Solid foundation must take priority over sophisticated view I want to thank Yejin Lee for responding to my piece on preserving the current Eurocentric nature of the history core ("Uncover 'a veil of ignorance' and study a diversified history," Sept. 27). It's healthy for this issue to be debated. Lee, intentionally or unintentionally, misrepresents my argument. This is dangerous because if people do not go back to read my first letter, they will misinterpret my argument in the same fashion.
First, I am not arguing against "diversification in education." I welcome it wholeheartedly and think it's imperative to the well-being of the University. Nowhere in my Sept. 17 letter do I even use the phrase "diversification in education." How does Lee know what my view on this is? When I attended Boston College, most of my classes involved the Middle East, Islam, and Arabic. Obviously, I believe learning about other cultures is important.
Second, when I discuss the objectives of getting a sophisticated worldview and attaining a solid foundation, I do not present these two goals as being mutually exclusive. Ideally, we can achieve both at once with the core. They are both desirable. I just think in terms of the history core, the objective of attaining a solid foundation should take priority over gaining a sophisticated worldview. A firm foundation should be the first step in the educational order of operations. It makes the second objective, gaining a sophisticated worldview, easier to obtain later.
Third, I think the statement that "European culture could not have formed itself without its ideological, economic, and political investment in slavery, colonialism, and imperialism," is naive and belittling. If Europe never pursued imperialism, colonialism, or slavery, Beethoven probably still would have written the "Ninth Symphony." Sibelius still would have written his eerie "Fourth Symphony." Hobbes still would have written "Leviathan." Picasso still would have painted "Guernica." It was creativity, talent, and brilliant minds that created European culture, not some political flaws. Finally, Lee writes "to say that our institutions are purely derived from Europe denies the United States its truly complex and unique identity." This, again, misrepresents my argument. I wrote that American institutions "all derive from Europe, either directly or indirectly." The key word there is "indirectly." If something is indirectly derived from something else, it surely can't be "purely derived." Therefore, nothing that I said is denying the complex beauty of our United States.
Therefore, if taken in its proper context and wording, nothing in my argument is negated by anything that Lee said. The history core should remain the same.
Michael Welch BC '06
ITS is committed to clear, helpful communication for BC As I read the article "Technology Upgrades Leave Students Scrambling" in the Sept. 27 issue of The Heights, I noticed several technical errors and incorrect references to Information Technology Services policies that I think are worth correcting.
The article refers to "Windows Service Pack 3," "Windows Office XP Service Pack 2," and "Service Pack 3" as the same software update, an update that was released last week. Service packs are major updates to software packages targeting mainly security issues and performance bugs. Microsoft releases service packs separately for its Office and Windows products. Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 3 was released on Sept. 17 and is the service pack that was mostly referred to in the article. This service pack fixes several discrete security vulnerabilities and other issues relating specifically to Microsoft Office 2003 products, but does not change any aspects of a user's computing experience. It is not an update that is required by Information Technology Services (ITS) at this time, as the changes to Office 2003 are not significant enough to warrant a required change.
The article also refers to "Microsoft Service Pack 2" that students were required to install three years ago. In August of 2004, Microsoft released Windows XP Service Pack 2, which was a required update to Windows XP that any computer produced since the time of its release already has pre-installed. This service pack greatly improved the Windows XP operating system, fixing many problems and patching up many holes in the software - therefore, it has been required from the time of its release. The article compares the Office 2003 service pack recently released to the Windows XP Service Pack 2 and seems to imply that the benefits are similar, when in fact they affect completely different software packages. Office 2003 Service Pack 3 is by no means as important to a user's computing experience as Windows XP Service Pack 2.
The article mentions that the recent Office 2003 service pack "changed the file formats, making his file incompatible with BC's computers." This likely refers to the differences between Office 2003 and Office 2007, a completely different software package that changes many aspects of Office, including the graphical interface and the format in which files are saved. The service pack released for Office 2003 does not change file formats. Students, faculty, or staff using Office 2007 do need to save their work in a particular way in order for them or for others to open their documents in Office 2003. However, the machines in the computer lab are equipped with an Office compatibility feature that allows users to open and print Office 2007 documents. You can learn much more about Office 2007 at http://www.bc.edu/help. ITS will install Office 2007 in the computer lab and on other BC-owned machines soon, but there are no loss of functionality created by continuing to use Office 2003. Finally, the article refers to Windows Vista and the forthcoming Windows Vista Service Pack 1. In order to offer students an advanced and superior computer system, ITS worked diligently to ensure that all students purchasing a computer through the BC Laptop Program would have Windows Vista Enterprise. However, Windows Vista is not required on any computers at Boston College. The article states that students "will only be required to install Windows Vista when the Vista Service Pack 1 is available". This is not true - even after the release of Service Pack 1, ITS will not require PC users to switch operating systems to Windows Vista.
In any case, if you ever have questions about technology issues at Boston College or elsewhere, Information Technology Services has many ways to help you. You can visit us online at the Help Center at http://www.bc.edu/help, stop in at the Walk-in Help Desk in O'Neill 248, or give us a call at 617-552-HELP. Remember that we will never impose any technology requirements without communicating them to you, and we will always explain the reasons behind changes in technology requirements. We're working hard to keep the technology at Boston College up to date and running well. Don't let your questions go unanswered - we're here for you!
Tad Ahlersmeyer BC '07
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