Editorials New grading scale proposals score an "A"

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Eliminating the "A +" from the transcripts of Middlebury students is the right decision for faculty to make in regards to grading. The added plus does not affect grade point averages. "A" and "A+" both garnered a 4.0 numerical value, and in fact gave a sophomoric air to official College documents.

On the other hand, giving professors the option of attaching a citation to transcripts could conceivably offer graduate school admissions boards and potential employers more insight where exceptional work has been done.

Eliminating discrepancies in the numeric value differences between letter grades is a long-overdue correction to the system. Under the old system, the interval between a "B+" and an "A-," for example, was 0.4 while the interval between "B" and "B-" was 0.3. Since the B+ / A- line is possibly the most common border-line decision professors make, the new scale would appropriately equalize the entire system by setting the intervals between all scales at either 0.33 or 0.34.



Not too late to save newspapers



The Campus is pleased that the Student Government Association (SGA) made known the desperate plight of the Collegiate Readership Program, which brings the national press into dining halls daily, through an all-student e-mail. Students have now essentially been given an ultimatum to reform their reading-and-leaving habits.

While ultimately the fate of the program is in the hands of students themselves, there are a few more steps the SGA could take before turning its back on the program the organization itself sponsors. Middlebury College is far too isolated to cut yet another tie to the outside world.

Given the tendency of students to adopt a delete-and-forget attitude to mass e-mails, strategically placed signs in the dining halls reminding students to put away newspapers or risk losing them could serve as a daily reminder.

Moving the newspaper deposit bins to a more conspicuous location would also help. In Proctor, for example, the bins are barely visible, so placing bins adjacent to or in front of tray drop-off spots would make depositing newspapers before leaving the natural step to take.



Online draw: multiple options 'blocked'



Running the room draw process online through BannerWeb is a natural step for the College to take, but while it alleviated some of the chaos and stress from the process, the new block draw system also created new problems. Large and small block draw - formerly distinct events - are now combined into one 48-hour period. This means that seniors competing for a coveted seven or eight person house will not also have the back-up opportunity to split their groups into smaller blocks, causing increased stress and potentially straining friendships.