4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 20, 2003 OP/ED Uable orw--- ndl 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 LOUIE MEIZLISH Editor in Chief AUBREY HENRETTY ZAC PESKOWITZ Editorial Page Editors 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. NOTABLE QUOTABLE If there is somebody down there who shouldn't be there, the sea lions will find them." - Lt. JG. Josh Frey, a spokesman for the Navy's 5th Fleet, discussing the US. Navy's use ofsea lions to detect threats on the fleet from small watercraft and scuba divers, as reported yesterday by The Associated Press. HFCAL, WKAT AKE oLkDotiJ&l JOEL HOARD AND SCOTT SERILLA STICK GFIUR S ARE AwsoM W9LL- CICAIi, rfM aOTRA A~okwr.Orrre.s ANAVs-TI4FF ! ARE '(04 oNE W -*MS~ AC7tVST. IFp Sy AC ivKr' Y~1ou KIEA# SAow WHOCO AMSJ Aw Sc ary~ 11 11 P 91 ~4-r O~NIKL8~T~0 - - U. J_ I 6AQ CioL L(TEL fOLL know .A/Kr ' L' A &~1 CAR'-, R Sou 0 'b PI~CK F-R E'VIE DELL ItltcE! T IF 'h Just give me a number, please LUKE SMITH THERE IS NO I IN COLUMN A rguably a factor final grades are tabulated. foundly inflate or deflate student grades is in grade infla- I was warned before attending the Uni- disheartening. tion, the versity that "You'll only be a number To many students and parents, grades are nationwide up-spike in there," in reference to the large student important and the accuracy of these grades students' academic body here at the University. Wait, so of represent a student's success and knowledge performance can be 24,000 undergraduates, I would simply be - not a fudged half-grade improvement related to relationships a number to my professors? because Luke "really worked hard and came between students and This size of the student body is not the to office hours," or the converse, "Luke their graders (graduate problem. Being relegated to "just a number," never comes to class, so his essay clearly student instructors and is central to assigning proper grades to stu- can't be up to my standards." professors). This is not to imply the dents for their work. If my professors This issue pertains primarily to classes remotest degree of inappropriate behavior believe my in-class demeanor is studious, that do not have a multiple-choice exam ele- occurring between students and faculty; in attentive and intelligent, that conduct should ment (many accounting, pre-business and fact, it is quite the opposite. not under any circumstance affect or alter science classes are excluded), but, rather, Relationships between students and facul- the grade I receive (except for the "partici- classes that incorporate student writing as a ty are essential to the learning process. The pation grade"). The amount of work I as a primary source of grading. Classes like these mentorship a professor or GSI can offer is student dedicate to my studies, evidenced by should reduce the students' to numerical val- priceless in undergraduate studies. However, my in-class participation or attendance at ues for grading purposes. these same relationships that are so critical to office hours, should be absolutely indepen- Papers would be handed in simply .with learning and intellectual development are dent of the grades I receive. the eight-digit student number as the stamp contributing factors to the escalating grades Inherently, it would appear as though I of ownership. The graders of papers would of University students. am pointing fingers, suggesting that pro- need to cut out any contact from the stu- Professors and GSIs will likely balk at the fessors or GSIs on campus are guilty of dent's name and grade in order to successful- suggestion that their mentoring of students grade inflation or susceptible to manipula- ly establish a system that reports true grades. - facilitated likely through visits to office tion by students based on their academic Otherwise, the inflated grades that are being hours - aid in grade inflation. Repeated vis- relationship with the faculty. One would awarded are doing a tremendous disservice its to office hours or frequent discussion of be incorrect in this assumption. to the academic institution of higher learning course-related materials over electronic mail What I seek to elucidate is that the pos- we, as students and members of this commu- can precipitate some kind of adjustment in sibility for grade inflation's existence is a nity should seek to uphold. one's academic record. This certainly does partial result of student interaction with After all, the grade is a result of the not imply illegal modification of one's graders. Office hours are vital; interaction paper itself, not the student behind the grades, but rather, students held in high favor with professors and 'graduate students is paper, isn't it? with some faculty whose classes they are important to the education system, if not enrolled in may reap the benefit of their central. However, the possibility that fac- Smith can be reached devout attendance to office hours when the ulty's disposition toward students can pro- at lukems@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Royal Shakespeare CALISON FISKE to highlight the University's insidious use of GREG HICKS race in admissions, we realized that it is only a castmembers voices their KIERON JECCHINIS component of admissions. . t.r.rDAVID KILICK To that end, the bake sale fully represent- sf TOM MANNION ed all facets of the admissions policy. Not CIARAN MCINTYRE only did minorities receive a 20-cent dis- TO THE DAILY: KARL MORGAN count, but we offered proportional discounts We, those named below, are members of JAMES O'DONNELL for a student's legacy, athletic prowess and the Royal Shakespeare Company's produc- PATRICK ROMER geographic location, among other factors. tions of Coriolanus and The Merry Wives of LucY TREGEAR' In one instance, we offered a bagel for Windsor which will be performed in Ann HANNAH YOUNG 70 cents to a Hispanic Michigander - 20- Arbor this March. We wish to make it clear Royal Shakespeare Company castmembers cents off for being a minority and another that our visit is not supportive of the current 10-cents for being from Michigan. United States (and by extension, United To. claim that the bake sale was "half- Kingdom) policy toward Iraq. baked" was inaccurate, and the result of We do not believe a valid case for war poor research. In the end, the event was has been made and wish to join all those on Da ly needS to do hneork, definitely positive. both sides of the Atlantic in supporting a i7It is not every day that people have peaceful resolution to this conflict through frmaie-aCtion bake Sale open, well-reasoned discussions about the United Nations. affirmative action on campus. It took We urge all those who feel the same to accounted ar nore than race something a little shocking to get people to make their protest known. open up. I was really encouraged by the KATE BEST dialogue we had with supporters and oppo- CLAIRE CARRIE TO THE DAILY: nents alike. SIMON COATES The premise of yesterday's editorial JAMES JUSTIN WILSON RICHARD COPESTAKE regarding The Michigan Review's affirmative LSA senior RICHARD CORDERY action bake sale (Half-baked analogy, 02/19/03) The letter writer is the editor in chief LINDSEY FAWCETT was unfounded. Although we staged the event of The Michigan Review VIEWPOINT Tired of same old MSA? Try the University Party 0 0 BY MICHAEL MACVAY & TIMOTHY MOORE Like all encounters that students will experience with our members in the next few months, we will begin with a simple, warm introduction. We are the University Party, a new political group dedicated to restoring credibility and effectiveness to the Michigan Student Assembly and other similar govern- ing bodies. One can reasonably ask what makes the University Party so different from other groups on campus. Simply put, we know the role of our government. We under- stand that MSA has little bearing on non- campus issues and that resolutions pertaining to such matters are unnecessary. All these resolutions do is divide the campus into numerous factions and threaten to split an educational union that should strive to per- fect tolerance and understanding. Moreover, we represent all ideologies and are deter- mined to keep national partisan interests out of a student government that should be neu- tral on such issues. Education is the goal of MSA; factionalization and superfluous reso- lutions are not. We hope that you agree with rnr nrinrinle and woudlA revel in the AnnAr- a thriving, politically-aware group helping stu- dents relate with the administration and pro- cure necessary founds for various group activities. Currently, parties rise and fall with high turnover and the process by which stu- dents interact with their government changes just a rapidly. This inconsistency will disap- pear under the watch of the University Party. We will remain for many years a strong party assisting all students, of all political beliefs, in their endeavors and we will clarify the ways by which students may participate in MSA and obtain funds. Another important focus of the Universi- ty Party concerns the dissolution of the LSA Student Government that has occurred under the current administration. As we all know, this school is the most populous on campus and, therefore, carries great significance in the relation between the administration and the student body. We vow to bring credibili- ty and purpose back to the governing body and rid LSA-SG of rampant apathy. With that said, election time is fast upon us friends. At the end of March, winter elec- tions will grasp the attention of the Universi- ty for two intense days. Although it may seem that we iust left an election in the fall. with campaign posters. This joint venture will make the campaign season all the more bearable to the student body and foster a more personal campaign strategy. In addition to their pledge, we promise to abstain from chalking the campus in an effort to beautify the University. Instead, the student body can look forward to the University Party engag- ing students in a positive, verbal manner and we will not practice the impersonality that has typified past elections. Nevertheless, the University Party would not support legislation against this practice, as free speech is fundamental to the Consti- tution of this country. We promise to join the competition in this endeavor in the spirit of community appreciation, but the establish- ment of such legislation degrades those dear principles of the United States. We thank the Daily for providing an impartial forum for student political parties to express their message. But most impor- tantly, we thank the readers of this piece for taking a moment out of their day to hear our message if only for the chance to take it into consideration. The University Party welcomes all students to join our hard work our nassion arnd our fun For further asked by the law enforceme: THE BOONDOCKS 0 AARON MC('TRL.!R.