From: merklin@rtsg.mot.com (Teresa B. Merklin)
Subject: Quality Education at OkSU (long, dry)
Summary: Run For Cover!
Keywords: Why OU is better than Oklahoma State
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 16:05:43 GMT



	"Quality Education at OSU: the Dexter Manley Case Study"

While I was a student at Oklahoma State University, I had the pleasure of
taking technical writing from the same professor that passed Dexter Manley
in his Freshman Comp I class. This gave me the opportunity to examine how
some one who couldn't read or write managed to remain elligible for four
seasons at a Division I University. I arrived at the conclusion that Dexter
did not receive any specialized treatment due to his athletic status, and
is basically representative of the academic abilities and endeavors of the
typical Oklahoma State University Student.

Let's begin by examining the history of the University. OkState was founded 
as Oklahoma A&M back in the 1800's. The first students who attended OkA&M in
those early days were asked to bring any books they had accumulated from 
their previous college attendance. All three books that were donated were 
originally housed in the basement of the church where the first classes were
held and formed the basis for what the library is today. Since few of these 
early students could read, the lack of books was not viewed as a problem for
the budding college, and the same attitude about books and reading remains 
today.

After all, Oklahoma State, is primarily an agricultural university, a field
in which reading and writing skills are optional at best. Face it, after
learning to distinguish a few basic words, such as the difference between
"Fertilizer" and "Weed Killer", there really aren't a lot of words members
of the agricultural community need to know.

When I first approached my technical writing teacher to inquire about her
experiences with Dexter in her freshman comp class, I believed that there
were very few students like him at Oklahoma State. I was quickly corrected.
When I asked the professor if she knew that Dexter couldn't read, she replied
that it would be very difficult to make that assessment in a comp class, 
where there are only a few quizes and the primary emphasis is on papers 
which are written out of class. "As far as I know," she said, "every student
I have ever had, hires some one to write their papers." At OkState, doing
this is seen not as cheating, but rather as being resourceful. A sort of
survival skill, if you will.

Some have questioned how some one such as Dexter Manley could even qualify
for admission at any institution of "higher" learning, when in fact Dexter's
test scores probably placed him in the upper half of his freshman class. It
is general policy at OkState not to require a certain test score on the 
culturally biased ACT and SAT tests. After all, these tests were developed by
and for people who view reading and writing as an important skill in 
predicting college success. People such as Dexter have shown this is simply
not the case.

I personally recall a girl coming through rush one year with a 2 on the ACT.
Before then I didn't realize that it was possible to score that low, but I
was reassured by other people who had spent most of their lives in Oklahoma
that this was not an infrequent occurance. Still, I was concerned that she
would not last in college with test scores that low, not because I thought
she was particulary dumb, but rather because of the bad luck required to
score that low on a test where nothing is deducted for wrong answers. Indeed,
I was once again proved wrong when she had over a 2.5 GPA her first semester.

I am often asked by others on the net, if Oklahoma State graduates have so
much school spirit, with the large computer science and engineering
programs, why there aren't any more postings from Oklahoma State fans in the
rec.sport.*.college newsgroups. The answer is obvious to me. The amount of
time that it would take the average OkState alum to read a post and draft a 
response is so long, that the information would be years out of date
before it was ever posted. An obvious exception to this would include our
own beloved goober, who obviously learned the bulk of his academic skills
elsewhere.

Speaking of Texas A&M, I would like to take this opportunity to clear up
exactly why Oklahoma A&M changed it's name to Oklahoma State. Around the
time that this occured, Aggie jokes about the people at the A&M to the 
south had become very pervasive throughout the region. The regents decided
that aggie jokes were an unfair characterization of Oklahoma A&M students,
as people were beginning to expect them to be as intelligent as the Texas
A&M students. Since Oklahoma A&M students were unable to fulfill those lofty
expectations, the name was changed to Oklahoma State.

*

So the fact that Dexter Manley couldn't read or write may not be taken as
an example of academic fraud in the athletic department, but rather as an
example of the typical academic experience at Oklahoma State University.
Hopefully this essay will lay some of these allegations to rest, and remove 
the stigma of "Dexter Manly U" from this fine university.

People still seeking impropriety in the program might be advised to shift 
their attention from Dexter's academics, to finding out where he got the 
cash to pay for all the essays and assignments that were written from him.
I'm guessing that nothing illegal will be uncovered here either, as he
probably found the cash in the glove compartment of the car he was given for
attending the University in the first place.

Dexter has not escaped his disclosure of the academic status at Oklahoma
State without penalty, however. He is one of the more notable OSU football
players who has not had his number retired by the team, and had it hung at the
east end of the stadium with the others. Then again, maybe they told Dexter
that they retired his number, and he just can't read the banners.

That is all.

Teresa
These views are mine and not my employer's.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Teresa Barley Merklin                    / Internet: tmerklin@mot.com   //
// Fort Worth Research & Development Center / Voice:    (817) 232-6565     //
// Motorola, Inc.                           / Fax:      (817) 232-6081     //
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-- 
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Teresa Barley Merklin                    / Internet: tmerklin@mot.com   //
// Fort Worth Research & Development Center / Voice:    (817) 232-6565     //
// Motorola, Inc.                           / Fax:      (817) 232-6081     //
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college