4A - Monday, September 23, 2013 The Michigan Daily -- michigandaily.com 4A - Monday, September 23, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom C 14 ichigan aty Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. MEGGIE RAMM E-MAIL MEGGIE AT ROSERAMM@UMICH.EDU. 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 FGEN eQG PoilS~wa0 ever'g,4ser.) (tl me' gues.Fwmovs a pie~cc 06r+-?toot'Vpotks? C1.O6i cUGVTA /tJ sot. ~arl~j? ove? co se* door? Afewn4 yo v - o.ro...) THAkT PFON ornse) SNOW E CAoy (You won a+ g .t taid it-%joU cdon 4*S pQoo c 0 odC 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. Fr OM THE DAILY Another change, no input Consulting students on policy changes shouldn't be an afterthought A fter a rocky introduction to new football seating policies, Michi- gan's student fans have another change coming. On Tuesday, Hunter Lochmann, the University Athletic Department's chief marketing officer, announced a major change to the men's basketball season ticket policy in which students now have to claim tickets to indi- vidual games. This change is effective immediately, yet it comes months after students purchased season ticket packages. Nearly 4,500 students purchased ticket packages, but 3,000 seats are available to students each game. While this policy does makes sense, and may be the best option given the situation, it comes at an odd time since students already pur- chased tickets. I I Lochmann argues that the main problem at basketball games is student attendance, saying that an average of 46.1 percent of student tickets were used per game in 2012- 2013. In comments to The Michigan Daily Tuesday, Lochmann said, "We don't want to play a guessing game of who's coming." While student turnout is obviously impor- tant, the problem lies in the fact that poten- tially 1,500 students will not have seats at basketball games for tickets they thought were guaranteed as part of their ticket pack- age. The Athletic Department should admit fault here; they oversold tickets and there- fore it's not possible for every student who bought a ticket to attend every game. If stu- dent morale was the real issue, then they, should have considered a policy change after this season ended. Most importantly, students should have been more involved in the decision-making process. The president and vice president of the Central Student Government, Michael Proppe and Bobby Dishell respectively, were informed prior to the decision's announce- ment, and the president of Maize Rage, Sasha Shaffer, met with Lochmann and two other department officials during the decision- making process. Though Shaffer and CSG leaders do represent the student body, there were other outlets available for the Athletic Department to gauge reaction better through forums or surveys. The change to basketball season tickets is not inherently problematic. A similar ticket scheme has been implemented at schools like Indiana University, and given the short amount of time before the season begins, it may be the most effective. What is a problem, however, is that it's part of a trend by the Athletic Department to make policy changes that affect a substantial percentage of the student body without consulting more than a handful of students. Beyond the minimum wage estled between a tattoo arguments on why it isn't pos- to set up a schedule that allows her parlor and a transmission sible to pay fast food workers their to work four full days and then take repair shop in Dearborn unusually high rate. Moo Cluck a three-day weekend to spend more Heights, Mich., Moo's prices are competitive, with time with her one-and-a-half-year- is Moo Cluck a Moo Burger costing $3, and Park- old daughter. If she hadn't found this Moo, a small er said he didn't feel any pressure to job, she said she would probably be fast-food joint. raise prices based on the wage deci- working two jobs. As I settle sions. Some involved in the debate "I would never see my baby," in with my sea over wages also argue that higher McCray said. salt fries and wages cost jobs, but Parker said McCray and the other employee, black cherry Moo Cluck Moo probably wouldn't Dan Chavez, both spoke about the milkshake, the LISSA have hired more people than they restaurant as more than just a work- line ebbs and KRYSKA did, even if the wages were lower. place - something closer to a family, flows, and the When I asked why they didn't pay or at least a tight-knit community. guy working the their employees less and pocket the This seemed to extend to the cus- counter alter- extra profits themselves, Parker tomer base as well, many of whom nately takes phone and in-store laughed and said he would rather were greeted by name when they orders. He's one of nine employees get recognition for doing the right walked in. who work under head chef and co- thing than for driving down the Involvement in the local commu- founder Allen Fisher. street in a six-figure sports car. nity is important for the company. Moo Cluck Moo is different from It comes down to prioritizing Parker pointed out that they par- competitors like McDonald's. The your spending, and for the own- ticipate in a lot of local events, and restaurant currently has only one ers of Moo Cluck Moo, that's two Fisher framed the high wages as location, which opened in April. things: the food and the people. being an investment not just in the They only use natural, high-quality, While Parker employees, but corn-syrup-free ingredients. The expressed hope also the com- buns are baked fresh in the kitchen that at some Moo Cluck Moo munity. each day, and those that they don't point all fast Moo Cluck use are donated to a local shelter at food workers prioritizes their Moo is the type the end of the night. will make higher spending on food of business that Oh, and they pay their workers wages, he also should become $15 per hour. acknowledged and employees. more prevalent Speaking with Fisher and with that Moo Cluck in every indus- Brian Parker, another co-founder, Moo doesn't try, but espe- they gave a few different reasons have the corporate overhead costs of cially the fast-food industry. I love for why they pay more than double larger companies, or face the same that they've taken corn syrup out the federal minimum wage. Ulti- pressures executives at those com- of the equation. I love that there's a mately, it's all about the people. panies do when making decisions portabella burger on the menu. But "I want these people to look at that affect thousands of people. most importantly, I love that they this place as a career," Parker said, That night, there were two see their employees as people rather explaining that they pay employees employees working with Fisher, and than commodities, and making sure more because they believe it's the I got a chance to speak with them. those people are able to support right thing to do. The people they "I prayed for this," employee themselves is a priority. Because, as hire are skilled and experienced with Cidney McCray said.As asingle moth- McCray pointed out when reflecting food and, well, they work hard. er who has worked as a manager at on her past jobs, "It's impossible on "It's not an easy job by any stretch both McDonald's and Wendy's, she $9 an hour." of the imagination," said Fisher. was able to bringsome perspective on I was curious to hear Fisher's how Moo Cluck Moo compares. - Lissa Kryska can be reached and Parker's responses to some AtMoo CluckMoo, she'sbeen able at Ikkryska@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, Eli Cahan, Eric Ferguson, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Maura Levine, Patrick Maillet, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Harsha Nahata, Adrienne Roberts, Paul Sherman, Sarah Skaluba, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe Don't blame the Millenials 2.0 0 JANINI KUMAR I Get unplugged What's the first thing you do in the morn- ing and the last thing you do before going to bed? For most people, it's checking their phone - e-mail, messages and other noti- fications - to either get caught up right before falling asleep or to see what they missed overnight. Whether you're waiting in line at the gro- cery store, ridingthe bus, studying at the Shap- iro Undergraduate Library or sittingin lecture, take a look around you. A good number of peo- ple are on their phone - updating a Facebook status, tweeting, posting on Instagram. I had no idea how much time we spend on our phones until I was overseas over the summer and didn't have a cell phone. I felt like I had so much free time with a phone not constantly buzzing every few minutes. Sometimes on public transportation, I'd look around and everyone around me would have headphones on and be on their phone or tablet in their own world. Never before did I feel more alone in a room full of people. But if I had my phone, I would've been doing the same thing and would have been just as guilty of not interacting with those around me. As we grow closer to those farther away from us, we are growing increasingly dis- connected from those physically close to us. Is it possible to be over-connected? Espe- cially with the ever-increasing forms of social media, there's a need to establish and maintain a social presence. Let's be honest, everyone loves a notification - it makes us feel important. Heard. It lets us know that someone cares about what we have to say or what we are doing - something that we innately crave as human beings. Humans are social creatures, and, in a globalized world, this is how we stay con- nected. But when was the last time you talked to the person sitting next to you in a large lecture hall? We're so connected with what we already know that we never really have to step out of our comfort zone and meet new people. In the era of Internet and smartphones, we are truly hooked to our gadgets. Of course, one can argue that social media and technology bring light to issues that you might not know about otherwise, but what do most people do with that information? We either tweet about it, post a status or share that article. That's where it ends for most people. But what if we actually did something about it? Everything should be enjoyed in mod- eration, and that includes smartphones and social media. A few weeks ago I deleted a lot of apps from my phone, and honestly, life was perfectly fine. I had more time to spend with my family, my friends and really do something memorable with my time. So spend a little less time on your phone scrolling through your newsfeed for the hundredth time. Talk to the people around you, do something outdoors or spend your Saturday afternoon volunteering. Or maybe actually work on one of those DIY projects you're always re-pinning. Take some time away from a screen. You'll be surprised with how much there is around you. Janini Kumar is an LSA sophomore. This commitment to teaching may sound standard to the Dartmouth community ...but at a major research institution like Michigan, it is an exceptional philosophy and practice. And Phil was our champion." - University President Mary Sue Coleman said Friday about Phil Hanlon, the new president of Dartmouth University and former University provost, at his inauguration. have two brothers, one eight and one 10 years older than I am. Having all been born between 1980 and 1995, by definition we're all millennials. Yet undeniably, we were raised in very different times. My broth- ers grew up watching movies SARA from a VCR, lis- MOROSI tening to music from a Walkman and using a landline, dial-up Inter- net and AOL instant messenger. But during my childhood, those were replaced with DVDs, an iPod, cell phones, Wi-Fi, texting, MySpace and Facebook. Advancements in technology have created a void in digital com- munication between the early and late millennials - a distinction that's unquestionably present but ignored by commentators. Mybroth- ers - Millennials 1.0 - have one foot in both worlds, and are a bridge between the millennial generation and its precursor, Generation X. The media routinely criticizes millennials on our performance in the workforce and our purchasing behavior, not to mention our self- centered nature and resistance to authority. This is unjustified for two reasons. First, there are two popula- tionsofourgenerationand commen- tators are slamming us for things we haven't yet had a chance to respond to. And second, they're criticizing our generation's response to prob- lems that their generation created. A popular critique of millennials is that they're noncommittal, particu- larly in the workforce. According to Forbes, millennials change jobs at an average rate of once every 4.4 years. Whilethis maybe true of the early segment of the generation, the criti- cism is misplaced givennthe economic upheaval of the past few years. No one knows how the latter half of the generation is going to respond to the job market, so to criticize the millen- nials that are now graduating from college is blatantly unfair. Another critique is that in spite of their engagement with consumer culture, millennials are reluctant to make conventional purchases - namelyhousesand cars. Butthathes- itance is understandable given the economic experience of the last few years. In fact, the reluctance on the part of manyto buy a house, in retro- spect, was extremely fortunate given that many people who purchased homes recently are now seriously underwater in to work out. These sweeping generalizations that originated from the early part of the generation are being projected onto a cohort that deserves distinc- tion. While time may show that pre- viously established notions hold true, giving the latter portion of the gen- eration time to forge its own identity is the only way to know. The same trend can be seen across generations. Take the Baby Boomer generation. The experiences of those in the latter half of the generation - greatly influenced by the hippie culture - differ greatly fromthe con- servative atmosphere of the 1950s and early 60s. The attempt to pigeonhole a gen- eration is a flawed concept from the start. Changes in society occur so rapidly that unless you atomize a generation to their mortgages. As witnesses to the implosion of the housing market,thelatter part of the gener- ation - Millen- nials 2.0 - will likely hold off on buying a house. Our reluctance to f character flaw, esp in ourlives in whic aren't even necessa of sense. Still, part fall of the real estate industry falls into, millennial generati Millennials 2.0 a force in the work a force financially, force socially. The are now beginning selves into the lar nomically, socially and it's too soon to cover several years, sweeping The attempt to generalities are either inaccu- pigeonhole a generation rate or applied is flawed from the start. too soon. The jury is still out on the millennial gen- eration. Par- buy homes isn't a ticularly on the second half, which ecially at a point at this point applies to those still in h such purchases their early to mid-twenties To label ry. It makes a lot all millennials as narcissistic trophy ial blame for the kids who job-hop, don't contribute to e market and auto the economy and arectoo plugged into the hands of the technology to appreciate the finer on as a whole. things in life is unjustified based on ren't yet a major the lack of track record to base that place. We're not assessment. I'm not happy about and are barely a it. And yeah, I'm probably going to older millennials tweet about it - but not before post- to insert them- ing a selfie to my Instagram. 6 6 ger society eco- and politically, say how it's going - Sara Morosi can be reached at smorosi@umich.edu.