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December 14, 2004
Letter to the Editor: Ashamed to be an alumni
I’ve attended different colleges, and after receiving my bachelor’s degree at Hamline, I went on to earn a master’s degree in social work at the College of St. Catherine and the University of St. Thomas. I am a graduate of Hamline University, class of 1990, and, with the exception of the past few years, I have felt proud to say so.
I graduated cum laude and truly felt that I received my best educational experience at Hamline.
Professors knew how to facilitate respectful class discussions with an emphasis on critical thinking and respect for others’ opinions.
The most important and invaluable lesson I learned while attending Hamline was that the only way to continue to learn at school, as well as in life, is to be open to all points of view.
Hamline’s philosophy in the late eighties and early nineties was often stated by my professors. That philosophy, in essence, was: “This is not the place where you’ll be given the answers, but instead where you will learn to how to ask the hard questions, learn the many different avenues for seeking knowledge, be respectful of others’ views, and always keep an open mind.”
Due to my highly enriching education at Hamline, I’ve sung its praises to many, many people over the years. So naturally I was absolutely thrilled when my youngest child chose to attend Hamline. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that Hamline would turn into a place where students are not safe enough to express an opinion in class č or even one-on-one with a professor. Yet that is what I’ve heard over and over for the past several years and even what is written in the school’s paper.
As an alumni, I want to know why Hamline’s professors are clearly being held to a much lower standard than their predecessors. Why don’t professors know how to, or why do they refuse to, facilitate safe, respectful class discussions with an emphasis on critical thinking and respect? What has made Hamline a narrow-minded, “right way” place where students cannot use their voice if they have a different idea or different experience?
Who is in charge of this disrespectful, narrow-minded, and frankly unethical way of teaching? Is this
Hamline’s way of preparing the students to think and act in the real world? If it is, it is a sad and shameful legacy. Hamline used to have extremely high standards that distinguished it from a typical university. That was its uniqueness and greatness. That was the Hamline I sent my child to, not the Hamline I now hear and read about from its own students!
The real question is: Who will stand up and put Hamline back together as an honored place of learning, instead of a place where untrained or unwilling professors decide what is true and the students are not allowed to speak or are too frightened to say what they think?
Ashamed to be an Alumni,
Linda A. Stevens
Posted by msveum at December 14, 2004 10:42 AM