The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, September 27, 2010 - 5A
Lawrence talks pro-choice
views to rally women voters
SARIL OVND/Daily
Michigan quarterbacks Denard Robinson (left) and Tate Forcier celebrate after the Wolverine's 65-21 win over Bowling Green.
KARTJE
From Page 1A
time soon.
That's not to take anything
away from Forcier's or Gardner's
performances. Both came in and
did exactly what was asked of
them. And it is comforting for
many, especially Rodriguez, to
see that his philosophy of having
three quarterbacks who are capa-
ble of winning games is indeed
true - at least against a mediocre
Mid-American Conference team.
"When the quarterback runs so
much, it's a long season, there can
be injuries," senior offensive line-
man Stephen Schilling said. "You
need two or three guys back there
that can play. I'm pretty happy
that we have that."
But Bowling Green is no Indi-
ana. And Indiana is no Ohio State.
Many of Forcier's completions
came on bubble screens and short,
safe routes that won't always
work against Big Ten teams that
RANKINGS
From Page 1A
student support and outcomes and
diversity of academic environment.
According to the NRC's web-
site, factors being considered
within the research impact clus-
ter of quality include the number
of research citations per faculty
member, the number of publica-
tions per faculty member and the
number of honors and awards won
per faculty member.
The student support and out-
comes evaluation cluster will be
based on factors including the
average time to degree completion,
the percentage of students with
full tuition support and the pro-
gram's attrition rate.
The diversityofacademic affairs
category in the rankings will be
based primarily on the fraction of
minority and female students and
faculty, among other factors.
Individual factors within each
of the clusters are combined using
1000 PITCHES
From Page 1A
a business and to support existing
ventures on campus, Mehta said.
Entrepreneurship provides a
new option to students who can't
or don't want to follow the typi-
cal path of earning good grades,
graduating from college and then
working at a large cooperation, he
added.
"Two or three years ago a lot of
students couldn't find a job after
they graduated, and rather than
try to find another way to work,
most went to graduate school,"
Mehta said. "Entrepreneurship is
a way that you can go through to
start your own business."
To participate in the competi-
tion, students can submit a 30-sec-
ond to three-minute business pitch
video that will be posted online.
Each pitch fits into one of ten
categories - including environ-
ment, local business, consumer
products, technology, health and
mobile applications.
The competition ends Nov. 19
and is followed by an award cer-
emony in early December, which
announces the winner of each cat-
egory and monetary prizes that
* total more than $10,000. This
year, there are roughly 15 sponsors
from companies, organizations
and individuals located in Ann
Arbor.
"Most of our sponsors started
as small businesses at some point
in time, and every small business
starts as an idea," Mehta said. "So
it all ties back to what the whole
competition is about: idea genera-
tion and thinking big."
have more speed and athleticism
than the Falcons. And Gardner's
mobility was limited by his inex-
perience, running laterally more
often than north and south, which
quarterbacks coach Rod Smith
said will come with age.
Neither of them - it goes with-
out saying - has the potential of
a Heisman Trophy candidate like
Robinson. And without that talent
and break-neck speed, gameplan-
ning against the Wolverines' quar-
terback (whoever it would be after
Robinson) becomes exponentially
easier for opposing teams.
Each opposing coach this sea-
son has noted the difficulty of
gameplanning for Robinson, often
noting that shutting him down
completely borders on impossible.
"Denard Robinson is going tos
make people look bad," Connecti-
cut coach Randy Edsall said after
the Wolverines' week-one win.
At Robinson's current pace,
he would finish the season with
2,193 yards passing and 2,064
yards on the ground. And without
a weighted system to produce an
overall score for each program,
which is then compared to Ph.D.
programs at other universities
across the country.
"It is very extensive, both int
collection and analysis," Duder-
stadt wrote of the methodology.
"Yet it is a new (and controversial)
scheme, and the jury will be out
for some time as to whether it is
useful or not."
Duderstadt also wrote that the
changes in methodology have
caused the survey, traditionally
released approximately once a
decade, to be delayed several years.
"Most of the delay of the current
evaluation (three years) had to do
with fine-tuning the methodology
into a format acceptable to the uni-
versities," Duderstadt wrote.
Paired with the new method-
ology, that delay has left many
programs eagerly awaiting the
new rankings. The rankings were
released to institutions earlier this
month, though they won't be pub-
licly available until Tuesday.
MPowered members and some
of the sponsors determine the
finalists, Mehta said. The judging
is ongoing as pitches are submit-
ted, and MPowered members whos
are trained to judge the entries
determine the top 10 finalists in
each division.
once the competition ends, the
top 10 finalists are notified and
then judged by a panel of Univer-
sity professors, business profes-
sionals and entrepreneurs in their
respective fields.
In addition to increasing the'
number of pitches, 1000 Pitches
intends to expand its presence in
the University community and
online.
"one of our big pushes for this
year is that we're looking for more
exposure of the competition,"
Barch said.
According to Barch, each pitch
will be automatically uploaded to aa
YouTube channel so that the pub-
lic can see all the submissions.
Another change is the push to
continue the idea behind 1000
Pitches once the competition ends,
Mehta said.
"We want 1000 to be the start of
the journey," he said.
MPowered members also have
been actively reaching out to fac-
ulty to make 1000 Pitches part of
curricula - encouraging profes-
sors to give extra credit for submis-
sions or even to require students to
submit pitches.
"It provides an opportunity
for a lot of students to apply what
they've learned in the classroom
to a real workd setting without
boundaries," Mehta said.
T'his year, Barch said MPowered
is focusing on its Pledge Program.
that explosiveness and big-play
offensive production on the field,
the Wolverines don't have enough
potential to make up for their
shaky defense, especially against
solid Big Ten programs.
Robinson is-going to give a lot
of Michigan fans high blood pres-
sure this season, especially if he
continues to take unnecessary hits
like the one that knocked him out
of the game Saturday.
Forcier and Gardner may "stay
ready" all season, but without that
burst of adrenaline and the walk-
ing, talking hyperbole, unlaced
every Saturday, this team, with its
frighteninglytyoung defense, will
likely head down a similar path to
last season.
So when Robinson gets hit like
he did on Saturday, especially in
more physical games like Ohio
State or Michigan State, there's
only one thing you can do.
Cross your fingers.
- Kartje can be reached
at rkartje a umich.edu.
Though the rankings have tradi-
tionally been important to leaders
in higher education, Duderstadt
said the rankings are not nearly as
important to students or industry
leaders.
"While faculty and academic
administrators may eventually find
useful information in this analysis,
I seriously doubt whether it will
be very meaningful to students,"
Duderstadt wrote. "I've always felt
that the best guide to students is
whether there are well-known fac-
ulty in the areas of their particular
interests rather than any generic
ranking of the program."
Even then, Duderstadt wrote
that those who do consider the
rankings should do so lightly.
"While these are infinitely
more rigorous and, if interpreted
correctly, useful than the more
popular 'league tables' such as U.S.
News & World Report, QS, Times
Higher Education or Shanghai Jaio
Tong, they should still be taken
with a very hefty grain of salt,"
Duderstadt wrote.
The program encourages student
organizations to "pledge" a cer-
tain number of pitches that would
be submitted before a designated
deadline. If organizations reach
their pledge goal, they would
receive a monetary reward. The
last day to register for the Pledge
Program is Oct. 15.
Mehta added that members will
set up Pitch Stations, in which
members meet with different
organizations and talk with stu-
dents across campus to motivate
them to submit pitches.
While students can send in indi-
vidual pitches, Mehta said group
pitches are also encouraged.
"Their passion will feed off
each other, which will help them
create bigger and better ideas," he
said.
1000 pitches is also continu-
ing its "Operation Dorm Storm"
and "Attack the Hill" programs
- which were developed last year
to attract freshmen to enter the
competition. On Sunday evenings,
MPowered members go to one
residence hall to talk about 1000
Pitches, collect new pitches and
expose freshmen to entrepreneur-
ial thinking.
Since the competition just start-
ed, Mehta said he does not know
what new ideas students are com-
ing up with this year. However, he
said he is looking forward to see-
ing the pitches as the competition
progresses.
"Everybody has ideas," he said.
"Everybody sees problems in the
world but how do you solve these
problems? That's the mentality we
are trying to push students to go
through to generate ideas for this
competition."
Lt. gov. nominee
accepts Planned
Parenthood
endorsement in A2
By SABIRA KAHN
Daily StaffReporter
With 44 days left before voters
hit the polls, the Democratic Party
is steppingup its campaign efforts
to reach out to specific groups of
supporters across the state and in
Ann Arbor.
On Saturday, the Washtenaw
County Democratic Party host-
ed "Women for Bernero" a rally
to honor Planned Parenthood's
endorsement of Lansing Mayor
Virg Bernero for Michigan gover-
nor and Southfield Mayor Brenda
Lawrence for lieutenant governor.
Several individuals spoke -
including Lawrence, Christine
Green, state House of Represen-
tatives candidate for the 52nd
district, and Sarah Scranton,
executive director of Planned
Parenthood Affiliates of Michi-
gan - at the Washtenaw Coun-
ty Democratic office on Mains
Street.
In an interview before the
event, Lawrence said the aim of
the rally was to celebrate the can-
didates' pro-choice stance.
"The goal today is to have a rally
to promote awareness that (Berne-
ro and I) are both pro-choice tick-
ets and also just to get the word out
about our campaign," Lawrence
said. "We are campaigning very
hard on the Main Street agenda,
and we're going all over the state
to energize our supporters."
The rally, which attracted a
small group of families from Ann
Arbor and campaign volunteers,
was also organized to garner sup-
port from women voters. Accord-
ing to Lawrence, it's critically
important for candidates to woo
women voters.
"Once you get women on board,
women inherently bring other vot-
ers," Lawrence said. "They are the
best grassroots base that we have,
wcC
From Page 1A_
years as enrollment grew 17 per-
cent, Whitworth said in an inter-
view.
"The administration at U of
M was well aware of our need to
grow and to accommodate the
number of students that we were
experiencing," Whitworth said.
University administrators
offered WCC University class-
room space, indicating that the
collaboration would alleviate
space concerns at both institu-
tions, Whitworth said. The agree-
ment allows the University to
and women believe in candidates
that make the difference."
The event opened with Green
- who is running against Repub-
lican candidate and Washtenaw
County Commissioner Mark Oui-
met- pushing those in attendance
to support her bid for a seat in the
House of Representatives.
"We have some very clear dis-
tinctions between my Republi-
can opponent and me, and one of
those distinctions is reproductive
freedom, and I am unambiguous-
ly pro-choice," Green said to the
crowd.
Green concluded her speech
by emphasizing her belief that
women have the right to make
their own decisions regarding
their bodies.
"I am S9 years old now, and I
don't think in my lifetime that I'm
going to see a time when we don't
have to fight really, really hard
for reproductive freedom," Green
said.
Scranton then spoke to the
audience telling them that abor-
tion is a women's health and wom-
en's rights issue.
Scranton, who has worked at
Planned Parenthood for eight
years, said legal questions sur-
rounding abortion have surfaced
every year since she has been an
employee.
"Every single legislature has
tried to ban abortion," Scranton
said. "We are very lucky in that we
have a pro-choice governor right
now."
According to Scranton, Ber-
nero and Lawrence are the only
candidates in the gubernatorial
race who "stand up for women's
health and a woman's right to
choose."
Lawrence then stepped forward
to accept Planned Parenthood's
campaign endorsement.
"I'm a proud mother of two
beautiful children," Lawrence told
the audience. "I'm not anti-life.
I'm very much pro-having-chil-
dren in a planned environment
and women having the right (to
choose)."
After accepting the endorse-
ment, Lawrence discussed other
important campaign issues and
highlighted the experience on the
Democratic ticket.
"Bernero and I are two mayors
who have rolled up their sleeves
and are running for governor and
lieutenant governor," she said.
"This has never happened in the
state. It has never happened in the
country."
She went on to stress that pre-
vious political experience is vital
for holding office, but especially
in this particular election given
Michigan's economic state.
"This is a time of crisis. This is
not a time for peopletoget a learn-
ing curve," Lawrence said, refer-
ring to Republican gubernatorial
candidate Rick Snyder and his lack
of government experience.
Lawrence highlighted ideas for
economic reform, which includes
plans for a state-run bank that will
grant loans to small businesses.
"We must invest in our small
business, and we're proud to say
that we're the mayors from Main
Street," Lawrence said. "We take
care of Main Street."
She also discussed the need for
politicians to focus on education,
saying that lawmakers made the
wrong decision to cut the Michi-
gan Promise Scholarship, which
gave thousands of dollars in schol-
arships to college students across
the state.
"We made a promise to our
young people and we broke it,"
Lawrence said. "We told them that
if you maintain a GPA that we'll
invest in you and make sure that
you get an education and that you
get scholarships. We broke that
promise. The funding issues for
our children's education must be
a priority."
She concluded her speech by
encouraging women to go out and
vote for the Democratic ticket.
"The last time we sat on our
hands and didn't come out and
vote Democratic, you know what
happened? We got (former Repub-
lican Gov. John) Engler," Law-
rence said. "We cannot afford that.
Michigan cannot afford that."
better utilize space that might not
otherwise be used and ensures
that WCC has enough space to
hold all its courses.
Whitworth said the agreement
would also benefit students at the
University since many enroll in
WCC classes.
"We know that there are lots
of students from the University
of Michigan that come to Washt-
enaw Community College and
that this might be more conve-
nient," Whitworth said.
Many WCC students live or
work near downtown Ann Arbor.
Classes held on the University's
campus allow students to walk
or bike to class rather than drive
to WCC's main campus, which is
located between Ann Arbor and
Ypsilanti.
"It seemed like a great partner-
ship as a way to offer classes more
conveniently for the WCC stu-
dents here in Ann Arbor," Fitzger-
ald said.
In future semesters, WCC plans
to expand its course selection on
Central Campus to accounting,
sociology, communications, com-
puter science and political sci-
ence.
"We are currently engaged in
developing a two-year contract,"
Whitworthsaid. "We're hoping to
be able to promote the program a
little more aggressively."
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