The difficult part about writing my results from this survey is the fact that I was concern about my audience and if I was offending them, knowing that I was writing to those who participated in the survey. In addition, issues like proper terminology, stereotypes, and improper labeling made it difficult to analyze why people were offended without offending them!

I feel that this argument is more prevalent at a university like Cal Poly because of the closeness of the school and the community. This goes back to my argument that college students now see their teachers as people and therefore they desire a more personal relationship. In a small community like San Luis Obispo running into faculty around town, at bars, at the store, and on the bus is not uncommon and so it creates a familiarity. Also because we are able to have small and intimate classes this creates a more personal atmosphere even within the classroom. Other large schools like Berkeley or commuter schools within LA county like Cal Poly Pomona would not experience this same atmosphere that we have in San Luis Obispo.

An interesting point brought up by an instructor was why this debate exists in the classroom and nowhere else. "I find it very interesting that this is even a debate in higher education. Would we be having such a survey of physicians? Does anyone simply assume he/she can call his/her physician by his/her first name?" This question arises questions such as why this formality is required in other fields and yet in the classroom it is debatable. Possibly because of the desire for a more informal approach to teaching, and yet the demand for respect. Especially in this day and age where the classroom situation is much less formal than in the past, the issues of titles and respect are more prevalent in the teaching profession. Elaine Chaika brings up this same issue when talking about issues of titles. "There is no such ambivalence for medical doctors in the United States. They are almost always and everywhere called Dr. Even if a physician is younger than the patient, Dr. is the usual address"(Chaika 108). Chaika gives two reasons for this consistency in address: their position is virtually exalted and medicine is a highly respected endeavor.

And last, I was reassured by a statement made in one of the surveys where one stated that they did not even know what fellow faculty members preferred to be called within the department. "I wish more faculty would be explicit about their preferences!" So not only does this formality and ambiguity exist in the classroom but also between faculty members. The best advice I can provide is aim high, always show the person that the mutual respect is there, and if they want the relationship to be less formal they will tell you. Most of the staff agrees that within the department and amongst colleagues first names are proper and non-offensive.

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