The resolution acknowledges
the discrepancy between what
the University prescribes for final
exam scheduling and reality.
The LSA Faculty Code exam
protocol states “an instructor
may not depart from the official
schedule unless prior approval
of the University Committee
on Examinations is obtained.”
However,
many
University
students can attest to the fact
that professors do, in fact,
depart from their scheduled
exam slot. They either hold
exams during the last week of
class, opting for a final paper
or project, or hold a third, non-
cumulative exam in place of a
cumulative final during their
given two-hour finals slot.
The
perceived
problem,
according to the resolution,
is that exams before the
scheduled
exam
week
interfere
with
regular
semester work. However, in
large part, professors tend to
ease up on coursework in the
weeks or week before finals.
As a result, having exams
at the end of the semester
instead of during the given
exam time doesn’t interfere as
much as one might imagine.
Every
year,
students
anxiously hold their breath
and check the dates of their
last exams. Inevitably, there is
always an exam which lingers at
the end of the exam period. This
year, the last day of exams is Dec.
21. This presents a challenge for
students who hope to go home
earlier for winter break.
Graduate students are not
exempt from this dilemma;
GSIs must finish grading their
exams before going home for
the holidays. For those GSIs
whose exams are held on Dec.
21, the possibility exists that
they would be unable to leave
until Dec. 24, if at all.
There is also the added
burden
of
finding
flights
during the holiday season;
dorms close at 7:00 p.m. on
the last day of exams and
the cost of a flight home for
such a short period of time
is not necessarily a financial
reality. Additionally, for some
students — out-of-state and
international
students,
for
example — it may almost not
be worth it to go home for such
a short period of time. For
these reasons, among others,
many students and instructors
welcome the option to have
exams
earlier
(before
the
scheduled final exam slot).
Moreover,
we
challenge
the efficacy of this resolution
because it lacks a concrete
mechanism for enforcement.
There are countless loopholes
that
can
prevent
this
resolution
from
effecting
real
change:
Students
can
take classes outside of their
academic program in LSA or
professors can simply label
their last exam “Exam three,”
and continue to place it on the
last day of class.
Students’ preferences for
exam scheduling (spread out,
all at once, early, late, etc.) are
diverse, and finding a one-
size-fits-all policy would be
an improbable task. LSA offers
thousands of courses each
semester and it is unlikely that
there is a policy that can be
evenly enforced. Furthermore,
a good number of professors
are bound to ignore the exam
guidelines (as they already do).
Though the LSA exam protocol
does give specific dates for
classes’ final exams, it still
allows professors to schedule
their final exams earlier. Even
though the resolution attempts
to fix this, we argue that there
will still be loopholes and it is
not the best way to approach
final exams.
The Michigan Daily Editorial
Board calls on the school
of LSA to retain its current
policy that gives professors
the
flexibility
to
schedule
their final assignments before
their designated final exam
slot. The resolution passed
by LSA Student Government
overestimates
the
negative
impacts
of
exams
during
regular class time, does not
take into account the effects
of late exams on students and
instructors
and
ultimately
lacks a means for implementing
change
on
a
broad
scale.
For many of us, thoughts of
returning home have begun to
swirl in our minds. And as we
inch closer to Dec. 21, we urge
LSA to consider scheduling
exams earlier in the month.
That way, students and staff
can enjoy a relaxing winter
break
and
can
return
in
January feeling refreshed and
ready for the semester ahead.
T
en minutes. Twenty
minutes.
Thirty
minutes. I don’t think
I’ve ever stared at a blank
Word document for so long.
Is this why so many writers
go crazy? I could be doing
something productive right
now
—
like
sleeping.
No
matter what I do, I just can’t
seem to think of anything to
write about. Every little thing
is distracting. Swiveling in
this chair sure is fun. Oh, look,
a bird. How fast can I say “toy
boat?” Before I know it, an
hour has passed.
Welcome to the life of an
English major. I agonize about
writing on a weekly basis. Over
time, it doesn’t become hard
to relate with Jack Nicholson
from “The Shining,” beating
away the same sentence on a
typewriter. But that doesn’t
change the fact that I love my
major. Writing is a passion of
mine, and I enjoy every second
of self-induced insanity. So
when people ask me my major,
why am I reluctant to tell
them that it’s English?
I think it has something
to do with also being pre-
med. Before I continue, let me
clarify that “pre-med” is not a
major. It simply means that I’m
taking a set of classes — organic
chemistry,
biochemistry,
physics, etc. — necessary to
succeed on the MCAT and in
medical school. That’s why
when I tell my fellow pre-med
students that I’m majoring in
English, I’m usually met with
blank stares and confusion.
I feel a bit like Billy Elliot
admitting his love for ballet in
an unwelcoming environment.
Once
they
process
my
seriousness,
they
usually
say
something
blunt
like,
“Why?” Whether it’s asked
in disgust or awe depends on
the person. But no matter the
tone, I always give the same
response: “Because I like it.”
It’s as simple as that.
I think that a lot of students
in college — especially pre-
meds — major in subjects by
default
without
exploring
other interests. For example, I
would guess that a lot of people
majoring
in
biomolecular
science
aren’t
doing
it
because they have a yearning
passion for biomolecules. The
more likely reason is that
the required classes for the
major line up conveniently
with the prerequisites for
medical
school.
But
who
am I to judge? I was once a
neuroscience
major
before
I
realized
that
learning
unnecessarily
detailed
information about synapses
wasn’t how I wanted to spend
my college career. Following
the 15 advising appointments
and two existential crises that
resulted from this realization,
I learned that a major wouldn’t
define my future.
Especially
for
those
planning to attend graduate
school,
majors
aren’t
as
important as they seem. While
some may provide slightly
better
preparation
—
for
example, a political science
major may be more suited
for the LSAT than a physics
major — it’s ultimately GPA,
test scores, extracurricular
activities
and
others
that
matter. In other words, a
physics major can get into
Harvard Law School as long
as they perform well in each
of the previously mentioned
areas and demonstrate that
they’re a qualified applicant.
Even if a student doesn’t
have plans to attend graduate
school, their major doesn’t
necessarily have to align with
their intended career path.
According to one study, only
about 27 percent of college
graduates are working in a job
that relates to their major. As
reported in Forbes — maybe
this will humble the Ross kids
— those who majored in history
go on to earn just as much in
the business field as those who
majored in it. Hear that, Ross
rejects? There’s still hope!
The same goes for law and
medicine. Those who major
in topics that aren’t typical of
these fields still achieve the
same success in their futures.
College
is
a
time
for
exploration
and
pursuing
one’s
interests.
Therefore,
I encourage other students
to find passions outside of
their intended career track.
Students
should
major
in
topics that they genuinely
want to pursue instead of
topics they feel pressured to
pursue. After all, it probably
won’t have much effect on
the future, and will result in a
much happier time at college.
I switched my major three
times before I decided to
major in a subject I enjoyed
rather than in a subject that
followed the pre-med status
quo. Yes, because classes such
as organic chemistry don’t
count
toward
the
English
major, I have to take an extra
eight to 10 English classes on
top of the prerequisites for
medical school. But to me the
workload is worth it. I have
another 15 years of schooling
to
learn
about
synapses.
For now, I want to stick to
Fitzgerald, Hemingway and
Faulkner; when people ask me
my major, I want to proudly
tell them that it’s English.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, November 13, 2017
REBECCA LERNER
Managing Editor
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
EMMA KINERY
Editor in Chief
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY
and REBECCA TARNOPOL
Editorial Page Editors
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.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Pursue what interests you in college
EVAN SIRLS | COLUMN
Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman
Jeremy Kaplan
Sarah Khan
Max Lubell
Lucas Maiman
Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy
Jason Rowland
Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Ali Safawi
Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol
Stephanie Trierweiler
Ashley Zhang
Evan Sirls can be reached at
esirls@umich.edu.
T
hat’s
gay!”
was
probably
the
most
common
phrase
heard in the halls of my
elementary or middle school.
After hearing it so often, I
remember a point where I, too,
would utter it whenever extra
homework was assigned, the
teacher cancelled our recess
or one of the boys was acting
“sensitive” or “emotional.”
It was what all the cool kids
did, and I — the nerdy girl
with
wire-framed
glasses
who wore pigtails until 6th
grade — desperately needed
to be cool.
The funniest part about
it was, for the longest time
I didn’t know what “gay”
meant. In the context that
my peers and I used it in,
I understood that it meant
something bad or negative. I
knew it was something that
you didn’t want to be, or
that you weren’t supposed
to be. It made you different,
and not different like having
your ears pierced or hair
dyed. Different like having
a disease or a sickness that
could not be cured. However,
I had absolutely no clue what
“gay” meant outside of what
my knucklehead elementary
school friends told me it was.
In
high
school,
my
perception of things changed.
It had become taboo and
insensitive
to
say
things
like “that’s gay.” The stigma
around
homosexuality
decreased as LGBT issues
became more popular and
visible in mainstream media.
Popular TV shows like Glee,
American
Horror
Story,
Orange is the New Black and
The Fosters began depicting
same-sex
relationships
or
“out” homosexual characters
more explicitly. Around my
sophomore year, Macklemore
and Ryan Lewis released their
heavy-hitting single “Same
Love,” which advocated for
the legalization of same-sex
marriage.
Buzzwords
like
“gender
inclusive,” “trans,” “queer,”
“pangender,”
“genderfluid”
and “intersex” all came into
the mainstream at once. I
became
overwhelmed
by
these new definitions, terms
and
identities,
something
that just a few years prior had
been totally under the radar in
heterosexual communities. I
had no clue what these things
meant, and honestly had no
intention of learning what
they meant because it did
not impact my heterosexual
lifestyle. I reverted back to the
ignorance of my elementary
school
ways,
throwing
any part of the non-hetero
identity under the umbrella of
“gay.” Meaning that anything
that was different, or outside
of heteronormativity in my
eyes was just … gay. “It’s just
too much!” I would often say
in defense of the lack of my
awareness.
In college, I knew that I
would have to make a change.
I was forced into seminars
and guest speaker lectures
that explained these terms at
length, and pried my narrow
mind open to the perspectives
and experiences of others
outside of the heterosexual
community.
It
was
then
that I accepted the fact that
just because I wasn’t part
of the LGBTQ community
didn’t mean I had to ignore
it, remain ignorant or stay
stubborn.
Things
are
constantly
changing, and it was time for
me to keep up. My mother is
the most important person in
my life, and she raised me on
the notion that everybody has
their own bag. Even if their
bag doesn’t match what’s in
yours, you still respect it; if
you don’t understand the slang
metaphor
here,
essentially
it means that everyone is
different. No one person is
going to be exactly alike, yet
despite this we should respect
one another and honor each
other’s differences. I was
embarrassed
that
I
had
strayed from this.
I am now embarrassed for
others who have seemingly
not
been
instilled
with
my
mother’s
wisdom.
As
of a week ago, a few more
members
of
the
LGBTQ
community were elected as
government officials across
the
nation.
But
here
on
campus, students are still
attacked for disclosing such
identities to their peers.
Last week a business junior
revealed he was harassed
by his roommates after he
announced his sexuality on
social media for “National
Coming Out Day.” This story
has now been picked up by
other local media outlets and
has become somewhat of a hot
topic on campus, in the wake
of statistics reporting that 1 in
6 students feel discriminated
against on campus. It is
important to remember that
discrimination on campus is
not only racial. Still, even I
have occasionally succumbed
to this sort of thinking as
well. Discrimination, as I
have learned all too well
after being on this campus for
several years, can come in all
sorts of shades.
Now, you may think — who
am I to comment on any of
this,
especially
following
the confession of my prior
problematic
outlooks
regarding
these
topics?
However, I think it is the
story of my personal growth,
learning
experience
and
enlightenment that serves as
a perfect connection to my
argument. We each have the
ability to educate ourselves
and in turn promote more
progressive, respectful and
productive ways of thinking
about ourselves and others.
So why not do it?
STEPHANIE MULLINGS | COLUMN
What’s normal anyway?
FROM THE DAILY
Keep final exams policy as is
I
t’s that time of year again: Football season is coming to a close, the
temperature is falling faster than the leaves and the sun is setting
before most of us eat dinner. Final exam season is on the horizon.
On Oct. 28, 2017, LSA Student Government passed a resolution that aims
to decrease the stress imposed on students during the last few weeks of
the semester. One key provision of the resolution implores the College
of Literature, Science and the Arts to hold professors accountable for
administering exams during the time slot assigned by the Registrar’s
Office. The Michigan Daily calls on the school of LSA to maintain its
current policy, which gives professors the ability to have all final
assignments and exams due before the scheduled exam times even begin.
Maybe later
Stephanie Mullings can be reached
at srmulli@umich.edu.
NIA LEE | CONTACT NIA AT LEENIA@UMICH.EDU
I was forced
into seminars
and guest
speaker lectures
that... pried my
narrow mind
open to the
perspectives
and experiences
of others.