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www.michiandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 28 2005 The Michigan Daily
Coleman
focuses
on ethics
In response to need to teach morals,
University holds forums on issue
By Anne VanderMey
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Mary Sue Coleman didn't have any ideas,
but she knew what she was getting into.
"I didn't have a game plan, I just thought that there are so many
interesting things going on that we should have a forum," Cole-
man said.
The topic of the forum: ethics. And in the past several months,
the issue has become a major concern for University officials who
believe students need a place to discuss ethical and moral issues
that extend from the classroom to day-to-day activities.
Last night, Coleman embarked on this endeavor as administra-
tors and students came together in the Michigan Union in a heated
discussion about plagiarism, intellectual robbery and academic
"borrowing." The event was the first in a series of forums born out
of Coleman's $500,000 ethical initiative, which may eventually
culminate in the creation of new ethics-based classes.
"We don't know how it's going to work, but we're going to try
it," Coleman added.
The University founded the initiative in September in response
to a report produced by a University taskforce that recommended
administrators develop a setting for students to explore ethical
and moral dilemmas. So far the initiative includes holding two
public forums for students every semester. Yesterday's discussion
marked the first forum of the school year, and about 50 students
attended.
Initiative chairs Marvin Krislov, the University's general
counsel, and John Chamberlin, a professor at the Gerald R. Ford
School of Public Policy, hope to eventually implement other pro-
grams geared toward teaching ethics at the University in addition
to more discussion forums.
Chamberlin said that as early as next fall students can expect to
be able to register for new ethics classes or existing classes with a
new focus on ethics. He said that changes to the curriculum may
include special class sections that would place an added emphasis
on morals, or optional "companion-courses" that would provide a
place to discuss ethical issues that are already present in a class.
"Students are so busy worrying about the trees that they don't
see the forest," Chamberlin said . "I'd be surprised if fewer than
two-thirds of students haven't taken courses that deal with ethical
issues.... (We'll) identify things professors are already doing and
amplify the effect."
Michigan Student Assembly President Jesse Levine, who is on
the initiative steering committee, said he felt a focus on ethics
would be a good first step for the University.
"I think it's important that (people) throughout the University
are taking a hard look at this issue; clearly there are some issues
on campus that need to be addressed," Levine said. "(But) it will
take some time to find the 100 percent solution."
Yet some feel that while the initiative may be a step in the right
direction, it will not be enough to resolve the University's ability
to teach ethics.
Residential College Lecturer Hank Greenspan, who attended
the event, said although forums and supplemental ethics classes
are a good thing, he hopes for larger-scale changes.
"One can't do everything in one night, but my hope is that this
initiative will rethink the entire curriculum," said Greenspan. "It
has to do with what kind of (people) are we hoping this University
will graduate. Candidly, I think we have a long way to go."
Greenspan said he thought required ethics classes specific to
See ETHICS, Page 5A
I
PETER ScHOTTENFELS/Daily
University students eat at the East Quadrangle cafeteria during dinner yesterday.
'U'
CAFETERIA
PRICING
cafeterias fall short, students say
k
By Karl Stampfl
Daily Staff Reporter
OXFORD, Ohio - At Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio, which claims it has the
best cafeteria food in the nation, students
eat in dining centers that look more like
food courts in upscale shopping centers
than typical college dining halls.
MU is one of a number of universities
that have taken campus dining to a level
beyond the University of Michigan, where
many students say they are unhappy with
their dining experiences.
At MU, most students said they were satis-
fied with the food, some even going to the
point of calling it one of the best aspects of
the school. In a recent survey of students by
MU's dining services, 92 percent said they
were satisfied in general with their dining
experiences.
"The food at Miami is better than any
other school I've ever eaten at," said MU
junior Kaleigh Coughlin, who has also dined
at Ohio State University, Xavier University,
the University of Cincinnati and Ohio-Wes-
leyan University.
Couglin cited the freshness of ingredients,
large selection and generous portion sizes as
pluses.
The food at MU is regarded so highly on
campus that many students who live off-cam-
pus purchase meal plans, MU sophomore Kat
Peterson said.
Another reason students said they like
the food at MU is its quality per dollar. The
basic meal plan costs $1,670 per semester
and includes three meals a day, which comes
See CAFETERIA, Page 7A
Part Two of Two
Voice
Your Vote registers less voters
Disappointing student
turnout blamed on lackluster
voter registration efforts
By Jeremy Davidson
Daily Staff Reporter
Voter apathy plagued every demographic
in Tuesday's City Council elections, in which
only 12,000 ballots were cast, compared
with 21,000 in 2003. And despite the strong
recent display of activism in city politics
from the Michigan Student Assembly, the
Voice Your Vote Commission came up short
in its efforts to register voters say members
of the College Democrats.
The voter turnout was especially low this
year when compared to the efforts of the
Voice Your Vote commission's effort in last
year's presidential race, during which they
registered nearly 11,000 students to vote.
In 2003, an off-year election, Voice Your
Vote registered about 500 students, an
important year for Ann Arbor because the
Greenbelt initiative was on the ballot.
According to Voice Your Vote, the com-
mission registered 80 students to vote.
"This number is lower than we had hoped,
largely because it proved difficult to get stu-
dents interested in registering to vote in an
off year," said Matthew Schopfer, Voice
Your Vote co-chair. "We only had our full
commission about two weeks before the reg-
istration deadline:'
Libby Benton, president of the College
Democrats and 2003 chair of the Voice Your
Vote commission, said Voice Your Vote
came nowhere near to fulfilling its duty.
"My main concern was that they never
had tables set up on the Diag or in the Union,
which is just a small thing they could have
See VOTE, Page 5A
Institute for
Judaic studies
inaugurated
Int'l graduate student
enrollment rises 1%
By Drew Philp
Daily Staff Reporter
Judaic studies aims to venture into new fron-
tiers as the next generation of Jewish scholars
hopes to expand the scope of the field with the
University's new addition to the Frankel Center.
Yesterday afternoon, University President
Mary Sue Coleman gathered with the directors
of the Frankel Center and members of the Fran-
kel family, as well as various Jewish community
members, to celebrate the inauguration of the
University's new Frankel Institute for Advanced
Judaic Studies.
"This institute will provide a staging ground
for Judaic studies and become a crossroads, a
point of intersection for different fields," said
Deborah Dash Moore, director of the University's
Frankel Center.
Made possible by a $20 million grant from the
Samuel and Jean Frankel Foundation, the new
Despite increase, total
enrollment at 125 colleges still
down 3 percent from last year
By Kelly Fraser
Daily Staff Reporter
A 1 percent increase may not seem like much,
but to educators, it represents the possible recovery
of international student enrollment at U.S. graduate
schools after three years of decline.
The Council of Graduate Schools recorded the
increase in a report released Monday that compiled
enrollment statistics for 125 colleges, including the
University.,
Since 2002, international graduate student enroll-
ment rates have declined. But this year marks the
first year rates have not dropped. While total enroll-
ment of international graduate students is still down 3
percent from last year, the 1 percent increase among
first-time applicants suggests the number may be on
the rebound.
ed the quality of applicants and the efforts of Univer-
sity student support programs for sustaining first-time
enrollment levels.
The overall drop in international student enroll-
ment during the past three years reflects two major
factors, said Rodolfo Altamirano, director of the Uni-
versity's International Center. Since the Sept. 11 ter-
ror attacks, international students entering the United
States have faced tightened security, Altamirano said.
Meanwhile, other countries like the United Kingdom
and Australia have boosted their efforts to attract tal-
ented graduate students from around the world, he
added.
"At the same time we are closing our doors, other
countries are opening them," he said.
Beyond providing academic and research opportu-
nities, Altamirano said, universities need to provide
a welcoming atmosphere to both increase and retain
the number of international graduate students.
"We need to greet them with open arms,' he said.
"The International Center is poised to provide them a
welcoming home."
Rackham has also expanded support services for
inte~rnaitinal students. includingy offe~ringv help with
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