There are certain instances when I question whether I am truly in college.
Take, for instance, the story of my friend Dan. Dan is a first-year student at Ohio University with more than 80 credit hours. Undecided on a major, Dan is on a scholarship and carries close to a 4.0 grade point average.
But in the eyes of the university, Dan is not competent enough to create his own course schedule.
Two days ago, Dan walked back into his room -across the hall from my own -and threw his arms up in exasperation.
You see, Dan had forgotten to set up an appointment with his adviser to get his DARS report and Registration Access Code. Without his RAC, Dan could not register for classes the following afternoon.
Hoping to correct his mistake, Dan went to Chubb Hall to see if he could locate a copy of his DARS report and get his RAC.
Access denied.
The secretaries told Dan even though he had more than 80 credit hours, he was still counted as a freshman to them and could only get his DARS report and his RAC from an adviser.
And I thought we had graduated high school.
College advisers are nothing more than glorified guidance counselors, and it is absolutely ridiculous that we have to meet with them before we can register for classes.
Perhaps the university thinks OU students cannot read. Not only can we not read our DARS, but we certainly can't read the 300-plus page handbook describing all the courses.
Or perhaps reading comprehension is the problem. Sure, OU students can read the student handbook and their DARS reports, but there's no way we'll be able to understand these enigmatic documents.
If OU students have not mastered the skill of reading comprehension, it is no small wonder the school's reputation for parties is its only claim to fame.
If OU is to gain national prominence in academics, it needs to start acting more like a college and less like a high school. A good way to start is by trusting students to create their own course schedules.
The fact is Dan does not need an adviser to hold his hand through the scheduling process. Dan is nearly a 4.0-student. He can read, and he can understand what he reads.
And I would venture to say even students without 4.0 GPAs have mastered these two skills.
The sophomoric practice of mandatory meetings with guidance counselors is absurd. Not only does it waste the time of university professors, it also wastes the time of students.
My adviser doesn't waste time explaining my DARS to me. Our meeting consists of me walking in, getting my DARS and walking out.
And that's the way it should be. My adviser trusts that I can read and understand what I read.
Why doesn't the university?
During my senior year in high school, my teachers and counselors constantly told me that in college, I would no longer be babied. They told me if I failed a test, I might fail a course; if I screwed up my scheduling, no one would be there to break my fall.
The fact is I'm babied more now than I was then. Meetings with guidance counselors in high school were optional.
OU is only hurting its own reputation and its own students by continuing this juvenile practice of mandatory adviser meetings. It's time to cut the red tape and let students have their RACs without having to jump through hoops.
I don't need my adviser to read my DARS to me. I don't need my adviser to read the student handbook to me. I need my RAC so I can sign up for classes.
Just let me have it.
-Matt Zapotosky, a freshman journalism major, is The Post's city senior writer. Send him an e-mail at mz152904@ohiou.edu.
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Letter to the Editor
