Spring 1998 Michigan Today---Letters

. . . Spring 1998

Michigan Today
412 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor MI 48109-1399
email: johnwood@umich.edu
fax: ( 734 ) 764-7084

Dear Readers:

We thank all of our Charter Members of The Friends of Michigan Today, and publish their names in this issue. Their generous contributions will help us keep Michigan graduates and non-alumni friends of the University in touch with campus life today.

We will continue our new thrice-yearly, 24-page format for the time being. We're introducing a better grade of paper this issue and hope our readers find it a welcome improvement.

We need continual help from our readers, however, and ask new contributors to join our Friends group with a gift of $50, $25, $10 or whatever you feel you can give. Please print out this form, fill it out and send your tax-deductible donation to Michigan Today. We thank you for your assistance and, as always, welcome your views about Michigan Today via mail at the address below, phone at (734) 647-1838, fax at (734) 764-7084 or e-mail at johnwood@umich.edu.

Sincerely,

John Woodford Executive Editor

The Beast Awakens

THANKS FOR the review of The Beast Awakens, a book about fascism written by Martin A. Lee. Though I haven't read the book, I'd like to comment on Mr. Lee's answer to Michigan Today's question, "What are the biggest threats internationally from the reawakened beast?" It was reported that he felt that the laxness in punishing "thugs and the section of the police who feel an affinity to them," especially in Germany, was a major threat. He also cited a case where a cab driver who gave a ride to undocumented foreigners without checking their papers received a more severe sentence than skinheads who had attacked pregnant women or who had even murdered people. Presumably those incidents are far from rare, and they certainly are indications of the reawakening, but they're symptoms, not cause.

It seems to me that the root cause of the awakening is the expansion of capitalism through neoliberal policies that have made possible the penetration of markets in every country on Earth. The protection of the rights of capital is being made at the expense of the human rights of people, all of which are spelled out in the UN Declaration of Human Rights which was signed in January 1948 and ignored to this day.

Scapegoating of immigrants, the homeless, the unemployed, racial and ethnic minorities and other targeted sectors in order to obscure the immoral system causing the suffering and deaths of hundreds of thousands is absolutely necessary if the multinational capitalist entities are to be able to pursue and increase the accumulation of profits and wealth. One UN agency states that more people die as a result of Structural Adjustment Programs imposed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank than die in wars.

Young people all over the world who cannot look forward to a full-time, life-sustaining job with benefits and a pension, and who cannot make enough money to support themselves and their children, or even provide them with health care and an education, are justifiably angry and are looking for people to blame. They are encouraged by corporations and elected officials who are at the disposal of those corporations to push through legislation that blames and punishes the least powerful people in society (Props 209 and 187 in California) and exonerate the real cause of injustice, an economic system that measures success by the ability to destroy one's competitors and to accumulate wealth at the expense of literally billions of people. Currently, 358 billionaires worldwide have more wealth than 2.4 billion people at the low end of the economic pole.

Globalization and neoliberalism can be counted upon to create despair among the growing number of poverty-stricken people, which in turn makes them susceptible to fascists bearing simplistic solutions. We can look forward to more alienation and the growth of many more fascists if we just blame thugs, skinheads or police, and not the system that is creating them. Al Traugott '47 San Jose, California '. . . he loves it not'

THE SUBTITLE to John Woodford's article about Porgy and Bess ["We Love(s) You, Porgy--at least most of us do," Fall '97 issue] confused me, leaving me wondering who the "most of us" who "love(s) Porgy" are. Although the musical is certainly historically significant, it is a very narrow depiction of Black Americans and perpetuates more negative stereotypes than positive ones. If "most of us" love the musical, why is it that most of the Black voices referenced in the article (including W.E.B. DuBois, Duke Ellington, Harry Belafonte, and Sidney Poitier) only offer negative criticism of it?

The writer clearly intends to establish that these prominent Black voices are too narrow-minded to accept that a "White Southerner and two Jewish New Yorkers" can tell a story about Black people better than Blacks can themselves. Prof. Harold Cruse's comments take on new light when cast against the "ambivalence" offered by the Black entertainers who will appear in Prof. Standifer's documentary.

Porgy and Bess is entertaining, controversial, colorful and spiritual. However, it was accepted specifically because its characters are not professional, articulate, intellectual or influential. They are what White Americans in the '30s found comforting, and what all Americans in the '90s should find appalling. "Most of us" should be more critical of the work, rather than blandly accepting it as a masterpiece. Gerald Tate '89 Atlanta

Since Porgy is widely described as America's greatest opera, it seemed accurate to indicate that a majority of its audiences love it. Wishing, however, to be fair in representing the views of those who dislike it, I emphasized the negative in the selecting the quotations you cite. I could easily have selected--as you and other viewers and readers of Professor Standifer's documentary and his booklet for the PBS series may discover--numerous instances of Black musicians and performers who have praised the work.--JW.

I CAME in this p.m. for my Sunday catch-up and read Michigan Today, said to myself, whoa, that is really fine, particularly "We Loves You Porgy." The whole publication is just so well done, I said in my head, I must write an E-mail. Congratulations on a really fine publication, this issue in particular. Jayne H. Spencer Editor, Indiana University Home Pages Bloomington Affirmative and Negative

PROF. CARL Cohen and I have shared over the decades in the struggles of many of the same social justice causes ("Outspoken, Outraged and Outrageous," Fall 1997). But I must take issue with his version of his commitment "to equality and fairness" in regard to race as a consideration for admission to U. of M.

Many of us, especially white males, confess to the evils of slavery, segregation and white racism; but we don't want our confession to include any degree of penance, redress or reparations. We simply want to say "We're sorry!" and go on as if history has no connection with the present or future.

I for one applaud the University's multiple criteria in its admission standards including race as it did gender many years ago. An education at Michigan is not an end in itself, but rather a preparation for working and serving in a new world--a world in which whites are a minority and whose day of making the rules is rapidly fading.

Professor Cohen's doctrine of "equality and fairness" would be ethically appropriate if we were building upon a perfect past and were living in a just society. Realism must be an essential factor in any ethical system. The Rev. Dr. Keith I. Pohl '56 Winchester, Tennessee

EVEN IN this age of victims and litigants, affirmative action opponents are easily outdoing everyone in pursuit of the Poor Me Prize. Look at the lawsuits. Reading about some unselected rich white guy suing to get into a top law school, it's hard not to imagine Dave Barry-like parenthetical WHINE interjections every few words.

Such suits are sophistry and victim-whining raised to near art form. Give us a break. Don't our overloaded courts have enough to do?

Affirmative action is a sincere, human and imperfect attempt at righting some centuries-old wrongs, at allowing all, regardless of background or gender, to participate in our system. Academic grades and standardized tests are sincere, human and imperfect attempts at screening college applicants. Why should one imperfect attempt--grading and scoring--take precedence over, have more validity than, another imperfect attempt, equalizing opportunity for all?

Rather than the current either/or approach, both imperfect attempts should be factored in as equally as possible, with some look at the overall social consequences of admission decisions.

Admissions offices know going into the selection process that, on average, certain ethnic groups will have lower grade and score numbers. How fair and honest is it to emphasize these factors? To do so has led some so-called experts to make premature and unfounded claims about some groupsÕ inherent inferiority and, in the process, to overlook noninherent factors, such as culture and language, and imposed factors, such as racial prejudice, especially the unconscious expectations of pre-judger and prejudged.

Since affirmative action was instituted in 1964, US law school admission offices have admitted a fair number of African Americans who have done as well as other students and who are today practicing law quite well. Now, though, some schools have dropped affirmative action, and the number of black students in these schools has dropped to near zero. More, possibly all, schools will follow suit.

A diploma from these schools, of course, is a ticket to practice law. With it, blacks can compete for clients and against other lawyers in court. To disproportionately hold back some group from access to this ticket is, in effect, guildism, which most free market advocates strongly oppose, perhaps more so than they oppose affirmative action. In fact, large corporations tend to be for affirmative action.

Just one person suing because he or she wasn't admitted to a school is closing that school door for many who would otherwise be using their exceptional skills in serving clients who might not otherwise have representation. This, of course, also applies to other professions, such as mine, social work. Jim Lein Minot, North Dakota

WHILE I don't agree with everything the Outspoken, Outraged and Outrageous Carl Cohen says and what he has done he is dead right insofar as his opposition to affirmative action is concerned. His logic is flawless.

President Lee Bollinger's politically correct but unreasonable and unfair defense of the discriminatory practice of affirmative action is most disappointing. His statement as quoted in [Fall 1997] Michigan Today can only be described as the pedantic shibboleth of academia. It doesn't make me proud of my alma mater. G. M. Freeman '50 Rackham Candler, North Carolina

AS DIRECTOR of the Residential College (RC) at the University of Michigan I welcome intellectual diversity on the part of our faculty and students, and I encourage the expression of diverse views on issues of public interest as well as on matters of scholarly analysis. In this context, I fully respect the right of my RC colleague, Prof. Carl Cohen, to criticize the University's affirmative action policies and to support the lawsuit recently filed against the University's admission policies.

I wish to state unequivocally, however, that I do not share Prof. Cohen's views on these matters and that these views do not reflect the policy of the Residential College. I believe that affirmative action--in the form of preferences in admission policies for groups of students whose common group identity exposes them to disadvantageous treatment--is both morally right and in the best interest of educational institutions.

Admission to the University of Michigan should not simply be a reward for the achievement of high grade point averages or high standardized test scores. Instead, admission should be based on the potential to make use of a university education to develop oneÕs talents and abilities to a high level of accomplishment by the time of graduation and to enhance the well-being of society in one's post-graduate career.

It is an undeniable fact that people of color in the United States still face disadvantages in their opportunities and life chances simply because of how others respond to their color. As a consequence, it takes more talent and/or more resourcefulness on the part of people of color to reach any given level of educational achievement (as conventionally measured). In order to estimate the true potential of students applying for admission to a college or university, one must therefore give greater credit than reflected in grades and test scores to students of color, to recognize the extent to which they have had to apply greater talent and resourcefulness to overcome the obstacles they have confronted. Color-blind admission policies, far from being fair and just, actually discriminate against students of color.

When color truly makes little difference to one's life chances in this country, the University of Michigan should dispense with affirmative action and adopt color-blind admission policies. Until then, we should neither be surprised nor upset to discover that the average grades and test scores of admitted students of color are lower than the average for white students. Such observations do not alter the reality that these students of color have just as much potential for high levels of achievement and are no less qualified members of our University community than their white fellow students. Thomas E. Weisskopf, Director, U-M Residential College Professor of Economics

WE GET our information about U-M in small doses here on the West Coast although publications such as Michigan Today, Michigan Engineer, Michigan Alumnus and the Wolverine are generally excellent. Thus, finding the hidden agendas regarding the firing of Steve Fisher is difficult: is he guilty of more than was acknowledged, is Tom Goss a hired gun/loose cannon or was the series of hiring, firing and promotion just another example of U-M's political correctness?

While pondering these possibilities I read the summary of the current lawsuit and our admissions policies and the article about Carl Cohen. I was not surprised that the U-M has put itself in such an indefensible position, but I was equally impressed that Prof. Cohen, with what could be labeled as a "liberal mentality," very astutely sees this issue for what it really is--another attempt by the politically correct to legislate the answer to a difficult problem.

Although equal opportunity must be enforced and affirmative action in preparing less advantaged students for college is an obligation, Affirmative Action in terms of quotas and the admission of individuals based on gender and ethnicity is self defeating. Many of us mentor and tutor high school students of different ethnic backgrounds who are highly intelligent but are disadvantaged in one or more ways. They will provide diversity in college enrollments without discrimination against the majority.

U-M should be working hard to prepare these individuals for college rather than promoting a policy which merely uses "underrepresented racial or ethnic minority identity or education" as an excuse for conscience salving political correctness.

The ends do not justify the means and represent in this case an easy politically correct solution to a difficult problem which would be better solved by more activism in college preparation programs. U-M does not need to apologize for itÕs efforts in admitting women and minorities, it just needs to work harder to qualify more students for admission to what hopefully will be an institution with a vision of ever higher standards and a proactive stance on true equal opportunity rather than just being a tool for social engineering. D.F. Reeves Rancho Palos Verdes, California

MY doctorate was from the School of Education. I have read much of what the University sends me and find that much of it is in error, based on my analysis. I can begin with your piece on [President Lee C. Bollinger's] Inauguration Day 1997 and the president's declaration that one should have the capacity to suspend "one's own beliefs." Have you and your staff done this? You discuss democracy, and yet if you read Plato's Republic, an old requirement in the social sciences, one would learn that democracy as such does not work. Here in America, for various reasons, some of which I approve, the majority is forced to comply as our freedoms are eroded.

The University preaches diversity in admissions but does not understand that it cannot work in the long run. The problems it has created are known to you, and they will get worse. Our evolving society will prove this regardless of what a few individuals would prefer it to be. Martin Levine Roanoke, Virginia Dr. Levine refers interested readers to his book Compassion Reconsidered, Carlton Press, New York.--Editor. Lyle E. Nelson 'Alive and Well'

WE REGRET to report to you that Lyle E. Nelson '50, of Honolulu, who met and wrote about philosopher John Dewey, is, as they say, alive and well.

Unfortunately death has taken my friend Lyle M. Nelson, retired professor at Stanford, University of Oregon graduate, and former vice president of University Relations at the University of Michigan. Last saw him when we had lunch at the Stanford Faculty club in 1994, the day after I ran the San Francisco Marathon. We had been introduced in 1960 at the U-M administration building by then-Vice President James Lewis. Lyle E. Nelson '50 Honolulu We are happy to report that news of Lyle E. Nelson's regret is greatly exaggerated.--Ed.

I WOULD guess that by now Lyle E. Nelson has notified Michigan Today of its error in reporting his death in an editor's note in the fall issue. The mistake is understandable. There are two Lyle Nelsons with U-M backgrounds.

Lyle E. Nelson, who grew up in Ann Arbor, was one of my students when I was on the Journalism faculty in 1949-50. Upon graduation from the University he wrote both Honolulu newspapers for a job, was advised there were no openings and promptly showed up in Hawaii. The Star-Bulletin, admiring his audacity, found a spot for him, and for nearly half a century he has been the U-M's No. 1 booster in Hawaii.

The other Lyle Nelson, also age 79, did die this year. He was the U-M vice-president for University Relations before leaving for the West Coast and a distinguished career in journalism education. With me at the Ann Arbor News and officers of the Exchange Club, Nelson helped found the Southeastern Michigan Science Fair, inspired by the Russian success with Sputnik. Arthur Gallagher '35 Ann Arbor John Dewey at Michigan

I LOVE Michigan Today. Part of the fun of reading it is spotting your infrequent gaffes. On page 17 of the Fall 1997 issue, for instance, we learn that John Dewey, in addition to his many other accomplishments, invented Alley Oop's time machine. How else to explain his second period in Ann Arbor was 1889-1884? Pragmatism has taken on a new meaning! Ben Ebling '56 MA Saugatuck, Michigan

THE SHOCK waves that John Dewey's family life sent through the faculty community during his years at Michigan were many years subsiding. The following story was told to me in 1927 or '28 by Mrs. Rankin, wife of Professor Rankin of the English Department when I was director of Alumnae House and she was on the board of directors.

Dewey was in his first-floor study one day when water began dripping from the ceiling. Absorbed in his work, he was unaware of it until it became a steady stream. Rushing upstairs, he stood silent with amazement when he found his son playing Noah's flood in the bathtub. The child was the first to speak: "Don't say anything, John," he ordered. "Get the mop." Frances Broene Rogers '18 Hood River, Oregon We thank Elaine Fletcher '60 Ed of Grand Rapids for also reporting this anecdote--Ed.

YOUR COVERAGE is excellent and your writers enviable. I grew up on John Dewey's ideas in Peyton Jacob, Sr. (The Behavior Cycle: An Interpretation of behavior from the standpoint of an educationist. Ann Arbor, Edward's Brothers, 1954). My father's book (condensed) was the "centerfold" of my shrink book, The Behavior Cycle as a Framework for Dynamic Psychotherapy (Gardner Press, Lake Worth, FL, 1996). A pragmatic view of psychodynamics enlightens any therapist's efforts, especially if too buried in Freud's look alone.

All of your articles are exciting--the coverage on Dewey recalls tales my father used to tell. Joe S. Jacob

THE SECOND installment of John Dewey's years at Michigan was inspiring in showing the influence that an obscure young orphan woman from a small Michigan town could exert on the development of American psychology. I don't understand the correction about Alice Dewey's sister: her name was indeed Augusta Maria Chipman, as can be seen in the 1870 US census for Fenton, p. 85, and in the book Born Strangers, written by her daughter, Helen Topping Miller. Alice did have an aunt by the name of Esther Riggs, however.

Alice Chipman is not the only link between Fenton and U-M. Dr. Isaac Wixom served at one time in the state House of Representatives on the House Committee on Education, which, according to one biography, was involved in establishing the University. In addition, Horace H. Rackham married a Fenton girl, Mame Horton. And one last link: when I was in the Marching Band in the 1950s, Than Chestnut, a Fenton native, attended the home games and always brought a bushel of apples for the band. Eugene F. Gray, '60 BSE, '68 PhD East Lansing, Michigan

THANKS FOR the interesting article about John Dewey. I can remember vividly the many stories told by my father, William A. Frayer, Professor of History from about 1909 to 1929, about Professor Dewey and the way the Dewey children were raised. I gather the stories were numerous. Some of them were probably true!

One small correction. The sketch of Dewey done by Wilfred Bryon Shaw is correctly attributed but Mr. Shaw's title is incorrect. Wilfred B. Shaw, my late father-in-law, was for many years Director of Alumni Relations at the U of M and also Editor of the Michigan Alumni Quarterly Review. It was for this magazine that he often did pen and ink sketches similar to the one of Professor Dewey. He was the originator of the idea that the University might be of some service to alumni. I don't know if the Alumni University which grew out of this idea still exists. "Bunk" Shaw, as he was often called, was a popular man on campus, though not a professor of art. His story would perhaps be worth an article in your paper. William C. Frayer '45 M Philadephia

I READ with great interest the second John Dewey article, in which you mention a Mildred Hinsdale. I was privileged to have her as a teacher at Grand Rapids Junior College (now Grand Rapids Community College) for a course titled Modern Europe. This course, because of the date in the '30s, specialized in World War I. Mildred Hinsdale's sister, Dr. Mary, taught American Government at the same school using her book on The American Cabinet. Their other sister taught at Mt. Holyoke.

One day in class, Mildred Hinsdale compared the idea of neighbors by using countries of Europe and city areas. She told us of her neighbor in Ann Arbor, the John Deweys. James J. Christensen '30 Grand Rapids, Michigan

I FOUND this issue particularly exciting because the article on John Dewey told where he went in Ann Arbor in terms of today's buildings. Anyone then may walk around A2 in the footsteps of the famous philosopher. There are lots of other fun items, but these locations in the Dewey article impressed a great deal because they are so rarely found. Margaret E. Day Grand Rapids, Michigan Photo Correction

This apartment house at 315 Packard is the last Ann Arbor residence of John Dewey still standing. He boarded there in 1885-86.The portrait of John Dewey in John Dewey at Michigan, Part II, in our Fall 1997 issue was miscredited to the Bentley Historical Library (in the printed version, noit the online version). The photograph was provided to MT by the John Dewey Photograph Collection, Special Collection/Morris Library, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Karen Dupell Drickamer, curator of manuscripts at the Morris Library, provided the print and graciously waived the fee. Students raised funds for the portrait as a gift to Dewey when he left U-M for the University of Chicago in 1984. We apologize for the error.

We also failed to credit Ann Arbor historian Wystan Stevens for his photograph of the Dewey residence at Forest St. and South University (again, in the printed, not the online version). The house burned down in 1973--Ed. No Complaints

I HAVE enjoyed Michigan Today very much; I have learned so many things from it, and I especially enjoy your articles on things like the portrait of James Burrill Angell, and other items that we would never have known about. Someone on the staff is doing a lot of digging. Keep the paper the way it is--I don't need another slick magazine. Eleanor Wilson '43, '64 MS School of Information Wooster, Ohio An Appeal to Grads

FOR SEVERAL years I have enjoyed MT's informative, enjoyable and entertaining features. I must confess that, a la undoubted thousands of fellow alumni/ae, the first portion I seek out is the Letters section. Nothing stirs nostalgia like sharing experience--which I would otherwise be denied in a tiny, rural-ish 'burb in upstate New York.

The last few issues' Letters, however, have been somewhat less than uplifting for primarily two reasons. The prevailing outlook of what seems a majority of respondents was reflected in a letter from Mr. Michael Pekala, '79, '83 MBA, in which he expressed outrage over the Steve Fisher debacle (and its handling), as well as academic decline. Not to disagree; while his letter may have painted a somewhat exaggerated picture, decline in standards, academic and athletic, are to at least some extent undeniable. But does U-M have any monopoly over such diminution? It pervades throughout American society! Nothing is as it was: academics (look at SATs and other high school barometers, while you're at it), crime rates, the economy (pulled your 401 (k) Portfolio or sent a child out into the job market lately?), etc., etc. a.i., a.n.

Perhaps we cannot influence an overwhelming portion of society as a whole, but as U-M's living legacy, as well as one of its largest source of endowment, we grads can act in the interest of a renewed "world class" university. We need to address our concerns, anxieties--and suggestions--to our present leadership (or as many feel, lack thereof). At least some of them will listen. And hopefully act. But we must make ourselves heard.

And it might not be an atrocious idea to start with that E-mail letter you were about to wire to MT, the one which relates instead to those infinitely abuseable address labels. Enough is enough!! My copies come addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Michael Polaski," and my wife did not attend U-M. It would faze me not a micro-iota if they all came addressed to namesake Count Casimir--so long as they continued to come!! Getting this refreshing publication in a timely fashion to the planet's largest alumni/ae body (in addition to numerous friends) is certainly good enough in my book: Attaboy, guys! Attagal, ladies! Keep up the fine work! Michael J. Polaski '73 Spencerport, New York Maintaining Material Evidence

A RECENT article ["Chasing the Orphan Angell," by Annette Hodesh, Fall '97] reminds us once again of our University's customary neglect of its history and traditions. The splendid portrait of President Angell, a major work by one of America's greatest painters, has for years been mistreated and nearly destroyed.

For those of us concerned, this is only the latest of such incidents, and I urge you to do what you can to see that some agency, perhaps the Museum of Art, be given authority to assume custody of objects of artistic importance on campus.

But I also hope that you can move to persuade the University community to remember its proud place in our nation's educational history and to respect and maintain the material evidences of that history. Robert Iglehart, Professor Emeritus Ann Arbor Nike Relationship "Grubby"

SO ACCUSTOMED to the Nike logo on all U-M athletic personnel and for-sale items like jackets, caps and toilet seats, I expected to find it even on the letter requesting support from alumni in the annual donation campaign. It was not there, and I wonder why. If the University can compromise its ideals in order to shill for an international sports equipment company in one area, why not in all? Why not "Just do it" as Nike says?

How can a public institution, inconspicuous or prestigious, endorse publicly and commercial product in or free enterprise society? What if the article is made by child labor in an unsanitary and dangerous environment? In such a contract, where is the respect for U.S. labor, especially union labor? Apparently none of the above was important to the Administration and Regents as they approved the Nike deal. Indeed, the same motivation apparently guided them in employing an outside agency, at great expense, to investigate NCAA concerns about rule violations in the basketball program. Who paid for this? Any public, tuition or donation money?

Enough questions. Send in the money. Hope for an end to the grubby relationship. Maize and blue, only, please. Lawrence Niblett '49 AB, MA Farmington Hills, Michigan Correction

In our Fall 1997 issue, the anthropology vignette "Survival Kit for the Field" by doctoral candidate Gina Ulysse on p. 22 contained editorial errors. The paragraph beginning: "Again, I encountered resistance from certain mentors. I was told the region was neither Western nor native enough for anthropology and its pursuit of the 'other.'" should have contained no reference to mentors.

The paragraph should read: "Although the Caribbean has not been incarcerated by 'gatekeeping concepts,' the region is still plagued by simple and derogatory perceptions as [a] tourist destination, [by] US invasions and [by] 'third-worldism'. Images of blue sea, all-inclusive flamingo-painted hotels, Rastafarians, spliffs and reggae, Black people fleeing macoutes in makeshift boats, and banana-leaf-covered shacks tend to cloud outsiders' opinions of the region. The images invoked by the categories I mentioned earlier are not at all exclusive; some are more prominent than others depending on the specific country. The fact is, as a field site the region is, according to anthropologist Michel Rolph-Trouillot, 'neither Western nor native enough' for anthropology and its pursuit of the 'other.'"

(Our online version of the story includes the correction.)

I HAVE often thought I didn't have the time to read one more publication, but something always catches my eye and I'm hooked. I usually read it quite thoroughly and share it with Dave. Michigan Today is well worth our time. Thanks for the many opportunities to recall our indebtedness to our education at U-M and savor the memories of those years. Lois F. Crane Wichita, Kansas

MICHIGAN TODAY is like a letter from an old friend; it stirs my mind to race from one happy memory to another. In September 1926 I entered the University, can it really be seventy plus years ago? Now I have been a resident of Florida for 10 years, where "U of M" always means University of Miami (football), so news from my real "U of M" is a welcome treat. On my reading list Michigan Today and Michigan Alumnus are tops--two stars to guide me into our new millennium. Clara Cartwright Pinellas Park, Florida

ENCLOSED is a gift to the University of Michigan "Friends of Michigan Today." Unfortunately, I no longer feel that I am a friend of the University. In its quest to be "politically correct," it has destroyed my love for this institution. Sensitivity training for the professors? What on earth is happening to freedom of expression and integrity of thought? I am sending this money because I want to see what is going on at the University I used to love.

I would like also to register my disagreement for your using the money you collect to "improve paper quality and readability." I am 74 years old--I have no problem with the current publication as it exists. If you are truly politically correct, you should be aware that publishing this paper on higher "quality," i.e. glossy, paper will only add to the pollution of our environment. Aren't you listening to Al Gore? Why don't they use the money, instead, to defray mailing costs, and use whatever is left over to reduce the tuition so that poor members of minority groups can afford to come to Michigan? Anne (Posoley) Naymik Tulsa, Oklahoma

FOR FOUR years I looked forward to attending Michigan's 1997 Commencement at which my "adopted" grandson was to be graduated with honors. The family and I drove out from Middletown NY, stayed at a hotel between Toledo and Ann Arbor only to learn early Saturday morning that because of the drenching rain "Exercises were canceled!" I found it difficult! We drove back to Middletown crestfallen. What a disappointment that lingers to this day.

Except that Michigan Today negated my disappointment in its summer edition with the news that Commencement was, in fact, held and President Lee Bollinger, with rain-wear, gave his first graduation address as Michigan's new president! Congratulations on an outstanding edition! "'Tis of Michigan we sing." George F. Shepard '41 Middletown, New York

COMPLIMENTS ON your varied and learned publication, (I'm happy to be in a footnote even--Edgar McCormick's editing of Emily Wolcott's letters recently appearing). It's worthwhile to have history tales of Michigan as well as the most recent research. Alumni are avid readers. "Letters" from them show continued interest. I hate to mention the fact that distribution is uneven--for the first time I did not receive an issue--Summer 1997. Good luck on your new ventures. Georgia C. Haugh Ann Arbor This issue's index | This Issue's Front Page