4A - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 0 L 4e Michigan wily Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com MELANIE KRUVELIS and ADRIENNE ROBERTS MATT SLOVIN EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR ANDREW WEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF 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. ostly duplcates A central grant database for public research should be created SA Jan. 2013 study published in Nature in found that "an esti- mated $69 million of possible overlap funds were found" after surveying more than 630,000 grant and contract summa- ries since 1985. The Federal government funds most public research in the United States through several agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, Veterans Administration, National Science Foun- dation, Department of Defense and Department of Energy. Most agen- cies don't permit or encourage research projects funded by more than one agency. However, this notion is difficult to enforce since research- ers can concurrently apply to any number of agencies. Since many of these agencies don't routinely communicate with other organizations when reviewing grants, it's easy to understand how duplicate funding occurs. Therefore, a central grant database should be created to mini- mize financial damage and ensure limited research funding is distrib- uted responsibly. Equalfunding for equal integrity C hoosing a college major was and critical thinking. His statement subjects of their choosing. one of the hardest decisions raises concerns about equal oppor- Taking away academic opportu- I've ever made. Like many, I tunities for education, as well as the nities, like McCrory implies, isn't arrived at Michi- monetary value of different types of the answer. We need to instead edu- gan with no degrees. cate students at the high-school level burning interests A 2012 study by Georgetown Uni- about what job opportunities are in and soon found versity illustrates the governor's demand. This allows individuals to myself in the point. It claims that "the risk of discover a balanced career path that non-engineering, unemployment among recent college takes into account their skills and non-medicine graduates depends on their major ... future earning goals. Furthermore, academic pur- Unemployment rates are generally streamlining student aid to cut back gatory. At the TIMOTHY higher in non-technical majors, such on fraud and absurd tuition costs advice of my aca- TUMOU as the arts (11.1 percent), humanities would save billions. This money demic advisor, BURROUGHSand liberal arts (9.4 percent), social could then support vocational pro- I completed my science (8.9 percent) and law and grams and provide incentives for general require- public policy (8.1 percent)." Addition- students - moving toward the ulti- ments, hoping something would ally, The Bureau of Labor Statistics mate goal of a balanced workforce spark my interest. I was constantly states that about 17-million college and reducing the influx of under- evaluating disciplines, gauging my graduates are underemployed, mean- employed individuals. These are big interests and, yes, determining prac- ing that they're working in jobs ideas requiring extensive debate, ticality and future earnings. they're drastically overqualified for and now the stage is set for signifi- A similar type of evaluation was or working fewer hours than they'd cant education reform. made by North Carolina Gov. Pat like. The bureau also reports the McCrory last Tuesday. On a politi- unemployment rate for young people cal radio program, the Republican with vocational training as signifi- There should be governor advocated strongly for cantly lower than that of graduates vocational studies. He explained that with general degrees. no hierarchy for there's significant demand for skilled McCrory is struggling to justify academic thought. laborers with six-figure salaries and putting tax dollars toward programs only more jobs to come. He argued that don't lead to future careers. His that many courses currently being comments undervalue intellectual offered at state universities and com- studies and gloss over the countless munity colleges are not adequately successful gender studies majors. At the end of my sophomore year preparingstudents for the workforce. Additionally, many educational I became an economics and art his- At one point he even questioned, subsidies contribute to student aid tory double major. Though an eco- "What are we teachingthese courses programs, which are critical in nomics degree may seem the more for, if they are not going to help get a providing equal opportunities to practical choice, many of the art job?" He immediately retracted this students. Regardless of McCrory's history classes have proved more statement, however, claiming that flawed commentary, these statistics insightful than any supply-and- he's not trying to devalue liberal arts demand attention. The goal of edu- demand graph. There's no hier- education, but simply questioning cation funding should be to provide archy for academic thought, and the "skills" gained. McCrory further every individual with a fair chance McCrory is wrong to suggest oth- explained, "if you want to take gen- to succeed academically and in the erwise. I decided on my own career der studies, that's fine, go to a private workforce. But we aren't effectively path based on my interests, but very school and take it, but I don't want providing the latter. - much so on my talents and future to subsidize that if that isn't getting Like leaders from both political employment opportunities as well. someone a job." parties, I believe that higher-educa- Other students should be allowed North Carolina college students, tion reform is critical in fixing our that same choice but must under- the Huffington Post and even con- economy. We need to find ways to stand the realities attached to it. servatives have attacked these place competitively trained individ- statements, arguing that McCrory uals in fields where there's demand, - Timothy Burroughs can be is belittling intellectual thought while also allowing them to study reached at timburr@umich.edu. YAGO COLAS Free the banners, free discussion q 0 Such duplication of federal funding is unpro- ductive. Federal money should instead be used to support new projects, and better commu- nication between federal agencies should be implemented to facilitate this goal. Currently, no agencies have systems in place to regularly check if the grants they fund are also being funded by another. Given the enormity of research grants submitted each year for fed- eral funding, it makes financial sense to create a central grant database that would allow each organization to check and thus avoid duplicate funding. Agencies need to dedicate resources to determine overlaps and strengthen communi- cation with each other. Compared to the size of the grants, the cost of checking for overlaps is a small, cost-effective investment. Though the study concedes that duplicate funding constitutes less than 0.1 percent of total federal funds dispensed since 1985, the $69 million represents a significant amount of taxpayer money that has been used inef- fectively. From the public's perspective, dupli- cate funding also wastes researcher's time and drains productivity, both of which can't be regained. A significant grant from a federal agency like the Department of Defense could sustain a research group for several years. Researchers receiving duplicate funding may be using twice as much time to explore a lim- ited area of inquiry. Each agency has its own definition of what constitutes an overlap. For example, although the DoD may certify that a project's fund- ing is distinct from a similar project funded by the NIH, the NIH may request that the researchers make these projects more dis- similar in order to receive funding. Multiple standards amongst agencies convolute the grant application process. As federal research funding continues to tighten to dangerous levels, it's imperative that federal agencies work together to allocate fund- ing in a fair, efficient manner. Though research- ers could be at fault for pursuing duplicate funding, agencies must also make the effort to discourage and prevent duplication. By creat- ing a central database, harmonizing criteria for what constitutes duplicate funding and dedicat- ing more energy to scrutinize funding overlap, agencies will be able to constructively change the funding system. Failure to do so unfairly and unproductively drains taxpayer money and deters scientific progress. 0 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Jasmine McNenny, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Luchen Wang, Derek Wolfe MAURA LEVINE Breaking the ban Anthropologically speaking, humans have a natural tendency to form groups and grow an "us vs. them" mentality. We not only like to feel a kinship with other people similar to us but we also tend to exclude those who aren't. This principle is at the core of many cultural issues. As our nation matures, how- ever, it's apparent that we are beginning to move from our natural human tendency to the ethically correct position of acceptance. This is evident from the repeal of the armed force's Don't Ask, Don't Tell legislation and especially pertinent in the Boy Scouts' recent consideration of allowing gay men to be a part of their organization. The true evil of this anthropological phe- nomenon is illustrated when people are deniedbasic rights simply because they aren't in the "right" group - i.e. the majority. The civil rights movement in the 1960s has taught us that blacks and other minority groups are no different than white people in terms of intelligence, ability or anything besides skin color. America has since recognized African Americans as equal citizens. Looking back, it was ridiculous to discriminate. Since its inception, the Boy Scouts, a national organization that receives federal funding, has banned gays from being members explain- ing, "The Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed." This week, however, the National Executive Board is holding a three-day meet- ing to decide if this ban is still applicable, or if it should be left up to local chapters to decide whether or not to ban gay members. Unfortunately, the Boy Scouts have already harmed countless gay adolescents with their exclusion. Will Oliver, for instance, has been involved in the Boy Scouts since he was six years old and has earned the organization's highest award of Eagle Scout. Oliver says, however, that he would like to "have the opportunity to be myself." Many people, gay and straight alike, struggle with finding their sexuality in adolescence. An awkward phase is common in all sexual orientations, but is especially painful for those who feel they cannot be accepted for their true selves. The added pressure of being rejected by friends and national organizations openly harms the gay youth and promotes an "us vs. them" mentality in other teens. Those who wish to keep the ban claim they don't want their little boys being sexu- ally harassed by openly gay male scout leaders. This is an absurd and illogical fear. Perversion should not be linked to homosexuality. There's a small percentage of the population - men and women included - who are sexually attracted to pre-pubescent children. This group of "per- verted" people is completely separate from the many men and women who identify as LGBTQ. The fear of a gay scout leader "coming-on" to your little boy is like.fearing a heterosexual male teacher will "come on" to your six-year- old daughter. It'sutterly ridiculous. The federal government should not be funding a program that condones such false ideas. Gay people are exactly the same as straight people. Just because they have a different sexual orientation than the majority doesn't mean they're different in any other aspect of life. People shouldn't be persecuted for some- thing they cannot change. Like the treatment of blacks before the Civil Rights Movement, LGBTQ Americans have been put in a box and cast aside in the easy-to-fall-into "us vs. them" mentality. They've been excluded and persecuted. We need to continue breaking the natural, anthro- pological tendency of humans and accept everyone in our society. Lifting the Boy Scout ban would be the first step towards this goal. Maura Levine is an LSA sophomore. Tuesday morning, The Michigan Daily reported that former Michi- gan men's basketball players and "Fab Five" members Jalen Rose and Jimmy Ring, participating in the Student Athletic Advisory Com- mittee's charity fundraising event "Mock Rock," expressed their hopes that the decade-long rift between their former teammate Chris Web- ber and University administrators might be healed. Both men called on Webber to approach the University and on the University to be open to a discussion regarding both the leg- acy of that era and the disposition of the Final Four banners - currently stored in the University's Bentley Historical Library - earned by the team in 1992 and 1993. I write as a faculty member to endorse their call and urge University administrators to conduct a free, public discussion of the issues involved. Last year during a fireside chat, University President Mary Sue Coleman reiterated her opposi- tion to restoring the banners (Cole- man remains opposed to raising 'Fab Five' banners in 2013, 4/11/12). She had ordered the banners removed on Nov. 7, 2002 as part of a series of sanctions the University had imposed on itself in the wake of an on-going legal investigation against Ed Martin. Mr. Martin had admitted to run- ning an illegal gambling ring and funneling funds from the operation in the form of loans to several Uni- versity of Michigan basketball play- ers, among them Chris Webber, a member of the 1992 and 1993 Final Four teams. An ensuing NCAA rul- ing instituted additional sanctions, including a 10-year dissociation of the University from the four play- ers indicted in connection with the Martin investigation and the teams they represented. This ban will end in May 2013, offering the University an opportunity to reassess its posi- tion on, among other things, the fate of the banners. In a partof her comments notpub- lished by the Daily, but provided by the article's author, President Cole- man stated, "We should think care- fully about what this would mean." She added what she may have intend- ed simply as a rhetorical question: "How would you justify putting the banners back up?" I would like to take President Cole- man's statement and question as an invitation to initiate a campus-wide dialogue on the meaning of the ban- ners and restoring them to the raf- ters of Crisler Center. I agree that we "should think carefully about what this would mean," and I would like to get the ball rolling by offering some justifications for putting the banners back up and, at least as importantly, an argument for opening the discus- sion to the broader Michigan com- munity. At the most basic level, the banners symbolize the accom- plishments of the 1992 and 1993 Michigan men's basketball teams. I believe it does a disservice to the efforts of all the members of those teams to reduce the banners' sig- nificance to the poor choices of one member of those two squads, partic- ularly since there's no evidence that those choices garnered any com- petitive advantage to the Michigan teams, or were in any way respon- sible for their success. As symbols of athletic success, the banners belong in the rafters of the Crisler Ceniter. Of course, the meaning of the banners goes beyond this. They also symbolize the Fab Five, a group of highly recruited freshmen who were starters for Michigan throughout most of the two seasons in question. The Fab Five are widely regarded as more than simply very talented and effective basketball players. They ushered in a cultural transforma- tion of college basketball, the impact of which has spread in every direc- tion. It would not be too much to say that players today at every level owe something to the Fab Five., But this impact goes beyond the well-known baggy shorts and black. socks. It goes beyond their self- expressiveness and exuberance on the court. It goes beyond sports cir- cles entirely. The Fab Five were part of a movement that unashamedly brought urban, African-American culture to the center of American athletic culture. They sparked then, and continue to prompt today, urgently needed discussions of race and racism in American society. As symbols of cultural innovation and a courageous stand for diversity, the Fab Five and the banners associated with them represent the best that Michigan can be. To many, I know, the banners rep- resent a scandal in which the ideal of amateur athletics and the repttation of the University were sullied. For some, this may be sufficient reason to keep them out of sight. For me, on the contrary, it's an additional reason to put them back up. As a reminder of this scandal, and of the larger, still unresolved issues of the place of money in col- lege athletics and of the place of ath- letics in higher education, restoring the banners shows that Michigan is unafraid of a candid discussion of these issues, including frankly confronting its own participation in the multi-million-dollar business. To imagine that hiding the banners away in the Bentley somehow signi- fies that Michigan is immune to the influence of big business in college athletics seems to me at best naive. But more importantly, it does a dis- service to all in the University com- munity who wish to examine these issues forthrightly and to learn from the examination. Lastly, the banners represent our past - a complex past both inspiring and troubling. In having such a past, the University is no different from any of us, the indi- viduals comprising it. We may feel the impulse to turn our backs on aspects of our past that trouble us. But an important part of the pro- cess of maturing with integrity, as individuals, as a community and as a society, involves opening our- selves to that past. Restoring the banners sets an example for mem- bers of the Michigan community and, indeed, for other universities and social institutions in general, that the best way to move forward is by fearlessly incorporating an understanding of that past into the present as we orient ourselves toward the future. Thus, I currently believe the Uni- versity should restore the banners to Crisler. I feel even more strongly that any decision on the fate of the banners should be preceded by a public discussion in the University community. Whatever else it may stand for, the University certainly must stand for the free exchange of ideas on mat- ters of importance to its students, faculty, staff, alumni and administra- tors. This is what I try to exemplify for and encourage in my students. The banners offer our community an important opportunity to discuss publicly, and educate one another on such issues as the ethics of amateur athletics in the University, race and racism and how we relate to trouble- some aspects of our shared history. Perhaps the result of such a discus- sion will be that the University com- munity decides to keep the banners where they are. But a free and public discussion of the banners, I believe, is the only fitting way forthe Univer- sity to honor its core values and thus move forward with integrity I respectfully call on President Coleman, Athletic Director Dave Brandon and all interested members of the Michigan family to undertake such a discussion. Yago Colds is an associate professor in the Comparitive Literature. 0 6