tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post5713605626084779569..comments2024-02-24T05:19:10.949-05:00Comments on Durham-in-Wonderland: "Diversity" and Duke Admissionskcjohnson9http://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-32797816926125615692009-11-04T15:35:15.463-05:002009-11-04T15:35:15.463-05:00Interesting how everybody gets up in arms about aa...Interesting how everybody gets up in arms about aa or latino students gaining entrance to a school with sat scores below asians and whites. Why don't we ever see this flare up over admissions for legacy students, wealthy students(parents making huge donations) or the athlete, all of whom have subpar sat scores. Princeton claims legacy and athlete students make up 13% of the class. It is probably higher. Let's be honest life is not fair and never will be. Those small percentages of minority students being accepted does not even the injustices in the school system. If everybody had the money to send their kids to elite private schools then I would imagine sat scores will narrow across the board.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-18798095896633438172009-06-09T19:09:46.273-04:002009-06-09T19:09:46.273-04:00There is a vast difference between bush and obama....There is a vast difference between bush and obama. Bush could not have earned his way into community college without his father where as obama clearly has intelligence<br /><br />djdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-12748198552375773162009-06-02T23:26:28.112-04:002009-06-02T23:26:28.112-04:00Legacy admissions refer to anyone who has a relati...Legacy admissions refer to anyone who has a relative (generally father, mother, sibling, grandparents, or aun or uncle) that attended a particular institution. Quite often, as in the case of my alma mater, legacies get a special tuition reduction - legacy scholarship - (regardless of how much the alum has donated). My guess is that it must play some role in graduate school admissions (in this instance law school) becasue when my daughter applied to various law schools, there was a question on the application regarding relatives who had graduated from the law school(s) to which she applied. If that was not a factor in the admission process, why would the question be asked?<br />cksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-82515343131908446822009-05-30T21:15:09.227-04:002009-05-30T21:15:09.227-04:00To the 7.54:
I don't know the intricacies of the ...To the 7.54:<br /><br />I don't know the intricacies of the HLS admissions process. But in general, legacy admissions are far less common in law schools than in undergrad institutions, simply because the number of slots in law schools are far less.<br /><br />In any event: legacy admissions usually refer to the somewhat less qualified sons or daughters of alums who either have given or plan to give lots of $$. That obviously wasn't the case with Obama, whose father wasn't exactly a big Harvard donor.kcjohnson9https://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-77398304955573280872009-05-30T19:54:04.315-04:002009-05-30T19:54:04.315-04:00KC--while the admissions process to Harvard Law Sc...KC--while the admissions process to Harvard Law School may be separate from the admissions process to Harvard College (the undergrad part of Harvard University), but is it different? And is any allowance made for "legacies" (offspring of Harvard graduates) who apply to the Law School? If not, then we must assume that Obama benefitted from being the son of a Harvard graduate, just as Bush no doubt did when he applied to Yale.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-57210569611160399452009-05-30T02:38:13.911-04:002009-05-30T02:38:13.911-04:00To our neighbors in N.C:
Speaking of extremely du...To our neighbors in N.C:<br /><br />Speaking of extremely dubious admission practices at universities, <A HREF="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-college-clout-29-may29,0,2769925.story?page=1" REL="nofollow">one just exploded</A> in our "own backyard" today:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />To any who have followed White's tyranny at UI (also, White while still interim president at UM after Bollinger was a fanatical disciple of race-based admission pratices), this is no revelation. The kind of pay-to-play that White has engaged in with toads from Chicago from Blagojevich, Emil Jones, Roland Burris and others has only been eclipsed, perhaps, by the copious revelations on Steel, Brodhead, Gottlieb, Nifong, Bell, et al on this site.<br /><br />By far, however, the most distressing is the UI response (very similar to Duke's motion to dimiss) that a small amount of corruption is acceptable because it is small and no one gets hurt.<br /><br />The Hounds of TASSers'villeThe Hounds of TASSers'villehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03390784090093170549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-76743373682280682602009-05-29T23:19:05.663-04:002009-05-29T23:19:05.663-04:00Speaking of Gang88-activism, "The Narrative" and r...Speaking of Gang88-activism, "The Narrative" and race quotas.<br /><br />Stuart Taylor had excellent piece about the nomination of Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Now that Gang88 has infected the academia, the court system is the next. According to Sotomayor, empathy and race are the defining factors when deciding the case. Law and the boring facts are for "white males". This country is truly doomed.<br /><br />http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/05/sotomayor-as-student.php<br /><br /><br />"Princeton University was guilty of "an institutional pattern of discrimination" against Chicanos and Puerto Ricans, then-sophomore Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a letter published in the May 10, 1974 edition of the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian.<br />The facts of the complaint are these: 1) There is not one Puerto Rican or Chicano administrator or faculty member in the university; 2) There are two million Puerto Ricans in the United States and two and a half million more on the island itself...<br /><br />And some may see Sotomayor's letter as evidence that she was predisposed to look for the worst, not the best, in the institution that had afforded her such opportunities. She now sits on Princeton's Board of Trustees."<br /><br />Interesting. I assume that Princeton didn't admit women until 1969 or thereabouts, thus Sotomayor had to have been one of the few women there, as well as an ethnic minority. Coupled with her complaint as a Yale law student, it is obvious that she had been on this rant for over three decades.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-57350750262657594532009-05-29T23:01:30.524-04:002009-05-29T23:01:30.524-04:00I know that some of you guys are going to be discu...I know that some of you guys are going to be discussing <A HREF="http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/05/the-right-should.php" REL="nofollow">this one</A> under, above, and across the radar screen.<br /><br />I think Stuart brings balance and objectivity to this issue.<br /><br /><A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803613_pf.html" REL="nofollow">Krauthammer's</A> take is one I have to agree with, unfortunately.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-7584671807000905302009-05-29T21:54:47.625-04:002009-05-29T21:54:47.625-04:00Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles f...Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles for 2 years, transferring to Columbia for the final 2 years for his BA.<br /><br />http://www.oxy.edu/x8270.xmla Nice NJ Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05776159775859690321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-88665060206455676442009-05-29T21:23:00.069-04:002009-05-29T21:23:00.069-04:00To the 9.18:
Obama went to Columbia for his BA de...To the 9.18:<br /><br />Obama went to Columbia for his BA degree. He went to Harvard Law School--but that admissions process is separate from the undergraduate admissions process.kcjohnson9https://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-37279952026739131972009-05-29T21:20:11.383-04:002009-05-29T21:20:11.383-04:00I would wage a lot of money that Obama's daughters...I would wage a lot of money that Obama's daughters will eventually go to Harvard, like father and grandfather.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-56310428538563077512009-05-29T21:18:50.897-04:002009-05-29T21:18:50.897-04:00"I'd be interested in seeing a similar analysis fo..."I'd be interested in seeing a similar analysis for students given an edge in admissions due to other non-academic factors - specifically, athletic talent, alumni relatives, or past or anticipated future family fundraising. (I'm thinking in particular of those Yale C- students, George W. Bush and John Kerry.)"<br /><br />You neglected to mention... Barak Obama. He is both a Harvard graduate and the son of a Harvard graduate (his father graduated from Harvard in the mid-1960s with an AM in Economics).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-649165147120664212009-05-29T21:07:20.700-04:002009-05-29T21:07:20.700-04:00"I don't know if anyone has done a study of tying ..."I don't know if anyone has done a study of tying the rise in student evaluations of teachers to grade inflation, but I would not be surprised if there is a strong correlation".<br /><br />Such a study has been done, and was reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education around 2001. (Sorry, I don't have the reference, as I am at home now.) The results are completely predictable. Students were asked to evaluate their professor. Then they were given their final grades for the course. They were then asked to do the evaluation again. Students who got lower grades than they expected LOWERED their opinion of the professor in the second evaluation; those who got higher grades RAISED their evaluation. Every professor knows this. Result is grade inflation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-90176896271607770812009-05-29T20:31:56.170-04:002009-05-29T20:31:56.170-04:00Shockingly, the same blogger who has made attackin...Shockingly, the same blogger who has made attacking <I>Wonderland</I> a feature of his blog's slow goodbye....continues to descend to new lows.<br /><br />Now, all we need are his apologists to come here and demand that everyone be "civil".<br /><br />One should ask anyone who has followed this case and the work of its various blog authors if this current situation isn't heading toward the psychotic realm?<br /><br />Astonishing behavior.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-14838717599435429302009-05-29T20:04:39.452-04:002009-05-29T20:04:39.452-04:00No insects, but 88 rats.No insects, but 88 rats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-73527941485459142912009-05-29T17:59:13.196-04:002009-05-29T17:59:13.196-04:00End of week Diva issues:
It wasn't a part of the ...End of week Diva issues:<br /><br />It wasn't a part of the plan, but my entire day was spent in Durham taking care of a few matters.<br /><br />Consequently, there are thoughts I want to share with <I>Wonderland</I> readers.<br /><br />Surprising ones, even to the Diva.<br /><br />So much of our commentary has always been negative when discussing Durham, and the residents there have certainly earned the ire and the criticism from those of us---nationally as well as internationally---who watched as most did absolutely nothing to derail the Hoax.<br /><br />I don't believe the residents of Durham will ever comprehend that many will forever associate the disgusting aspects of the Lacrosse Hoax with the city and its people.<br /><br />But today I had an occasion to remember and experience some of the good things about Durham.<br /><br />Unique, eclectic, and delightfully good things.<br /><br />Between appointments, I had a few hours of free time and went over to Brightleaf Square, which is very near the infamous Trinity Park area and that side of the Duke campus.<br /><br />I sat in the courtyard and had cappuccino in the warm breeze. It's a beautiful place built from the original structures of the old tobacco buildings.<br /><br />Brick walls, ceilings into the stratosphere, and wooden columns as wide and sturdy as tree trunks throughout.<br /><br />It's construction from a bygone era that can rarely be found today even in the most expensive of homes and structures.<br /><br />Despite the corruption, incompetence, and the fiercely embedded institutional racism which define the city's leadership, I always find the place an offbeat collage of surprises when I spend leisure time there.<br /> <br />I was also a bit nostalgic for the many times in the past I had spent enjoying dinner, music, and great fun there.<br /><br />There wasn't one person with whom I had contact today who wasn't very friendly and endlessly helpful.<br /><br />As I said before, it's a thoroughly eclectic place. That was the feature I always liked about it. <br /><br />My experience today briefly eclipsed my post-Spring of 2006 impressions and it was a nice feeling.<br /><br />Sitting inside the quaint surroundings of Brightleaf, I was sad that most of those same people I encountered today who were so very nice would likely change quickly if the topic of Duke Lacrosse were on the table.<br /><br />That's the very strange aspect of this case.<br /><br />It's a giant emotional prism.<br /><br />Opinions are determined by which side each individual viewer chooses as <I>their</I> view.<br /><br />The Hoax remains very much unresolved.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-46390460091127735472009-05-29T17:28:29.093-04:002009-05-29T17:28:29.093-04:00To the 5.06:
I agree. I am very skeptical of the ...To the 5.06:<br /><br />I agree. I am very skeptical of the use of both legacy preferences and racial preferences in the admissions process.<br /><br />Given the demographics of most legacy admittees, moreover, I suspect that such figures would only place into greater relief how much a non-meritocratic system tends to penalize Asian-American applicants to a greater extent than all others.kcjohnson9https://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-4302844194874919762009-05-29T17:06:30.359-04:002009-05-29T17:06:30.359-04:00I dredged up the paper from which the table was ex...I dredged up the paper from which the table was extracted. Interesting reading, but it left me wanting more. In particular, I'd be interested in seeing a similar analysis for students given an edge in admissions due to other non-academic factors - specifically, athletic talent, alumni relatives, or past or anticipated future family fundraising. (I'm thinking in particular of those Yale C- students, George W. Bush and John Kerry.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-53791764193474240082009-05-29T14:26:39.998-04:002009-05-29T14:26:39.998-04:00Grade inflation is rampant at the secondary level ...Grade inflation is rampant at the secondary level as well. After all, parents and students desire that all important GPA that will gain them a coveted spot in their dream college. There is no such thing as a zero any more (unless one is willing to argue with the academic dean and the dean is willing to grant the teacher an exemption). 60 is the new zero - which means that a student can DO NOTHING in a class and still get a 60 for the quarter, and then do jsut enough the rest of the year (easily) to pass - though if the year grade is a 68 or 69 the student still passes because, after all, the teacher may have made a mistake in grading something along the way (advantage student). What then, does that do for the remainder of the students - to class morale - to the concept of fair play and merit when such a situation exists? Coupled with this is the idea of extra credit to "bring up one's grade" - meaningless work copied at the end of the term and designed to help the student pass? I get grief every year because I do not believe in the concept. Why, I tell my students, should I allow you to do something to make up for the fact that you have done nothing all quarter that I then have to grade (work for me) when you could not bestir yourself to do what was required for the quarter. Parents in particular think that I am hard-hearted on this issue (along with others such as paper not in when due - zero). I also record zeros (as I like to tell the students they give themselves grades - I merely record what they have in fact earned)and do battle over that fact with the academic dean routinely at the end of the quarter (in fact just did so today). But here is the funny thing - the overwhelming majority of my students don't mind - they know that I am consistent in my policies - that it doesn't matter whether you are the A student or the F student, the rules are the same for all. Consequently, it is the rare student who doesn't buy into the class culture that I establish - you have to read the assigned readings, you have to prepare for the daily quiz, you have to take notes in class (I don't put them on the smart board or make them available for students to copy), you have to do your homework and turn it in at the beginning of class or its a zero, and you have to participate in class (I expect to hear every voice during the period - to not hear one's voice with something to contribute works against one's grade, one doesn't get credit for talking as that is the expectation). As a teacher that takes work, and it is not something that one can establish overnight. One has to be willing to do battle (and it can be a battle) with those who are more concerned that the students "feel good about themselves". THose types fail to realize that students who work hard gain much more self esteem because they know that they get for a grade in a class is reflective of what they themselves have put into it. <br />I am fortunate that my position is not based on teacher evaluations by the students. If that were the case in the secondary school, few teachers would still be employed.<br />cksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-80415150976261558402009-05-29T14:01:34.997-04:002009-05-29T14:01:34.997-04:00"The facts of the complaint are these: 1) There is..."The facts of the complaint are these: 1) There is not one Puerto Rican or Chicano administrator or faculty member in the university; 2) There are two million Puerto Ricans in the United States and two and a half million more on the island itself..."<br /><br />By that "reasoning," Princeton is guilty of "an institutional pattern of discrimination" against insects: 1) There are an estimated 90,000 species of insects in the U.S., and (I feel safe in saying 2) There is not one insect administrator or faculty member in the university.<br /><br />Duke ProfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-46928966512718135712009-05-29T13:48:05.696-04:002009-05-29T13:48:05.696-04:00Jamil,
"According to Sotomayor, empathy and race a...Jamil,<br />"According to Sotomayor, empathy and race are the defining factors when deciding the case."<br /><br />Citation please?<br /><br />Stuart doesn't seem to say that, as I read it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-51349141666867631012009-05-29T10:57:09.655-04:002009-05-29T10:57:09.655-04:00Speaking of Gang88-activism, "The Narrative" and r...Speaking of Gang88-activism, "The Narrative" and race quotas.<br /><br />Stuart Taylor had excellent piece about the nomination of Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Now that Gang88 has infected the academia, the court system is the next. According to Sotomayor, empathy and race are the defining factors when deciding the case. Law and the boring facts are for "white males". This country is truly doomed.<br /><br />http://ninthjustice.nationaljournal.com/2009/05/sotomayor-as-student.php<br /><br /><br />"Princeton University was guilty of "an institutional pattern of discrimination" against Chicanos and Puerto Ricans, then-sophomore Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a letter published in the May 10, 1974 edition of the student newspaper, The Daily Princetonian.<br />The facts of the complaint are these: 1) There is not one Puerto Rican or Chicano administrator or faculty member in the university; 2) There are two million Puerto Ricans in the United States and two and a half million more on the island itself...<br /><br />And some may see Sotomayor's letter as evidence that she was predisposed to look for the worst, not the best, in the institution that had afforded her such opportunities. She now sits on <B>Princeton's Board of Trustees.</B>"jamil husseinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-72370092815758452882009-05-29T10:48:53.492-04:002009-05-29T10:48:53.492-04:00Miramar is quite correct; grade inflation is a hug...Miramar is quite correct; grade inflation is a huge problem, and it has been the reality of American Higher Education for the past 40 years.<br /><br />In large part, grade inflation is a problem created by universities themselves. Once the idea of any kind of "merit" came under attack, it should have surprised no one that grade -- which are a reflection of what one might call "merit" -- would come under attack as well.<br /><br />I confess to being as bad as the next prof when it comes to giving grades that I don't think people have earned. When I was teaching in grad school, I was an extremely tough grader, and the students complained about it. Not anymore. With student evaluations being a major part of how one is peer evaluated, and the evaluations basically being tied (after being studied many times in statistical analysis) to the grade the student <I>expects</I> to receive in one's class, it should surprise no one that the teachers who give higher grades are also the ones receiving higher evaluation scores.<br /><br />I don't know if anyone has done a study of tying the rise in student evaluations of teachers to grade inflation, but I would not be surprised if there is a strong correlation. Unfortunately, we have turned higher education into another version of Lake Wobegon, where "all the children are above average."William L. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01802990642236807359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-55594632317992666572009-05-29T09:54:30.081-04:002009-05-29T09:54:30.081-04:00miramar -
Disturbing info from the front lines o...miramar - <br /><br />Disturbing info from the front lines of higher education. I also am shocked when I see college work quality today, even at elite schools.<br /><br />Thank God the Jesuits took good care of me in high school and had a great English teacher on the faculty<br />Interestingly (I would love to hear KC's take on this) the Jesuits used to be known as the foremost educators in Catholic America, operating the best high schools as well as strong colleges like Georgetown and Boston College. This gave them a reputation as maverick liberals in the Catholic world.<br /><br />Alas, the Jesuits got afflicted with white guilt and began to embrace shoddy theology like para-Marxism, and simultaneously sought to buff their academic "cool" by throwing in with the modern left-wing academy. <br /><br />Now their schools are falling in quality, hooked on the same victim claptrap that has rotted Duke humanities. Meanwhile the order itself is seen as tainted by the academy as part and parcel of a hopelessly conservative, reactionary and irrelevant Catholic church in America. I marvel at how one can go from the left to the right by trying to move to the left.Topherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13341013670537662616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-23419732149210609572009-05-29T09:29:29.578-04:002009-05-29T09:29:29.578-04:00... "there’s a larger question of how grade ...... "there’s a larger question of how grade inflation has become so rampant across the nation."<br /><br />just look at Marketing 101: "Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak".<br />The snob appeal of the elite university Name-on-the-Diploma is the ONLY thing valued... An Ivy League Graduate. The Ivy of the South... etc. <br /><br />The overwhelming thrust of humanities and social departments comports with the hippocropus approach to college education. [Hippocropus, from the Greek: Hippo = Horse, Cropus = Excrement].<br /><br />Gresham's Law applies to the content of University Degrees as well as to debased coinage. <br /><br />The business model of the contemporary university is on a par with General Motors':<br /><br />.. Over half the hard science PhD's are awarded to non-native-born students (Engineering, Science, Mathematics, etc). Many of these people will eventually return to their land of birth, strengthening the R&D, academic institutions there.<br />.. The humanities are the province of Political Correctness and Agenda-Driven politics.<br />.. The demand for College graduates is declining sharply, as the industries employing them are retrenching - Finance, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Communications<br />.. The cost of a degree is no longer a safe investment in one's future employment opportunities.<br />.. Undergraduate instruction in the first 2.5 years is primarily huge lectures augmented by recitation classes with Teaching Assistants. These individuals have no training in teaching a subject, are still learning the field themselves, being graduate students, are poorly paid, and face competing demands on their time - Dissertation vs. Teaching.<br /><br /><br />In short, universities are selling their reputation to customers who mortgage themselves like indentured servants, in the expectation of future earnings. That it has become sham, in the content of the education, in the evaluation of achievement, in the entire process is highly disturbing. <br /><br />The Emperor's New Clothes are becoming more apparent.a Nice NJ Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05776159775859690321noreply@blogger.com