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Sljr Saily ®ar MM Fuzzy Math? The Myth of Grade Inflation Exposed JOE FORMISANO POINT OF VIEW At a university that is in its 213th year, tra ditions are innumer able and revered. And it seems as if anew custom has joined the ranks of the Old Well and the Davie Poplar. For the past two years, the end of each semester has been greeted with reports of the most detrimental devel opment since Gen. Sherman found a Zippo and a map to Savannah. The trend that has all of academia up in arms is grade inflation. This semester’s edition of UNC’s “You-think-you’re-so-smart” report will come on the heels of a Harvard University study that examines the prevalence of high grades at the Ivy League school. And right on cue, UNC economics professor Boone Turchi has _ . fsTorty** 1 IT aoma. r,<U I /V ~ T too, manTy gecke t- Responses To David Horowitz Letter Writer Distorts Account of Horowitz Walkout and Protest TO THE EDITOR: It is disappointing as well as heart breaking when one realizes that he or she has chosen to attend a university where his or her race is not only referred to as “these people” but is also perceived as dumb, uncivilized, immature and juvenile just because of a decision to take a stand against a racial injustice. But what can one expect knowing that his tory repeats itself and there was a time when our own leaders were spit upon for the same actions. Therefore, although many African-American read ers of The Daily Tar Heel were enraged after reading Andrew Herman’s letter, (“Student Calls Protest Ineffective; It Made Group Look Immature,” Nov. 30) it is obvious that his perception was merely based on a brainwashed rendi tion of the beliefs of Horowitz himself. In fact, his outlook must be brainwashed because if Herman were actually paying attention to the protest, he would have noticed that the demonstration was silent except for the hurtful remarks that were yelled at the protesters telling them that they couldn’t “handle the truth.” Let’s not forget the “civilized” remarks of Horowitz himself, which brought the attention from his own speech to the demonstration by comments informing the audience of the display and sarcas tically stating, “it was either time for the expected demonstration or everyone needed to go the bathroom at once.” Business and Advertising: Janet Gallagher-Cassel, director/general manager, Chrissy Beck, director of marketing; Melida Heien, classified/customer service manager; Lisa Reichle, business manager; Nicki Davidson, retail sales manager; Nichole Assistant Editors: Michael Abernethy and Sarah Kucharski, arts 8 entertainment, Ben Gullett and Kathleen Wirth, city; Nathan Denny and Amanda Walther, copy; Whitney Freeman, Lauren Sumner and Karen Williams, design; Mark Slagle, editorial page; Sarah Sanders, featured, Mary Stowell, graphics; Jonathan Miller and Adam Shupe, online, Kim Craven and Joshua Greer, photography; Brad Broders, lan Gordon and Kelly Lusk, s ports; Jamie Agin and Owen Hassell, sportsaturday, Lucas Fenske, Jennifer Hagin and Jennifer Samuels, state 8 national; Stephanie Horvath, Daniel Thigpen and Karey Wutkowski, university. Arts & Entertainment: Ashley Atkinson, Brian Bedsworth and Jeremy Hurtz, senior writers, Jason Arthurs, Diana Cunningham, Charles Dillard, Trafton Drew, Elliot Dube, Brooks Firth, Jeremy K, Fisher, Zack Hemenway, Jenise Hudson, Michelle Jarboe, Harmony Johnson, Brian Millikan, Graham Parker, Nicholas Parker, Joanna Pearson, Allison Rost, James Russ and Kristin Williams. Cartoon: Kristen Beckert, Matt Purdy, Karen The editorials are approved by the majority of the editorial board, which is composed of the editor, editorial page editor, assistant editorial page editor and eight editorial writers. The Daily Tar Heel is published by the DTH Publishing Corp., a non-profit North Carolina corporation, Monday- Friday, according to the University calendar. Callers with questions about billing or display advertising should call 962-1163 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Classified ads can be reached at 962-0252, Editorial questions should be directed to 962-0245. taken the opportunity to remind students and parents that those A’s and B’s are under review. (It sure makes for great holiday fun to know that there might be a room full of people that you have never met discussing your grade and second guessing a professor with whom you have spent 16 weeks just because the law of averages says you could- n’t have earned the grade you received.) Other institutions that have jumped on the bandwagon have discussed plans to systematically lower grades or attach an asterisk to classes that pro duce a large percentage of A’s or A-’s. At UNC, there are no such strategies in place, but the threat is being held over Maybe Herman did hear a ruckus caused by the protesters, but, if so, it was definitely not verbal but instead the sounds made by the hearts of the pro testers as they walked out of the audito rium knowing that the very individuals who were clapping because of their exit could possibly be those who sit beside them throughout their daily schedules. No one should attend a university where he or she is afraid to stand up for what he or she believes in. It remains an enigma to me that Herman can perceive a demonstration formed to promote equality as being a portrayal of having free time. Maybe that’s what was said to Dr. Martin Luther Kingjr. too, but, like he did, we all have dreams, and although we may be members of the minority at UNC, until we receive the equality that we deserve we will continue to take a stand as the majority. Gahrnya Drummond-Bey Freshman Pre-Med and Psychology Chanel Francis Freshman Business and Public Policy David Horowitz, Not Protesters, Is Working For Free Speech TO THE EDITOR: The way your writer lambasted David Horowitz in the hate-filled “David Horowitz Quotables” on Nov. (Dip Daily (Tar Upcl Professional and Business Staff Plumber and Zedekiah Worsham. ZDisplay Advertising: Erica lundberg, senior account executive; Candace Doby, Heather English, Sarah Mobley, Andrea Sarubbi, Amy Scharf and Eryn Wade, account executives: Courtnee Poole, display classi Campbell, business assistant. Customer Service: Kristin Chambiee, Holly Herweyer, Susan Ricker and Amanda Taylor, representatives. Marketing Group: Courtney Carrillo. Lauren Goodson, Josh Hall, Shannon Editorial Staff Georges, Tiffany Heady, Kang-Shy Ku, Caroline Lindsey, Lauren Rippey, John Scarbrough, Jeremy Simmons, Scott Sutton and Kristen Valle. 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Heather Apple, Chris Blow, Ben Brooks, Lucy Bryan, Adrienne Clark, Jon Dougherty, Stephanie Furr, Brett Garamella, Kristen Heflin, Erika Heyder, Jenny Huang, Maggie Kao, Tom Kingsley, Jamie McGee, Jocelyn Oberdick, Carolyn Pearce, Colin Sutker, Matt Viser, Scott Warfield and Amanda Wilson. Copy: Lindsay Apple, Julian Bibb, Leslie Bumgarner, Lisa Giencke, Meghan Greene, Kristal Jones, Laura Just, Hester Kast, Laura Mayhew, Laurie Osborne and Jordan Williams. Design: Winna Bridgewater, Randi DeMagistris, Michelle Kuttner, Nicole Neuman, Justin Osborne, Tiffany Pease, Andy Pike and Jaime Schumaker. Editorial: Niel Brooks, Amy Dobson, Cate Doty, Danielle Eubanks, Joe Formisano, Jon Harris, Matt Minchew and Mark Seeley, editori al board, Josh Baylin, Michael Carlton, Marian Crotty, Erin Fornoff and Rachel Hockfield; columnists. Features: Ryan Caron, Peter Farkas, Kirsten Fields, Emily Fleming, Ashley Gainer, Veneta Viewpoints the heads of students and faculty. The term “grade inflation” can be taken to mean simply that students are receiving better grades. This definition is far too benign to have caused such a ruckus. Instead, the term has a conno tation that grades are being artificially embellished, hence the need to “inves tigate the problem.” Apparently, the fact that the overall GPA at UNC has risen from 2.7 in 1987 to 3.0 in 1999 is enough to war rant the attention of faculty councils. The Harvard study recognized a few possible reasons for grade inflation, though anything short of an in-depth review of the papers and tests that earned the dangerously high grades is simply theorizing and conjecture. Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield, the school’s most outspoken combatant in the grade inflation 30 was pathetic. You took comments out of context in an attempt to make Horowitz look fanatical and idiotic. In reality, it is your writer who appears to be foolish, and the protesters from On the Wake of Emancipation who look hypocritical. Horowitz was supportive of free speech from everyone - while he himself believed the teach-ins to be “despicable and disgraceful,” his main problem was not with the teach-ins themselves but with the fact that there had been no corresponding show of support for our brave troops who fight for your and my freedom overseas. Since the protesters, on the other hand, could not complain about dispropor tionate representation, they tried to sug gest that Horowitz should be stripped of his right to speak at all. It’s simple: Horowitz encouraged free speech for all, while the protesters protested Horowitz’s right to free speech while complaining that he was taking theirs. Hypocritical? I think so. I’m sorry that your columnist could make no sense of Horowitz’s declaration that “A universi ty is supposed to teach you to have an open mind and think.” Maybe it is because he has been successfully brain washed and believes that only liberal, anti-American viewpoints should be espoused on the UNC-Chapel Hill cam pus. If you would print the entire speech, maybe the student body could indeed think for itself - just what Horowitz suggests should happen. loseph Aheam Freshman Business and Political Science fieds. Advertising Production: fenny Persons, manager; Kathryn Klein and Karen Stone, assistants. Classified Production: Cindy Henley. State & National: April Bethea, columnist Guney Acipayamli, Elyse Ashburn, Daniel Blank, Emma Burgin, Brandon Cogdell, Nathan Coletta, Michael Davis, Chase foster, James Gorman, Crystal Harward, Julia Lamm, Amanda Lee, Rachel Leonard, Allison lewis, PJ Lusk, Michael McKnight. Wes Misson, Jonathan Owens. Russ Thompson. Metoka Welch and Cleve Wootson. University: Geoff Wessel, columnist, Paige Ammons, Jordan Bartel. Scott Brittain, Jacqueline Brown, Michael Callahan, Tina Chang, Brad Chiasson, Rachel Clarke. Brook Corwin, Philissa Cramer. Jamie Dougher, Kara Eide, Krista Faron, John Frank, Ann Hau, Diana Johnson, Rob Leichner, Debra McCown, Jenny McLendon, Elizabeth Michalka, Joseph Monaco, Meredith Nicholson, Eshanti Ranasinghe, Joelle Ruben, Jeff Silver, Jessica Sleep, Addie Sluder, Ruthie Warshenbrot, Nicole Werkmg and Lanita Withers. Editorial Production: Stacy Wynn, manager. Printing: Triangle Web. Distribution: Triangle Circulation Services. ISN #10709436 Office: Suite 104 Caroline Union Campui Mall Addreu: CB# S2lO Boa 49, Carolina Union U.S. Mall Addreu: P.O. Box 3257, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 3257 debate, has said that grades have risen because students are taking advantage of professors who are eager to get favorable evaluations. He adds that professors are afraid to deliver a blow to students’ egos, so they avoid possi bly stressful situations by awarding undeserved marks. This type of analysis is faulty for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is basically impossible to refute because it is not based in any kind of evidence. Unfortunately, students have not received any better explanations. So maybe it’s time for a discussion of realistic and plausible reasons as to why Carolina students, and students in general, are getting better grades. Pay attention because there might be a quiz on this material. And if you get all the answers, you might get a B+. First of all, students are smarter than Setting the Record Straight: Why We Chose to Walk Out Let’s get straight to the point. The action that took place Wednesday at David Horowitz’s speech has been mis interpreted and misrepresented by many people over the last few days. It seems that some people might have attended a completely different event because their recollec tion of details is in some cases blatandy wrong. As one of the organizers of the action, I want to state the clear and undebatable facts. ■Fact: Last Wednesday’s action was in support of free speech. Everyone involved fully supported Horowitz’s right to express his opinions, but we also exer cised our own right to demonstrate our opposition to some of his views. Many individuals represent ing several different student groups supported Wednesday’s action. Among them were the Black Student Movement, the On the Wake of the Emancipation Campaign, Young Democrats, the Campus Y, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Students United for a Free Tibet, Campaign Against the Death Penalty, the Progressive Student Coalition, Queer Network for Change and students from Duke, N.C. State and N.C. Agricultural and Technical State universities. All students participating were there to respect Horowitz’s right to say what he wants but also exer cise their right to show opposition. Fact: Wednesday’s action was not in response to having a conservative speaker on campus. Nobody involved was there because Horowitz is conservative; we demonstrated our opposition to the racist rhetoric he uses to enforce his opinions. If it was felt that our campus needed a conserva tive voice, people such as William F. Buckley, Thomas Sowell, Elizabeth Dole and Condoleezza Rice would have been much more effective because they do not resort to racially attacking and misrepresenting certain groups. Fact: Our walkout was not a reaction to Horowitz’s posi tion on reparations, nor are we implying that anyone who is opposed to reparations is racist. In fact, some of the people in solidarity with us do not think that reparations should be given to descendants of African-American slaves. We are simply not in support of the racist remarks that Horowitz makes with regard to his views on reparations and other issues. Just for clarification on what we mean by “racist”, here are some examples of Horowitz’s statements concern ing African Americans: “Black homes do not provide educational support for A Mission That Must Change As UNC Moves Into the Future Having secured over SSOO mil lion in bonds from the voters of North Carolina and embarked on anew private capital campaign, the University of North Carolina stands at a crossroads. The school continues to feel a direct responsibility to North Carolina’s interests while striving to become the best public school in the country. The two interests of course do not appear incongruous, and Edward Marshall Guest Columnist many leaders will tell you that it is pos sible to satisfy both. They are wrong. UNC’s mission statement is in need of revision if it hopes to become the best public school in the United States. Rather than state that UNC serves the people of North Carolina, it should state that it serves the world. The change in mission would serve as a simple but radical departure from the school’s obsessive focus on North Carolina. Charlotte is now a financial center to the country, and Research Triangle Park a research center to the world. The state’s unparalleled eco nomic growth and newfound prosperi ty are a direct result of residents having the vision to look beyond North Carolina and the region to take advan tage of opportunities around the globe. Numerous UNC faculty already do the same, and the school should boldly state as much in its mission statement. The changed mission would reflect the new circumstances in which UNC serves the people of North Carolina. In keeping with its new mission, UNC should increase the number of out-of-state and international students. The state legislature requires that UNC admit 82 percent of its undergraduate students from within North Carolina. they have ever been. It is a shame that the only people who give credence to this argument are the students themselves. Some argue that successful high school students enter college unrealistically expecting A’s and that these expecta tions lead to Mansfield’s theories of “the spoiled-brat students versus the wimpy professor." In reality students earn their initial grades because they have spent at least a portion of their high school careers earning college credit through AP courses and individ ually designed curricula. The period of adjustment once needed to acclimate freshmen into col lege scholarship is no longer necessary. My final argument in the great grad ing debate is actually very simple: tech nology. Steady improvement in overall GPA directly corresponds to the incor poration of the Internet into our educa their children.” “African Americans are failing because they are not pre pared by their families and their culture to succeed.” “Those blacks who are chronically unemployed are unemployed not because there are no jobs nor because they are barred from jobs by their skin color but because they are unemployable.” Kristi Booker Guest Columnist silent from the moment the first speaker walked on stage until we had completely exited the building. Once again, this was done to show consideration for Horowitz’s right to state his opinions while at the same time respectfully demonstrating our opposition to his racist comments. There were people in attendance who chose to yell and scream as we left, but they were none other than Horowitz supporters. Fact: After the walkout, Horowitz said that we did not have the brains to stay and argue with him, while others insisted that in lieu of our action, we should have used that opportunity to engage in discussion or debate with Horowitz. In fact, after exercising the right to free speech and expressing their disagreement, several members of the BSM came back to listen to the remainder of the speech and to participate in the question-and-answer session. Unfortunately, Horowitz never entertained their questions. It was also asked why we didn’t invite Horowitz to partici pate in a forum or a debate about these issues. In truth, two invitations were made including a possible co-sponsorship with the BSM pending additional information concerning Horowitz’s visit. That information was never provided. 1 hope these facts dear up any misconceptions. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend an open invita tion to the College Republicans and anybody else who would like to express any further opinions about this issue to come to the BSM general body meeting this Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Upendo Lounge located on the second floor of Chase. Please come to have an open dialogue and let your selves be heard. Walkouts are also welcome. Kristi Booker is the president of the BSM. She can be reached at kbooker@email.unc.edu. Proponents of the policy believe that UNC best serves North Carolina by educating residents of the state. In real ity, admitting only N.C. residents detracts from the educational atmos phere for all students, limits the oppor tunities of graduates and damages the school’s national and international rep utation. Our state and nation have become more and more integrated with and dependent upon our global economy and society, yet our university remains trapped in educating almost nine out of 10 stu dents from within its small borders! While no one can quantify the value of geographic diversity precisely, UNC educators have long championed diversity in numerous other forms for good reason. Geographic diversity should not be excepted. Why does geographic diversity improve the educational experience? Last spring, I attended a panel discus sion on ethics at UNC’s graduate school of business, the only school that admits one-third of its students from overseas. By the end of the discussion, I had heard student perspectives and anecdotes relat ed to trade in mainland China, medicine in sub-Saharan Africa, construction in France and finance in Brazil. While a business school class consisting exclu sively of N.C. residents would certainly have been qualified to participate in a similar discussion on ethics, I do not imagine the outcome would be nearly as enlightening. A lack of geographical diversity not only limits the educational experience for UNC students but career opportuni ties for graduates as well. UNC enjoys a unique but precarious reputation Monday, December 3, 2001 tional society. The correlation is obvious; If you give students 24-hour access to unlimited infor mation, they are going to write better papers. To expect anything less would be an insult to UNC students, who are routinely told that they are the best and the brightest Some people have argued that with all of these advantages, standards should be raised, but I argue that they already have. Suppose you wrote a paper without using any modem tech nology, while the rest of your class was doing it the normal way. What kind of grade would you expect? And after receiving that grade, could you petition for extra points because of grade deflation? Reach Joe Formisano at josephformisano@hotmail.com. Once again, Horowitz has every right to voice these opinions, but we also have every right to demonstrate our opposi tion to them. Fact: The people who participated in Wednesday’s action were completely among elite schools in this country. Its graduates are admitted to top graduate programs and excel in many careers throughout the country. In short, UNC is well represented at die top. However, a lack of out-of-state and international students will begin to hurt UNC more and more moving forward. Harvard is no longer a club for Groton and Andover graduates from Connecticut and New York; it is an inter national hub of intellectual life. Leading universities have long realized that to excel they need to attract students from around the country and world. Meanwhile, UNC remains bound to a provincial recruitment requirement UNC will not abandon its public tra ditions by accepting more out of state and international students than it does currendy. If it aspires to be the best, UNC should focus on attracting the most highly qualified, and deserving, residents of North Carolina and place them in a school commensurate with their back ground. Allowing the natural conse quences of a moderate increase in out-of state enrollment to take place would attract a more qualified student body from around the country and overseas that in turn would attract an even more qualified, and deserving, N.C. resident By reaching out to students beyond our state’s tiny border, UNC will take an important step to achieving world-class recognition. Otherwise, UNC risks pro viding a bland educational experience, indistinguishable from that of coundess other state schools in the country. UNC and our state deserve better. Edward Marshall Is a joint degree student at the UNC School of Law and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He can be reached at eam2ooS@columbia.edu. 9
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Dec. 3, 2001, edition 1
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