4A - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com Edited and managed by students at the University ofMichigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu 0 'A4 QU TA E One of the greatest benefits of the revolution is that even our prostitutes are college graduates." - Fidel Castro, speaking about the benefits of the communist revolution he led in Cuba in a 2003 documentary "Comandante." Castro said yesterday that he would give up the Cuban presidency. The price of succeSs 4 ANDREW GROSSMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR GABE NELSON 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. The Daily's public editor, PaulH. Johnson, acts as the readers' representative and takes a critical look at coverage and content in every section of the paper. Readers are encouraged to contact the public editor with questions and comments. He can be reached at publiceditor@umich.edu. F RC)M T HE DA ILY Professi ng discontent Faculty members deserve a fair say in University decisions Jf the fiasco surrounding Spring Commencement has left stu- dents feeling unappreciated, they're not alone. The Michigan Stadium construction and other such endeavors has provoked protest from University faculty as well. According to the results of an annual survey of faculty members, the overwhelming majority is dissatisfied with its lack of voice in University affairs. This news, along with students' outrage over graduation, highlights a larger problem: This administration's lack of consideration for outside views and input. A shared governance document between the Senate Assembly and the Office of the Provost, however, gives the adminis- tration the perfect chance to address at least part of this issue. t's all about connections. Last winter I finally admitted that to myself and started treating the job market like the game that it 1 is. Swallowing my pride, I applied for a highly competitive internship in a sena- torial office, casu- ally mentioning in my cover letter that EMMARIE my grandparents HUETTEMAN were friends of the senator. (I drew the line at having someone "make a call" for me.) However, my fears of earning an unmerited internship were quickly assuaged when I was rejected. ThenI learnedthatthere are options for those ofus whose connections don't deliver or even don'texist:A fewAmer- ican companies that bank on affluent parents worrying enough about their children's future to buy them intern- ships. For a mere $6,000 - plus the non-refundable $35 application fee - University of Dreams guarantees qualified applicants a domestic intern- ship with a top company in the indus- try of their choice. Founded in 2001, this internship placement program secures applicants thekindofpositions that could lead to successful careers, while saving companies the trouble of sorting through thousands of rdsumes to find a few qualified applicants. The company certainly knows how to sell it. The University of Dreams website features slideshows of satisfied customers, smiling on the beach, at theme parks and even with celebrities., They look successful and well coifed, and programs like the "Summer with the Stars" internship in Los Angeles boast "an experience filled with celeb- rity sightings, movie premieres, sunny skies and palm trees." And the photo- graphs don't show anything as mun- dane as work. Even without the fun in the sun, it's an attractive prospect to college students. In 2006, Vault, a company specializing in career counseling, reported that 82 percent of students surveyed said that having an intern- ship was "extremely important" to future success. These positions are excellent r6sum6 builders, offering fledgling entrepreneurs everything they need: experience, contacts or jobs. And considering Vault's revelationthat 64 percent of students had been offered full-time jobs at companies with which they had interned, getting an intern- ship may be the difference between success and failure. However, $6,000 is a heavy price to pay for success, especially when your family doesn't have the expend- able income to enroll you in programs like University of Dreams. Rather than striving to maintain a (relatively) even playing field, companies like this one are shamelessly proving the notion that everything's for sale - and profit- ing from it. Let's be honest: It's not an evenplay- ingfield anyway.Therehas alwaysbeen nepotism in the job market, whether it was the storeowner passing his busi- ness down to his son or the uncle making a call to a powerful friend for his niece. Connections help, and busi- nesses like University of Dreams know that - which is whythey cultivate rela- tionships with powerful companies like Merrill Lynch and Entertainment Tonight, then sell the spoils of these connections. But many students can't afford tak- ing an underpaid or even unpaid sum- mer position, letalone pay for one. This only widensthe income gap. Any quali- fied applicant can land an internship, but being an intern requires the finan- cial security to make it through three months with little to no income. And because having an internship offers more and better opportunities, those who can afford internships tend to enter more lucrative careers. Unfortunately, it only makes it hard- er for students with nothing to lever- age. While none of the internships for which I'm applying mention cruising Rodeo Drive in the job description, there's no one sneaking my resumd to the top of the stack. Those of us who still believe in meritocracy are becom- ing increasingly panicked,plagued with earlier application deadlines and more stringent qualifications. It certainly explains the desperate willingness to pay thousands of dollars for a guaran- teed "in" at desirable companies. But, after all, University of Dreams only claims to give qualified applicants a push. To offer prospective clients (and skeptics) a first-hand look into the pro- gram, itencourages its students to blog 4 4 Can't find an internship? Just buy one. Judging from survey results, there is a clear air of discontent. Of the 30 percent of eligible faculty who responded, roughly 70 percent felt that the administration should "consult elected faculty representatives ... early in the planning of any major construc- tionprojects, includingthose forsportsfacil- ities." The concern stems in no small part from the this summer's much-publicized University Board of Regents final decision to go ahead with adding luxury boxes to the Big House. At the time, 600 staff and fac- ulty members signed a petition against the proposed expansion. In October, the Senate Assembly - the faculty's chief governing body - passed a related motion asking the University to reconsider its stadium plans. Ultimately, the University's administration largely ignored both actions. Now, the shared governance document may change things for the better. The docu- ment, crafted by the Senate Assembly and the Office of the Provost, is meant to define the role of the faculty in administrative affairs. The key issue here is exactly what influence faculty representatives would have in supposedly non-academic matters like construction projects. At any univer- sity, the line between what is strictly an academic matter or a non-academic matter is unclear. However, professors are a large part of what make this university what it is. It's embarrassing that they are left out of the loop. More broadly, having more fac- ulty influence would be a breath of fresh air in decision making, especially given the administration's insistence on executing decisions from the top down. Democratization needs to happen because the administration's decisions affect all of us. The addition of skyboxes to the Big House, for example, has reper- cussions that extend far outside the walls of the stadium. On an immediate level, the graduating seniors know all too well the way it has negatively affected their experi- ences here at the University. Beyond that, however, the stadium is a symbol of the University as a whole; if the project attracts criticism, it works against the University's image and carries consequences for stu- dents and faculty as well. In strictly finan- cial terms, when the University takes out loans for construction, it doesn't matter if these loans are for a Medical School build- ing or an Athletic Department project - debt is debt. Every project affects whether the University will be able to borrow for a future project. In agreeing to a shared governance docu- ment that gives the faculty a greater voice, the administration will show good faith in addressing the concerns of the greater University community. After all, Univer- sity President Mary Sue Coleman and her administration's legacy won't be judged by the gentlemen's club that will occupy her luxury boxes - it will be decided by the entire University community. This com- munity has had distressingly little say in the issues that directly affect it. Fixing this problem could start with the faculty. about their thoughts and experiences. one of its featured posts, "Hand over fist oppurtunities (sic)," argues that people who worry about the $6,000 cost are only hurtingthemselves. "I am really passionate about what University of Dreams does for people and their future," said the poster. "And this past week at internship mania I meet a ton of people that have so much ahead of them if they open the right doors. It really made me think about how many people are out there that could be missing out because they set- tle for a common internship." Meritocracy just maybe dead. Emmarie Huetteman is an associate editorial page editor. She can be reached at huetteme@umich.edu. 4 4 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Emad Ansari, Harun Buljina, Anindya Bhadra, Kevin Bunkley, Ben Caleca, Satyajeet Deshmukh, Milly Dick, Mike Eber, Emmarie Huetteman, Theresa Kennelly, Emily Michels, Arikia Millikan, Kate Peabody, Robert Soave, lmran Syed, Neil Tambe, Matt Trecha, Kate Truesdell, Radhika Upadhyaya, Rachel Van Gilder, Rachel Wagner, Patrick Zabawa. 4 SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU Where is the response to the Northern Illinois shooting? That being sai of this policy isr Street and Hoov for having a bee yard, even thoug KATIE HENDRICKS EP Dressed to distress Every year the hall council of each resi- dence hall issues T-shirts in an effort to build community. The shirts often attempt to either cleverly insult different resi- dence halls or feature witty or risque say- ings. While the shirts have included sexual innuendos in the past, South Quad's T-shirt crossed the line this year by referencing the sexually aggressive Soulja Boy song "Crank That." The front of the shirt is emblazoned with the Superman logo, and the back reads "Superman that ..." referencing the song's chorus of "Superman that ho." While the word "ho" is not included on the shirtitself,thelineisstillsexuallyexplicitboth in its reference and its meaning. According to the popular slang website urbandictionary. com, the verb "superman" has the following definition: "When you are mad at your girl for not having sex with you. So when she falls asleep you masturbate and cum on her back. After that, stick the bed sheet on to her back and when she wakes up it's stuck to the cum and she has a cape like Superman!!!" The act of "supermaning" is not simply a sexual reference in a popular song, but rather a highly gendered act of sexual aggression and punishment. Though I recognize that it was not the intention of the South Quad Hall Council to propagate sexual violence, the council made an irresponsible decision that undermines the safe environment the Univer- sity promises students in the residence halls. While the phrase may seem like an innocent or cheeky joke, it is distasteful and offensive, particularly to women in its portrayal of mas- culine dominance. What lies at the root of the song is a message that belittles women and ignores their right to choose when or when not to have sex. Such a message, even with innocent intent, trivializes the problem of sexual violence by treating it as a joke. The South. Quad Hall Council used stu- dents' money to finance the dorm T-shirts that many residents now refuse to purchase. Housing shirts serve to represent the entire community, and this community should not be represented with a statement that is both generally offensive and specifically demean- ing to women. Months after the T-shirts were first sold, the South Quad Hall Council issued an apol- ogy "to those who feel offended or insult- ed," but this in no way took responsibility or acknowledged wrongful behavior on the council's part. This is not just about "feeling" insulted but about the real insult committed by the hall council and the mass production of a slogan that explicitly references sexual violence. It was the council's mistake and lack of forethought that created the problem, not those who were offended. While the residence hall's "Hip Hop, Gen- der, and the Politics of Language" forum host- ed by the South Quad Hall Council on Feb. 11 addressed the issue, the event was marketed as an educational opportunity specifically for residents. The council members responsible -for the slogan's use were not in attendance, and the group's treatment of the issue again failed to admit fault on the part of the council. It is not just the residents who need education about issues of sexual violence but also the council members. Thus, I would ask the members of the South Quad Hall Council to make a continued commitment to educate themselves about the issue of sexual violence. The responsibility given to hall council members as leaders of the community and controllers of dorm funds should match the responsibility expected of them. At the very least, the hall council members responsible must admit fault and be accountable for violating the dorm's safe environment, the maintenance of which is purportedly their jobs. The shirts are no longer being sold to stu- dents and staff. However, South Quad should provide alternative T-shirts without the offen- sive slogan so that all students can be equally comfortable representing their residence hall. Katie Hendricks is an LSA sophomore. She is a member of the F-Word. TO THE DAILY: The next day, w On April 17, 2007, University President Mary Sue trash had blown Coleman released a statement offering condolences to though the table the Virginia Tech community in the wake of the trag- who previouslyI edy, as well as support to any members of the University tickets, we recei community who felt they needed it. All in all, my ho On Feb.14,2008, there was a shooting at Northern Illi- table in our fron nois University. The University of Michigan has offered Ann Arbor n( no response. This is the second high-profile college Though student shooting in the past year. The University of Michigan the reason why: claims to provide a safe environment for its students, but rent economic s when itoffers no support or information to its students in and be a bit mor response to a tragedy at a university very similar to ours, on their city eac I find this commitment hard to believe. The University immediately responded to the wide- ChrisVessels spread distress over the location of graduation, yet it LSA senior couldn't manage to issue any statement tothe community regarding the shooting at Northern Illinois. Universities across the country have offered Northern Illinois their ROSE JAFFE condolences, while we have not. Whether or not one has personal ties to Northern Illinois, this affects all of us, -Caffects.-_4-_T Id, I believe thatthe current enforcement ridiculous. In the past, I lived near State er Street. My house received a ticketonce r pong table with cups on it in the front h none of these cupswere on the ground. 'e received another ticket because some into our yard from nearby houses, even e had been removed. Because the people lived in our house had also received two ived fines for third and fourth offenses. use was fined around $750 for having a t yard. eeds to define this policy more clearly. s cause problems in the city,they are also the city is shielded from Michigan's cur- ituation. Residents need to realize this e thankful that 35,000 rich kids descend h year. as members of a university communit.Iaexrml disappointed that my university has done nothing to address this most recent tragedy. Amanda Zrust LSA senior Shovel your sidewalks, please TO THE DAILY: One of the great pleasures of Ann Arbor is being able to walk from my Burns Park home to my lab without the stress of traffic or parking. Since I am approaching that age where slipping and falling on pavement is becoming a worry, this winter has turned my morning ritual into test of balance and stability. One reason is that so many of the large fraternity and sorority houses along my route fail to clear the sidewalks. I find it amazing that the 30 or more strong, healthy students living in some of these houses can't manage to clear 40 feetof walkway. Boys and girls, if youwantto act like grown-ups, get out and shovel. Do it not because it is a city ordinance, because it might save an old man's hip (or you from liability) or because it is great exercise. Do it because it is the right thing to do. Greg Dressler The letterwriter is an associate professor ofpathology in the Medical School A2 policy is unfair when undefined TO THE DAILY: I don't have any problem with the city of Ann Arbor giving tickets to houses with excessive amounts of trash as a news story detailed Monday because the city obvi- ously has a vested interest in maintaining a clean city (Near campus, a dirty war over garbage, 02/18/2008). If a family lives near a student house that constantly has trash scattered in its front yard, the property value of that family's home will likely decrease. one U I 6 I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be rM less than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and Univer- sity affiliation. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedoily@umich.edu.