0 w w lw rn W IGe +'-:::::. *.v .*. xv,."i: *. ::: *..'..:: ... ....... .: ..x , r::. r:.:. ' .**.*.* . .*w.::..*:. *. COVER STORY Winners Page 1 This week's cover story won first-place in the 1983 LSA Student Government essay contest on the value of a liberal arts education. LSA Senior Kent Grayson received $200 for his fictional essay, entitled Mike's Beard, about a calculus teaching assistant who dares to mix Shakespeare's poetry with a math lecture. Cover photo by Doug McMahon. MUSIC Battling bands Page 3 It began as a successful contest at Michigras last year, where local bands challenged one another to a melodic duel. The winners have gone on to seek local and national stardom. Read this week's article to find out about this year's spectacular repeat performan-' ce. He may not be a "fiddler on the roof," but 30-year- old Peter Zazofsky has succeeded in doing some sen- sational fiddling at Rackham Auditorium. Come examines this member of a new generation of musicians, who has chosen Ann Arbor as the spot for his debut. THE LIST Happenings Pages 5-8 Your guide to fun times for the coming week in Ann Arbor. Film capsules, music previews, theater notes, and bar dates, all listed in a handy-dandy, day-by-day schedule. Also, check out our restaurant list. FEATURE Middle-East melodies Page 9 She started her career by winning first place in a talent contest and rose to international stardom. Chava Alberstein, Israel's "Singer of the Year," starts her tour early to make an Ann Arbor ap- pearance. Read the history behind this hummer of Hebraic harmonies. DANCE By leaps and bounds Page 9 Read how the Oakland Ballet Company manages to demonstrate didactic dancing in pieces such as, In- consequential, Waterways, and Dvorak Dances. The company is said to grace Ann Arbor audiences with its fine art of performance. BOOKS Tall story Page 12 Discover how one special athlete overcame a series of obstacles to become a big-time basketball hero. This week's magazine takes a peek at Kareem Abdul- Jabber's autobiography, Giant Steps, and tells how it manages to transcend the usual autobiography fare. ning different things in different ways. Thus, when a student graduates with a liberal arts education, the student is not necessarily trained in a specific field, but is fully prepared to become trained in a variety of fields. The graduating liberal arts student chooses from a greater range of jobs or graduate schools. Once employed, the liberal ar- ts student is more able to assume dif- ferent responsibilities or change jobs entirely. Also, despite the specificity of many jobs, knowledge in other areas will always enhance professional per- formance. Ability to communicate with fellow workers about a variety of topics, knowledge of business organization, facility with a foreign language, and comprehension of economics, to name a few, will all im- prove workplace interaction and satisfaction. In a sense, the process of training is vertical, like constructing a tall building, and the process of a liberal ar- ts education is horizontal, like laying a massive foundation. One cannot assert which course of action is better; it comes down to a matter of personal preference. However, it is clear that each method is equally effective in helping a student to be successful after graduation. Just as Mike showed with his proof, there is more than one way to achieve a desired result. Here at the University, a student can effectively pursue either course of ac- tion. The University has countless disciplines and subdisciplines available for exploration, enabling a student to get a quality education in a variety of fields. Almost all of those fields have more than enough classes to give a student a thorough and specific training. Because of that variety at the University, it is even possible to pursue an education and a training at the same time, giving a student the benefits of both. By doing so, a student graduates with an optimal education: One becomes a "Jack of All Trades" and a "Master of One." However, building horizontally and vertically at the same time is not easy. Here at the University, the possibilities are limited somewhat by what appears -W Weekend Frday, March 2, 1954 VOI.II Is e 17 Magazine Editor: ..... ............Mare Hodges Sales Manager ................... Debbie Dioguardai Assistant Sales Manager ............ Laurie Truske Weekend is edited and managed by students on the staff of The Michigan Daily at 420 Maynard, Ann Ar- bor, Michigan, 48109. It appears in the Friday edition of the Daily every week during the University year and is available for free at many locations around the campus and city. Weekend, (313) 763-0379 and 763-0371; Michigan Daily, 764-0552; Circulation, 764-0558; Display Adver- tising, 764-0554. Copyright 1984, The Michigan Daily. > r _ 1 Y9) - 10% off purchase of any Baked Goods exp. March 8 " We have the best pita in town. " Large variety of baked goods. " Fabulous sandwiches. " Distinct Mediterranean salads. 0 Vegetarian grape leaves and Kibbi ... Mon. - Sat. 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. 407 N. Fifth 665-6211 SURPRISE!o (DELIVERED) BIRTHDAY CAKE Call 668-6058 for a beautiful cake for your special friend. Dom Bakeries will deliver or you can pick it up at any of our 4 locations. 1. Please order at least 3 days in advance. 2. Add $5.00 for delivery. 3. We deliver M-F, between 2-6 P.M. 4. Please pay prior to, or at delivery. FILL OUT THIS ORDER FORM AND CALL 668-6058 'I can still picture his bearded face smiling as he solved limit equations on the same blackboard with Shakespeare's sonnet.' insignificant and fruitless. To use Pope's metaphor, despite the colossal significance of each Alp, the moun- tains' sheer abundance can dishearten even the most dedicated climbers. The University needs to provide an incen- Sterile classroom: No time for poetry r=u Michigan Ensemble Theatre Ann Arbor's Resident Professional Theatre Presents August Strindberg's Miss Julie with Markle Marie Chambers Directed By Christopher and Erik Fredricksen to be a greater positive emphasis on training than on education. Job placement and high grade point averages are touted as vital goals, while pursuit of course variety is ex- plained, if at all, as a necessary evil. Indeed, distribution requirements and accessibility of classes in other colleges provide some inducements for a minimal liberal arts education. However, two obstaclesto a more com- prehensive education exist, ones that can be easily eliminated. The first is a lack of specific and satisfying academic goals for educational pursuit. The second is a somewhat daunting grading and class offering system that discourages students pursuing training from also pursuing an education. A LIBERAL ARTS education is less focused than training, and is there- fore inherently less goal-oriented. Because, as Pope adroitly describes, knowledge is boundless, liberal arts students can feel as if their efforts are tive for students to delve into disciplines without acquiring a training-level capability in each. This incentive should be more than the satisfaction of completing a distribution requirement; it should be similar in desirability to an academic award or perhaps even a degree. The re-institution of minor concentrations would provide this incentive. Minors would be mentioned as an integral part of the college degree, showing con- siderable achievement in a field other than the major. Minors would en- courage experimentation and at the same time allow for training in the form of primary concentrations. Although it is true that, in today's system, a student can declare a double concentration, the result is not the same. A double major is more prohibitive in its requirements, almost limiting a student's schedule to the two subjects, and restricting further diver- sification. Minors would give students incentive in the direction of diver- sification, which would carry over into their free course choices. Students are sometimes reluctant to take a course in an unfamiliar discipline because of potentially adver- se grade point ramifications. Even the brightest students do not initially excell in a new educational environment. Because the grade point average is seen by employers and graduate schools as an indicator of training quality, students are apprehensive about taking courses in which'they are unpracticed. Timeconstraints exacer- bate this problem. Just as Mike's poetry detracted from time,.spent on calculus, so, too, can pursuit of an education detract from training. Time spent on exploration is time not spent on honing an expertise. This problem would be solved if courses in a variety of disciplines did not have such poten- tial influence on a student's grade point average and time commitments. One suggestion for this provision would be to offer non-concentrators the option of taking introductory courses at half credit, provided that they cannot use the class as a pre-requisite. Of course, those taking a class at half credit would not spend as much time on it as those taking it for full credit, but that is one of the goals. Half-credit students would be exposing themselves to a different subject at the introduc- tory level, expanding their education, and enhancing their training. And these students would still have to take the classes seriously - the classes would count, just not as much. A more ambitious, but similar solution, would be to offer two introduc- tory courses in each discipline, one of which would be a mini course. A mini course would .alleviate the pressures of time constraints and gradepoint influence. Some might argue that the watered-down courses serve courses. How( courses with for Poets" ar with thesenc liberal arts e( troductory cot a half semest prehensive as instruction shi other courses, be on maximt on course to distribution. Certainly, e eliminated, strongly come training, he or tally as little a enter the Uni% ment in r couragement "optimal edt many other st several direct vince studen goals to consic As the r progressed th. proceeded as with his stori longer invoke picture his be solved limit blackboard wi His lecture th me to reaffirr education, an< ward coaxing virtually ever March 9, 10, 15-17 8:00 p.m. March 11,18 2:00 p.m. Previews March 7,8 8:00 p.m. The New Trueblood Theatre P.T.P. Ticket Office 764.0450 LQ 0l 8" Round-$ 7.90 9" Round-$ 8.90 10" Round - $10.90 a Sheet - $ 7.90 '/ Sheet - $11.90 Full Sheet - $19.90 CAKE - White Yellow Chocolate Cherry Chip L-I WHY NOT ORDER A DOZEN OF OUR DELICIOUS DONUTS, TOO! 2 Weekend/Friday, March 2, 1984 ll Weekend