PERHAPS THEY DO NOT PROTEST ENOUGH. Atlantic Blog has responded to my take on grade inflation with a story of administrative grade-tampering. And, indeed, I have not had the experience of having all my grades adjusted upward by the administration. (The administration here does not have that power. And if it offered me such a warning, my response would be that it wouldn't happen again, because my resignation would be on the chairman's desk. I would rather dispatch trains -- or sling hash -- than be party to a lie.)

Sometimes I wonder if this evil isn't triumphing because good men and women are doing nothing. I reread Professor Rojstaczer's essay, and I see, "Parents and students want high grades. Given that students are consumers of an educational product for which they pay dearly, I am expected to cater to their desires not just to be educated well but to receive a positive reward for their enrollment." Note the Divine Passive. From whom comes that expectation? What power does that person wield? Is the prestige of a tenured post at an elite institution worth such a sacrifice of one's integrity?