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opinion:
letters
Maturity guides
attendance
I would like to respond
to the Forty-Niner's opinion piece (Our View, Sept. 4) on the
absence policy. Although I am not for a stringent attendance
policy, I disagree with your argument because it undercuts your
own position.
I would guess that
the existence of such a policy is based on two assumptions:
students are in college to learn and professors want to teach.
Of course there
are exceptions, but if you feel class may get in the way of
your social life, perhaps you should avoid the tuition expense
and put off your education for a while.
The professors
who adhere to a strict attendance policy are typically just
trying to maintain efficiency in the classroom; it helps the
flow of lesson plans and the motivation of the teacher when
students are covering the material at the same pace.
The central point
of your argument seems to be that students are mature enough
to decide for themselves when to attend class or not.
This is a valid point; as college students, it should be assumed
that we have all reached a certain level of maturity.
The appeal to eliminate
the consequences associated with voluntary absence, however,
is childish and negates this assumption. There is nothing
wrong with barhopping or beach going, as long as you are willing
to either accept a lower grade or have your fun on the weekends
only. As the adage goes, you can't have your cake and
eat it too.
Maturity requires
the ability to make decisions based on the potential consequences.
By implementing an attendance policy, professors are asking
us to be accountable for our actions -- be as mature as you
claim to be and deal with it.
-- Cathy Brock,
graduate student
CFA responds
to editorial
As CFA Chapter president,
I am heartened by the editorial in the Forty-Niner on Sept.
5 revealing the writer's interest and concerns over the sad
state of contract negotiations. I would like to clarify a few
points.
On statistics:
The CSU administration gives the figure of 2,315 appointments
without mentioning the number of retirements, resignations,
and deaths during the same period.
The CFA's figure
is a result of the two numbers canceling one another out.
The net gain has been one full-time tenure-track faculty position
system wide at all 23 campuses (not 1.5% at all).
On money: CFA is
aware that "money was allocated elsewhere." CFA
is suggesting that money can be re-allocated to faculty salaries.
CFA is also researching the way faculty salary funds were
taken for other uses. At present, the salary gap between CSU
faculty and comparable institutions is 7.9%.
On the Teach-in:
Why would a Teach-in be "scare tactics" as the editorial
states? The Teach-in is meant to educate and inform students,
parents, the community, and each other about the larger issues
affecting the CSU; namely, the faculty concerns about the
Universities' move to a business model, the increases in administrative
control, the emphasis on technology instead of classroom participation,
attempts at reducing academic freedom, among other problems
that are likely to truly affect student educational experience.
Come to the Teach-in
on October 17 and see for yourself.
-- Martin
Fiebert,
psychology professor and
chapter president of the CFA
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