Fraternity headline misleading

As an ex-member of an pledge class that had it’s share of dramatics, I found The Hatchet’s use of the term “rat out” offensive and disturbing in its reference to the Alpha Pi Epsilon’s hell-week hazing incident. The term is not “rat out.” The term is “protecting one’s self.” Honestly.

Will Donovan, Alumnus

Graduate school vital

Your opinions writer Alex Eisner writes his piece about graduate school (Dec. 3, p. A4) with the naivety of a freshman. While I am all for anyone being allowed to express their opinion on a topic of his choosing and have it selected for publication by The Hatchet, I feel the opinions editor did Mr. Eisner a disservice by allowing his article to go to print. Graduate school, while increasingly popular in America for its salary benefits, has also become somewhat of a prerequisite for employment generally. As a GW senior in 2006 (who chose to attend graduate school because the career of my choice requires it) and in the years since, I have watched numerous intelligent, hard-working and qualified friends struggle to find employment. The reality is that the number of college graduates flooding the job market is higher than ever and the need for distinguishing characteristics is vital to a successful job search. Graduate students are taking jobs that once seemed well suited for those with only a college degree. Try to get a loan to start your own business with only a bachelor’s degree or to make rent on the freelance salary most fresh-out-of-college journalists make. All of the jobs Mr. Eisner listed are not as easy to secure as he perceives. While Mr. Eisner may be one of the lucky individuals to find the perfect job straight out of college, as a freshman I’m not sure his opinion on the necessity of graduate school is particularly well-informed.

Meredith Wolff, Alumnus