Greg's comments are exactly correct.  Dr. Brown is trying to convince
legislators to expand scholarships to more students.  She believes the
current plan for scholarships from the lottery favors the Rich, many of
whom will not attend nuiversities in Tennessee.

Dorothy Williams

At 04:46 PM 4/25/03 -0400, Gregory O'Dea wrote:
>Colleagues:
>
>Before Rep. Brown's remark starts a rip-snorting ruckus on Raven, let me
>reiterate the call for a context in which the comment was made.
>
>My first response was one of dismay at the implied connection between
>economic status and intellect (poor students are categorically not the best
>and brightest; ergo, rich students must be). But I know, too, that Tommie
>Brown has long put herself forward as an advocate for the underprivileged
>and downtrodden. What could she have meant by this comment, then? Maybe,
>just maybe, she was responding (somewhat sarcastically) to an assertion that
>"the best and brightest" don't attend UTC. In this imagined context, her
>remark means that those who are perceived as "best and brightest" are in
>many cases merely rich - i.e., they can afford to attend Ivy League schools,
>while equally bright students of lesser means must follow other
>post-secondary paths. And thank goodness there are good alternatives to
>those expensive, brand-name schools, or we'd quickly find ourselves living
>in a society even more grotesquely unbalanced than it is.
>
>Or maybe she meant that our students are all second- or third- or
>fourth-rate losers. I don't know. Without a fuller context, there's nothing
>one can reasonably say about the remark.
>
>Happy Friday.
>
>Greg O'Dea
>--
>Dr. Gregory O'Dea
>UC Foundation Associate Professor of English
>Assistant Director, University Honors Program
>University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
>Chattanooga, TN USA
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Kathy Winters" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Friday, April 25, 2003 4:21 PM
>Subject: Re: [UTCSTAFF] Did you know that UTC is for poor students only?
>
>
> > I still have a big problem with her statements.  As a state
> > representative, she, because of her position as a state legislator, is
> > responsible for the state of affairs in which we find the University.
> > The state allocates the money and therefore the resources the University
> > has.  This remark made in any context is unacceptable from a state
> > legislator.
> >
> > Secondly, I totally disagree with her.  We only have poor students????
> > We don't have any of the best and brightest?????  By what definition?
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> > Lee Harris
> > Sent: Friday, April 25, 2003 3:55 PM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: [UTCSTAFF] Did you know that UTC is for poor students only?
> >
> > Rep. Brown did not state that students attending UTC are dumb.  She
> > merely
> > said the best and brightest go to other schools.  Just because one is
> > not
> > among the "best and brightest" does not mean he or she is dumb.  The
> > categories "above average," "average,"  and "below average" may apply.
> >
> > We may not agree with Ms. Brown's opinion, but we must be careful in
> > attributing comments she did not make.
> >
> >
> > Lee D. Harris, Ph.D.
> > Assistant Professor
> > Cadek Department of Music - 1451
> > The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
> > 615 McCallie Avenue
> > Chattanooga, TN  37403-2598
> >
> > Voice:(423) 425-4620
> > FAX:  (423) 425-4603
> > Music Dept: (423) 425-4601
> >