GW apathy goes past classroom behavior

I firmly believe that Diana Kugel (Nov. 8, p. A4) is being too nice to the GW community. Diagnosing the sheer lack of respect and interest of GW students as an American affliction overlooks the fact that, as a whole, GW students are not typical American students. We – looking purely at majority, I myself sometimes included – are lazy and unmotivated. This school breeds indifference, and the student body and the classes/academic organization are both to blame.

I sit in class some days and run out of fingers tallying the text messages being written. Not only in one of the various 200-person lectures – through which I am forced, by the University, to suffer (and in which people justifiably search for worthwhile distractions) – but also in one of my 30-person discussion-based classes. It has gotten to the point where my sociology professor has had to announce to our class, on more than one occasion, that he takes it personally when people sleep, do crossword puzzles and text message while he is trying to lead a discussion and when they should be participating, had they read the material.

I can honestly say with moral certainty that this is a uniquely GW problem (if not disease) in most, if not all, aspects. The core issue at hand is the overwhelming self-entitlement that most of my fellow students feel. There is no drive to work, to learn. From what I can see, it is all in search of the grade, not of knowledge or of critical thinking skills. Why would anyone need to pay attention in class or contribute to the conversation if education is not their primary goal? It is symptomatic of a lack of drive in students.

Sometimes you are meant to mull questions over, before interrupting the professor to ask them at the top of your lungs. Very often two minutes of self-reflection and/or the continuation of the professor’s demonstration or lecture will answer all of your questions. Academia requires patience and thought. Not only does this school seem to cater to the indifferent, but it cultivates indifference in the formerly motivated. I love to learn and that has yet to be beaten out of me. I wish I learned more here on a daily basis. Instead, I go through the motions of grade-sustaining banality, trying not to allow my blood to boil at the indifference and ignorance of my fellow students. The problems Ms. Kugel and I have observed are not as much or exclusively a problem for the professors. Most at least have a wealth of information and knowledge and motivation to learn when they go home, annoyed. Those who suffer from the indifference and discourtesy of the GW student body are those who are trying to learn, to better themselves.

Emma McCormick, Sophomore

More reporting needed

As a journalist, I was disappointed with The Hatchet’s coverage of the entire “swastika” story involving Sarah Marshak. To your credit, your reporters followed the story on a daily basis, but at a certain point, was it really still “newsworthy” to make it the top story on campus? I had also hoped the Nov. 8 issue would tackle some of the issues of the aftermath, but instead of outside sources giving new feedback, your writer copied a quotation from an earlier article that gives no pertinent information. If you’re looking to cover this story thoroughly, ask tougher questions and give your writers the access they need to do real reporting. The “blogosphere” might not have been so critical if the original reporting had been more thorough to begin with.

Jeffrey Jablansky, Freshman