WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014
OPINION
COMICS
9
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Former Catamount on nation’s schooling crisis
The Grand Burlington Doodle Brigade by John Nesbit
A college senior’s worst nightmare is realizing that graduation is right around the corner. It’s a topic my family especially likes to bring up from time to time. So of course while I was home for Thanksgiving break, I not only ate tons of turkey and potatoes, but they got me thinking about my future. I knew I had options, but I did not know where to begin. Luckily, UVM holds a job fair each semester with more than 150 employers, and I signed up to attend. While reviewing the list of possibilities, I came across three that really interested me. One of these options was City Year, and when I arrived at the fair, I went to their table first. As soon as I made eye contact with the representative, I was welcomed to the table and began signing up for the application process. To me, it seemed effortless and comforting. At that point I knew I wanted to work with these people and this organization next year — I did not even go to the other two tables that had appealed to me earlier! Afterward, I went back home and researched what City Year was all about. I found that City Year’s mission is to help address the issues that challenge our nation’s education system.
The program, which is part of AmeriCorps, works in over 240 schools in 25 cities across the U.S., as well as in London, Birmingham and South Africa. City Year’s main goal is to ensure that 80 percent of the students in the schools that City Year serves reach 10th grade on time and are on track to graduate. City Year serves communities where the dropout challenge is most concentrated, ultimately serving in the cities that account for two-thirds of the nation’s urban dropouts. Members provide the students with extra academic, emotional and social support. They work as tutors, mentors and leaders by focusing on students’ ABC’s: attendance, behavior and course work. The idea of helping students definitely grabbed my attention, but what made me pursue City Year was learning that I would be working with a diverse group of college and high school graduates ranging from 18 to 25 years-old. Many think the people who work for City Year are only interested in becoming teachers or educators after their year of service, but City Year attracts a well-rounded group, many of whom continue on to work in many different career fields. Written by Lauren Schlanger, class of 2014
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Camp Morning Wood by Scott Womer
Campus voices If Burlington were a condiment or lunch meat, what would it be? “Salt. In the right portions, it’s exactly what you’re craving. But too much of it will ruin your kidneys.” - Junior Evan Cuttitta “Tofu. It thinks it is meat but isn’t, nor will it ever be — like Burlington thinking it’s a city. It also presents itself as sustainable but is secretly really processed and green-washy” - Sophomore Samuel Ghazey “Kale.” - Junior Matthew Fedder
Clarity for clarity’s sake by Professor Mahoney Dear Editor, In your March 26 article, “SGA asks for clearer course descriptions,” both the text and the caption to the accompanying photo identified me as “vice president” of the faculty union. This was quite flattering, but not quite accurate — although I am a member of the Executive Council of United Academics, the vice-president is John Forbes (Department of Theatre; for more details, please consult the United Academics website at: http:// www.unitedacademics.org/ about/who_is_serving/) A more serious mistake was the reported statement that it had been three years since any representatives from United Academics had attended a SGA meeting. As I had pointed out in public at this March 18th SGA meeting, I had already attended the Nov. 12 SGA meeting at the invitation of Connor Daley and the speaker of the senate, Kevin Conlon, and had addressed a number of the questions and concerns raised at the March meeting as well. You and your readers may
be interested in knowing that Denise Youngblood, president of United Academics, had as the first item on the agenda of the March 26 United Academics Executive Council an extensive report and discussion regarding the SGA request to improve student academic experience. We will be urging our members to post extended course descriptions for the courses that they will be teaching next semester, and in time for this week’s registration period. As I recall having said at the March 18 SGA meeting, none of us are perfect — professors included — and all of us can benefit from working together. We may not always agree, but if we listen to one another attentively, we may find that our goals are similar, even if the paths to reaching them may differ. Sincerely, Dennis Mahoney Wolfgang and Barbara Mieder Green and Gold Professor of German and Member-atLarge, United Academics Executive Council