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	Vol.7, No 12, September 20, 1999
	Student still concerned about WPE I was amused to read Dr. Edward Borowiecís, member of the Test Development committee, reaction to the outrage over the new Writing Proficiency Exam.  I would first like to clear up two misconceptions. Debbie Lensner First as one can easily tell by the absence of the words ìDaily Forty-Ninerî beneath my name, I am not a member of the newspaper staff. Rather, I am simply an English major who happens to read the newspaper. Second, stories that run on the opinion page are opinions. Often, they are responses to stories that appeared in previous editions of the paper. These are not unbiased news stories, where the writer must provide quotes from a variety of sources. Rather, they are one person's opinion or reaction. Borowiec devoted much of his commentary to praising the new, essay-only WPE. In fact, he dared "anyone to dispute [the] assertion" that the new format is better. If Borowiec had read the opinion pieces more carefully, he might have noticed that whether the new format is better than the old was never a concern. Instead, as I clearly stated in my commentary, my indignation was not directed at the removal of the objective section of the WPE. It was the reasons behind its removal that bothered (and still bothers) me. Worst of all, Borowiec quotes an argument that "students have trouble learning formal grammar, dislike it, and seem not to retain for very long what theyíve learned." I am appalled that a university professor would use such a flimsy argument to justify his position. I could do a study of my own and determine that many students also have trouble learning mathematics and dislike the subject. Should we therefore eliminate it as a general education requirement?  I am, however, disturbed by their conclusions. A university where professors expect an automatic jump in writing ability without teaching writing, and consider a subject worthwhile only if students find it easy enough, is hardly a university.  Debbie Lensner is an English major at Cal State Long Beach.		Future of state's education planned CSULB students go to U.S. Capitol Credit card probe may be sparked Weight gain another problem for freshman Internet makes job search easier for students Bill calls for parent-teacher home visitations P.R. can't cover up Student still concerned about WPE Prof. defends WPE Don't blame us Bobby Matos jazz ensembles excites crowd Cranberries return with rosier outlook on life, music Band brings fun Shumard directs The Beach well Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.