4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 29, 1997 UlSritg A ig. 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan RONNIE GLASSBERG Editor in Chief ADRIENNE JANNEY ZACHARY M. RAIMI Editorial Page Editors "NorABLE QUOTABLE 'What's really unusual is the governor has proposed a major revolution in public education every year for four years. After so many revolts, it becomes revolting.' -State Rep. James Agee (D-Muskegon), referring to Gov. John Engler' proposal for the state takeover ofparticular school districts MILLEFR oN T"' Greeks are no diferent than the Romans O ne must use light hands when ,dealing with the Devil. Or at least that's what I think they are. e If you talk to the vast majority of Untess otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. FROM THE DAILY Quality contro Improved evaluation forms will benefit 'U' jIM LASSER THANK YOU FoR. NOT THIfNKING. SHARP AS TOAST people on this campus, you would think that fraternity mem- bers are the most horrible folks ever to crawl out of a 4 it's common for University students to feel like their social security numbers - the unwieldy bureaucracy 'fosters this impression. At the end of each semester these "numbers" get a rare opportunity to speak as individuals - students evaluate their teachers with the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching evaluation forms. Recently, CRLT increased the depth of the evaluation to improve the feedback process. Many faculty members expressed enthu- siasm for the new forms - an opinion which should increase the forms' credibili- ty. For example, chemistry Prof. Thomas Dunn, chair of the faculty's governing body, criticized the old forms and complimented CRLT on its latest effort. Previously, parts of the forms were inad- equate. Grading laboratory instructors, sec- tion leaders and lecturers on the same scale was an unreasonable but standard proce- dure. Furthermore, many of the questions were too vague to answer with a bubbled correlate. CRLT created new forms to make distinctions between the size, type and level of class. Now, the University has a more accurate means with which to evaluate tenure, merit pay and promotions for instructors. However, CRLT can always further improve the evaluation process - and so can students. Many students ignore the forms to leave class early, or feel that their comments will have no weight. Or, in small classes, some students may not write addi- tional comments on the back of the form for fear of discovery; despite the sealing of the envelope until after grades, students may have the professor again, or may want to procure an unfettered recommendation. A perpetual concern with evaluation- based decision-making is how to account for societal biases. For example, female instruc- tors, especially in the "hard" sciences like chemistry and physics, consistently rate lower than their male colleagues. Often, women in these disciplines must be more aggressive than their male counterparts to achieve stature in traditionally male-domi- nated fields. As a result, students may per- ceive them as cold or impersonal, but this does not necessarily mean they are poor instructors. To evaluate instructors for pay raises or tenure, the University must take these soci- etal prejudices into consideration, along with the other inevitable problems with the forms. Moreover, many faculty members told the Daily that CRLT forms are not enough - the University must seek other mecha- nisms of evaluation. Education Prof. Valerie Lee said, "If the University is serious about evaluating the way teachers are teaching, they'd better go way beyond the CRLT forms-' Lee is correct: The University's academ- ic departments must never rely solely on the evaluation forms - they only provide part of the picture. - At research-oriented Universities, under- graduate teaching can take a backseat to research. With the CRLT's new evaluation forms, accurate student input is now more readily available. Administrators and teach- ers should use these forms for both self- improvement and to add the missing quali- tative element to job evaluations. In the coming years, the administration should continually re-evaluate the forms to make them as current and as accurate as possible. . - : t N tw (nom ' '1 ~ tt S . is -u I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Umited democracy Term limits restrict voters' choices U .S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Dearborn), the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, claims he has always been in favor of terms limits. Dingell, who has served in the House since the 1950s, facetiously reiterated that claim last week - he proposed legislation that would limit members of Congress to only 12 years. If the legislation were to pass, a signifi- cant percentage of the House, including Dingell himself, would have to leave imme- diately - the legislation is retroactive. But no member of the House, all of whom have just begun a new term, would like to send themselves home. Dingell's proposal is not an earnest endorsement of traditional term limits. The bill is a ploy created to make the most ardent supporters of term limits vote against the proposal to save their own careers - and, in the process, contradict their previous stances. Dingell's ironic proposal ends up high- lighting the fact that elections are America's greatest term limits. Term limits contradict the democratic basis of representational government. By limiting the number of years a person may hold office, term limits tell voters that they are incapable of making correct choices on their own. Voters must be free to make up their minds on ballots that represent full spectrums of candidates -not ballots trun- cated by an arbitrary period of time. Elections provide voters all the opportunity to show officials how they feel about job performance; the public will not re-elect officials of whom they disapprove. al. Elections are the only legitimate way to remove an unwilling representative from office, apart from rarely used methods of recall. The courts will review any term limit bill that Congress passes; if precedent is the guide, all such laws will be unconstitution- al. The only legal way to impose term lim- its is a constitutional amendment. That process would take decades, leav- ing the present proponents of term limits the opportunity to pursue long careers. Term limits are a promise that officials use to appeal to a public hostile to the perceived privileges of incumbents. Even the most staunch champions of term limits know that in all likelihood it is a pledge they will not have to keep. Term limits also eat away at the institu- tional integrity of legislative bodies. The rules to regulate legislative procedure take years to learn and many are based not on written statutes but traditional practice. Term limits effectively inhibit that system. Any new legislator would concede that once they learn congressional procedure, they will become more effective representa- tives. Terms limits deny representatives the time to become seasoned in protocol to gov- ern the bodies in which they work - and they eliminate the more experienced legis- lators who might be able to teach the new flocks. America will not serve its democratic processes by policies that purport to under- stand the public better than the people do. Term limits are exactly this kind of legisla- tion. Control over elected officials needs to 'U' should dump food on Palmer field To THE DAILY: Though I am no engineer or architect, I have a plan that will likely prove less expen- sive than that which the regents have proposed for the Hill area dining facility. The regents, as you may remember, have decided to build a $15.5-million central- ized dining hall between Alice Lloyd and Mosher- Jordan in order to save money and make students happy. What I suggest is that they merely dump the food on the center of Palmer Field and let us students take what we want. This proposal has a num- ber of advantages. Most important, it would more than pay for itself in the first 20 minutes of operation, as opposed to 20 years. Second, there is no danger of an employee shortage, as no employees are needed. Third, I have been informed by a number of cafeteria workers that throw- ing raw meat, uncooked noo- dles and live poultry in the mud would actually be more sanitary than current cooking methods. Finally, it would be much more student-friendly than the current plan for a vast, impersonal dining hall; we all know that impersonal facili- ties can often be more unhealthy than Mexican night. KEVIN COONEY LSA SOPHOMORE ITD should create I Ds for computers To THE DAILY: It's pretty clear that com- puter assignments at the Angell Hall computing site have a few kinks to work out. Most upperclass students can remember the smoothness of the old system of computer distribution (where computer staff held student IDs in exchange for assignment cards). I understand that we cannot return to that old sys- tem because student IDs now have that fancy M-card chip stuff. It would be like trusting the computer staff with cash cards. So the current problem is two-fold: We need to create a system where there is an organized system of comput- er distribution (so students don't stalk open computers in orer tn har nut other wait- ex pressi on To THE DAILY: Jessica Curtin's seemingly endless diatribe of propagan- da exhibits how ridiculous her and her sheep-like group of militant lackeys truly are ("Ann Arbor must create a shelter," 1122/97). It is ironic that she can talk of rights in a "civilized society" while later telling how her war-like group stormed the City Council meeting, causing them to pre- maturely end the meeting for fear that their personal well- being would be in danger. Obviously council mem- bers were aware of the National Women's Rights Organizing Coalition track record of stoning those peo- ple with which they disagree. I think there might be more "civilized" forms of persuasion than brute force. NWROC's previous exploits offer no sound reason why this group deserves the atten- tion of anyone on this cam- pus or in this city. CHRISTIAN SPENCER ENGINEERING FIRST-YEAR STUDENT 'Evita' gives new life to musical films To THE DAILY: Do you just let anyone write what they want? I'm writing in response to Jennifer Petlinski's article on the Golden Globes in Weekend, etc.("Forget Argentina: Cry for the Gn n lonhe" 1/23/971. cards, and it would be valu- able for the students to return the cards. Because my suggestion is similar to the old system, the architecture of the site is well-suited for this plan. Each computer already has a slot to place the ID cards, and the front desk is not cur- rently being used for any- thing really, (besides lost and found). If the Information Technology Division can sport the money for that weird yellow flag system debacle, I think the issuance of cardboard computer ID cards seems like an inexpen- sive solution to return to a familiar, organized and more responsible system of com- puter assignment. DAVID LEVIN LSA SENIOR Brute force not civilized is Madonna's singing was atro- cious. Every time she opened her mouth, she sounded like a whiny little brat. Petlinski overlooked the fact that this movie is different than the broadway musical. She men- tioned that it was geared to make you cry for Eva and Argentina. This is true and is what makes the musical pure crap. The broadway show was completely geared to make you hate the Perons. The movie cut out scenes where Che mentions that Eva's blessed foundation ran Argentina into the ground. They also added scenes to make you care for her. In one scene, she gets dumped by Migala, and sings a song originally designed for Juan Peron's previous lover. Madonna was the com- mercial appeal added to all musical movies. Unfortunately, being the commercial appeal,.she gets to be in the light and out- shine the real talent of the movie, which wouldn't be a change that Rice and Webber made to the show for film. PATRICK ELKINS LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT Daily exploits negative Greek stories To THE DAILY: I am writing in response to the wire service article you published from the Daily Nebraskan ("Nebraska frater- nity sets cross aflame," 1/28/97). I think that the Daily displayed very poor judgment running this article during the week of fraternity rush here at the University of Michigan. The article contains nothing that could be mistak- en as newsworthy and simply serves to shed a bad light on our Sigma Chi chapter. The ritual of Sigma Chi, which is one of the best kept secrets in the country, pre- dates the Ku Klux Klan by nearly 30 years and thus has no basis therein. During my four years as a member of Sigma Chi at the University, we have had Asian, Indian, Jewish and black members. Sigma Chi has not grown to be the second largest social fraternity in the country through prejudiced practices and racist rituals. Each individual is entitled to his own beliefs, and the confederate flags so elo- quently eluded to in the arti- cle are a representation of personal expression, not an instrument of our ritual. Each Sigma Chi chapter is representative of its institu- tion's surrounding communi- ty. Everyone knows of the nni,1'' tendne In oennit Witness meeting. poured from the teat that they so hap- pily bite when they're around their friends, so they can seem like the kind of way-cool person that hangs out with Stephen Dorf and Michael Stipe after the Pearl Jam show. It's always the guy with the loudest mouth about pornography you find in the front row of the Pussycat theater with a harem of midgets and a tube of K-Y Jelly. I have two amigos who are rushin fraternities this week, and you would not believe the amount of crap they had to put up with. Imagine 30 people walking up to you in the span of two or three days and asking you in the most arrogant tone of voice possible, "A fra- ternity? Oh man, c'mon. You have to think for yourself." The exact same thing over and over again. How about some perspective h folks? It's a'fraternity, a social club fo God's sake, not a Jehovah's Witness meeting. It's not like they shave their heads and put bar codes on the backs of their noggins as soon as they walk in the door. So they like to wear dirty white hats, flannel shirts, listen to Dave Matthews and look a little like their peers. Big freaking deal. Walk around East Quad for 10 min- utes. If you don't see 10 Tori Amo pictures, 20 Camus misquotes and Nike ads, I'll give you a table dance. Most fraternity guys will admit that part of the allure is the fact that they enjoy a feeling of commonality with their friends. So what? Everybody does. Most of the nonconformist knuckleheads will have the coj ones to think that they are all wild renegades because they all bought their Ben Harper albums at db ferent times and they have a copy "Soul On Ice'" Please. Think about all the people you know in fraternities. Stand-up guys, right? For the most part. At least no worse than 80 percent of the toads I've met during my tenure in East Ouad. The sewer since Pontius Pilate browsed the three- penny nail section; at the hardware store. JAMES Or at least that's MILLER what I think is going on. I pride-myself on having a strong, manly grip on the social pulse of this campus and I have yet to figure out the way we all feel about the male portion of the Greek system. I am the biggest fan that cuturW whipping boys ever had. Be itt homeless, welfare mothers, CEOs, MSA candidates and congressional freshman Republicans, I love the fact that our society can gang up on a class of people and beat the snot out of them until Newsweek tells us something else is "hot" this month. Or maybe that was TV Guide. Anyway. I can't figure out the Greek system. This is Rush Week on the University campus and the Greek sy4 tem is enjoying a massive kind of pop- ularity. The first month and a half of classes are filled with fraternity parties. Call it advertising. One of the greatest examples of hypocrisy I have witnessed on this campus is the snotty attitude toward fraternity parties. One easy way to garner a reputation as a real noncon- formist bad-ass, Sonic Youth-listening kind of guy is to bash Greeks. "Oh God, a fraternity, those are bad. How can you join one of those things? All those people just want to be like everybody else. How can you stand that? If you'll excuse me, I have to go put my hair in braids like Ani DeFranco, go stand in line for four hours for 'Billy Breathes' and buy a six-pack of Woodchuck for my 'Star Wars' party." Look around the next time you find yourself at an open fraternity pa f Besides the pledges, the brothers an their dates, guess who you're going to see? Neo-hippie types swilling on beer It's a fraternity, a social club for God's sake, not a Jehovah's AI I