4A - Thursday, January 14, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 74fii g~an Bat4hj Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. t au 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu JACOB SMILOVITZ EDITOR IN CHIEF RACHEL VAN GILDER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MATT AARONSON 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. Allaboard Officials should finalize Detroit to Ann Arbor rail line Any new infrastructure that will help the environment, students or the economy is an opportunity that should be taken advantage of. And a new construction plan developed by the federal government encompasses all three of these categories. The new public transportation - a railroad that will run between Ann Arbor and Detroit with stops in the neighboring areas - will benefit students and residents as they move between Ann Arbor and Detroit, for business and pleasure, without excessive cost. This new route of transportation is easy, cheap and environmentally-friendly, and officials from both cit- ies should do everything possible to ensure that the plans comes to fruition. This is a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share:' - President Barack Obama speaking about the earthquake that struck Haiti lat Tuesday afternoon, as reported yesterday by the New York Times. CHRIS KOSLOWSKI I E-MAIL CHRIS AT CSKOSLOW@UMICH.EDU WhaelaProe, you set up a camera , How do yoa ulmp from jw and stars recordin From what i gather. ts j sending mass emails to being semester welcome ideos u someone wo semds out the President of a major It's pretty simple, really. mass emails aot swine flu unersiy 0 aand Stuff "" F... Cools a..r * a as a 0 pA In defense ofEnglish o words like "blogosphere" umich.edu) and search "careers." about the English major were. Some, and "truthiness" offend you? Loads of alumni careers will come however, will continue to insist on When someone says to you, up - why, English majors secured the uselessness of the degree. These "I'm gonna hit jobs with such fascinating titles as people are known as parents. And a you up fo' sho'," do "Volunteer Organic Farmer," "Yoga handful of students will remain firip you feel the need Instructor" and "Elementary School in their belief that declaring in Eng- to hit THEM up Teacher." And how do you think they lish is a waste of time. I feel sorriy (with your fist)? got them? That's right: the ability to for these people - who occasionally In today's column quote Shakespeare. e-mail me - and their utter inability we will explore Another argument in the non- to write well. the intense debate English major's repertoire is: "Look, over the future of I, and by I'I mean 'my parents,' don't the English lan- want to spend $80,000 to graduate illustrious guage - a topic WILL without any job prospects." The job that our genera- GRUNDLER This seemingly insightful com- tion finds, needless ment might make the layman nod prospects of an to say, extremely his head in agreement, but the Eng- boring. So let's not lish major knows, through extensive English degree. explore it. Instead, I will attempt to reading, that the layman is usually defend what many University stu- wrong in most stories, and ends up dents love to hate: the English major. dying. What most people who employ I will soon declare myself among the above argument fail to realize Consider this message I received the ranks of the English majors, and is the abysmal state of the economy from "Alyssa": "Hey, why are you an I'm surprised that many students scoff these days. Just what do you think English major? Your crazy!" at the concentration. There are a lot goes through the head of an employer Did you catch her mistake? Yes, it's of misconceptions that non-English when he or she sees a recent gradu- in the second sentence: "Your." One of majors have about the English major, ate of the Michigan medical or law the hallmarks of good writing is suc- such as confusing the word "miscon- school, or someone with a degree in cinctness. Brevity, especially on .the ception" with "abortion." economics? "Oh, I'm going to hire Internet, is crucial. If Alyssa knew One of the greatestcmisconceptions Mr. Fancy College Kid who's going to anything about prose, which of course is: "I can't believe there aren't any pre- want a million bucks in stock options she doesn't, she would have known to requisites to the English major!" alone? I don't think so!" But what shorten "Your" to "Ur." If you have There are currently, in fact, three happens when that same employer any sort of eye for composition, you prerequisites: English 297 (Intro- needs a janitor, or someone to feed see these mistakes all the time. duction to Poetry), English 298 the office goldfish? That's when the Take a look at this e-mail I received (Introduction to Literary Studies) English major will get hired, because from "Bryan": "Yo, why do you write and English 299 (Coping With Your the employer knows that the Eng- for the Daily? There salary for coluni- Future: Poverty and Loneliness). lish major knows that money is not nists is terrible!" Another popular declaration, important in life. What's important Now, in this example one can see especially among students of a scien- in life is experience - the experience - oh, nothing appears wrong. My tific persuasion, is: "What can you DO that comes from reading and writing, mistake, Bryan. I'm out of examples, with an English major?" thinking and traveling, philosophiz- but I hope you've developed a little The same thing one can do with a ing and not doing too much study- more respect for the English major, Biology major, or a Sociology major, ing. Hopefully this experience will and literature in general. Excuse me, or a Chemistry major, or whatever: someday translate into a best-selling I'm going to fo' sho' go read some try to get them drunk and then - no, novel or, better yet, a screenplay, and Hemingway. sorry. What I meant to say was, you - ha-ha - who's rolling in it now? can do a lot. Just go to the English At this point, most people should - Will Grundler can be Department's website (weluv2read. realize how wrong their assumptions reached at wgru@umih.edu. a 4 In December, the federal budget allocat- ed $3.5 million dollars for the construction of a rail system that will be built between Ann Arbor and Detroit. The rail line plans would stop along the way in Dearborn - the site of a University satellite campus - Ypsilanti and Detroit Metro Airport. The cost of a round-trip ticket is projected at about $6 or $7. Though some progress is expected to be made by October, the bud- get for the train has not yet been finalized. The train is good news for the economies of Ann Arbor and Detroit. With people able to move easily and cheaply between the two cities, there is the potential for an increase of new consumers in both markets. Stu- dents and area residents would be able to go to Detroit more frequently, increasing patronage to city businesses and entertain- ment like sporting events and concerts. In turn, residents from the Detroit area would be able to travel to Ann Arbor for the exten- sive art and dining scenes. And the new rail line should decrease the amount of highway commuter traf- fic between the cities. According to Ann Arbor City Councilman Carsten Hohnke (D-Ward 5), roughly 60 to 70 thousand commuters travel to Ann Arbor by car every year. The planned rail system would drastically cut that number. And fewer cars on the road would mean lower carbon emissions. The proposed railway would offer a cheaper, more environmentally- friendly option for commuters who work in both cities. The train will also help University stu- dents making the trip to Detroit. Detroit offers many learning experiences for stu- dents. The many University-run outreach courses and student volunteer programs offered each semester would flourish under this expansion, which would make travel between the cities cheaper and hassle-free. And, with greater access to new forms of transportation, additional outreach classes with greater student involvement could be added and explored in each department. And the University's large out-of-state student population would have another affordable transportation option to reach Detroit Metro Airport. Out-of-state stu- dents can't always be accommodated by the Michigan StudentcAssembly-sponsored AirBus, which only runs a limited number of days surrounding University breaks. The train would offer students another option for about the same price. And though the stops for Ann Arbor haven't yet been deter- mined, the University and MSA should work with city officials to ensure students have easy access to the train. The construction of a rail line between Ann Arbor and Detroit should help encour- age travel between the cities in an envi- ronmentally-friendly way. The train would also encourage economic ventures in both cities, and Ann Arbor and Detroit officials should make sure it happens for the ben- efit of both cities. 0 4 4 4 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Nina Amilineni, William Butler, Nicholas Clift, Michelle DeWitt, Brian Flaherty, Erika Mayer, Edward McPhee, Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Alex Schiff, Asa Smith, Brittany Smith, Radhika Upadhyaya, Laura Veith SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU WANT TO BE AN OPINION CARTOONIST? E-MAIL RACHEL VAN GILDER AT RACHELVG@UMICH.EDU ERIKA MAYER The (de)faults of Wolverine Access "Gay and Greek" raises campus LGBT awareness, but misses important point nity pledge should feel obligated that they must reveal their orientation to fellow brothers as a contingent for initiation. However, if the Greek system continues to raise awareness of these issues, it will only help to raise the comfort level for an individual to come out when they are pre- pared to do so. TO THE DAILY: As a former member of the Greek commu- Jeremy Berkowitz nity during my four years at Michigan, I was Alum very pleased to read Nicole Aber's article in The Statement (Gay and Greek, 01/13/2010). While Allowing smokina I look back at my college years and realize thatatndor I began to recognize then that I was gay, I didp not come out until three years after I gradu- poses an unnecessary risk ated. I am happy to see that the Interfraternity Council and Pan-Hellenic Council have worked TO THE DAILY: to make the system more aware of LGBT issues Robert Soave writes that "an important and friendlier to the gay and lesbian community. principle is at stake" in the recent smoking I would like to raise one point that I think ban in his recent column (Michigan's morality the author failed to address. Individuals often police, 01/05/2010). He's right. choose to stay in the closet not because they are Some jobs - firefighting, for example - are afraid of telling other people, but because they unavoidably dangerous. People who take those are still confused about who they are and are jobs have to face the risks. But ifa risk can be simply not ready. Some individuals realize their eliminated, the employer is legally obligated to orientation at a certain point in their lives and do so. An employer can't invoke "private prop- quickly become comfortable with who they are. erty" or "freedom of choice" when deciding However, for others (including myself), coming whether to expose his employees to unneces- out is not a light-switch moment. It can entail a sary risks - any more than the owner of a pri- thought and reflection process, and even some vate restaurant can bar health inspectors from situational avoidance that might stretch over a his private kitchen. period of months or even years. The owner is not the only stakeholder in an I understand the concerns of individuals economic entity. Employees, customers and, for who feel they may act disloyal to their frater- some purposes, even the general public, have nity brothers by hiding their sexual orientation. legally protected rights which can impinge on Membership in a fraternity involves a spe- the owner's freedom. Get used to it. cial bond among its brothers. Yet, coming-out involves very personal and complicated issues Eric Ebel for an individual to grapple with. No frater- Alum LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be less than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. Letters are edited for style, length, clarity and accuracy. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to fothedaily@umich.edu. Over winter break, I realized that the University doesn't always have valid justifications for its actions. Don't get me wrong, I love this school. But I don't under- stand how it can sometimes be so illogical. And as I sat at my computer, it was becoming apparent to me that this was one of those times, and that the Wolverine Access defaults are all wrong. All I was trying to do was check my grades. I'm an hon- ors student, and I might be just the slightest bit obsessed. But there are other people out there like me - I know it. Yes, I click the "View My Grades" button about 20 times a day, but you know you do, too. After frantically clicking the button and awaiting posted grades with baited breath, I noticed that when the page loads, I had no grades. Then I realized that Wol- verine Access was considerately displaying my grades for Winter 2010, even though I had obviously yet to set foot in a single Winter 2010 class. But there Wolverine Access was, reminding me that I had no grades for next semester. As amusing as it may be, it's actually really freak- ing annoying. Every time I checked my grades, I had to change the semester. There was an unnecessary scroll- down menu and button click standing between my grades and me. And I did not appreciate it. Honestly, who thought it was a good idea to have the default be such a pain in the you-know-what? Is there some IT guy sitting in a roomby himself laughing at all the students? Probably not, I have to remind myself The Wolverine Access man is not out to get me. But I thought to myself, "Calm down. If you start freaking out before you even find your grades your par- ents might take back all of your Christmas presents." But maybe there is a reason for these incipient, frustrating settings. Logically, all of the defaults on a website should be the same. Hypothetically, the textbooklist feature should display textbooks for my Winter 2010 schedule. After all, they're both under the Enrollment tab. And a textbook list for the coming semester would actually be useful since I like to order my books in advance. Alas, Wolverine Access showed the book list for the semester that just finished. Shockingly, I wasn't going to order books for classes I've already taken. IfI didn't buy them while I was taking the class, I'm sure as hell not going to read them after it is over. Luckily, I'm not quite as distraught checking my text- book list as when I'm checking my grades. But by this point my stubborn nature had kicked in, and it's really just about the principle of the matter. Who sets these defaults? Whoever it is should seriously reconsider their career choice. Default settings are supposed to make your life easier. And at the moment, they are set to the option you would never choose. No one needs to view last semes- ter's textbook list and next semester's grades. In the long run, these issues aren't that important. I will get a good education and I love being at the Uni- versity. But they certainly don't advertise the Universi- ty's lack of logic in the college brochures. On tours they don't point out that checking your grades is going to be more irritating than taking the classes themselves. Or that the brightest minds at the University can't devise an online textbook list that makes sense. And that's probably because with all the things that the University hasto han- 4 dle, these little things fall through the cracks. But quite frankly I'm tired of clicking the stupid Change Semester button. Erika Mayer is a senior editorial page editor. The Daily is looking for a diverse group of strong, informed, passionate writers tojoin the Editorial Board. Editorial Board members are responsible for formulating and writing the editorials that appear on the left side of the opinion page. E-MAIL RACHEL VAN GILDER AT RACHELVG@UMICH.EDU FOR MORE INFORMATION. 4