4A - Wednesday, October 27, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com E-MAIL CHRISTINA AT CHSUHgd)UMICH.EDU Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor; MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu 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 0 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. 0 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and must include the writer's full name and University affiliation. All submissions become property of the Daily. We do not print anonymous letters. Send letters to tothedaily@umich.edu 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 0