Sad statistics on academics

How painful to read your story, “USG surveys academic life” (Campus Notebook, April 25). Here we learn that Princeton students spend only 26 hours per week on coursework outside of class. For courses that require more than four hours per week of reading, students report that, on average, they do only 53 percent of it. A majority remain indignant, however, about a University policy that tries to keep the number of A grades to 35 percent.

Perhaps most disturbing is the comment of Michael Yaroshefsky ’12, the student leader who oversaw the survey. “Clearly,” he said, “academics are a priority.” Reading 53 percent of the assignment reflects a priority?

Princeton students are among the most highly selected in our country. Can there be a more poignant sign of America’s decline than this?