0 . _ 0 a 9 9 Wensay etmbr2,207 -Th ihga al - I. -. .. . SS Dissecting diversity znknowns- Science column >wn here was a simple game that I used to play around cam- pus when I first arrived here four years ago. It went like this: all day long - in class, walking on the diag, in the dorms and dining halls - I would conduct a search. I would scrutinize every person who passed within my field of view, looking for one particular characteristic. At times, I'd lose hope that I'd ever find what I looked for, but it was always followed by renewed vigi- lance. For hours at a time -days, even - I would be unsuccessful, until, some lucky moment, I would finally spot my quarry. There! At long last! A black student! This account is slightly embel- lished, but honest in spirit. I dis- tinctly recall scratching my head as a freshman and wondering aloud, "Where are all the black people?" As a native New Yorker, I was used to encountering a rich variety of races. on campus, the pronounced lack of minority stu- dents was a little disorienting. It should be made clear here that I'm a Chinese-American who was raised in Brooklyn in a pre- dominately black neighborhood, across the street from a Jewish synagogue. The issue here is not blackness in particular but the palpable sense of loss that I expe- rienced in an environment which did not live up to my expectations of diversity. Campus diversity provokes vivid reactions in all who are con- nected to the University (the reac- tion being abject confusion in my case). But the rhetoric and blus- ter occlude the fact that there is a substantial amount of empirical research on the costs and benefits of creating a diverse community. This is diversity as its own end, not in the service of righting historical wrongs. Stakeholders on both sides of the affirmative action debate can wring their hands and moralize, but the scientific study of diver- sity is leading to results that would surprise both parties. One of the most persistent and startling findings to come forth is the inverse correlation between the diversity of communities and the social cohesion of those com- munities. Robert Putnam, a social scientist at Harvard, showed in 2007 that people are less trust- ing if they live in more diverse communities. The uncomfortable truth Putnam uncovered was that the more ethnically heterogeneous a community was, the less likely people were to interact with each other - even with people of their own races. In fact, people in homogeneous, isolated places such as Bismarck, North Dakota and rural South Dakota had the very highest levels of social cohesion - nearly 80 per- cent of these people agreed that they "Trust neighbors a lot." This is in stark contrast to the people in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston, where less than 30 percent agreed with that statement. These large and diverse cities had some of the lowest levels of trust in the survey. Putnam, who was a profes- sor at Michigan prior to mov- ing to the Ivy League (he wasn't the first one), found that when people encounter the other or the alien, they shrink back into their shells. They become fear- ful and withdraw. They flee the civic center to hunker down in the unmenacing glow of their television screens. Hitting closer to home is a study that replicated the commu- nity-corroding effects of diver- sity on college campuses. Stanley Rothman at Smith College and his colleagues found that increased campus diversity was correlated with student dissatisfaction with their university experiences. However, some claim that Roth- man used a flawed methodology to define diversity (as the simple proportion of black students), and that a different study led by University psychology professor emerita Patricia Gurin was more accurate. Surveying students at the University over several years, The surprising science behind multiculturalism on campus. Gurin and colleagues found that those exposed to diversity in the classroom showed more intellec- tual engagement and growth. Although Putnam's results regarding communities in gen- eral have been closely scrutinized, they remain unassailable. Even after accounting for all sorts of factors, the negative correlation between diversity and social cohe- sion remains. One scholar whose work is often used as a counter- point to Putnam's is Scott Page, acting director of the University's Center for the Study of Complex Systems. Page, in his recent book "The Difference," praises the power of diversity to increase the productivity of groups. Page concedes the reality of increased tension in more diverse environments, but he believes that this is ultimately a beneficial qual- ity. "Big, diverse cities are the most productive places on Earth," Page said, "given the choice between North Dakota and New York City, where would you rather spend a weekend?" The same principle holds true for a University environment. This brand of utilitarianism sacrifices comfort for gains in productivity. The expenditure of social capital results in other intellectual and economic returns. It toes the line between the familiar and the novel, the simple and the chal- lenging. "Productive universities need that intellectual friction to do what they do," Page said. The academyisthebattleground of ideas, where roiling, fractious intellects can stake out positions and defend them with reason and analysis. What do students learn when they are surrounded by mir- ror images and coddled in soft agreements? Pefhaps the academy is sup- posed to be a little uncomfortable, a little dangerous, a little prickly. If not here, where else? Engineering junior Dominic Piro shows off the human-powered submarine, the result of years of toil Tnetail-ena o mercury m, toe Human-rowerea:ubmarine i eams latest and adjustments Wilson Student Team Project Center hink pedal ingaebicycle eishard? Try pedaling a submarine. A look at the University's most bizarre team Wednesday, September 26th 11 am-3pm at The Michigan Union Meet with over 100 law schools plus local test preparation services Collect application information and explore law education options Visit The Career Center's website for a list of schools scheduled to attend (www.careercenter.umich.edu) Seeause...one day can make all the differene! For more information contact us at: 3200 SAB (734)764-7460 Defamdantff www.careercenterumich.edu Divisionof Student Affar ---, - ---- 1. - - I - 10ANDOLPH COURT APART1MNS i Fj 2 B OfOM Apartment Honor N Ground Floor Ranch Style! Private Entrance! Patio! Spacious Kitchen! Air Conditioning! Laundry Facilities! 24-Hour Emergency Maitenance! Pets Welcome! And much, much more! Equal Hasn Apprtunity n land, Mercury III, the pride and joy of Engineer- ing junior Dominic Piro, is unimposing, even with its shark paint job. A 10-foot long oval shell made of carbon-fiber _ composite and balsa wood with a bicycle drive train mounted inside, it looks likea soapbox racer with propellers. But even though the designs are similar, Mercury III isn't a soap- box racer, it's a working subma- rine. Capable of reaching speeds of nearly 5 knots, or roughly 6 miles an hour, it's the result of years of tweaking and adjustments. Piro is co-manager of the Uni- versity's Human-Powered Subma- rine Team, one of several student projects, including the Solar Car Team, sponsored by the College of Engineering. Possibly because it doesn't move as fast, the subma- rine isn't quite as talked about as the University's award-winning solar car. But even though the team operates in relative obscurity, the sport requires athletic prowess, deft engineering and considerable daring. Staying on course in a sub- marine is difficult, and racing one is even trickier. Inside Mercury ° III, there's enough room for a single person, provided that person isn't too tall or too wide. To get it moving, the pilot has to pedal the submarine like a bicycle. "I'm not claustrophobic, but I don't like the idea of climbing in the sub," said Christine Matlock, the team's diver manager. As the sub moves through the tank, its speed is measured at checkpoints along the way. The team with the fastest submarine wins. In 2006, the University's team won the one-person propeller-driv- en category, reaching a top speed of 4.587 knots in an event near San Diego, Calif. The team was the third fastest in the One-Person Propeller divi- sion during the International Sub- marine Races in Bethesda, Md. this past June. At a top speed of 4.958 knots, pilot Willie Hatfield set the record for the school. In all of the submarines the hulls fills with water and the pilot, com- pletely submerged, breathes using scuba gear. He lies on his side to pedal, looking at the bottom of the tank through a window in the nose of the submarine. Because the pilot can only see directly in front of him, the race course has to be lit with neon lights, or "mood light- ing" as Hatfield called it. "Everything else is murky and blurry expect for this long string of blue lights," he said. Pedaling the sub is no small feat - it weighs about 1,000 lbs. By pedaling alone, the pilot moves the How do you train for a race that happens 15 feet underwater? sub, themselves and several lead weights added for balance. Hatfield said that during a one to two minute race he typically used half a tank of air. For divers breath- ing normally, not under physi- cal strain, the tanks typically last about 30 to 40 minutes. The indoor tanks in which the submarine usually operates com- plicate the task. Shallow water, that is, water less than 12 feet deep, is the most dangerous because the pressure is most unstable, said Larry Harris Taylor, a University Medical School researcher and the team's dive safety officer. Stopping the submarine is another matter. Once divers staff- ing the competitions stop the sub, they monitor the pilot for signs of injury or panic. Because of the dan- gers of sudden pressure changes, the submarine - with the pilot inside - must be brought back to the surface gradually. "If you panic, it's pretty bad," Hatfield said. Hatfield, who graduated last spring, didn't spend time at the gym training for the event. Instead Hatfield used his single-speed road bike as transportation from Central Campus to North Campus. Hatfield said he purposely used a single-speed bike to simulate piloting the sub, which also has a fixed gear. "I never saw him walk any- where," Matlock said. Because scuba equipment is classified as life-support under the University's insurance policies, and both pilots and team members use scuba gear, operating the sub- marine for the team is classified as high-risk. Though maybe not in practice - there haven't been any recent submarine-related injuries - according to insurance policies, operating the submarine is one of the riskiest sports at the Univer- sity. Any time the sub is in the water, Team Dive Manager Christine Matlock requires at least three div- ers, along with the pilot, to inspect and prepare the submarine for a run. Once it's submerged, the sub- marine's hull fills with water, and the team members can make sure it's properly balanced. To be covered by the Universi- ty's insurance, each member of the submarine's dive team must meet the dive standards of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. Therequirementsincludeknowledge of CPR, first-aid certification and passing a DAN 02 Provider test - a test on giving oxygen to an injured person. Each diver must also have a physical from a designated doctor at University Health Services. And finally, before they can get into water, Taylor evaluates See SUB, Page 11B ONE UP BILL MAHER E-mail your own submissions for new rules on campus to thestatement@umich.edu.