m, a OPINION Page 4 Thursday, September 10, 1981 The Michigan Daily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan A MICHIGAN (WHERE?) GRAD SEEKS TR UTH Is there life after college? Vol. XCII, No. 1 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor,. MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board 'Smaller but better? R EDIRECTION, retrenchment, "smaller but better." No matter What the prevailing term, the changes the University faces, during the next decade will be a paramount concern. Throughout the past year, ad- ministrators have maintained that if it is to remain a quality institution, the University must concentrate on those areas in which it is strongest and eliminate its white elephants. We agree, to a great extent, with the ad- ministration's overall philosophy. The University needs some direction; it can't continue on a course of develop- ment focusing raw growth as its only goal. As administrators have pointed out, if the state's bleak financial situation were to improve dramatically, there is still a need to determine where the University is going in the 80s. Although we agree with the ad- ministration's underlying philosophy, we are greatly concerned about its methods of implementation. Ad- ministrators must take to heart the concerns and interests of the faculty and students. The University community deserves more than a condescending nod from president Harold Shapiro or a patronizing "I understand" from Vice president Bill Frye. Acceptable redirection will require effort by all administrators to carefully consider all viewpoints. A prime example of the ad- ministration's lack of concern for out- side opinions surfaced last June in the decision to eliminate the geography department. Although the LSA faculty voted to maintain the department and many students advocated keeping it, the administration chose elimination. We, in fact, supported elimination of the geography department; we strongly object, however, to the sense of predetermination put forth by ad- ministrators throughout the review process. From a purely practical standpoint, the administration should demonstrate its support of the faculty and student voice. If faculty self-governing proves impotent, the University will not be able to attract the quality academicians it so eagerly seeks. Few professors will choose a university in which they have no control over their academic destinies. The same will hold true for students. If programs and departments are stripped wantonly, with little heed to student wants or concerns, top-notch students will seek education elsewhere. The University can and should be directed in the 80s, but administrators must realize that in the implemen- tation of the smaller but better philosophy they are treading on thin ice. They should provide effective vehicles for students and faculty input redirection, if they want to maintain a well-rounded, solid academic en- vironment. I fell prey to catastrophe the other day. Af- ter a Pennsylvania state trooper pulled me over and "strongly insisted" that I turn in my Michigan driver's license for one from Pen- nsylvania, I made haste to take my written driver's test. Before I sat down at the examiners taable, I was handed a "PA Drivers Manual" and was urged to study it. "Hell," I thought. Here I am, a University of Michigan graduate, and I don't know how to drive? Stop at stop sign, go the right way down a one way street, and don't hit pedestrians. The multiple choice test was easy, and of 21 questions I answered 18 correctly-and I flunked! Nineteen, they told me, was the passing figure. I was crushed! My inflated ego was pun- ctured.sHad I received the equivalent of 18 out of 21 on the tests I took at Michigan, I not only would have graduated summa curn laude, but right now I would be dissecting cadavers and rubbing elbows with everyone who was anyone at Harvard Medical School. I present this as one more piece of evidence to support my thesis that post-college life is no cake course. I anticipated fun, freedom, and unrestricted pursuit of hedonistic pleasures once I graduated. Not so; alumni life is tough. I relish those memories of the difficult decisions I never had to make while at U of M. I just spent my fourth sleepless night trying to decide in which bank to "deposit $500 for at least two years." Will it be-Bank A, which will give me a blender, Bank B, which is waving a blender under my nose, or Bank C, which is enticing me with a blender? If I didn't want a blender so much, I would choose Bank D, which is offering interest at 171/2 percent. The most agonizing decisions I ever made in college occurred at the beginning of the semester when I set out to color-coordinate my folders and notebooks for my courses. (My career choice, by the way, was a By Nick Katsarelas relatively simple one. I never had to deal with the old "is it going to be law, business, or medical school" thing. With my grades, I grabbed my diploma and took the first job of- fer to come along.) Ah. To be back in college. Every night we used to sit around in our Lacoste shirts and Topsiders, drinking beer, playing cards, and singing college songs with lines like: "Mom and Dad pay all the bills while we have all theffun ... " Funny thing, though, nine months after I graduated, I get this note from the bank telling me that until my hair turns grey, I'll be paying them through the nose for the thousands of dollars worth of loans that paid for my education. I called Mom. "Hey. What is this loan business all about?" Irritated, she replied, "You think your father and I were going to pay all your bills while you were having all the fun at college?" And things like speaking are hardly easy now. I learned a new way to talk in Ann Arbor called collegespeak, a good example of which comes from a friend of mine who was recently describing one weekend night: "We were at Charley's, right? and it was crowded, I mean, we're talking no place to sit, right? so we finally get a table and sit down and order drinks And after a couple minutes this guy comes up and he's mega-cute, right? and he goes 'can I sit down?' and I go 'yeah' and he goes 'what's your name?' and I go 'Lisa,' right? and I notice he's got this fox on his shirt, I mean, we're talking Sears, right? and it was gross, you know, so when he wasn't looking I turned to Sherrie and I go 'gaud!' right under my breath, and it was like, get rid of him, right? so we finished our drinks and left. Basically." You think heroin is a tough habit to break?@ Try cutting out all the "rights" and "likes ' from your vocabulary. I break out itto a cold sweat whenever I have to write, which is every day, since I do it for a living. It's like not easy, you know? What is most shocking about these post-, college days is the reaction I get from people who've just been told I graduated from U of M. In Ann Arbor I used to see T-shirts that claim "Michigan-Harvard of the Midwest." Needless to say, I was taken by surprise when I failed to see any T-shirt out here that React "Harvard-Michigan of the East." One more thing. Recently,tI had the oppor- tunity to meet the president of one of those pint-sized private colleges out here-you know, the ones the size of your high school?-and after asking where I got my degree, he said 0h, Michigan. Now that'sa. good school. That's the one in East Lansing, right?" I guess there's a current country-western hit that zeroes in on my "life after college." It's a song by Clint Rizzo and the Beautymarks, called "The Easy Life is so Damn Hard." It's about a coal miner who, af- ter graduating from junior college, finds out the coal mines aren't all they're cracked up to be. The chorus goes like this I gave up my Wallabees For a pair of working shoes The easy life wasn 't supposed to be Sooooo daaamn haaard. Really. Nick Katsarelas, a former Daily repor- ter, said that if he had to do it all over again, he would be a Saudi Arabian sheik, "so's I could buy me one of them video games. ' .r U! ~ Wi The Daily policy O NE OF THE most important aspects of any newspaper is its opinion page. In addition to presenting the newspaper's official stance on selected issues, the page provides an open forum for ideas of the com- munity. Daily staff members take their responsibility on the Opinion Page very seriously. At many newspapers the publisher, who holds the purse strings, and a small group of editors decide on the publication's editorial position. But because the Daily is financially independent and student- managed, no publisher dictates its thoughts or philosophies; Daily editorials represent a consensus of the Daily's editorial board, in which any Daily staff member may participate. Each person has an equal vote; not even the editor-in-chief may negate a vote or overrule the editorial board's decision. Official Daily editorials appear on the left side of the page, but any staff member is welcome to offer opposing yiews on the right side of the page. Readers, too, play an important part on the right side of the page. For that space, readers are welcome to submit guest columns and letters to the editor. These columns and letters are signed and do not necessarily represent the views of the Daily staff. Readers are encouraged to contribute so the page can present a full range of opinions. Not every letter or column submitted will be run, but the Daily strives to represent all viewpoints. Most cartoons appearing on the page are from national news syndicates, but here, too, readers are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. PAY HERE 9 1t r" Ott U4~i . . 'TNANK You ANO REWMBEI 7RAT i3r PAAY ItYCI 183% MORE J1iON YOU 'RE po11/6 YOURk per I N -cy S. T -CUNVR1YS a Ot1~~~~TIN TT~U/rRI' NAL3 DUTf BETUR I -OuLPINq1 YOUWLLE-! '' UObtRitbiganilati Vol. XCII, No. 1 Thursday, September 10, 1981 The Michigan Daily is edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan. Published daily Tuesday through Sunday mornings during the University year at 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109. Sub- scription rates: $12 September through April (2 semesters); $13by mail out- side Ann Arbor. Summer session publisnea Tuesday through saturday mor- nings. Subscription rates: $6.50 in Ann Arbor; $7 by mail outside Ann Arbor. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE MICHIGAN DAILY, 420 Maynard Street, Ann Ar- bor, MI 48109. The Michigan Daily isa member of the Associated Press and subscribes to United Press Inter- national, Pacific News Service, Los Angeles Times Syndicate and Field Newspapers Syndicate. News room: (313) 764-0552,76-DAILY: Sports.desk: 764-0562; Circulation: 764-0558; Classified Ad- vertising: 764-0557; Display advertising: 764-0554; Billing: 764-0550; Composing room: 764-0556. Special New Student Editon Staff Editor-University, Arts & Living ............ ..............STEVE HOOK Editor-News, City, Surviving ......................PAMELA KRAMER Associate Editor-News ........................CHRISTOPHER POTTER Editor-Sports ................................. MARK MIHANOVIC Associate Editors-Sports ........... ........... MARK FISCHER, BUDDY MOOREHOUSE Editors-Photography...........................JACKIE BELL DAT TT . TIIRTnM Student apathy: Who needs it? Six years ago, the Daily carried a full page advertisement which told students in a hand- lettered scrawl: "Clothes are irrelevant bourgeois socially restricting products of a capitalistic society-but if you need any, we've got the groovy stuff . . . The Plastic Reality is called a credit card, and it helps you to get yourself together without getting it all together at once. Be a plastic activist and confront us about opening an account in your name." The ad reads like some bizarre satire of The Sixties Radical, and it's a pretty good in- dication (advertisers tend to know their stuff) that by 1975, student activism was on its way down the tubes. Now, in 1981, the situation has not improved. TODAY'S STUDENT is described as- lethargic and apathetic by local politicians and campus leaders. Historians are calling us the "Me Generation," and accusing us of having 30-minute attention spans. And then, there's always the 35-year-old: "When I was on campus, we cared. We were out protesting 2Anfcd+ +in*n ai mh#w..a m,.rnnarnw uni By Pamela Kramer ALTHOUGH STUDENTS usually live in Ann Arbor for only a few years, they are very much a part of the city, and they have a responsibility to improve it in any way they can, if only out of self-interest. It is important to have city council members who will look out for student concerns, but if students won't demand such representation through voting, they shouldn't expect to get it. Students often feel powerless to alter situations in which they are getting the short end of the deal. But they are not powerless. Ann Arbor's unique housing nightmare is a specific example of students working to change things. Tenants may think they have it bad now, but the housing situation used to be worse: Illegal leases were the rule, maintenance was vir- tually non-existent, and most tenants had very little knowledge of their rights. But in 1970. a grrnm nf tenants deided thev had had On campus, there is also a need for in- creased student participation. Nearly all of the student groups are suffering declining membership. Even the major organizations, such as PIRGIM and the Michigan Student Assembly, are complaining that low levels of involvement are hindering them in accom- plishing their goals. BUT THE "worthiness" of campus groups is not the only factor which should attract students. Participation is not all labor; it is usually more fun than work. And, it's impor- tant to note that the experience gained can be very helpful in post-college life. With all of these wonderful positive points, why are levels of student involvement so low? Writing the problem off to raw narcissismis too simplistic. Students today are facing an. economic crisis-complete with cuts in finan- cial aid and hikes in tuition-as well as in- creasing competition for grades (it's all part of getting into grad school, or finding a choice spot in the job market). MORE STIDENTS HAVE tn nend mora -