U V V V U U U

i

0

0

0

a

w

0


2B

Weneda, erury9,211//Th taem nt 1

the
statement
Magazine Editor:
Carolyn Klarecki
Editor in Chief:
Stephanie Steinberg
Managing Editor:
Kyle Swanson
Deputy Editors:
Stephen Ostrowski
Elyana Twiggs
Designers:
Maya Friedman
Hermes Risien
Photo Editor:
Jake Fromm
Copy Editors:
Aaron Guggenheim
Chloe Stachowiak
The Statement is The Michigan
Daily's news magazine, distributed
every Wednesday during the
academic year.
To contact The Statement e-mail
klarecki@michigandaily.com.

THEJUNKDRAWER
random student interview by stephenostrowski

Welcome to the Ran-
dom Student Inter-
view, where the line
between journalistic integ-
rity and personal boundaries
becomes blurred. Hello there!
What are your Valentine's Day
plans?
Probably going to hang out with
my girlfriend.
You have a girlfriend?
I do.
How long have you been dating?
About a little over two months.
OK. How did you guys meet?
Uh we met on the snowboard club.
Very cool. Very cool.
In Canada.
Is she a better snowboarder
than you?
Uh no, I don't think so.
So it's good to be cocky?
Uh, S think so.
OK. What are you going to do
for your girlfriend?
Um it's in the process, things are
getting figured out.
The process?
Yeah it's a process.
Sounds like you're going to kid-
nap her.

Uh no, I'm not going to kidnap
her. Maybe. Special kidnap. It's
being worked out in my head.
Are you a presents guy or a date
guy?
A date guy.
OK. So like, roller derby, laser
light show, what kind of date?
Probably dinner.
Dinner?
'm very simple. Old fashioned,
not very original. Probably dress
up in a tuxedo.
What's your idea of dressing
up?
A plaid tuxedo.
Where do you get that?
Salvation Army. Salvation Army
has a large stock of tuxedos.
Really?
They're brilliant.
What size are you?
Medium. Medium and a half.
What size is your girlfriend?
I'm not sure.
Doe she wear a tuxedo too to
these dates or do you change
it up?
Gosh it's in the making. I don't
know.
You don't know? Does this girl-

friend exist?
Yeah she does.
Sounds like she's a blueprint in
your head.
No I just really haven't thought of
plans yet. Dinner is planned. The
plan.
Do you think Valentine's Day
is kind of a Hallmark holiday
or do you embrace it with open
arms?
I think Hallmark is a pretty good
way to talk about Valentine's Day.
Have you thought about going
to Egypt for Valentine's Day?
No. Why would I think that?
There's a lot of crowds over
there. I think there's a concert
going on.
Something going on. Who's play-
ing?
I don't know.
What's his name?
Norah Jones? Might be. I don't
know there's a ton of people
over there.
There's a big guy over there
they're all kind of surrounding.
Really? What's his name?
He's ....
Denzel Washington?

Pharaoh. The Egyptian pharaoh.
Wow, they're getting up in
their pharaoh count. A lot of
pharaohs. Last few questions.
Did you see "Inception?"
I have not. Issit good?
I'm not going to tell you. Have
you seen "Toy Story 3?"
I have not.
Damn. Not even "The Social
Network?"
Not even "The Social Network."
So you don't plan on watching
the Academy Awards?
I guess not. It wouldn't be worth
much to me.
Who's your best picture nomi-
nee for the year?
I have no clue. I'm not up on ...
Last question: Am I dreaming?
Because this is a great inter-
view. Am I dreaming?
Is that a philosophical question?
Are we living in the matrix right
now? Is this all just a dream?
Is that your best picture nomi-
nation - "The Matrix?"
Yes.
OK.
-Brand-is an LSA junior


UM newspaperO THE DAILY IS TAKING ON THE 1 'LIKE' THE
CHaLLenGe LANTERN IN A FACEBOOK WAR. MICHIGAN DAILY
Peace Corps -50 Years of Promoting
Global Peace & Friendship Michigan College Advising Corps
is now hiring UM Grads for full-time, A P0yET?
paid service positions as
college advisers
Apply Now! IF YOU KNOW IT,
The Michigan College Advising Corps seeks new SUBMIT YOUR
graduates to serve as college advisers in underserved
high schools across Michigan WORK TO THE
Application deadline: February 21, 2011 STATEMENT'S
For more information and an application packet visit
www.ceo.umich.edu/mcac ANN UA L LIT E RARY
Be part of the next Peace Corps generation. ISSUE
its Information Session:
Thursday, February 10th E-milou
" E-mail your
:30p.m. -submissions to
International Center, Room 9 M- IC H IG A N klarecki@michigandaily.
Life is callina. How far will you go? 800.424.8580 i eacecorps.aov/5o COLLEGE ADVISING CORPS com by Feb. 25.

other states. Weltman said she thinks the location of where stu-
dents are fromshould have no effect on their chance of admission.
"I think it should take the best students that apply, no matter
where they live," Weltman said.
Sanders maintained that out-of-state students add diversity to
the student body.
"Though in-state students are very important to the University,
our campus community is rich because it encompasses students
from around the world, which helps to create a rich academic
community of scholars," Sanders wrote.
The College Essay - More than 500 words
Application essays can be repetitive and tedious. Most ask how
you'll use your past experiences to succeed in college, and some
simply askfor a "personal statement." However, some colleges are
using their application essay prompts to attract certain students.
Applicants to the University of Chicago face non-traditional
questions. This year an essay question simply stated: "Find X."
Tufts University applicants can send in video essays. Accord-
ing to an article in The Huffington Post, admissions officials there
said the optional prompts are used to "evaluate student creativity
and originality."
Officials at both colleges said their offbeat essay questions are
used to find unique students.
The University of Michigan asked two questions of their
undergraduate applicants this year:
"Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or
groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, reli-
gion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intel-
lectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you
belong, and describe that community and your place within it."
And:
"Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific
undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission
and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the Uni-
versity of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your
interests?"
The first question - which asks applicants about what "com-
munities" applicants belong to - has been a prompt for sev-
eral years, The question is usually asked in different forms and
inquires about students' experiences with diversity.
The University added the question in response to an injunction
from the U.S. Supreme Court that ordered the Admissions Office
to cease its affirmative action program.
Several groups - including the Center for Individual Rights
- have raised questions as to whether the application prompt
intends to determine the race of a student in an attempt to find
minority applicants.
Though Sanders would not comment on the concerns of the
question, she wrote that essay questions are an essential part of
a student's application.
"Our essay questions are evaluated each year with input from
the University's president and individual schools and colleges,"
Sanders wrote. "The essay questions provide applicants an oppor-
tunity to share more about who they are and what they will lend
to the University community."

Recruitment gets creative
You probably remember the countless letters, booklets and
e-mails from colleges all over the country. Envelope after enve-
lope, college recruitment mail probably didn't amuse or surprise
you, but some universities are taking a more creative approach to
get noticed.
In order to reach potential students, the University of Chi-
cago sends a series of postcards showcasing the most interbsting
aspects of student life.
According to a recent report in the Chicago Maroon, the post-
card campaign has attracted new students. According to the
report, the university experienced a 10-percent increase in early
action applications after implementingthe program in 2006.
Timmis is a potential applicant who received postcards from
the University of Chicago. He said the postcards were attractive,
and if he met the academic standards of the university, the post-
cards would have encouraged him to apply.
"If I had a 4.0 (GPA) and a35 (ACT score), I would have applied
to Chicago, and I would have wanted to go there," Timmis said.
Weltman also said she received interesting marketing materi-
als from the University of Chicago.
"It almost made me apply," she said.
In an attempt to reinvent the "usual, dull college admissions
video," students at Yale University - as well as alumni in the
Yale undergraduate admissions office - created a 16-minute long
musical video called "That's Why IChose Yale."
The video - whose cast is comprised entirely of Yale students,
faculty and alumni - has had more than 800,000 hits on You-
Tube.
According to a Jan. SO Yale press release, the video is the brain-
child of Andrew Johnson, who is the senior assistant director of
undergraduate admissions at Yale. Johnson wrote in the press
release that he and his team created the video "in the search for a
fresh way to present the college to today's applicants."
In the press release, Johnson wrote that though the video is
intended to be somewhat "cheesy," it shows the many opportuni-
ties Yale has to offer in a way that's more entertaining than the
usual campus information session.
While Yale and the University of Chicago use innovative mar-
keting campaigns, the University of Michigan doesn't partake in
similar endeavors.
And though it doesn't appear that the University does anything
out of the ordinary in its recruiting efforts, Sanders said the Uni-
versity is constantly considering new possibilities for its recruit-
ment campaigns.
"The University continues to evaluate and consider new mar-
keting opportunities," Sanders wrote. "Where we determine the
campaigns may potentially produce a positive impact, we incor-
porate new ideas."
Jeweler-Bentz said some colleges are utilizing social media
like Facebook and Twitter in order to attract students. She said
Universities will successfully increase the number of applicants if
they take advantage of those channels.
"They're really trying to become more tech-savvy and go
through all the channels in order to connect with students," Jew-
eler-Bentz said.

i