The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

This is About an Awful Article

In the recent Cynic article “This Is About A Professor You Know” the author lambasted a group of individuals deemed the experts of fields ranging from astrophysics to zoology. Attacks ranged from challenging their importance to calling them the “poorest thinkers.” Could it be true? Could the editor of a college newspaper unmasked professors to show their true face, the most skillful con artists known to man? All these years society has looked to these apparently “arrogant and loathsome” groups for answers to seemingly unsolvable quandaries.

It seems rather unlikely that parents are willing to shell out dollars by the thousands so we can be educated by individuals that “by large… have nothing to say.” It also seems unlikely Corporate America, so focused on “the bottom line”, would offer its employees tuition refunds to [not] further their educations.

If Mr. Woods truly does feel it is all a big scam, I wish he’d send letters to all the ROTC troops willing to risk life for lectures. He should probably also ask news agencies to stop seeking a professor’s “expert” opinion for all the news stories that the reporters don’t feel comfortable explaining to the public. He seems quite convinced that professors are useless. I wonder if, after all these revelations, he will drop out of school. Start a campaign! Inform America of our wasted time, money, and energies! With good reason, I doubt it.

I found it particularly curious that Woods claimed that professors “[prop] up the status quo and [try] to convince you they are active critics of the same system.” He then concludes with, “Who cares? … You can change professors, politicians, and thunderstorms as easily as you change the American political system. Which is to say, not at all.” However one values professors, it doesn’t take a PhD to realize the blatant hypocrisy.

I’m not sure exactly what fuels Mr. Woods’ fiery disdain for professors. Of course, I’m no expert in such matters. However, I know exactly where to head for the answer: the office of any of UVM’s talented psychology professors.

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This is About an Awful Article