4A - Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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CHRISTINA SUH
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.
The right connection
Michigan needs network of high speed railways
ublic transportation connecting populated cities in Mich-
igan and other areas of the Midwest is fairly limited.
Trains are slow and expensive and bus routes between
cities are inadequate. But a $160-million federal grant to the state
will change transportation in Michigan by providing the funds
to create a new, high-speed rail line between Kalamazoo and
Dearborn. Other plans to create lines between Ann Arbor and
Detroit and from Detroit to Chicago are already underway. But
these projects individually are only bits and pieces of the kind
rail system Michigan needs. Organizations creating high-speed
lines should work together to give the Midwest a comprehensive,
fast and affordable public transportation system.
tt
440
corg tr
Revamprecruitig
he athletic recruiting process my first college visit to the University get in academically or fail to develop
is an organized way for high of California at Berkeley the sum- as much as they had hoped over their
school students, their fami- mer after my freshman year, and the coming high school years. What hap-
lies, their future next 18 months were a whirlwind of pens then? Either a coach lives with
college coaches activity that ended in February of my his or her "mistake" by taking a player
and teammates to junior year when I finally made the who isn't likely to help the team, or
communicate and decision to commit to the University worse, they yank the rug out fro41
decide if they are W p of Michigan. under the prospective student-athlete
a good match for By the end of it all, I had made 13 by withdrawing the scholarship offer
one another. The college visits - and been to a couple prior to signing day, which, for vol-
NCAA has a thick 0 more than once. I missed school leyball, is in early November. This
book of rules on dances, spring breaks and much of practice, while ethically questionable,
how a coach can summer break to practice, compete isn't illegal, since verbal commitments
contact a player, COURTNEY or visit schools. The travel, finances aren't legally binding.
when they can FLETCHER and stress of making the "right" deci-
mantimesetc hIwsoneaoftheuckoInes . myIfam
.one of the most ily, high school and college coaches College athletic
important dates in this process is were an excellent support system and
Sept. I of a player's junior year. This didn't put too much pressure on me. reruiin sa ts
is the date after which schools can But I was certainly the exception to
contact you via email and snail mail the normtoo0early
as much as they want. Prior to this As a whole, I think the recruiting
date, a school can only contact a play- process is incredibly flawed. Recruit-
er once through the mail with a let- ing is a business - I get that. Coaches
ter of interest and a questionnaire, or and programs need to make sure they Unfortunately, I don't see the pro-
through an intermediary, like a club's have good recruiting classes so they cess changing any time soon. if one
recruiting coordinator. can have good seasons and ultimately school decides not to actively recruit
These rules weti re eated so that keep their jobs. But I don't agree with freshmen and sophomores, they could
college coaches wouldn't take advan- how early it starts. lose gifted athletes that commit early.
tage of prospective student-athletes I think making such an important Similarly, the athletes don't want to
or monopolize their time. It's meant decision as early as your sophomore get left behind when they see their
to allow high school athletes as much year is a dangerous thing not only for peers verbally commit at 15, 16 or 17
of a typical high school experience coaches, but for players as well. I don't years old, so sometimes the pressure
as possible. The problem is that the see how a sophomore in high school an athlete feels to commit early is self-
recruiting process is focusing more can make a legitimate life-changing induced. The process is't likely to
heavily on sophomores and freshman decision when the law says they aren't change without NCAA intervention.
for many sports such as volleyball even responsible enough to drive by At least half of my former high
and soccer. More and more players themselves yet. Plus, they have two school and club teammates are either
are making verbal commitments by years of athletic development left, not happy, no longer attending te
the end of their sophomore year and have to take the SAT or ACT and could schools they committed to or no lofi-
essentially ending the college search very likely get injured. And two years ger playing volleyball. I think a lot of
before it even begins for their peers. down the road the schools and pro- this is a direct reflection of the flawed
I wasn't immune from the rigors of grams they are evaluating could look recruiting process. But again, I'm
early recruiting. y journey started completely different than they were lucky I didn't meet this fate.
as a freshman in high school, when I when they commit.
received my first questionnaire in the It's equally risky for coaches. A - Courtney Fletcher can be
mail from Duke University. I made player could get hurt, not be able to reached atfletchco@umich.ed.
e the Check out the Daily's opinion blog for the launch of the new feature
Healthy, Happy Women, in which Anny Fang focuses on women's
Podiuhealth issues. Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podiumo
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According to an Oct. 26 Detroit Free
Press article, the state of Michigan
received over $160 million to fund the con-
struction of high-speed rail lines in Michi-
gan. Of this, $150 million is to be used to
establish the route between Kalamazoo
and Dearborn. The money, awarded under
the federal Department of Transporta-
tion's High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail
Grant Program, will fund the restoration
and completion of a 135-mile track pass-
ing through Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Jackson,
Albion and Battle Creek, according to an
Oct. 25 article on Annarbor.com. Accord-
ing to the Free Press article, the restored
rail lines would allow trains to travel
at speeds up to 79 miles per hour. Later
upgrades could allow trains to travel at
speeds of up to 110 miles per hour.
Currently, train rides are often too
expensive and slow to offer much appeal
to potential passengers, even though they
are more environmentally friendly than
the use of low-occupancy vehicles. Michi-
gan's current mass transportation systems
aren't wide-spread enough to cut back on
the carbon footprint.
High-speed rails are meant to provide
service faster than a car at a reasonable
price. For Michigan's high-speed rail to
be a success, the state must work quickly
to increase speeds over 79 miles per hour.
Travelers will be inclined to stick with the
comfort of their own vehicle if trains are
going only slightly over the state's highway
speed limit (typically 70 miles per hour).
Rail lines that significantly decrease travel
time will appeal to riders.
The rail line will also be good for the
economy. Jobs will be created in construc-
tion, maintenance and operation of the lines.
And easier connectivity between cities also
makes business expansion and cooperation
easier, which will facilitate the state's eco-
nomic growth. Current plans are underway
for a line between Ann Arbor and Detroit
and another between Detroit and Chicago.
But alone, none of these railways can offer
passengers the connectivity that would lead
to real economic growth. The state should
use the planned line between Kalamazoo
and Dearborn to start a more inter-connect-
ed rail system that spans the Midwest.
If high-speed rail lines offer multiple des-
tinations at a reasonable price, people willbe
more inclined to choose environmentally-
friendly public tiansportation that will cre-
ate jobs and encourage economic growth.
The Michigan Department of Transporta-
tion must start plans to expand and connect
high-speed rail lines to offer Michigan resi-
dents a wide range of destinations.
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The myth of stupid'
BRIAN RAPPAPORT I
Table the trays
As I walked into North Quad for the first
time several weeks ago, I was impressed by its
chic architecture, its state of the art technology
and its international cuisine. There is no doubt
North Quad is agreatdormitory and an achieve-
ment in student housing. But I would be remiss
if I didn't mention that these achievements were
overshadowed by one disappointment.
The trays thatspilled through the dining hall,
loaded up with more food than students could
handle, contained 'an extraordinary amount
of waste. The opportunity for the University
to take a stand and show its contemporaries
its leadership in sustainability was missed. A
recent study showed that almost three quarters
of the 300 universities in the nation with the
largest endowments have implemented trayless
dining. Sadly, the University isn't one of them.
Of course, it's not just the desire to make a
statement that should promote trayless dining
here at the University. Grand Valley State Uni-
versity, a school of 19,000 students, has reduced
water consumption by 31,000 gallons per year,
used 540 lbs less of detergent per year and saved
$79,000 per year since it went trayless in 2007.
The benefits of ditching trays are concrete.
There have been recent pilot programs intro-
duced at University dining halls. In Mary Mar-
kley Residence Hall, trays were removed as
part of a pilot program to reduce food waste.
There is also a student initiative called "Tray
Free Tuesdays." On Tuesdays, students eat
trayless at the Hill Dining Center and encour-
age others to eat trayless as well. Most recently,
the pilot program at East Quad placed trays at
less convenient locations throughoutthe dining
hall, which produced a significant decrease in
food waste.
What I then wondered was whether there is
student support for trayless dining. Well, stu-
dents polled at East Quad showed a 70-percent
satisfaction rate with trayless dining. Ninety-
two percent of students said it was important to
reduce their environmental impact. The initia-
tive clearly has student supoort.
If there is all this evidence to support trayless
dining, why doesn't the University implement it
on a broader scale?
To be fair, according to the Integrated
Assessment, the University has a decentral-
ized approach to food on campus. There are
84 licensed food eateries that operate on cam-
pus and 200 different on-campus entities that
each has their own approach to food production
and waste management. What this essentially
means is that change is difficult to implement
at such a large university with such a decentral-
ized approach to food.
To this claim, I would say that trayless din-
ing is one of the simpler implementation efforts
of sustainability on campus. This effort doesn't
include implementing a new composting sys-
tem, or finding farms that are willing to imple-
ment large scale food operations, (although
these large scale efforts have been proven possi-
ble as well). This is simply going trayless, which
by all accounts will have a positive financial
effect on the University as a whole.
Another claim is that implementing trayless
dining would get rid of the positive effects of
trays, mostnotably aid for students with disabil-
ities and reduction of mess in the dining hall.
This claim, while valid, could be worked
around by tweaking the trayless program itself.
Trayless dining could be optional, and students
who may need atray could get one upon request.
However, something like that hasn't been tried
at the University either.
East Quad is supposed to be the model for
sustainability . on campus, with sustainable
local food and a more sustainable environment
overall. But East Quad has trays in their dining
hall today and its sustainable practices pale in
comparison to other universities nationwide. At
Yale University, one dining hall was made into a
completely sustainable dining hall with a multi-
tude of local food options and sustainable prac-
tices. This experiment was so successful that
students are now pushing for all dining halls at
Yale to be sustainable as well.
This proves that sustainable practices, if con-
ducted in the right environment, can be suc-
cessful. I believe that the lack of progress made
with trayless dining at the University shows
that there aren't sufficient sustainability goals.
Until the University's goals are set higher, a
simple sustainable practice such as trayless din-
ing won'tbe achieved, and that really is a shame.
Brian Rappaport is a Public Policy senior.
efine "stupid." Really try to
define the word "stupid" or
"dumb" as you would use
these words among
friends. If your
definition includes
some variation on
"the opposite of
intelligence," then
try to define intel-
ligence as a follow-
up.
Unless your
verbal prowess is ERIC
more precise than SZKARLAT
most intelligence
theorists and psy-
chologists for
decades, you probably can't exactly
define "intelligence." The best we
have may be early 20th century psy-
chologist Edwin G. Boring's dictum:
"Intelligence is whatever intelligence
tests measure."
Reflect on that for a moment. It may
sound silly, but it's actually an accept-
ed explanation of intelligence in psy-
chology. After all, intelligence really is
a purely human and social construct,
and therefore it is judged by human
standards. Boring is saying just that.
Do you remember when your st
grade teacher told you there's no
such thing as a stupid question? I
would agree. There are many alter-
native explanations for what might
make a question a bad one, butI can't
think of anything that might make a
question stupid. You might be mis-
informed about the content of the
course, or perhaps your question was
just ill-timed. But neither of these
things makes you stupid. They are
errors and we are humans.
Many people struggle with self-
esteem and think of themselves as
stupid. We've developed a culture in
which failure in school means failure
as a member of the most highly rational
and thoughtful species on the planet.
But reason is one of the most historical-
ly prized faculties of the human mind
throughout all of history, from Aristo-
tle to the endearing Forrest Gump.
And there is sometimes an idea of
hierarchy associated with it as well.
If one person calls another stupid,
they are implying that the other per-
son is inferior. Historically, those of
higher order have consistently tried
to divorce themselves from the lower
classes. But rather than their intelli-
gence, their education is what truly
set them apart from the others. Their
intelligence had nothing to do with it.
"Intelligent" is in many ways a buzz-
word, an adjective devised to make
them feel intellectually superior
because they were better educated.
The words "stupid" and "dumb" are
also buzzwords. We use them to dis-
tance ourselves from things that do
not seem like valuable contributions to
society. But even this idea exists only
under the assumption of Western cul-
ture.Of course, culture isn't inherently
bad, and while we can prize contribu-
tions made that greatly advance West-
ern society, we should never diminish
those that don't work. The concept of
intelligence is fine, as long as we do not
negate contributions. In other words,
don't say something is stupid.
Take autistic savants, for instance.
Many people might characterize
autistic people as being convention-
ally "unintelligent." Yet many autis-
tic individuals exhibit remarkable
talents. Their skills of day-to-day
function don't align with the norms
of our society, but they are capable of
incredible and profound things when
confronted with a piano, canvass or
mathematical proof.
And what about children? I
watched a lecture online by one
Adora Svitak, a well-known author.
In her lecture, entitled "What Adults
Can Learn from Kids," she states that
we are short-changing children and
their creativity. By the time they are
old enough, they want to be just like
everyone else, Svitak says. They no
longer want to think outside the box.
All this because, as it was once put by
someone I know, "You can't listen to
the things children say."
Intelligence is
not an objective
quality
Did I mention Svitak turned 13
years old this year?
What does this tell us about the
word "stupid"? If Svitak had been less
creative or successful, if it had been
any other child, would you have lis-
tened? or would you have dismissed
what the child said simply because
you believe their mental capacity to
be inferior to yours?
The word "stupid" is simply empty.
It's like saying, "I'm bad at math."
Well, there are a lot of different
aspects to math that you might be
bad at. Are you bad at computationy?
Algebra? Geometry? "Stupid" tells us
nothing in the same way that "bad"
tells us nothing. Inflicted upon the
self, it's an excuse. I've used it many
times, as have my friends. But instead
we should speak up. We should say
something in class because it's not
stupid. It can't be. Nothing is.
Then again, perhaps there is one
thing in the world that is actually stu-
pid - the very idea of stupidity.
- Eric Szkarlat can be reached
at eszkarla@umich.edu.
EDITORIA L BOARD MEMBERS:
Aida Ali, Jordan Birnholtz, Adrianna Bojrab, Will Butler, Eaghan Davis,
Michelle DeWitt, Ashley Griesshammer, Will Grundler, Jeremy Levy, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata
Emily Orley, Harsha Panduranga, Tommaso Pavone, Leah Potkin, Asa Smith, Laura Veith
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