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	  Mon, 19 May 1997 10:01:12 -0400 (EDT)
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 10:01:12 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <970519100107_-1934011199@emout09.mail.aol.com>
To: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu
Subject: Re: "Talk of the Nation" program on academic careers today (5/15)
I heard the program too and was especially offended by Anderson's
condescending attitude toward grad students, especially because it seemed to
based so much on stereotype and less on reality.  I agree with Danielle and
the other commentators on the program that grad students are in many cases
not only better teachers but undervalued in general.  Having been a grad
student myself for three years, I know firsthand that in many cases grad
students are more enthusiastic about their material, better organized, and
more in touch with reality than some tenured dinosaurs.  Considering also the
sacrifices grad students must make (i.e. opportunity costs in the job market,
low income plus high levels of student loans, etc.) to train in a field such
as sociology with its grim job prospects (recall Dr. Hale's appearance on the
earlier NPR program about careers in science), I think grad students are
vulnerable enough without Anderson's slander making things harder for us.  I
really think grad students are an undervalued asset and that people should
stop giving us a hard time and express some appreciation for our dedication.