vol_26_no_10 by Michigan Review

MichiganReview THE

The Journal of Campus Affairs at the University of Michigan www.michiganreview.com

VOLUME XXVI

February 12, 2008

ISSUE 10

Higher Education Bill Passes House

Targets schools with pricey tuition By Michael O’Brien, ‘08

he United States House of Representatives voted by overwhelming margins last Thursday, February 7 on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, putting it at odds with the Bush Administration, as well as a number of colleges and universities across the country. The House voted 354 to 58 to approve the law, a bill which closely mirrors legislation approved unanimously by the Senate this past fall. The bill renews the original Higher Education Act, which was passed in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” program. The act had been renewed eight times since then before expiring in 2003, requiring Congress to pass yearly resolutions allocating the funds to sustain the benefits to students in the bill. After taking control of Congress in early 2007, Democrats made the reauthorization of the law a priority, sustaining a number of popular programs, while adding slightly more controversial elements to the new law. Among the most stringent new provisions in the new law would include lists published by the Secretary of Education establishing what the bill calls “transparency” in tuition rates. According to a December report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the lists would rank colleges and universities according to changes in tuition, both by percentage and whole dollar amounts. The lists would rank institutions nationally, as well as on a state-by-state basis. Additionally, the new law would place an institution of higher education on a “Higher Education Increase Watch List” if its net price—tuition, room and board, and other estimated expenses—outpaces a higher education price index developed by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Conversely, an institution that keeps its rise in tuition for an academic year equal to or below the increase in that price index would be eligible for Federal Pell Grants to give to its students on a need-based basis. Resistance to these provisions by the colleges and universities is not surpris-

Photo by Austyn Foster/ Illustration by Michael O’Brien

Pro-Palestine Week Promises Controversy Coincides with ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ worldwide By Nathan Stano, ‘11 his coming week, the student organization Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE) is putting on a lecture series entitled “Palestine Awareness Week,” coinciding with “Israeli Apartheid Week 2008,” being held by pro-Palestinian groups from Berkeley to Norway. The event,

according to the website apartheidweek.org, “[raises] awareness and [disseminates] information about Zionism, the Palestinian liberation struggle and its similarities with the indigenous sovereignty struggle in North America and the South African anti-Apartheid movement.” In an interview, SAFE co-chair Hena Ashraf indicated that their in-

spiration for the week’s event was not these events, but rather Islam Awareness Week, which occurred on campus earlier this year. “Our purpose is not anti-Israeli, but pro-Palestinian,” said Ashraf’s counterpart, Andrew Dalack. “The focus is not on Israel.” “We want to reach out to a different population of stu-

Feature

News

Arts & Culture

Ann Arbor’s Identity Crisis: Preservationists Take on Some Downtown Development Plans

Other States Look to Follow in Footsteps on Michigan’s MCRI

College Students Offered Simpler Way to Look at Wine

Freshmen Minds Might not be Growing to Their Full Potential

By Brian Biglin, ‘08

By Adam Paul, ‘08

By Lindsey Dodge, ‘10

By Cherri Buijk, ‘10

3 >>

12 >>

3 >>

AST MONTH THE Wall Street Journal reported on the apparent trend among freshmen to “keep their high school identities intact and actively resist entreaties from professors to expand their horizons.” It appears that the intense first-year experience of mind-expansion may simply be a popularized notion of education from the past.

10 >>

11 >>

www.michiganreview.com

P. 2

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW www.michiganreview.com

Editorial Board:

Michael O’Brien Editor-in-Chief Adam Paul Executive Editor Brian Biglin Managing Editor Rebecca Christy Senior Editor Lindsey Dodge Jonathan Slemrod Assistant Editors Business Staff: Karen Boore Publisher Danny Harris Anna Malecke Associate Publishers Nick Cheolas Editor Emeritus Staff Writers: Steven Bengal, Cherri Buijk, Jane Coaston, Marie Cour, Alexa Dent, Blake Emerson, Samm Etters, Austyn Foster, Erika Gonzalez, Josh Handell, Kris Hermanson, Alyse Hudson, Christine Hwang, Erika Lee, Eun Lee, Evgeny Magidenko, Julianne Nowicki, Adam Pascarella, Danielle Putnam, Shanda Shooter, Andrea Sofian, Nathan Stano, Christina Zajicek,

Letters and Viewpoints: The Michigan Review accepts and encourages letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters to the editor should be under 300 words. Viewpoints can be arranged by contacting the editorial board. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send all correspondence to mrev@umich.edu.

About Us: The Michigan Review provides a broad range of in-depth coverage of campus affairs and serves as the literary voice of conservatism and libertarianism at the University of Michigan. The Review is published bi-weekly September thru April.

Donate/Subscribe: The Michigan Review accepts no financial support from the University. Therefore, your support is critical and greatly appreciated. Donations above $40 are eligible for a 1-year (12 issues) subscription. Donations can be made on our website at www.michiganreview.com, or mailed to:

911 N. University, Suite One Ann Arbor, MI 48109 The Michigan Review is the independent, student-run journal of conservative and libertarian opinion at the University of Michigan. We neither solicit nor accept monetary donations from the University. Contributions to The Michigan Review are tax-deductible under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. The Michigan Review is not affiliated with any political party or any university political group. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board. Ergo, they are unequivocally correct and just. Signed articles, letters, and cartoons represent the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of The Review. The Serpent’s Tooth shall represent the opinion of individual, anonymous contributors to The Review, and should not necessarily be taken as representative of The Review’s editorial stance. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the advertisers or the University of Michigan. Copyright © 2007, The Michigan Review, Inc. All rights reserved. The Michigan Review is a member of the Collegiate Network.

2.12.08

page two. the michigan review

■ Serpent’s Tooth In recent news, a judge held an attorney in contempt of court for reading Maxim during a trial’s official proceedings. It’s good to see Ted Kennedy is finally putting that UVA law degree to good use. A thirty-four-year-old man recently had his pedophilia prison sentence cut short by an Italian court after they found there was “real love” in his tryst with a thirteenyear-old girl. In recent news, Scorekeeper’s has loosened its ID policy even more, accepting Hannah Montana Fan Club membership cards from patrons.

The long-awaited BTB Cantina opened up above Good Time Charley’s this week. According to a recent Michigan Daily article, the Cantina has a bottle of tequila so expensive that a single shot costs $250. In a related story, Charley’s has experienced a recent influx of business students who recently signed their contracts with investment banks this summer. In tragic news, a sugar factory in Georgia exploded, killing six and injuring more. Authorities suspect the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.

Michigan native and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney dropped out of the race for president last week, virtually conceding the Republican nomination to Sen. John McCain. Romney plans to take some time off to rest in his coffin, avoid garlic, and dodge attempts by Mike Huckabee to drive wooden stakes through Romney’s heart. The Libertarian Party delivered a funeral wreath to the headquarters of the Republican National Committee this week to express their condolences at John McCain’s success on Super Tuesday. The LP asserts that McCain betrays small government values. LP chair Bill Redpath immediately regretted the $50 purchase when members of his own party rebelled against such “rampant overspending.” New research from the University of Alaska asserts that the famous “six degrees of separation” theory fails when attempts are made to send messages using a set of strangers. Kevin Bacon has assembled a group of scientists, all of whom know the actor through no more than six people, to contest the research and hopefully salvage a shred of cultural relevance for the actor. A North Carolina man was recently arrested for performing homemade circumcisions on two of his eleven children. The man was discovered when he attempted to take his operations public, with a business slogan of “Half off for half off!” The Academy Awards are coming soon, with the movie “There Will Be Blood” leading other movies with a number of nominations. Coincidentally, “There Will Be Blood” is also the theme for Fridays this semester at Studio 4.

According to a Florida news channel, divorce cakes are now en vogue, complementing the ever-popular wedding cakes. Bakers also report a spike in midlife crisis cakes, which are made of gruel, and taste vaguely bland and uncertain. In recent news, a member of the so-called “Jena 6” was arrested in Texas for assaulting a student, after choking that student and slamming his head against a table. No, really. He did. Asked for comment, the Reverend Al Sharpton said, “F*ck it, I give up.” According to Fox News, police arrested a mother in Indiana for giving marijuana and alcohol to her eleven-year-old daughter. In recent news, Luther Co-op has started to issue fake I.D.s to residents that actually claim they are younger.

■ Letter from the Editor In the last week of January, Executive Editor Adam Paul and I broke a story revealing how student publications’ ability to distribute freely in LSA buildings may be severely curtailed, if the U-M administration gets its way. Such a move, if allowed, would seriously restrict the freedom of the press at the University of Michigan, something that should be fiercely fought by all U-M students. The Review feels so passionately about this issue because of the work we do in every single issue we produce. Every two weeks or so, an army of editors and staff writers work tirelessly to secure quality stories that are informative, fun, and relevant to our readers on campus, throughout the state, and nationally. Take, for instance, Nathan Stano’s front page story profiling this week’s “Palestinian Awareness Week,” hosted by SAFE, which disturbingly coincides with “Israeli Apartheid Week” on campuses and in cities throughout the country. For all the emphasis the University puts on inclusion, and for all of its rhetoric against discrimination and hate speech, a week like this goes on, under the guise of academic discourse. There’s also a bunch of great content in this issue, which, even if it doesn’t test the grounds of free speech on campus, provides a valuable source of insight to our readers. Eddie Perry (page 7) writes about the NCAA regulations that put a damper on students’ ability to help receive highly-touted football recruit Terrelle

Pryor. Cherri Buijk (page 6) has a great story, too, on the latest Ethics in Public Life forum, which was about a topic all-too-familiar to U-M students: the proliferation of social networking websites. Brian Biglin (page 12) also has a very interesting story on the trends in off-campus student housing. There are also some tremendously fun pieces in this issue. Erika Gonzalez (page 11) has a hilarious piece about the flood of spring breakers in the CCRB during February. Lindsey Dodge (page 10) writes about a new, accessible system of wine appreciation that maybe students can grasp. And in one of the best (and most timely) features this issue, Rebecca Christy (page 9) takes on what your Valentine’s Day destination says about your significant other. Whether it is hard-hitting news, or funny (but informative) arts and culture pieces, the student press at U-M wouldn’t be able to do what it does without some degree of freedom. We’ll never let the University take that away from us, for our own sake, for the sake of our colleagues in the student media, and for the sake of all those that follow. Sincerely, Michael P. O’Brien Editor-in-Chief, The Michigan Review

2.12.08

P. 3

news.

the michigan review

Exporting Civil Rights

Despite lawsuits in Michigan, other states look to pass affirmative action bans this November By Adam Paul, ‘08

roposal 2 may have been approved by Michigan’s voters a little over a year ago, but the state constitutional amendment found itself in court again starting last week. The new case, Cantrell v. Granholm, is being tried in federal court in Detroit and targets actions at the University of Michigan. The suit, whose plaintiffs include current and prospective college students as well as U-M professors, seeks to show that by requiring that students seeking to have race considered in admissions need a state constitutional amendment while students seeking to have legacy or some other factor considered need only petition the University that Proposal 2, as implemented, violates the equal protection clause. “Our goal is to level the playing field so that racial identity is not treated as irrelevant or meaningless in this state,” said Mark Rosenbaum, an ACLU lawyer and U-M Law School professor, in an ACLU of Michigan release on Wednesday. Other critics have said that U-M has done too little to implement Proposal 2, including taking issue with President Coleman’s announcement that the University would fight the amendment legally the day after it passed. “‘Nonsense’ would be the one word I would use,” said Ward Connerly when

“Palestinean Awareness” From Page 1 dents, those who don’t have a personal stake in the conflict,” Dalack stated as the purpose of the event. SAFE has hosted similar events in the past, including hosting controversial writer Joel Kovel during the uproar over his book “Overcoming Zionism,” published by the University of Michigan Press. It was hoped this event would have people engage in a “difficult conversation over the state of affairs in Palestine,” according to Ashraf. Sasha Gribov, the chair of American Movement for Israel at U-M, expressed some worry about the event. “The idea of a Palestinian Awareness Week is one which is important and worthwhile,” she said. “However, it is imperative that such an event should not be used as a means of disseminating misinformation about the State of Israel.” “We wanted local people, and there is such a base of local knowledge of the Palestinian cause,” Ashraf said about why they chose the speakers they did. “We wanted speakers who would engage the audience.” One speaker, Professor Thomas Abowd of Wayne State University, a passionate pro-Palastinian activist, has been criticized for his affiliation with the Anti-Racist Action (ARA) organization at Wayne State, which has called Israeli action in the West Bank “ethnic cleansing,” and has criticized pro-Israeli groups at Wayne State of practicing “white supremacist politics” and called black and Jewish civil rights activists at Wayne State “patronizing liberals.” ARA has also harassed Jewish students and displayed a swastika at a rally. Another speaker, Neve Gordon, a professor from Ben Gurion University, has

asked about the current case. Connerly, the founder of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), helped to organize and raise funds for successful initiatives in California, Washington, and Michigan. This November five states, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and

lar to the Michigan proposal, including calling on states to not “discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.” Connerly says that the success of

Campaigns in five states will look to follow Michigan’s MCRI

Missouri, will all have proposals similar to the one passed in Michigan on their 2008 ballots. These initiatives, coordinated by the ACRI but run by residents in each state, all bear ballot language simi-

Illustration by Adam Paul

the initiative in Michigan leads him to believe that initiatives will be successful elsewhere. Speaking about Michigan, “Based on this bell-weather blue state, we see that the majority of the American

long been criticized for his anti-Israel positions; his columns about Israel have been posted on neo-Nazi websites. He, too, has called Israeli action in the West Bank and Gaza “ethnic cleansing.” One planned speaker, Ali Abunimah runs the website Electronic Intafada, a proPalestinian news site. Abunimah is the author of “One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” which pushes to revive the idea of a one state solution the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The educational goals of this week are compromised by the fact that this event is directly related to international ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ on other campuses,” Gribov said. Other speakers include Rima Hassouneh, a lecturer in the Near-Eastern Studies Department at U-M who also teaches Arab-American literature. Tirtza Even is a documentary film maker and video artist at the School of Art. Delivering a lecture on the similarities of South African apartheid and Israel is Hani Bawardi, from U-M-Dearborn, who is a Palestinian Christian and a fellow at the Center for Arab-American Studies. The SAFE members expressed interest in coordinating debate or dialogue series with pro-Israel groups on campus, and hope that such events will be put on in the future. Until that time, they will continue to speak out for Palestinians. “It remains to be seen if the leaders of SAFE will live up to their promise of making this week into an educational experience for the audience to learn about the Palestinian people and not into an event which unjustly attacks Israel” AMI’s Gribov said. “We sincerely hope and trust that SAFE will not let down and mislead the students of the University of Michigan.” MR

people do not support affirmative action,” said Connerly. He continued to say that ACRI is hoping to bring the race-based era of affirmative action to a close by bringing initiatives to a “critical mass of states.” The University of Michigan used the phrase “critical mass” to describe how its admissions policies viewed minorities before Proposal 2 passed. Connerly said that defending proposals that have passed is something his organization will have to do for some time, saying, “We will be mounting a vigorous defense of the initiatives that have passed wherever needed.” Those on the other side of the issue also see the issue as a continuing fight. “It is important that we continue to march toward progress regardless of the passage of Proposal 2,” said Rev. Wendell Anthony, Detroit Branch NAACP President, in a recent release. Connerly believes that “it is only a mater of time” before a case about affirmative action reaches the Supreme Court and is struck down as unconstitutional. He reflected that in her decision in the Grutter case, which unsuccessfully challenged U-M’s law school admissions policy, then-Justice Sandra Day O’Conner hoped that race-based affirmative action would be unnecessary in twenty-five years. “I don’t think it’s going to come close to going 25 years,” Connerly said. MR

“Higher Education” From Page 1 ing said one senior Senate aide with close knowledge of the bill. “The higher education community in general has been more concerned about House provisions,” the aide said. “The message is that passing a bill with strong college cost provisions is important.” For its part, the University of Michigan is not worried about being targeted by any of the lists required in the bill. “We’ve managed to keep our tuition increases relatively low,” said University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham. “However, we remain concerned about how these lists are put together, using one-dimensional, simplistic information without taking into consideration factors such as need-based aid given and the impact of state appropriations.” The University’s tuition has risen a total of 11.3 percent the last two years for in-state students, and 12.7 percent for out-of-state students. But beyond the concerns of college and university administrators, congressional Democrats must try to ameliorate the concerns of the Bush Administration, which announced its opposition to the bill last Wednesday. “While college affordability is a worthy goal,” said the White House in a statement, “the Administration opposes tuition price controls or any attempt to require the justification of pricing to the U.S. Government instead of to consumers who are best able to decide such issues.”

Additionally, the release criticized the House version of the bill in particular for its creation of new federal programs that are, in the Bush Administration’s words, “narrow in purpose, duplicative, burdensome, and poorly targeted.” The Administration also said it is wary of its limitations on the Department of Education being able to regulate the accreditation of postsecondary institutions. “We certainly hope that the Bush administration will join us in supporting this bipartisan bill,” said Rachel Racusen, a spokeswoman for the House Committee on Education and Labor. “While there are some differences between the House and Senate versions of this bill,” she said, “the overall goals of the bills are the same: To continue this Congress’s efforts to make college more affordable and accessible for all qualified students.” “In the context, [the Administration statement] wasn’t the worst it could be,” said the Senate aide. “Congress would be more concerned if it contained an explicit veto threat.” The aide added that Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), the bill’s Senate sponsor, is sympathetic to administration concerns on accreditation, indicating that a compromise on the bill might be struck. The University, meanwhile, has not taken a formal position on the bill, according to Cunningham. “At each legislative step, we see improvement in the language, which is far from final,” said Cunningham. “We look ahead to continuing to work with our Congressional delegation to keep it moving forward.” MR

P. 4

2.12.08

editorials. the michigan review

The Review welcomes letters to the editor. Send letters to:

The Michigan Review T

he Michigan Review is the independent, student-run journal of conservative and libertarian opinion at the University of Michigan. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Editorial Board. Ergo, they are unequivocally correct and just. Signed articles, letters, and cartoons represent the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of the Review.

Congress Must Keep Michigan Makes Right Call in Response to Their Hands Off Our... New Era Allegations Education

ast week the, U.S. House of Representatives passed an extension of the Higher Education Act. The Act, originally passed in 1965, expired in 2003 but has been renewed annually since then. Previous renewals have focused on allocating funding for the policy. The current legislation will add new provisions on tuition transparency and reward schools that keep their tuition increases below a certain level. College tuition has been, and is almost certain to continue to be, increasing at rates well above inflation. That’s a well-known fact, reported annually by places like US News and World Report and picked up every year by major newspapers. The proposal to have the federal government collect and compile information that is available in multiple locations makes little sense. A lot of that work is already done. For instance, US News and World Report stated that, on average, in-state students at public universities are paying six percent more in total college costs in 2007 compared to 2006, and 6.4 percent more at private institutions. That information took only a Google search and a few clicks to find. While allocating public funds to produce redundant information is bad enough, even worse is the proposal to create tuition indexes and tie Pell grant money to universities’ tuition performance. Creating average indexes separated only into community, public, and private institutions will lead to unfair comparisons. There is no reason to compare top-tier institutions, like Michigan, to less-competitive or much smaller institutions. Colleges that have fewer departments to support or a less intense commitment to “living wages” may well be able to keep its tuition increases lower. That, of course, is no comment on the quality of the institution. All of this ignores that percentage changes are dependent on base tuition rates. A low percentage increase in Michigan’s already high tuition could actually be more dollars than a larger percentage, and lower absolute, increase at lower-cost public universities. It also makes little sense to tie Pell Grant bonuses so closely to tuition rates. By awarding extra federal grants to schools that keep their tuition increases low, the bill would ironically only be subsidizing stresses on universities that result in extra costs, and thereby, require higher tuition. The new bill does increase the maximum amount of money that a Pell grant can provide in a single year. The $6,300 per year maximum will allowed by 2011 will not full reimburse the poorest students at top-tier universities. The bill will also instruct the Department of Education to generate a list of accredited institutions and accreditation agencies. Again, this is an area that other organizations have already settled. The Department of Education admits on its website that there is no “centralized authority exercising single national control over postsecondary educational institutions” and that instead, state and regional bodies have done well in providing accreditation standards. This new version of the Higher Education will vastly expand the role of the federal government in policy that has usually been conducted by local and state governments. While Michigan’s continued cuts to higher education budgets may make some federal stability appealing, over the long-term, federal restrictions will likely reduce innovation. The new controls on higher education are by no means as extensive as the No Child Left Behind Act has been on primary and secondary schools, but the House proposal still has flaws in centralization. MR

n late January, the University of Wisconsin– Madison canceled its contract with New Era Cap Company, an apparel company, after allegations by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a university-hired labormonitoring group, of prejudiced practices at New Era’s Alabama distribution center. The WRC was barred from New Era factories after the NAACP and the Teamsters Union reported that New Era is discriminating against black and female workers. How does this affect U-M? Well, Michigan is affiliated with the WRC, and New Era is one of U-M’s apparel suppliers. Unsurprisingly, Michigan also needed to voice its indignation over the matter– by sending a letter to New Era– reprimanding these alleged abuses. Keeping with the natural order of things, numerous student groups and certain newspapers condemned what they termed was a weak response, nothing more than a slap on the wrist. In this case, though, the University’s response was appropriate. The response is different from the reaction to allegations several years ago that Coca-Cola was mistreating workers in Columbia and contaminating water in India. In that case, the University became manic. Administrators first asked Coke to agree to an independent investigation, and then they ended the contract with Coca-Cola, before finally reinstating the contract after receiving a glowing report partly funded by Coca-Cola. By the time the contract was reinstated some students were just glad to have vending machines full, student activists felt cheated, and local bottlers were glad to have a large revenue source back. It seems that administrators learned from that. Instead of making decisions that it might have to quickly retract, the University approached this situation rationally and undertook the reasonable course of action. The charges made by the WRC should be taken with some caution. This organization, which takes pride in having been created by “college and university administrations, students and labor rights experts” and which has incentives to report alleged abuses, be they real or fictional. As a WRC affiliate U-M agrees to fund the organization to $1,000 or one percent of their own licensing revenues, whichever is greater. In exchange for these contributions WRC helps universities enforce their own vendor codes. Its job is to find and investigate possible violations of such codes. Being affiliated with WRC allows universities to outsource, not step up, their own enforcement duties. “Often, this occurs without any direct engagement by universities, though such participation is always welcome,” says WRC of its own work. While the University’s decision to write a letter, rather than immediately cut ties with New Era, may seem too little for some it could actually encourage the apparel-maker to identify and correct internal problems. By being willing to cautiously follow the lead of an outside investigation the University precluded an outcome which would have been made by blindly follow external directives. The University should allow the WRC’s investigation to proceed and parse through the results itself in conjunction with other available evidence. The University could easily have followed the lead of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and severed its contract with New Era. It could then avoid any ethics charges all together and sign a new contract. Or, as was the case with Coca-Cola, it might have found itself back in business with the firm only several months later, leaving neither workers nor students in a better position. MR

mrev@umich.edu The Review reserves the right to edit letters to the editor for length and clarity.

Football Recruiting in the 21st Century

uring potential footabll recruit Terrelle Pryor’s visit to U-M, NCAA officials insisted that students rename a Facebook party that was to be held in his honor. The move was made in accordance with NCAA guidelines against special incentives for athletes to attend any particular college. The recruiting process for college athletics has become an industry worth millions. Once a private endeavor that was rarely examined outside the boardrooms of college football coaches and assistants, recruiting (specifically for football) has become an American phenomenon in which thousands of websites, sports writers, and regular college football fans all combine to find the hottest prospects from high schools across the country. National Signing Day has become a multimedia event, covered live on television and on websites both local and national. The recruiting process was once only discussed by high school and college football coaches, with little media involvement. Now the media has a hand in the creation of high school stars, and those players become the focus of intense speculation and examination. The stakes are incredibly high. For the players, being recruited by and committing to a top program could lead to professional success and fame. For universities, these prospects could be the next Vince Young, leading their team to national championships and a financial windfall; or becoming the next Marcus Vick, an embarrassment to their institution and now a backup quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. A good recruiting class can restore hope for a college football program and instill confidence in a coaching staff—some coaches base their careers on their ability to recruit top talent from across the country. Universities hold camps that resemble the NFL Combine, clocking forty-yard dash times and jump heights. Fans follow high school recruits obsessively, posting their games on YouTube and flaming message boards if that player doesn’t select their school of choice. National services like Rivals and Scout rank players and then rank recruiting classes on the number of four- and five-star players on the roster. Some high school players want the dream so badly that they invent it: Kevin Hart, a Nevada high school player, held a press conference in which he committed to Cal over such schools as UCLA and Oregon without ever being recruited by any college programs. In short, college football recruiting is a high-risk business. So why does the NCAA still think its not a big deal? During Pryor’s visit, he was given front-row seats at a Michigan men’s basketball game, seated with former NFL player Charlie Batch and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. But fans holding signs asking Pryor to come and play for Michigan had their signs taken by game officials because of a risk of NCAA violations. Expected to sign to a university on Wednesday, Pryor instead had a nationally televised press conference saying that he was unprepared to make a decision. But planners of a block party on Greenwood during Pryor’s visit to Michigan to celebrate his arrival received text messages from the University to cancel the event to avoid possible NCAA violations. This doesn’t make sense. Understandably, the NCAA wants to keep the focus of high school players on academics rather than athletics. But in doing so in this manner, the NCAA is behaving as if World War II just ended and Truman just beat Dewey for the presidency. Things have changed. The recruiting process has become more expensive, more complicated, and more important to universities and high school programs that at any time previous. It’s time that the NCAA accepts that the internet and the incredible money-making power of college football programs have changed the game. MR

2.12.08

P. 5

■ Strict Scrutinuy

Build and Burn B

eginning at U-M in 2004, the Coleman administration at Michigan preceded me by two years. Having known only one college presidency, I assumed for some time that all college presidents were reclusive fundraisers willing to take on massive legal scrutiny and deeply committed to starting construction projects everywhere. After living at other universities, though, I realized that not all university administrators govern from isolated buildings and limit their interaction with students to speaking from a podium and wearing extravagant robes. The style of the current Adam administration is one I would Paul describe as “burn and build.” The current administration has already had a transformative power on the campus landscape, yet the guarded manner that it used to approach projects like Michigan Stadium and the Frieze Building paints an administration that has made those changes often over fierce objections from its constituents. Construction has affected everyone’s life at U-M over the past few years. The University currently has $1.75 billion invested in current construction projects

with $152.9 million in projects approved in December alone, according to the Ann Arbor Business Review. Some of the projects like North Quad, the first central campus dorm to be built since Mary Markley Hall in 1959, are much needed. Yet many projects have elicited anger from alumni, who fear radical changes to the University as they knew it. The transformation of the Frieze Building, built in 1907, into North Quad received cries from community members. A “Save the Frieze” board formed, hoping to save the notable piece of early Twentieth century architecture. While the group did get a concession to keep part of the north-side façade, Ann Arbor News managing editor Judy McGovern summed up the U’s idea of development quite well. “More often than not, U-M decides what it wants and then crashes ahead apropos its role as an 800pound gorilla, unfettered by local building or planning processes and unfazed by the squeals of the lesser creatures around it,” wrote McGovern in 2006. That mentality has also pervaded the renovations to Michigan Stadium. The administration went ahead with plans to install luxury boxes over the objections of disabled patrons and avid traditionalists. Now, the University faces allegations, helped along by the Justice Department, that its project violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. More recently, the administration botched gradua-

tion when they believed that students would have few complaints about graduation at the stadium of Eastern Michigan University. To the administration’s credit, it has attempted to correct some of its missteps. It has moved graduation back to campus and seems (under the weight of Federal pressure) to be more willing to listen to complaints about handicapped seating. Sadly, these problems all could have been averted if the University had been more transparent in its decision-making process. Instead, the administration has a propensity for making decisions with little outside input and only grudgingly willing to make changes. The University makes a lot of decisions and it has to be willing to make some decisions without input and be willing to bear the consequences. A decision last year to arrest students who refused to leave the president’s office is a good example. At the same time, announcing to thousands of seniors in an e-mail that their graduation has been moved to a different college is likely not a good idea. Despite the strained connections between the administration and students, alums, and residents of the state, the University has continued to raise money quickly. With the Regents appointing Coleman to another six year term just months ago, I hope not that the University will slow down its steps to modernize, but that it will be more responsive to outside input. MR

■ Free to Choose

Note: McCain is a Conservative

nytime President Bush calls someone a “true conservative,” I am immediately skeptical. To put it plainly, the man that has resided over a disastorous eight years of soaring deficits, more government spending, and a curtailing of civil liberties has almost no conservative credentials, in my eyes. But I think he might be on to something this time with Senator Jonathan John McCain, Slemrod the well-deserved recipient of the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 2008. Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh have had a busy week, flooding the airwaves with anti-McCain rhetoric and attacking him over his past

refusal to vote for the Bush tax cuts, his support for the doomed 2007 “amnesty” immigration bill, and his backing of campaign finance “reform.” Coulter and others have said that they will be voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton. But on the whole, the Senator presents the Republican Party with a tremendous opportunity to reverse the mistakes of the Bush Administration, rebuild the Reagan coalition, and restore faith in our system to the American people. McCain is a man of immense courage that is not afraid to stand up to his party if he feels that is has gone astray. He has built a wide array of support in his twenty-six years in Congress and is, to say the least, ambitious enough to push mainstream conservative policies to the forefront of politics. Republicans talk a big game about being the party of fiscal conservatism, but never live up to their rhetoric. So why not support a candidate that has a proven, extensive track record of fighting big government? McCain has often fought the battles that others have been

afraid to fight, such as standing up to big-spending politicians from both sides of the aisle that make their living off of procuring wasteful projects for their districts. On taxes, McCain has repented for his past and has pledged to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, one of the only major accomplishments of the last eight years. He has been the most outspoken advocate of free trade in the Senate, is opposed to reinterpreting the Constitution for political purposes, and will do more than any other candidate to stop the scourge of government-run health care. McCain has a wonderful opportunity to beef up his conservative credentials through his vice presidential pick. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week, the seminal, yearly meeting of conservatives, McCain was introduced by Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma, a conservative purist who, if picked, would go far in silencing hard-line conservatives. Other acceptable candidates include Congressman Mike Pence from Indiana or Governor Mark Sanford

from South Carolina, both of whom have enough conservative credibility to calm the disenfranchised Romney supporters who were marching around the CPAC conference with signs that read “MCCAIN=AMNESTY.” John McCain is not perfect, but he clearly has a deeper understanding of true conservative ideals than any candidate in either the Democratic or Republican fields. The choice is clear: hand the country to the party of “hope” and “change” (read: tax hikes, government dependency, protectionism, and regulation) or to a man that has confronted his party when it has been in the wrong but has always stuck to his principles. Taking a cue from Ann Coulter on any issue is almost always a guaranteed to be mistake, but casting a vote for a Democrat this November would be the height of stubbornness, irrationality, and idiocy. MR

Mayoral Madness Once Again By Nathan Stano, ‘11

hen I first heard about the newest scandal within the Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s administration, I can honestly say I wasn’t immediately surprised, which is a frightening concept. Staff The initial announcement by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Opinion Office was that they were not going to press charges. This was later changed, but I wouldn’t have been shocked at that, either. I began to think about those events without context; the mayor of a major city had lied before a grand jury under oath, his chief of staff had lied to the same grand jury again under oath, and he had cheated on

his wife for his chief of staff. Then it hit me: there are two blatant instances of perjury and obstruction of justice, and this man could get off with a slap on the wrist, if anything. Mayor Kilpatrick has shown that he is wholly devoid of personal responsibility, or, in my view, care for Detroit’s best interests. From strippers at the Manoogian Mansion, to buying Escalades with city money, to paying for personal vacations with City credit cards, to the recent whistleblower trials, why not throw perjury and another round of martial indiscretion on top of that? If this were any other major city, Kilpatrick would have been removed from office, but not in Detroit. I’d like to think that it’s apathy on the part of Detroiters, but considering they reelected this corrupt hack, that probably is not the case. This sort of behavior is imper-

missible from the city dog catcher, let alone the mayor. Mayor Kilpatrick should resign, if he even has any shame left. If not, in the best interests of the City, the City Council should remove Kilpatrick. And to the people of Detroit, especially those on campus, show you care for this city more than this suburban kid and get Kilpatrick out of office so that the city can make some progress. MR

P. 6

2.12.08

news.

the michigan review

Event Pokes at Ethics of Facebook By Cherri Buijk, ‘11

t its January Forum, “You’ve Been Poked: Privacy and Boundaries Online,” the University of Michigan’s Ethics in Public Life Initiative (EPL) took a critical look at what might be the most pervasive and engrossing element of the contemporary college student’s life: Facebook, along with all of its social networking brethren. As web-based communications proliferate, issues of privacy and information sharing become even more complex, even as their potential effects become more difficult to ascertain, as pointed out by EPL Co-Chair and introductory speaker Derek Collins. In an effort to understand this concern, the EPL invited a panel of four University speakers to address the issues from several angles. Kerin Borland, Senior Associate Director at the Career Center, discussed a survey conducted through her department in the Spring of 2007. Questioning students about their awareness of Facebook privacy features, it was found that although most students are aware of such features (only one percent expressed no awareness), about fifty percent admitted to having had an “undesirable photo” of themselves posted on Facebook. Eleven percent had been stalked, bothered, or harassed “by people after class or events” as a result of their Facebook experience. Expressing satisfaction over student usage and awareness of privacy settings, as well as concern over the number of unpleasant effects of Facebook usage, Borland offered a key piece of advice. “Facebook should be more than your scrapbook. You need to manage the image you want to project,” said Borland, commenting on student’s responsibility to think about the creation of an Internet identity as consequential. These consequences can be felt personally and professionally, as she noted of the hiring process, “Forty percent of employers say they do check Facebook in some way or another.” Employers tend to be unfamiliar with the culture of social networking, highlighting a generational divide

that determines different perspectives of what is and is not acceptable usage of social networking websites, Borland pointed out. Paul Conway, Associate Professor at the School of Information, commented on the multiple levels of consideration necessary for such “social software.” “Are these new social environments creating a new standard of ethical behavior?” he asked. Jack Bernard, Adjunct Professor of Law, Education, Information, and Public Policy at the University of Michigan, affirmed this observation. “It is a different world than I grew up in and than you grew up in because things are changing very quickly,” he said, recalling the tendencies of early cell phone users to seek privacy when answering a phone in public: a trend that has radically changed within only a few years. The lure of expediency has created new standards of acceptability, he said. “If I can do it, and it’s so easy to do, it’s probably not really wrong,” said Bernard, commenting on the typical metric by which people in our culture tend to make judgments. He urged students to consider legal potentialities connected to social networking, especially its permanence through means of data storage: issues of privacy, intellectual property, and security. “No matter what the privacy policy says, if there are data stored... it can be reached,” he said. Judy Van Horn, Associate Athletic Director of the University of Michigan’s Department of Athletics, illustrated how “the front porch of the University,” student athletes, have a web-based forum for creating skewed, even negative, images of the University through the content of their Facebook profiles. The Athletic Department has been taking an active approach to understanding and addressing such issues, from fraudulent Facebook profiles of Lloyd Carr to harassment of student athletes due to easily accessible personal information on the web. Bernard was succinct in summation. “We live in a world of disconnected, disassociated communication... As a result people have the kind of communication with each other that they wouldn’t if they took a minute to think about it,” he said. MR

Bill Before Michigan House Would Honor Late Coach By Michael O’Brien, ‘08

his legacy. The legendary Michigan coach passed away the Friday before the 2006 match up, pitting the undebill introduced recently in Michigan’s feated Buckeyes and Wolverines, ranked one and two House of Representatives would declare the day respectively, against each other. of the first University of Michi“Bo Schembechler was not only gan football game in Ann Arbor an athletic icon for the University of every year “Bo Schembechler Michigan but for the entire state,” Day,” after the late, great Michisaid Bill Martin, U-M’s Director gan football coach who passed of Intercollegiate Athletics. “He away in November 2006. touched many lives beyond the State Representative Regame of football and this will give bekah Warren, a U-M alumna those who knew of him a chance to who represents Ann Arbor, inremember his contributions each troduced the bill after several of and every year.” her colleagues in the House ap“It would be nice to have some proached her with the idea. sort of commemorative day,” said “They were generous in letBrian Cook, author of the popular ting me put my name on it first,” MGoBlog.com, in an email messaid Warren. sage. “If I had my pick of dates, it She said she hopes the bill would be the day before the Ohio will make it through the MichiState game, since that’s when he gan House quickly, noting the died. Moving it off the actual game broad, bipartisan support for day would also make it a day to itCourtesy Bentley Library, Univ. of Michigan the bill—not just Democrats and self instead of a slightly modified Republicans, but Wolverine and game day.” Spartans in the caucus. For her part, Warren, a more liberal Democrat, said Still, though, the bill may be amended before it is she did not have any reservations about sponsoring a day able to win approval; some representatives say the bill honoring the notoriously conservative Schembechler. should not fall on the first day of the season, but rather, “I’m pretty liberal myself but I do see Coach Schemthe last: the annual showdown with archrival Ohio State. bechler as someone who crosses those political definiSchembechler’s performance in that match up, espe- tions,” said Warren. “It’s not often that you find figures cially the so-called “Ten Year War” against OSU Coach that cut across all those demographics.” MR Woody Hayes between 1969 and 1979, arguably defined

NOW Targets Super Bowl Ads By Samm Etters, ‘11

very year, families and friends gather in front of the television for the biggest event in sports: the Super Bowl. Though most people tune in for the game, others find the commercials just as entertaining. According to a poll last month by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), more than a quarter of the 160 million people expected to watch the Super Bowl will tune in solely for the ads. This year, advertisers paid as much as 2.7 million for a thirty-second spot; but making a commercial stick in the viewers’ minds for days after is worth every penny. The ad companies know media has a huge effect on its audience, and want to make the biggest impact on their biggest audience, usually by making us laugh, warming our hearts, or entreating our fantasies. But not everyone is left laughing. This year, the National Organization for Women and their feminist ad-watchers paid close attention to the commercials to rank them for their portrayal of women and other stereotyped groups. NOW viewed many of the commercials as having misogynistic or stereotypical portrayals of women, who were stereotyped, satirized or simply left out of Super Bowl Sunday’s ads. They were rated on four categories: representation/diversity, sexual exploitation, violence, and social responsibility. Although the volunteer monitors said the ads were not as offensive as in previous years, they still found much to criticize. The main complaint was the lack of women in lead or speaking roles, or no women represented at all. Violence was another underlying theme. In general, many advertisements capitalized on women’s sexuality to sell products. The ad ranked most offensive and sexist was the GoDaddy.com commercial, where viewers are led to believe they can watch Danica Patrick expose herself online. This represents the main complaint of the NOW ad-watchers: the portrayal of women as sex objects. The Victoria’s Secret ad near the end of the game with a scantily clad Adriana Lima found its way to fourth place. The Planter’s Peanuts ad, where an unattractive woman attracts attention from men by perfuming herself with Planters nuts, was the ad rated second most offensive. The ads rated third and fifth most offensive both had to do with Hispanic stereotypes in the seduction of women. Ranked third, the Bud Light ad featured Carlos Mencia teaching immigrants how to pick up women by using their accents. In the Taco Bell ad ranked fifth, Mariachis play in an office, exciting a woman employee. The ad-watchers also ranked the most positive and least offensive ads of the night. Favorites were the Budweiser ad where the Dalmatian trains the Clydesdale, and both Coke ads, which featured James Carville and Bill Frist bonding in D.C. in one ad, and parade balloons trying to go after a Coke Bottle, which Charlie Brown, the ‘underdog’ gets. These commercials, however, did not feature women at all, which the feminists say they would like to see more of. Many of the viewers don’t seem to be paying much attention at all to the stereotypes and representations of people featured in the commercials; most are just looking to be entertained. Another poll by RAMA found that more than three-quarters of consumers polled view Super Bowl ads as entertainment. Though some of the racier commercials of the past have been toned down, there is little reason to believe that there will be any revolutions in marketing tactics.MR

2.12.08

P. 7

news.

the michigan review

NCAA Nixes Party Pryor to Recruitment By Eddie J. Perry, ‘09

n Saturday, January 19 there was a block party on Greenwood Street “in support of Michigan Football.” What differentiated this festivity from every other infamous Greenwood Party was that it was held in hopes of Terrelle Pryor attending. Pryor, a 6’6” prodigy quarterback from Jeanette, Pennsylvania, is the top high school football player in the nation and has easily been the most coveted treasure of any college coach during the past few months. Michigan leapt onto Pryor’s radar relatively late as a result of new head football coach Rich Rodriguez being hired. Rodriguez personally called Pryor to tell him that he was leaving West Virginia and coming to the University of Michigan. A seemingly perfect fit for Rodriguez’s spread-option offense, Pryor added Michigan to his group of leading suitors, which included Penn State, Oregon, LSU, and Ohio State at the time. When it was determined that Pryor would be visiting campus during the third weekend in January, Greenwood resident and U-M Senior Christopher Breece thought it was a perfect occasion for a block party. A Facebook invitation was sent out for the event entitled “Terrelle Pryor Block Party.” Two days before the event, on Thursday, January 17, Breece was walking out of class when he received a curt voicemail from the NCAA. “It literally consisted of ten words: ‘having a party for an NCAA recruit is not allowed,’” said Breece. When he got home Breece phoned the NCAA’s Indianapolis headquarters and spoke with a representative who informed him why this was against the rules.

“The rep told me that the party was an incentive to come to the school. I didn’t want to make a case out of it so I agreed to change the event. I was put in contact with the Compliance Officer at UM’s Athletic Department, Judy Van Horn, and she told me she learned

sign with Pryor’s name will be taken away by ushers.” Pryor attended the game that night. NCAA enforcement could certainly be considered erratic, concidering its minimal investigation of allegations that Reggie Bush and his family allegedly took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts during his time at USC. “The NCAA does not want to allow the stuff with Bush…but it’s extremely difficult to prove, and they can’t force anyone to cooperate. It’s a lot easier to enforce rules on parties during an official visit or signs at an NCAA event,” said Mark Sarne, a recent U-M grad with close ties to the Athletic Department. “Does it matter in the long run? Likely no. The NCAA has all the investigative might of Inspector Clouseau. The appearance of funny stuff will remain but an appearance,” said Brian Cook, founder and editor of mgoblog.com, regarding the severity of possible recruiting infractions. With Pryor’s U-M visit having come and gone, every now waits to hear his final decision, something that will be controversial in any case MR

Courtesy: Pennsylvania Football Weekly

of the event and was about to post something on the event’s wall saying that this was illegal to have. She also told me that Terrelle Pryor would not be attendance in tonight. So I officially changed it to ‘a party in support of Michigan Football,’” explained Breece. Also on January 19, the U-M men’s basketball team had a game against Iowa at Crisler. Steve Wolters, president of the Maize Rage, the official basketball student section, informed the section’s members that “any

Berkeley Professor Looks at NFL Conservatism on Fourth Down By Evgeny Magidenko, ‘11

hose wondering why their favorite NFL teams tend to go for the kick rather than the touchdown on fourth down and goal on their opponent’s 2-yard line early in the game are in luck. Professor David Romer, a University of California-Berkeley economics professor published a paper entitled, “Do Firms Maximize? Evidence from Professional Football,” in July 2005 addressing that very issue. The paper explores why teams tend to play more conservatively when they are close to their opponent’s goal line. Romer treated the choice in the NFL between kicking and trying for a first down on fourth down as a case study of the idea that competition in markets leads firms (or in this case, football teams) to make maximizing choices. After running complicated economic analyses, Romer concluded that in an overwhelming majority of cases, teams could increase their chances of winning by going for a touchdown when close to their opponent’s goal line. In the sample data that he reviewed, though, Romer found that of 1,068 fourth downs where a team was better off going for the touchdown, the team actually went for it only 109 times (about 10.2 percent of the time). Romer suggests several possible explanations for this phenomenon in his paper. First, NFL teams tend to be riskaverse and consider scoring just three points with a kick to be better than taking a risk for a chance to score even more points with a touchdown. Second, teams have varying qualities of their own offense and the opponent’s defense, and these considerations may play into their more conservative play.

And, third, failing on fourth down could adversely affect the team’s chances of winning through its effect on energy and emotions; simply put, scoring even some points is better for morale than scoring no points. In the end, though, Romer generally dismisses these potential explanations as irrelevant. In an interview with Science Update on April 14, 2006, Professor Romer said, “What I take from this [research] is that rules of thumb, the conventional wisdom that’s been handed down from one generation of managers to the next, is often way off the mark.” Coaches probably give much more consideration to the potential risks of going for a touchdown, especially early in the game, rather than thinking about the potential rewards, says Romer. He argues that if it is early in the game (his paper examines fourth down decisions in the first quarter), teams should go ahead and try for the touchdown. After all, he says, if it is only the first quarter, and your team misses, there is still plenty of time to make up for that miss, and you place the other team in a bad position. But, on the other hand, if your team is successful in their touchdown attempt, then that is a considerable morale booster for your own team and puts you ahead. Romer ultimately concludes that the chief reason why teams tend to play more conservatively is because of a basic human tendency to blow some risks out of proportion and not give enough consideration to others. The next time your favorite team has to weigh to kick or go for the game-winning touchdown, pull out Romer’s charts. MR

Courtesy: David Romer, UC-Berkeley

P. 8

2.12.08

news.

the michigan review

As Applicants Increase, So Does Value of College Degrees By Rebecca Christy, ‘08

hat more people are attending institutions of higher education than ever before, to most, should be cause for celebration. Nevertheless, a new set of worries have arisen among future and current undergraduates as well as the admission committees in charge of creating a freshman class. With so many students attending college today some worry their undergraduate degrees are less valuable; while prospective high school students are worried they won’t have the opportunity to receive admission to the college of their choice. The topic of increased college applications has gained enough consistent coverage in the New York Times to spur a plea from a concerned father to the Editor. “I have noticed several articles in the Times on how difficult it is to get into college,” he wrote. “I assume that your goal in publishing them is to drive my daughter, a high school sophomore already worried about college admissions, over the edge. You have succeeded.” Looking at the admission statistics over the past nine years for the University of Michigan might not cause panic, however. According to the Office of the Registrar, while the number of applicants has increased, the percentage of students admitted has not dropped precipitously. For the 1998 admissions cycle, the University received 21,301 applications and accepted 12,586 with a final freshman enrollment of 5,253 students. Comparably, for this year’s admission cycle the University received 27,474 applications, admitted 13,826 and began the 2007 fall semester with 5,992 freshman students. While the

number of applications increased by over 6,000 over the years the number of students which are granted admission is growing as well. As reported to the University Record by the Office of the Registrar, for the 2007 fall semester 41,042 students were enrolled at U-M in total, a new record. This number was an increase of 1,017 students and eleven percent increases in comparison to the 2006 school year. The increase of admitted students over the years has resulted in only a nine percent drop in those admitted from fifty-nine percent to fifty percent. Even as the decrease in percentage of acceptance may be slightly unnerving for those currently going through the admission process, students who are have already obtained or are presently working towards their U-M degree should consider the possible benefits. The increased selectivity of the university may increase the initial value of their degree in more ways than one. Not only is gaining acceptance more impressive than in the past, but as a result so are the students. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the composite ACT score for the 2007 freshman class was between twenty-seven and thirty-one. In 1998, fifty-eight percent of students admitted scored in the twenty-four to twenty-nine ACT range with thirty percent scoring in the thirty to thirty-six range. The University of Michigan is by no means the only academic institution experiencing an increase in the number of applications received. According to the New York Times, Harvard has received an astounding nineteen percent more applications than last year, the University of Chicago has seen an eighteen percent increase and Northwestern University a fourteen percent

increase. As this article is being written a small group of University of Michigan students are discussing a wide range of topics in the subject of education. Coincidentally, the number of students being rejected from universities and the need for people in our society to make other career choices turned the conversation into a heated one. Fortunately for these students the first obstacle on the path of Higher Education ended relatively well—at a top tier public university. For those high school students who have not received a secure seat at the University of Michigan, the construction of North Quad should be a sign that the University is trying to accommodate, hopefully providing some piece of mind. MR

Colleges across the country from Harvard, University of Chicago, and Northwestern all experienced double digit precentage increases in applicants, according to the New York Times.

Democrats Target Vulnerable Michigan Seats in 2008 Congressmen Tim Walberg, Joe Knollenberg among GOP incumbents with challenges By Jonathan Slemrod, ‘10

lthough the Democratic leadership has not paid much attention to Michigan after the state was stripped of its primary delegates, the party has been quietly pouring money and resources into the Great Lakes State in a bid to recapture three key Congressional districts this November. In particular, Democrats have set their sights on Republican freshman Congressman Tim Walberg, who represents the seventh district of south-central Michigan, in a race that is sure to be one of the most hotly contested in the nation. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is specifically targeting Republicans that emerged victorious in 2006 with less than fifty-five percent of the vote, putting Walberg at the top of the their list. Walberg defeated his Democratic challenger Sharon Reiner by just four percent in the 2006 election cycle. A staunch conservative, Walberg is a supporter of the War on Terror, voting in favor of the Iraq war, but has opposed other initiatives championed by the Bush Administration, including No Child Left Behind and the ill-fated 2007 immigration bill. Walberg, whose opposition to tax increases and pork-barrel spending earned him the endorsement and deep-pocketed PAC money of the influential conservative Club for Growth in 2006, has again secured their endorsement and deep pockets in 2008. But such endorsements may not be enough. Walberg will face Mark Schauer, the Democratic Minority Leader in the Michigan House, who has the upper hand in fundraising, with over $500,000 cash on hand, according to fourth quarter FEC reports. Walberg outfundraised Schauer by a three-to-one margin in the fourth quarter, according to The Politico. The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan organization that analyzes Congressional races, has flagged the seventh district seat as “likely Republican” by a meager two percent. By all accounts, Walberg’s reelection will be a toss-up. In another heated and DCCC-targeted race, Democratic Party insider and Central Michigan University professor Gary Peters are challenging Congressman Joe

Knollenberg, a well-respected establishment Republican who represents Michigan’s ninth district encompassing Oakland Country. In 2006, Knollenberg was reelected with just 51.6 percent of the vote, but he has over $1 million cash on hand, giving him an enormous advantage over Peters, who has $358,000 on hand. Many Democrats were disappointed that the DCCC refused to endorse Knollenberg’s Democratic opponent Nancy Skinner in 2006, since Knollenberg’s margin of victory was so small. Democrats will try to avoid the same mistakes and will try to focus on garnering the minority vote, since the ninth district includes certain parts of Detroit. A third though less prominent seat up for grabs is in Michigan’s first district, currently held by Democratic incumbent Bart Stupak. Stupak, who has held his seat since 1992, will likely face Michigan State Representative Tom Casperson. Casperson, a Republican whose district includes the northern city of Escanaba as well as Delta and Dickson Counties, has yet to make a formal announcement, but his bid is very likely. “We’re going to run,” Casperson told the Gongwer News Service in early January. Fundraising will be a major issue for Casperson’s campaign, as campaign filings show that he had raised just over $16,000 in the fourth quarter, putting his cash total at less than $30,000. Stupak, on the other hand, is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and leveraged that to net nearly $178,000 in the fourth quarter for a total of more than $417,000 cash on hand. Unless Casperson can bring it some serious cash quickly, Stupak will likely remain an incumbent. Indeed, the DCCC is not viewing the first district as a potential battlefield. Republican funding woes are by no means confined to Michigan. The DCCC has $35 million to spend on Congressional races, more than six times the amount of cash held by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), a sign that 2008 may be yet another sobering year for the GOP in their effort to regain a majority. MR

Rep. Knollenberg

Rep. Walberg

Rep. Stupak

2.12.08

P. 9

news.

the michigan review

Hip-Hop Lecture Calls for Racially-Integrated Activism

n January 3, the whole nation was fixated on the state of Iowa as 122,000 residents participated in the Republican and Democratic caucuses. While most were surprised at Governor Mike Huckabee’s surprising win, another fact was equally surprising; 21,000 people under the age of thirty participated in the caucuses, four times the amount of voters in this age demographic since the 2000 Presidential election. The same trend occurred in the New Hampshire primary where forty three percent of young Americans voted, compared to twenty-eight percent in 2000. According to Bakari Kitwana, executive editor of The Source and author of many books describing the influence of hip-hop music on American culture, hip-hop has inspired both Caucasians and African-Americans to participate in the political process. “The activity of political conduct in the hip-hop movement brings people to participate in politics today. Hip-hop makes voting fashionable,” said Kitwana. On Wednesday, February 6 in the Michigan Union, Kitwana presented a lecture focused on his new book, “Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop.” Throughout the evening, Kitwana’s thesis focused on how there is a constant struggle between white hip-hop activists and white hip-

hop consumers. While hip-hop activists are using music as a vehicle to encourage social change and create national political movements, hip-hop consumers listen to rap artists like 50 Cent and JayZ, and are willing to listen to lyrics that do not inspire political or social change. Kitwana claimed that poor economic and political conditions in the past several years have inspired the hip-hop community to take action. As co-founder of the National Hip-Hop Political Convention, he brought 44,000 young people to Newark, New Jersey to discuss the ties between hip-hop and politics. Kitwana has seen that Caucasian and AfricanAmerican young people are facing the same issues in America today, so he believes that a common interest like hiphop can unite this demographic and create activism in America. “Today we are losing jobs overseas, experiencing a severe economic shift, and living through a period of increased economic inequality,” said Kitwana. “Oil profits have even become criminal. Issues that matter across race are the same, so by working together we can build a political movement by combining their interest in hip-hop and their want for change in this country.” Kitwana also discussed aspects of his latest book and declared that hip-hop consumerism sometimes emphasizes

racism towards African-Americans. He explained that there are three competing theories as to why Caucasians listen to commercialized hip-hop. The first theory that Kitwana describes in his book is that Caucasians are fascinated with black culture and music. “Listening to hip-hop is a sense of rebellion for white listeners who are intrigued by the lyrics in the music genre,” said Kitwana. He went on to say that white children may also listen to hip hop because black adolescents often set the tone for what is “cool” in American society. He cited numerous sources that say it is often the case that what black kids are doing today, white kids will be doing tomorrow. His last theory was far more psychological than the previous two; Kitwana stated that white listeners of commercialized hip-hop are intrigued because of their feelings of white supremacy. “White kids look at the lyrics in 50 Cent songs and immediately know that they are superior to African-Americans,” Kitwana asserts. Throughout his travels and experiences with the hip-hop community, though, he emphasized that most white and black hip-hop activists realize the schism between commercialized hiphop and hip-hop that promotes political

activism and social change. In the end, Kitwana explains that whites are needed in this new movement because if hip-hop activism turns into a black movement, it will not accomplish anything. “Law enforcement will just shut the movement down,” he said. “I’ve seen it. [The repression] is a little bit stronger than the war in Iraq.” MR

What Your Valentine’s Day Reservation Says About You

nless the marketing tactics of Hallmark, Russell Stover’s, 1-800 FLOWERS, and a variety of jewelers have failed to reach you, it’s quite obvious that Valentine’s Day is looming ever closer. The lovely holiday on February 14th which brings to a head the constant little nagging in the back of one’s mind that a relationship would be nice. Those lucky enough to have plans for the evening may choose to go out for dinner. We’ve compromised a list of Ann Arbor favorites and what they say about their V-Day diners. -Rebecca Christy

Fleetwood Diner Big Ten Burrito

Chop House

Starbucks

Mongolian BBQ

Ordering Pizza

He’s just not that into her. He hates Valentine’s Day and decided he cares just enough about her feelings to give her a terrible night with mounds of grease included. He’s mature enough to take the blame for the mistake he made at Skeeps the night before when he agreed to being her date in the first place.

Congratulations! This must be a special occasion. Is he proposing? Hopefully not, because while he may be loaded, he’s incredibly unoriginal and money can only compensate for a life of clichés for only so long.

This couple has no time for frivolous things like Valentine’s Day or eating. There are student organizations to commandeer, Kaplan LSAT courses to take, and all nighters for midterms ahead. Robots are so amazing… they can conquer the world and don’t require sleep!

100% guarantee this couple is from Middle- America. He’s making the effort to hike over to Main Street without being pretentious, and she’s fine with a mid-priced family style restaurant. Beware! She may be a little self conscious in the relationship and is looking for the compliments he never gives her from the guys working the grill.

The decision to order a pizza in on a cold Thursday night appeared ingenious at the time, but this is going to haunt him for years. Her agreement to stay in was only the result of her passive-aggressiveness and the knowledge that this is ammunition for the first nice day in May when he’ll be taking her to Real Seafood Company for oysters and Riesling— sweatpants not an optional dress choice.

A step above Fleetwood guy … but there’s no avoiding the fact that cupid shot a bow and arrow in Skeeps yet again. When the bar was closing he came over and said “You’re hot so because I respect you I’m inviting you to tag along with the rest of my buddies to a restaurant we go to every Thursday at 2:30a.m.” Gosh golly she feels special.

P. 10

2.12.08

arts & culture. the michigan review

Campus Corner

‘Super’ Ads? I Think Not. By Andrea Sofian, ‘08

VERY YEAR, A large number of Americans get pumped for the Super Bowl. Yet for some people, the day is really defined by the highpriced commercials airing throughout the game. I was really excited to see what would be in store this year, but to be completely honest, the advertisements played during Super Bowl XLII were, well, a bit lacking. Sure, there were a few commercials that stood out afterwards. There was the Diet Pepsi Max ad that took us evoked “Night at the Roxbury” memories. There was a heartwarming, Rocky-inspired Budweiser ad. And I’m sure that the majority of guys watching were doing what all of my guy friends were doing when Adriana Lima came on the television during the Victoria’s Secret spot: their eyes were locked to the screen, and all I could hear was “Oh my God…” and “Yes!” (I’m a girl, and I’ll admit: I kind of liked it, too.) Some of this year’s Super Bowl commercials left me thoroughly confused. The baritone, talking spokes-baby for the E*Trade commercials was about as creepy as the clown in the background. Also, does peanut oil make you sexy? According to Planters, yes, but I still say no. The fact that the scent of Planter’s nuts makes a unibrowed chick irresistible to any man that crosses her path is ludicrous and just plain wrong. Smearing food onto your body is only acceptable when it will soon be licked off, in my opinion. And that Under Armour commercial…why would marketing specialists think that something that calls to mind a Nazi or Soviet rally would appeal to more than just a couple weirdoes out there. I am still confused about what that advertisement had to do with athletic apparel. Meanwhile, when did Bud Light commercials become tacitly racial? Okay, I chuckled seeing a guy of Mexican descent teaching an Asian, African, and Indian how to get women in a bar. It’s funny to me, viewing how obviously they depicted each stereotype. But surely not everyone is as open, and there were surely some who were offended or uncomfortable. Some sports fans probably really liked most of the advertisements shown during this year’s Super Bowl. The bulk of the people I asked, though, said “thumbs down.” More and more, the Super Bowl’s ads are getting worse, losing their genuine humor as marketers clearly try too hard to impress, MR

Planning Ahead for Spring Break By Erika Gonzalez, ‘09

PRING BREAK IS rapidly approaching, but that New Year’s resolution to lose ten pounds seems to retreat faster than that second box of Oreos you ate for lunch. That scandalously tiny black bikini purchased months ago hangs mockingly on the closet door—a fatal reminder of the moment of unrealistic optimism that led you to buy the size four instead of the size six. But, sexy does not make concessions for laziness. So what are the options? The bathing suit was a three hundred dollar no return splurge from Guess. So you

See “CCRB” Page 11

Snobbery, Back in Style By Lindsey Dodge, ‘10

OLLEGE STUDENTS ARE not known for being the classiest of people. Football Saturdays have emphatically pointed out some of our more callow, and (dare I say it) immature behavior. So what better way to counteract this vicious stereotype than by asking for the finest Cabernet instead of a Pabst Blue Ribbon next time you are at a fraternity party? Much of the resistance to wine comes from the perception that all wine-drinkers are golf playing, Mozart-appreciating, oak library-dwellers, who look down their aristocratic noses at the plebeians below. Well, this is true. All wine-drinkers are like that. But wouldn’t it be great if college students got to be a part of this exclusive club instead of the butt of its jokes? Fortunately for those of us who are not wine aficionados, there is an increasingly popular new manner of choosing which wine one should drink—whichever one you like best. Tim Hanni, founder of WineQuest and the first American Master of Wine, has completely revamped how wine is judged. Instead of organizing wines together from where the wine was produced (such as a Bordeaux) or what type of grape is used (such as a Merlot), he organizes them using his “progressive wine list” from lightest to heaviest. More and more restaurants are incorporating this system, from big chains such as Olive Garden and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. Hanni compares the tried-and-true practice of pairing the “right” wines with foods to shopping in a shoe store without realizing that people have differently sized feet. He argues that people prefer different wines based on their number of taste buds, and that there is nothing inherently worse or tacky about preferring the taste of White Zinfandel, a traditionally looked-down upon choice to a reserve Chardonnay. In fact, Hanni devised a taste bud test to determine which wine a person is most likely to enjoy. This Budometer measures preferences concerning such things as coffee and artificial sweeteners to measure people’s sensitivity to the flavor of wine. The classifications measure from a tolerant drinker, who prefers heavily alcoholic reds such as an intensely flavored

Cabernet Sauvignon to a “sweet” drinker, who will only feel comfortable drinking sweet Rieslings or Moscato wines. Women are naturally more sensitive drinkers, and as Hanni says, “A lot of the resistance to wine comes from women who have a lot of taste buds and prefer White Zinfandel. To them, the other stuff tastes like gasoline.” This new system is therefore far more tolerant of women’s natural preferences, making winedrinking more a pleasurable, cultural experience than an endeavor to find the fruitiest cocktail at the party. When it comes to pairing food and wine, Hanni is even more skeptical. “You should just drink what you would drink anyway. Or if you need to take a stronger drink, use some salt or lemon like you were drinking tequila” This is, of course, excellent news for most college students. Whether one’s choice of drunk food is Pizza House or Big Ten Burrito, the important thing is to drink whatever you want to drink anyway. That includes beer, because we all know you never actually made it to food. Of course, Hanni respects the power of alcohol only as a recovering alcoholic can. Sober for fourteen years, he rarely even “sips and spits” wine to taste it. Although he obviously understands how much enjoyment can be derived from responsible drinking, it must be just that: responsible. This is not to say that Hanni decries the study of wine. “I love snobs. When snobs just get to be snobs together. But I hate bores. Snobs are great unless they run interference with someone else’s enjoyment.” Wine is his life, and his enthusiasm for the subject stretches beyond snobbery to ensure that all can enjoy wine. Upon entering the work world, students are going to be presented with a whole new appreciative approach to alcohol, separate from the careless beerponging of old. When literally ‘wining and dining’ with one’s future employers, it will probably be best to refrain from ordering a couple three dollar pitchers in the hopes of impressing them with your lack of gag reflex. So go ahead and dive into the big, bad world of fine wine. Go visit Vinology and sample some of your results from the Budometer. It’s not as hard any more. Drink responsibly, and you stay classy, Ann Arbor. M .R

Taste BUDOMETERTM Results HYPER Sweet SENSITIVE SENSITIVE TOLERANT You want sweet wines. Period. You favor wines with delicacy, balance and finesse You are very sensitive to over power. bitterness and alcohol. You like fresh, fruity flavors. You may like a touch of oak flavor, but not much if any. WINES TO TRY

White Zinfandel, sweeter Moscato wines from the USA and Italy, sweet Rieslings, Lambrusco, fruit-flavored wines

You like your wines with lots of intensity, richness and balance.

You demand intensity, plenty of oak and power.

You can go many directions for flavor and style but want wines that are smooth.

High alcohol wines often taste rich and delicious.

Wines with high alcohol tend to burn and taste unpleasant. Moderate tolerance for oak and alcohol levels. WINES TO TRY

Dry and off-dry rosés Bottom line - don’t let someone try to sell you drier wines! WHITE Dry and slightly sweet Rieslings. Delicate Chardonnays. REDS Traditionally styled Pinot Noir. Lower alcohol and lighter reds.

WINES TO TRY WHITE Sauvignon Blanc. Rich, smooth Chardonnays.

BIG is better!

WINES TO TRY WHITE Frankly you’d just rather have red wine. REDS Cabernet Sauvignon and blends. Rhone and Rhone-style blends. Barolo. Intensely flavored reds.

REDS Shiraz. Merlot and Merlot blends. Rich-style Pinot Noir. Red Zinfandel.

To determine what you drink, go to

Budometer.com

2.12.08

arts & culture.

P. 11

the michigan review

Freshmen: They Just Don’t Make Them Like They Use To By Cherri Buijk, ‘10

AST MONTH THE Wall Street Journal reported on the apparent trend among freshmen to “keep their high school identities intact and actively resist entreaties from professors to expand their horizons.” Citing English professor at Assumption College James M Lang’s “The Myth of the First-Year Enlightenment,” which featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, it appears that the intense first-year experience of mindexpansion may simply be a popularized notion of education from the past. “What teens actually focus on during the first year out is this: daily time management,” writes Tim Clydesdale, professor of sociology at the College of New Jersey and author of “The First Year Out: Understanding American Teens After High School.” For his book, Clydesdale conducted two sets of interviews of a sample student group, ascertaining their values and sense of identity: the first set during the students’ senior year of high school, and the second during their freshman year of college. “In other words,” Lang remarks of the study, “freshmen spend more of their time and intellectual energy figuring out how to handle life without parental constraints and support...[determining] how much time to devote to studying, working, and playing.” At the heart of Lang and Clydesdale’s suggestions is a certain lamentation, a sense of being no longer able to impart to students some profound change. “I dream of making a difference in student’s lives—not just passing along skills that will help them write better business memos,” Lang writes. Indeed, the echoes of that typical, practically minded freshman can be heard among University of Michigan students. A survey seeking to ascertain Michigan freshmen’s understanding of their own personal changes since high school cited an increased sense of independence outside of parental control as most notable. One respondent, noting major positive departures from her high school experience, shared her satisfaction in another practical improvement in her life, saying, “Here I have a good long paper probably every week, and I can crank out an essay in under an hour.” The language of many respondents seemed to con-

firm Lang and Clydesdale’s ideas. Though many freshmen felt they had changed in important ways since high school, the words they used to described this change seemed interestingly conservative: levels of “commitment” and “responsibility” increased; they had become more “productive” and “mature;” they now have greater “strength” and stronger “goals;” they can better “fend” for themselves. This seems to be a language fit for the marketplace, or some Darwinian vision of social survival. It is a far cry from the near-spiritual enlightenment educators like Lang and Clydesdale expect to some degree among students. Britanni Sonnenberg, an instructor of English 125 at the University, believes that such an idealistic image may be just that: an ideal, a myth, reflecting a “nostalgia for another time.” Another survey respondent would seem to agree. “I think the decrease in change [among freshman] has more to do with the social climate we live in today. Unlike our parents’ generation, we are not living in a world of drastic social change and turbulence,” referencing the civil rights movement or cold war. “Today’s social climate is very subdued in comparison,” she added. The ideal may be unrealistic, or perhaps this perceived difference just a generation wide speaks to something else: a fundamental change in a larger, societal understanding of just what college is or ought to be. With a college degree becoming an increasingly necessary step in the process of employment, it is easy to see how a college education is viewed more and more as a kind of tool: a resource that is in some way deserved, rather than a privilege. More students taking college for granted, in combination with

rising costs of an education, may cause universities to treat students more like customers to be satisfied. Topped off with larger class sizes, and there stands a recipe for distant, consumer-like relations between universities and students, and an increased professionalized competitiveness among students themselves. This is a crucial change in the nature and function of college. In order to foster the kind of mind-expanding environment spoken of by Lang and Clydesdale, there must be some degree of vulnerability in an educational space: a student cannot truly change unless they are able or made to break down their previous beliefs or identities. We hear our parents speak of those professors who ripped essay after essay to shreds and tossed it back bleeding in red ink, but these are faint memories in an environment of all-around professional responsibility and comfortable distance. In college today, students may easily slip from first to fourth year with some squirming in light of material presented to them, but without any insistent, deep, and necessary revisions of mind. Acknowledging some real change in today’s educational climate, Lang seems resigned. He said that the average teenager, “cognitively sharp but quintessentially immune” are quintessential Americans. MR

“CCRB” From Page 11 can wear it anyway and hope those tiny black triangles keep you within the limits of indecent exposure. Or you can hit the gym. As dismal as that sounds, it is a whole lot better than risking a night in the can because an old lady saw you unintentionally pull a Janet Jackson near the concession stand. For those motivated individuals who work out on a strict daily schedule, the month before spring break sucks. When there is only an hour to an hour and a half to work with between classes and the line of open treadmills is suddenly full of red-faced spring-break hopefuls gasping for air, it takes a really admirable human being to hold back that string of obscenities. “I don’t know how long I had to wait yesterday to run, but I have class right afterward and I don’t think it’s fair that I have to miss my work out just because someone gave up on a New Year’s resolution,” complained Ashley Hakun after finishing her daily ninety minute routine. “I just wish people would make up their minds. Work out or don’t. You can’t try to make up for a full semester of lounging on the couch with a beer in your hand in two or three weeks,” said Hakun. Unlike Hakun, not everyone can claim the honorable status of a “CCRB Regular,” and for those who fall into the category of ‘last-minute desperation,’ there is a similar feeling of contention. As demonstrated by the outrage of University of Michigan junior, Ana Korin, everyone has a right to share the gym facilities. ‘It’s just not right that those ‘regulars’ think they can hog the place to themselves. I mean seriously, who gave them the right to every single treadmill? Not everyone has the time to work out everyday and excuse me if I decide I’d like to get in shape before hitting the beaches,” said Korin. It seems that the few weeks before spring break breed more than an increase in daydreaming during chem lab. Tension in the gym seems unavoidable when the days are so short and the exercise appliances so few. Either the CCRB needs to invest in some more ellipticals or everyone should just buy their swimsuits a size or two too big. MR

www.michiganreview.com

P. 12

2.12.08

features. the michigan review

Increase in Downtown Density Concerns Some Preservationists By Brian Biglin, ‘08

ver recent months, towering cranes have appeared on sites adjacent to central campus. On East University, a ten-story, student-geared apartment and retail building—Ζaragon Lofts—is rising. At the corner of Washington and Division, another ten-story retail and residential building aimed at students, 4 Eleven Lofts, is underway. A proposal to build Ann Arbor’s second tallest building at the corner of South University and Forest Street, housing over 1,000 students, is expected to be approved by City Council soon. All signs point to a trend of consolidating the U-M student population in a higher density landscape near the Diag. These developments would curb the need for students to move into neighborhoods like Burns Park, and might allow Ann Arbor to become even more of a multiple-identity city, with distinctive single-family neighborhoods and a high-density core. The prospect of more new buildings in the ten- to twenty-six-story range (the highest currently allowed in Ann Arbor) has concerned many preservationists, especially those who not only look to protect historic buildings, but also protect the small city image of Ann Arbor. Though not regarding a residential development, City Council’s recent, near-unanimous disapproval of McKinley’s proposal for a nine-story hotel at the corner of Division and Washington Streets exhibits the hesitation among many when it comes to taller downtown buildings. The complaints, besides the loss of one lane of traffic on one-way Division Street, focus on context. The nine story building, some said, would stand too close to historically preserved detached houses. “This building was out of scale for its neighborhood and would have greatly impacted some important historic buildings nearby that someone has spent their lifetime restoring,” said Susan Wineberg, former president of the Ann Arbor Historical Society and author of “Lost Ann Arbor.” “The hotel would cast large shadows on its immediate neighbors to the west and north.” McKinley was not able to comment on their plans for that site, however, the Ann Arbor News reported that McKinley projected about forty new jobs and five million dollars in downtown visitor spending thanks to the hotel. Local debate seen, for instance, on the blog “Ann Arbor is Overrated,” has since exploded, with many people frustrated at the hostility to even modest height in downtown Ann Arbor. Many observers have trouble understanding why local preservationists are worried about scale and limiting height on sites that do not involve the loss of a historic building. The University, for its part, is playing a role in creating student density. Construction of North Quad, an impressive neo-traditional mixed-use building designed by Robert A.M. Stern, is inching along at the corner of State and Huron. Its completion will allow more undergrads to live on central campus, but the ten-story dormitory could not have been built without the razing of the architecturally significant Frieze Building (and former Ann Arbor High School). The tension between preservation and development was shown perhaps more vividly when a Chicago-based developer demolished the Anberay (Melrose Place) apartment building was demolished last autumn to make way for Zaragon Place Lofts. “The Anberay was a tragic loss and could have been renovated into something really

special,” said Wineberg. A potentially epic clash between preservationists and developers could be on the way at Fifth Avenue south of William, where seven Victorian houses, not protected because that block is not a historic district, could fall to a landlord hoping to build rowhouse-style condos there. While that downtown location seems to warrant higher-density housing, many see the current homes as irreplaceable. Wineberg and the Historical Society are against the loss of these houses. “The block on Fifth could be designated a historic district. Someone needs to petition the mayor to appoint a study committee,” said Wineberg. But, she added, “This is not likely to happen. So far this mayor has voted against previously proposed historic districts.” The Historical Society cannot designate historic districts. That is up to the City and its Historic District Commission. Wineberg mentioned the Historical Society’s support for some tall developments, Photo by Brian Biglin showing that preservationists are not against A view of Washington Street from Ingalls Mall, with cranes at the North any and all tall developments, but is mainly Quad construction site. focused on letting historic neighborhoods keep their existing character. group as far as I know,” said Wineberg, referencing the “The loss of Village Corner for two planned development on South University that may new high rises will not be opposed by our exceed twenty stories. MR