Not all UNC students are economically privileged

TO THE EDITOR:

In his response (Complaining about TAs' grading is not productive"" Oct. 22) to Zack Holland's complaint about grading subjectivity among UNC teaching assistants, professor Robert Hamer made a number of critical and condescending overstatements.

Hamer wrote that Holland's complaint was whining"" and, as a contrast, reflected on how favorably the lot of UNC students compares to that of residents in underdeveloped nations. I think it's important to remember that not all UNC students were raised in households where they were always warm and well fed.

A trip to the inner cities or the outskirts of our own Triangle region will indeed turn up a surprising number of struggling households.

Many of these students, being ambitious and hard-working, hope to be accepted to highly competitive law, medical or graduate schools.

When someone is in the process of working his or her way out of adversity, being concerned about subjective grading is not whining."" It's a pragmatic response to something that has a significant effect on that individual's future prospects. I would suggest keeping that in mind the next time it is assumed that all UNC students lead comfortable" simple lives.



Sam Wardle

Junior

Journalism