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THE £MIC Volume 2 No. 2 Stanford Overhauls Grading System Palo Alto, Calif.--(1 .P.)--Starting this fall, the sole penalty for failure to complete an undergraduate course satisfactorily at Stanford University will be loss of credit toward gradua- tion. Following more than three years of study, the Faculty Senate has ap- proved a comprehensive overhaul of the University's grading system for undergraduates. The only grades recorded wi II be "A" for exceptional performance, "B" for superior performance, "C" for satisfactory performance, and "Pass" for nonletter-graded work equivalent to a "C" or better. In addition to eliminating "E" and "F" grades, "plus" and "minus" desig- nations, grade point averages, and class grading "curves," the new system will provide special incentives for students who want to delve deeply into a parti- cular subject or are recognized by their instructors for truly outstanding work. The changes were first proposed by the three-year Study of Education at Stanford (SES) which The New York Times said "may well be the most basic attempt to come to grips with (the problems of) alienate~ campuses ofany in the natir n." They were reviewed in detail, modi- fied, and proposed as the initial part of a broad new Charter for Undergraduate Education by the Committee on Undergraduate Studies, which has been studying the grading system and other academic matters since September, 1969. As the SES report on undergraduate education noted, during the past 1 O years at Stanford, "There has been a significant upward shift in the average grades given undergraduates. This pro- bably reflects improvements within the secondary schools and, more cer- tainly, the unusually high caliber of our undergraduates. "Almost all those entering Stanford come from the top two or three percent of the nation's high school graduates, and more than four out of five complete their baccalaureate work on schedule, a rate nearly twice the national average. "Grades are intended to provide the student with feedback, reward, and motivation," the committee noted. "More importantly they are supposed to inform others of a student's ability and potential, thus influencing entry into graduate school and future em- ployment. "Practices differ, but it is rare for a graduate school or department to rely predominantly on grade-point averages in the selection of students. We there- fore see no justification in clinging to a system which leads to the computation of deceptively refined grade-point aver- ages on the ground that it serves as a useful device." Alpena, Michigan November 20, 1970 r Al Kooper Dr. Albert Ellis Malcolm Boyd Al Kooper Highlights Celebrity Series Jack Brokensha, Dr. Albert Ellis, and Malcolm Boyd round out 70-71 presentation. Highlighting this years Celebrity Series presentations will be an appear- ernce by Al Kooper, formerly with the well-known Blood, Sweat, and ~ Kooper will perform in Alpena on March 25th with his Easy Does It Band. Kooper is best known for his albums I Stand Alone and Super Ses- sion, recorded with Paul Bloomfield, and Steven Stills. The Celebrity Series will open this year with a return appearance by Jack Brokensha on December 7. Many students will remember the perform- ance his group presented last year as one of the entertainment high- lights of the 1969-70 school year. Jack Brokensha was born in Ade- laide, South Australia, in 1926. He began playing the xylophone at local vaudeville houses at the age of six. At fourteen, he joined the South Australian Symphony Orchestra, play- ing vibes and percussion under such conductors as Sir Thomas Beechem . Drop-PassiP.g Boosts Honor Roll De Kalb, 111.--(1.P.)--The pass-fail option has resulted in a substantial increase in number of Northern Illinois University undergraduates making the academic honor roll. A total of 1,702 who were enrolled in 12 or more semester hours of courses in spring 1970 earned a grade- point average of 3.5 or be cter. Of the 1,702, "P," or "pass," was received by 341 on one or two courses. No grade points are given for "P" so such marks are not counted in determining grade- point averages. (Continued on Page 6) During World War 11, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force and toured the Southwest Pacific area with an official entertainment unit. It was at this time that he began the transi- tion to a Jazz musician. After the war - hefo';-med his own group-;-"The Jack Brokensha Quarter," which recorded and played concerts and clubs all over Australia. Brokensha left Australia in January, 1953, and settled in Windsor, Canada, where in 1954 he formed the Austra- lian Jazz Quartet. The group toured the United States for 4½ years and recorded seven jazz albums. Although best known as a jazz vibraphonist, Brokensha is also profi- cient at all percussion instruments . He has also held a staff musician's post at WXYZ, but now devotes most of his time composing, lecturing, making tele- vision appearances, and disc-jockeying for WQRS-FM in Detroit, where he performs nightly with his Jazz Quartet. Dr. Albert Ellis, who will appear at ACC on February 16, has authored or edited twenty-four books and mono- graphs, including: The Folklore of Sex, The American Sex~al Tragedy, Sex Without Guilt, How To Live With A Neurotic, The Art and Science of Love, The Encyclopedia of Sexual Behavior, Creative Marriage, A Guide To Rational Living. Reason and Emotion In Psychotherapy, Sex and The Single Man, The Intelligent Woman's Guide To Manhunting. The Case For Sexual Liberty, and Homosexuality: Its Causes and Cure. He has alsq published over two hundred papers in psychologiea, psychiatric and sociologica'I journals, periodicals, and anthologies. Dr. Ellis is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and has been President of its Division of Con- sulting Psychology and a member of its Council of Representatives. He is a Fellow (and past-President) of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex; and a Fellow of the American Association of Marriage Counselors, the American Sociological Association, the American Association of Applied Anthropology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. =-----'= - - -- -- - - He has served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Marriage and the Family, The International Journal of Sexology. The Journal Of Sex Research and National Living, and Voices: ~ Art and Science of Psychotherapy. He has appeared the leading TV 'talk' show, always serving as a most illumi- nating, informative, stimulating, and gracious guest. Malcolm Boyd, writer and priest, one of the best-known religious figures of this generating, will appear at ACC in April. Long a leader in the peace movement, civil rights, and the envi- ronmental struggle with its call for new values in American life, Father Boyd has been cited by Time Magazine as "Chaplain-at-large to American univer- sity student." His book of contemporary prayers, Are You Running With Me, Jesus?," has sold more than a million copies and has been translated in foreign editions throughout the world. He is also the author of Free to Live, Free to Die, Malcolm Boyd's Book of Days, The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Stone and Other Fables, As I Live and Breathe: Stages of an Autobiography and My Fellow Americans. He edited The Underground Church, authored five plays, and has served as a film critic for several years. Father Boyd has given public read- ings of his work, accompanied by such prominent musicians as Charlie Byrd, the guitarist; Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary; and Oscar Brown, Jr., star of the off-Broadway production "Joy". In 1966, Father Boyd and Charlie Bryd participated in a concert reading of Boyd's writings at the New- port Jazz Festival. In the same year, Father Boyd joined Dick Gregory for a_ (Continued on Page 6)