Page 10 / Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Editorial
The Pend^um
The Pendulum seeks to inspire, entertain and inform the Elon
community by providing a voice for students and faculty as
well as a forum for the meaningful exchange of ideas
Upcoming election will shape Supreme Court
Next president will have several seats to fill during term
• A t-M r* i n liro
The 2008 presidential election has brought on
the Barack Stars, the McCainiacs and, well, those
people who are still holding their breath for Ron
Paul.
Key issues like the Iraq War, the economy and
health care are heating up as the presidential
candidates get closer to Election Day. But among all
the fanfare, one consideration seems to be falling
through the cracks — the Supreme Court.
The nine justices that make up the Supreme
Court are, for lack of a better term, ripe in age.
Justice John Paul Stevens turned 88 this year, and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg isn’t too far behind at 75.
There is a high likelihood that whoever the
United States selects as president will get to appoint
between one and three judges, depending on how
many terms they serve.
But here is where it gets tricky.
The court is currently divided about evenly, with
five justices who tend to vote conservatively and
four who favor a liberal stance. Though there are
often “swing” votes that tip the scales one way or
another, the makeup of the court is generally 5-4,
favoring the conservatives.
The five justices who generally vote
conservatively (Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy
and Alito) have an average age of 61 while the four
liberally voting justices (Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg
and Breyer) have an average age of 76. The three
judges most likely to depart from the court in the
near future are Ginsburg, Souter and Stevens.
The potential of three judges who are
ideologically liberal leaving in the next eight years
will mean that whoever is elected as president will
be able to shape the direction of the court for nearly
30 years to come — and not just by a little.
To be frank, this is a really big deal. Sen. Obama
would almost assuredly nominate three liberal
justices while Sen. McCain has already stated he
would bring in only conservative justices.
Assuming all three justices who are expected to
leave do so, a McCain presidency could end in an 8-1
split and an Obama presidency could end in a 7-2
split.
But what might it mean if the balance of the
Supreme Court is thrown off?
Well, first think of the landmark cases the
Supreme Court has dealt with and think of how they
impact everyday American life.
Consider Brown v. Board of Education, which
paved the way for integration of the schools.
Miranda v. Arizona required police to read arrested
people their rights before questioning thein. Roe v.
Wade legalized abortion.
The list of landmark cases goes on, but each had
a profound impact on the rights and liberties of
Americans.
Any of these cases could have gone the other way
if the number of liberal or conservative justices on
the bench had been different. When there are only
nine votes, every single one of them counts.
Whoever America selects in November will be
gone by 2012 or 2016, but the justices they appoint
will remain with us for decades.
What is decided in our highest of courts shapes
how we live our lives, more than any president ever
could.
Be wise in voting this November and keep the
court that you want making judgments on your
behalf in mind.
A wrong decision could bring on decades of
regret. No pressure.
Letters to the Editor
I’d like to offer a differing perspective on the arrival of a new
graduate program at Elon.
Your recent editorial worried that the new master’s degree
in interactive media will drain resources from our excellent
undergraduate program.
We’ve worked hard to ensure that doesn’t happen. Our graduate
program will have its own physical space in Powell Building, separate
labs and edit suites, and separate technology for student checkout.
The graduate program will be funded 100 percent through graduate
student tuition. We also are adding four new faculty members with
expertise in interactive media, and they will teach about half of their
courses at the undergraduate level.
As a result, we believe having an innovative graduate program
truly will enhance the quality and cutting-edge focus of our
undergraduate program.
Paul Parsons
Dean, School of Communications
I don’t think that I’m alone when I say this: I’m fed up with
ARAMARK. As a freshman you are required to purchase at least 11
meals a week. Assume that you are paying for September to the end
of April (eight months). It costs $4,004 for 200 meal dollars. The cost
per meal comes out to roughly $10. The math is far from perfect, but
my point is that it’s expensive to eat oH campus.
So what do you get for your SIO?
I have an 8 a.m. class every day, so my breakfast options are
limited. Octagon opened late every single day the first week of school.
Sure, it was only by five minutes or so, but when you only have a
half-hour, time is pressed. On top of that, the service was bad and
the employees were rude. The breakfast sandwich was cold, and the
ARAMARK employee complained when I asked for a new one.
I know I could list a handful of dining service employees that
rub students the wrong way, At Varsity two of the three wraps my
party ordered arrived without chicken in them. Instead of getting
new wraps, our waitress brought us chicken tenders to put in our
sandwiches.
These are just some of the most recent examples, and the worst
part about it is that it isn’t out of the ordinary for students to have
similar experiences.
Ten dollars, let that resonate. It's two foot-long sandwiches at
Subway, it’s a burrito with all the fixings at Moe’s, and it’s a few
drinks at Lighthouse (if you’re 21 of course). Ten dollars goes a long
way, and frankly it should get you a lot more from ARAMARK.
Jay Kahn
Class of 2009
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University grading scale in
need of standardization
The syllabus has become a sacred
text for each class taken at Elon
University.
Invariably there will be a section
about the honor code, office hours and
disclaimers about absences, but most
students will skip over those sections.
They’ll look for the grading scale.
At most schools in the United
States, the grading scale has become
unexciting syllabus type — all students
know they are being graded according
to a 10-point scale.
At Elon, a student can be graded on
a different scale for every class. Those
taking Web Publishing and Design need
a 95 percent to get an A and General
Physics students need a 96 perecent
to achieve that coveted grade. They
compete with the same students who
take Strategic Writing and Arabic — it
only takes a 90 percent to get an A in
those classes.
This competition involves vying for
scholarships and honors offered by
the university — the Lumen prize. Beta
Alpha Psi and various departmental
scholarships — and those offered
outside of the bubble.
The university should make a
standardized grading scale in order to
combat this grading injustice.
Two students who receive the
same grade of an 83 should not have
different grades when they are both
applying for the same Isabella Cannon
Research Scholarship.
Phi Kappa Phi admits students based
on the percentile they occupy based on
GPA. To be eligible, seniors must be in
the top 10 percent of their class and
juniors must be in the tpp 7.5 percent
of their class.
How can that be a'falr criterion of
scholastic achievement when aptitude
is being measured on severely different
scales? , •
The newly established Lumen Prize
requires its applicants to have a 3.8
GPA. This requisite was established
without acknowledging the fact that
a student may have received a hard-
earned 92 percent in a certain class
— which according to a six-point scale
leaves one with a B for one’s efforts.
In many other classes, that same
grade would have been a letter higher
and they would have a chance to apply
for the prestigious scholarship.
Elon University wants the majority of
its students to seek further education
after graduation, maybe even go to one
of the university’s own four graduate
schools.
Besides recommendations, GRE
scores and personal statements,
students have to submit a transcript to
the graduate schools they are hoping to
attend.
These students' grades and GPA’s
are scrutinized and compared with
applicants who had the fortune of a
standard grading scale in which the
grade earned was consistently assigned
throughout the school.
Does Elon want its undergraduates to
be disadvantaged when contending for
admissions to top master's programs or
for Truman and Rhodes scholarships?
With more grading scales then feral
cats running around campus, there
needs to be a standardization of the
methods by which students are graded
for their work.
Students with different majors, or
just those unlucky enough to have a
particularly cruel professor, shouldnt
be unfairly evaluated and matched up
against Elon and non-Elon students who
received a less brutal syllabus.
Administrations and departments
alike need to think in the best interest
of students and their future.
If so much of collegiate excellence
and achievement is based on grades,
make it a fair contest.
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