Pfml 4 "Ul ws: 76-DAILY vertising: 7640554 One hundred seven years of edtorizl freedom Wednesday December 10, 1997 Waily In-depth: Admissions I FU dmisrlions process alters GPAs Janet Adamy iily Staff Reporter N ,rity applicants from Marquette, Mich., ho earned a 2.7 GPA at Detroit Country Day gh school could have their GPA boosted to a 7 when their application contents are weighted during the University's intricate [missions process. The admissions procedure refigures an iplicant's GPA and takes into account more an grades and test scores. Fractions of points are added and subtracted m a student's GPA for various reasons, igcan leave the numbers looking much ferent than on a student's official high hool transcript. According to procedures used to evaluate e incoming fall 1997 pool of applicants, [missions clerks first narrow down the GPA the grades received in core academic class- such as math, English and science and throw away elective classes like music and physical education. "What (University admissions officials) call your GPA is probably going to be lower than what it is," said Walter Harrison, vice president for University relations. A system called SCUGA, which takes into account five criteria: an applicant's curmcu- lum, unusual factors, geographical region, alumni relations and the quality of the appli- cant's high school, is then used to add points to the applicant's GPA. In the first stage of SCUGA's application assessment, applicants can receive as much as a .5 addition to their GPAs, depending on what high school they attended. The quality of the school is determined by the number of advanced placement courses it offers, its aver- age SAT and ACT scores and the percentage of graduates who go on to college. According to SCUGA guidelines, appli- cants coming from one of Michigan's more than 60 "better than average" high schools have .1 added to their GPA. "Exceptionally strong schools," of which there are only 8-15 in the country, including Detroit Country Day, have their GPAs boosted by .4. Applicants from "truly outstanding" schools receive a .5 boost to their GPAs. Next, an applicant's curriculum during grades 9-12 is evaluated based on the number of academic honors and advanced placement courses the student completed. A "very weak academic program," which would lack AP and honors courses and consist of less than 15 aca- demic courses during grades 9-12 and three or fewer academic courses in the senior year would prompt officials to subtract as much as .2 from an applicant's GPA. A "fantastic pro- gram, consisting of eight or more AP classes and at least 20 academic courses during grades See ADMISSIONS, Page 9 Factors used in admissions: Grades ACT/SAT scores Geographical location Alumni relations Quality of high school (0 to .5)* N Rigor of curriculum (.2 to .4) Unusual factors: Leadership (.1 to .2) Achievements (.1 to .2) Essays (-.1 to .1) Race and socioeconomic background (.5) *possible amount of points that can be added to an applicant's GPA ° .: ' ;. , '. ; EMILY NATHAN/Daily Admissions Counselors Sylvia Carranza and Shannon Wolfgang look at an application yesterday. r GOODBYE FINALS, HELLO PASADENA °- ~ \ y lI { " ', 1._ .; *: b , ~ 'U' official Superstitious fans prepare for game By Stephanie Hepburn Daily Staff Reporter Some fans perform salt rituals. Others repeatedly wear the same socks, jerseys and boxers shorts. For die-hard fans of the maize and blue, these superstitions are a force that helped carry the football team all t way to the Rose Bowl. SA first-year student Dylan Brock said his green-and-black plaid boxer shorts and his blue down com- forter propelled the team to Pasadena. His superstition evolved over this year's winning season. "I always sleep in until the game on game-day Saturday mornings," Brock said. "I would never get c pged until after the game was .So I would wear my boxers and then wrap myself in my dark blue comforter. My friend would come over to watch the games, and we kept winning." The whole thing started as a joke, Brock said. But after secur- ing his first game ticket of the year, Brock showed up at Michigan Stadium for the Ohio State game clad in his trusty box- and armed with his familiar comforter. After the Wolverines disposed of the Buckeyes, Brock ditched the comforter for a joyful jaunt around the field in just his boxer shorts. "When we blew out Penn State, I kept saying it was because of my comforter," Brock said. "Then my friends convinced me that it was true, and I guess I convinced myself." The true test was the Wisconsin game, Brock said. "I ordered pizza and when the pizza guy came I had to get dressed to go get my pizza," Brock said. "When I got dressed and went downstairs, Wisconsin scored a touchdown. That's when I realized that there was a direct correlation between the two. I came back and got undressed. We won the game, but we didn't blow them out." LSA junior David Lanxner said his elaborate salt ritual has brought the maize and blue to the Rose Bowl. "I don't know how it got started," Lanxner said. "I started doing it this year before every football game. Before the games I would pour salt around the stadium and our house." The ritual traditionally is per- formed around someone's feet, room or bed to bring them good luck, Lanxner said. See ROSE BOWL, Page 2 had hand in 'Amistad' Dy Christine M. Palk Daily Staff Reporter "Amistad," Steven Spielberg's highly anticipated new movie, has ties to the University through music, the "lan- guage of the world." University Associate Provost and School of Music Prof. Lester Monts is being applauded by the University commu- nity for his contributions to the musical score of the film. "Amistad" is scheduled to be released Friday. "Honestly, my involvement was sort of minimal," Monts said. "But as far as I know, I was the only one that was real- ly consulted, in terms of creating a very ethnic sound." The $70 million film follows the 1839 journey of 53 Africans on the Spanish slave ship La Amistad, and their subsequent imprisonment and trial for killing some of their captors. Monts, who specializes in ethno-musicology of Sierra Leone and Liberia, said he sent samples of his work to Amistad co-producer Debbie Allen at the suggestion of Patrick Pieh, associate director of the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives. Allen contacted him to say she was interested in soliciting his help with the musical Monts score. While the movie's theme music was actually composed by John Williams, who is known for his music in the Star Wars series, Monts was a key player in communi- cating African sounds - offering advice and samples of authentic music and chants. Pieh himself is no stranger to the film. He is a descendant of some of the slaves aboard the original La Amistad, and Pieh's brother had a small role in the film. "It's always good, when you have a movie like this, to have the music complement the real history. This is a great accomplishment for Dr. Monts" Pieh said. "The type of work Dr. Monts has done for the movie can only increase the credibility of the movie," Pieh said. "The mere fact that he was invited to view the movie in (Washington), D.C., with the president himself shows that they did recognize Dr. Monts and the University in this important historical scene." Although "Amistad" is scheduled to open in theaters around the country later this week, Monts said he has already seen the film at a premiere screening in Washington, D.C., with President Clinton and the First Lady. "It was really exciting to go to the special showing," Monts said. "I met Steven Spielberg, and I got to hug Debbie Allen. There were many congressmen and Supreme Court justices that attended." Music Dean Paul Boylan said he is excited about Monts' achievement and impressed with his ability to juggle University and film responsibilities. See AMISTAD, Page 9 MARiAET MYERS/D~aily LSA first-year student Dylan Brock stands in his ceremonial J. Crew boxer shorts. Brock wears the same shorts during every game, whether or not he has a ticket to sit in the stadium. Our trip to Pasadena promises to be picture peect . saw a picture of the Rose Bowl once. Maybe it was on television or in a book somewhere, in full color, filled with sun-tanned fans who had come to see champions play. The picture looked awfully distant, though, like the ones you see on postcards from far- away places that you just know you'll never visit - places so perfect, you wonder if they actually exist at all. And now we're going to see it for real. The Rose Bowl. On New Year's Day. Michigan, our school, is the Big Ten's best, the nation's best, ready to face Pac-10 champion Washington State with a chance to win the national championship. After so many years of heartbreak, of hearing about other people's parties in California, I wonder if this is all just a mirage. It's so hard to believe, I feel a bit warm inside. It feels like I'm going to Tahiti. I can hear the Michigan Marching Band, playing the "Hawaiian War Chant" It's picture perfect. Michigan State is going to the Aloha Bowl. We're going to Pasadena, college football's paradise, every fan's promised land. We're going back to where we belong. For most of this century, Michigan has been an unmovable monument on top of the sport. The pro- gram has more victories than any other, experiencing few moments of mediocrity. The Wolverines won the first Rose Bowl, 49-0, over See COTSONIKA, Page 2 NICHULAS J. COTSONIKA e Greek ,peaks JOHN KRAFT/Daily Students count down the days to Pasadena. c BIGA members raise concerns about Union parties By Katie Plana Daily Staff Reporter Although LSA senior and Black Greek Association member Kenny Marshall plans to graduate on Sunday, he is still interested in greek life on campus next semester. Marshall, who has been active for several years in one of the campus's four black fra- ternities, says he is a little concerned about the future of BGA. Michigan Union. Because none of the BGA fraternities and sororities have houses on campus, the organi- zation relies heavily on the Michigan Union as a location to host social events. "People are getting tired. People have stopped coming out to support," Marshall said. "The more restrictions you have, the more people just don't want to deal with it." Marshall described stepping as in-line or in- sequence dances that originated from "tribal- type African dance." Too much control out of BGA's hands is the problem, he said. "Lack of party attendance definitely affects what you can do as an organization because, even though we have other fundraisers, parties make the most money because they serve as a study break, a stress reliever, a social outlet," ing" problems, said Barbara Wiggins, who manages the Michigan Union scheduling office. "It may seem punitive, and in some ways it is, but it's to protect the students" Wiggins said officials don't really worry about the actions of University students, but rather the actions of outsiders with whom they are not familiar. But Marshall said problems don't stem from the people who attend BGA functions as 0 , f. 'q O01. 1s. ,LA.)UK fr c! i'A1pt L .Gt ca I +. w 'u.;