4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 8, 2002 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 LIsA HOFFMAN ZAC PESKOWITZ letters@michigandaily.com Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor k i EDITEDAND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editmials reflect the opinion of UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other pieces do not SINCE 1890 necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. he long saga of the Arthur Miller D t f c facility if the unrealistic goal of a "world- vith the revelation in the Arm Arbor a7ic Theater reached its nadir last week e4 LI VI R e e~I l a" theater had not been so vigorously whe eannate n Aadvanced. If Bollinger had adhered to a News that the project is indefinitely stalled, Hubris and misguided vision have stalled the Miller Theater more reasonable vision for the project, funding has dried up and the University has Arthur Miller would have a structure to no direction for the project. A series of gifts honor his contributions to the University from University alum Charles Walgreen humanities won him support from many $67 million, a markedly higher cost than any and American drama. Bollinger's hubristic were to provide $15 million for the professors and members of the University of the comparable - but more modest -- belief that he could accomplish the mam- Walgreen Drama Center, a complex that community. However, the execution of the ongoing theater projects around the country. moth undertaking despite limited funds has would include the 600-seat Miller Theater Miller project illustrates his critical flaw as The $1 million the University spent on the hurt both the University's drama depart- as its focal point. The project slowed and an administrator. Instead of creating a man- original consulting and architectural fees ment and the entire community. eventually halted as costs spiraled, and the ageable proposal that would fit both the has been lost and a project which should As Mary Sue Coleman assumes the project, as originally planned, proved University's budget and needs, Bollinger have been finished later this year has now presidency in three weeks, she should impossible to complete. Although the sought to create a "world-class" facility that returned to the initial planning phase. remember the errors of Bollinger. Although University is quick to refute any sugges- would bring renown to the University and The project is now riddled with uncer- Bollinger's penchant for grand projects has tions that the Arthur Miller Theater is in serve as a defining aspect of his legacy in tainties. The University is considering mov- led to successful undertakings, such as the jeopardy, itsis apparent that when the pro- Ann Arbor. ing the site from adjacent to the Power burgeoning Life Sciences Initiative, it is ject is finished, it will be dramatically Bollinger's dream of an unparalleled Center for the Performing Arts to a location apparent that Bollinger's visions often con- altered from that originally envisioned by facility was the primary reason for the pre- on North Campus. The original architectur- flicted with reality and the nitty-gritty busi- the University and its fiercest champion, sent troubles. His desire for the ideal theater al firm has been fired and it is clear that ness of running a University. Coleman must former University President Lee Bollinger. limited the University's ability to alter the Bollinger's vision has been abandoned. balance these conflicting desires and pre- Bollinger staunchly supported the idea plans earlier in the process and unnecessari- The misfortune of these events is that vent the financial excesses that often of the theater since his inauguration as pres- ly impinged upon the options to restructure the facility could have been completed accompany the desire for the unmatched. ident in 1997. His campaigns to improve the facility. Due to these restrictions, the without excessive waste and the University She must not yield to the vainglorious pur- the University's drama offerings and original $18 million price-tag ballooned into could be enjoying the benefits of a superb suits that marked the Bollinger era. Inauspicious oversight Partisan inquiry threatens credibility of the judiciary Still not enough SAT reform will only generate more problems With a simple letter U.S. Rep. and Judiciary Committee Chair James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) struck a powerful blow against both the separation of powers and judicial authority . The June 26 letter to 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Boyce Martin demanded that the court turn over a series of documents relat- ing to the Grutter v. Bollinger lawsuit. Sensenbrenner is investigating how justices for the Dec. 6 en bane hearing were selected. Sensenbrenner senses impropriety and he is determined to find it - despite the costs to his credibility and, Thex more importantly, that of the entire reqi federal justice system. comm The Sensenbrenner investiga- non- tion flows out of the controversy value: at the center of the May 14 uncom, Urutter opinion. In the opinion, comm Reagan appointee Judge Danny the Cot Boggs alleged that the 6th Circuit qualil improperly altered the hearing Sense schedule to prevent two justices la from being included on the panel. However, Judge Karen Moore's opinion illustrates the actual course of events. "Even if the hearing panel had taken immediate action to circulate the en bane petition to the whole court on that date, the case would have been heard by the same en bane court that in fact heard it on December 6, 200 1. The record simply does not support any other conclusion on this point." Despite this reality, Sensenbrenner is willing to prematurely indict the 6th Circuit and the authority of Judge Martin. While Sensenbrenner is acting within his authority as Judiciary Committee chair, it is troubling that he has chosen this particular instance to exercise it. The letter argues that if two judges who were pi i s rp it tA nominated by Republican presidents had served on the panel that heard the affir- mative action lawsuit the eventual deci- sion could have struck down the University's admission policies. Sensenbrenner fails to recognize that party affiliation does not dictate the out- comes of decisions, instead Constitutional precedent and interpreta- tion must be the basis for opinions. Sensenbrenner's reductionist approach to the judicial system as a forum for the advancement of political osition causes should call into ques- ires a tion his ability to serve as tment to Judiciary Committee chair. artisan The position requires a com- and an mitment to non-partisan val- romising ues and an uncompromising tment to commitment to the stitution, Constitution, qualities that ies that Sensenbrenner lacks. nbrenner Sensenbrenner's misguided cks. efforts to advance his party's political goals will come at the expense of the authority of the courts. Sensenbrenner's attempts to create the appearance of malfeasance for the purpos- es of discrediting the court's decision. While genuine misconduct must be inves- tigated, frivolous inquiries, such as Sensenbrenner's most recent pursuit, limit the autonomy of courts to manage their caseloads and reach decisions. Sensenbrenner's maneuverings have done much to erode public faith in the judiciary and have continued the slow process of stripping the court of its intrin- sic ethos. The courts are slowly moving toward becoming partisan battle grounds, an outcome that can satisfy neither liberals nor conservatives. For years, the Scholastic Aptitude Test has come under fire from educators nation- wide. The test's inherent bias toward stu- dents who attend wealthier high schools and can afford expensive test preparation services has been well documented and extensively dis- cussed. The most powerful criticism of the test has come from University of California President Richard Atkinson who threatened to stop using the SAT in admissions to the univer- sity's ten campuses. In response to these chal- lenges, the College Board will insti- tute a series of changes to the test, Despit which in 2005 test will result in a chang new SAT Despite these changes, test's the test's most persistent problem, pers chronic bias against the poor and problem minorities, will remain. bias ag The most notable addition to the poo test is a handwritten essay portion, minorh which will require test-takers to ren craft an essay on an assigned topic in 25 minutes. Already fraught with bias and accuracy problems, the new SAT will now fur- ther handicap low-income students, minorities and students whose first language is not English. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the SAT is a poor assessment tool and contains inherent biases. The present format dictates classroom curriculun in much of the nation, is coachable and rewards insignificant test-taking skills. This has led to a situation where students who attend better schools and have access to expensive resources such as test preparation courses enjoy a distinct advantage over many of their peers. Students and their families who can afford to do so, routinely spend hundreds of dollars preparing for the exam. The format tinkering carried out by the College Board was aimed at addressing some of these oft-criticized deficiencies in the 's , ,a sr th exam. But eradicating the failures requires much more than simple addition; it requires a complete overhaul of the test's format so that each student has an equal opportunity to exhibit their academic potential and ability. By adding an essay portion to the exam, the College Board has not only failed to address these deficiencies but has inflamed them. An essay written in 25 pressure-packed minutes hardly qualifies asan accurate assessment of a students' writing skills, much less their poten- tial as a writer. Test-takers whose e these first language is not English, es, the already at a disadvantage, will find most it increasingly difficult to score as stent well as their native English-speak- chronic ing peers. linst the Moreover, the writing portion and of the exam's stringent guidelines ies, will leave no room for creative choices ai. or imagination, a valuable indica- tor of real potential that is wholly ignored by the SAT. Students can expect to find their classrooms increasingly tailored to teaching the cookie-cutter 5-paragraph essay. The College Board's failure to repair their exam and the new biases that it has generated reveal the failure of high-stakes testing to pre- sent accurate assessments of students' acade- mic progress. Colleges that have dropped the exam as an entrance requirement report no drop-off in the academic ability of their stu- dents and increased diversity in their student bodies. The SAT's new look will not serve higher education, students or society. Colleges and universities must recognize these failures when judging applicants. Standardized tests can never serve as replace- ments for a thorough evaluation of Itudents academic transcripts, extracurricular activi- i ties and life experiences - the attributes that improve higher education for everyone.