COLUMN: Don't complain about profs

From Eric Goldstein's, "Upon Further Review," Fall '97 From Eric Goldstein's, "Upon Further Review," Fall '97Sneak your way into a freshman conversation about the state of undergraduate teaching at Penn, and, without fail, someone will voice a dissatisfaction with the level of student-faculty interaction. As frustration turns to cynicism, there is only one true loser -- the truth. For those who truly wish to pursue meaningful relationships with professors, there are more than enough opportunities. Students just choose to ignore them. Just three weeks ago, University President Judith Rodin, Provost Stanley Chodorow, Board of Trustees Chairman Roy Vagelos and a whole host of University administrators gathered in the Faculty Club to inaugurate the the SCUE Lounge at the Hourglass Grille Room. The program, which was developed by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, provides an arena for students and faculty to share a meal and get to know one another outside the confines of a lecture hall. However, on most afternoons the Hourglass Grille Room remains empty except for the occasional waiter passing through. Other than SCUE Chairperson Ari Silverman and a few mostly SCUE-related students, almost no students have invited a professor to lunch. Compared to the semesterly Take a Professor to Lunch Week that SCUE launched in 1983, the SCUE Lounge has been a remarkable failure. The blame for that must fall directly on the shoulders of the very students who regularly denounce professors for putting research ahead of their teaching duties. It is possible that masses of students have invited professors to lunch, but had their offers rejected. That is unlikely, though, since an estimated 200 professors have participated in Take a Professor to Lunch Week each semester. When asked, professors tend to accept such invitations. When students don't ask, any hope of extracurricular interaction dies. Many professors supplement such programs with individual initiatives that foster personal student-teacher relationships. Gregory Farrington, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, has taken the lead in promoting such events. In 1993, Farrington launched "Operation Chili," a program, which brought freshmen to professors' houses for dinner. Although logistical problems, including finding transportation for the students, doomed "Operation Chili," Farrington did not give up. Just last weekend, Farrington hosted a lunch at his house for first-year students from the Management & Technology program. In fact, the idea for the event came from an M&T; student, proving that, if one makes an initiative, professors are usually receptive to new ideas. Although Farrington may be the latest, he is by no means the only professor to welcome students into his home. In fact, rare is the Penn graduate who has gone through four years of school without ever being invited to a professor's house or apartment. Another example of the potential for student-faculty interaction is the Distinguished Penn Citizens in Residence Program, which invites faculty members and their families to spend a few days in Van Pelt College House. Typically, the faculty member will have dinner with the students, arrange discussions, and just get to know the Van Pelt residents. In recent years, Chodorow, Pediatrics Professor Flaura Winston and Farrington have all participated in the program. Of course, a number of faculty members also live on campus full-time as professors in residence. English Professor Al Filreis and Political Science Professor Will Harris are among the many who have lived in University dorms side-by-side with students. For many students, complaining about a lack of access to professors is just easier than making an effort to break down the perceived walls. Office hours are too inconvenient or lunch schedules don't coincide. In the end, though, it is the students' responsibility to reach out to professors. There will always be those students who prefer to tip-toe their way through college without being noticed. They sit in the back row of the 500-seat lecture hall. They don't raise their hands in class. They sure don't approach a professor to continue a discussion out of class. For those students, interaction with professors is either intimidating or a waste of time. But for the majority of University undergraduates, who value student-professor relationships as more than just a means to a positive law school recommendation, excuses are no longer valid. Perhaps Penn students have to make more of an effort to initiate interaction than do students at smaller liberal arts colleges. But so do professors. And as long as they continue to fulfill their end of the bargain, the least students can do is stop complaining.