so
4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 11, 1997
(1be £idCi grtn ti1i
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
JOSH WHITE
Editor in Chief
ERIN MARSH
Editorial Page Editor
Unless 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
Educational elitism
'Exceptional' college will not help 'U'
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
'Be good to each other and have
courage to right the wrongs.'
- Retired Regent Nellie Varner (D-Detroit), echoing her late father's
words, in an address celebrating Trotter House's 25th anniversary
YU KI KuNiYUKI GROUND ZERO
\ c
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
wo weeks ago, the "Task Force on
Recruiting, Retaining and Nurturing
the Exceptional" released a report recom-
mending methods to increase the number
and quality of upper-echelon students at the
University. It calls for a new "College for
the Exceptional" to encompass academic
student leaders across University schools
and colleges. The report also recommends a
new fund to recruit high-quality faculty and
students for the new college. While obtain-
ing better faculty is desirable, limiting them
to serving only "exceptional" students
engenders an unequal educational environ-
ment. A better way to attract high caliber
students and faculty would be to encourage
Universitywide improvements.
The task force's report cited a decrease in
the quality of students applying to the LSA
Honors Program as motivation for creating
the new upper-level program. The task force
aims to not only attract higher quality stu-
dents, but keep them in honors programs.
resently, only 40 percent of first-year stu-
dents admitted to the Honors Program stay
to graduate with an honors degree. The pro-
posed college is designed to increase student
retention rates and hold higher admission
standards than the present Honors Program.
Establishing a new program without fix-
ing the old one is a waste of resources - a
better method would be to restructure the
Honors Program to ensure greater quality
and higher retention rates. Restructuring the
existing Honors Program would strengthen
an established institution - and may reach
the desired goals faster.
By proposing an elitist faction like the
"College of the Exceptional," the task force
ignores the value of the University's unique
academic environment. The task force must
realize that the University does not fit a
standard Ivy League mold.
Funding to retain exceptional faculty
could improve the quality of University edu-
cation. Quality faculty often have to endure
a long process to obtain the recognition and
resources they deserve. The University's
reputation as a leading educational and
research institution depends on such experi-
enced faculty - the University must ensure
that faculty do not leave for other schools
with better compensation programs.
More faculty recruitment money could
increase the in-flow of experienced profes-
sors. However, the new faculty must be
available to all students, not just a small
group, or the University's greater academic
atmosphere will not benefit.
With fewer applications flowing into the
University admissions office than in previ-
ous years, the task force must refocus its
recommendation for greater student recruit-
ment efforts. As high school seniors apply
to fewer institutions, recruitment must
ensure that qualified students see the
University as an option.
The University should work to expand
applicant base diversity. Recruiters should
not pursue only obvious applicants; stu-
dents from wealthy districts are not the stu-
dents to whom they need to sell the
University. Increasing the number of quali-
ty minority applications would improve stu-
dent quality and broaden the University's
multicultural community at the same time.
The task force's report calls for new poli-
cies and ignores problems it could remedy.
Efforts to attract better faculty are benefi-
cial, but will not help many students if the
faculty are limited to a small section of the
school. The University should carefully con-
sider the task force's recommendations - it
must not divide the University community.
Unkndest cuts
Clinton deserts disabled children
nstead of protecting disadvantaged
members of the next generation, the
Clinton administration is kicking them
when they're down. Last Thursday, the
Clinton administration issued new rules
that would end disability benefits for
135,000 poor children -- 14 percent of all
children who now receive those benefits
under the Supplemental Security Income
program. The cutting doesn't stop there; the
legislation would deny benefits to an addi-
tional 45,000 disabled children who are not
now on the rolls but would have qualified
for assistance in the next five years. The
decision appears to be fueled by Clinton's
focus on budget cuts rather than what
would be in the best interest of tens of thou-
sands of children. Clinton tried to please
conservatives in the past with his Welfare
Reform Act - cutting the financial lifeline
of the nation's poorest, youngest, disabled
citizens continues his heartless welfare
precedent.
The Supplementary Income rules -
issued last Friday as part of Clinton's bud-
get proposal - set standards for evaluating
disabilities. It allows disability benefits for
people with "severe functional limitations."
Most of the children who will lose benefits
have "less severe" disabilities, such as men-
tal impairments or behavioral problems.
The standards are defined case-by-case
and are more then judgmental - they are
i diculous. Social Security officials gave
examples of how the new rules would affect
will probably lose benefits. However, chil-
dren with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy,
autism or diabetic children that require
insulin shots three times a day might still
qualify - but there are no guarantees. The
message is a painful one for children and
their families: The government, not medical
professionals, now has the subjective power
to decide how miserable a child's physical
condition is, and therefore, who can receive
benefits.
In conjunction with the Welfare Reform
Act that Clinton signed last summer,
impoverished children are losing almost all
public support. The WRA included a five-
year lifetime limit on federal aid and work
requirements that may be impossible for
parents to meet - there is no provision for
child-care.
Besides being unfair to parents, the act
gouged America's neediest children. More
than 70 percent of welfare recipients are
children and they simply cannot provide for
themselves the way an adult can. The act
attacks a group that has no legal or finan-
cial means to defend itself.
Instead of improving the situation,
Clinton has now made it worse; his new bill
hits where it hurts. Children below the
poverty line do not have lobbyists - their
parents have to provide for them. The work
requirements established in the original
WRA may be making that difficult.
Disabled children have even more needs,
which the government is pushing aside. The
Trickle-down
education is
wrong for 'U'
TO THE DAILY:
Regarding the report of
"The Task Force on
Recruiting, Retaining and
Nurturing the Exceptional"
("New college, special-
expense fund requested for
recruiting" 2/7/97): There are
at least two good reasons to
disagree with the findings of
the report.
First, it is the aim of pub-
lic colleges and universities
to educate a broad swath of
the American public - not
just those students who,
through luck or riches or rec-
ognized talents, have earned
good grades and glamorous
SAT numbers. Former
University President James
Angell, who declared the
University's commitment to
provide "an uncommon edu-
cation for the common man,"
would surely be troubled at
the prospect of diverting
scarce resources to self-
aggrandizing recruitment
efforts.
Second, whether the fac-
ulty boasts zero Nobel Prize
winners or 20 is irrelevant:
those of us who value educa-
tion seek to be taught by car-
ing, interested and accessible
mentors. It will profit under-
graduate teaching efforts lit-
tle to land a celebrity
researcher if his/her duties
require more time spent off-
campus than on.
Prof. Akil's assertions to
the contrary notwithstanding,
this University features thou-
sands of "truly excellent peo-
ple that shine" This "shine"
is not always easily defined
in test scores or prizes won,
but this is what makes the
University unique. Our facul-
ty and staff put their various
skills to work in the service
of educational and societal
improvement; can there be
any aim more "Nobel?"
Only when the University
truly abandons its fascination
with trickle-down education
will we make real progress as
a socially responsible institu-
tion.
FIONA ROSE
LSA HONORS JUNIOR,
PRESIDENT, MSA
Weekend bus
schedule is
inadequate
TO THE DAILY:
I live on North campus,
and I have a problem with the
weekend bus system. My
niorn is.ti;t with t m_?n
a system so that I'm not
either 20 minutes early or
five minutes late to every-
thing.
JEANNIE BAUMANN
LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT
Examining
the abstract
is valuable
To THE DAILY:
I was extremely distraught
after reading Cameron
Hamilton-Wright's letter
("Liberal arts are inferior to
engineering," 2/7/97). Could
such an obviously knowl-
edgeable individual take such
a blatantly ignorant stance?
After all, he did deliver the
valedictory speech to his
class (as he was so sure to
indicate just in case readers
felt uncomfortable giving
their attention to the opinions
of any lesser, average-type
human lacking such conspic-
uous honors).
I have trouble following
his logic to such a harsh
denial of the value of liberal
arts. Hamilton-Wright seems
very impressed by the spe-
cial, only-one-answer feature
of "non liberal arts" ques-
tions. I guess he feels com-
fortable pursuing an answer
that already exists.
I hate to disturb this cozi-
ness, but I'm not so con-
vinced that we are supposed
to be focusing on the
straight-forward questions in
life. The fact of the matter is
that we exist in a complex
world with complex issues.
This situation gives rise to a
number of very important
conundrums that are not
solved by applying mathe-
matical formulas. Just
because dealing with this is
not as cooperative as the inte-
gration of trigonometry func-
tions does not mean we
should completely disregard
it and play with our calcula-
tors for all eternity.
We must take on life with
all our might utilizing both
hemispheres of our brain. It
is true that the wrong answer
to a question with one solu-
tion can lead to the bridge
falling, the airplane crashing,
or the fries burning. But what
it is equally true is that toss-
ing aside questions with
complicated and abstract
answers can lead to the child
being neglected, the racist tri.
umphing or the war being
declared.
This is by no means to
suggest that the liberal arts
are superior or more impor-
tant. I find it interesting that
Hamilton-Wright separates
them with such a rigid dis-
tinction. I see the two as
hei;u heani;i;;,i,;nerhimnd
of thought in the first place.
Maybe if we could mature
beyond making arrogant
proclamations declaring our
field of study to be the pin-
nacle of human brilliance, we
could realize just how depen-
dent all of our lives are on
each other regardless of
which classes we CRISP into.
Just as the limit as 'h'
goes to zero of(+h)(1/h)
does not exist, neither do al l
the answers to life's mysteries
such as lust, God, love,
morality and greed. We are
not living out some quirky
story problem that is an odd
number with an answer in the
back of the book. There are
no definite solutions for what
we face each day; however, I
have a strong belief that
using this as an excuse to
overlook the dilemma and
just satisfy ourselves with
predetermined answers will
not make this world a better
place.
AARON E. BOYLE
LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT
Mehta should
quit MSA
To THE DAILY:
I have long asked why the
student body exhibits such
apathy towards the Michigan
Student Assembly, an organi-
zation that had a generation
before not only influenced
decisions concerning the wel-
fare of the student body but
also made its presence felt all
the way to the steps of the
Capitol building in
Washington, D.C.
The answer finally came
when I read the headline
"MSA will not probe Mehta's
allocation" (2/5/97). The
answer lies not in the contro-
versy over Mehta's question-
able relationship with the
United Asian American
Organization; not in the
flawed funding system in
place during the "gray"
months of summer; nor even
the refusal of the general
assembly to simply investi-
gate the matter further.
What truly highlighted the
unsoundness in the current
system is the usage of a
secret ballot in determining
whether to investigate the
alleged impropriety of
Mehta. The employment of a
secret ballot vote makes a
mockery of the concept of
representative democracy,
where constituents, through
their representatives' voting
record, decide whether their
representative is truly repre-
senting them. Through these
events, MSA has injured the
spirit of democracy, a spirit
where it is more a hope than
realitv where I cm from
TefOfWina
day dnam nation
M y friend W is a struggling screen-
writer. Disenchanted with soci-
ety, he holes up in his apartment and
laments his plight and that of humanity
- and tries to write the perfect script.
His last script began with a man stp
ing into the camera, reading this li
from Saul Bellow's classic novel,
"Herzog:" "I wanted to tell her the
story of my life; how I went from mod-
est origins to com-
plete disaster."
The film goes on
to depict how this
~man-of-suburbia
was ruined by the
boredom, confu- .'
sion and ugliness
of life. A bit on the
trite side, but it's a
pretty good story. "
The film, of $AMUEL
course, never hit a GOODSTEIN
producer's desk.GRAND
Exasperatedeby ILLUSION
the fact that each
of his 12 scripts have been rejected by
every studio and director he has c
tacted, W spent the last of his lifeds
ings on a polling firm. W asked this
firm, which polls for Democratic candi-
dates around the country, to conduct a
survey asking the American public a
series of questions about the qualities
they like in a movie. After compiling the
data, the firm constructed a general
plot, complete with character analysis.
The polling firm recommended
three courses of action: A) Drama:
Woman andaman meet, fall in love,
estranged and end up together.
Comedy: Idiot does idiotic things (the
things can range from mumbling inco-
herently to doing the tango with an
ox). C) Action: Very muscular individ-
ual commits a number of violent acts
(automatic weapons are the preferred
instrument of violence, but hand-to-
hand violence will suffice) and saves
humanity, or at least Los Angeles.
W, of course, is constitutions
incapable of writing a script to match
any of these outlines, but the results df
the poll did convince him to stop wri-
ing such depressing scripts. So he
moved on to his next project: A docu-
mentary examining the relationship of
Mozart's operas to the political machi
nations of 19th century Viennese
politicians.
Of course, this project was a colossal
failure. After spending mon
researching Viennese politics and -
tening to Don Giovanni over and ovr
again, W incorrectly concluded tht
there was no relationship between
Mozart's operas and politics. Worse,
he wrote the script from the perspec-
tive of a Viennese weiner-schnitzel
vendor. (At this point, I recommended
to W. that he go back to writing about
the emptiness of existence).
W hardly needed my advice. "We 14
in a daydream nation," he lamented -
borrowing the term from Sonic Youth:
I more or less lost contact with W
for a fewyears. He moved to New York
while I stayed on in Ann Arbor, toiling
through school. It is not at all uncom-
mon for college students to make
friends, real friends, and then com-
pletely lose touch with them. Such is
the transitory nature of college.
So I was a bit surprised when, aby
a month ago, I received a phone
from W. - completely out of the blue.
"I want you to come to New York to
see thetsneak-preview of my first film.
It is set for mass distribution on Super
Bowl'Sunday." Since he paid for my
ticket and a ticket for my brother
Raphael, I decided to go.
The day before the Super Bowl, my
brother and I met W .at a private
screening room. As you, reader,
probably imagine, I was quite excite
to be re-united with my friend and to
see his first film. "It's very short;' he
warned me, "but Fellini got his start
making shorts."
The picture started with a man star-
ing into the camera, just like his afore-
mentioned script! He- made it, I
thought to myself with envy. Instead of
a look of deep sadness, though, the
man had a barely detectable smile
glued on his face. Then the moment
truth: Instead of opening up "Herzog"
and reading a line of genius, he picked
up a bottle of shaving cream and lath-
ered his face. Raphael began to giggle,
as he is prone to do in moments- f
absurdity. The handsome man then
picked up a razor blade, a lightening
bolt instantly flashed and thunder
boomed. Putting the razor to his skin,
the man shaved his chin and look
dreamily into the camera.W
"Gillette: The best a man can get,"
said the man. Then, for the next 20 sec-
onds a group of people proclaimed the
greatness of Gillette razor products. r
"What do you think?" asked W."My
first picture that will hit the screen.