moore@ucbcad.UUCP (Peter Moore) (05/27/85)
It wasn't a letter bomb, it was a package that was left in the 2nd floor terminal room. Last I heard, the police beleived that it was rigged to explode when opened, instead of being timed. So it was evidently designed explicitly to kill a random individual. A similar device injured the chairman of the department 3 years ago. Someone that sick I just don't understand. The grad student injured was here on post-graduate study from the air force. He was a fighter pilot who wanted to be an astronaut, but the injuries to his arm and eye could very well ground him. Peter Moore moore@Berkeley, ucbvax!moore
john@x.UUCP (John Woods) (05/30/85)
> I heard that there was a letter-bomb explosion in Cory Hall at UC > Berkeley, but couldn't find any mention of it in the New York Times > (perhaps not too surprising). Does anyone have any details about this, > such as how the victim is doing and what the speculated motivation was? > Just another satisfied BSD customer... :-) -- John Woods, Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA, (617) 626-1101 ...!decvax!frog!john, ...!mit-eddie!jfw, jfw%mit-ccc@MIT-XX.ARPA "MU" said the Sacred Chao...
donn@utah-gr.UUCP (Donn Seeley) (05/30/85)
I heard that there was a letter-bomb explosion in Cory Hall at UC Berkeley, but couldn't find any mention of it in the New York Times (perhaps not too surprising). Does anyone have any details about this, such as how the victim is doing and what the speculated motivation was? Rather less anxious to collect my mail in the morning, Donn Seeley University of Utah CS Dept donn@utah-cs.arpa 40 46' 6"N 111 50' 34"W (801) 581-5668 decvax!utah-cs!donn
barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) (05/31/85)
The LA Times said the victim was a would-be astronaut, who was wounded in his eyes and hands, but would live. No one has any idea who was responsible for the bomb, or why it was sent. --Lee Gold
arash@jendeh.UUCP (Arash Farmanfarmaian) (05/31/85)
> > It wasn't a letter bomb, it was a package that was left in the > 2nd floor terminal room. Last I heard, the police beleived that it was > rigged to explode when opened, instead of being timed. > > Peter Moore In some corners of the world this is not even worth a one-line mention in a newspaper. Take Labanon for example. Or Kuwait. Or Iran. Maybe some middle east student was getting home sick. Don't bother flaming about this one. I come from the same corner of the world. Not that I understand the motivation behind these acts. Then again there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. Arash Farmanfarmaian'85 -- Arash Farmanfarmaian ...!allegra!princeton!jendeh!arash "Any man who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination"
cdk@avsdS.UUCP (Chris Kendall) (06/04/85)
> > > > It wasn't a letter bomb, it was a package that was left in the > > 2nd floor terminal room. Last I heard, the police beleived that it was > > rigged to explode when opened, instead of being timed. > > > > Peter Moore > > In some corners of the world this is not even worth a one-line mention > in a newspaper. Take Labanon for example. Or Kuwait. Or Iran. Maybe some middle > east student was getting home sick. > Don't bother flaming about this one. I come from the same corner of the > world. Not that I understand the motivation behind these acts. Then again > there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. > Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. > > Arash Farmanfarmaian'85 > -- > Arash Farmanfarmaian > ...!allegra!princeton!jendeh!arash > > "Any man who lives within his means suffers from a lack of > imagination" *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** Sorry .... I just couldn't let this one slide!!!!!!!! As a matter of fact, I had to read this garbage 3 times to really believe Mr. Farmanfarmaian had the gall and stupidity to say that! I too am an engineering instructor... (evening classes), and have been for over 6 years. It has been my experience that anyone who can pass a class without coming is either: 1. wasting everyone elses time by even enrolling since they've had the class before --or-- 2. Cheating they're asses off. My experience has been with inner city students, out of city students, outer country students, outer space students. I may be a bit biased but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command of our language tend to fall in category 2! Take it up the street! C. Kendall
ritzenth@bgsuvax.UUCP (ritzenth) (06/05/85)
SICK,SICK!!
quiroz@rochester.UUCP (Cesar Quiroz) (06/06/85)
From article <43@avsdS.UUCP> (cdk@avsdS.UUCP (Chris Kendall)): (When responding to an article by Arash Farmanfarmaian) > > Sorry .... I just couldn't let this one slide!!!!!!!! >As a matter of fact, I had to read this garbage 3 times to really >believe Mr. Farmanfarmaian had the gall and stupidity to say that! Certainly, the original wasn't without serious flaws. I couldn't understand its lack of sensibility: that in some regions of the world a mindless bombing more doesn't qualify as news is no reason to complain when other people still display concern about it. Attributing it (even as a possibility) to boredom is just stupid. So, Mr. Kendall, you had good reasons to flame. Too bad you showed your own personal inadequacies in your also stupid response: >I too am an engineering instructor... (evening classes), and have been >for over 6 years. It has been my experience that anyone who can pass >a class without coming is either: > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even ^^^^^ > enrolling since they've had the class before > --or-- > 2. Cheating they're asses off. ^^^^^^^ >My experience has been with inner city students, out of city students, >outer country students, outer space students. I may be a bit biased >but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command >of our language tend to fall in category 2! Do instructors (pretended or otherwise) who don't have complete command of *their* language also fall under category 2? Keep your prejudices to yourself. > > C. Kendall Cesar Quiroz
reza@ihuxb.UUCP (Reza Taheri) (06/07/85)
> >: Arash Farmanfarmaian > : Chris Kendall Parts of both articles have been eliminated to make this article shorter. > > world. Not that I understand the motivation behind these acts. Then again > > there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. > > Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. > > > > Arash Farmanfarmaian'85 > > -- > > Arash Farmanfarmaian > > ...!allegra!princeton!jendeh!arash > I too am an engineering instructor... (evening classes), and have been > for over 6 years. It has been my experience that anyone who can pass > a class without coming is either: > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even > enrolling since they've had the class before > --or-- > 2. Cheating they're asses off. > My experience has been with inner city students, out of city students, > outer country students, outer space students. I may be a bit biased > but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command > of our language tend to fall in category 2! > Take it up the street! > > > C. Kendall It is amazing how some people can find the slightest excuse to air their prejudices on the net. I ask the reader (and you, too, Kendall) to take a look at Arash's article and then read Kendall's article. Decide for yourself if Arash's article deserved the response it got from Kendall. Even if you give Kendall the benefit of the doubt and assume that he (she?) means that foreign students "who don't attend lecture" cheat (rather than inferring that all foreign students cheat), his is still making a sweeping generalization of a complex issue. I am glad I don't have to take a course from you. *********** The question is, "ARE YOU right for Grape Nuts?" *********** H. Reza Taheri ...!ihnp4!ihuxb!reza (312)-979-7473
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (06/07/85)
> ... It has been my experience that anyone who can pass > a class without coming is either: > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even > enrolling since they've had the class before > --or-- > 2. Cheating they're asses off. Unfortunately, "know the subject cold" != "had the class before". It is quite possible to know everything the course is going to teach, but not to have formal course credit for this knowledge. It is also possible to find the particular course so easy that reading the textbook the night before each exam suffices to get a good mark. I have seen both of these phenomena, in cases where I'm quite sure there was no cheating. Clearly it *is* wasteful for the person in question to be taking the course under these circumstances, but there isn't any other way to get credit for the material. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry
anton@ucbvax.ARPA (Jeff Anton) (06/09/85)
In article <157@jendeh.UUCP> arash@jendeh.UUCP (Arash Farmanfarmaian) writes: >> >> It wasn't a letter bomb, it was a package that was left in the >> 2nd floor terminal room. Last I heard, the police beleived that it was >> rigged to explode when opened, instead of being timed. >> >> Peter Moore > > In some corners of the world this is not even worth a one-line mention > in a newspaper. Take Labanon for example. Or Kuwait. Or Iran. Maybe some middle > east student was getting home sick. > Don't bother flaming about this one. I come from the same corner of the > world. Not that I understand the motivation behind these acts. Then again > there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. > Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. > > Arash Farmanfarmaian'85 >-- >Arash Farmanfarmaian >...!allegra!princeton!jendeh!arash > > "Any man who lives within his means suffers from a lack of > imagination" Mr. Farmanfarmaian may simply be reminding us all about the unpleasentness that we all know happenes in this difficult world. However, this incident is serious enough to question his intentions. My office is just a few feet away from where the explosion happened and if I were not in a conference I would have heard it. We do get bomb threats here, sometimes with annoying regularity. His reference to professors is also disterbing since a professor had his fingers sevearly damaged about 3 years ago in another explosion down the hall from this last one. Berkeley counter culture nature is well know and accurate. There have, to my own knowledge, been no statements of responcibility received. If Mr. Farmanfarmaian has any knowledge of these matters I hope he has the intention of speaking up about it. Otherwise, I feel he is only feeding the fire. -- C knows no bounds. Jeff Anton U.C.Berkeley ucbvax!anton anton@berkeley.ARPA
phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (06/09/85)
In article <43@avsdS.UUCP> cdk@avsdS.UUCP (Chris Kendall) writes: > 2. Cheating they're asses off. ^^^^^^^ >but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command >of our language tend to fall in category 2! > > C. Kendall What were you saying about a complete command of our language? -- People do what management inspects, not what management expects. Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720 UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA
seifert@hammer.UUCP (Snoopy) (06/09/85)
In article <5682@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes: >It is also possible to find the particular course so easy that reading >the textbook the night before each exam suffices to get a good mark. > >I have seen both of these phenomena, in cases where I'm quite sure there >was no cheating. Clearly it *is* wasteful for the person in question to >be taking the course under these circumstances, but there isn't any other >way to get credit for the material. Some schools allow an "independant study", or "credit by exam" method. You read the book, work exercises, or whatever you think you need, then go in and take the exam. I took some courses this way, it worked out fairly well. Spared me the time sitting through lectures, and freed up a seat in the lecture hall. Only problem was that with other classes using up all my time, I usually ended up doing 2/3 of the course in the last week. Snoopy tektronix!hammer!seifert
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (06/10/85)
> I too am an engineering instructor... (evening classes), and have been > for over 6 years. It has been my experience that anyone who can pass > a class without coming is either: > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even > enrolling since they've had the class before > --or-- > 2. Cheating they're asses off. > My experience has been with inner city students, out of city students, > outer country students, outer space students. I may be a bit biased > but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command > of our language tend to fall in category 2! > Take it up the street! > > Foo, there are a lot of classes that you can get through without attending the lecture. There are some proffesors who you get noth from listening to. Following the reading assignments and showing up for the exams is often sufficient to excell in these classes. Damn conceited of an instructor who believes that they only way anyone can learn is to listen to him cast out his pearls. The only course you can't pass without comming is Sex ed. -Ron
cdk@avsdS.UUCP (Chris Kendall) (06/12/85)
> In article <5682@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes: > > >It is also possible to find the particular course so easy that reading > >the textbook the night before each exam suffices to get a good mark. > > > >I have seen both of these phenomena, in cases where I'm quite sure there > >was no cheating. Clearly it *is* wasteful for the person in question to > >be taking the course under these circumstances, but there isn't any other > >way to get credit for the material. > > Some schools allow an "independant study", or "credit by exam" method. > You read the book, work exercises, or whatever you think you need, > then go in and take the exam. I took some courses this way, it worked > out fairly well. Spared me the time sitting through lectures, > and freed up a seat in the lecture hall. Only problem was that with > other classes using up all my time, I usually ended up doing 2/3 > of the course in the last week. > > Snoopy > tektronix!hammer!seifert You can always challange a class by taking the final exam...
cdk@avsdS.UUCP (Chris Kendall) (06/12/85)
> > In article <5682@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes: > > > > >It is also possible to find the particular course so easy that reading > > >the textbook the night before each exam suffices to get a good mark. > > > > > >I have seen both of these phenomena, in cases where I'm quite sure there > > >was no cheating. Clearly it *is* wasteful for the person in question to > > >be taking the course under these circumstances, but there isn't any other > > >way to get credit for the material. > > > > Some schools allow an "independant study", or "credit by exam" method. > > You read the book, work exercises, or whatever you think you need, > > then go in and take the exam. I took some courses this way, it worked > > out fairly well. Spared me the time sitting through lectures, > > and freed up a seat in the lecture hall. Only problem was that with > > other classes using up all my time, I usually ended up doing 2/3 > > of the course in the last week. > > > > Snoopy > > tektronix!hammer!seifert > > You can always challange a class by taking the final exam... ^ challenge (authors late correction!)
levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy) (06/16/85)
cdk@avsdS.UUCP (Chris Kendall) posts: > > ... > ... > > > Don't bother flaming about this one. I come from the same corner of the > > world. Not that I understand the motivation behind these acts. Then again > > there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. > > Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. > > > > Arash Farmanfarmaian'85 > > -- > > Arash Farmanfarmaian > > ...!allegra!princeton!jendeh!arash > > > > *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** > > > Sorry .... I just couldn't let this one slide!!!!!!!! > As a matter of fact, I had to read this garbage 3 times to really > believe Mr. Farmanfarmaian had the gall and stupidity to say that! > I too am an engineering instructor... (evening classes), and have been > for over 6 years. It has been my experience that anyone who can pass > a class without coming is either: > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even ^^^^^ > enrolling since they've had the class before > --or-- > 2. Cheating they're asses off. ^^^^^^^ > My experience has been with inner city students, out of city students, > outer country students, outer space students. I may be a bit biased > but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > of our language tend to fall in category 2! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > Take it up the street! > > > C. Kendall > > Speak for yourself, Monsieur Kendall.
arash@jendeh.UUCP (Arash Farmanfarmaian) (06/19/85)
> > ... > > Don't bother flaming about this one. I come from the same corner of the > > world. Not that I understand the motivation behind these acts. Then again > > there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. > > Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. > > > > Arash Farmanfarmaian'85 > > Sorry .... I just couldn't let this one slide!!!!!!!! > As a matter of fact, I had to read this garbage 3 times to really > believe Mr. Farmanfarmaian had the gall and stupidity to say that! > I too am an engineering instructor... (evening classes), and have been > for over 6 years. It has been my experience that anyone who can pass > a class without coming is either: > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even > enrolling since they've had the class before > --or-- > 2. Cheating they're asses off. > My experience has been with inner city students, out of city students, > outer country students, outer space students. I may be a bit biased > but it has been noted that students that do not have complete command > of our language tend to fall in category 2! > Take it up the street! > > > C. Kendall This might be a bit late but since I have not been on the net I have to answer it now. Mr. Kendall and many others have blasted me for ill-advised, irresponsible and offensive postings to the net. Many apologies have already been tendered by e-mail. I would also like to do so here. All such postings were made post-'celebration of end of final exams week' though that does not excuse drunken ravings over the net. Apologies tendered. I would also like to disagree with Mr. Kendall's assertion above about not attending classes. In many occasions it is possible to pass a class without attending lectures. For example when the lectures follow exactly the contents of the assigned text book or when most of the class grade is based on a final programming project that does not necessitate the knowledge imparted to the students in the classroom. In any case I value my education more than Mr. Kendall is willing to give me credit for. I have never taken a course twice nor have I ever cheated in my life. You never LEARN anything if you cheat. As for my defficiencies in the practice of the English language the point is well taken. -- Arash Farmanfarmaian ...!allegra!princeton!jendeh!arash "Any man who lives within his means suffers from a lack of imagination"
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (06/19/85)
[Chris, I tried to reply to your private mail about this earlier, but
couldn't seem to get it to you.]
> You can always challange a class by taking the final exam...
Only if your university is willing to give full course credit on the
basis of a final exam alone. Many (most?) aren't. You really have to do
the assignments, write the quizzes, possibly participate in seminars and
discussions, and *then* write the final. No shortcuts allowed. Oh, it's
often possible to bypass the rigmarole if there is a really good reason,
but "I know that stuff and don't want to bother taking the course" is not
good enough to justify this special-case procedure.
Incidentally, a substantial number of the more senior courses do not have
final exams at all.
--
Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henrywjhe@hlexa.UUCP (Bill Hery) (06/20/85)
> > > Then again > > > there are some professors I wouldn't mind seeing a meeting such a fate. > > > Especially the ones that give you a 'C' for not attending lectures. > > It has been my experience that anyone who can pass > > a class without coming is either: > > 1. wasting everyone elses time by even > > enrolling since they've had the class before > > --or-- > > 2. Cheating they're asses off. > In many occasions it is possible to pass a class without > attending lectures. For example when the lectures follow exactly the contents > of the assigned text book or when most of the class grade is based on a final > programming project that does not necessitate the knowledge imparted to > the students in the classroom. You seem to be confusing the notion of passing a course with learning the material covered by the course. A one semester, three credit course involves about 45 hours of lecture, and 50 to 150 additional hours of study. Do you really think a two hour exam can be made up that adequately measures your knowledge of that much work? Do you really think you have learned the course because you have been able to answer 70% of the questions? Do you really think that if you complete the final programming project on which the grade is based there was nothing worth learning in the lectures? If so, you might be in for a rude awakening when you take a grad school course based on what you skipped, or your next job requires you to use some of it. Bill Hery
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (06/21/85)
> You seem to be confusing the notion of passing a course with learning the > material covered by the course. > > A one semester, three credit course involves about 45 hours of lecture, and > 50 to 150 additional hours of study. Do you really think a two hour exam can be > made up that adequately measures your knowledge of that much work? Do you > really think you have learned the course because you have been able to answer > 70% of the questions? Do you really think that if you complete the final > programming project on which the grade is based there was nothing worth > learning in the lectures? ... You seem to be confusing the notion of attending lectures with learning the material the course covers. Do you really think that listening to the prof recite the textbook is going to teach you anything that you wouldn't learn by reading it? I have yet to see a coherent explanation of why a lecture is a useful form of teaching for properly-motivated students. A question-and-answer session, yes, but not a lecture. "A lecture is a means of transferring the contents of the professor's notes to the student's notes without passing through the mind of either." -- anon "I am not inclined to lecture at people who know how to read." -- G. Weinberg (Yes, I am well aware that some profs do better than this. Some don't.) -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry
wjhe@hlexa.UUCP (Bill Hery) (06/24/85)
> > You seem to be confusing the notion of passing a course with learning the > > material covered by the course. > > > > You seem to be confusing the notion of attending lectures with learning the > material the course covers. Do you really think that listening to the > prof recite the textbook is going to teach you anything that you wouldn't > learn by reading it? I have yet to see a coherent explanation of why a > lecture is a useful form of teaching for properly-motivated students. > A question-and-answer session, yes, but not a lecture. > If the prof is only reciting the text, why have the prof? (I guess some of the college students today are illiterate. :-) ) Maybe I'm dating myself, but I seem to remember a time when there was a difference between a TEACHER and a vcr. When I taught, every class had room for questions and answers during the presentation. (I never did have to teach large lecture sections.) Bill Hery
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (06/25/85)
> If the prof is only reciting the text, why have the prof? Because he has tenure. And because "teaching" == "lecturing" is a hallowed tradition, dating back to times when books were scarce and expensive. (One of the oldest universities in Europe apparently has an interesting document posted outside the room that used to hold its library: a Papal Bull which decrees automatic excommunication for anyone stealing a book. Gives you some idea of just how valuable books were before the rise of printing.) > ... Maybe I'm dating myself, but > I seem to remember a time when there was a difference between a TEACHER and > a vcr. There has always been a difference between a *good* teacher and a VCR. You forgot that adjective. Not all teachers are good. > When I taught, every class had room for questions and answers during the > presentation. ... Of course. And just what fraction of the time was occupied by them? Considering that college students ought to be able to read considerably faster than a professor can lecture, just how efficiently was the *rest* of the time being used? -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry
weltyrp@rpics.UUCP (Richard Welty) (07/10/85)
> Because he has tenure. And because "teaching" == "lecturing" is a hallowed > tradition, dating back to times when books were scarce and expensive. (One > of the oldest universities in Europe apparently has an interesting document > posted outside the room that used to hold its library: a Papal Bull which > decrees automatic excommunication for anyone stealing a book. Gives you > some idea of just how valuable books were before the rise of printing.) > Actually, books were expensive even after printing was invented. Until the pulp process was invented, paper was made from rags. In England and the colonies, old rags were actually quite valuble, and there was a continuous shortage. It wasn't really until after the American Civil War (the War of the Secession to unreconstructed types) that books became cheap in this (or any other) country. This is why students used to get slates and markers, and sheets of rag paper were to be used and erased, repeatedly. Lecturers realy lectured, because that was the only way that students could learn anything ... -- Rich Welty CSNet: weltyrp@rpi ArpaNet: weltyrp.rpi@csnet-relay UseNet: seismo!rpics!weltyrp