Excuse me if you've heard this before: "It's not the grades we make, but the hands we shake." I've heard this many times since they came from my Father's mouth right before he kicked me out of the family SUV onto the doorstep of O'Donnell Hall some three and a half years ago.,”
By Nicholas Cerveny
Excuse me if you've heard this before: "It's not the grades we make, but the hands we shake." I've heard this many times since they came from my Father's mouth right before he kicked me out of the family SUV onto the doorstep of O'Donnell Hall some three and a half years ago. I took those words to heart and can say that I've learned of the basic necessity in vanity as it relates to professional relationships and really enjoyed the viewpoint from last Tuesday regarding the terrible outbreak of underdressed girls on campus. Basically, as an average looking, decent dressing, yet underperforming student I've done alright for myself, which personally confirms my assumption that its not that you know something, rather it's that you look like you know what you're doing that really matters.
I see this idea in the recent discussion regarding OSD's rejection of Students for Academic Freedom as an official student organization. I don't really understand what all of the fuss over SAF is about. The way I see it, SAF was denied organization status by OSD for being overly redundant with its goal to aide students who might feel alienated by certain viewpoints expressed in professors' teaching styles. Unfortunately for SAF, ideas, unlike the girls on Wisconsin Avenue, cannot be rolled in an expensive outer shell to hide their shortcomings.
This organization lacks the function its form promises us. While I believe that personal political viewpoints don't belong in lecture, I don't think that documenting instances where this occurs would be worthwhile for the students at Marquette. It's known that Dogears.net gave students a chance to vocalize their opinions of professors, however, the only worthwhile comments ever posted were how favorable teachers grading habits were.
Debate on these and other topics would be great, intellectually stimulating events for the student body at Marquette. Unfortunately, simply debating these items without actual policy change seems like beating a dead horse. If debates actually solved problems, the genius that is Newt Gingrich would be frontrunner for the presidential election next November, and we know that won't happen. If you bother to undress this organization, their main purpose is to become a forum for students to whine about situations in which they felt offended by a teacher's viewpoint. The fact of the matter is this: SAF wouldn't actually hold any power to incite the changes they promise.
I think it would be more worthwhile for students having a problem with a teacher to find a way to resolve differences using the system of checks and balances already in place at Marquette, rather than complaining to a self-proclaimed watchdog organization. Skills in personal problem solving are more valuable to students than fussing over a so-called "national" organization that lists approximately 13 Jesuit schools that recognize SAF as a student organization. The interesting part about the Jesuit schools is that of the 13 listed, none of them, when contacted, could verify SAF as an officially recognized student organization. Seems to me that SAF might be a classic example of a bad idea cloaked in hype lacking any valuable function. It boggles my mind why students are wasting valuable time debating the decisions made by our competent school administration when we should be focusing on real important topics, like, say, what bands we want to perform at Marquette or the pajama pants epidemic plaguing campus classrooms.
Cerveny is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences
Senior
College of Arts and Science
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