3 CAMPUS MEWS
Meredith College students grade
professors online
AXGIE LAPIXO
Contributing Writer
Meredith professors
get the grade from
students on a
website.
Each semester, college
students are asked to fill
out teacher evaluations,
only to watch the informa
tion disappear into the
abyss, never to be seen
again. Word of mouth was
the only option students
had to learn about profes
sors until recently. On
RateMyProfessors.com
(http://www.ratemyprofes-
sors.com), students can
now anonymously rate pro
fessors on their helpfulness,
clarity and difficulty of
classes. Students can also
leave comments about pro
fessors and the courses they
teach.
The website was found
ed in 1999 by John
Swapceinski, who graduat
ed that year from San Jose
State University.
"I got the idea for the
site after taking a class with
a particularly dastardly pro
fessor who often left stu
dents in tears and genuinely
seemed to enjoy it," he
said.
Students who visit the
site can check professors'
ratings, or rate professors
on a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being
the best, in the categories
of helpfulness, clarity and
difficulty. Although some
people expected the site to
SHRM chapter
presented busl
ness fashion
show
JOCELYN
COPPUS
Contributing Writer
On November 10, 2003
Meredith SHRM members
presented a "What is
Business Casual?" fashion
show.
Through the help of
some fashion-merchandis
ing students, the SHRM
chapter gave an unique and
exciting show that captured
the audience's attention.
The participating stores
were White House Black
Market, Talbots, Charlotte's
Jewelry and Gifts, Brooks
Brothers, Casual Comer,
The Limited. Cat Banjo
and Imposters. These pop
ular stores donated their
clothina. accessories and
merely be a place to bash
professors, almost 70% of
the ratings are positive,
according to Swapceinski.
At the time of this writ
ing, RateMyProfessors.com
had a total of 170 ratings
for 66 Meredith College
professors. Meredith
College's highest rated pro
fessor was Professor Gary
Walton of the English
department, with an overall
rating of 4.9. Of the 6 rat
ings for this professor,
comments included "awe
some teacher... especially
for the Shakespeare course"
and "Hard but good."
The website also dis
plays each school's
"hottest" professors, indi
cated by a red chili pepper
icon. With 5 "hot" votes,
Professor Greg Vitarbo just
may be the best looking
prof on campus.
The site is not without
its critics. Some students
question the validity of the
ratings, especially since
students are not required to
log in to rate professors.
Even the site's list of fre
quently asked questions
admits, "Remember, we
have no way of knowing
who is doing the rating -
students, the teacher, other
teachers, parents, dogs, cats
etc."
The website includes a
section of the funniest rat
ings ever posted. One
reads, "Boring! But I
learned there are 137 tiles
on the ceiling." Another:
"He will destroy you like
an academic ninja."
Swapceinski stated he
receives threats of legal
action from irate professors
every week. "It's amazing,"
he said, "the number of
professors with Ph.Ds that
don’t get the concept of the
First Amendment."
door prizes for the event.
The fashions displayed
were trendy, which
appealed to the traditional
college students. Some of
the outfits shown were not
appropriate for all work
places. but they allowed the
audience to see the new
fall/winter styles. Meredith
Jordan played the part of
the "Don't Girl", which dis
played outfits that were
unsuitable for any work
place and gave humor to
the show. The fashion
show lasted from 7-8p.m.
and attracted students, par
ents, and professors from
the surrounding communi
ty. Afterwards, the guests
had refreshments, which
were provided by the
SHRM members.
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