THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2006
Thursday Edition: Universities and the Swimming Requirement
I don't know about
you, but I have never heard of universities requiring students to
prove
they can swim before they graduate. We're talking about the biggest names:
MIT, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth. More than one out of 10 schools surveyed have such requirements.
The Boston Globe says some schools have finally begun dropping the test. Here is the top of their really interesting piece:
Seven days before the test, Stephanie Yeh stood in her sorority house and cried.
An electrical
engineering and computer science major, she was set to graduate near
the top of her MIT class next month and start a six-figure job as a
Wall Street analyst.
Just one test,
terrifying to her, remained. She, like scores of undergraduates at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had been putting it off for
nearly four years. But Yeh and the others have to pass this exam to graduate.
She had to swim 100 yards, four lengths of a pool, without stopping.
The problem: Yeh never learned how to swim.
''Just having my face
in the water really, really freaks me out," Yeh said the day before the
test. ''So I never learned, I never really wanted to."
Hundreds of college seniors nationwide are similarly in deep. At Cornell, Dartmouth, and Columbia,
where swim proficiency also is required, it is time to sink or swim.
For students like Yeh, who has aced virtually every exam in her 22
years, it is time to face demons under the surface.
College swim
requirements, which sprang up after World War II, have been in decline
since the 1970s. One criticism: The test was biased against those who
grew up away from the water.
Among the colleges
dropping it: MIT's cross-town rival, Harvard. By 1997, just 14 percent
of schools had a swim test, according to a North Carolina State University
survey. And more schools have dropped the test since, though college is
one of the last chances for mass instruction, said Frank Ormond III, an
associate professor of physical education who conducted the North Carolina State survey.
Much to Yeh's
chagrin, MIT has stayed the course. Carrie Moore, director of physical
education at MIT, calls it ''a critical survival skill that everyone
should have."
And for students who are scared of the water?
''This is a great opportunity for them to get over it," Moore said.
For the
procrastinators, there were plenty of warnings. About half of the
1,000-member freshmen class usually takes the test by their second week
in Cambridge. Typically, about two dozen do not pass. ''It's their
first test at MIT, and they fail," said Ben McElhiney, MIT's assistant
aquatic director. ''And these are kids who aren't used to failing
anything."
From that point the students have a choice: Take the exam or enroll in a beginning swim class to fulfill the requirement.
Lifeguards at the
pool say many students who struggle with the test are from Middle
Eastern and Southeast Asian countries where they have had little access
to oceans or pools or swimming lessons.
Just think of it: It is probably the only test I could have passed at MIT.
Medicare is Meeting Some Goals (Deadline: May 15)
For something that
got so much rotten publicity when it started, the Medicare Part D drug
plan is helping millions of Americans afford medications they could
not have afforded without the program. A poll
last month said eight in 10 seniors were having no trouble getting
their prescriptions filled under the plan -- and that lots of these folks were
saving megabucks on their medications.
May 15 is the first enrollment deadline for the program. If seniors
do not enroll by May 15, they will pay higher premiums if they enroll
in the future. The Los Angeles Times said:
By the May 15
deadline, federal officials expect to have more than 20 million seniors
enrolled in plans under Medicare Part D, as the benefit program is
called. That would include at least 7 million who previously lacked
insurance for outpatient prescriptions. Of the millions who have signed
up, many are enjoying significant savings, sometimes $1,000 a year or
more.
So why are people not cheering in the streets? There are still some problems.
For one thing, the
system remains so complex and hard for seniors to navigate that many
have yet to enroll, including about 2 million who live near the poverty
line and would benefit from its subsidies.
More important, Part
D may not be working so well for a substantial minority of patients --
seniors with complex illnesses and those requiring relatively expensive
medicines. These patients often face high costs under the new program
that threaten to put needed treatment beyond their reach.
A recent poll for the Kaiser Family Foundation
found that 19 percent of enrolled seniors said they expected their medications
to cost them more under Part D, compared with the 55 percent who said they
would save.
That's because private insurance companies are
quietly putting these medicines into special coverage tiers that carry
higher costs for patients. Doing this helps companies meet the twin
goals of saving taxpayers money while earning a profit.
Officials
of organizations representing patients with multiple sclerosis, mental
illnesses, arthritis and cancer have expressed particular concern about
the plans' coverage policies.
Another problem is that many
pharmacists say they continue to experience difficulties with such
basics as timely payment. Pam Grisnik of Grove City, Pa.,
told Congress recently that more than a third of her fellow pharmacists
around the country feared Part D would put them out of business.
We've talked about Medicare Part D a lot recently on Al's Morning Meeting. Here are some earlier stories:
Forty-five Percent of Children Under 5 Are Part of a Racial or Ethnic Minority Group
The U.S. Census Bureau says that Hispanics continue to be the largest minority group in America
and the Hispanic population is growing faster than any other.
CNN reports:
Census statistics also show that 45 percent of children under age 5 are from a racial or ethnic minority.
The implications for American society are significant, the CNN story suggests:
The influence of traditional minorities
in the United States will continue to grow, new Census Bureau
statistics suggest, with Hispanics born as American citizens accounting
for more than a third of the population increase last year.
Bureau
figures released Wednesday show the U.S. population grew by 2.8 million
between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005. Hispanics accounted for 1.3
million of that increase, with 800,000 attributable to natural causes
-- births minus deaths -- rather than immigration.
Coupled with
the high birth rate for Hispanics -- the Population Resource Center
cites statistics showing the average Hispanic woman will have three
children in her lifetime; it's 1.8 for non-Hispanic whites -- the
number means Hispanics will make up an increasing share of the
citizenry.
See a
Washington Post story about what these demographic shifts will mean for schools and other institutions:
The new numbers offer a preview of demographic shifts to come, with
broad implications for the nation's schools, workforce and Social
Security.
One in three Americans is now a member of a minority
group, a share that is bound to rise, because the non-Hispanic white
population is older and growing much more slowly. The country already
is engaged in a national debate about how government should respond to
growing immigration, legal and illegal.
In some parts of the
country, the transformation is more visible than in others. Large
swaths of the upper Midwest are still mainly non-Hispanic white. But
minorities are a majority of children younger than 5 in the Washington
area, according to previously released census numbers. That is also
true in Miami, Houston, Los Angeles and other high-immigration regions.
Here are some more results, from the Census Bureau's
press release:
Hispanics
- Hispanics accounted for almost half (1.3 million, or 49 percent) of the national population growth of 2.8 million between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005.
- Of the increase of
1.3 million, 800,000 was because of natural increase (births minus
deaths) and 500,000 was because of immigration. (See Table 2 Excel | PDF.)
- The Hispanic
population in 2005 was much younger with a median age of 27.2 years
compared to the population as a whole at 36.2 years. About a third of
the Hispanic population was under 18, compared with one-fourth of the
total population. (See Table 3 Excel | PDF.)
Blacks
- The black population increased by 1.3 percent or 496,000 between 2004 and 2005.
- Of the increase of 496,000, about 407,000 was because of natural increase and 89,000 was because of immigration.
- The black
population, in 2005, was younger with a median age of 30.0 years
compared to the population as a whole at 36.2 years. About 31 percent
of the black population was under 18, compared with 25 percent of the
total population.
Asians
- The Asian population rose by 3 percent or 421,000 between 2004 and 2005.
- Of the increase of
421,000 in the Asian population between 2004 and 2005, 182,000 was
because of natural increase and 239,000 was because of immigration.
- The Asian population
in 2005 was younger with a median age of 33.2 years compared to the
population as a whole at 36.2 years. About 26 percent of the Asian
population was under 18, compared with 25 percent of the total
population.
American Indians and Alaska natives
- The American Indian and Alaska native population rose by 1 percent or 43,000 from 2004 to 2005.
- The American Indian and Alaska
native population in 2005 was younger with a median age of 30.7 years,
compared to the population as a whole at 36.2 years. About 29 percent
of the American Indian and Alaska native population was under 18, compared with 25 percent of the total population.
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders
- The native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander population rose by 1.5 percent or 15,000 from 2004 to 2005.
- The native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander population in 2005
was younger with a median age of 28.2 years compared to the population
as a whole at 36.2 years. About 31 percent of the native Hawaiian and
other Pacific islander population was under 18, compared with 25 percent
of the total population.
Non-Hispanic whites
- The non-Hispanic, single-race white population, which represented
just under 67 percent of the total population, accounted for less than
a fifth (19 percent) of the nation’s total population growth.
- Of the increase of 500,000, about 300,000 was because of natural increase
with 200,000 attributed to immigration.
- The non-Hispanic, single-race white population in 2005 was older than
the population as a whole: the respective median ages were 40.3 and
36.2. About 22 percent of the population of this group was under 18,
compared with 25 percent of the total population.
The Census Bureau explains how it documents race and ethnicity in its surveys:
The federal government treats Hispanic origin and
race as separate and distinct concepts. In surveys and censuses, separate
questions are asked on Hispanic origin and race. The question on Hispanic
origin asks respondents if they are Spanish, Hispanic or Latino. Starting
with Census 2000, the question on race asks respondents to report the
race or races they consider themselves to be. Thus, Hispanics may be of
any race. (See U.S. Census Bureau Guidance on the Presentation and
Comparison of Race and Hispanic Origin Data.)
Here are some more resources that you might find helpful, as you delve into this topic:
District Attorneys Using Check-Diversion Companies to Collect
District Attorneys
simply don't have time to chase nickel-and-dime check kiters, so, in many
states, they have turned to private "check-diversion" companies, which
specialize in forcing people to make bad checks good.
The Washington Post says:
A
number of state and local prosecutors across the country are using
"check-diversion" companies to operate their restitution programs in an
effort to reduce the number of bounced checks. Check-diversion
companies are private, for-profit debt collectors that contract with
prosecutors to collect returned checks. Prosecutors using
check-diversion companies argue the programs work by returning millions
to merchants and decreasing court cases.
But groups like
Public Citizen and the
National Consumer Law Center
are complaining that some of these check-diversion companies charge
fees as high as $200 to people who bounced a $10 or $20 check.
Public Citizen says:
The
companies falsely tell consumers they will go to jail unless they pay
up. In most states, however, bouncing a check is not a crime unless the
person who wrote the check intended to defraud someone. These
"diversion" schemes ignore that requirement of criminal intent,
branding anyone who mistakenly writes a bad check as a criminal in
order to take their money.
The National Consumer Law center adds (in a 2004 statement):
Check diversion companies are so profitable that they share their income with the DA's office, providing funds to this government office rather receiving money from
it to perform a governmental function. Yet, in these check-diversion
programs, the DAs have not done any investigation to determine the
critical requirement of the crime -- an intent to defraud. Indeed, most
of these consumers have not intended to defraud, and quickly pay off
the checks upon receiving notice. As a result, many consumers who have
inadvertently bounced small checks are deceived into paying as much as
$140 extra to avoid a criminal prosecution, which would never occur if
the DA were actually handling the case. Indeed, regardless of the
involvement of the for-profit check-diversion program, the majority of
bounced check cases are not criminally prosecuted because there is no
intent to defraud, a required element of the crime.
Scarce Urban Gas Stations
The Washington Post
points out that in all of Manhattan, which is home to 830,000 cars,
vans and delivery trucks, there are only 54 gas stations. The
article points out that downtown gas stations are disappearing because
the cost of the real estate on which they sit is so high. Is it true in
your town?
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a
compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a
variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When
the information comes directly from another source, it will be
attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is
fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the
original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
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