4A - Thursday, October 3, 2013
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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
It gets (Led)better
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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.
FROM THE DAILY
Dollars for dining
Targeted scholarships address needs of lower-income students
January, the University of Michigan, Flint campus will begin to
implement a new program, which offers meal-plan scholarships for
up to 10 students, on or off of campus. Provided by Sodexo, the din-
ing company that services the Flint campus, the scholarships consist of
either five $1,400 scholarships or up to 10 meal-plan scholarships of $700.
By highlighting specific costs associated with attending college, Flint is
addressing costs that disproportionately affect lower-income students.
The University should follow suit.
Implementing meal-specific scholarships this new program, Flint is ensuring that stu-
acknowledges the varied costs students face dents - regardless of financial need - maybe
while in college. These scholarships are likely able to be a part of this university community.
to target students from lower-income back- Though the criteria for the new scholar-
grounds - those who are more likely to be ship will not be entirely need-based, the
impacted by daily costs. By allowing students proposed scholarships offer options to those
to stay on campus for meals during the day, struggling to make ends meet. For instance,
these scholarships will also save students the scholarships could help those middle-
time, while ensuring access to healthier food class students whose parents' income leaves
options. For students who struggle to pay for them without full financial aid support.
food on top of tuition, books and other aca- Currently, the UniversityhereinAnnArbor
demic costs, unhealthy meals may be the only has more than 200 financial-aid scholarships,
affordable option. But with the food-based but none are category-specific. Following
scholarships in place, students can gain Flint's lead, the University should implement
access to nearby, healthy food options. these tailored scholarships. Tuition isn't the
Furthermore, there are health benefits only factor that makes college expensive; the
with eating in a dining hall, aside from the cost of living - including food - can remain a
healthier food. Results of a study conducted barrier to those with fewer financial resourc-
at Kansas State University revealed a corre- es. One University of Michigan campus is on
lation between eating in a collegiate dining the edge of innovation through its meal plan
hall among peers and higher GPAs as well as scholarship program - hopefully, others will
greater-perceived social support. Through take note.
CDHILY VSCEHA E
C HE VY 1UCA KE
vs.
CHEVY TRUCK
CATEGORY: Horsepower
When violentlyrolling downa steep hill,Chevy Chasehas CATEGORY: Torque
enough power to knock over at least four large horses. Yetlthe
Chevy Tuck has been engineered to get 34 miles for each Its commercials are to elived, he
gallnaofgrape dink. AVANTAGE:EYASE C heylTrack bassenoaghltorqae tadrag,aon
on a good day, 47 andone-half Chevy Chases.
However, Chevy Chase was onceaddicted to
CATEGORY: T"p Speed painkillers hetook for fallingltoo manytimes
Chevy Trucks, on average, canreach95 miles perhour. on SNL ADVANTAGE:CHASEMASTER
Occasionally, Chevy Chase's amnesia will cause himto
hallucinate being backon "The Chevy Chase Show",
causinghimtofleethat god-awfulprogramatlan
impressive two miles an hour. ADVANTAGE: TRUCKS
THE WINNER IS: CHEVY CHASE
MARGAUX STANTON W
Male student blues
can't say why the scattering
of professors, adults and stu-
dents were at Lilly Ledbetter's
speech Wednes-
day night, but
I have a guess.
Her name is now
synonymous
with the first bill
President Barack
Obama signed
into law, the Lilly ADRIENNE
Ledbetter Fair ROBERTS
Pay Act of 2009.
When t told
my friends that I
was going to see Ledbetter talk, they
gave me a weird look and I quickly
had to follow with, "Oh, you know,
it's that woman whose name is on
that one bill Obama signed about fair
pay." She's almost a quasi-political
celebrity now, and I went to see her
speak for the same reason most other
people probably did: to say I saw her
talk. This woman has very little in
common with me except that she's
vocal about feminist ideals: She's 75,
from a small town in Alabama and
worked as an overnight supervisor
at Goodyear. I doubt that many stu-
dents on campus, including myself,
can say that they strongly identify
with her.
Yet, as she told her story, there
was one part specifically that many
students can identify with. When
Ledbetter found out that she was
making less than half of what her
fellow male employees were mak-
ing, she understandably just wanted
to quit her job. But because she had
student loans to pay back, dinner
to put on the table and bills to pay,
she couldn't fathom not receiving a
paycheck for even o
seniors out there,1
ally be us in six mor
right? The prospe
able to quit a job be
afford to not work i
And then, addc
if you're a woman
ate, you're probably
cantly less than yon
2012 report by the
ciation of Universit
that women one ye
working full timev
average, 82 percen
male peers were
making. After
controlling for
"occupation,
college major,
employment
sector, and other
factors associ-
ated with pay,"
the pay gap does
shrink, but it doesn
wage gap isn't a p
for women who gre
South in the '40s.
well affect many of
year's time.
However, the p
complicated than
making less than t
terparts. It's that
likely to work in c-
cally pay more, suc
and finance.
Universities, for
trying. For examp
Business School r
with their women
were falling behind
quickly. Additionall
female junior facu
ne week. For the 2006 and 2007.
this could liter- Harvard decided to give "itself
nths time. Scary, a gender makeover." The school
ct of not being tried to change the way students
ecause you can't spoke and socialized with each
s frightening. other by installing stenographers
on the fact that in classrooms to guard against
college gradu- biased grading and providing pri-
'making signifi- vate coaching to untenured female
ur male peers. A professors. This was met with some
American Asso- backlash, and after implementing
y Women shows the changes, one male student said
ar out of college it had "been a painful experience."
were making, on So much for progress.
t of what their The problem is sadly societal. Leg-
islation can only
pass if people
As we enter the actually rec-
ognize and are
workforce, there's no discouraged by
guarantee that we're this discrimi-
. nation. Most
going to get paid fairly, don't - and sex
discrimination
is being actively
'Ct disappear. The perpetuated everywhere, from a
roblem reserved Goodyear plant to a Harvard Busi-
w up in the Deep ness School classroom. Ledbetter's
This could very talk reminded us that, as many of us
us in less than a enter the workforce in the next few
years, there's no guarantee that we're
roblem is more going to be paid fairly. And there's
women simply also no guarantee that we're going
heir male coun- to recognize this, let alone be finan-
women are less cially stable enough to quit our jobs
areers that typi- if we do. What's encouraging is that
h as engineering the University is bringing people like
Ledbetter to this campus. As much
their part, are as we might not readily identify with
le, the Harvard her specific situation, even her pres-
noticed a trend ence causes a conversation that we
students: They all need to be having.
their male peers
y, a third of their
Ity left between
-Adrienne Roberts can be
reached at adrirobe@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Barry Belmont, James Brennan, 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
Asking the right questions
Every September, the University of Michi-
gan campus in Ann Arbor comes to life again.
Incoming students from all over the world
arrive eager to embark on their new college
adventures and ready to start their indepen-
dent lives away from home. For many of these
new students, excitement fills them; how-
ever, for many others, stress and anxiety may
also occur.
As the school year quickly picks up pace,
students often find themselves feeling home-
sick and overwhelmed with the academic
rigor at Michigan. They experience difficulty
making friends and stress over how to bal-
ance their new lives. Many students begin
to adapt and readjust, whereas others find
themselves facing depression.
Depression is found worldwide and affects
everyone regardless of gender, age, race or
any other demographics. A 2011 study from
the American Psychological Association
revealed that the rates of depression among
college students are steadily increasing. Fur-
thermore, although it has been found to be
more prevalent in women, according to the
National Institute of Mental Health, more
than 6-million men face depression each year.
Research has also shown that men are
often unable to recognize their own symp-
toms of depression or feel embarrassed by
their depression due to the stigma behind
it. So even though free resources for treat-
ment of depression are available through the
University's Counseling and Psychological
Services, because men are often less aware
of their symptoms (which can vary from
women's symptoms) and feel ashamed about
seeking help, men frequently leave their
depression untreated.
During my freshmen year, a close friend of
mine expressed to me how he felt sadness for
varying reasons, found himself lacking any
motivation, had problems concentrating and
was feeling helpless. I suggested to him that
he speak with someone at CAPS, but he did
not know what CAPS was and was skeptical
as to how the office could help him. More-
over, he felt that his symptoms weren't signif-
icant enough to seek the help of professionals
and he believed that he could simply "handle
it on his own."
The stigma behind depression, the lack of
education regarding depression, and the trans-
parency of resources around campus continue
to affect many students, specifically males.
When depression goes untreated, students
may see a significant drop in their academic
performance, relationships can be strained,
risky behaviors may increase and, at the most
extreme, students may attempt suicide.
As a caring and close-knit community, the
University needs to address this problem.
Similarly to the Sexual Assault Prevention
and Awareness Center on campus, CAPS
should organize and conduct workshops for
each incoming freshmen class. This can be
done through required residential hall meet-
ings at the start of each school year or during
orientation sessions throughout the summer.
The workshops and presentations should
focus on educating students on the causes
and symptoms of depression, as well as the
treatments and free resources available on
campus. They should also divide groups
of students by gender for a portion of the
workshop to address gender-specific issues
regarding depression. Specifically for our
male students, it's important to address the
stigma behind depression in men and the
varying symptoms that men can face.
With CAPS providing our students, specif-
ically our male students, with awareness and
education regarding depression, we hope to
increase our students' academic performance
as well as increase their ability to flourish as
well-rounded individuals graduating from
the University. Equally as important, we
hope to promote healthy physical and mental
lifestyles here in our community.
Margaux Stanton is a Social
Work graduate student.
" Jf they can get you asking
the wrong questions, they
don't have to worry about
answers." This
little "proverb for
paranoids" - the
third of five in
Gravity's Rain-
bow, a book by 1
Thomas Pynchon
- succinctly
points out a cru- BA Y
cial element of
all critical think- BELMONT
ing: There are
right and wrong
questions to ask of this world, and
knowing which is which makes all
the difference. In fact, it's the very
essence of critical thinking.
Just as right and wrong answers
exist for many questions, so do
right and wrong. And yet this fact is
rarely acknowledged, discussed or
entertained with the exception of
conmen and congressmen. Worse
still, there are those who would
have us believe that all knowledge
is relative and that any way of gath-
ering it is as justifiable as any other.
This is wrong both in its diagnosis
and prognosis of the situation - not
all opinions are valid.
Those who might think that I'm
perhaps too dismissive of other
positions or unfairly characterizing
what it means to be relativistic in
this context must, at the very least,
be claiming that my opinion is in
some way wrong.
That's fine. It might be. And
that's the point.
I can be wrong. I have been
wrong. I'm probably wrong about
at least a couple dozen things in my
life at this very moment, and some of
them may even be espoused in some
of what I write here. Butthese are
things I can correct by as
being asked the right ques
a very real sense, the cast
of incorrect opinions is th
method for being less wr
hopefully, being more corr
To this end, the impor
questioning far outweigh
facts. Facts without con
meaningless, but questions
purpose are wasteful. An o
fact often does little to di
from matters at hand:
Franklin D. Roosevelt was
or 33rd president of the
States won't typically dete
sations about the modern r
of the New Deal's poliice
over, facts are easily ame
objective arbitration: We
numbers into calculators,
quotes and pinpoint dates.I
be known with
or without call-
ing upon our I
critical-think- hav
ing skills.
The same is proba
not true of ask- OfV
of
ing questions.
Asking ques-
tions is at base
king and who has long stopped listening to
tions. In proffered answers lies an optimal
ing away balance of questioning and accep-
he surest tance, knowing and not knowing.
Ong, and, Unlike a fact without context,
ect. a question, however ill-posed, is
tance of liable to hijack our cognitive appa-
s that of ratuses. Questions spark investi-
text are gations, and send our minds off
without searching for solutions, looking
rphaned for reasons and figuring out new
stract us questions to ask. Our brains were
Whether equipped long ago to be pattern-
the 32nd seekers. To seek a pattern means to
United ask what pattern may exist and go
r conver- about finding it. We can go beyond
elevance this base level ofthinking by asking
s. More- further, "How might we go about
nable to findingthat pattern?" or, "How will
can plug I know if a pattern is meaningful?"
look up Questions are the filters we use
Facts can to separate signal from noise. If we
fail to recognize
that this sort of
can be wrong. I positive inquiry
been wrong. I'm is the process of
extracting mean-
ibly wrong in some ingful informa-
vh w h tion from an
at I write here. otherwise inco-
herent mess, we
will fail to avail
all there is to our critical thinking
skills. If our thinking didn't require
rigor there would be no motivation
to question any part of it. Therefore,
the very nature of critical thinking
stems from the fact that we're ques-
tioning our reasoning in an effort
to be less wrong and vicariously
more right.
But just as not all opinions are
valid and not all facts are relevant,
not all modes of inquiry are cre-
ated equal. Somewhere between
the incredulous silence of com-
plete complacency and the inces-
sant, bottomless 'whys' of a child
ourselvesofourmosteffectivemeans
of figuring outthe world around us.
So, "Where have I gone wrong?"
is a more powerful question than
"What facts have I gotten wrong?"
because it encapsulates a broader
context of thinking as a process of
analysis and not merely as a recita-
tion of facts.
However, let us remember that
this can all be wrong. And the only
way any of us can ever know is by
knowing the right questions to ask.
-Barry Belmont can be reached
at belmont@umich.edu.
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