The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 - 9A
SU' drops one spot in
recent rankings, but
officials don't mind
SCREAMING IN THE RAIN
Spokesman: Ranking
methodologies don't
line up with 'U'
priorities
By DEVON THORSBY
Daily StaffReporter
In its 2010 list of the Best
American Colleges and Universi-
ties, U.S. News and World Report
ranked the University at No. 27 -
down one spot from the previous
year - but University officials say
the drop doesn't mean the quality
of the school has slipped.
"We are very proud of the fact
that the University of Michigan
always ranks highly," University
Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said.
"If it drops a place or two from
year to year it isn't really very
meaningful. Nationally we consis-
tently rank high."
The University of Michigan,
which in 2007 tied with the Uni-
versity of California at Los Ange-
les as the second best public school
on the list, is now in the No. 4 spot
behind the University of Califor-
nia at Berkeley, ranked at No. 21
among all universities, UCLA and
the University of Virginia, tied at
No.24.
Fitzgerald said a change in
ranking does not necessarily mean
that the school in question has sig-
nificantly improved or worsened,
but that the change reflects a shift
in the ranking system, altering the
overall outcome.
"In all of these different rank-
ings, the methodology does change
from year to year and it changes
how things are weighted, which
can alter our spot in the rankings,"
Fitzgerald said.
A major factor incorporated
into U.S. News and World Report's
method for ranking universities is
the expenditure per student: the
more money a university spends
per student, the higher rating it
receives.
Citingthe expenditure factor for
the U.S. News and World Report's
ranking, Fitzgerald explained that
the system is much more subjec-
tive than is perceived by the gen-
eral public.
"If we've found a more efficient
way of spending our money, we do
not need excessive spending per
student," Fitzgerald explained.
"The University of Michigan
can be penalized because it's not
spending more, which doesn't nec-
essarily make it automatically bet-
ter."
But U.S. News and World Report
isn't the only national ranking sys-
tem to use this method of money
spent per student.
On its 2009 list of "America's
Best Colleges," Forbes Magazine
placed the University of Michigan
at No. 200.
Larger public schools are less
common on the Forbes list than
private institutions because of
the different factors considered as
part of the ranking's methodology.
The only public schools found in
the top 25 on the list were the U.S.
Military Academy and the U.S. Air
Force Academy.
Though the monetary aspect of
ranking appears to hurt the Uni-
versity's standing, Washington
Monthly's ranking of national uni-
versities for 2009 has the Univer-
sity as No. 18.
The Washington Monthly bases
its ranking on three main catego-
ries: the recruitment and gradu-
ation of low-income students,
research the school conducts and
the encouragement of students to
give back to the community.
Focusing primarily on the
amount of research done by uni-
versities and the grants they
receive, the Washington Monthly
ignores the amount of money spent
by schools for each student, gear-
ing the entire list toward readers
who are looking for schools that
conduct the maximum amount of
research.
Fitzgerald said that because the
methodologies are not outwardly
obvious to college guide readers, a
school's ranking on any list can be
misleading.
"These kinds of rankings take
things that are very subjective,"
he said. "We don't think that that's
the best way for students to choose
where to go to college. There is no
one best college for everyone."
Stoney Burke (right) shields himself from the rain with Ann Arbor locals Jon Wallace (left) and Geoffrey Scott(middle) after
Burke gave an impassioned speech to passersby on the Diag yesterday. Burke uses props to draw attention to his speeches
emphasizing free speech and class consciousness.
Detroit students head back to
their classroom-s a mid upheaval
Restructuring has
closed 29 schools,
overhauled others
DETROIT (AP) - Students in
Detroit's public schools returned
to class yesterday amid a mas-
sive restructuring that has closed
29 schools, overhauled scores of
others and created a mixture of
optimism and anxiety about the
troubled district's future.
Dozens of parents lined up to
register their children at Durfee,
which is gettingstudents from two
other schools that closed. Enroll-
ment at the school, which has pre-
kindergartners through eighth
graders, is more than doubling to
about 1,000.
"The overcrowding is a real
big issue, so I hope that with
them bringing in other schools
it won't overcrowd this school
too much," said Sabrina Howard.
"We'll see."
Howard's son, 10-year-old
Kovysims, is entering fifth grade.
They recently moved near Durfee
from another part of the city and
Howard said she was unhappy
with overcrowding at his previous
school.
Yesterday was the first day of
class for Michigan public schools.
The Detroit Public Schools dis-
trict, which now has 172 schools, is
trying to deal with years of plum-
meting enrollment and ease con-
cerns about student safety.
Overall, Howard said, changes
put into place by state-appointed
emergency financial manager
Robert Bobb left her optimistic.
Bobb is trying to improve educa-
tion, tackle fraud and deal with a
$259 million deficit.
"Will there be issues? Yes. Will
we address these issues quickly?
Absolutely, yes," Bbb told report-
ers at Western International High
School.
Bobbsaid it'sa"nervousstart"to
the school year. Problems included
a transportation hot line for par-
ents being inadequately staffed,
but he said those issues were being
addressed.
FAN CANS
From Page 1A
early last September, Coleman
explained what she called an "easy"
decision not to sign the petition.
"I certainly respect people who
want to stimulate a discussion and
I think that's what the Amethyst
Initiative was all about," Coleman
said. "What I disagree with is the
notion that lowering the drinking
age is going to somehow alleviate
the problem."
Coleman did say at the time
that she agreed with the petition's
characterization of the alcohol
problem on campuses.
"This whole issue of binge
drinking, particularly the kind of
destructive, frequent hinging on
alcohol, is a big issue, and it's a big
problem on college campuses," she
said. "And it's one that I certainly
think deserves a lot of discussion,
a lot of attention about trying to
find solutions."
Ari Parritz, President of the
Interfraternity Council, wrote in
an e-mail late last month that he
agrees with the University's posi-
tion on the "Fan Cans," but added
that more needs to be done to
combat binge drinking at the Uni-
versity.
"I emphatically stand with the
University in its fight against binge
drinking and underage consump-
tion," Parritz, a Public Policy senior,
wrote. "Do I think Maize and Blue
beer cans will spike consumption
on football Saturdays? Probably
not."
He added: "However, I believe
there are more salient ways to fight
alcohol abuse on campus than to
petition against Anheuser-Busch."
The Federal Trade Commission
shares the University's concerns
on underage drinking. Janet Evans,
a senior attorney-at the FTC who
oversees alcohol marketing issues,
told The Associated Press that
regulators are concerned the cam-
paign could encourage underage
drinking.
"When you've got a college
campus audience you've got a
very large number of persons who
are below the legal drinking age
there, and in addition, you've got
a population that engages almost
exclusively in binge drinking,"
she said.
After correspondence with the
University, the St. Louis-based
beer company agreed not to sell
the yellow and blue cans in the
University "community," but did
not specify what, exactly, that
meant.
The beer company has sent
similar letters to those received
by the University to other
schools and colleges that have
complained.
In a letter to Boston College
administrators, Anheuser-Busch
reasserted its intention to produce
cans with the school's colors, while
making a concession similar to the
one Michigan received, according
to the Associated Press.
"Nonetheless, in order to avoid
a disputetover tconcerns raised
hy your letter, Ak euser-Busch has
decided not to proceed with Fan
Cans in such color combinations in
your community at this time," the
letter read.
In a return letter to Anheuser-
Busch, the University asserted that
the school's "community" reaches
beyond Ann Arbor's borders.
"To assure that there is no confu-
sion, the University of Michigan is
a statewide public institution," the
letter read. "Accordingly, it consid-
ers 'its community' to be the entire
state of Michigan."
In a statement released by
Anheuser-Busch, Carol Clark,
vice president of Corporate Social
Responsibility, wrote that despite
the "Fan Cans," the company's atti-
tude toward underage drinking is
unambiguous.
"Anheuser-Busch has a long-
standing commitment to promoting
responsible drinking," Clark wrote
in the release. "Our company's posi-
tion on college drinking is clear: If
students are 21 or older and choose
to drink, we want them to do so
responsibly; if they are under 21, we
want them to respect the law and
not drink."
Though many schools, includ-
ing the University of Wisconsin
and Boston College, are also ask-
ing Anheuser-Busch to stop selling
cans with their school colors close
to campus, other schools including
Louisiana State University aren't
stopping the Fan Cans from coming
to their area.
LSU Chancellor Michael Mar-
tin issued a statement endorsing
the Securities and Exchange Com-
mission's position against the Fan
Cans, which, according to a recent
Wall Street Journal article, calls
the program "socially irresponsi-
ble." But Martin added that the new
marketing campaign is the least of
his worries.
"As an aside, given HiNi, a
national recession, global climate
change, raising high school dropout
rates, the retirement of great fac-
ulty, deferred maintenance on this
and many other campuses, among
other pressing issues, the color of
beer cans has not risen to the top of
our urgency index," Martin wrote
in the statement.
Back in Ann Arbor, LSA sopho-
more Adam Steuer said when he's
looking for a drink on Football Sat-
urday, it doesn't matter what the
can looks like.
"It's unfortunate for Anheuser-
Buschbecause they would have sold
more beer," he said, "but what's on
the inside of the can is more impor-
tant than what's on the outside."
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