TO THE EDITOR:
“Why don’t you take your head out of that book?” Rare advice even more rarely given.
But it’s what at least a subset of the faculty at UNC ought to do. While busy furrowing their collective brows over their horn-rimmed spectacles, several so called academics at UNC have completely lost their depth perception.
But I’ll bear with them. So let’s see if I have this right: An entire department creates under-scrutinized independent study classes because the entirety of the administration fails to oversee them for almost 20 years. A non-professor grades coursework and assigns grades. And (heaven forbid) 18- to 22-year-olds take advantage of easier classes at one of the most academically challenging institutions in the country. These are among the facts that plus or minus the formal reports and investigations have yielded, right?
Now, that same short-sighted group of self-righteous faculty wants to point fingers at the athletic department for their shortcomings. Vacate wins, bring down banners and applaud the “whistleblower” who breached privacy laws and ignored research standards (at a research University)? That’ll solve the problem!
Everyone needs a scapegoat, right?
At one point in elementary school, we all learned about cause and effect. Perhaps it’s time for some members of our faculty to take a remedial course, hopefully reminding themselves which side of the equation unto which they almost solely own the blame in this “academic scandal.” (Hint: It’s not the effect.)
Ryan Watts
Class of ’92
