Thursday, February 27, 1997
EXCELLENCE:
Professors, TAs and honors students work hard, deserve creditBy
Lina Lee
This letter is in response to Silvia Morelos’ article
"University shouldn’t stifle one’s potential" (Feb. 25).
As a student at UCLA Â and an honors student at that Â
I am simply appalled to see that Morelos holds such a low view of
her professors and fellow schoolmates. Granted, some professors and
teaching assistants are not very nice toward us "mere mortal"
undergraduates, especially in terms of grading and accessibility,
but it simply would be wrong to assume that these people are aimed
to "sink" us.
One must realize that in the academic world, status and position
are based upon research and publications. Professors are paid to do
research besides teaching, and TAs must conduct research in order
to graduate. In other words, they are just doing their jobs. Should
we criticize those who are doing their jobs?
Morelos considers that "tearing a student’s paper apart, not to
mention self-esteem, with a red, green or blue marker" is "adding
salt to the wound." However, she does not realize that this is part
of a TA’s job. In the process of learning, we make mistakes. A TA
is supposed to correct such errors. Providing that the TA is not
just being nasty and picky, that is.
In fact, would you prefer a TA who is not doing their job and
gives perfect 10s every time, no matter how you perform? I believe
some students do deserve to be "torn apart" when they turn in
poorly done exercises. It would not be fair if those exercises were
graded the same as those which were well done.
One could choose to think positively by interpreting these
"marks" as wake-up calls which can motivate you to work hard and
catch up with the standard, or one could choose to develop a
conspiracy theory around it. The choices are yours; however, I do
think that good work deserves to be recognized.
This leads to my third point. Morelos mentions the "oh-so
foul-smelling air of grandiosity" that many of the "haves" (which
she defines as "some professors, some graduate students and ‘honor’
undergraduate students") carry over to the "have nots." I would
like to see some specific samples. We need to differentiate between
confidence and bad manners. Why shouldn’t any person feel good and
be confident about their own achievements?
Doing extra work and conducting research certainly are
achievements. Research is not easy, you know. It takes time,
patience and commitment. By conducting research, a student is doing
more than most other students. People research for many reasons.
Some may choose to conduct research because they want to learn
more; others may simply enjoy doing it.
Face it, the traditional method of learning is passive. One may
have to take less-than-desirable classes only to satisfy various
requirements. Even if you are in a class you love, there may be
parts you would want to pursue in greater depth but are unable to
due to time or resource constraints. One of the ways to break this
mold is to research a subject that you really enjoy. If Morelos
does not feel like starting a research project, she can, of course,
forget about it, but she should not discredit other people’s
efforts to involve themselves in their learning as
"wasting-oh-so-much energy."
It is simply not true that "a person can never be prepared for
(change) by following in someone else’s footsteps," as Morelos
suggests. Just the opposite holds, I think; we prepare for change
by following in someone else’s footsteps. In fact, that is
precisely why we are in college  to study someone else’s
invention and try to derive new knowledge from it. In the process,
we gain analytical skills which prepare us for changes.
Take the sciences, for example. Most of the principles were
developed hundreds of years ago. Yet, they are the basis of new
discoveries. Knowledge grows from knowledge. It would be
inefficient and impractical if we had to develop basic principles
by ourselves.
Morelos rejects the idea of having a "role model," and of
"following in someone else’s footsteps." She seems to think that
graduate students and "honor" students are especially susceptible
to this "flaw." I think this is a misunderstanding.
People conducting research like graduate students and "honor"
undergraduates are required to confer with their supervisors from
time to time. This procedure helps to keep one’s research on the
right track. If they encounter any questions, they can get help
from their supervisors.
It certainly doesn’t mean that one must "kiss the ass" of the
supervisor or make one’s supervisor her "role model." On the other
hand, I cannot see anything wrong about having a "role model."
Having a role model is not the same as being a copy cat. It is bad
when one does exactly the same thing that someone did before.
However, we can choose to modify our "role models" and work or
derive new knowledge from what we’ve learned. The key, therefore,
is to learn selectively.
It is dangerous for Morelos to segregate the so-called "haves"
and "have nots." As an honor student, I never feel superior to my
non-honor peers. Nor do I feel that I have something that others
have not. I am sure that most honor students feel the same way.
Yet, in her article, Morelos gives her readers the impression that
many honor students "have their noses high in the air." This is not
true.
I have friends who support my decision to enroll in the honors
program even though they are not enrolled in it. I cannot see any
evidence of the "rigid dichotomy between … ‘honor’ students and
everyone else" that Morelos mentioned. Provided that one has a
certain GPA, the enrollment of the honors program is simply a
matter of choice, just like one chooses to be a vegetarian or
remains a carnivore. If you choose not to be an honor student, fine
 but please respect the choices of others.
In this age of segregation, it is understanding that is called
for, not the act of pitting people against each other. I am sure
that if we stop thinking about conspiracy, start supporting each
other and respecting each other’s choices, all of us will live
happier lives and our world will become more peaceful.