Education: And Still the Roaring Gut

Even in the day of ever-rising academic standards and ever-brighter freshman classes, it is still possible for students to earn a credit or two without really trying. Despite the best efforts of administrators to stamp them out, U.S. universities still have their share of "micks" (Mickey Mouse courses), "snaps," "guts" or "roaring guts."

Once in a while, the guts are tacitly tolerated by the school to preserve the eligibility of dim-witted athletes. Many more, however, simply reflect the good intentions of such kindly professors as Stanford Political Scientist James T. Watkins IV, who rarely...