Students Support Zucker

To The Editor:

I was shocked to hear that Dr. Ross Zucker was not granted tenure. In my time on campus his was the most professional and informative class I have attended, bar none. No professor comes to class as prepared, nor knows his or her field nearly as well as Dr. Zucker knows his, and very few are able to maintain the type of student/professor relationship outside of class that is status quo for Dr. Zucker. Dr. Zucker is one of the most well published professors that this university employs, and access to his work on economic redistributive justice, whether one agrees with it or not, has made the political science department of YU as good as it is today. I am ashamed to be part of a university that could neglect to recognize this, and am appalled that he will not be returning to the university.

Noach D. Roth

SSSB '00

To the Editor:

I have been extremely privileged to take Dr. Ross Zucker for several courses during my years at YU. During that time, I have found that Dr. Zucker truly cares about the students that he teaches, unlike many other professors in YU, and other schools.

As any student of Zucker's, past or present, would say, no matter the topic, no matter the time, he is always available to help the student out and come to the right decision or outcome. As a former member of the J.P. Dunner Political Science Society board, and YCSC Treasurer, I have had many different occasions to see who Dr. Zucker is outside of class, and found even more so that he is always available.

As a former student and student leader, I would say that the administration once again is not listening to the collective voices of the students and are therefore losing one of the most popular professors that YU has seen in quite some time. In the future, I would seriously urge the administration of this institution to listen to the voices of the most important people - the students!

Joseph Glass

YC '98

To the Editor:

It is absolutely amazing. The previous issue of The Commentator contained a double full page spread of letters from students sincerely shocked and dismayed at the news of Dr. Zucker's termination. Your professor message board online is growing on a daily basis with even more student outcries on this ostensibly senseless act by the tenure committee. Even more amazing, is that after learning of all the reasons given by administrators on which they based their decision, all I hear from countless students is the exact opposite. They have nothing negative to say about him and only praise him and his methods, his enthusiasm and apparent unconditional (dare I say love) of educating his students. I have never had the privilege of being a student in any of his classes, although both my brothers have, and are in close contact with him. The extraordinary Dr. Ross Zucker seems to be a prime example of what an excellent teacher should be, someone all supposed "educators" should look up to and emulate. Dr. Zucker's only apparent crime is that he gained the love, trust and respect of his students, a stark accomplishment not too many can lay claim to. Poor guy.

Ephraim Shapiro

YC '00