I almost forgot to post this. I thought this open letter to her students by Professor Catherine Cole at UC Berkeley was interesting and well argued. It also contains some good links to further information.
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Blog for the EEMB168 Conservation Ecology class at UC Santa Barbara.
I almost forgot to post this. I thought this open letter to her students by Professor Catherine Cole at UC Berkeley was interesting and well argued. It also contains some good links to further information.
2 comments:
Although the tag reads 'boring but important' the letter is anything but boring. After reading it, the links it includes, president Yudof's remark after the Board of Regents meeting on 9/16/09, and his interview with Deborah Solomon of the NY times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27fob-q4-t.html?_r=2 ), I'm feeling depressed about the whole situation. The economic crisis isn't something that can disappear overnight, that takes time to repair itself, and though some actions have no alternatives, they do have alternatives in methods. I'm frustrated to hear that the decision of what to teach and when to take time off is not in the hands of faculty. And though the emphasis on teaching is well-meaning, a high point of attraction for UCs is the 'research university' aspect. I also find the loss of California professionals to other states saddening, although it's all fair-play. However this all only makes me want to try harder as a student. Yes larger classes suck as does any reduction in the accessibility to Faculty and TA's. But as students we should find creative solutions to help cope with whatever happens, like students helping other students. SO I'll take this opportunity to introduce myself- Hi my name is Marites Villarosa Garcia, I'm a third year CCS Biology major also working on a geology minor- and offer my help as a peer. Although I am also still doing my undergraduate learning, I'm willing to help anyone out with what I can (though if you're having major problems with course concepts you should talk to Prof. Latto and Sarah Teck). So feel free to e-mail me.
Heh. I stole that tag from a magazine I get 'The Week' which is a weekly news roundup and uses that heading for a small section. The material in it isn't necessarily boring but just sounds like it might be!
I thought President Yudof's interview in the NY Times came across as a little, well, weird. It's almost like he didn't realize his comments were on the record.
I agree that his comments after the Regents meeting made for depressing reading. I know these are tough times but I'm not sure the remarks needed to be so depressing - and very defensive about administrators pay.
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