The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, February 5, 2010 - 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, February 5, 2010 - 7
STANDING ROOM ONLY
IFC sees record number
of winter rushees this year
Governing body
employs new tactics
for recruiting, sees
48rpercent increase
By VERONICA MENALDI
Daily StaffReporter
While manystudents choose to
go through the fraternity recruit-
ment process in the fall, Inter-
fraternity Council officials say
they've seen an unprecedented
number of rushees this win-
ter, stemming from changes in
recruitment tactics, they say.
According to Ryan Knapp, IFC
vice presidlent of public relations,
215 students accepted bids during
winter recruitment. This number
represents a 48-percent increase
from last winter semester, dur-
ing which 145 students accepted
bids.
Knapp, a Kinesiology junior,
added that 75 percent of students
who registered ~ for recruitment
decided to join a house, com-
pared to 61 percent last year. The
two fraternities with the high-
est number of new members are
Sigma Phi Epsilon with 22 new
members and Phi Gamma Delta
with 16 new members.
IFC President Michael Fried-
man said there are three main
reasons for the high numbers:
increased optimism of the nation-
al economic situation, the extend-
ed length of recruitment and new
dynamics of the rush process put
in place by the chapters.
Friedman, an Engineering
senior, said after IFC - the body
responsible for governing 30 fra-
ternities on campus - heardfeed-
back that the length of the winter
recruitment period was too short,
the originally three-day rush pro-
gram was expanded to four days.
"That gave our members more
time to get to know the potential
new members," Friedman said.
"They were able to talk to more
people and make the best deci-
sions."
Friedman said last semes-
ter the chapters had a semi-
nar called "Phired Up" which
encouraged IFC fraternity mem-
bers to search for new recruits
rather than simply waiting for
new members to come to the fra-
ternities. This gave them a head-
start for finding more potential
new members.
"I think today, given our cur-
rent economic state, everyone
is weighing things in terms of
costs and benefits," Friedman
said. "Our organization has a lot
to offer, whether talking about
academics, philanthropy and net-
working our organization brings
a lot to the table and we made
sure the people we reached out to
knew that."
Zach Schwartz, IFC vice presi-
dent of recruitment, also said that
tweaking recruitment allowed
the fraternities to have a more
successful rush season. Schwartz
wrote in an e-mail interview
that most of the chapters are
beginning to use more proactive
recruitment strategies.
"Whether it being meeting
potential recruits in the gym or in
class," Schwartz wrote, "chapters
are beginning to seek recruits
more actively during non-recruit-
ment periods, rather than simply
waiting for recruitment to begin
and recruiting those who walk
through their doors."
Schwartz, a Business junior,
wrote another way chapters
reached out to potential rushees
was by making incoming fresh-
men aware that IFC organiza-
tions have scholarships available
for their members, which encour-
ages them to join the Greek Com-
munity.
"There's no way to be certain,"
Schwartz wrote. "But I do think
that the increase in recruitment
numbers this winter are repre-
sentative of a larger trend and
will continue in the fall and lead
to more sustained growth for the
Greek Community."
Vinnie Caruso, vice president
of recruitment for Sigma Phi
Epsilon, wrote in an e-mail inter-
view that his fraternity was bet-
ter able to cater to the needs of the
rushees, because he's a freshman
who went through recruitment
recently and knows from his own
experience what worked and
what didn't.
"After going through the
recruitment process," Caruso
wrote. "I was able to take things
that I liked and things that I
thought were lacking and use
them to tailor our chapter's own
recruitment plan."
Students gather to speak to company representatives in Pierpont Commons as part of the Winter Engineering Career Fair.
BUDGET
From Page 1
reporters yesterday.
Duncan said Obamabelieves that
stimulating the country's education
system will play a crucial role in
helping to improve the struggling
economy, which is why the budget
includes the Pell Grant increase
and funding for loan assistance.
"The president understands
deeply that America's economic
security depends on improving
education," Duncan said. "In ten
years, the jobs that employers will
be looking to fill will require a col-
lege degree or at least a professional
certification. We're convinced we
have to educate our way to a better
economy."
Duncan said that a major part of
Obama's plan is in its ability to help
nearly 1 million graduates to repay
their loans. It also provides the
opportunity to forgive their debt if
they enter a job within the public
service sector.
Under the Income Based Repay-
ment Plan, which was passed on
July 1 of last year, students entering
a public service job will pay a maxi-
mum of 15 percent of their income
towards theirloans and the remain-
ing debt will be forgiven after 10
years of work. Obama is currently
working to reduce the percentage
of income to 10 percent.
"We're trying to remove all the
financial impediments from bring-
ing talent into the public sector
and obviously we're particularly
focused in bringing the next gen-
eration of great teachers into our
country's classrooms," Duncan
said.
According to Duncan, the money
needed for this project will not
come from taxpayers and will not
add to the national debt. The funds
will instead be generated through
ending the federal government's
subsidizing of banks' studentloans.
"This bill would basically fund
our entire early childhood educa-
tion agenda and our higher educa-
tion agenda," Duncan said. "And
we can do all of this and support
these subsides without going back
to taxpayers for an additional dime
and without raising the national
debt at all, simply by stopping sub-
sidizing banks and investingscarce
resources into students."
While the increase in Pell Grant
funding and loan assistance will
affect University students, Sarah
Walter, director of federal relations
for research at the University, said
the increase in research spending
will directly benefit the University
itself.
"It's going to give some great
opportunities to purse competitive
grants in a wide variety of areas
that are high priority at the Univer-
sity like health care," Walter said.
The University Research Corri-
dor - a collaboration between the
University of Michigan, Michigan
State University, and Wayne State
University - will also benefit from
more funding, Walter added.
"The increases proposed by
the administration will largely go
to grant opportunities and also
opportunities for fellowships to
grad students which will create
opportunities for collaboration
between the three universities,"
Walter said.
Congressman John Dingell
(D-Mich.) wrote in an e-mail inter-
view thathe welcomed the increas-
es in funding to Pell Grants and
research.
"This increase in the maximum
Pell award will clearly extend the
buying power of this award, help-
ing more than 317,000 students in
the state to afford college," Dingell
wrote.
"This increase is critical as many
colleges and universities in Michi-
gan have had to increase tuition as
a result of declining state aid," he
added.
Dingell also highlighted his sup-
port for the increase in research
funding.
"It is my hope that the proposed
increases in research funding by
the Obama Administration will be
of benefit to UM, in particular, to
help increase the opportunities for
UM faculty and graduate students
to continue their work," he wrote.
Dingell wrote that he was espe-
cially pleased with the President's
proposal for an emphasis on fund-
ing for science projects inside and.
outside the classroom.
HIowevier,he emphasized that the'
budget proposal still needed to be
fully reviewed by members of Con-
gress and passed in both the House
and Senate before the plans set forth
would actually be enacted.
"I must emphasize here that the
Obama budget is just a proposal,"
Dingell wrote. "As the House and
Senate formulate the Congressional
budget resolution, we'll see what it
looks like in comparison."
football weekends is tremendous
HEALTH CARE - a lot of people, a lot of dollars
From Page 1 for our community," he said. "And
that's very analogous to this point
a unique collaboration between (about health care)."
education and training and Pam Jones-Sexton, who heads
patient care and research - vari- up the professional services group
ous aspects of health care that at United Bank and Trust and
have traditionally operated sepa- helped to organize the event, said
rately. health care holds the key to low-
"Different people are involved ering unemployment rates within
in different things, but we see Washtenaw County and across
value in the synergy," he said. the nation.
Strong~said the University's "The health care industry in
health care-apparatus also helps our county is one of the biggest
to propagate partnerships with employers, and it's a great oppor-
the prvace sector,'citing-the new tunity for job retention and job
NorthCampus ResearchComplex, growth," she said. "All the eco-
which he said will help to inspire nomic indicators show that's
commercial opportunities. where the job growth is going to
According to Strong, the Uni- be over the next several years."
versity draws in medical talent, Sexton said no matter the out-
patients and students from many come of the national health care
geographic areas, which helps debate, the medical industry
bring funding to the community. will remain a leader in providing
"A good analogy for foot- employment opportunities.
ball fans at this point is that the "And that's with or without
impact on the Ann Arbor area of health care reform, so it doesn't
matter what Washington decides
to do with that," she said.
Jean Chenoweth, senior
vice president for performance
improvement at Thomson Reu-
ters, also spoke on the panel. She
said that in the early 1990s, states
in the South and West saw the
best outcomes in health care, but
in recent years the Midwest has
become the primary leader in per-
formance levels.
Michigan is the leading state
"in having the most top perform-
ing hospitals," she said.
Publicizing the little-known
success of Michigan hospitals
should be a top priority, Che-
noweth added.
"In an economy that's so weak,
and particularly here in Michigan,
(few people know) how good the
healthcare is in this state - par-
ticularly in Southeast Michigan
and Ann Arbor," she said. "It's our
best kept secret and it's one of our
tasks to make that known more
broadly across the U.S."
ARGO DAM
From Page 1
if the city is forced to implement
MDEQ's recommendation to
repair or remove the dam.
In an August letter sent to City
Administrator Roger Fraser, offi-
cials from MDEQ wrote they were
concerned with the dam's struc-
tural integrity, specifically regard-
ing the security of the man-made
soil embankment that sits beside
the dam itself.
In the letter, MDEQ request-
ed the dam either be repaired
or removed by April 2010. In
response, the city hired the con-
sulting firm, called Stantec, to
gather data on the embankment
and its integrity.
Councilmember Mike Anglin
(D-Ward 5), said Stantec's find-
ings suggest that "the dam is in
good shape."
He added that the dam is in no
imminent risk of leakage or col-
lapse.
In light of Stantec's favorable
report and the cost to the city of
removing the dam, Anglin said the
dam is likely to remain in place,
though city officials can't make
a decision until they receive a
response from the Department of
Natural Resources.
With no official word yet, Char-
ley Sullivan, the coach ofthe Mich-
igan Men's Club Rowing Team,
said he's still concerned about the
fate of Argo Pond and of the impli-
cations for the rowing team.
Sullivan said the rowing team
receives limited funding from the
University because it is not a var-
sity team, adding that most of the
funding for the team's activities
comes from club members them-
selves.
If the dam is removed and the
pond disappears, Sullivan said
the team will have to commute to
Ford Lake in Ypsilanti, which he
fears would increase costs to the
point where it could put the team
in jeopardy.
"It would make it harder for us
to put together a team," Sullivan
said. "We'll lose guys because of
the cost."
Sullivan acknowledged that
the dam's removal seems unlikely,
however, and said if the dam stays,
the team can focus on competition
rather than costs.
"As long as there's an. Argo
Pond there," he said, "I think that
the issues facing our team are
only ones of being competitive
with people that we need to race
against."
DINING HALL
From Page 1
dents asked Coleman about the
fate of the dining hall.
In response Coleman said she
believed getting student input
will be essential to making an
informed decision about the din-
ing hall.
Coleman added that she had
also just discussed the topic with
E. Royster Harper, vice president
for student affairs, earlier in the
day.
Harper, who was also present
at the fireside chat, told a student
that she still had several concerns
about closing the dining hall for
the all-female residence hall.
"I'm really concerned. I'm
concerned about night. I'm con-
cerned aboutspace," Harper said.
"I'm concerned about the fact
that, while we're having some
conversations, it probably has not
been enough conversation."
Harper also said she under-
stands that closing the dining
hall could alter the culture of
comradery created in Betsy Bar-
bour.
"I do understand that that
decision is a big decision for us
and it needs to be made careful-
ly," she said. "I'm not sure we are
in a position to make that deci-
sion (yet)."
However, Harper said she
couldn't promise the dining hall
would be saved from closure.
"It would be premature for me
to say, 'don't worry, not going to
happen,'" Harper said. "I would
be surprised if we were there this
year, because we've not had the
full enough conversation about it
I don't believe."
"It's really important that the
residents speak their mind about
it and not experience the conver-
sation as 'it doesn't matter what
we say, you're going to do what
you want to do,' because that's
not the case," Harper said.
Nasiera Foflonker, an LSA
sophomore and Betsy Barbour
resident, said she opposes clos-
ing the dining hall, as it would
represent unequal treatment to
residents of different residence
halls.
"Considering the Barbour
dining hall only costs about
$400,000 to operate, and a new
dining hall in North Quad is tak-
ing $2 million to build, while it
will only-hold fifty more people,
it's obvious that there is a severe-
ly uneven distribution of funds
among the residence halls," Fof-
lonker said.
Betsy Barbour residents are
also worried about their safety,
as the dining hall's closure would
require them to walk to other
dining halls for dinner.
If the dining hall does close,
residents said they would prefer
a food retail establishment to
replace the dining hall. The stu-
dents said they would be willing
to work with University Housing
officials to negotiate a decision
that could work for both parties.
"We have been taking action,"
said Seher Chowhan, an LSA
sophomore and Betsy Barbour
-resident.
Some students who live in
other residence halls, like LSA
freshman Brad Damron, are also
upset about the possible closure.
Damron - who lives in Fletcher
Residence Hall - said he and
other Fletcher residents often eat
at Betsy Barbour.
"Every time I can't take the
time out to walk to another din-
ing hall, my parents lose that
money," Damron said.
Logan said housing officials
are also considering other ways
to streamline costs and are con-
sidering the students' sentiments
in their decision.
"We're looking at other
options," Logan said. "It is like-
ly that we may move in another
direction than Barbour."
- Daily News Editor Kyle
Swanson contributed to this report.
DIAGNOSIS
From Page 1
was sent to that hospital but who
got diagnosed with schizophre-
nia," he said.
According to Metzl, the major-
ity of black men diagnosed with
schizophrenia were forced to
move away from the Detroit area -
where many of themwere involved
in civil rights protests and rioting
- to the mainly white rural com-
munity of Ionia, Mich.
During this time period the def-
inition of schizophrenia was also
changing, hesaid. The demograph-
ic that had been most frequently
diagnosed with schizophrenia was
white women, but during the civil
rights movement, black men who
were considered to be "violent"
were increasingly diagnosed with
the disease.
Metzl said misdiagnosis wasn't
only a problem in the Detroit area.
"American society came to see
schizophrenia as an illness that
was linked to bigger stories of anx-
ieties about the Civil Rights Move-
ment," he said.
This historical development
laid the foundation for the over-
diagnosis of schizophrenia of
black men today, which Metzl said
is still a problem.
"Minority populations, and par-
ticularly African-American men,
continue to be over-diagnosed
with schizophrenia and under-
diagnosed with illnesses like
depression," he said.
The era also brought forth the
idea of the "criminalization of
mental illness" and created a "stig-
ma against schizophrenia," which
are still implicit in modern society,
according to Metzl.
"All of these are directly related
not just to attitudes about men-
tal illness but also about race," he
said.
By examining history, Metzl
said he is also able to better under-
stand how these historically racial
stereotypes play a role in the dis-
cussions on health care today.
"Categories of health and illness
are incredibly political at differ-
ent points in time, so we can't just
assume that they're just totally
neutral categories," he said.
With the current health care
debate at the forefront of the
nation's political conversation,
Metzl said the public must be open
to different definitions of health
and illness and not just assume
that all "health is good" and all
"illness is bad."
"I think we need to pay atten-
tion to the different meanings
of health or illness in different
populations and really interrogate
what that means," he said. "We
shouldn't just assume we know
what it means."
Metzl said being open to dif-
ferent interpretations of what it
means to be well or ill might help
address minority populations'
"mistrust of psychiatry."
Though health care providers
have begun to implement some
"cultural competency" train-
ing, Metzl said they have "just
scratched the surface" and could
benefit from a deeper understand-
ing of the problems of the past.
"I feel like history provides us
with a really important lesson
about what happens when you're
not paying attention to the ways in
which culture is reflected in psy-
chiatric diagnosis," he said.
h-he wirel
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