Carol Ann Graduates ... Officially

HoustonChronicle.com - Councilwoman gets degree she said she had

Gotta say, John Parras just went down a notch in my book. Jist of the story is that Carol Alvarado has claimed a degree from UH despite the fact that she hadn't completed a writing proficiency exam that's a requirement for graduation.

Carol graduated around the time I did, and I can attest to the fact that this requirement wasn't really done justice at UH. When I took mine, there were precious few dates and times to take the exam. I crammed mine into a Saturday I had to request off from work at the last minute. Long line somewhere in the Social Sciences department. But a relatively simple essay exam.

I remember mine asking to identify three heros and explain their significance to me. As a point of personal pride, I aced it with a perfect grade. But really, they're just checking to make sure you can write complete sentences before they hand you a diploma.

Given that the publicity for this requirement wasn't all that high, I really wouldn't be shocked if there were plenty of others out there thinking they've got a degree in hand when they may not. Not surprisingly, the requirement has since been dropped.