Here's a story from this month's issue of the Atlantic Monthly about another kind of timebomb: Not claiming a real degree that you actually have. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/02/murphy.htm Tracy<><
Very amusing. I must admit that I have three different versions of my resume for different types of position. Each version omits a different set of potentially distracting credentials and/or accomplishments.
To add a bit of spice, the school in question is closed: http://www.mass.edu/text_only/p_p/closed.asp
Fascinating stuff. I discuss, in Bears' Guide, the common theme of politicians with doctorates generally downplaying (or ignoring that fact), presumably so they will not seem to be too high faluting. Newt Gingrich, Phil Gramm, and George McGovern are recent examples. Columnist Herb Caen suggested many people will not vote for someone they think is smarter than they are.
I've met Mayor Menino several times, he seems like a nice enough guy. He's got the rap of not being the brightest bulb on the tree because he sounds like he has a mouth full of mashed potatoes when he talks, earning him the nickname "Mumbles". Menino is a graduate of the College of Public & Community Service (CPCS) at UMass-Boston, as is former Congressman Joe Kennedy. Between Mumbles and "The Wizard of Uhs" (Joe has the common Kennedy trait of interjecting a million uhs, ers, and ums into what he's saying), CPCS doesn't exactly have a stellar academic reputation. Bruce
I suppose that trying to hide the fact (if one chooses to do so) that an RA degree was earned by DL is another form of "lifosuction." The article points out that most of us engage in this sort of thing from time to time, and we don't really think of the ethics behind it. I guess the only way I see a real ethical problem with it, is if leaving out specific information allows you to remake yourself into something that you are not. In terms of Mayor Menino, he wanted to portray himself specifically as someone who had climbed the ladder without the aid of higher education. Even if his degree didn't directly aid his ascent, hiding it is what makes it a potential timebomb. Perhaps the mayor should have just adopted President Bush's approach to his past, and simply said that he had done some shameful things. In Menino's case, no one would have suspected that earning a degree was the something he was not proud of. Tracy<><
