Imagine enrolling in a required English class and reading the following statement on the syllabus:

“I am sensitive to grade inflation. For this reason, I do not give many grades above a ‘C.’ A ‘C’ is the grade that best reflects the quality of work the normal college student hands in. So if you hand in a paper that is good, the kind of paper that has nothing wrong with it, fulfills the requirements for the assignment, and satisfies me — and I give you a ‘C’ on that paper, don’t ask what was wrong with it.

There is nothing wrong with a ‘C’ paper. A ‘C’ paper is what most everyone hands in. On the other hand, sometimes a paper comes in that just dazzles me. I can’t explain it, but it happens. Sometimes a student impresses me so that I will feel compelled to give that student a ‘B’ or an ‘A.’ It doesn’t happen often.”

That quote comes from a syllabus written by a grad student who taught English 105 last spring. The arrogance of this instructor, whose name I won’t repeat to prevent embarrassment, was exposed by Robert Zeis in the Daily on Feb. 6, 1997.

The syllabus went on to say: “Papers must be exactly three pages long. The last word of the paper should come to the bottom of the third page. You may not play with the font. You may not jack with the margins.” The topic for his second lecture was: “Everything your high school AP teacher taught you was bullshit.”

English department staff seemed to see nothing wrong with his syllabus. The Daily quoted one associate professor of English on Feb. 19, 1997, as saying the syllabus was “kind of fun and provocative,” and that “it’s OK for a student to be occasionally offended during his or her time at a university.”

Unfortunately, not much has changed. I started taking my condensed English 314 course in mid-February and found the grading policy still is structured so that a ‘C’ grade means that you have met the requirements and is a “good grade.”

Not a single person in the class received an ‘A’ on the first assignment. When I asked how many people in her classes normally get a ‘A’ for the semester, the answer was “about two.” It was reiterated that a ‘C’ was a good grade, and the departments policy was that a paper that meets the requirements gets a ‘C.’

A ‘C’ is not a good grade. Sometimes getting a ‘C’ average is the minimum required for graduation. Getting all ‘C’s means graduating at the absolute bottom of your class. Who will even interview you?

The ISU English department is not one of the most respected departments on campus. This is not only true because of the arrogant attitudes of instructors, but also because of the overt politics that pervade the department.

Recently, for example, the head of the freshman composition program sent a message to instructors encouraging them to have their students attend a seminar led by members of the September 29th Movement.

One English instructor even brought her class to the steps of Beardshear Hall to listen to speeches by members of the September 29th Movement. In the English department, it sometimes seems “educating” students on race/class/gender issues takes precedence over teaching writing skills.

I’ve dropped my English class and will be taking it at DMACC to avoid the program here. I’m told other ISU students are at DMACC for similar reasons. The English program at DMACC is well-taught, not politicized, and if a paper meets the requirements of the assignment, it gets an ‘A.’

In addition, unlike ISU where many English courses are taught by instructors with a bachelor’s degree, the DMACC professors have at least a master’s. If ISU really plans to become the best land-grant university in the nation, perhaps it should start out-performing the local community colleges. Currently, the ISU English department fails to do this.

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Benjamin Studenski is a junior in industrial engineering from Hastings, Minn.