How to Solve a Problem With the Signal?
I write in response to the "comic," "How to Solve a Problem Like Maria," that appeared in last week's Signal.
This is the second time in recent memory (the dead Pope joke and maze from last year being the other) that The Signal has printed comics mocking Catholic religious figures.
After the sizable number of complaints you received last year people would have thought The Signal had learned that.
I'm not asking for censorship or a spot on your editorial board, but simply that you show my religion (and the religion of more than half the students on this campus) the respect that it and all religions deserve.
I understand that you're out of episodes of "The Crazy Man," but that doesn't mean you have to publish offensive material whose only humor comes from its shock value.
I hope I don't have to write this letter again.
Thomas J. Sales Jr.,
President of Catholic
Campus Ministries
Audit of the Junior Audit
I had only been back a few hours from my vacation when my dad informed me that I had received a "Junior Audit" over the summer. Despite my extreme tiredness, I mustered the strength to open my eyes wide open, and I immediately began worrying what infraction of the rules had induced the College to give me a "Junior Audit."
Much to my surprise and laughter, my dad proceeded to inform me that a "Junior Audit" consisted of a messy control sheet on which was written all of the classes I had taken; the letter asked me to inform the College if the sheet was inaccurate.
As it turns out, the control sheet was missing at least one class; what's more interesting is all of my classes were correctly listed on TESS. When my dad called the College to tell them of the error, he asked them why they expended energy and money sending illegible control sheets to juniors when all of their classes are correctly listed on TESS.
The lady told my dad that all of the classes on TESS were accurate, but that the "Junior Audit" was a "courtesy" to students. Not to be rebuffed by such an ambiguous retort, my dad asked the lady what benefit this process had. Lacking a reasonable answer, the lady became frustrated.
The only use of such a control sheet that I can see would be that it describes what classes fulfill which requirements, but such information could easily be sent in e-mail form. The "Junior Audit" may be created with good intentions, but it is a waste of time and energy, and probably does more harm than good.
This highlights two serious problems at The College:
(1) Administrators complicate their jobs and college policy for no reason, and
(2) Administrators' responses to constructive criticism - and indeed any perceived threat to their authority - consist of accusations of a lack of appreciation and a bewilderment at how paying customers could have the impudence to question the College.
Perhaps it is students who should be sending "Administrative Audits" to administrators, for their responses would be at best enlightening - and at worst entertaining.
Matthew Civiletti
