Irresponsible journalism
To the Editor:
I am at a loss to understand why The Daily Pennsylvanian printed a story about Michael Masch's academic credentials ("U. VP never got a college degree," DP, 1/31/02). It strikes me as a non-story, as journalism at its worst. It deepens my cynicism about the motives of the press.
The facts of the story appear to be that the Mayors Office made an error in its press release when it reported that Masch has two college degrees when in fact he has none.
Two potential stories are suggested by these facts. First, that Masch lied about his credentials, a practice we have seen repeatedly with tragic consequences for the individuals involved. But Masch has been scrupulously honest about his higher education experience.
The other story it is reasonable to pursue is that politics led to the appointment of an unqualified person to a position on the School Reform Commission. But Masch's record during his years in municipal government, as the city's budget director, as a member of the Philadelphia School Board and most recently as vice president for budget and management analysis here is exemplary. Everywhere he has worked, his colleagues have been enormously impressed by his honesty, integrity, intelligence and expertise.
I have known Mike Masch since his days as a student at Penn's School of Public and Urban Policy 20 years ago. I can say unequivocally that Mike is one of the smartest, most able and highly productive people I have had the pleasure of working with. During his many years in government, he labored tirelessly on behalf of the public interest.
The reporters learned all of this in their inquiry. Why, then, publish a story suggesting something tawdry? Why bring a measure of embarrassment to someone who has achieved so much and benefited so many?
Credentials mean a great deal in our society, to be sure. They are supposed to provide a measure of confidence in those we hire. But Mike got to where he is today by virtue of his accomplishments not college degrees. Call attention to it because it is remarkable and congratulate his achievement, but the very last thing The Daily Pennsylvanian ought to do is publish such a meaningless expose.
Ted Hershberg
Professor of History and Public Policy
Muddying the waters
To the Editor:
I find Jonathan Shazar's seemingly benign opinion piece on the issue of graduate unionization ("On the fringes of employment," DP, 1/31/02) to be problematic for two primary reasons.
First, it serves as an emollient force by obfuscating the importance of our definitional status under the corporate model of the University. Shazar claims that this is pure semantics, and that merely changing the title would do nothing to alter our daily lives. I strongly disagree -- it is just this type of rhetoric that disempowers us. This is just the type of "what's in a name" smokescreen that allows the University to exploit an increasingly marginal labor pool of adjuncts, part time lecturers, visiting professors, guest lecturers and yes, teaching assistants.
This issue also directly impacts junior faculty (as tenure track positions continue to disappear) and the undergraduate community (who are the victims of the corporate University model, in that they are the on the receiving end of the administration's cost saving strategies to deploy a perhaps degraded temporary work force). To recognize us for what we are -- employees -- would make a huge difference in our daily lives as we would be afforded the respect of a collective bargaining unit, as opposed to some nebulous, atomizing distinction as graduate assistants.
Second, Shazar attempts to introduce ambiguity into an issue that has already been decided in NLRB hearings -- in short, that we are employees. His article reduces these hearings to the status of nit-picking formality -- in so doing he makes the hearings appear "natural" and conceals the fact that the administration is denying us our right to hold a democratic election.
The administration has decided to spend exorbitant amounts of money in these hearings to stop a democratic process already given precedent in a court of law.
Robert Fairbanks
Social Work Ph.D. student
