Student quality remains high

The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 4, 1980-Page 19-A
Capet 9ewern

719 N. UNIVERSITY

665-4355

By JOYCE FRIEDEN
One thing that is always true about
the University is that it is never the
e. Every year old faces leave and
a e replaced by new ones. Faculty
members come and go, even the foot-
ball team's record varies (slightly)
rom year to year.
However, one thing that does not vary
reatly in any given year, according to
tatistics furnished by the Office of
dmissions, is the quality of students
dmitted to the University.
CCORDING TO the latest figures, of
4400 freshpersons admitted for the
-81 school year, half were ranked in
he top eight per cent of their
raduating class. This figure has
emained the same for the past five
ears.

A similar consistency is found in
freshperson Scholatic Achievement
Test scores: 50 per cent of this.year's
class had a verbal score of 530 or above
and a math score of 600 or above.
Neither of these figures have changed
over the past two years.
"We've been remarkably consistent
in the last four years in the measurable
qualitive statistics (of entering studen-
ts)," said Cliff Sjogren, University
Director of Admissions. "Of the other
Big Ten public universities we've.
looked at, only the University of Illinois
even comes close to us in student
quality."
SJOGREN SAID that out of 12,000 ap-
plications the University receives each
year, about 7,000 students are accepted
and 4,400 are actually enrolled.

"Believe it or not, Michigan is the
second choice for some students, such
as those that also applied to Harvard
and Yale," Sjogren said, explaining the
drop-off between admission and
enrollment. "And sometimes, students
who have been admitted find they can't
afford to go here."
He emphasized that the University
does not try to build up its image by
rejecting lots of applications. "Some
schools take pride in the number of ap-
plications they refuse," said Sjogren.
"Then they think people will say, 'Wow,
only one person in five gets in; it must
be a good school.' We try to demystify
our application procedure so we can
say no to fewer people."
It is for that reason, Sjogren con-
tinued, that interested high school

graduates receive a notice with their
admission application that includes a
chart of test scores and class percentile
rank among freshmen of previous
years. "This way the students can
assess their chances of getting in. We
think self-selection of a college is much
better than applying to a school you
don't know much about," he said.
Sjogren added that because of the
worsening economic situation, the
University has been intensifying its
recruiting efforts to ensure that high-
quality students are attracted t
Michigan. "I'm pleased with the
results. Quality is holding up nicely in
view of the rising costs of Michigan,"
he said.

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Tips for studying at the Grad

By NICK KATSARELAS
A former friend of mine, explaining her con-
spicuous absence for our date last Saturday evening,
told me how she wound up studying at the Graduate
Library all night. After informing her the Grad closes
on Saturdays at 6:00 p.m., she reddened, blurted out
something about being late for work at Mr. Tony's on
State Street, and ran off.
I contemplated this poor girl's misinformation con-
cerning the Grad (and about recently-closed
taurants). She is only one of many students who
possess a wealth of questions about libraries. This.
prompted me to write a column offering advice and
information on the Grad, granddaddy of University
libraries.
First of all, if you want to study, go directly to the
stacks. But if you want to have a social evening with
an academic orientation, then the reference room is
the, place for you. There are certain rules of etiquette
that one should observe if one wants to "study"
there:

1) Walk into the reference room looking good; change, breath mint:
people are watching you. Your hair must be schedule, and candy, as
groomed; your coat, buttoned correctly. Tidy up in crinkly wrapper.
the lobby before entering. 7) Whether you use 1
2) Determine beforehand whether you will go to must be laid out for all
the right or the left side of the room; your in- spicuously place Gifis' I
decisiveness will be noticed instantly, and people will while Barron's Guide to]D
point and laugh. pre-meds.
3) Do not choose the first seat you arrive at; you 8) Now you are ready
are discriminating in your taste. alone. You should go
4) When you finally do choose your seat, remain someone you haven't see
standing for a pregnant moment. Look about you and 9) Every so often, lot
get your bearings. This also provides the chance for calculated nervousness.
your friends to locate you when they want to come Make sure you impinge
over for the quarter-hour breaks. the angry person next to
5) Once you are seated, get comfortable. Brush your frustration. But ren
your hair again, push up your glasses, and for God's in this. It just means y
sake, be certain your collars are buttoned down. Pile means your classes are
your books neatly before you, making just enough pre-med, pre-law or pre-
noise to distract the surrounding people. be making a hell of a lot
6) Do you have all your supplies? You should person next to you, wh
probably have multicolored hi-liters, kleenex, your face if you don't like

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r1meU V 10 L L)
(Continued from Page 1)
political left are getting tenure."
Lori said committee members are
investigating the tenure appointments
and course curriculua of each LSA
department through the '60s and '70s to
termine if these trends indeed exist.
"We haven't done too much," she
said.."We plan to do the bulk of the
work in the fall."
LORI ADDED that part of the
grqtip's research consists of looking
through University publications con-
taining profiles of each professor who
has worked at the University.
Day maintained that committee
members have met with LSA Executive
Committee members to discuss why
en and Wald were denied tenure.
he added letters.have been sent to
Executive Committee members on
behalf of the three professors.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE mem-
bers reached by telephone stated that
tenure decisions are reached with a
great deal of deliberation, and politics
never enters into any part of the
dis'ussions.
've' neer been involved in any
sgisions otherthan those concerning
rvice, teaching, and scholarly
cord," said Executive Committee
menber Albert Feuerwerker. "I don't
kndw of the political activities of these
professors."
"I never had the feeling political
decisions in any way affected the final
decisions," said Executive Committee
member Edna Coffin. "I had some
preconceptions about the Executive
Committee before I was selected to
erve on it, and I can see that from the
*side some decisions may appear to
political, but this not true."
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE mem-
Anderson
stops in A2
(Continued from Page 1)
shouted "What about the cruise mis-
sile?," a reference to Anderson's
Cohgressional support of that weapons
sy$tem. When he proposed a
mqratorium on new nuclear power
plants, a heckler shouted "Clinch
River," a breeder reactor project that
Aiderson voted to fund as a
congressman.
In an interview with three University
experts at the WUOM studio later in the
y, Anderson explained in more detail
me of his views on economic and
foreign relations matters.
lie defended his platform proposal
that the president be empowered to
raise and lower the tax rates up to 10
per cent: "Having been in the Congress
for 20 years, I have noted that Congress
does not always have the best sense of
timiing."
When one of the panelists quoted

I

s questia
ber Elizabeth Douvan said it was
"ridiculous" to think one's political
beliefs would hurt one's chances for
tenure.
"Last year we granted tenure to plen-
ty of professors who have political
backgrounds," she noted..
Executive Committee member Carl
Cohen said "there is no general policy
concerning cutting back on the number
of faculty members who teach in un-
conventional areas. Finances, he ad-
ded, have no influence on tenure
decisions either."
But some LSA faculty members felt
Wald's tenure denial was political.
One faculty member who asked to
remain unidentified %aid Wald has an
excellent publishing record in Marxist
studieg. It's superior to most of the
tenured professors in the English
Department. If he was writing about
any other field he would have been
tenured."
ANOTHER FACULTY MEMBER,
who also asked to remain unidentified.,
said "Wald's first book had excellent
reviews and he's in the process of
publishing another . . . It may be a
political case," he added.
"My record merited early scholar-
ship and any investigation of it will
show it is strong from an objective
basis," Wald said. He declined to com-
ment further.
Owen, who teaches Southeast Asian
history and has published ten articles in
various academic journals and curren-
tly has one book in manuscript form,
said he didn't see his case as political in
a "narrowly defined sense."
"I COULDN'T SEE anyone in the

n tenure denials

department saying 'let's get him,' " he
said. Owen added, however, that his
support of Joel Samoff, . a former
assistant professor who was alleged to
have been denied tenure in 1978 for
political reasons, may have hurt him in
an "indirect sense."
"Anything you say or do or don't say
or do may affect the final decision,"
explained Owen, who said he considers
himself more radical than the average
professor. "It's possible that there may
be professors in the history department
and College that aren't happy with
me."
John Reiff, a graduate student in
history who has worked with Owen as
both a student and teaching assistant
and attended three group meetings,
said there is some speculation among
the ad-hoc committee members that
Owen's tenure may be political because
of the sensitive nature of his field.
"HE (OWEN) TEACHES the course
from the perspective of - the Viet-
namese," Reiff explained. "He points
out the devastation the U.S. caused
during the war and the lasting effects it
has had on the Vietnamese people."
Reiff added that other Philippine
scholars around the country considered
Owen one of the foremost authorities in
the field and when word got out that he
was denied tenure, letters from
academicians around the country were
sent on Owen's behalf to then-LSA Dean
Billy. Frye and history department
Chairman Jacob Price.
Hunt, who also supported Samoff and
divestment from South Africa, said his
tenure denial had nothing to do with
academic freedom or political per-

I inyl