Fresard playing to both sides of cartoon debate

To the Daily:

The Daily's editorial judgment not to reprint cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (What are we missing? 03/08/2006) can't be proven wrong. But spotlighting that judgment in a column challenging everyone to embrace controversial - indeed, offensive - material begs whether the editor-in-chief, Donn Fresard, is trying to work both sides of the intellectual street.

Fresard excoriates politically correct academia's "culture of offense," yet genuflects to these same sensibilities when citing "the shock of the images" as the reason why the Daily hasn't reprinted the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. This seems a distinction without a difference (i.e., I still don't get to see the cartoons), and undercuts the assertion that "the Daily will continue to print cartoons that may occasionally offend." Well, prove it.

Nord Christensen
Rackham

'U' should not reward community college students

To the Daily:

There was a time when a university education was conceived of as more than the mere acquisition of a requisite number of units of academic study. It was seen as a coherent experience of living and learning in a continuous community for a period of four years. The combination of the ongoing experience of interaction with one's fellow students, along with the continuous challenge of a rigorous in-class experience, was what constituted the grounds for the award of a degree. Admission of transfer students, especially those from community colleges, runs contrary to this entire philosophy and should be discouraged, contrary to what the Daily argued in a recent editorial (Transfer on in, 03/08/2006).

Community colleges frequently offer a substandard level of academic rigor, in addition to failing to provide the challenge of a community learning environment. A University degree advertises a certain level of both personal and academic formation, and students who have not undergone the full experience to attain this degree should not lightly be rewarded with the qualification. Therefore, an increase in the number of transfer students from community colleges is undesirable.

Of course, it is an excellent goal to attempt to increase enrollment of worthy students from underprivileged backgrounds. However, increasing community college transfers is the wrong way to go about it. Financial resources for those otherwise unable to afford a University education are available in abundance, and the University is at great pains to advertise this fact to those who may not be aware of it. Additionally, it has been proven that obtaining a Michigan degree substantially increases one's earning potential. Thus, a certain amount of borrowing for the education is little more than a wise use of modern financial techniques. Therefore, the University should not reward students, of whatever background, who choose to go to community college with further efforts to recruit them. The University should find a better use for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's money, such as further efforts to publicize scholarships in high schools in low-income areas, or it should politely decline it.

David Waddilove
Law School

Stronger connection between campuses is possible

To the Daily:

I appreciated Doug Wernert's well written article on North Campus in the March 9 issue (Rethinking North Campus, 03/09/2006). It adequately portrayed the frustration that many people have with the physical and psychological isolation of North Campus, even as it becomes its own place. The article refers to a monorail as a possible connector between Central and North Campus. While a monorail seems like an expensive Buck Rogers approach to making this connection, the important point is that an above-grade transportation link could be made.

The two banks of the Huron River on which the Medical and North Campuses are built are at about the same elevation, and a bridge could easily connect these two points. It is frustrating to stand on the edge of either campus and to sense the separation across the valley with the feeling that there is no way of getting "there." A bridge that is dedicated for buses, bicycles and pedestrian traffic only could relieve some of the congestion in the valley, cut many minutes off the commute between campuses and reduce the psychological distance between them. If the bridge were to be designed by an outstanding architect/engineer such as the Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, it could be a wonderful aesthetic addition to the campus as well.

Robert Beckley

The letter writer is dean emeritus of the
Taubman College of Architecture and
Urban Planning.

Crime Notes fail to provide readers crucial information

To the Daily:

I was distressed by Friday's crime notes (Crime Notes, 03/10/2006).