IN LIEU OF HIGH-SPEED RAIL. Southern Illinois's Aviation Department charters an MD-82 (is that a DC-9 derivative?) for a student open house.

Ken Johnson, a 1991 SIUC graduate and Miami-based American Airlines pilot, said he came back to Illinois for the event because "I owe a deal of gratitude to SIU.

"When he started at SIUC in 1987, Johnson was on academic probation and wasn't sure where he was headed. With the help of David NewMyer, his adviser at the time and now the chair of the aviation management and flight department at SIUC, Johnson ended up with a Navy scholarship and a place on the university's dean's list.

Johnson remembers taking the Amtrak from Chicago to Carbondale the first time he visited SIUC. The trip took eight and half hours, compared to the 45 minute flight Saturday. Having the American Airlines charter flight to take students to Southern Illinois allows more students to visit campus and learn about the program, he said.

Nominal running time for the current train is about five hours, and the old Main Line of Mid-America was capable of running it faster. The article doesn't mention whether the chartered plane was paid for by Aviation or by Student Affairs. I'd guess the tariff would be rather steep.

Mr. Johnson's experience illustrates yet another spin on progression requirements. Perhaps his academic probation was a consequence of his taking a course of study he either wasn't ready for, or was pushed into. He did better once he found intellectual challenges more to his liking.