Wouldn't be dead for quids

Often enough, but mainly from fellow oldies in Australia, Guambat was amused to hear the phrase, "I wouldn't be dead for quids." It was a phrase uttered usually in the midst of a distressing and challenging situation requiring full attention and effort, but sometimes in a moment of exuberance.

Guambat recalled that phrase, though for no particular reason, when reading the following story using the phrase quid pro quo. It just amuses to see the bared thinking process of a political mind trying to squirm out of a hole dug entirely by himself to place blame elsewhere: the pot calling the kettle unethical.

Law Dean’s E-Mail Shows Distaste for Clout-Heavy Admissions Decisions

"She won't hurt us terribly, but she certainly won't help us," Dean [formerly of the School of Law at the University of Illinois] Heidi Hurd wrote in reference to the applicant, in an e-mail to Chancellor Richard Herman. "If you tell me we need to do this one, we will. We'll remember it though!"

"Please admit," Herman replied. "I understand no harm."

The Chicago Tribune obtained Hurd’s e-mail and hundreds others under a Freedom of Information Act request that showed “an ongoing power struggle between educators who want to protect the integrity of the state's most prestigious public university and administrators who also feel compelled to appease powerful lawmakers.” The article notes that lawmakers making requests on behalf of constituents oversee educational budgets, creating pressure to acquiesce.

The state senator making the request, Chris Lauzen, told the Tribune his request was part of delivering good service to constituents, and the student he recommended was highly qualified. He said the upsetting part of the e-mail exchange was the tone of Hurd’s e-mail. "If it were me, I'd fire her, maybe for insolence," Lauzen said. "If she doesn't believe the person is qualified, she should say no. Instead, she asks for a quid pro quo. Where are her ethics?"

Her ethics??

The Tribune article goes on to say,

subpar applicants gained admission to the U. of I. with the sway of state lawmakers and university trustees. The investigation revealed that acceptance decisions at times occurred over the objections of admissions officers in deference to power brokers.

Further analysis of the 1,800 documents reveals how intertwined admissions decisions were with political maneuverings in Springfield. The Tribune found instances in which the school's lobbyists overrule rejections, "blow up" at admissions staff and forward veiled threats from politicians who want candidates admitted.

Documents show both Democrats and Republicans asked lobbyists to track the status of more than 500 applicants, accounting for well more than half of the names on a clout list maintained during the past five years.

But this is probably only limited to the State of Illinois and does not represent any degradation of the American education system, neh?