opinion
B
DARN.'MAKES
SbOMAD
Can we evade
lying grades?
In a world where governments lie, the
scales lie, and people lie, another cat has
been let out of the bag: grades.
The present situation of grade inflation
shows that many teachers and ad­
ministrators are being influenced to give
students grades higher than they deserve.
This is a form of disillusionment, no mat­
ter what the reason. Sending a student out
in the world who has a higher grade point
average than he deserves is a cruel way of
introducing a person to the world.
Grades should be used as an indicator of
how well the student has grasped the sub­
ject matter. They shouldn’t be used as a
bribe, motivator, or an excuse. Students
have a right to know the truth, just as a can­
cer patient has a right to know if he is dying.
A student, too, has a right to know if his
academic career is dying.
Teachers say that most students, when
they get a low grade, usually drop the class.
Well, let them drop it. It’s better than lying
to them. Some students won’t take a class
if they know that the teacher “grades
hard.” Well, at least the students who are
there will be willing to learn.
Perhaps the adoption of a plus-minus
grade system is the answer. That way, the
student can better gauge abilities and see
exactly how he is doing.
The most important thing, however, is
that teachers should give the student the
grade he or she deserves.
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commentary
By Mike Koller
Of The Print
“dissatisfied,” but what did they
do about it? A few verbal
threats, and that was it.
While all the worlds’s eyes
This time around, President
have been turned to the Iranian
crisis, our old “friend” the Carter has taken some action
Soviet Union has quickly and against the Soviets, but the
effectively added another piece " long-range effects are very
of property to its ever-growing questionable. In his recent
televised speech to the nation,
collection.
Carter said that the Soviet
This new real estate addition Union would be allowed to
goes by the name
of receive only eight million of the
Afghanistan and the average 25 million metric tons of grain
promised
the
American could care less about previously
where and what it is. But at a Russians for the year ending
time when the United States Sept. 30. It sounds like a great
and Soviet Union are sup­ idea, everyone knows how
posedly trying for some type of much the Soviets depend on
mutual agreement or under­ grain from the United States,
standing, the central Asian but the minute that was an­
country of Afghanistan will nounced thousands of Midwest
soon be remembered as farmers shouted in protest. As
another slap in America’s one farmer put it, “That means
the grain I’m holding won’t be
already tender face.
worth as much this week as it
The United States, as was last week. At a time when
always, has condemned the our storage and interests costs
Soviets’ actions. We also “con­ are skyrocketing, lower prices
demned” their invasion of will mean I’ll have less in­
Hungary
in
1956, come,” he said.
Czechoslavakia in 1968 and
The
government
has
even more recently their little
ventures into Angola and promised financial aid to make
Ethiopia with the help of their up for any losses, but it does
Cuban sidekicks, but today all not seem like much of a
of these countries are still pup­ punishment to the Soviets
when we end up having to alter
pets of the Soviet Union.
our own system in the process.
State Department officials
were recently quoted as saying,
After all, history tells us that
“We’ve seen things in the past the
Russians
survived
that
dissatisfied
us,
in Napoleon and Hitler* so it’s
Southeast Asia, with the very doubtful they’re going to
Cubans, but the Soviets crossed fall apart with a little less grain.
a new threshold in Afghanistan
The grain embargo may or
and we have entered a new
threshold in our actions which may not work, but it is at least
amount to a real bite on the an attempt—which is better
than a few feeble words which
leadership and people.
have been the standard
Sure, the government was
procedure in our governments
past scuffles with the Soviets!
There have also been hints that
the United States may send
military aid to the Moslem]
rebels, who are desperate»
fighting Soviet troops in tm
rugged northern mountains of
Afghanistan. Military aid is a
nice gesture, but it’s going for a
losing cause as reports indicate
that the rebels have their backs
against the wall already.
But if a grain embargo of
military aid isn’t the answer,
what is? The latest world
fashion appears to be to kick
the United States around as we
have seen with the still­
continuing Iranian crisis and
now the Soviets’ invasion of
Afghanistan. The government
does not appear capable; of
stopping this trend as the fear
of another war haunts
everyone’s minds. Obviously,
the Soviets aren’t too worried
or else they are just so stupid
they want World War 111 to
begin. So, the frustration
continues to mount in the
United States as the people
question the government's ap­
parent inefficiencies. Stronger
action is needed to restore
some pride in this country, and
government higher-ups are
going to have to put their heads
together to come up with some
solutions short of World War
III. It’s obviously a tough
challenge, but it’s going to have
to be met or else I can see the
headlines now: “Soviet Union
invades Alaska because they
want it back.” It may sound ab­
surd, but then, so does
“America held hostage!Iby
Iran.”
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