Spinnaker [Distributed: Wednesday, November 8, 2006]

The steady rain didn't stop more than 75 people from attending the Rally for Peace and Change Nov. 5 at the University of North Florida.

The event was originally scheduled to be held in front of the Gandhi memorial statue, but was moved to an auditorium in Building 14 due to weather concerns.

Assembled in a joint effort by the Northeast Florida Progressive Coalition and the UNF Department of Psychology, the rally featured speeches from representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union, Veterans for Peace and Wage Peace. UNF faculty, staff and students were also present during the rally.

Chris Williams, a senior psychology major, was in attendance. A former Air Force member, Williams left the armed services to pursue the more "peaceful aspects in life."

"I heard about the rally from Dr. Eisler and I wanted to see what it was about and who was involved," Williams said.

Dr. John Eisler, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, helped organize the event.

"The Gandhi statue was the impetus for the Rally for Peace," Eisler said. "After it came to campus, we felt that the statue could serve as the backdrop for an event that promotes peace, justice, strength and solidarity."

Eisler said the purpose behind the rally was to foster communication and dialogue within the community and the campus.

"From working with disparate groups around the city and state, we will be able to create a larger coalition of people who will promote these ideals of peace," he said.

At least 12 speakers took part in the rally. Phil Restino, the co-chair of the Central Florida chapter of Veterans for Peace and the coordinator of Military Families Speak Out for the Central/Northeast region, was invited to speak by the Northeast Florida Progressive Coalition.

"I was excited that we had the opportunity to get our message out to everyone who attended," Restino said. "It was great to see the amount of young people in the audience who actually give a damn about this country and their fellows dying in Iraq. Saying you care and doing something about it is different. Talk is cheap, and we have a turned into a community of talkers, but seeing these young people in attendance shows that there are some people out there willing to help change things for the better."

As the rally was scheduled for a few days before the mid-term election, the issue of voting was a commonly addressed topic.

"While one component of peace is legislative, the rally wasn't about the election, it was just good timing," Eisler said. "This event gives those who attended the opportunity to think about issues like the war before they go vote Tuesday.

A major focus of the rally was on the war in Iraq. Bob Harms, an Independent Democrat who ran for Congress in District 4, attended the rally. He said the main platform of his bid for Congress was based on his stance on Iraq.

"I'm very much against the war and it's the number one issue in my campaign," Harms said.

"The rally helped to build bridges between other peace-based organizations," Eisler said. "I hoped that this event served to energize and connect people. We need to keep public discussion and expression alive for the good of the country."

Nora Roberts to visit campus

Best-selling fiction author Nora Roberts will visit the University of North Florida to discuss her newest novel and answer questions from her fans and the community.

Roberts will speak at the University Center at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 about her latest novel, "Born In Death."

She will also participate in a question and answer session with the audience, moderated by First Coast News anchor Donna Hicken. A book-signing will follow.

Dr. Annabel Brooks, events coordinator and research associate in the UNF Women's Center, said approximately 800 people are expected to attend the event, which is sponsored by the UNF Women's Center, Books-A-Million Inc., and UNF's Lifelong Learning Institute.

Strong women and women who win are both recurrent themes in her literature and Roberts plans to discuss both at the event, she said.

"I particularly like to write about strong women," Roberts said. "Or women who find their strength in the story."

Roberts said people enjoy to read about people who win and thinks it's empowering to do so. She said likes to create strong, compelling, flawed and interesting characters.

Brooks said the idea to ask Roberts to come to UNF came after the Women's Center held a similar author event two years ago.

"We worked with Books-A-Million on that event and it went so well, we said we would like to work together again," Brooks said.

Roberts is the author of over 160 novels including "Memory In Death," "Remember When," and "Blue Smoke."

Roberts' novels make regular appearances on the New York Times Best Seller List.

According to the UNF press kit, as of August, more than 294 million copies of Roberts' books were in print. The press kit also states that over the last 25 years, an average of 21 Nora Roberts books have been sold every minute.

Doors to the event open at 4 p.m. Tickets to the event are not required but space is very limited, Brooks said.

Midterm election results

Midterm election results: Duval County, Florida 2006
The numbers reported do not represent the final results.
They are unofficial results as posted on the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Web site as of 12:42 a.m. Nov. 8, with 274 of 286 precincts reporting.

Candidates

U.S. Senator
Bill Nelson (D), 53%

Governor
Charlie Crist (R), 59%

Congressional District 4
Ander Crenshaw (R), 72%

Congressional District 6
Clifford Stearns (R), 66%

Attorney General
Bill McCollum (R), 60%

Chief Financial Officer
Tom Lee (R), 51%

Commissioner of Agriculture
Charles H. Bronson (R), 61%

Senate District 8
James E. King Jr. (R), 94%

State Representative District 14
Terry L. Fields (D), 67%

State Representative District 15
Audrey Gibson (D), 95%

Amendments

State Planning and Budget Process
Yes, 65%

Public Support for Amendments
Yes, 64%

Protect Youth from Tobacco
Yes, 69%

Increased Homestead Exemption
Yes, 83%

Veterans' Discount on Homestead
Yes, 87%

Eminent Domain
Yes, 76%

Referendums

Jacksonville Charter
Yes, 72%

Cecil Field
No, 60%

Duval County stats

Registered voters: 537,462
Ballot count: 223,768
Voter turnout: 41.63 percent

Source: www.duvalelections.com.

Students live the digital lifestyle

Many college students spend more time with media than they do sleeping. Research shows that college students are more technologically connected in their everyday lives, and the increasing presence of technology is both positive and detrimental.

Students spend about 11 hours every day with media, according to data from the 2006 Alloy College Explorer, a study by Harris Interactive. Most of those 11 hours are spent with mobile and connected media, including MP3 players, laptops and cell phones.

The study found that 50 percent of students headed back to school this fall with laptops and the number of students owning desktops went down 13 percent. Students now take advantage of Wi-Fi networks in their dorm rooms, classrooms and the libraries to connect to the Internet and e-mail.

At the University of North Florida, students have access to wireless networking throughout the residence halls, in the new library and in several other buildings on campus.

"The university does a good job of making sure computers are accessible [for students]," said Dr. Catherine Cavanaugh, assistant professor in the Department of Leadership, Counseling and Technology in the College of Education.

Having unlimited connectivity to e-mail and the Internet has created unique problems for students in this digital age: distractions from their academic studies.

According to a study conducted by Michigan State University, 18.5 percent of students reported that spending time on the Internet or playing games on the computer had caused a drop in their grades, with some students even dropping a class. In the study, computer use came just before depression and drinking as the top three things that most adversely affected student academics.

Networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are among the pages that students frequent on the Internet. These sites have also created a new way for students to meet and talk with online friends, changing the way students socialize.

Students are visiting social networking sites for about 6.5 hours a week, with 85 percent of students specifically using them specifically to find out what their friends are doing, according to the same study.

Dr. Paul Harwood, an assistant professor in the UNF political science department is currently researching technology among the young digital generation.

"They see the online realm as a community," Harwood said. "They get a sense of community based on who they meet on the Internet."

The Alloy study found that out of the average 111 friends students claim to have on various networking pages, 61 percent of those are people they have never met in person. This validates the concern over privacy on the Internet.

Spending so much time on the computer can also create long-term health problems for students. Everything from eye strain to carpal tunnel syndrome to back problems have all been traced back to long hours spent on computers.

This generation of technology-savvy students is also experiencing their college educations differently, including the rise in popularity of online classes. The classroom has become digital with universities and professors regularly utilizing the Internet and email for discussions and communication.

For example, Dr. Terrence Cavanaugh, instructor in the College of Education's Leadership, Counseling and Technology department, has made it so that his syllabus is accessible on student cell phones.

Apple recently selected UNF as an approved iTunes U campus, which will allow UNF more opportunities to present educational content to students. With the program, lectures will be available as podcasts so students can download them to their MP3 players.

With computers and other technology so common and readily available throughout college, the so-called digital divide may become more apparent as basic technical knowledge becomes necessary to survive in a digital economy, Harwood said.

One of the newer issues arising is whether teachers who have been teaching longer will respond to teaching with technology, especially to younger students who are growing up in a farther-reaching digital age.

Furthermore, the teachers being educated today to teach the next generation, including education majors at UNF, are more inclined to use technology as part of their classrooms later on, Harwood said.

Between MP3 players and laptops, the cost of being technologically connected can be a burden, especially combined with the rising college costs.

Overall, educational expectations have changed as quickly as the technology. Most professors expect students to have a certain basic knowledge of how computers work, Terrence Cavanaugh.

"There is a new definition of literacy," he said, referring to the technological emphasis of college.

New art exhibit opens

University may challenge affirmative action ban

If the University of California challenges the state ban on affirmative action, the timing will need to be right, UC President Robert Dynes said Nov. 3.

Speaking at a daylong conference on the effects and future of Proposition 209, Dynes and others said California's demographics will eventually change enough to overturn the 1996 voter-approved ban.

"I surely want to win the first (lawsuit), because if we lose the first one, we will take two to three steps back," Dynes said. "We should be pushing sensibly with a reasonable probability of our winning."

Enrollment of black and Hispanic students dipped precipitously across the UC system after Prop. 209 took effect, especially at the most selective campuses, such as UC Berkeley and UCLA.

The numbers have slowly rebounded, but university leaders have pushed for more reforms.

At the Berkeley conference, educators and administrators said the admissions process needs to change to prevent minority students from being affected unfairly by grade-point average and test-score requirements. The system's nine undergraduate campuses admit the top 12.5 percent of high school seniors, based on grades, SAT scores and other factors.

Before Prop. 209, public universities also used race among admissions criteria.

"I think 209 is profoundly wrong, morally wrong," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, a frequent critic of the affirmative-action ban in the two years since he arrived in California.

"We can't have a truly fair system until 209 is reversed," he said to applause.

A team of researchers from five UC campuses drafted the proposal, which noted "a looming crisis in K-12 and higher education."

Much of the discussion focused on expanding the examination of each applicant. Only a handful of campuses, including UC Berkeley, use a "comprehensive review" for all applications, while others submit only top applicants to an in-depth review.

Several panelists said it is time UC stopped placing so much emphasis on SAT scores because minorities often score poorly. A handful of top universities across the country have stopped requiring standardized tests for admissions, and UC recently stopped granting National Merit scholarships, which are based on PSAT scores.

Dynes said the university needs to find new ways to measure the potential success of each applicant.

"If we had better predictors," he said, "that surely would carry the day."

Sciences lead 'top' majors

Audiology and optometry are among the best careers in the nation for 2006, along with speech therapy, engineering and veterinary medicine, according to U.S. News & World Report's Web site.

But according to Institutional Research at the University of North Florida, these careers are not as popular among UNF students as other future careers.

The top 10 majors among upper-level students at UNF are, in order of popularity: management, communication, elementary education, psychology, health science, biology, accounting, finance, criminal justice and English.

Although none of these majors are among the best careers noted on the Web site, the top four do lead to what U.S. News called fair careers. The reasons for this status include the decreasing job market and the emotional stress associated with some job requirements.

People who want to help others and take advantage of an increasing job market are among those who choose these careers. Other careers, such as firefighting, are chosen simply because they are satisfying for the employee.

The Web site combined information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and informal research to determine which careers would be on the top of the list.

The reason students choose their majors, however, is not quite as easy to determine. Rick Roberts, director of UNF's Career Services, said there are many reasons, including parental influence, personal interests and previously developed skills. Specifically, he said, the top three majors have individual advantages.

He said a student who majors in management might have an easier time finding a job because it is more general than other business majors.

John McAllister, dean of the Coggin College of Business, agreed that a degree in management may offer the greatest number of future career paths for students in business.

"It provides students with the most diverse preparation," he said.

McAllister said that companies might hire graduates with general management degrees because the learned skills are not as specific as in other majors, such as accounting and logistics. Also, there is usually less training of the employee required.

"You take classes for every area of business [as a management major]," said David Morgan, a junior majoring in management. "You can pretty much do any position in any job with a business management degree."

In addition, students can choose to get jobs that are not necessarily in the business field but still require managerial positions, McAllister said. They can incorporate their own interests with their degrees to find a job that they enjoy.

But according to U.S. News, managers and executives do not get the respect they deserve. They must deal with problem employees and often work long hours for little or no extra money. Some students, however, are not as interested in their salaries as their passion for the career, Roberts said.

"Not everybody is motivated by making money," he said.

Although most people with communication degrees do not receive high-paying salaries, Roberts said the major is popular among students because the skills learned are valued in many different types of jobs and are important to every part of life.

Katie Bishop, a senior public relations major, said she knew she wanted to major in communications when she heard about it in high school because of the different choices she will have when she graduates.

"There is a massive amount of variety within communications," she said. "The tracks are so closely related."

Roberts said that he thinks some students choose to major in communications simply because it is attractive to people. Careers in journalism, broadcasting, public relations and advertising have cache other careers don't.

And according to U.S. News, a decent-paying job in communications can be satisfying because of its opportunity for creativity and feeling of accomplishment.

"Communications is a glamorous career," Roberts said.

But while communications is glamorous, elementary education is practical, and its students are sought-after, Roberts said. According to Roberts, many recruiters he's spoken with have said they will hire every teaching graduate from UNF. He said the reason is the high demand for teachers and the positive reputation of the College of Education and Human Services.

Roberts said some students major in elementary education because of personal interest and motivations. Robin Downes, a senior majoring in elementary education, said she chose the major because her mother was a teacher.

"It's so important," she said. "Without education, no one would be able to achieve anything."

According to U.S. News, though, one third of teachers leave the profession within five years because most new jobs are in challenging, low-income areas. Also, the tendency for politicians to put all students, regardless of skill level, in the same class can cause difficulty for even the most experienced teacher.

According to the office of institutional research at UNF, 591 students are pursuing a degree in elementary education at UNF, not far behind the 644 students in communications. Management, however, has a solid lead with 765 students declaring the major,

Although the top 10 majors are based on the number of students who declare them, Roberts said the statistics could be misleading. For example, he said nursing might be more popular if the school did not have a cap on the number of students who could enroll.

McAllister said that the list might be deceiving also because some students declare double-majors. He said many management students double-major to get both general and specialized skills.

In spite of the challenges in the statistics, Kellie Woodle, associate director of the Academic Center for Excellence, said most of the majors listed in the top 10 are popular because they provide students with certainty of the future.

"It's pretty clear what you can do with those," she said.

If students are unsure about which major to choose, Woodle said she advises them to take their time, learn about their personal interests and explore their career options. She said students should set personal goals and find majors that will help attain them, because it's passion that makes a truly excellent career.

Grandma takes on college

Penelope Sablack has eased into college life halfway through her first semester at Kutztown University.

She has a profile on Facebook, (what college student doesn't?) a campus job at the Health and Wellness Center, a full load of classes and a solid grasp on roommate etiquette.

She maybe went a little overboard on college spirit with the early deposit she put on her 2008 class ring.

Other than that, life is pretty typical for Sablack - even if she is more than 40 years older than her classmates.

"I never thought I looked my age," said the 64-year-old mother of four and grandmother of six while chatting with acquaintances between classes in the Student Union Building last week.

"I still don't. But I guess I don't look 18 or 20. I'm even older than the professors."

Sablack is one of many older Americans attending college. At Kutztown alone, there are 13 other students older than 60 enrolled in the university's Advant*Age, program which makes it possible for retired people to take courses in a variety of academic areas and to earn college credits at no cost.

But Sablack is not an Advant*Age student. She is enrolled as a full-time, full-paying student, living in a campus apartment she shares with another student.

Her roommate, Elena Ilie, a 23-year-old exchange student from the Netherlands, said she was surprised, shocked even, when she learned Sablack was old enough to be her grandmother.

"Once I knew, it was really no problem," Ilie said. "I'm really excited about living with Penelope. Have you met her? She's really a great person. She's funny, and down to earth. When I go out, she goes to bed. When I go to bed, she's getting up for the day.

"She doesn't have a problem with loud music, either. She's very kind and generous."

College was out of the question for Sablack when she was the age of most college students. By 21, Sablack was married and had given birth to three of her four children.

When her marriage ended in the mid 1970s, she moved her children to northern New Jersey and got a job as a hospital clerk.

She worked several other jobs as well. She was an administrative assistant and started a word processing business, to supplement her income.

In the late 1980s, after her children were grown, she moved to Warminster and ended up in the medical field again. She retired from Doylestown Hospital after 10 years as a medical transcriptionist in 1998.

With time on her hands, Sablack signed up for two photography classes at Bucks County Community College, and before long she had four college credits.

Once she got a taste of college life, she decided to pursue a degree. It took her awhile - she took courses over 17 semesters - but she graduated in 2005 with an associate's degree in liberal arts and a certificate in women's studies.

Sablack had developed a passion for women's issues when she took her first English Composition course at the community college. A professor there talked a lot about women's rights and women's studies.

After being accepted to Kutztown, Sablack declared English professional writing as her major with a minor in woman studies.

Wanting the full college experience, she opted to live on campus in a two-bedroom apartment at Golden Bear Village South.

At first, Sablack was worried about how Ilie and other students would view her. She didn't want to come across as a doting grandparent. She wanted Ilie to act no differently around her than she would with students her own age.

So far, that seems to be the case. "I have a lot of international friends," Ilie said. "They're always talking to her. We invite her to go out and she always says, `Maybe next time,'" Ilie said.

Ultimately, Sablack said she would like to write about issues involving women and go for her master's degree.

"I want to bring out the good stuff, too (about women's issues). I would love to go into a prison and be a mentor. With whatever time I have left, I want to make a difference in some way in women's lives."

As for her experiences with the younger set?

"I don't preach, but I could," she said.

"But the students, they're great. They're very respectful. They just accept you for who you are. They don't care about [age] stuff like that."

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College rating systems draw criticism

When the University of North Florida discovered it was ranked the fifth best value college by the Princeton Review, it promoted the ranking as an achievement for the college. Recently, Coggin College of Business was ranked as one of the best business schools, also by the Princeton Review.

Senior advertising major Chris Campbell, said he heard UNF was ranked highly on the Princeton Review as a good value college but admits he has no idea what college rankings really mean.

Campbell said he thinks people pay more attention to college rankings than they should.

"There is no other tangible evidence, other than attending college, to determine the quality of education," Campbell said. "The rankings can be misleading, but there is no other system to determine what school is good."

Adrinda Kelly, senior editor of America's Best Value Colleges by the Princeton Review, said the best value ranking is determined by a variety of factors from the college and the students. More than 30 pieces of data are collected from the university in addition to an 80-question survey filled out by students.

According to Kelly, the factors obtained from schools includes such information as how well colleges provide financial aide packages, the tuition price minus grants and scholarships and the amount of debt students have after graduation. Also taken into consideration is a student survey that allows students to rank their overall college experiences and their opinions of the quality of life in college.

Kelly said 80 percent of students who fill out surveys say their school's profile listed on the Web site from the previous year is "extremely" accurate.

"Students tell us that it's representative, and we also know it because the results have been consistent over the 15 years Princeton has been doing surveys," Kelly said.

However, Peter Van Buskirk, vice president for college planning solutions at Thomas Peterson's, a company devoted to educational services, said he believes college rankings are useless.

"There is little evidence to be found that rankings are based in facts," Van Buskirk said.

Van Buskirk said that many times the definitions of how to determine rankings data are subjective, often left up to the interpretation of the university.

"It's really hard to arrive at a qualitatively valid assessment of institutions," Van Buskirk said.

Kelly said she did not think colleges deliberately manipulated their facts to look like a better school. Kelly said each school's administration enters the data about its school in the Common Data Set, a centralized resource for obtaining information about a college. Kelly said once it is there, anyone who has access to the CDS can obtain the data points and use them accordingly.

In addition to the Princeton Review, there are many other businesses that conduct college rankings such as U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Monthly College Rankings.

The University of North Florida was not mentioned as a best value college at any of these listings. Each business that organizes college rankings has its own methodology which can vary from year to year.

While college rankings may be misleading, Van Buskirk said they do create a "spectator-scene" providing subjective glimpses of which college is doing better or worse.

Kelly said rankings should also be used with other information about colleges.

A firm critic of college rankings, Van Buskirk reiterated that it is important to keep rankings in perspective. "Use them as a guide, not the Bible."

Tuition hikes continue to outpace inflation

If you're in college, you already know about your parents' sacrificial rite of writing the tuition check. Paying for college ranks up there with keeping a roof over your head. And if your family needs financial aid, you know the sacrifice could continue for years if your parents help you pay back the loans.

Parents have been telling pollsters for years that paying for college is a big worry. Even Congress and the Education Department have called for colleges to control prices.

College officials talk about the importance of keeping costs low. They want a diverse student body, and they don't want to turn away talented students just because they can't afford to come.

Yet the costs keep rising.

And even though colleges are providing more financial aid, it doesn't always keep up with tuition hikes.

A report released recently laid out the trends.

Released by the College Board (the nonprofit known best for producing the SAT), it shows tuition continued to rise faster than inflation this academic year - as it has for years.

This year's tuition and fees at four-year private colleges average $22,218, up 5.9 percent from last year. Room and board charges add another $8,149. At four-year public colleges, tuition and fees rose 6.3 percent, to $5,836. Community college charges rose 4.1 percent, to $2,272. Those increases all outpace inflation, which was about 3.8 percent in 2005-06.

The report deals in averages, but there's a big range in tuition charged by both public and private colleges. A small group of elite private colleges continues to push tuition into the stratosphere. At least 12 are charging more than $35,000 in tuition and fees this year, according to Inside Higher Ed, an online journal, in its coverage of the report.

But here's the real shocker: Tuition at four-year public colleges has risen 35 percent over the last five years, when adjusted for inflation.

These are the schools that states subsidize to make higher education accessible to the masses. How many parents' salaries have increased 35 percent over the last half decade? This is a trend that should worry politicians, educators, business leaders and anyone else concerned about producing a well-educated workforce.

The report breaks some data down by state. And Texas - where tuition at many public universities has surged since lawmakers deregulated tuition three years ago - doesn't come out looking particularly good.

The average tuition charged this year by our four-year public colleges - $5,940 - topped the national average and ranked 20th among all states. The size of our one-year increase - 8 percent - also outpaced the national average of 6 percent.

Of course, financial aid and tax credits help blunt the impact of tuition hikes. Many students end up paying thousands less than the sticker price.

But don't expect complete relief. Financial aid trends are discouraging, too. The College Board found that while the total amount of aid going to students grew in 2005-06, the increase was only about the rate of inflation.

What's more, the average size of Pell Grants - federal money for students from the poorest families - shrank while the amount families are borrowing from private sources, like banks, which often charge higher interest rates, is growing rapidly. In 2005-06, private loans accounted for 20 percent of all education borrowing, up from 4 percent a decade earlier.

Why do costs keep rising?

Some expenses are obvious. Professors are well-educated people who expect good pay and decent raises - and payroll is a big part of any college's budget. So are the bills for heating buildings and providing health insurance - expenses pinching everyone's finances. Colleges also need to provide certain levels of technology.

But there's also a push by many colleges to provide fancy fitness centers and amenities like Internet access in all dorm rooms and wireless somewhere on campus - perks colleges say are necessary to compete for top students.

True, colleges can tap loyal alumni and other supporters to help pay for the expensive extras. And true, colleges also raise money for scholarships.

But more and more scholarship awards are based on top grades and SAT scores instead of financial need. Are donors so keen on seeing their names on buildings or elite scholar programs that they won't give to more anonymous financial-aid pools for low-income kids?

American higher education, in its abundance, variety and quality, enjoys strong public regard. But that esteem isn't guaranteed. Colleges risk losing that good will if they ignore calls to rein in costs.

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Buying term papers doesn't always pay

For students too bored, too busy or too burdened to write their own term papers, it's tempting to turn to the Web for a little help.

As teachers wise up to the popular cut-and-paste method of Internet plagiarizing and the use of myriad online essay banks, some students determined to outsource their papers are taking a more unusual route: paying for custom jobs.

For as little as $9.95 per page if you give advance notice, to as much as $44.95 per page for same-day delivery, dozens of Web sites offer to write your paper for you, guaranteeing original, unplagiarized essays they say are written by professionals with master's degrees or PhDs.

Buying custom papers is clearly cheating. But can a custom-written paper even get you a good grade?

It didn't for a 19-year-old DePaul University junior who told RedEye, an edition of the Chicago Tribune, he paid $80 for a custom 12-page paper on ancient Israel.

The student received the paper in his e-mail inbox the morning it was due. He looked it over, deemed it OK and handed it in as is.

And then he got an F.

RedEye had a similar experience. To test the quality of custom term-paper services, RedEye purchased two-page papers from three different Web sites on the following assignment: Discuss the themes of marriage and money in Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility."

Loyola University English professor Thomas Kaminski, who suggested the topic because it's one he would assign, graded the finished products at RedEye's request.

He was not impressed.

Only one of the papers - from customresearchpapers.us - addressed the topic, but it was so poorly written that Kaminski said he'd give it a D, and then only if he were feeling generous.

Perhaps the poor results shouldn't come as a surprise.

"Would you trust the claims of firms that engage in fraud and deception?" said Tim Dodd, executive director of the Center for Academic Integrity at Duke University.

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Print Edition

NEWS

Rally campaigns for peace

Nora Roberts to visit campus

Midterm election results

Students live the digital lifestyle

New art exhibit opens

University may challenge affirmative action ban

Sciences lead 'top' majors

Grandma takes on college

College rating systems draw criticism

Tuition hikes continue to outpace inflation

Buying term papers doesn't always pay

News in Brief

Researcher to address instruction, technology

Environmental seminar features professor

Display celebrates international education

Luncheon tickets now available

University closed Nov. 10