The other side of this debate

I have kept quiet through the plus/minus grading debate, but now I feel a need to sound off. Everyone seems to be focused on whether or not it will benefit “good” students.

The definition of a “good student” in this debate seems to be students who get As and Bs.

I would like the University Senate and the Student Government Association to know that not all “good students” receive high marks. Some students are forced to take more classes than they can handle due to grants or scholarships, and they have to choose which class of the many they take at once will not get as much study time.

Does that make them a bad student for getting a lower grade? How about being forced to take a class (due to general education requirements) that you’re not good at? I was forced to take a journalism class, and no matter how much I wanted to excel, I still got a D (because it was beyond my capability).

If a student tries hard and still gets a D, does that make him a bad student? I struggled to get Bs and sometimes Cs. I worked hard for those grades, and now Dr. Strow thinks I should be punished for it. Well, Dr. Strow, not all the “good students” are A and B students, some of the others are further down the scale.

John Balze

Bowling Green graduate

EDITORS NOTE: The final editiion of the College Heights Herald for the Fall 2003 semester will be published on Thursday, Dec. 4.

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor or a commentary to the Opinion page, it will need to be received by noon on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Please be sure to adhere to the Herald’s editorial policy which appears at the right.

– Kyle Hightower, Opinion editor