Gaining Ground In Cougar Country

Washington State University began a new school year this week, with a new president and bright prospects for the future. The people of Cougar Country surely join us in wishing WSU the best.

As students poured into Pullman for the century-old rituals of fall, administrators couldn’t help but join in the smiles. The Princeton Review has dropped Wazzu from its list of the nation’s top 20 party schools. Meanwhile, WSU’s rival, the University of Washington, ranked ninth in the nation for “class discussions rare” and fifth for “dorms like dungeons.”

Not to make too much of these very unscientific rankings, but there is a basis for university reputations. UW does have reason to be concerned about an impersonal learning environment, just as WSU had reason to work for a change in its campus social culture.

At Pullman, change is under way. The weekend before classes start is one of the biggest campus party occasions of the year. This year, it was problem-free. WSU’s administrators and student leaders have been working on a new ethic: Have fun, in a way that gives Cougars a good name. Top administrators have been going door to door, visiting private student houses that adjoin the campus, chatting with residents and offering assistance if the houses ever host a party that gets out of control. A new school discipline policy outlines escalating penalties for alcohol violations.

Parents and taxpayers appreciate these efforts. Students stand to gain from a safer, healthier culture. Who knows? Perhaps WSU will earn recognition for successful, creative curtailment of binge drinking - a nationwide scourge that wrecks too many lives.

We feel sure that most WSU students would make alumni proud.

And WSU has a great deal to offer them. Its biotech programs are world class. Its undergraduates can do lab work alongside National Academy of Sciences faculty members. Its popular information-systems program cranks out graduates who command $50,000 starting salaries. Its campus computer network is among the nation’s best. Its veterinary hospital is probably the most advanced in the world. Its TV journalism program is ranked fourth in the nation.

As a medium-sized public research university, its curriculum is comprehensive, its class sizes are attractive and its tuition is affordable. Sure, problems remain. Enrollment’s flat - for now.

But let’s not allow isolated incidents to distract from the big picture: WSU’s a great university, with a future as big as the wide Palouse sky.