Page two
GUILFORPIAN, March 31, 1981
Editorial
Are all As equal?
By Dale Easley
That an "A" from two dif
ferent academic departments
are equivalent is dubious at
best. There are six departments
on campus which gave over
60% A's and B's last semester;
Drama, Geology, Physical Edu
cation, Art, Political Science,
and Philosophy. There were
also six departments which
gave less than 40% A's and B's.
Chemistry, German, English,
Music, Mathematics, and Latin.
One might argue that the first
six departments attract better
students and therefore higher
grades are justified. However,
the statistics for this years
graduating class lend no sup
port to this idea. 50% of this
year's graduating mathematics
majors have above a 3.00
Q.P.A., though the department
gave out only 26.4% A's and
B's. In contrast, only 23.6% of
this year's graduating geology
majors have above a 3.00
Q.P.A., though the department
gave out 69.6% A's and B's.
An equally poor record was
racked up by the P.E. depart
ment, which awarded 68.7%
A's and B's while its graduating
majors, only 20% had above a
3.00 Q.P.A. Drama, though it
had no graduating majors, gave
out the highest percentage of
A's and B's with 72.1%.
In understanding the statis
tics, one needs to keep in mind
that the percentages of A's and
B's are from last semester
alone. However, according to
professor Rex Adelberger,
"Physical Ed. has always been
high as has Drama." This was
an abnormally high semester
for Geology, but it has tradi
tionally been the highest of the
sciences," says Adelberger.
Mathematics has also been
traditionally low.
One can conclude that grade
inflation has hit Guilford, but
has not spread equally. One of
the biggest contributions to
grade inflation is the fact that
professors are human. They like
to see their students pleased.
Having a student cry over a
poor performance on a test or
paper can be traumatic not only
for the "student but for the
professor. Especially at Guil
ford, friendship with- students
puts enormous pressure on
professors to give grades which
won't be quite so upsetting.
Editors
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Notebook editor.
The Guilfordian reserves the right to edit ail articles, letters, and artwork for
taste, veracity, and length. The dead line for all copy is 3:00 p.m. on Satur
day preceding the Tuesday of publication. Material may be left on the office
door in upstairs Founders, or mailed to Box 17717. The opinions expressed
by the staff are their own and not necessarily those of the paper or of
Guilford College.
"Most faculty members do
not perceive grades as punish
ment," says Cyril Harvey. If
students see them in this way,
the professor may see a low
grade as counterproductive and
shave the grade a bit higher,
says Harvey.
Furthermore, with grade in
flation striking other institu
tions, professors may not wish
to damage their students
chances of competing in the job
market or for graduate schools
by giving them a low grade.
However, all the reasons for
higher grades seem to me to be
just a form of immediate grati
fication. Giving a student an A
or B for less than his best work
does not encourage him to push
himself to find out just what he
is capable of, a problem faced
today in most public high
schools.
By inflating grades in some
areas, the overall value of an A
is deflated. If an A doesn't
discriminate between excel
lence and acceptability, how
are we to encourage students to
go that extra mile to do their
best?lf the students don't strive
for excellence there is little to
keep Guilford from being just
another good college. Certainly,
lack of a good college reputation
is more detrimental to the
graduate's chance of getting a
job than a few C's on the
transcript. Also with the future
of small liberal arts colleges
already bleak, "just another
good college" is going to have
problems attracting students.
The solution to the problem
isn't likely to start through the
efforts of the individual pro
fessors. Professors tend to wor
ry about the inflated grades of
other professors. The initiative
must be administrative. Per
haps a system where professors
could be called upon to justify
their grades is needed. If they
need any help figuring out who
gives an easy A, they can come
to registration - the students
know. By careful choice of
professors, an unmotified stu
dent can do well in require
ments in which he might other
wise do poorly As one of my
friends told me, he wanted an
easy A for his Fine Arts
requirement so he took Drama.
The statistics support him. By
the way, he got his A.
Pale Easley, Jim Shields
Mike Sieverts, Pete Fraunholtz
John Mottern
Randy Rosenthal
Steve Harvey, Susan Ide
Mike Van Wagner
Mary Merritt
Frank Merritt, Mary Merritt
Carolyn Welty
Sue Hubley
Q: Are they not Friends?
A: They are Nepo!
Q: Are they not friends?
A: They are Nepo!
A reply to Jonathan Malino
by Constance Irving
With all due respect to Dr.
Malino, a man noted" not only
for his intellect and scholarship,
but also for his good taste in
Guilfordian columnists, I have
some reservations concerning
his recent letter about nepo
tism. While I am hardly one to
espouse nepotism (no pun in
tended), or to advocate writing
to the lowest common denom
inator, I must confess that his
epistle left me amused but
baffled. While much of it was
undeniably clever, the overall
effect seemed the intellectual
equivalent of flashing a switch
blade. Not that he implied an
intention to use it, he merely
wished to convey the implicit
message, "I'm bad; don't mess
with me."
I realize that this statement
will only expose my perhaps
shameful lack of in-depth philo
sophical knowledge. I am also
exceedingly grateful for Dr.
Malino's having brought to my
attentions the deliciously sala
cious term, "nepotit". Still,
speaking for myself, it was
difficult to understand what he
was trying to say beyond that he
was displeased with the Guil
I ,5 Jhcf.
Simon Awards TA
Dear Editor:
I need your help. Each year,
the Aaron Simon Award is given
to a student who has performed
outstanding work as a teaching
assistant. This award is named
for my father, who was for
twenty-seven years a high
school teacher in Buffalo, New
York. Operating under the most
onerous conditions, he was able
to bring education to his stu
dents with great success for a
whole generation. His efforts
have always been an inspiration
to me, and I hope they will serve
in this way for Guilford's TAs as
well. TAs serve an important
role in this community, often
overlooked and certainly under
paid. Although the monentary
part of this award
does not much remedy the
second problem (it's SSO), I
think that is important that we
recognize and reward strong
efforts in this area and encour
age improvement and profes
sional competence in TAs in any
way possible. What I need from
you, and particularly the stu
dents among you, is nomina
tions of TAs for this award.
These should include the name
of the TA and the course and
also your reasons why you think
your nominee should receive
this year's award. Nominations
should be in my hands (my
office is King B-27) before 5 PM
Friday, April 10. Once those
fordian's coverage of the so
called nepotism question.
On the other hand, we are
faced with the distinct and
chilling possibility that Dr. Ma
lino wasn't showing off, that he
really talks that way. If hyper
intellectual philosophic lingo is
the usual method of expression
in the Malino home, the possi
bilities are almost too horrifying
to imagine.
One pictures Dr. Malino,
faculty spouse, and faculty
children seated at the breakfast
table.
"Phaedon! You big meanie,
you ate the last of the froot
loops."
"Big deal, Criton, I detect a
false syllogism in your reason
ing. To wit:
1 Anyone who eats the last of
the froot loops is a big meanie.
2. Phaedon, i.e., myself ate
the last of the froot loops.
3. Phaedon, iterum, myself,
is a big meanie. s
Your major premise is really
stupid, you know that? Dibbies
on the Toucan Sam decoder
ring. Q.E.D."
"I'm telling. Daddy! Phae
don got the last of the froot
loops and the decoder Ring!"
"But Criton, darling, you
don't even like froot loops,"
injects the philosopher father.
Hettcrfi to ttfc i&ftor
All Letters must be submitted to theCuilfordian at Box 17717 by
Friday night, and should be no longer than 200 words. Names may
be withheld if requested by the author in person or in writing.
have been collected, they will
be examined independently by
several faculty members who
will recommend to me one of
the nominees. There has been
vigorous participation in this
process in the past, and I would
like to encourage this again.
The ultimate judges of a tea
cher's success or failure are that
teacher's students; I need your
opinions particularly.
Thanks,
Sheridan Simon
Assistant Professor
of Physics
Discovering
Serendipity?
To the editors:
Over break I began to wonder
why Guilford's "spring-fling"
weekend is named Serendipity.
The definition reads: "the fac
ulty for making desirable dis
coveries by accident." I tried to
think of some "desirable dis
coveries" I had made in past
Serendipities, but unfortunately
can only remember discovering
that perhaps I shouldn't start
drinking at ten in the morning if
I plan to be walking at ten that
evening Anyway, although I
look forward to Serendipity,
there is a certain amount of
foreboding I feel when I con
sider the activities which will
take place. In the two years that
I've been here, although I've
seen manv people having fun,
"I know, Daddy, but it's not
the cereal simpliciter, it's the
Toucan Sam decober ring."
"I wish you two would stop
fighting about cereal box prizes.
I'm beginning to fear cereal
bearing gifts."
"Nyah-Nyah. Bet you
thought Daddy would step in,
deus ex machina and let you
have the prize. Too bad for
you."
Whereupon Sarah Malino
looks up from her thesis and
proclaims, "Cease from such
bickering, O Nepotots!"
I think perhaps we'd better
leave them there. The idea of
such superflous erudition spout
ing from the mouths of babes is
far more distressing than the
nepotism issue itself. I was
never particularly precocious
that way. I remember hearing
the phrase "You can't step into
the same river twice," when
was about six, and thinking it
must have been some sort of'
game law. I also confess that it
was over halfway through Phil
osophy 101 before I realized,
"Your essence precedes your
existence," did not mean they
could smell me before I entered
a room. But then, some of us
are a little slow.
I've also seen evidence of
destruction and lack of respect
for the college campus on this
weekend
My hope is that during this
year's Serendipity, people will
consider the definition of the
word, and place some emphasis
on trying to discover some
desirable aspect of themselves,
their friendships, and the po
tentials they can reach in a
college environment. I think we
can all use this time for passive
contemplation (I'm sure not too
many of us will be actively
studying) to help us to realize
the benefits we have gained or
will gain at Cuilford.
Finally, I hope that each
individual will do everything he
or she can to make this Serendi
pity a true community effort to
have fun
Thanks,
Katie Lutz
Budget cut
protested
Dear Editors,
I would like to express my
deep concern over the recent
decision to reduce the staff and
budget of the Off-Campus Edu
cation Programs. I have partici
pated in the Washington Semi
nar and I myself believe that the
learning experience provided by
this program is essential for the
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