Letters to the Editor

GPA obsession detrimental

To the Editor:

I agree with Steve Brauntuch's assertion in his column ("Princeton's new grade policy flawed," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 04/14/04) that Princeton's proposed legislation to combat grade inflation is troubling, but I think he misses the point. The policy is not unfair because students want higher grades or because pretentious administrators are seeking a moral high ground. Rather, I fear that such a policy would greatly increase student competition for grades and undermine the academic values at the core of an institution of higher learning.

The proposed policy amounts to a mandatory grading curve in all classes. In large lectures, this might not be a problem, since it would serve the worthy purpose of motivating students. Some large lectures, such as Psych 001, are already graded this way (or at least it was when I took it). But as a history major, I have spent much of my time in smaller seminars, where students are encouraged to engage in discussion and share their thoughts, opinions and the status of their research. For many of my theater arts classes, students collaborate to direct, act in or write scenes and are then critiqued by their peers.

If Princeton (or Penn, or any school) implements this legislation, students in any of these smaller classes would know that only a third of the group could receive top grades. I fear that this could encourage students to compete with their peers to attain those grades rather than contribute to the class and risk improving others' chances for success. Thus, the spirit of intellectual or artistic camaraderie, so essential to the academic and practical learning involved, is compromised.

I find that students at top universities are already far too obsessed with GPAs and jobs and graduate school. Top grades are not necessarily commensurate with academic achievement and intellectual betterment, and Princeton should think hard about what values are in greatest need of protection.

Billy Rosen

College '05

NARAL extremely partisan

To the Editor:

In her letter ("Pro-choice yet nonpartisan," DP, 04/14/04), Niva Kramek misses the point. There were no Democrats in last Friday's NARAL ad. There were, however, some of the most powerful Republicans in the party, including Orrin Hatch (Judiciary chairman), Rick Santorum (Republican Conference chairman), Dennis Hastert (speaker of the House) and President George W. Bush. Clearly, the ad is an example of NARAL's unabashedly partisan nature. Claiming NARAL is nonpartisan is like saying Rush Limbaugh is a cream puff.

Like Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan tried to do in her column, NARAL relies on the politics of fear to galvanize support for its cause. If abortion is not always "under siege," then NARAL President Kate Michelman and her extremist colleagues would be out of a job, and Democrats would be without one of their most powerful interest groups. Manufactured misinformation keeps groups like NARAL in business.

George W. Bush will not have the chance to appoint any justices to overturn Roe v. Wade in the near future. Most oft-speculated as the next to retire is Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a very staunch pro-life presence who Bush would be loath to replace. Generational, demographic and political concerns, along with fervent Senate filibustering, would be exceedingly prohibitive to appointing an equivalent justice. White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez, who demonstrated pro-choice inklings while presiding on the Texas Supreme Court, is widely considered to be Bush's top choice to fill any court vacancy. Finally, the court as a body has repeatedly indicated that it is not looking to readdress Roe. Bottom line: The right to an abortion will not be endangered by Republicans any time soon.

Kramek's tangent from the ad about men being less able to handle abortion issues than women could be symptomatic of a feminist-superiority complex. Men and women are equally able to handle controversial issues of the day. Many men are OBGYNs, and all have been third-trimester fetuses at one point in their lives. Although not pictured in the NARAL ad, untold numbers of women worked to have whichever law was being signed, passed.

Daniel Kline

Wharton '06

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