Letters: February 19, 1997
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
I empathized with the job-hunting seniors described by Julie Rawe '97 in her November 27 On the Campus column. When I was in their position a decade ago, seniors in the Woodrow Wilson School could expect to earn first-year salaries that on average were second only to those of graduating engineers. As a Wilson School major who was also a prospective teacher, I knew I would depress that statistic. This wasn't so terrible: while my friends were being wined and dined by management-consulting and investment-banking firms, I was being taken out for "guilt lunches" by those same friends, who realized that their future incomes would far outpace mine. Later, when teaching economics, I often totaled up this salary gap over the course of a working life so my students could see what a teaching career was actually costing me. (Of course, this quickly led to a discussion of the nonmonetary benefits of teaching.)
As I approach my 10th reunion, I'm now making less money than I did in my first year of teaching. I moved out of the New York area and switched to early childhood education, two ways to guarantee a pay cut. Still, I look forward to catching up with my Wilson School colleagues, because I suspect that their career paths have led them away from that narrow corridor of choices imposed by the recruiting process during our senior year.
Rebecca Reimers '87
New Haven, Vt.
Like Julie Rawe, I sympathize with humanities majors who look to the future with uncertainty while classmates with more marketable majors are scooped up by consulting, investment-banking, and engineering firms. How well I remember sitting at dinner surrounded by friends in power suits, about to scramble off to evening interviews.
I wanted a job that would be challenging and fullfilling and that offered some personal autonomy while I worked for a larger cause. I found it through Teach for America, the program started by Wendy Kopp '89, and I count myself fortunate to be among the 3,600 individuals whom TFA has trained and placed as teachers in public schools.
W. Reed Dyer '94
Union City, N.J.
JIMMY STEWART '32
I enjoyed D. W. Miller '89's account of Jimmy Stewart '32 (paw, December 25). Like Jimmy, I also grew up in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and went to Mercersburg Academy on the way to Princeton. As a kid I remember buying items from the hardware store owned by his father, Alex, who always made certain I got my money's worth. Once, when I wanted to buy some tennis balls, he opened a can and gave me one, saying that I shouldn't waste my money on three!
I met Jimmy in 1959, when he and his wife, Gloria, were taking their son, Michael, to Mercersburg. Alex invited a group of Mercersburg students to his home for dinner and home movies. Jimmy sat on the floor, narrating the movies and answering our questions. And yes, he sounded just like he does in his films.
I still return to Indiana to visit my 89-year-old mother, who lives in the house where I was raised. My father was 90 when he passed away a few years ago. There must by something about Indiana and other small towns that, like Old Nassau, encourage the return of their sons and daughters.
John Turney '65
Columbia, Md.
I didn't know Jimmy Stewart at Princeton, but since our classes are five years apart, I ran into him frequently at major reunions. This photo was taken on June 5, 1982, at my 45th reunion and Jimmy's 50th. Several of my grandchildren were with me, and when they saw Jimmy they all wanted to be in a picture with him. I said no, but of course Jimmy said yes. I didn't want to be in the photo, but Gloria Stewart insisted-she didn't want anyone to think all those kids belonged to her husband!
Fred G. Stickel III '37
Roseland, N.J.
HONOR CODE
Paw should be chided for a glaring error of logical and sociological inference in its article about the Honor Code (On the Campus, December 25). The writer, Jeremy Caplan '97, states that a nationwide poll shows that 59 percent of students admit to cheating, while a poll of Princeton students shows that 2 percent admit to cheating. In a nonsequitur, he then states that "Cheating has clearly diminished since the Honor Code was instituted," in 1895. At best, one can conclude that the Honor Code makes Princeton students less willing to admit to cheating.
The Princeton poll's finding that 60.5 percent of students said they would not turn in a close friend for cheating further calls into question its results. I suspect that the data merely reflect the well-known bias of survey respondents to underreport socially undesirable behaviors (e.g., cheating) and to overreport socially desirable behaviors (e.g., not snitching on a friend).
Mr. Caplan and the editors, who are much to blame for this error, should make the effort to familiarize themselves with the basics of conducting and interpreting surveys. I hope this is merely an aberration on their part and not a reflection of the overall quality of critical thought at Princeton today.
Daniel C. Wang GS
Department of Computer Science
Princeton, N.J.
Jeremy Caplan asks whether the code can be entrusted to an Honor Committee composed of, and elected by, students. As a former member of the committee and as an alumnus who has known many students since graduating, I think the answer is crystal clear. During my two years on the Honor Committee, we discharged our responsibility thoughtfully and discreetly. Today's students bring with them extraordinary capabilities, and I believe they are equally capable of administering the Honor Code fairly and effectively.
Thomas P. Mullaney '77
Sacramento, Calif.
Editor's note: The article on the Honor Code states incorrectly that "Over five years, five students have been suspended in 10 cases resulting from 20 reports of cheating." According to Neysun Mahboubi '97, the chairman of the Honor Committee, these statistics are averages per year over the last five years. He further notes that the correct term in this context should be "hearings," not "cases." Every incident reported is a case; only those that move past the original investigation are considered hearings.
D.C. TO CELEBRATE
The Princeton Club of Washington, D.C., will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the club's founding at a party on Friday, February 28, at the Library of Congress. On the following day the club will present a symposium at the library entitled "The Transformation of Learning in the Age of Technology." Speakers for the two-day event will include President Shapiro, Librarian of Congress James Billington '50, and University Librarian Karen Trainer. All alumni are invited. For more information, contact Sheila Summers at 202-237-0128 (princedc@ix.netcom.com).
John Vogel '65 and Nick Allard '74
Washington, D.C.