Give course evals after courses end, not beforehand
Dear Editor:
I think the idea of course evals is fantastic. I also think that we students can fill them out more accurately and with more care if we could finish the courses we’re evaluating first! Geez, ArtSci people – lay off! Stop pestering me to fill out evaluations of classes I’m still taking. You wouldn’t ask Ebert for a thumbs up or thumbs down before the movie ended, would you? Which brings me to my next gripe: the course evals in their current form stink. The 1-7 rating system just isn’t that telling. Sure, there is the section for additional comments, but we students don’t get to see those when we’re trying to pick classes for next semester. That’s why I use ratemyprofessors.com. There you get basic number ratings on professors as well, but more important, you get a brief couple of sentences from students who have taken classes with that professor in the past. In the past, I’ve come across such helpful comments as “Avoid [this professor] like the plague!” and “One of the best teachers at Wash. U. Take anything you can with this professor!” So Wash. U. students, fill out your evaluations of three-quarters of each class you’re in, but also visit ratemyprofessors.com and let your fellow classmates know what you really think.
Eli Bilek
Class of 2007
ArtSci Webmail has problems
Dear Editor:
Hey, you guys should definitely do a story on the disgraceful state of the ArtSci computing server. ArtSci students (who make up a large proportion of the school) are very frequently inconvenienced by not being able to check their e-mail because the server is slow. This happens to me like two or three times a week, and each time lasts something between three to five hours. When you have to get an e-mail out urgently, it’s hugely irritating. We need to campaign for them to change the server. So much for being one of the richest universities in the richest country in the world.
Elgin Toh
Class of 2009
Go intramurals!
Dear Matt Shapiro:
I truly enjoyed reading your forum piece today on IM football. I’m not quite sure that what you learned on the football field is more important than what you learned in the classroom, but I believe it is just as important.
Thanks for the unsolicited plug for the IM program.
Lynn Imergoot
Associate Intramural Director