Swake in the Grass

There is quite a lively debate going on over in the TulsaNow.org forums about my transcript problems. The debate started with the question of "In Tulsa, is this what they call front page news?"

I am collecting some of the questions and postulations, in the hope of clarifying some of the most common. However, I felt compelled to quickly respond to the wild imaginings posing as "probable truth," by the cynical "Swake."

Mr. "Swake," whose real name is Onslow S. Wakeford, III, is a resident of Jenks. He has made no secret of his disdain for me. Today, after questioning my integrity he offered the following theory:

"...I want to know what proof has been presented that his getting his MBA would be so simple, who has he shown his transcript to? Are we now taking his “word” on that? Maybe he is missing one class but his overall GPA might not be high enough to awarded a masters, that would be a good reason to take an “I” instead of a grade and then be denied the degree. I’m guessing the truth is something like that."

Well, so sorry to disappoint. Who have I shown my transcript to? Try none other than P.J. Lassek of the Tulsa World. She was allowed to see it on Friday afternoon after I got an official copy from TU. Unfortunately, she was too impatient to wait for me to learn what the reality of my situation was before surveying the other councilors for their reactions to my transcript transgression.

The average person reading her Sunday story would assume the following timeline:

Ask Medlock for initial response ===> Wait to see transcript and Medlock reaction ===> survey other councilors for reaction to Medlock's explanation.

However, she transposed the the last two steps, so you got really great quotes from my peers who feared/hoped for the worst. [Just another subtle form of media bias.]

Given that Mr. Wakeford is a frequent defender of the World editorial board, I would hope he'd be willing to take the World's word for it...but believe me, no one knows how difficult such a leap of faith is, for a rational person.

It is apparent that Mr. Wakeford is beginning to realize that this incident, despite its placement above-the-fold on the front page of the Sunday World, is unlikely to be a cherry bomb, as opposed to the thermonuclear bomb for which my detractors had hoped. As such, in the best tradition of the conspiracy theorists, he summons up the moral certitude of a Baptist elder and proclaims a likely scenario that not only portrays me as a liar, but stupid, too!

It's perfect. Too bad Mr. Wakeford isn't as prescient when facts are presented as he is when he has an entire palette of possibility on which to paint. So, Osmond, just so we can let you save your quota of 'suspended disbelief' for the next Michael Moore movie, I offer you and all of my detractors a copy of my transcript. [Sorry...I redacted my ID number so that I might enjoy some measure of privacy.]

A COPY OF MY TRANSCRIPT

Please note the following:

1. My cumulative GPA coming out of the Spring 1992 semester was a 3.714. Honors was 3.75, which supports my contention that I took the "I" to attempt to get the "A" I would need to move above 3.75.
2. I took 9 credit hours during the Summer 1992 semester. TU officials warned grad students that the work load for graduate classes was double that for undergrad business work. As such, a 9 credit hour semester would be equivalent to taking 18 hours of undergraduate work. Because the summer semester was half as long as a standard semester, taking 6 hours was the equivalent in course work as taking 24 credit hours during a standard undergrad semester.
3. Going into that final summer semester, my GPA for "non-quant" classes was a respectable 4.0. International Marketing was just such a course, which should support my contention that I had an "A" in the class without "the paper." [Yes...I know, that's inductive and not deductive logic...but give me a little slack, ok?]
4. After the summer session, I ended up with two "B's" in what should've been blow off classes for me. This supports my contention that the strain of working 40 hours per week on an internship [that turned into a five-year job], taking what amounted to 24 credit hours of class work, working 10 - 15 hours a week in the computer lab to meet my Teaching Assistantship requirements, as well as sending out resume's to other companies, just in case my internship didn't pan out, impacted my ability to "nail" those two classes.
5. 30 credit hours is all that was required to earn an MBA if the student had a BS or equivalent in a business discipline, from an acreditted university. I had a BS in Marketing [yes...I know that's redundant] from Northeaster State University.

Sorry if these facts don't gibe with your well thought out scenario, Swake.

I do want to remind those that didn't read my prior posting on this issue, that I blame no one for this situation other than myself. It is definitely embarrassing. However, I would hope that you would ask for the facts, wait for the facts and analyze the facts, before coming to such a cynical conclusion.

Grant me that respect and I will show you the same.