In response to the article titled “SA trying to make evaluations public” in the Dec. 2 Northern Star, concerning teacher evaluations, I find an assumption made by the teachers at NIU very disturbing. Chris Hoagland said, “most teachers believe teacher evaluations are a ‘popularity contest,'” and “students cannot evaluate responsibly.” This is a personal insult to me, and I feel that the teachers should reconsider their sweeping accusations against the students. I do agree that some of the students do not take evaluations seriously, but many people I know take time and think about the evaluations. Also, where did the term “popularity contest” come from? We do not have a list of professors to rate from best to worst; we simply supply comments on one professor at a time and rate his or her ability or inability to teach effectively.

It makes me sad to think the professors here have such little faith in the students. If you don’t believe in us, who will?

JoEllen M. Simpson

Junior

English