party such as being abu-
ive,or having drinking or gambling
problems, for instance.
It is worth noting that the first uni-
ersities were Catholic institutions.
The cornerstone of a university edu-
ation was a philosophy degree. I am
urprised to hear there is not even one
philosophy course being taught at
UNBC. So much for deeper thinking
nd higher learning,

Also, it would be wise for students
who would restrict free, informed
peech to bring to mind at least the
possibility of the moral way of think-
ng, for that is the first step to uncov-
ring the truth. Jesus said, “I am the
Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No
ne comes te the Father but by me.”

Sincerely,
Chase Conell

6

FEBRUARY 25, 2004

: Photo by Dana Schwehr
The UNBC Rugby Club went to Seattle during reading break to play some rugby. Sherm the Sheep accompanied them for good times and
good luck.

Where is the Logic? Thoughts from U of A

(Ed Note: This article was writ-
ten by a U of A student, but
submitted by a UNBC student)

By M. K. W. Braaten
As a student the University of
Alberta I take pride in the fact that I
ttend one of the most respected
University’s in the Country.
Nonetheless, the reason why our uni-
ersity is so respected is because of its
ontributions to the research and
development of academic prefecture as
well as the advancement of knowledge.
However, though, the most important
spect of University is the advance-
ment of an independent group of
cademia willing to. express their own
pinion, theorize their own premise,
urther their own proficiency, and con-
equently, teach their hypothesis to stu-
dents who come from far and abroad
o learn it. ?
Unfortunately, a serious issue has
volved and has found its way into con-
emporary academia. This issue, sadly,
s the degradation of post. secondary
university caused by neglecting the true
pirit of academia; which is to teach
he willing students how to think, but
not only that, but how to think for
hemselves. As a result, currently there
s a generation of students who have
ost the ability to theorize and advance
he current state of knowledge;
Ithough students will avoid admitting
his, it is an accurate representation of
hem. Regrettably the condition of
ontemporary university is not to pro-
mote encouragement of the advance-

ment in logic; however, students are
being led to learn based on an axiom of
reiteration. That is, students in our cur-
rent generation are not taught to think
for themselves logically, rather are
being taught to memorize another's
viewpoint and are required to write
exams based on-memorization and an
examination of that theory.

For example, I have the option -if I
miss a Class- to download the notes
from a website. These notes contain

currently there is a
generation of students
who have lost the ability
to theorize and advance
the current state of
knowledge

everything which was ‘taught’ in class;
moreover, these notes contain the theo-
ry which the teacher ‘read’ to the class
that day. Therefore, thanks to technol-
ogy, I don’t miss a thing if I failed to
attend a specific class, or for that mat-
ter, a specific month of classes.
Unfortunately this leads to a more
sombre question: what is the point of
going to class? Though, going to class
makes you feel like you are utilizing
your investment (tuition), but it does lit-
tle to advance the thinking of students.

Too many classes have I attended at
university where the professor blatantly
regurgitates what is written in a text
book. Though, most of my classes
being in business, I have taken many

economics classes in order to challenge
my own logic. In my opinion, this is
one of the few remaining faculty’s
which has abstained from a current
non-coherent teaching strategy; which
is a strategy where they have the stu-
dents memorize a regarded academics’
theory and are then examined based
on what the theory meant, or, what the
text book said it meant.

Last semester I enrolled in an
Economics and Law class, and unbe-
knownst to me, turned out to be a very
difficult course. Though, it wasn’t diffi-
cult in theory, just in the way it was pre-
sented. This was a class in which a true
professor, true being classical, actually
lectured to the students what he
thought, what he has learned, and
what he believed is necessary for us to
better our selves in that particular sub-
ject area. There was no text book
required and notes were optional.
However, what interested me was the
amount of students who were dis-
mayed by this teaching style. A style
where the professor would talk, yes that
is right, talk to us about the particular
subject matter of law and cconomics,
give us questions which would ‘benefit’
us on our learning of the topic and
may help us for exam purposes, and
also, would encourage us to use outside
resources. What is more alarming is
the fact that the average mark in this
class was extremely low. Not because of
poor teaching, nor a hard course theo-
ry, but because contemporary students
are not trained to think logically and
analytically.

Too often are students trained to
‘process information’ in order to get
the grade, acquire the credits, and

Too often are stu-
dents trained to
‘process information’ in
order to get the grade,
acquire the credits, and
complete the course
assignments in order to

obtain a piece of paper

which gives us the cre-
dentials to be deemed
educated

complete the course assignments in
order to obtain a piece of paper which
gives us the credentials to be deemed
educated. Frequently students only
care about what thcy ‘need to know’ or
what ‘will be on the exam’; the idea of
actually learning a topic to expand
ones mind is a disregarded considera-
tion. Is this how our aged alumnus’
were taught to think? Did academics’
of the past have a written text book
which told them what to study?
Furthermore, did academics’ of the
distant past even have text books? No,
because that is the whole concept of
the professor. The professor was the
text book and students were required
to record on paper cach topic the pro-
fessor ‘professed’ in order to have study
notes so they could pass the course.

Moreover, passing the course probably
wasn’t even as big of deal; learning the
theory and expanding the mind was
more important than a designated let-
ter grade.

The aforementioned economics and
law course is a perfect example of how
university classes should be. Though, I
did not do well in that class in terms of
letter grade, I learned more in that
class than I ever learned in any post
secondary class I have taken. Why?
Because the professor taught me his
values and challenged me to go on my
own and study the topic whether it was
at the library or on the internet. I
walked away from that class with not
only a ‘C+’ but also with a lifetime of
knowledge that I probably will never
forget. Sadly, there are many classes for
which students, like my self, study the
terms and memorize the concepts only
to forget them the minute they walk
out of the exam room. Does this make
us educated? In my opinion, no, but in
according to contemporary university
it does. I for one, would rather get a ‘C’
and be encouraged to learn the theory
while walking away with an abundant
knowledge of the subject; rather than a
vague recollection of terms which I
memorized while forgetting them the
minute I complete the exam. I hope
soon, though, that this ill-fated evolu-
tion of academia can be reversed in ~
order to save the whole constitution of
university; for if we don’t, university
will only become a requirement of
society, one that you must perform
through rather than think through.