Dear Editor:I sure hope Marianne Steffey feels better now that she’s unloaded all her frustrations in her “Scorpion’s Nest” column that was featured in the Oct. 10 issue. Unfortunately, she seems to be missing the point about the school’s mission. As a bartender she should know that the customer is not “always right.” Does she consider this, or does she continue to serve alcohol to the inebriated in violation of Dram Shop Theory laws?
She also seems to forget that ETSU has several paying “customers,” including the alumni, numerous financial institutions, corporate and private donors, and of course the State of Tennessee. Some combination of the above is paying the sizable difference between her $1,500 and the actual cost of her education.
The first item in Steffey’s long list of grievances concerned a professor’s teaching style. The professor announced that he had “lied” on two occasions (contradicting the textbook?) to see if they were listening. She felt that he should teach her “how to recognize arguments, not test my listening ability.” In the Critical Thinking/Argument class I’m taking, I’ve learned that listening ability is the key to spotting fallacies and arguing effectively. Judging from the number of exaggerations, hasty generalizations and over-simplified causes in her article, one could safely assume that she does need to work on her listening skills.
She goes on to complain about the campus police, demanding to know where the cops are when someone is stealing things from her car. As far as I know, successful crooks don’t commit crimes in front of the police. And why don’t the police pay more attention to “suspicious people?” On a college campus half the student body (and a fair number of faculty members) would be locked up! Try writing your legislator to demand more funding for security.
Her third complaint concerns the inconsistent environmental systems in our classrooms that she and the state government pay for. Hear, Hear! Let’s replace all the antiquated HV/AC systems on campus. It will only cost a few million dollars. How about it, Nashville? Fix those pesky power feeder cables while you’re at it.
What’s next on her list of complaints? The attendance policy? Does she mean to say her instructors actually expect her to come to class?
Unfortunately, the problem with a traditional classroom education is that it does require one to be in the classroom. The good news is, most (but not all) ETSU’s instructors will show a fair amount of flexibility if you work with them. I’ll assume she’s already looked into adjusting her work and/or class schedules. Has she talked to the folks at the ARC? They’re usually quite good at helping with problems like this.
“May God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Next, Apple never went off the market. Although they’ve been betamaxed by the Intel/ Microsoft crowd, Apple still controls a respectable portion of the PC market. Besides, I haven’t inspected the computer labs in Warf-Pickel, but all the labs in Gilbreath, Sam Wilson, Sherrod Library and the Culp Center are primarily stocked with (guess what, dude?) Dell PCs complete with Zip drives & some CD burners.
No, Marianne, you didn’t have to choose ETSU. There are a number of very good junior colleges in the area that are less expensive and more flexible for working adults.
And you are right. Money talks. But, so do votes.
Several of your complaints involve spending more money on the campus infrastructure, so they need to be addressed to the people in charge of the purse strings.
Write to your legislators. With elections coming up next month, I’m sure they’ll listen. If they don’t, vote for someone who will.

Jim Van Camp

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