Stop tolerating intolerance
(In response to the Sept. 30 editorial “Blogged Down.”)
I was reading the editorial “Blogged Down” regarding the assistant attorney general who is harassing a student body president at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor because he is gay.
For all the accusations that Arizona is intolerant and racist, we have the largest University in the United States with two openly gay presidents and no one seems to mind.
The truth is, we enjoy a good relationship with the mostly Republican Legislature because we [aren’t] tripped up by things like sex or religion and instead focus on the issues that are most important to education in Arizona.
I am disheartened by the actions of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for not correcting this behavior as soon as it appeared. As an elected public servant and a state employee, I am held to a higher ethical standard, as should be the case with Mr. Shirvell. I have a moral and fiduciary duty to the state and the University not to engage in actions that could damage the reputations of either body, or expose them to financial liability. Andrew Shirvell has violated the public trust by engaging in such reprehensible activity. His public stalking and online bullying do nothing to further the political dialogue while damaging the reputation of the office he holds.
His website is full of ad hominem attacks, petulant name calling, spelling and grammatical errors, as well as wildly outlandish statements such as: “Armstrong, [is] a militant homosexual activist who would probably tattoo a rainbow ‘pride’ flag across his forehead — if he could get away with it.” These comments and actions are unbecoming a state official and a public role model. If I had the chance to make a public statement at the U of M, I would urge the attorney general and governor of Michigan to restore honor and decency to their office by asking for the resignation of Mr. Shirvell.
Daniel Hatch President ASU Undergraduate Student Government at West
Degree of uncertainty
(In response to Cale Otten’s Sept. 29 article, “Expansions planned for ASU Online.”)
[This article] relates that the Board of Regents wants to see 30,000 bachelors degrees earned through online distance learning. However, this may be a case of political will imposing a direction that may not best serve the University’s interests.
The interactive technology certainly exists to allow full student participation in many courses, certainly those not requiring laboratory hours or other supervised in-person participation. And, there are many majors in which a degree can be earned without such direct on hands-on involvement. Also, the cost savings of not constructing the bricks and mortar environment to educate and house 30,000 more students is obvious.
There is one major problem that needs to be solved before we jump feet first into such an undertaking. At this point there is simply no way for the instructor to verify that the person he is communicating with via the Internet is the student registered for the course.
In late summer The New York Times ran a series of articles and personal opinion pieces about the increase in cheating by college students. Behind all the discussions of cheating was a stated awareness that a college degree is no longer seen as an option obtained by certain scholarly, ambitious and dedicated students, but rather, had become a necessary certificate for entry into the middle class. And that certificate costs more than just hard work; students and parents often go into debt to obtain a diploma. The pressure to graduate is great and that drives much of the cheating.
This should concern all ASU students, whether they take their courses online or not. The value of your ASU diploma reflects not just your own achievement, but also the fact that ASU graduates have proven to be knowledgeable and capable in their chosen fields. A lot of diplomas obtained without the required learning would lower the value of everyone's. This hasn’t been a problem for ASU yet, but so far only relatively few degrees have been earned online.
Larry Hobson Teaching associate
