The winners and the losers

• Winner: The College Board and State Office of Education reported this week that the number of Utah students taking Advanced Placement exams is rising and that the state's pass rate is about 5 percent above the national average. That's good news, especially when the increase includes a greater participation by ethnic minorities.

• Loser: On one level, it's understadable that federal investigators would look at financial aid records of students at Utah universities, as they did at schools nationwide. The program was revealed this week by a journalism student at Northwestern University. It's part of the larger war on terrorism, and student aid could be a way for bad guys to obtain money. But in this country, open government is a hallmark. Students obtaining aid should have been told their records might be scrutinized.