4 Tuesday, April 29, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com anwal Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu EMMARIE HUETTEMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF GARY GRACA MANAGING EDITOR KATE TRUESDELL EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR 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. Amending admissions Proposed change could be disasterous for education f state representative Rick Jones has his way, getting into the University is about Jto become a lot simpler - if you're an in-state student at the top of your class. Jones, a Republican from Grand Ledge, has proposed a plan that would grant Michigan high school students graduating in the top 10 percent of their class automat- ic admission to any of the state's 15 public universities. The arguments supporting the initiative include increased geographic and socioeconomic diversity, and these are praiseworthy goals. However, it is not clear whether Jones's proposal would achieve them, and this plan creates problems that outweigh the purported pros. JASON MAHAKIAN E-MAIL MAHAKIAN AT MAHAKIANJ@UMICH.EDU d h bBnoted in the story. However, defin- Byond the box ing oneself by checking a box is not accorate at all.I wish they had TO THE DAILY: a box that said: "My father was I am writing in response to the born in Vietnam when his German recent Daily article about adding father was serving in the war. My an additional raceboxtothe admis- mother was born in Sweden, but sions applications (Students push her parents came from Scandina- for new race option, 04/10/2008). via. I was born in South Africa, but The fight for an additional race box now I live in America." Ijust check option is like picking up one piece Caucasian. of trash off the ground - it makes I hope that one day we won't you feel good about yourself, but consider adding one race box a suc- in order to solve the global pollu- cess - vague race options tell you tion crisis you need to change the nothing about the true racial iden- structure of society. tity of a person. Rightnow students Yes, it is true that an addition- can choose from six options. There al option for race (mind you, a should be about 6.6 billion differ- socially constructed concept) will ent options for race. provide some students "a more accurate category with which to Justin Erickson identify," as Sirene Abou-Chakra LSA sophomore a a 4 The proposal is modeled after a plan in Texas, where state uni- versities have admitted the top 10 percent of high school gradu- ates for more than a decade. The state's flagship university - the University of Texas at Austin - now has its highest minority enrollment since the program was enacted. Jones hopes that a program in Michigan would have simi- lar results, arguing for a "great- er geographic, economic and racial diversity." With the state legislature set to adjourn for the summer, Jones will try to get the process underway soon. If passed in the House and Sen- ate by the required two-thirds majority, the proposal would show up on the Michigan ballot in November. Jones's plan raises several immediate concerns. The plan limits the ability of universities to view admissions candidates in a broader context. The Uni- versity, for example, takes into account far more than just an applicant's grades - incoming students are evaluated on a host of variables, ranging from stan- dardized test scores to involve- ment in their communities. A blanket program like the10-per- cent plan would ignore nearly all these factors, concentrating solely on a student's GPA. This focus on an applicant's work inside the classroom would undermine the University's efforts to attract well-rounded students who excel outside of it as well. Another problem in imple- menting a Texas-style plan is the fundamental difference in the structure of the two states' higher education systems. In Texas, public universities are part of the same system, whereas Michigan's state uni- versities are autonomous and independent. In practice, quali- fied students in Texas can choose between several large and relatively equally presti- gious schools. In Michigan, the state's two large research universities - Michigan and Michigan State - would be the obvious choice for many admit- ted students, creating a demand overload. Perhaps the biggest problem of all, however, is the issue of autonomy. Michigan's universi- ties enjoy a high level of inde- pendence under the current system. Mandating who pub- lic universities should admit through state doctrine would fly in the face of this tradition and set a dangerous precedent. Diversity is something that public universities must strive for, but it's a goal that they can achieve on their own terms without any imposed orders from above. The constitutional autonomy enjoyed by Michigan's public universities is not something to be taken lightly. Together with the mountain of possible problems that Jones's propos- al brings, it is safe to say that Michigan is not the state for such a plan. 4 Giving new life to stem cells TO THE DAILY: After reading Monday's article about the stem cell research bal- lot initiative (Repeal of stem cell research ban seeks spot on ballot, 04/14/2008), I'd like to comment on the statement by Pam Sherstad, spokeswoman for Right to Life, that the group "doesn'ttsee theneed to destroy embryos that could oth- erwise develop into a human life." There seem to be misconceptions about the embryos that would be usedifembryonic stemcellresearch becomes legal in Michigan. The only embryos that would be available are those that would otherwise be discarded by fertil- ity clinics. of these embryos, some of them have abnormalities that would prevent them from ever sur- viving until birth and would never be implanted in a woman's uterus. Other healthy embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization attempts are kept until they are no longer needed by the couples who created them, and they are then discarded. It is true that some of these embry- os are available for adoption by infertile couples, but the reality is that far fewer embryos are adopted than are produced. Personally, I don't see the need to destroy embryos that could be used to save human lives through embryonic stem cell research. Kailey Owens Alum The letter writer is the former president of the University's chapter of Student Societyfor Stem Cell Research. 4 Editorial BoardMembers: Harun Buljina, Ben Caleca, Robert Soave, Matt Trecha