Reactions

Letters to the editor

White-water sports

This note has nothing to do with chemistry, but like any chemical reaction or finding, the accuracy of the information is important. I comment on the drawing appearing in the Dec. 6, 2021, issue of C&EN, both on page 3 under “Features” and in larger form on page 31 under Office Hours. The drawing is of a white-water kayak paddler about to enter a slalom gate. There are two errors in the drawing. First, one does not paddle through a pair of red poles in a downstream direction. The poles should be with green stripes. Red means an upstream gate. Secondly, the ends of the two poles are in the water. Rules state they must not be in contact with the water, approximately 20 cm from the water’s surface.

Also, the author refers to white-water rafting in the article, but the image shows white-water kayaking. The paddler has a double-bladed paddle and therefore is paddling a kayak in the sitting position. White-water canoeing is done with the paddler in a kneeling position and using a single bladed paddle.

David Kurtz
State College, Pennsylvania

Editor’s note: C&EN editors, not the author, chose the stock illustration for this article.

Students as customers

In response to the letter to the editor in the Dec. 13/20, 2021, issue (page 7), I would respond to Ronald Hites with the following: You appear put out that your university asks students at the end of each semester to complete a survey on your ability to instruct in the specific subject matter and that the students are “customers.” Well, when someone pays for a service—such as for university education—you are a service provider, and that makes the person paying for your service a customer. Just like when you pay for the 15 min to see a physician. For the 15 min that the physician is with you (if you are lucky enough to garner 15 min), you are their customer. Frankly, I think it is long overdue to treat the service provider as being just that—a paid-for service provider. I wish I had been afforded the opportunity during my days in the university to rank some of my “service providers’ ” abilities. Many were brilliant in their fields but were lousy at teaching. Hopefully your university actually reads and reacts to the results of the survey to improve the overall quality of the “product” being sold.

Francis Walker
Tecumseh, Michigan