4

OPINION
Page 4 Tuesday, April 14, 1987

The Michigan Daily

That

was

then,

this,

is

now

By Paul Honsinger
Heraclitus said that you can never
cross the same river twice. I never
appreciated how right he was until I
returned to the University last fall after a
four-year absence. The river that I left
behind four years ago still bears the same
name and runs in the same riverbed, but
is subtly different in dozens of important
ways.,
The first change that I noticed upon
my return is that students actually looked
different. Of course, fashion had not stood
still while I was gone and Students'
clothes - at least for those students who
don't wear jeans and T-shirts every day -
bore little resemblance to those of 1982.
But, under the clothes, the fitness craze
had virtually obliterated the beer bellies
and spreading hips that once characterized
all but the most athletic of our studentry.
I would welcome the trend, if it didn't
make my twenty-seven year old physique
look so bad by comparison.
But, when I started talking to my
fellow students, I noticed that the
differences were more than superficial.
Very early on, I remarked how much
easier it was to form casual acquaintances
than it was with my peers from the early
'80s. People seemed friendlier, more
easygoing, and much readier to go out for
a bite or a beer with someone they had
just met.
But, although they were easier to
meet, I quickly found out that they were
harder to know. Maybe the difference is a
result of the five to nine year age gap
between me and most students, but I
don't think so. Instead, I think that
people are more likely to have formed a
group of close friends very early in their
college careers and thereafter lose interest
in forming deep attachments with anyone
else.
Honsinger is a member of the Daily
Opinion Staff.

When I was here before, I continued to
make new friends throughout my college
career, as did most of my friends. Now,
the people I talk to have fairly stable
friendship groups that go back to their
first or second years here and have made
very few friends after that. In the eight
months since my return to the
University, I have met no one whom I
would regard as a close friend.
My thoroughly unsystematic
observations also indicate changes in
dating and relationships since 1982. The
first change that I picked up on in my
discussions with other students is the
welcome near demise of what I call the
"McDate." In a McDate, two people
meet, feel some superficial attraction, and
then decide to go out on a date. I went on
dozens of McDates when I was here
before and at least half of them turned out
to total disasters when the woman and I
discovered after ten minutes that we
couldn't stand each other. Now, people
want to get to know each other a little
before they commit themselves to the
anxiety and expense of a full-blown night
on the town.
Plus, people seem more interested in
dating fewer people and forming
relationships than with "playing the
field." More of the people I talk to have
steady boyfriends or girlfriends than was
true in 1982 and these relationships seem
to be very stable - often lasting several
semesters. And, when they break up with
someone, it may be months before they
settle down into another relationship, if at
all. When I was here before, very few
people had an exclusive relationship with
another person and most of these
relationships were very short-lived. The
people who did tend to have "steadies"
often switched partners three or four times
a year with very short time periods
between partners.
Attitudes about classes have changed,
too - among students as well as among

professors. Sure, there have always been a
lot of students here who just want to
serve their time, get their degree, and start
their careers..In my unscientific estimate,
however, the number of students who feel
this way has increased markedly. Class
attendant seems sparser and class
discussion less lively.
Surprisingly, while the people in my
classes seem less concerned about their
coursework, they are more concerned
about grades. Most of the people I talk to
seem to know their grade point average
precisely - to three decimal places. The
University had been computing grades out
to the thousandth of a point for years
when I came here for the first time in
1979, but when asked about their grades,
most students from that period would
answer with something along the lines of
"Oh, about a three point two." Now, the
same question is likely to elicit a
Wasserman-

response like "If you must know, three
point two three seven."
These two, apparently contradictory,
attitudes do actually make sense if we
believe what all of the studies are telling
us - that students are more concerned
with career and future income than they
were several years ago. If these
conclusions are true, then it is only
natural that students would become more
grade-conscious since high grades are the
tickets to high salaries upon graduation,
or to professional schools and even higher
salaries. In this kind of calculation, the
courses themselves become a means to an
end rather than an end in themselves.
Professors have responded to students'
changing attitudes about classes with
changing attitudes of their own. As noted
earlier on this page ("Classroom
Paternalism, Daily, 3/11/87), more
professors are enforcing student

compliance with course requirements by
such measures as imposing pop quizzes
and taking attendance. Five or six years
ago, I recall my professors not really
caring about our attendant or whether we
were keeping precisely up to date on the
readings, as long as we did the work
eventually and were able to perform well
on the papers and the exams.
Change is merely change; it is not
necessarily bad or good. I had expected to
find this University as I had left it and,
instead, found that it had evolved like
some sort of living organism. In some
cases, I welcome the differences. IW
others, I miss things the way they were.
Nevertheless, when I leave this campus at
the end of this semester - this time with
a degree - I will remember fondly this
crossing of this river and will never
expect to be able to cross the same rive
twice.

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4

Vol. XCVII, No. 133

420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other
cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the Daily.


March of history

LETTERS:
Positive experiences ignored by Daily

TOTALLY

UNDISTURBED BY

reality, the Reagan administration
continues to pursue policies which
have proven politically infeasible
and morally indefensible. Last
Thursday, the United States, along
with Britain, vetoed a United
Nations Security Council
resolution that would have severed
all commercial and diplomatic ties
with South Africa:

offense punishable by as much as
ten years in prison.
In defense of the United States
position, representative Vernon
Walters said sanctions would
"seriously limit the initiatives of
nations, such as the United States,
that seek to bring about South
Africa's implementation" of the
withdrawal resolution. In other
words, the Reagan administration
still clings to the myth of
"constructive engagement."
The administration has chosen to
ignore the essential failure of its
foreign policies and the import of
domestic opposition to them. In
recognition of this fact, those
opposing U.S. policies in Southern
Africa and Central America will
meet in Washington, D.C. on April
25 to deliver their message in
person. In the largest
demonstration in recent years, an
projected one million opponents of
apartheid and Central American
intervention will gather to voice
their outcry in one united voice.
Marches on Washington have
been a vital part of America's
progressive history. History now
beckons for a new generation to
address injustices too long
tolerated. Those who answer that
call will join a proud lineage of
people who have recognized and
meet the challenges of their times.
A strong Ann Arbor contingent

To the Daily:
This semester two different
groups volunteered at Jackson
prison through Project
Community; The Creative
Writing Workshop, and
students who worked with
HASTA (an organization of
Latino inmates). The eight
students who worked with
HASTA would like to make
some corrections of the Daily's
article "Prison Murder Ends
Project Outreach Visits."
(Daily 4/3) More importantly,
we feel compelled to inform
readers of the significant
portion of our interview which
was omitted in the article. We
are concerned that Daily readers
got a distorted impression of
our experience, due to the
Daily's errors and omissions.
Obviously the recent death
of a guard raises concern about
students' safety at the prison.
We would like to stress that as
volunteers we never were and
never would be in the same
situation as that guard
(individually alone with
inmates). We walked as a
group to and from the entrance
of the classroom escorted by a
prison administrator. We met
with HASTA members as a
group and never separated.
Nonetheless, we were very
much aware of the dangers of
workine in a nrison.

in our seminars. We feel that
Project Community encouraged
informed discussions through
our orientation, films, weekly
readings and seminars.
Our main complaint is that
the article was sheer
sensationalism. The focus on
the guard's death, and negative
reactions precludes the many
positive aspects of our visits
and this class.
We think readers should
know that we contacted the
Daily about the prison
administration ending all "non-
essential" volunteer activities.
It was our intent to inform the
public of our positive
experiences, and the importance

of our visits both for us and
the members of HASTA.
We were impressed by the
seriousness, motivation and
organization of HASTA'
members. We think it is
important to recognize that
they asked us to tutor them in
English and Spanish, and to
help them organize a
newsletter. Their respect for us
and desire to learn was
demonstrated weekly. We
enjoyed working with the
inmates, and wish the program
had not ended so abruptly.
As students, we feel that
this is one of the most
interesting, challenging ,
realistic and rewarding classes

we have taken. We think it is
important for students to have
the opportunity to obtain this
kind of experiential learning.
Above all, we hope that prison
officials and the University can
find a way to keep this
program running. We also
urge students to look into
Project Community.

I

-Ozzie Rivera
Rudi Gutierre
Meg Reuttet
Will Anninger=
Daphne Jochnick;
Rachel Pooley
Linda Reno
Elsa Barboza
April &
t's real

Racism is more than just hype, i

P. W. Botha
... presides over growing repression
Although the United States has
historically opposed such
initiatives, its intransigence has
become increasingly unacceptable
with the worsening crisis in South
Africa. The snecific United Nations

To the Daily:
Racism. A word that is, or
should be an integral part of
every University iof Michigan
student's life. The word and
the concept should not be
important to us because of the
publicity that racism on our
campus has received. Racism
should not be a concern of our
student body because the
Michigan Daily, Eyewitness
News, or the New York Times
says that there is a crisis at the
University of Michigan.
The fact is, racism at Mich -
igan is probably not any worse

biases on our campus. If a
product was devised that could
clean our campus, our country,
and our world, of many of the
flaws in our socialization, it
would be a welcome relief, an
undeniable good. Unfortun -
ately, such a product does not
exist.
What then, can we do to
combat bigotry at Michigan?
Initially, we as students, can
support UCAR's demands. I
do not believe that every stu -
dent will agree with every de -
mand. Rather, it is essential
that the student body realize the

great lengths to educate myself
outside of the classroom.
Still, the University must fa -
cilitate the education of the
student body.
If any student at Michigan
questions the gravity of the
situation, let him or her go to
a minority student lounge. Let
him or her experience the feel -
ing of isolation that every mi -
nority student on our campus
has felt as one time or another;
Education and interaction are
the two most effective grounds
of combatting racism on our
camnus Education and inter W