Blind Pass
jcapinpin@theguidon.com
The Oklahoma City Thunder proved they were more eager to win the NBA Championship this year after eliminating the #1 seeded team in the west, the San Antonio Spurs, in the Western Conference Finals. Despite falling to a 0-2 run, OKC kept its composure and managed to win the next four games.
In the case of the NBA playoffs, teams have an equal opportunity to win the championship. The result is heavily dependent on how much they want to achieve this goal. This is reflected in every second they run in the court to play either offense or defense.
Unfortunately, the same kind of equality cannot be said of the random number system implemented in the Loyola Schools. While those in the first batch may feel like they are creating the best basketball team for the playoffs, those in the lower end of the batching system feel otherwise.
Having the opportunity to take the classes of recommended professors is a luxury available to only a few. As one moves to the fourth batch, feelings of stress and frustration arise because of having to deal with the demands of challenging professors and inconvenient schedules.
Although the random number system seems to foster equality, there are still lapses in the system that conflict its purpose of giving students an equal opportunity to enlist in their preferred classes. The fate of the student is not in his hands, but rather, on an indeterminable random system.
During the summer, Sanggu released a statement regarding the new batching system to be implemented in the second semester. There will only be two batches instead of four.
The school administration is still discussing whether students will have an alternating batching number during the start of the second semester. The idea is that people in the first batch will automatically be placed in the second batch and vice versa.
Although the automatic assignment of batches per semester is unsure, the good thing about this revision is that it will address the issue of unequal opportunities for students to enlist in classes. More students will be able to enlist in the class schedule they prefer.
If the automatic assignment of batches pushes through, it will give the students a more equal opportunity to enlist in their preferred classes at least once a year.
Despite the positive implications of such a batching system, it still entails a group of students who will have the upper hand per semester. Also, it might even lead students to think of ways how to avoid the inconvenience of being in the second batch because their fate has been determined.
Maybe what the Office of Management in Information Systems and the Registrar’s Office can do is limit the number of slots the first batch can take so that the second batch has an equal opportunity to take a class. That way, the purpose of the batching system does not present an unequal opportunity for students, but rather, only a difference in enlisting schedules.
No matter what approach the two offices decide to pursue, in the end, all that is really hoped for is an equal opportunity for students to experience the education that they deserve.
