The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 20, 2005 Page: 12 of 16
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12 April 20, 2005 The University News
Commentary
Editorial Board
Margaret Ballard
Jodi Dickens
Eric Martinez
Lincy George
Letters Policy
The University News invites
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however, we will not print
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by Damien Gaffney
Editorial
Rating website sub ective information source
Online rating sites of all kinds have emerged in every category
from Facethejury.com to ratemypoop.com, all of which seem
to try to uncover a strand of common interest upon which to
build an online community Although these sites aim to create
an interest group, they fail to do more than subject viewers to
poorly assessed subject matter and banner advertising aimed at
the college-aged demographic.
Rating sites, specifically RateMyProfessors.com, cannot
adequately assess what they claim to represent. For instance,
RateMyProfessors.com can represent the arbitrary opinion of
those who respond but fail to distinguish rating features such as
teaching style, testing style, and other key points. These ranking
sites also fail to disclose how many respondents' scores make up
a ranking. Flence, a score can be based upon the responses of
one or two people, making a rank seem either very good or very
Letters to the Editor
bad without being based upon a substantial sample.
Though humble in its presentation, perhaps RateMyProfes-
sors.com adds something to official university student profiles.
Perhaps faculty evaluations typically assessed at the end of a
course could be done online, giving other students access to a
professors' evaluations.
Yet the roots of such ranking websites are based in attempts
to forge a community of interested individuals, which seems
unnecessary at a community as small as UD. The reputation of
a professor can easily be assessed by asking around one's circle
of friends. One need not choose which professors to take based
on responses of anonymous web users who tend to be polar in
their assessments. It seems more prudent to trust the opinions
of those one knows rather than the assessment of someone who
has taken the time to post an opinion online anonymously
Alchol violators
punished unequally
Dear Editor,
I must take this opportunity
to provide more "sparks" for this
alcohol policy controversy. I
have heard little of this contro-
versy besides the April 13 News
article, though I had heard of
the alcohol poisoning incident
when it occurred. I hadn't really
thought much of it at the time,
just that someone had gone and
done something stupid, but now
that I've heard the consequences
for the students involved, it seems
unjust for the alcohol providers
to have such severe punishments
compared to the consumer.
I am not saying the hosts
should have no punishment, or
they should not be considered
responsible for their guests, but to
deal out an expulsion and suspen-
sion when the consumer receives
considerably less!
It seems highly unreason-
able—the consumer needs to take
responsibility for his own actions
just as the hosts must take respon-
sibility for theirs, and this punish-
ment seems rather uneven.
Perhaps the goal of such severe
host punishments is to discour-
age alcohol-related parties, and it
most likely will. But, it seems the
lack of severe punishment on the
other end only serves to say that
minors drinking alcohol (even to
the point of hospitalization) is
fine, because it was obviously not
his fault—certainly it was those
mean, evil hosts who dragged the
minor to their party and forced as
much alcohol as they could down
the minor's throat. Or, no, per-
haps the poor student didn't know
it was alcohol, and the first drink
(for it was certainly more than
one if it led to alcohol poisoning)
wasn't enough of an indicator.
The minor is just as much to
blame for accepting the drinks as
the hosts are for supplying them.
Either the hosts' punishments
should be lessened to equal the
minor's, the minor's should be
raised to equal that of the hosts',
or a balance between the extremes
should be found.
Sincerely,
Josh Weddle
Freshman
Lazarus not only
speaker option
Dear Editor,
I respectfully disagree with last
week's editorial, Lazarus logical
choice for commencement speaker.
The article stated Dr. Lazarus
"seems the only likely candidate
who could provide a quality
speech at an affordable price." I
find this to be an overstatement.
It is unfortunate the senior class
is left scrambling for a graduation
speaker at the last minute; but
when faced with choosing some-
one from UD to be our speaker,
we have a rather large selection.
This is not intended to be dis-
respectful to Dr. Lazarus—there is
no doubt he is accomplished and
would give a fine speech.
Yet, if we are going to choose a
speaker from the university com-
munity, it should be someone who
has a stronger connection to the
graduating class. Dr. Lazarus has
been here only a year; and while
he has tried to get to know seniors,
there are professors who have
closer relationships with us.
In discussing the editorial
with other seniors, I found many
shared my point of view. UD has
a wonderful, talented faculty that
has a personal connection to its
students: why not take advantage
of that? Dr. Rosemann, Dr. Ole-
nick, Dr. Brownsberger, and Dr.
Jodziewicz are a few such profes-
sors. These professors, and many
others, are well-known, well-liked,
and have made an impact on this
year's graduating class.
I hope the committee respon-
sible for choosing our speaker will
consider UD's faculty along with
Dr. Lazarus as suitable and desir-
able candidates.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Rhinehart
Senior
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Dickens, Jodi. The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 22, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 20, 2005, newspaper, April 20, 2005; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201407/m1/12/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.