Exercises

A. Priorities

     Social scientists at Mallory College took a poll of student opinions last semester and the results were released today. The results were compared with a similar poll taken 30 years ago. Professor Margot Adler, head of the Department of Sociology, announced the results. In both polls, 600 students were questioned.
     In addition to the information that follows, she says that 30 years ago 32 percent of those polled were interested in a political revolution; the figure last semester was 23 percent. Thirty years ago, 32 percent of those polled felt a religious commitment was important; last semester, the figure was 38 percent. One area remained unchanged: the importance of love relationships. The figure was 92 percent for both years.
     Administrators have used the polls for clues about student attitudes and dissatisfaction. Write 350 to 450 words.

(For more information about polling, see NRW Plus,More About Polls.)

Column A refers to the poll taken 30 years ago, B to last semester's poll.

Personal Priorities
	Important		Unimportant
	A	B	A	B
High grades	48%	89%	47%	11%
Social service	49%	75%	44%	24%
Sports	47%	65%	50%	35%
Personal pleasures	85%	95%	12%	5%
Professional preparation	63%	81%	33%	19%
Entrepreneurship	18%	43%	73%	57%
Satisfying employment	68%	85%	27%	15%

Expectations of Mallory
	Expected		Actually Found
	A	B	A	B
Great teachers	58%	57%	17%	16%
Opportunity to become more humane	20%	12%	19%	10%
Prestige in outside world	26%	35%	21%	31%

Contributes to Overall Learning
	Contributes		Does Not Contribute
	A	B	A	B
Bull sessions	79%	60%	16%	19%
Personal contact with faculty	53%	37%	36%	44%

Sources of Frustration at Mallory
	Frustrated		Satisfied
	A	B	A	B
Immutability of system	53%	67%	9%	5%
Living arrangements	36%	26%	52%	59%
Personal grades	30%	34%	45%	45%
Competitive atmosphere	35%	59%	21%	20%
Financial aid	22%	34%	31%	26%
Extracurricular	15%	11%	60%	84%

B. Growth

The news office at Mallory College has released some figures in its annual report for the current academic year and for 10 years ago:

	Now	10 Years Ago
Students	1,608	1,435
Faculty	118	105
Holding doctorates	86	52
Buildings	40	33
Volumes in library	325,000	245,000
Annual operating budget	$9,709,000	$4,695,000
Endowment
Book value	$25,937,156	$11,770,500
Market value	$28,732,939	$14,888,675
Investment in plant	$17,348,159	$11,274,100
Total assets	$47,882,299	$25,711,500
Faculty salary scales
Instructor	$31,350–34,500	$21,000–24,000
Assistant professor	$33,870–37,650	$22,000–27,350
Associate professor	$39,250–49,460	$23,500–30,450
Professor	$51,800–72,750	$31,250–46,150
Student aid
Number assisted	460	348
Total awards	$1,179,000	$650,000

The college president, Ruth Pitts Renaldi, described the report's findings as "a decade of progress," according to the press release accompanying the data. The release goes on, quoting Renaldi:

     In every category, there is marked improvement. We have finally, through the addition of our science center, been able to improve our offerings in the physical sciences. Our library has grown considerably.
     But it would be dangerous to rest on this growth. We are faced with ever-increasing demands on our plant. Our faculty salaries are not competitive with other small, high-quality liberal arts schools. We need more money for student aid to match our tuition increase from $12,500 10 years ago to $20,000 today.
     I think that our first priority will have to be to raise funds for a library addition. I foresee a fund drive of $4,500,000.
     This will be one of our major construction projects....

Your editor suggests that, in addition to using some of the data, you make calculations of your own to derive relevant information. Write 350 words for The Freeport News and 150 words for www.freenews.com.

C. Projection

In 1984, the consumption of soft drinks exceeded the consumption of water for the first time. The growth in soft drink consumption has not let up since. Coffee consumption has steadily declined, beer and milk consumption are slightly down and consumption of fruit juice has climbed.
Here are some projected figures for U.S. per capita annual consumption of beverages in gallons released today by the Associated Beverage Industry:

Projected in Two Years
Soft drinks	65
Water	41
Coffee	21
Beer	20
Milk	19
Fruit juice	15
Other	19

Soft drink bottlers released the following current consumption percentages:

Current Year Percentage Consumption
Soft drinks	25
Water	19
Coffee	11
Beer	12
Milk	15
Fruit juice	6
Other	12

Write 250 to 350 words.

Your Results:

E-mail Your Results