Bostonia: The Alumni Magazine of Boston University

Congratulations to writer Chris Berdik, Dean Linda Wells, and Provost David Campbell for noting the serious issue of disparity of grades distributed to different sections of the same course ("Making the Grade at BU," Fall 2006). Berdik cites the introductory psychology class where 82 percent of one section's students received As versus the 15 percent of As distributed to another section's students. This is the more alarming, yet far less publicized, grading concern. Googling "grade inflation" yields millions of citations. Grade disparity yields very few.

The most alarming point about sections' grade disparity is one that was neglected: the role grade distribution plays in student course evaluations and the subsequent role those student evaluations play in administrative evaluations of faculty performance. My own research of multiple institutions' grading makes clear the remarkably high correlation between the average grade distributed and the student course evaluation generated. I do believe the solution is the one suggested in the article: dissemination of this data will have a "self-correcting" impact.

Finally, congratulations also to Professor Snyder for his "weenie" observation; lamentably he is in a minute minority of faculty with the courage and integrity to acknowledge that not all of our students are going to excel at all subjects.

Marc Rubin (CAS'71, GSM'86)
Greenville, New Hampshire

Having grown up in Dalton, Massachusetts, I found the article on Lansing Crane most interesting ("Good on Paper," Fall 2006). I left Dalton shortly after graduating from BU. This past year, at my fiftieth high school reunion, I was amazed to find that not only were the Crane mills still in operation, but they were thriving in an industry that has been rocked by mill closings and consolidations.

The continued operation of Crane & Co. is apparently due, in no small part, to the leadership of Lansing Crane. But that is only part of the Crane family story. Their contributions to the welfare of Dalton can be found in the library, community center, schools, churches, and many other facets in the life of the town. Through scholarships and summer employment in the mills, they gave many of us the opportunity to attend college, which we would not otherwise have been able to afford.

Neil McManus (ENG'59)
Dayton, Ohio

Lou Ureneck's article on the problems of the media was correct when he pointed out the challenges they face, but he didn't spend a moment on the most important one: independence and verification ("Perspectives," Fall 2006). This once more exposes the hubris of so many journalists. Yes, there are economic problems created by the Internet, but he ignores the issue of bias that has turned so many away from conventional media. Once more, a recent study revealed that approximately 80 percent of articles in the last few years in conventional media have been overtly anti-Bush. He further notes research that "the people who were most likely to be ill-informed about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were those who got their news from Fox Television." If my memory serves me, it was the UN, France, Russia, the U.K., etc., who were ill-informed, and I doubt they were watching Fox TV!

The conventional media simply don't get it when the Fox phrase "fair and balanced" is used. Neither does Mr. Ureneck.

Lawrence S. Giordano (SDM'72)
Wilmington, Delaware

I was pleasantly surprised to receive the latest edition of Bostonia (Fall 2006). While I was reading through, I came to page 72 and noted a full-page photograph of the Myles Standish student room that I occupied and wherein I was a proctor during my residency in that dorm. I graduated in 1953.

I would be interested in knowing where you obtained the photograph and the name of the other person, who is standing looking in the drawer with his hand on my raccoon cap. Obviously, I am the guy standing on the chair.

L. Barry Fliegel (CAS'53)
Hollis Hills, New York

Thanks, BU. This week I got one of the most beautiful surprises when I arrived at home and got in my mail a Bostonia sample. I usually read it on the Web, but seeing it on paper was delightful, not only for the nice stories, but feeling closer to BU. I am an international student from Honduras. I work for an educational foundation, teaching video/film production, and I am also into politics. I wish I could find out about my teachers at COM.

Marisela Bustillo (COM'88)
Tegucigalpa, Honduras