According
to
the
ACT
website, students can take the
test up to twelve times, though
the majority of students take
it no more than twice. The test
comes with a price tag of $68, or
$52 without the writing section,
though there are fee waivers
available.
There is no set price for the
individual sections yet, but ACT
officials expect it to be cheaper
than the price to retake the test
in full, the New York Times
reported.
For
some,
like
Nursing
sophomore Zoe Gierlinger, who
received extra time to take the
ACT, the decision is a step in
the right direction toward a
more equitable testing process,
especially for those who receive
extra time to complete the test
due to medical necessity.
“For someone like me who
received extra time on the ACT,
it would most likely be easier to
focus with the sections divided,”
Gierlinger said. “Otherwise, you
test for six straight hours and
ultimately it becomes harder to
keep focus, although the extra
time is necessary. Dividing the
sections would help improve
concentration
and
allow
students to perform at their
potential.”
LSA junior Jason Fernando
co-founded Excel Tutoring, a
standardized test preparation
company, in 2017 to bridge the
gap between those who receive
extensive test preparation and
those who do not. Fernando
echoed
Gierlinger’s
point,
adding he thinks the new policy
will allow lower-income college
applicants to achieve higher
scores
on
the
standardized
exams.
“I think this will allow for a
less of a barrier for students who
don’t have the means to take the
[full] test over and over again,”
Fernando
said.
“For
lower-
income students, a cheaper
test that is not as high-stakes
can
be
more
advantageous
for them, and let them knock
down barriers that they hadn’t
before.”
The score has received mixed
feedback
from
colleges.
A
Georgetown University official
noted the school would not
accept individual superscore
results.
According to the Common
Data Set, 74 percent of the Fall
2017 incoming freshman class
at U-M submitted an ACT score
when applying. The University
reports the 25th percentile to
75th percentile of the incoming
class’s performance on the test.
The Fall 2017 class’s range
was a 30-33 out of a total of
36 points — placing the class
in the 93rd to 98th percentile
nationally.
In 2016, the state of Michigan
switched from offering one
free ACT test to a free SAT for
all students in the state. Before
the switch, the state had used
the ACT as its free college
assessment exam since 2007.
A
2018
study
from
the
National Bureau of Economics
Research
found
that
while
half of SAT-takers retake the
exam after their first try, these
retake rates are significantly
lower among students from
low-income backgrounds. The
study found that race impacts
retake rates, as well— students
classified as underrepresented
minorities are nine percentage
points less likely to retake
the SAT than white students.
The
College
Board
—
the
organization that administers
the
SAT
and
Advanced
Placement tests — cited the
study as evidence that students
who retake their exams often
receive higher scores than those
who choose to take it only once.
Joshua Goodman, one of
the authors of the study and
a professor of economics at
Brandeis
University,
said
while the data from his study
is specific to the SAT, it can be
generalized to the ACT because
of the similarities between the
two tests.
“These are two entities that
are competing over students,”
Goodman said. “And they are
competing by offering the test
as many times a year as they
can, trying to make it as easy
to take as possible. And I think
this move was partly because
the ACT was sort of trying to
figure out how they can make
their test more appealing by
making students think they can
get higher scores the easiest
way.”
Goodman
said
higher-
income students often have
more information about how
retaking the tests will improve
their scores, making the ACT’s
change possibly detrimental to
lower-income students during
the college application process.
“It seems like higher-income
students
already
understand
that
part
of
the
college
admissions game, which is why
they are retaking these exams
so frequently,” Goodman said.
“But then low-income students
may not quite realize that.
So if that’s the case, if there’s
a disparity in the quality of
information
students
have
about the value of retakes, then
making retakes easier to do
may actually exacerbate gaps in
college enrollment.”
Hartt, who has already taken
the ACT, said he feels this change
is coming too abruptly. He said
there are already students in
his graduating class who have
taken the test more than once
who may have preferred to only
retake a section. Hartt also
said he felt this change has the
potential to allow students to
cherry-pick their sections into
what he called an “artificially
higher” composite score.
“I’m
almost
certain
that
for the universities that I’ll be
applying to will make it so that
you can’t superscore the ACT,
so everything will pretty much
be the same as it was,” Hartt
said. “But I would say from a
standpoint of having already
taken it, it just makes me a little
bit upset that I worked really
hard and went through all the
processes to get the score that I
got, and that students now will
be able to get artificially higher
scores because they’re retaking
one section at a time.”
Additionally, Hartt said this
change in layout is catering
to shortening attention spans
students
are
experiencing,
which he believes is not a good
idea. Hartt said even though
the change has made him less
anxious about preparing for the
exam, he still views the policy
in a negative light.
“I
am
against
the
new
development because I don’t
think that it follows what the
ACT originally was set to do,”
Hartt said. “I think it was
originally created to measure
intellect, and I think that having
the sections in a certain order
and having to take the sections
one after the next makes the
test more difficult and really
tests an individual’s intellect
and their ability to continue
focusing on things for a long
period of time.”
so. The website also mentioned
the
Order
educates
new
members about the history of
the group. Current members
are committed to promoting
diversity
both
on
campus
and within the organization,
according to the website.
In an email to The Daily,
University spokeswoman Kim
Broekhuizen said the Order is
currently a sponsored student
organization and is in good
standing
with
the
Center
for
Campus
Involvement.
Broekhuizen noted the Order
is sponsored by the School of
Information and is entitled to
benefits — including falling
under
the
University’s
tax
exempt
status,
using
the
“University of Michigan” in
its name and being eligible for
funding from the University —
that accompany its SSO status.
Additionally,
Broekhuizen
said SSOs are required to abide
by a code of conduct set by the
University.
“The
Center
for
Campus
Involvement regularly works
with
all
sponsored
student
organizations to ensure the
leaders of these groups fully
understand
and
respect
both
students’
and
student
organizations’ right to freely
associate,” Broekhuizen wrote.
Multicultural
groups
release statements opposing
the Order
Two
multicultural
organizations
on
campus
released statements last month
condemning
participation
in
the Order and requiring leaders
in their organizations to forfeit
their positions upon accepting
membership in the Order. A
third organization released a
statement aligning with this
position directly to The Daily.
The
executive
board
of
the United Asian American
Organizations,
an
umbrella
organization
for
Asian
and
Pacific
Islander
American
groups, published a statement
last
month
calling
for
dismantling
rather
than
modifying the Order, due to
its “indigenous appropriation,
elitism and secrecy.” In addition
to announcing the new policy
requiring those who accept
membership in the Order to
forfeit any leadership position
held within UAAO, the board
apologized for board members
who held membership in the
Order in previous years.
“UAAO does not stand for
the
exclusionary
practices
of this organization, James
Angell, and the manifestations
of what the Order of Angell has
done within this campus,” the
statementreads.
“This
group
has used indigenous and Native
culture under the name of honor
and has not advocated for the
indigenous struggles within our
student community.”
According to the statement,
UAAO’s constitution has been
updated to reflect its stance.
The statement noted UAAO’s
advocacy does not exist to
“decorate
historically
racist
groups” and their resources
would be better used toward
assisting
the
indigenous
community
and
other
marginalized groups directly.
UAAO co-chair Dim Mang,
LSA senior, clarified in a message
to The Daily that the statement
applies only to UAAO and not to
its 20 member organizations, as
UAAO does not hold jurisdiction
over them.
Following
the
publishing
of the UAAO’s statement, La
Casa,
anorganization
with
the goal of supporting the
Latinx community on campus,
published a statement aligning
itself with UAAO’s position. The
group wrote that it is against the
Order both in its historical and
current iterations.
“For over 50 years, students
and
student
organizations
extended
every
opportunity
for the organization to change
and
modify
practices
that
appropriate culture and damage
the campus climate for students
of color and other communities,”
the statement reads. “At each
point, Order of Angell (formerly
known as Michigamua) have
failed to honor those agreements
and demonstrate the needed
transparency to ensure that
their
current
practices
are
not equally problematic and
damaging.”
Mang and LSA sophomore
Julianna
Collado,
La
Casa
external director, issued the
following joint comment to The
Daily when contacted about
providing further comment.
“Both La Casa and UAAO
decline to comment further
on
their
public
statements
criticizing the Order of Angell
for the following reasons,” the
statement reads. “La Casa has no
additional comments concerning
organizations that historically
and currently appropriate and
bastardize Native culture. La
Casa continues to strive to
holistically support the Latinx
community and remains aligned
with our allies. Our principles
and actions remain grounded in
the legacy of previous activism
on our campus.
“The
United
Asian
American
Organizations
declines to comment due to
the Michigan Daily’s history of
misrepresenting our statements.
Especially
with
a
delicate
matter such as this, we believe
that we must decline in order
to prevent any possible harm
towards our community. La
Casa and UAAO stand together
on this issue and will continue
to work in tandem with each
other and other communities
against this historically racist
organization.”
According to a new statement
from the executive board of the
Arab Student Association sent to
The Daily, the ASA will also be
following the UAAO’s position
and taking a “formal stance” on
membership in the Order. After
releasing the statement to The
Daily, the ASA posted it to its
Facebook page Monday evening.
“We refuse the sentiment that,
through the mere participation
of our community members,
the Order of Angell can evolve
into a platform for diversity,”
the
statement
reads.
“An
honest platform for diversity,
inclusion,
and
transparency
cannot be built on a foundation
of the oppression of the Native
community. We will not be
complicit in the tokenization of
leaders in our community and
others, and oppose all secret
societies who have attempted to
do so.”
All three statements noted
the groups’ positions apply both
to the Order and all other “secret
societies” at the University.
The
statements
of
the
multicultural
organizations
follow the lead of the Black
Student Union, which asked
a student to step down from
organization
leadership
in
2011 because of ties to the
Order. According to the then-
BSU spokeswoman Samantha
Martin, holding membership
in the Order violates the BSU
constitution,
meaning
any
member — not just one holding
a leadership position — will no
longer claim membership if they
accept a spot in the Order.
The Black Student Union did
not respond to multiple requests
for comment.
Current Order members
respond
In an interview with The
Daily, four members of the
Order — LSA seniors Roland
Amarteifio, Vidur Prasad, Kevin
Ashwood and Public Policy
senior
Hannah
Davenport—
responded to the statements.
They did not speak on behalf of
all current 22 members of the
Order.
Davenport said the group is
different in many ways from
when it was founded, including
its composition. She said the
current group is more than half
female and approximately 50
percent people of color.
There are few details about
the current selection process
available to the public, but
Davenport said the Order looks
to bring in students from many
different
areas
of
campus.
Davenport described the Order
as being a place where leaders
from various corners of campus
can collaborate, though they
are aware the approximately 25
members selected each year do
not represent all students at the
University.
“In
terms
of
Michigan,
it’s actually one of the most
diverse spaces I’ve ever been
in,” Davenport said. “I think
that moving forward, we’re
only trying to continue that
and trying to make sure that
different corners of campus are
represented and different voices
are heard. It kind of is like a
symbolic ‘table’ that people get
to sit at, and getting as many
different people to that table I
think is a pretty big priority.”
The Order has been criticized
for
its
previous
selection
process, which barred men of
color until the 1940s and women
until 2000.
Members
rejected
the
branding of the Order as a secret
society — which it was listed as
in the statements — though they
understand why they could be
viewed as such. Amartedifio
noted the website lists all
members and the goals of the
Order, and said if anything, they
strive to be the opposite: open to
and interested in hearing from
other students.
“When I went through the
process of being tapped, and
then becoming a part of the
organization, there was a large
focus on really acknowledging
the history and not trying to
hide it at all,” Amarteifio said.
“We don’t try to minimize or
not address the fact that this
has had this history, but we also
don’t believe that that history
is a representation of who the
organization is now or the
current members.”
In
their
statement
about
participation
in
the
Order,
UAAO said it “condemn(s) all
the leaders in the 2019 roster
and past alumni, some of whom
were on our Board or in our
member organizations.”
Ashwood
said
the
Order
understands the frustration of
the multicultural organizations,
but explains the difficulty for
those condemned. He speculates
that these students feel a loss
of community on campus after
being barred from groups they
were a part of throughout
college.
“If we’re set out to be
multicultural
organizations
and to be the voice of those
people on campus … we should
be that voice for them and be
that support system for them,”
Ashwood said. “And so, that’s
what we would hope would come
out of this, is understanding that
being a part of (Order of Angell)
makes them no less Latinx or
no less Asian American and
needing of a support system for
that.”
Representing minorities on
campus is sometimes a blind
side of the University, according
to Ashwood. He says that being
able to be a voice for these
students through the Order is
an honor for him and a way to
make positive change for these
communities.
Creating this campus synergy
may not be seen through specific
initiatives,
Davenport
said.
She did not highlight specific
initiatives the Order has been
pursuing,
explaining
that
humility was one of the group’s
pillars.
“As
far
as
specific
programming,
one
of
our
tenants is really supposed to be
humility,” Davenport said. “So
with the initiatives we do, we
try not to stamp Order of Angell
on it, because the goal there is
more to quietly serve, not in
a way that is really bringing
attention to the organization.”
Davenport said a main goal of
the Order is to promote campus
synergy, which is described
on the website as an avenue
“to
facilitate
organizational
interaction
between
student
groups and their leaders that
may not have existed before; and
to enable them to make positive
change in the best interest of
Michigan, without recognition,
either collectively or through
their respective organizations.”
Members of the Order noted
they have reached out to La
Casa and the UAAO “very
recently” and are hoping to start
a dialogue.
The
question
the
multicultural groups posed —
why the Order is a modified
version
of
Michigamua
rather
than
a
completely
new
organization
with
no
connection to the past — is the
same question current order
members are asking themselves,
Davenport said.
“The present is connected
to the past and the present is
connected to the future, and
we’re in the position where
we get to define the future,”
Davenport
said.
“That’s
a
question that we’re asking and
that we really are wrestling
with, because that does lie on
us.”
Disclaimer: Maya Goldman,
Editor-in-Chief of The Michigan
Daily, is a member of Order of
Angell and played no role in the
editing process of this piece.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 — 3
ANGELL
From Page 1
ACT
From Page 1
According
to
Akshata
Kharkar,
Atharva’s
sister,
every morning Atharva would
wake up at 5 a.m. to finish all
his work by 8 a.m, and simply
continue on with his day. As
an accomplished filmmaker,
photographer and drawer, it
seemed there was nothing he
couldn’t do.
“If he had a goal in mind,
he would accomplish it —
no matter what,” Akshata
Kharkar
said.
And
this
tenacity did not go unnoticed.
“So
many
people
from
U-M are telling me that they
knew him — he was really
compassionate, he would as
much as he could, try to get
to know someone,” Kharkar
said. “He had the best memory
… he would always remember
their name and know exactly
where he met them, what they
did; he was just really good at
talking. He would start up a
conversation
with
anyone,
like we went to Florida one
year and homeboy just talked
to this person sitting next
to him for the whole flight.
He had no idea who they
were, they just started up a
conversation and went for it
for a couple hours.”
For Zhang, it was that
effortless, personable quality
that drew him to Atharva in
the first place. At a networking
event for the Alpha Kappa Psi
business
fraternity,
Zhang
and
Atharva
immediately
clicked. They bonded over
apertures, or as Zhang says
“technical nerd stuff.” But,
because he was stationed in
El Paso this summer, Zhang
didn’t hear about Kharkar’s
diagnosis
until
after
his
passing. This feels like the
right way for him to help, he
said, as he couldn’t be there
for him before.
“I can’t pretend I was too
close with him,” Zhang said.
“But I felt like I was touched
enough
in
those
limited
interactions and I felt like I
should do this in his honor.”
However, due to a torn
hamstring Zhang is not able
to run in Alex’s Great State
Race. Instead, he will be
marching from East Lansing
to Ann Arbor with 35 pounds
on his back, a task commonly
known as rucking. Though
he’s walking, Zhang assures
this journey is not easy.
“Giving up comes across my
mind a little bit, but then you
remember the bigger picture
and why you’re there for and
that’s
motivation
enough
to just keep going,” Zhang
said. “The pain that you feel
reminds you that you’re alive
— in this case, it’s a privilege
to feel pain.”
Business
sophomore
Sriram
Papolu,
who
considered Atharva one of his
closest friends and mentors,
wanted to emphasize that
“Atharva means more than
the running.”
“He had all this — but its
unfinished,” Papolu said. “So,
in our time here, as long as
we get a chance, we owe it to
people like him to finish. Like
we have to do this because we
only have limited time, we
have to grow and get better
because somebody else didn’t
get the chance to.”
This sentiment was echoed
by Akshata Kharkar, who
hopes
the
ambition
and
compassion
that
Atharva
possessed
is
not
only
remembered,
but
used
as
a guide on how to live a
successful and full life.
“I hope that people think
about their actions and what
they do now,” Kharkar said.
“Because my brother lived
such a great life, in a way that
he did things that made him
better and made decisions
that made his life better. He
put himself on a path that a lot
of people can be on and I hope
that people understand that
and believe it themselves.”
After his diagnosis, Powell
received
treatment
from
MSU’s Resource Center for
Persons
with
Disabilities,
with collaborative support
from
U-M’s
Services
for
Students
with
Disabilities
and
Michigan
Medicine,
effectively
helping
him
remain
in
East
Lansing
and
begin
his
freshman
year. Similarly to Powell,
throughout
his
treatment,
Atharva
was
frequently
visited by SSD workers in
the hospital. All proceeds
from the event will go toward
these organizations in order
to support higher education
for students with disabilities.
The proceeds will also allow
students dealing with chronic
and
terminal
illnesses
to
remain enrolled in school and
get both the financial and
mental support they need.
Jill Rice, coordinator of
services for deaf and hard of
hearing students at SSD, said
though the service has been
operating for almost 40 years,
many students don’t even
know it exists.
“I think this is partly
stigma,” Rice said. “People
don’t want to say ‘oh, I have
a disability.” They think, “I’m
at the University of Michigan,
I don’t want to be less than
my peers.” But we are there
to help, even for temporary
disabilities … we want to
support our students.”
In addition to his walk,
Zhang
has
started
a
GoFundMe
for
Atharva,
with all proceeds going to
the University of Michigan
Rogel Cancer Center. In total,
Zhang hopes this race — or
walk — can bring awareness
to these sometimes invisible
illnesses.
“It’s a really great way to
bring together and support
and honor the fallen ones and
do what we can do to prevent
this from happening in the
future,” Zhang said.
RUN
From Page 1