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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