It is clear from reading Peter Myers’ column that hell is not the School of Management it’s his writing (“Abandon all hope, ye who enter SMG’s seventh circle,” April 11, pg. 9). Given the quality of his writing and his attempts at forming logical arguments, one would hope that he would attend his classes more often. In his wholly unoriginal attack on SMG (how many more people will refer to the lattes and the smoking outside?), Myers’ writing veers toward the hyperbolic, characterizing professors as “angry” lecturers and students as “demons,” a third of whom will die of a “heart attack.”
Yes, SMG has a Starbucks, large marble steps, an Executive Leadership Center and, of course, people who smoke. But, these are just aspects of our school, not its prevalent characteristics. Yes, we do have strong competition in some of our classes, but SMG itself is not typified by hyper-competition where people fight mercilessly for better grades and accolades. While it is true that not all of us will become better students who eventually rise to the rank of CEO, it’s clear that many of us will probably fare better than Myers, whose statements, complicit in their gung-ho enthusiasm for shock value, are indicative of his sophomoric behavior.
It may very well be that Myers was trying to be humorous. In that case, there is no need to call him a “communist idealist” or a “stupid liberal;” it would be enough to call him a bad writer. I would suggest that he do something radical before he picks up the pen to write another column: think.
Ajay Gopalan
SMG ’03