4A - Monday, September 10, 2007P N The Michigan Daiy - michigandaily.com
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- Michigan running back Mike Hart at a press conference following Michigan's embarrassing 39-7
KARL STAMPFL IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER defeat at the hands of the Oregon Ducks on Saturday
EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles
and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
Askan teEas aai
am one of those kids who, despite corruption and incompetence. I look generation grew up performing com-
the rolling eyes of out-of-state forward to a day when Detroit returns munity service andvolunteering:Wedo
friends, points to my hometown to prominence as a metropolis, but that care about higher ideals. We have pipe
on my hand. I am day certainly isn't coming soon enough dreams aboutcbeingfplaymakers during
a Michigander. for people like me who are graduating our state's ascension from hardship.
Lately, there's been in the next couple of years. We have a will to be active participants
T T considerable chat- To their credit, it's very clear that in the revitalization of Michigan.
'U' should do more to help prepare top students for awards ter around the state }. politicians in Lansing want college Furthermore, please engage in
emphasizing the graduates to stay in the state, though some domestic diplomacy. Speak to us
need to attract col- their current plans may not bring directly, instead of justcpresenting stra-
lege graduates to results. Programs like the Cool Cities tegic plans and economic initiatives
uring this year's freshman convocation, Ted Spencer, stay in Michigan. _ Initiative, Graduate Purchase Assis- meant to snag college graduates. Write
director of the University's Office of Undergraduate There have been NEIL tance program and the 21st Century in the pages of this newspaper and in
studies (like the Job Fund demonstrate that keeping those at other campuses. Make noise
Admissions, said, "I can say without hesitation that this CherryCommission TAMBE us here and creating jobs for us is of about staying in state, lots of it. Go to
report) dissectig importance to lawmakers. Unfortu-
year's class is more actively engaged and academically well-quali- this issue. Such efforts are obviously nately, when charted against present S li
fed than an other class in the histor of the Universit of Michi- necessary. However, Lansing should realitiesoflife inMichigan-economic Selling M ichigan
S y yoynot just focus on presenting economic hardship, cultural mediocrity - even
gan." It is unlikely, though, that most of these promising freshmen carrots. There's one simple tactic that those programs seem futile. If college is easier than
is yet to be employed: Ask us to stay. students perform a cost-benefit analy-
will leave the University as highly distinguished as they should be. On paper, staying in Michigan is sis on whether to live in or leave Michi- Lansing thinks.
a hard sell to worldly college gradu- gan, the state will nearly always getthe
The University is not doing enough to make sure highly qualified ates aspiring to earn six figures, plan short straw.
students get the assistance they deserve in applying to renowned for a family and live a purposeful, Those of us who want to stay in 20-somethings' across the state and
difference-making life all before hit- Michigan- or return to the state some- ask, in a measured tone, for us to stay.
scholarships such as the Fulbright and Rhodes programs. ting 30. Many of us Michiganders day - want to do so for reasons beyond Attempt to persuade us, one afternoon
cat 4;f .; .-...ow d..h p-e a.
The University has recently stopped
interviewing undergraduate students for
the prestigious Fulbright program, cit-
ing a high volume of applicants and not
enough resources to assist everyone. At
this time there are nearly 300 students
who have expressed interest in applying
for the program, and the number who will
actually apply is expected to far exceed
the 100 that applied last year. But because
of the lack of staff at the International
Institute, only graduate applicants will be
interviewed.
Because the Fulbright is such an elite pro-
gram sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State, students who are not interviewed by
the University (and therefore do not receive
University endorsement) are left at a disad-
vantage, even though the University says
otherwise. This issue is emblematic of other
similar problems facing the University.
The high number of Fulbright applicants
speaks greatly to the potential of the Uni-
versity's studentbody, but unfortunately the
administration has not done enough to culti-
vate that potential. The International Insti-
tute, for example, has added one temporary
worker to assist in preparing the Fulbright
applications for this year, but obviously
more needs to be done. Every applicant is no
longer interviewed because the interviews
must be conducted in a short span of time,
and the institute still does not have the staff
to handle that.
Such lack of resources in adequately pre-
aringstudents for awards and scholarships
eaves the University far behind top private
institutions. With the University's large
student population, faculty members don't
often get the chance to work closely with
students to seek out especially gifted indi-
viduals and refer them to top fellowships
and scholarships.
On the other hand, faculty members at
Harvard and Yale interact more closely with
students and are trained to identify, recruit
and guide students into applying for pres-
tigious scholarships such as the Marshall,
Mitchell and Rhodes. As a result, Harvard
and Yale students regularly comprise near-
ly 40 percent of the annual list of Rhodes
Scholars.
This disadvantage as compared to Har-
vard and Yale could be understandable
considering the size and state funding of
our large public institution. However, that
excuse doesn't apply, given that even Michi-
gan State University has had more Rhodes
scholars than Michigan since the 1970s.
Right now, the University sends a mass
e-mail to students with at least a 3.7 grade
point average notifying them of informa-
tional sessions in January and February
about applying for eminent awards. The
publicity for these awards must start sooner,
and the University must do more than just
send a mass e-mail. The applicants are often
required to obtain various recommendation
letters and go through a series of interviews,
if they are selected as finalists. In order for
our students to be better prepared to com-
pete for these scholarships, we have to get
them on track earlier.
The University should bring in a few spe-
cialists to handle specifically these esteemed
grants and scholarships. This is the approach
taken by schools that consistently lead the
country in winners of such awards. These
individuals would train the applicants into
putting their best application forward. Obvi-
ously resources would be required to bring
such people in, but if the massive interest in
the Fulbright program this year is any indi-
cation, these resources are a necessity.
We can't keep losing to MSU in an aca-
demic category.
tees rstnana the crippling effects of
unemployment, reductions in corpo-
rate benefits and financial stresses.
It's easy enough to find households in
a cash-crunch even in the state's most
affluent communities. Regardless of
whether Michigan's economy is get-
ting better, we're already jaded.
Aside from woes about financial
stability and unemployment, Detroit
is hardly an urban center on par with
cosmopolitan cultural centers like
Chicago, New York or San Francisco.
Furthermore, the city has no legiti-
mate public transit system and faces
constant accusations of governmental
finding a job and becoming wealthy.
We want to see Michigan thrive. We
love this state. Many have family ties.
The Red Wings and the Tigers are
classic sports teams. The suburbs are
a wonderful option for settling down
and starting a family. Michiganders are
fair and decent people who make won-
derful neighbors.
Lansing, do not humor yourself by
believing that a few rounds of public
policymaking will persuade us to stay.
Thinkbeyondtaxincentives andappeal
to loftier values like civic duty, love of
community and state pride instead of
only pandering to self-interest.O Our
and op-ed at a time.
Of course, any public campaign
without the backing of sound public
policy will surely fail in the long run.
But as it stands now, I and other stu-
dents across the state could easily slip
into other regions of the country with-
out a second thought. I urge you, Lan-
sing, to not let this happen. Craft sound
policies, but don't stop there. Ask us to
be role-players in the rebuilding of our
Michigan. Remind us of where home is.
Ask us to stay.
NeilTambe can be reached
at ntambe@umich.edu.
I
WYMAN KHUU
StFrMer A R0mU A&AIM..
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Ways for students
to find out about
textbooks in advance
TO THE DAILY:
Regarding the editorial about text-
booklistsinWednesday'sDaily(From
the Daily: Book blues, 09/05/2007):
There are many resources available
to students for finding out about text-
books for their classes besides wait-
ing for a syllabus on the first day of
class. Textbook lists are published
online by the electrical engineer-
ing and computer science depart-
ment. Other departments may have
these as well. Other than that, course
homepages are often available before
the first day of class may include syl-
labi and textbook information. EECS
has these at www.eecs.umich.edu/
courses/index.html. Finally students
should e-mail their professors. Nine-
ty-five percent of the time they will
be happy to supply any information
requested.
Faculty are requested to turn in
their textbook selections to book-
stores a month before the term starts
so that books can be ordered in
time. Most faculty comply with this
request. In a few cases, last-minute
availability of a new edition or a jug-
gling of class assignments can create
difficulties, but the information is
generally available to students well
before the start of the term.
Andrew Yagle
Professor ofelectrical engineering and
computerscience
Craig abanoned
prematurely by GOP
TO THE DAILY:
Poor Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho)
pled guilty to a misdemeanor, and
his fellow Republicans hung him out
to dry. One might think that these
Republican champions of family val-
ues could show a little understand-
ing. After all, there is absolutely no
evidence that Craig's intentions were
honorable and that he was going to
ask the guyto marry him.
Sam Osborne
West Branch, Iowa
True fans stick with
team in tough times
TO THE DAILY:
As legendary Michigan football
coach Bo Schembechler once said:
"When your team is winning, be
ready to be tough, because winning
can make you soft. On the other
hand, when your team is losing, stick
by them. Keep believing."
Now more than ever it's impor-
tant to love and support our team.
Part of that support must extend to
SEND LETTI
the coach. The team has had a hor-
rible start, but how much is Carr's
fault? Can we blame him for the loss
of Henne and Hart? No. We cannot
hold him entirely responsible for the
young and relatively inexperienced
defensive line either. Remember,
he still has a 113-37 record. Schem-
bechler had a 76.2 winning percent-
age compared to Carr's 75.3 percent.
The difference between the legend
and the coach whose blood our fans
are now crying for is less than one
percentage point
Bo's predecessor Bump Elliott
had a 54.7 career winning percent-
age. Bennie Oosterban only had 67
percent. Clearly, Carr's record is not
horrible, and neither is it atypical for
Michigan. Why do two games cause
us to lose faith? Had this happened
during Bo's tenure, there would be no
talk of firing the coach. These days,
however, it appears that faith in your
team is based on nothing more than
the latest game instead of the belief
that your team will do better with
your support.
When we talk morale and support,
how will firing the coach help? Pres-
ent a united front. It helps no one to
have an internal battle going on, to
support a player or two, but not the
team or coach. How can Michigan
hope to rally and improve with us
bickering and calling for the coach's
head?
Other teams will see the in-fight-
ing and smell blood in the water. If
you love your team, if you are truly a
Michigan Man or Michigan Woman,
stop calling for maize and blue blood.
Instead, next Saturday, scream even
harder against Notre Dame. Being
the "Leaders and the Best" has noth-
ing to do with a win-loss record and
everything to do with how we con-
duct ourselves on and off the field.
Matthew Hemsath
Alum
Fans need to teach
University a lesson
TO THE DAILY:
Someone please organize the stu-
dents and alumni to boycott the next
Michigan home game and every
home game thereafter until Lloyd
Carr and the offensive and defensive
coordinators are fired. One game
of sub-100,000 attendance, which
would end the longest such streak
in college football, should make the
University act.
Adam Dishell
Alum
Michigan fans are
class acts again
TO THE DAILY:
As an Oregon fan now living in
Michigan, I was given the opportu-
nity by some season-ticket holders
ERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
to come to the Big House for the first
time last Saturday. I was impressed
by the Michigan fans' friendliness
and wanted to let youknow that your
fans are a class act. Thank you for
making our experience memorable
and pleasurable. I may be a Duck at
heart but Michigan has also won me
over as a fan. I hope the Wolverines
beat Notre Dame next' week. And
kudos to punter Zoltan Mesko - the
hangtime on those punts was a thing
of beauty.
Johanna Hanley
Adrian, Mich
Disappointment-is all
Carr's fault
TO THE DAILY:
Coach Lloyd Carr said after Satur-
day's loss to Oregon: "We have good
kids and they're hurting." You know
what, Coach Carr? It's your fault.
Patrick Guffey
Alum
Not a moment should
be lost in firing Carr
TO THE DAILY:
The football team needs a new
head coach. Now. Not next season.
Not next week. Not even after the
next practice.
Now.
Jesse Griffith
Alum
Firing Carr would
be a huge mistake
TO THE DAILY:
I am a Michigan football fan. I'm
not a student or an alum of the Uni-
versity. I generally root for the Maize
and Blue on Saturdays only because
I used to watch Mike Hart play high
school ball in Syracuse. I have fol-
lowed Michigan's 0-2 start and the
"controversy" surrounding Lloyd
Carr with amused interest.
It would be a huge mistake to fire
him. I think it is laughable to even
consider it in light of the tremendous
success he's had. So he lost a couple
games. Big deal. I attended the Uni-
versity of Washington. My Huskies
have fallen on hard times, juggled
coaches and absolutely sucked for
about the last five years. I'd kill to
have a fraction of the success Michi-
gan has had in that same period.
Calm down. Everything will be
OK. Do not fire your coach and begin
"rebuilding" with some flash-in-the-
pan wunderkind. Take this from
a fan who has been through much
worse: Go Blue.
Chris Nielsen
Seattle, Wash.
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