The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 02, 1999, Page Page 5, Image 5
Wednesday, June 2,199
Letters to t
250-300 w
Handwrittt
for
Editorial contains
errors, falsehoods
To the editor:
Your editorial piece (April 28),
"Teacher Evaluations Need Improvement,"
contains a number of
gross errors and falsehoods. Publication
of those falsehoods in the
campus newspaper, and possible
re-publication in any state or national
newsnaner will have serious
and negative effects on the reputation
of USC, and specifically on
the College of Liberal Arts.
One wonders: where did the editorial
writer get such a false and
jaundiced picture of the actual situation
in the College of LiberalArts
and the university as a whole?
Examples of errors or falsehoods:
1) A diversity of measuring-instruments
in different departments
does not mean that each instrument
is defective. It may, in fact,
be a good idea.
2) The statement, "Many professors
are tenured and are not affected
by the outcome of these evaluations,"
is plainly false.
These evaluations now do actually
affect post-tenure review.
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he editor are welcome from all members of
ords and must include name, phone nun
:n letters must be personally delivered to R
el, style and space. Call 777-7726 for more
That is a state government mandate.
And it is currently in effect at
use.
3) The next sentence: "For those
on tenure track, evaluation is nothing
more than a formal critique that
isn't taken into much consideration."
This is so ridiculously false that
it beggars belief. The fact of the
matter is as follows: faculty spend
hours collating, examining and discussing
the evaluations.
They do so with the responsibility
and knowledge that fairness
to all parties is a demand of natural
justice. The future employment
of tenure-track faculty is most
dpfinifplv affprtpd hv thpsp pvaln
ations.
Further, in our experience, faculty
are very much aware of this.
Are students generally aware of the
powerful consequences of their evaluations?
4) The next sentence is also
false: "Professors also don't see their
evaluations for about a year."
In fact, they see them after the
final grades have been turned in to
the registrar's office, and at the latest
in the following semester.
5) "Writing in the best way..."
etc. Not necessarily. Anecdotal re
marKs may or may not oe oojective.
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the Carolina community. Letters should b
iber, professional title or year and majo
H 333. The Gamecock reserves the right t
information.
At the very least, they need interpretation.
6) So, while ignoring the valid
role of the objective evaluations,
you suggest some kind of "people's
committee" to make spot
checks, reminiscent of the actions
of a "politburo" approach. And then
you go to everyone's unedited pubhe
showcase: the Internet Of course,
at this stage, the faculty member
or the other students in the class
will have no recourse. A good reputation
may have already been destroyed
by a "committee."
Members of the USC community
have a right to more responsible
reporting and comment
A.. _ TT?
iiurn tiic tampuj iicwapapci. nave
you any idea of the damage to the
reputation of USC which this editorial
may have already accomplished?
Further, it gives fake ammunition
to irresponsible critics of
the university, who can then go
about their way and spread more
falsehoods with the fake claim that
the evaluations do not work.
David W. Baird, Chair,
Philosophy Department, USC
Jeremiah M. Hackett,
Associate Professor,
Philosophy Department, USC
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I Woodstock s
WOODSTOCK continued from page 4
mote change, love and peace start- g
ed on a small street corner in San o
[ Francisco. Within no time, the hip- t:
pie movement had reached Greentirinh
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tion were involved in current events. 1
They were aware of what their gov- t<
ernment was doing, and they weren't o
happy. a
With the help of musicians like tl
Bob Dylan, music in the '60s moved n
from the typical pop theme of love I:
and cheery goodness to include F
themes of the time. Dylan paved the o
way for subject matter to expand a
radically. Music soon began to speak s<
out about what was happening. No
longer would the common music p
lover be completely oblivious to si
the world around him or her. Now, II
by being tapped into the music cul- g
ture, they could be tapped into the tl
political culture, as well. T
The crowning glory of this new h
age in music was the Monterey Pop a
Festival. People gathered to cele- c<
brate music and nothing else. This w
was the first time an American audience
saw The Jimi Hendrix Ex- vi
perience. This also was the same fes- d
tival at which The Who destroyed b
the stage at the end of their set, a li
first in rock history. Not to be topped b
was Hendrix, who set fire to his gui- n
tar thus establishing himself as a "t
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od of rock. Ravi Shankir was the
nly act paid to perform at this fesival.
Soon to follow was Woodstock,
'olitical action groups ranging from
he Black Panthers to feminists atanded
this three-day event. All were
elebrating their willingness to get
long and celebrate good music in
tie face of such trying times. Acts
anging from Arlo Guthrie and Richie
lavens to Santana and Sly and the 'amily
Stone were present to lash
ut against the world around them
nd embrace the love among all preant.
It certainly is sad to see the same
eople who celebrated love and muic
in 1969 try to exploit it in 1999.
i/ & a sign ui uie limes. ilie spun is
one. Profit and gain are now the
irust behind the American culture,
he spirit of *69, Woodstock and Mon?rey
are gone and will never be rewered.
Nowadays, people are more
mcerned with social status and
realth.
For the people who attend this
ear's installment of Woodstock,
on't expect to hear, "Don't eat the
rown acid." Instead, you'll more
kely hear such warnings as, "The
ottled water might be contamiated."
As Bob Dylan prophesied,
he times they are a-changin'."
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