EDITORIAL: A Lawless Crusade

State Rep. John LawlessState Rep. John Lawlesshas done a disservice toState Rep. John Lawlesshas done a disservice tohigher education.State Rep. John Lawlesshas done a disservice tohigher education._________________________ Lawless has complained that teachers do not spend enough time in the classroom. But instead of attending classes at various universities to determine the quality of the number of class hours, he assumed that the quantity of hours directly correlates with the quality of those hours. As we know at Penn, this simply is not true. Lawless also has taken an extremely anti-intellectual stance on university spending. He questions why students and faculty study history and folklore, rather than more practical pursuits such as hard sciences and business courses. He has frowned upon the well-rounded education and advocated what seems to be a purely trade-school approach for allocation of funds. This stance contradicts some of the very basic principles of higher learning. On an issue slightly closer to home, Lawless has attempted to blur the lines between public and private universities. Certainly, he is entitled to see where the University has spent what little state funding we receive, which is almost entirely dedicated to the Veterinary School. But he cannot and should not abrasively order the University, a private institution, to open all its books. He does not have that right, and he knows it, yet he harshly criticizes University President Rodin and makes inappropriate demands. Finally, what we find grossly egregious is that Lawless has never even visited the University to determine in person if he sees waste, corruption and inefficiency. We wonder how closely he can scrutinize our campus in West Philadelphia from Harrisburg. We, therefore, applaud the State System of Higher Education for pulling out of these hearings. Although he may initially have had the best of intentions, Lawless has behaved in a completely unprofessional manner and we are not surprised that his inquiry has stalled.