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sday, ;--nuarv 31, 2007 - The Michigan Daily
Ted Kaczynski,
thebb U91nabomber, 167graduate
of the University's
Mathematics graduate program
tCOVER STORY
if
1104 e IZ 5" l f6 n
Ale-
The hidden meaning of handwriting
By Anne VanderMey I Daily News Editor
Ralph Williams,
English professor
What people don't know about
Kaczynski, the brilliant but
murderous mail bomber, is that
he's a very sensitive character,
at least according to Weemhoff.
The slight loop on his d, Weem-
hoff said, denotes that he doesn't
handle criticism well. Weemhoff
suggested that the writer sim-
ply "walked to a different drum
beat." Both analysts mentioned
a talent for
details, even a pas-
sion. And flair for regiment and
organization, which is probably
not a difficult feat inside a prison
cell. Roberts said she thought she
detected a fear of empty spaces or
death. The handwriting revealed
a person, she said, who is hiding
something from the rest of the
world.
A computers get faster and smaller and
technology races to outstrip the limits
of our imaginations, the indistinct line,
between science and magic blurs. Masses of
information lie at our fingertips. In under three
mouse clicks, we can locate not just the square
mileage of Alabama, but its population and
state fish.
It seems then that finding out about people
should be just as simple and fast. Maybe
that's why crafts like palmistry, astrology and
phrenology are so appealing. But there's one
tell-all piece of magical science that stands
apart from the rest. It's graphology - the study
of handwriting. It appeals to those who indulge
in the fanciful sciences and skeptics alike.
The Statement asked two graphology
experts, Jean Weemhoff and Dawn Roberts, to
analyze the handwriting of people on campus.
Handwriting analysis as anyone will tell you,
even Weenhoff and Roberts, is not an exact
science. However, that doesn't stop countless
entrepreneursfrom trying to hone it into one.
That said, while Weenhoff and Roberts aren't
exactly scientists, they do have a masters in
graphology. Without knowing who the samples
were from, here's their approximation of the
hidden characters of University figures laid
bare by their handwriting.
How accurate is it really? You be the judge.
Lloyd Carr,
Head football coach
Carr is one of the most recog-
nizable faces at the University,
and if Weemhoff and Roberts
are right, he knows it. Carr,
Roberts surmised, feels the
ational pressure enough to be engaging
suld be in rigorous self-improvement in
id. She all areas of his life. He's persis-
so indi- tent, Weemhoff said - a good
alittle trait for a football coach - as
at may well as generous with his time
THEIR CREDENTIALS
Jean Weemhoff and Dawn Roberts have told
us what they can about the writers, despiteisome
limitations in length and format. Weemhoff and
Roberts, both forensic analysts, have given testi-
mony before courts on fraud and forgery cases.
Weemhoff, who graduated from -the University
in 1987 with a bachelors in linguistics, went on to
attain a degree she says she values only slightly
less: an MGA, masters in graphoanalysis, from
the International Graphoanalysis Society, once
the foremost institution of its kind in the country.
Weemhoff has advised businesses about hir-
ing potential employees and has beencertified for
expert testimony in municipal, district and circuit
Rebe
Univ
and ener- Both
gy. But McGow
there's a verve
something palate.
sinister t'sandh
lurking in his past, Roberts a fluidi
said, though she couldn't define sity for
it. Some unresolved issue he's not jum
working to remedy? November's erts sai
loss to Ohio State is as good a secret d
guess as any. as a m
most po
courts. She was also the president of the Michigan
Graphoanalytic Association for eight years.
Roberts cultivated her interest in graphology
at an early age. She was turned onto it, she said,
when her father, schooled in handwriting analysis,
reassured her that her life would turn out alright
because he could "see it in her handwriting." She
was hooked and read everything about graphol-
ogy she could get her hands on. Later, Roberts
also attended the IGAS and Handwriting Univer-
sity for a refresher in document analysis. She does
handwriting analysis on the side, and even offers
students nearing graduation reports they can tack
onto their resumes to set them apart from com-
petitors.
TheFacebook.comgroup"Ralph
Williams fer President" has 197
members. It's one of the biggest
facebook professor fan groups the
University has. His penchant for
theatrics and generosity about
deadlines have made Williams a
campus celebrity. Most English
concentrators could tell you that
Williams enjoys opera and gospel
music, but Roberts has concluded
that the enigmatic professor also
enjoys singing- at least in private.
"Maybe in the car or in the show-
er," she said.
Who knows? Williams's boom-
ing basso could be as delightful in
song as it is in the classroom. Then
again, there could just have been a
misread letter or two.
Weemhoff was struck by the
compassion she saw in Williams's
handwriting. She said he might
be moved to tears by a piece of
music or literature. And if he saw
a wounded puppy on the side of
the road? "Immediately he would
do something about it." Roberts
Mary Sue Coleman,
University President
"There'ssomethingaboutMary,"
Roberts said when she looked at the
signature of University President
Mary Sue Coleman. She repeated
the phrase atleastthreetimeswhile
analyzing the text. "She's a won-
derful person," Roberts gushed. "A
phenomenal person." Weemhoff
said there was a little artistic tal-
ent evident in the M in Mary, and
intelligent, quick thinking. She
said there was a detachment from
emotion in the stokes at the end of
her words. Coleman's deft politi-
cal maneuvering as president has
obfuscated her personal life. She's
an enigma to most of the student
body - though she did reveal to a
Daily editor last year that she does
said she
saw a love
for physi-
cal adven-
ture and a
sense that
Williams was isolated or felt that
there was no one quite like him.
Although, while no one would
question whether Williams was
unique, his gregarious personality
would suggest he's hardly isolated.
And though the sample was
small, Weemhoff said she detected
that the writer might derive great
pleasure from the written word.
Her analysis, though tentative,
seems to be accurate - Williams
can deliver beautifully impas-
sioned speeches about Shake-
speare, poetry and biblical texts,
so it's likely he would have a ten-
dency to enjoy words when they're
put together well.
"I wouldn't stand on a stack of
bibles and say that," Weemhoff
said. "But that's what it seems like
to me."
shop for her
own grocer-
ies. If her
signature
is indeed the window to her per-
sonality, she's a wonderful person,
as Roberts says. But a signature
isn't always an accurate indicator
for graphoanalysts, Roberts said.
It's the calligraphic equivalent of
the public face someone wants to
present. Coleman's handwriting
could differ from her signature,
and it probably does. So there may
be untold secrets about Coleman's
character that aren't readily avail-
able in her autograph.
Paul Courant,
administrator extraordinaire
Paul Courant served as provost, rant does
the University's second in com- have a gift
mand, for three years, as well as for mul-
putting time in as the director of titasking,
theInstituteforPublicPolicyStud- her sum-
ies (now the Ford School of Public mation,
Policy), where he currently teach- though,
es. In his handwriting, Weemhoff overlooked Courant's dynamic
says she sees flexibility and an personality. With a silver stud in
ability to improvise - a trait that his left ear, accessible teaching
is fairly consistent with the char- style and motorcycle license, Cou-
acters of most good administra- rant is about as close to a rock star
tors. She added that she thought as you'll get within the Univer-
the writer would be able to multi- sity administration. Maybe that
task and think quickly enough to doesn't come through in his m's as
be able to do several things at one well as it should.
time. It may be true. Perhaps Cou-
Nicole Stallings,
MSA President
The entire text of the sample
shown here, torn from the back
of Stallings' notebook, reads "It's
great tobea Michigan wolverine!"
- a fitting slogan for a wonderful
Michigan Student Assembly presi-
dent. Her traits, as our grapholo-
gists see them, could go either
way. Stallings's e, Weemhoff said,
indicates an unwillingness to lis-
ten to other people's opinions or
at least a mild distaste for dissent-
ing voices. But both analysts agree
Stallings is self-reliant and driven,
an analysis that's hard to disagree
with, at leastbased on her resume.
Elected vice president of student
government, then president last
spring in the most brutal election
yearanyone
can remem-
ber. Stall-
ings is also
a senior
in the selective Organiz
Studies program. "(She) ct
a good leader," Roberts sa
added the writing could als
cate that Stallings "could be
self-centered." However, th
not necessarily a bad this
said. "This person doesn't,
on others for approval," sh
"It's just about her and for t
cca McGowan,
ersity Regent
analysts agreed that
'an has artistic flair, even
for culture and a refined
Weemhoff noted that her
'sruntogether,indicating
ty of mind and a propen-
thinking very quickly, if
ping to conclusions. Rob-
d the writing revealed "a
desire to achieve," though
ember of the University
owerful board at the Uni-
versity, it's
unlikely
her com-
mitment
and ambi-
tion are as secret as Roberts
supposed. She also indicated
McGowan may have a propensi-
ty toward extravagant generos-
ity. Roberts said there was also
a staunch independent nature to
her script.
ng, she
depend
ie said.
oday."
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