“I’m beginning to suspect that Sunny G might be Sun God,” one student said.
Photo by Julia Wong
Earlier this week on Sun God lawn, Sunny G was found wearing a patchwork cape, constructed of sewn-together evaluation printouts from UCSD’s Course and Professor Evaluations System. Such a wealth of data potentially helpful to students in avoiding difficult professors in their future courses was described as “quite a sight to behold.” However, onlookers expressed some concerns about Sunny’s actions.
One student, an ardent advocate for data privacy, said, “This is a tremendous violation. CAPEs contain confidential information, with the identity of each student removed before being seen! But Sunny’s CAPEs cape has not been at all anonymized. Professors could know exactly which students said exactly which disparaging things about them.” One environmentally conscious student also complained that the amount of paper used was just “problematic in every way possible,” and that “worse still, the cape isn’t even fashionable!”
When asked as to why he was doing this, Sunny G said, “I’m just trying to raise awareness, man. Everyone’s gotta evaluate their professors! It means so much to some students to have this as a resource, to know which profs to avoid. Unfortunately, too many of the kids these days just don’t check their emails, so I have to do things more organically. Total bummer. But it is good to be outside, in the sun, in my domain. And my CAPEs cape does look pretty fuckin’ sick.”
Even with all of Sunny’s awareness-raising, many professors continue to have very low response rates, finding themselves with no option but to dole out extra credit to their entire class if they can get the rate above 85%. A quick glance at CAPE response rates by class makes it all too clear which professors are participating in this scheme.
Still, not all professors view the enthusiastic god of the sun in a positive light. One professor remarked, “Every year, as Sunny makes a bigger deal out of CAPEs, my evaluations get worse and worse! There’s no way that is my fault. Now he is back to practically bribing them with his … festival, and I am left with no choice but to bribe my students right back with comprehensible, non-ambiguous assignments and reasonable, fair assessments! Unbelievable.” However, another professor came to Sunny’s defense, saying, “I just show some concern for my students every once in a while. You know, put myself into their shoes, not overwork their TAs, and all that. Believe it or not, my ‘would recommend’ rate is consistently in the mid-to-high 90s!”
When prompted about the complaints, Sunny said, “Look, if you’ve got a problem with it, just let us know in CAPEs. When in doubt, CAPE it out! Oh, and read your spam folder while you’re at it.”
As word spread, students began walking backwards underneath Sun God, glancing upwards to try and get insight as to which professors’ classes they should angle to sign up for for the next quarter. “Ultimately, the professors don’t change, especially the ones with tenure,” said one knowledgeable third-year. “I mean, you see the cape is behind him, right? That’s because Sunny’s not reading them. I’ve just learned to make the most of the system and avoid the bad ones. Thanks, Sunny!”
And yet, for all the fuss that was made, and after all the fractions of percentages of extra credit duly doled out, the majority of evaluations for the most hardworking of TAs, IAs, and tutors remained unfinished.
