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I remember the ATA Chronicle mentioning the Hamm Report many years ago. At the time, it didn’t occur to me to ask some basic questions: Was the Hamm Report ever published in full for ATA members to read and draw their own conclusions for themselves? I doubt it but feel free to correct me. More importantly: does the Hamm Report list the “most well-respected credentials [are] administered by an independent body, not a membership association”? Does CIOLinguists or ITI in the UK use independent bodies to administer their well-respected credentials? To what organizations was the American Translators Association compared in order to draw such conclusions?
On its face, opening the exam to nonmembers sounds wonderful and democratic. We forget that a professional association is, by definition, nonpopulist. Only members who meet stringent requirements are or should be allowed to take the exam or receive membership benefits. Have the downsides as well as the upsides been thoroughly explored by the ATA Board, which seems so hell-bent on passing this bylaw amendment? Isn’t the ATA Board supposed to represent ATA members instead of making draconian decisions?
After posting my initial comment, I wish to say that I’m more convinced of what I stated after reading what our colleague Jessica Hartstein, CT, CI, has stated in a cogent and well-balanced fashion. One of the reasons I have let my ATA membership lapse is precisely this kind of autocratic decision, this obstinate desire to hoist a major measure on members without proper deliberation or without discussing the facts. One of the reasons I became an ATA member in 1992 and took the certification exam back then was to be able to tell clients and colleagues that I am a committed professional, that I belong to a serious professional organization. ATA Board members, what are you doing?