University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Campus Reflects Changing Attitudes Time has evidenced many changes on the University of Michigan campus. Not only are there structural changes like the expansion of the business school, but the students themselves are different now. There seems to be a different attitude among today ' s college students. Some have dismissed it as political apathy, oth- ers call it self-centeredness. Regardless of its name, it has left a noticeable impact on Ann Arbor. Today ' s student is a different type of student. I think students of today can be characterized as having a more personal interest in their own well-being and per- sonal prosperity, said Vice-President for Student Services Henry Johnson. Basically, I would describe the mood on campus as calm, generally speaking. There ' s not the consistency, unlike the ' 60 ' s, of collective protest or collective en- ergy targeted on a specific cause. There tends to be sporadic, at best, and extreme- ly small numbers of students involved in protest. The code is an example; the nucle- ar free zone proposal in Ann Arbor is an- tier. There has been nothing in the last five to six years that has galvanized a signifi- cant percentage of the student body around a cause, the vice-president stated. Surely University students are not lack- ing ideas or opinions, yet only a handful openly protest the code. A few more de- bate U.S. involvement in Central Amer- ica, but the majority of students abstain from these political activities. MSA President Scott Page commented, I think they don ' t get involved because they ' re concerned about their grades. It ' s easier to drink beer. It ' s easier not to care about something. One professor confided that students seem much more concerned about their own career paths. In terms of campus life, in some ways, they seem like throw- backs to the late ' 50 ' s and ' 60 ' s. There ' s a revival of campus activities like sororities and fraternities, but they ' re much less in- terested in politics now. But Donald Brown, psychology profes- sor, cautions against stereotyping today ' s college students. The mass of students then and now are probably not a lot differ- ent, he said. Most of the 1960 ' s activists were involved in protest because of self- interest: They did not want to find them- selves fighting a war in Southeast Asia. Brown also suggested that a minority of the public actually was represented by the political activists. Since they received an enormous amount of attention from the media, their impact may have been over- rated, he concluded. Some students easily dismiss the stan- dards of the 1960 ' s, like Bill Smith, a gra- duate student majoring in English. Rather than being involved in idealis- tic, fadish political goals, students are in- volved in different things now. While MSA and LS A Student Gov- ernments may be losing volunteers, many new organizations continue to surface on campus. Sigma Kappa sorority was newly formed this fall. In addition, many more women rushed this year than in 1983. For the most part, activism hasn ' t died on the U-M campus, it just has been re- channeled in new and different outlets. -Annette Fernholz X- : . X ; , ' Kristin Golubovskis Attitudes on Campus 5

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Modeled alter Cambridge, Michigan ' s Law Quad is known for its gothic style. U-M ' s academic standards sometimes require students to study at every opportuni Friends relax along the Huron River. The Michigan League (opposite right) construct- ed in 1929, provides a suitable atmosphere for so- cializing. 4 Attitudes on Campus

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Here to Learn Academics Take Top Priority 6 I spend 80 percent of my time study- ing. Everyone has to make a choice: You can either study and do well or party and suffer the consequences, said Heidi Grif- fin, freshman in LS A. Such diligence usually pays off. Ap- proximately 95 percent of the freshmen enrolled at the University are eligible to continue for their sophomore year. There are many factors contributing to U-M ' s low attrition rate. One is the crite- ria for admission. According to Lance Erickson, Associate Director of Admis- sions, the admissions process concentrates on predicting academic success. All we consider is the grade point aver- age, class rank, and test scores, but we do take the curriculum into account, Erick- son said. Extracurricular activities play no role in admission selection. Sure, we want the well-rounded individual, but we ' re not go- ing to deny the budding Einstein who ' s just a bookworm. Erickson continued, We achieve diversity simply through the diver- sity of students we attract. The end result is a very competitive stu- dent body. Many are enrolled in pre-pro- fessional programs, and over 80 percent of Michigan undergraduates pursue graduate studies. Sophomore Rob Susel admits the cur- riculum is demanding but not impossible. You can make a lot out of it if you put time into it. Many students spend 15 to 20 hours a week reading, studying, and researching. Libraries are full during weekends. Col- lege is not the party high school students dream about. There ' s a lot of academic pressure to succeed. I don ' t think it ' s necessarily forced on by parents, but there are some who feel a lot of parental pressure to suc- ceed, societal pressure to succeed, ex- plained a student in LS A. Another reason for the low attrition rate is students ' pressure on themselves. MSA President Scott Page said, Students feel as though they have to excel because most of them excelled in high school. These stu- dents have excelled their entire lives; they don ' t want to come here and not do well. Angell Hall photo by Jeff Schrier. Inset photos by Kristine Golubovskis and Ed Winfield. Academics The University not only expects aca- demic success, it requires it. Michigan has taken the position historically that we ' ll provide it (a good education), but you have to come and get it. This institu- tion is not going to spoonfeed anybody. It expects you to be a self-starter, ready to come out of the blocks when you walk through the doors. It assumes that you are ready for the academics, said Henry Johnson, Vice-President of Student Ser- vices. Most of the students here are very good students. They ' re very bright. They know how to study, and if they don ' t they learn quickly, or they ' ll have a very short stay, Johnson stated. Michigan doesn ' t have weeks of study days to prepare for finals like other institu- tions; it doesn ' t allow students easy with- drawal from classes after the third week. It simply demands the very best from its stu- dents. Michigan is a highly prestigous, com- plex, competitive, quality institution, ac- cording to one University administrator. It ' s all of those things. It ' s difficult to get a degree from this place. Angell Hall, named after former University presi- dent James Angell, provides a learning atmosphere for students.