🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <9clsqc$oh3$1@eeyore.INS.cwru.edu>,
 "Braden McGrath" <bwm3_NOSPAM_@po.cwru.edu> wrote:

> "David Zinkin" <dzinkin2@rochester.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:dzinkin2-746DC3.01423601052001@eeyore.ins.cwru.edu...
> >
> > You can if enough people care.  Unfortunately, CWRU teaches students not
> > to care about anyone, or anything, but themselves -- because that's
> > exactly how the administrators and professors act.
> 
> Although not necessarily act like that directly...

I've personally witnessed both direct and indirect acts of this nature.

> I've known some professors that are very non-selfish, but they GRADE 
> in such a manner that students learn to be selfish.  Hell, look at 
> the ECES department and coding. I understand that it's wrong to copy 
> code from someone else, but there's an easy way to solve the problem 
> without becoming anal-retentive about scanning homeworks.  Simply 
> weight a test more than the homeworks, and those people who spend all 
> their nights copying from friends will be screwed on the test. Only 
> hurting themselves.
> 
> I only mention this because I was wrongfully accused of cheating on a
> project in ENGR131 (chomps for you alums) and ended up having to spend a
> whole lot of time on a make-up project that was significantly harder.

Funny you should mention this... because I was also wrongfully accused 
of cheating.  In my case, the professor for CHEM 301 accused me of 
copying from the answer book, which I didn't even own at the time, and 
gave me a "zero-star" on one of the homeworks.  (Zero with a star meant 
an incident of cheating and was recorded as such, while a zero alone 
simply meant unsatisfactory work.)  I went to the bookstore, bought a 
copy of the answer book (which, as it turned out, he himself had ordered 
for students to use), brought it to him and demanded that he show me 
where I'd cheated -- since I didn't even get the same answer that the 
book had, and in fact, I had the right answer thanks to a misprint in 
the book.  He changed his story several times, to the point of using 
ridiculous excuses such as "your parentheses look just like the ones in 
the book."

Finally he claimed he hadn't even made the determination that I'd 
cheated... it was supposedly the teaching assistant's decision, and I'd 
need to talk to him.  Of course, the professor refused to give me the 
TA's name or phone number, and instructed the department secretary to 
deny me that information as well (she came right out and said so).  I 
went to the department's head of undergraduate affairs, who didn't want 
to help at first but changed his mind after I told him that I planned to 
explore all legal options including, if necessary, a defamation suit.  
After a great deal of investigation on his part -- and an equal amount 
of stonewalling from my own professor -- the head of UG affairs got me 
the TA's name and class schedule; there was some law against disclosing 
the phone number (so they claimed), but at least I could confront the TA 
in person and ask what had happened.  The TA took one look, said "I 
don't know why he said this was cheating, since this doesn't even come 
close," changed the comments on the paper, and told my professor to both 
change the grade accordingly and remove the "zero-star" designation.

As it happened, it was this professor's practice to routinely accuse 
roughly half the class of cheating at some point during the year (his 
way of avoiding the work of actually finding out who cheated), but until 
I came along, no one had dared to challenge him.  I not only challenged 
him, but proved in the process that *he* was the dishonest one.  From 
that point until this professor retired, he never had another TA helping 
him out -- because, clearly, he didn't like the fact that the TA helped 
expose his tactics.

> > Stupidity and malice are a horrible combination -- but that's exactly
> > what you get when you go to CWRU.  Some people let it go on without
> > protest, or go out of their way to make excuses for it.  Others of us
> > realize what's happening, fight it when necessary and get out when the
> > opportunity presents itself, while remaining vigilant so as to protect
> > others from a similar fate.  I'm proud of the fact that I've personally
> > talked at least two hundred people out of attending CWRU; even if the
> > school doesn't know the difference, those two hundred people will.
> 
> I don't know that it's all stupidity... in many cases, immaturity.  
> One of the hallmarks of a CWRU student is the stereotypical no-life 
> loser from highschool who spent their waking hours with their nose 
> buried in a book or behind a PC or in front of a TV.  Such habits in 
> it of themselves are not necessarily bad.  However, they *can* very 
> easily lead to social incompetency; subject is unable to "act their 
> age" or will do things that are considered irrational or 
> irresponsible by others of their age group.

I was actually referring to stupidity on the part of the faculty and 
administration, but your point is well taken.  Of course, students who 
haven't grown up and learned to take responsibility for themselves 
aren't likely to insist that others do the same -- which may help 
explain why so many students are willing to give CWRU's professors and 
administrators a free pass.

> Some CWRU students just need to grow up.  Granted, you get this at 
> almost all schools... but I'd imagine that places like Harvard and 
> Yale don't experience random pictorial graffitti of the male 
> reproductive organs at least once every week in their res-hall 
> elevator.  (Come ride Glaser's elevator for a while, you're bound to 
> see it.)

Trust me... every school has its moron contingent, and Harvard is no 
different.  I know this firsthand from visits to the campus. :-)

> This school has so many problems...  In a way, I can understand the 
> apathy/lack of interest from the administration.  Not only is it 
> counter-productive to their goals of making tons of money, but it is 
> a DAMN HARD JOB, with the state CWRU is in currently.

It's even harder to get a job completed when you don't make tangible 
efforts to get it done, and instead go all out to obstruct legitimate 
efforts by others to do so.  That is and has always been the source of 
CWRU's problems.

 -- DZ