Students
Get the
Last
Laugh
M AYBE YOU REMEMBER
competing in the school
talent show. Maybe you
recall singing "Yesterday" in a voice-
cracking pubescent howl. Maybe you
think you were pretty good. Well....
Youth and exuberance fade, but the talent
show will always be around. And the mother of
them all was recently initiated by MasterCard and
the National Association of Campus Activities.
Featuring 10 finalists drawn from 81 schools
and more than 200 contestants, the first Nation-
al Collegiate Talent Contest represented the best
of campus music and comedy. A Texas Southern
U. a cappella group and a junior comedian from
Christopher Newport U. in Virginia walked
away the winners at the Anaheim, Calif., finals
on Feb. 18.
"We were very nervous because they had
some amazing talent," says Texas Southern U.'s
Derek Brotherton, whose a cappella group 2nd
Nature took first
place and won
$15,000. "We weren't 1Y at
eager to win or lose
- we were just eager
to sing. Youi
This year's compe-
tition will include
more than 100_
schools, says Ron Laf- HEN
fitte, NACA's event stag
coordinator. (Check Cert
with your campus stu-
dent activities board to see if your school is regis-
tered.) There is also a new video submission cate-
gory - students can send in short VHS tapes of
musical or comedy routines to 13 Harvison Way,
Columbia, SC 29212. Call NACA at 1-800-962-
2287 for more information.
"The students get to intermingle with enter-
tainment industry folks," Laffitte says. "It's a real-
ly great opportunity for them to get their talent
shown and for agents to see what's out there."
MandyStadtmiller, Northwestern U.
r Step
N YOU THINK OF PEOPLE TRAMPLING A
;e, you probably envision a rock con-
t with a bunch of security guards
t of the spotlight.
yanking fans out
Sc hools Drop
Th elr Scores
ACK UP YOUR NO. 2 PENCILS, KIDS. A RECENT
survey from the National Center for Fair
and Open Testing reports that more than
200 colleges and universities have dropped SATs or
ACTs as an admissions requirement.
"The bottom line is that
SAT/ACT scores are not
good predictors of how stu-
dents will perform in col-
lege," says Pamela Zappar-
dino, executive director fore
the American testing watch-
dog group. "The best pre-
dictors are high school
records."
Zappardino says the
scores are unreliable and
highly coachable, which
gives added opportunity to
students who can afford
coaching material l Hasta la vista, SAT!
"Nothing says schools
must use SAT scores, but our move that both students and faculty
studies have shown an increase in have praised.
the number of schools using "We felt attention on a four-year
[them]," says Jan Gams, executive examination of quality was more
director for the SAT College important than a three-hour test,"
Board. says Lee Coffin, Connecticut's dean
Kansas State U. offers open of admissions.
admission to students graduating Courtney Minden, a junior at
from an accredited Kansas high Connecticut College, says the
school but requires SAT/ACT change is good and that she looks
scores from out-of-state students. forward to a more well-rounded
"Requirements for out-of-state atmosphere.
students are stricter, but we do not "My SAT scores were a huge hit
discourage them from applying," on my self-confidence because I did-
says Barbara Dawes, associate direc- n't do as well as I'd hoped," Minden
for of admissions at KSU. says. "I think some students fear col-
Dawes believes that SAT/ACT lege because of their scores. This
scores are a good comparative assess- way, students can think about col-
ment of a student's skills and some- lege and not about outsmarting an
times all a school has to go on. SAT test."
After one semester of being
SAT/ACT free, Connecticut Col- Amy Osmuiski, Texas Tech U./Photo by
lege has diversified its campus, a Maggie Welter, James Madison U.
But at the MGM studios in
Orlando, Fla., about 50 members
of six black fraternities and soror-
ities stomped around on stage as
much as they pleased... to the
tune of a $5,000 award.
In this year's annual stepping
competition, S.T.O.M.P! '95,
each team had only three min-
utes to wow judges with their
best step routines. And we're not
talking step aerobics. Stepping is
a traditional dance made up of
synchronized footwork and clap-
ping that has been passed down
through generations of black
Greek life.
After outstepping the compe-
tition, the Phi Beta Sigma men
from Clark Atlanta U., Ga., and
the Delta Sigma Theta women
of Southern Methodist U.,
Texas, walked away with the
prize money.
Phi Beta Sigma members
never doubted they'd take
first place. "Of course we
came on with a cocky attitude
- who didn't?" says Phi Beta
Sigma member William Jones.
Missed the competition? You
can rush the stage at next year's
event or catch S.T.O.M.P! '95,
hosted by rapper LL Cool J. and
TV Siren Adrienne-Joi Johnson,
on national TV this fall.
By La Chanda Jenkins, Howard U.
Poached
Eggs
At the U. of California, Irvine,
"scrambled eggs" have taken ona new
and disturbing meaning.
In June, three panels appointed by
the university found that Ricardo Asch,
a fertility specialist at UCI's Center for
Reproductive Health, had transplanted
patients' eggs and embryos and con-
ducted research on them without the
donors' knowledge or consent.
Officials at UCI announced in July
that as many as 35 women may have
been involved in improper transplanta-
tion of eggs and embryos at the clinic.
The panel also found that at least nine
patients received a non-FDA-approved
fertility drug.
The initial findings by the panel
released in June estimated that only
five women received eggs from non-
consenting donors.
The accusations alleged that Asch
and two other doctors, Sergio Stone and
Jose Balmaceda, mishandled the con-
sent process, didn't report all of their
earnings to the university and didn't
make the required payments to the
university for the undeclared income.
The investigation stemmed from
several reports, dating to February
1994, filed by various administrators
who dealt with the clinic. Because the
investigation began seven months later,
UCI also was accused of neglecting to
respond quickly to the complaint, but
the panels didn't sustain the allegation.
Fran Tardiff, a university
spokesperson, says the investigation
progressed slowly because the physi-
cians refused to produce the necessary
records and information. The panel also
found that the university acted as
quickly as it could to put together the
investigations, Tardiff says. All three
doctors have denied any wrongdoing.
On June 2, the university terminated
its contract with the clinic and told its
doctors to remove their medical equip-
ment from campus.
Although the preliminary investiga-
tion is over, Tardiff says that the uni-
versity is in the process of suing the
clinic for records that the physicians
have refused to release. Until those
documents are recovered, "the true
scope of the wrongdoings will remain
unknown," she says.
"The doctors were wrong, and a lot
of people here feel itwas wrong for UCI
to cover this up," says Ken Felipe, a
sophomore at UCI. "It's not really the
talk of the school or anything.... But I
think an explanation of exactly what
happened and whatthe school will do
about it should be published."
Heather Orey, California State U.,
Fullerton
step mtlsway.
August/September 1995 0 U. Magazine 13