Letters to the Editor

Students considering graduate school should look to individual departments, not CCE

To the Editor:

I agree with Emily Rose Jordan’s observation in her April 2nd op-ed “A future for the rest of us” that many of Columbia’s career advising resources are geared towards those who plan to go into professional careers in finance, law, or medicine. Even though I am just a first-year, I have noticed that, as Jordan suggests, a majority of career fairs or events sponsored by Columbia’s Center for Career Education deal mostly with people who are interested in business, finance, or the economy. However, although I do believe that Columbia should increase the availability of resources for people pursuing paths outside of the aforementioned fields, I do not think the Center for Career Education is the place that should cater to students who plan to pursue higher levels of graduate study. I believe that if a person wants to focus on academia, it is best for them to seek help from his or her specific department at Columbia. For example, people who plan to pursue graduate studies in psychology should seek advice from the psychology department. Likewise, people who plan to do research on stem cells should go to the biological sciences department. Departments are much more knowledgeable about the specific career paths related to their respective fields. Thus, they are able to supply better information more suited for one’s specific needs.

Scott Tran Liu, CC ’12
April 7, 2009

From CU Arts, special recognition for a generous donation

To the Editor:

In the April 1st article “CU arts aims for an array of activities despite recession,” Spectator refers to a student who was enthused enough about the 2007 NSOP party at the Metropolitan Museum to entice her family into a very generous contribution for the following year’s party. While the contribution was indeed very generous, the initiative came not from a student but from Emily Fisher Landau’s daughter, Candia Fisher. On behalf of the thousands of students who enjoyed the party, the Arts Initiative is extremely grateful to Emily Landau Fisher and the Fisher family.

Gregory Mosher
Director, Arts Initiative at Columbia University
April 2, 2009

Op-ed embraces notion of uncertainty, but lacks a word of caution

To the Editor:

I agree with most of Dennis Yang’s April 3rd op-ed “The blessings of uncertainty.” To me, it does seem ridiculous to be maniacal in one’s pursuit of certainty. However, in the article, I find the following assertion to be troubling: “At times, it may be beneficial to be the person who refuses to don eyeglasses despite serious sight deficiencies, rather than the individual who has 20/20 vision.”

I cannot think of a time when it would be productive to implement this philosophy. Perhaps what the author meant was: “At times it makes sense for us to stop searching for 20/20 vision.” But taking the phrase at face value, refusing eyeglasses leads one to fall into a ditch and be injured (I mean it in a metaphorical way like Yang does). It is both irrational and arrogant to not recognize one’s deficiencies and then to do nothing to correct them.

My assertion is that a true bona fide sage doesn’t spend all of his time searching for certainty, realizing that perfect clairvoyance is unattainable. Instead, he would spend as much time realizing what he does not know, and would incorporate the uncertainty into a decision. This would still lead to falling into ditches and growing from it, but wouldn’t make a habit of or glorify failures.

I advocate that one should first recognize, then minimize, and then embrace uncertainty, incorporating it into calculations of what one should do. Yang argues that one should love the idea of uncertainty and spontaneity. Spontaneity is romantic on a date, but criminally disorganized on life-altering decisions.

Sudeep Moniz, SEAS ’10
April 4, 2009

Tags: Opinion, Opinion, Channa Bao