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Friday, April 4,2008
michigandaily.com
ACADEMICS AND STUDENT-ATHLETES
Sources
question
reporters
methods
Members of the University's Navy ROTC line up in order from shortest to tallest in front of Angell Hall yesterday in preparation for their annual battalion photo. The
University's Navy ROTC unit was established in 1940.
CAMPUS r M E
Coo residents uneasy after theft
Athletes, profs say
Ann Arbor News
reporters misled
them about stories
By GEOFFREY GAURANO
and JENNA SKOLLER
Daily StaffReporters
Several Michigan student-ath-
letes interviewed for the first story
in The Ann Arbor News's recent
four-day series "Academics and
Athletics" say the paper's reporters
misled them about the topic of the
series and how they would be por-
trayed in it.
The article, titled "Athletes'
steered to prof," suggested that
academic advisers in the Universi-
ty's Athletic Department directed
student-athletes into Psychology
Prof. John Hagen's independent
study courses. The story said
Hagen-graded the courses liberally
and required students to complete
minimal coursework.
LSAseniorChadKolarik, amem-
ber of the Michigan hockey team,
was quoted in that story as saying
Hagen "really likes the athletes."
Kolarik, vho has taken four
courses with Hagen, one of them
an independent study, was also
quoted as saying, "(He's) not one to
yell at you if you don't bring your
assignment in, and he'll give you
the benefit of the doubt most of the
time."
But Kolarik said he was misled
by Ann Arbor News reporter John
Heuser, who interviewed him for
the story, about the article's subject
matter.
"He told me it was going to be
a tribute to Hagen's retirement,
because he retired from one of his
jobs this past fall,"Kolarik said.
Kinesiology sophomore Greg
Mathews, a wide receiver on the
Michigan football team who was
also quoted in the story, said he too
felt misled about the focus of the
story.
Mathews said the Ann Arbor
News reporter who interviewed
him - he said he didn't know who
thatwas -told himthe storywould
be a tribute to Prof. Hagen because
he had retired from his position in
the Society for Research in Child
Development in the beginning of
September.
"He just said it was a tribute to
Prof. Hagen because he was retir-
ing, but he didn't say anything
about the actual news article,"
Mathews said.
Several other student-athletes
included in the story declined to
comment.
Heuser did not return multiple
phone calls seeking comment.
In an e-mail to all Michigan
See REPORTERS, Page 3
Residents say theft
of portrait shocked
close-knit Martha
Cook community
ByALEX KAZICKAS
Daily StaffReporter
A burglary that took place last
month still has some Martha Cook
residents feeling a bit less com-
fortable in their tightly-knit dorm
than before.
On the morning of March 9,
at about 3:30 a.m., a large por-
trait of the dorm's namesake and
a few smaller items were stolen
from the building. Two days
before that, a window was found
broken, but nothing turned up
missing.
Department of Public Safety
spokeswoman Diane Brown said
University police are currently
investigating the incident.
In an e-mail sent to Martha
Cook residents on March 27,
Marion Scher, the building's
director, said the painting had
been found in the possession of
some affiliated with the Alpha
Delta Phi fraternity's University
of Wisconsin chapter in Madi-
son, Wisconsin.
Scher said in the e-mail that
the Ann Arbor Police Department
and the Madison Police Depart-
ment were working together on
the case.
Taj Grewal, the president of
Alpha Delta Phi's chapter at the
University of Wisconsin at Madi-
son, declined to comment on the,
allegations.
Jose Nunez, president of the
University of Michigan's Interfra-
ternity Council said he believed
that visiting members of the fra-
ternity were responsible for the
theft.
Nunez said he didn't think
members of Michigan's Alpha
Delta Phi chapter were involved in
the burglary. He said the Univer-
sity's chapter is cooperating with
the investigation.
LSA freshman Erin Donker, a
Martha Cook resident, said the
burglaries have put members of
the small, all-female community
on edge.
School of Nursing freshman
Daniela Bravo Corona, who also
lives there, said it hasn't always
been that way.
"We are all girls here, and we
all trust each other," she said. "We
don't have a keypad to each door,
See MARTHA COOK, Page 3
ACADEMICS
Lacking direction, English
Dept. adds new areas of study
Students find new use for old kicks
Program to offer 13
new course topics to
guide students when
picking classes
By ELIZABETH LAI
Daily StaffReporter
In response to criticisms claim-
ing that the University's English
concentration lacked direction,
department officials have
announced that 13 new "areas of
specialization" will be offered this
fall.
Come September, students will
be able to more easily find English
courses that fit their interests in
topics based on time periods like
medieval or nineteenth century
literature and geographic areas
like American or world litera-
ture.
Though the option won't
require English concentrators
to choose these courses, advis-
ers will strongly recommend that
students consider a specific area
of study.
Scotti Parrish, director of the
undergraduate English program,
said many English concentrators
had told department officials over
the years that the program lacked
focus.
"They felt like they weren't
coming out an expert of any-
thing," Parrish said. "We thought
we could create a map for them."
Currently, English concentra-
tors only have the option of spe-
cializing in the Honors program
or in creative writing as sub-con-
centrations. The new program
See ENGLISH, Page 3
Seniors start effort
to send shoes to poor
countries
By JILLIAN BERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
After years of training for
marathons on the streets of Ann
Arbor, LSA seniors Brad Stulberg
and Nate Fink have more than a
few pairs of shoes collecting dust
in the back of their closets. But
they're not trashing their kicks
or selling them on eBay.
"I had run through a pair of
shoes and I started thinking, 'I
have these shoes sitting in my
closet, there's got to be some-
thing better to do with them,' "
Stulberg said. "Then I started
thinking, 'Why not donate these
shoes?'"
The two friends, self-pro-
claimed "running junkies," are
preparing to ship those shoes -
and many more - to poor coun-
tries where people can't afford
them on their own.
The project, slated to launch
June 1, will join Running Fit, a
local chain of running stores,
together with Soles4Souls, a non-
profit organization that sends
shoes to developing countries
across the globe.
Customers who drop off used
shoes at any of Running Fit's
seven locations will receive a dis-
count on their next purchase and
the used shoes will be donated to
Soles4Souls.
Stulberg developed the initial
idea and got Fink, then vice pres-
ident of the Michigan Student
Assembly, involved in the proj-
LSA seniors Nate Fink and Brad Stulberg are trying to send used running shoes to
poor countries in conjunction with local shoe stores and the Soles4Souls charity.
ect. The duo pitched the concept
to Running Fit's owners.
Steve Angerman, a co-owner
of the company, said he was eager
to help with the project. He said
runners often feel guilty about
throwing away a pair of shoes
that still look and work fine for
everyday use but aren't suited for
running anymore.
"It really is an issue that arises,
and we thought, 'yeah, let's try to
do something about that,' " he
said.
With Running Fit on board,
Stulberg and Fink began their
search for a charity.
Stulberg said, the two were
looking at first for a charity that
worked locally, but soon realized
that the program could have a
bigger impact if it helped impov-
erished people in other coun-
tries.
They eventually decided on
Soles4Souls, which Fink said was
a "perfect fit" for their program.
"All of the resources that they
have are going to get shoes to
people that need them," he said.
Much of the promotion for the
project will be done by Running
Fit, which sends out weekly e-
See SHOES, Page 3
Engineering sophomore Nathaniel Christman and School of Music sophomore Alex Drosen wait for the bus across from Pier-
pont Commons on North Campus. Many students who must commute between Central and North Campus spend up to an
hour a day waiting for buses and riding between the two campuses.
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