The true value of letters of recommendation
Danya Rumore & Eric Brooks
Issue date: 10/20/06 Section: Forum
As seniors, we now feel that our lives have become an endless quest for letters of recommendation. Yes, freshmen, beware: you think your final year of school will be fun and games, but no - it will be a frustrating search for a validation of the past three (or four) years of your life … unless you are lucky enough to be a business or communications major.
As biochemistry majors (and anyone lucky enough to be on the listserv of the infamous Dr. Kevin Ahern) already know, something new is shaking on the OSU campus. Want a letter of recommendation from the biochemistry department? Think twice before asking Kevin Ahern for that letter.
Recently, after his newest Mark Foley joke failed to register with students, Dr. Ahern launched a crusade to single-handedly educate his students about current affairs. That's right, if you want that shining letter of commendation, if you want any kind of a future, you're going to have to pass a current events quiz with at least 70 percent. Now Cs are nothing new to a lot of college students, but this one is going to stretch your knowledge and retention of the world around you. In fact, this might just be the hardest test you take in your college career. That biochem final, cake. That GRE you dread, nothing. That MCAT, alright that one might be a little more difficult. But still …
Our first question when confronted with this new policy was, "Why?!", followed closely by a lot of bitching and moaning. We demanded that Kevin immediately rescind this fascist policy. But he just smirked (in that way you know, at least if you know Kevin) and said "Nope."
After we finished railing against fate and decrying the tyranny of evil advisers, we took a moment to think about the policy. Surely the impetus for this ridiculous policy must be more than the fact that Kevin hates it when his jokes flop (although most of them do). When we had calmed down and sobered up, we realized that maybe there was a method to his madness. But what could it be?
At first when he said things like "As I look at this lack of [student] knowledge, it occurs to me that by writing letters of reference stating that someone is suited for working in the world without understanding it in the big picture is irresponsible on my part," we just shuffled our feet and looked embarrassed. But then we realized that we really do have an almost crippling lack of knowledge of the world and its affairs.
For example, when he recently asked us to name all the female U.S. senators from the west coast, and state their party affiliation, we said "Crap … now we'll never get those letters. Our futures are ruined. Ruined!" What good is knowing all of those senators, anyway? Wait! What do senators even do? Are they the landed gentry, or what?
What do senators have to do with letters of reference? These letters are supposed to reflect your worthiness to pursue an opportunity. Kevin has the right of it when he states "a letter of reference is something I write on your behalf to a company, school, or other organization describing my assessment of your fitness for the position you are applying for." You have to understand that Kevin is essentially putting his professional reputation on the line every time he writes a letter. Kevin (and every other "recommender") is commenting not only upon a student's academic prowess, but also upon their ability to succeed in society. And that A you got by copying someone's notes in O-chem really isn't going to get you anywhere in this big bad world.
In all seriousness, knowing the senators from your region, their affiliations and their stances on key issues gives you an amount of power. You may remember (or not) that last week we discussed the social contract, and utilizing your personal power over the system. Knowledge is the lion's share of power. We actually support Kevin's new policy (even though we'll probably still fail those quizzes and will be writing our column from a cardboard box in the future). In fact we're going to go so far as to call it genius! (Kevin, are you reading this?)
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Eric Brooks is a senior in biochemistry and biophysics. Danya Rumore is a senior in environmental science. The opinions expressed in their columns do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Daily Barometer staff. Brooks and Rumore can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.
As biochemistry majors (and anyone lucky enough to be on the listserv of the infamous Dr. Kevin Ahern) already know, something new is shaking on the OSU campus. Want a letter of recommendation from the biochemistry department? Think twice before asking Kevin Ahern for that letter.
Recently, after his newest Mark Foley joke failed to register with students, Dr. Ahern launched a crusade to single-handedly educate his students about current affairs. That's right, if you want that shining letter of commendation, if you want any kind of a future, you're going to have to pass a current events quiz with at least 70 percent. Now Cs are nothing new to a lot of college students, but this one is going to stretch your knowledge and retention of the world around you. In fact, this might just be the hardest test you take in your college career. That biochem final, cake. That GRE you dread, nothing. That MCAT, alright that one might be a little more difficult. But still …
Our first question when confronted with this new policy was, "Why?!", followed closely by a lot of bitching and moaning. We demanded that Kevin immediately rescind this fascist policy. But he just smirked (in that way you know, at least if you know Kevin) and said "Nope."
After we finished railing against fate and decrying the tyranny of evil advisers, we took a moment to think about the policy. Surely the impetus for this ridiculous policy must be more than the fact that Kevin hates it when his jokes flop (although most of them do). When we had calmed down and sobered up, we realized that maybe there was a method to his madness. But what could it be?
At first when he said things like "As I look at this lack of [student] knowledge, it occurs to me that by writing letters of reference stating that someone is suited for working in the world without understanding it in the big picture is irresponsible on my part," we just shuffled our feet and looked embarrassed. But then we realized that we really do have an almost crippling lack of knowledge of the world and its affairs.
For example, when he recently asked us to name all the female U.S. senators from the west coast, and state their party affiliation, we said "Crap … now we'll never get those letters. Our futures are ruined. Ruined!" What good is knowing all of those senators, anyway? Wait! What do senators even do? Are they the landed gentry, or what?
What do senators have to do with letters of reference? These letters are supposed to reflect your worthiness to pursue an opportunity. Kevin has the right of it when he states "a letter of reference is something I write on your behalf to a company, school, or other organization describing my assessment of your fitness for the position you are applying for." You have to understand that Kevin is essentially putting his professional reputation on the line every time he writes a letter. Kevin (and every other "recommender") is commenting not only upon a student's academic prowess, but also upon their ability to succeed in society. And that A you got by copying someone's notes in O-chem really isn't going to get you anywhere in this big bad world.
In all seriousness, knowing the senators from your region, their affiliations and their stances on key issues gives you an amount of power. You may remember (or not) that last week we discussed the social contract, and utilizing your personal power over the system. Knowledge is the lion's share of power. We actually support Kevin's new policy (even though we'll probably still fail those quizzes and will be writing our column from a cardboard box in the future). In fact we're going to go so far as to call it genius! (Kevin, are you reading this?)
Eric Brooks is a senior in biochemistry and biophysics. Danya Rumore is a senior in environmental science. The opinions expressed in their columns do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Daily Barometer staff. Brooks and Rumore can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.
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