Pondering the characteristics
of success
A couple of weeks ago I talked about how a friend and I
brought up success. It greatly bothered me that I did not have
an understanding of what it meant to be successful and what it
takes to attain success. What bothered me most is that if
success is something we all value, then why is it so unknown,
undefined and misunderstood?
Last time I talked about how success is defined. I discussed
that it is completely dependant upon the individual and that
there is no common success. That success can come in many
ways, shapes and forms. It is true that it must first be
defined before figuring out how to get there, but seeing how I
did that weeks ago, this column is all about how to get there.
Now that I have defined success as a visible and tangible
goal, how do you get there?
If you think of some individuals throughout history that would
be considered successful, a redeeming quality that is common
amongst the majority of them is their leadership capabilities.
Disregarding how ambiguous the term leadership is, I will
roughly define it as the opposite of being a follower. Leading
is doing what others aren’t doing. Leadership is being the one
who takes the initiative to make sure things get done. This
does not mean he or she owns whatever they happen to be
leading; a leader is an individual who serves whatever he or
she happens to be leading. The president of a student
organization does not own the student organization, he or she
serves the individuals of the organization by doing the tasks
that need to be done with a diligent focus and a clear sense
of direction.
Leadership is giving value to something. If you want to be
rich, find something of value and give it to people and the
money will follow (look at Google, for instance). Leadership
is quality which most successful people demonstrate in their
actions, because it really is not something tangible but
rather an behavioral trait or an attitude.
Another attribute of successful individuals is persistence.
That is, leadership is focusing on a task and pushing to get
it accomplished; removing self-doubt and learning from
mistakes; and pushing through the challenges that keep us from
our goals. When you ask someone why something did not get done
the common answers go as follows: “Not enough time,” “not
enough help,” “not enough…anything.”
All in all people blame it on resources, but being resourceful
comes from being persistent. Persistence accounts for a lot.
It accounts for a lack of knowledge, good ideas and resources.
It is true that no one gets something the first time around,
and you should not expect that of yourself. If you persist
through your failures, you will be well off.
The last attribute I’ll talk about – which is probably the
most important – is passion. Passion involves being driven,
motivated, and disciplined. Loving what you do will make it
extremely easy to become successful because, to a certain
extent, we all deem happiness as a form of success. Being
passionate will make up for any inequities. Being passionate
will make an individual persistent and focused. So stick to
what you love, and the money will come later. It’s true that
money does not buy happiness; it sure helps, but it will not
make you happy. Here is a small list of what money can buy to
make me happy: a very nice car, Prozac and some uncomfortable
yet nice clothes. All of those things do not even compare to
what truly makes me happy: doing what I love.
All in all, stay true to yourself in your goals, and in what
you love doing. Be a leader by not following others. Lead by
giving people a service that is not replaceable. Persist
through all the hardships and challenges. Continue to push and
practice when things seem to be going wrong. Make every
failure an opportunity to learn. Lastly, make sure you do what
you enjoy. Money will only buy you things you don’t really
need, where doing something you are passionate about is
priceless.
– Jason Crowe is an IC Columnist and a senior majoring in
mechanical engineering.
Benefits of diversity
This week I was going to get off the unintended series I’ve
been doing on race and other identity issues, but I feel
there’s one more point I need to make to wrap it all up, which
occurred to me while perusing the online comments to my latest
column.
One of the comments came from fellow IC columnist and fellow
law student Joshua James Brown. Let me preface by saying that
I have nothing but respect for Mr. Brown and find his columns
very thought-provoking. That said, we obviously have
fundamental philosophical differences that are illustrated by
issues such as these.
The comment reads, “The thing you miss is this: conservatives
and libertarians believe that people should be judged based
purely upon individual merit and character. To judge someone
based upon the arbitrary and immutable characteristic of race,
is to give them no choice but to accept judgments forcibly
attached to them by other people.”
I’m sure I could have found a dozen different examples from
conservative thinkers saying basically the same thing, but I
think this sentence very elegantly summarizes the point I want
to address, so I figured I’d use it here.
So let me counter with what I think conservatives and
libertarians miss: By being conscious of race, gender, or
other identity traits like religion and sexual orientation,
and by factoring these traits into decisions, one isn’t
necessarily judging the people involved. This becomes clear if
you focus on the institution for which candidates are being
chosen rather than the candidates themselves.
There are at least two reasons why someone would consider such
factors for the sake of an institution. One reason might be
simply to rectify a past of discrimination. Conservatives
universally reject this reason because they don’t think it
justifies what they see as “reverse discrimination.” I get
that, even though I might disagree with it.
But another reason – one that I think is hard to deny from any
ideological perspective – is that an institution without
diversity is simply not as effective or as good as it would be
with diversity. And therefore, it’s justifiable to actively
seek diversity.
Look at the business world. Let’s say I’m the chairman of a
corporation and my board of directors is all white males.
Let’s say I have one open spot to fill, and I’m looking to
expand my product into new markets which my current board
doesn’t understand as well as we should because of our limited
life experiences. So I look at my pile of resumes, and I have
ten exceptionally qualified candidates, and one of them is a
minority female. I may give special preference to this person
because she can very likely help us achieve our goals more
effectively simply because of her background and identity.
Corporations in fact do things like his all the time, and it
shouldn’t be seen as a slight to anyone, either the
hypothetical minority female or the white men who didn’t get
the job. Dennis W. Archer, former mayor of Detroit and
Michigan Supreme Court Justice (and board member for three
public corporations), made this exact point recently when he
spoke at our Law Center.
He argued that white males actually gain as much as anyone
from diversity programs because of the benefits they have been
shown to bring to the bottom line. If my memory serves me
right, he mentioned Pepsi as an example. Pepsi Bottling Group
states right on their Web site that “[d]iversity allows PBG to
better understand the markets we serve and be a more effective
selling organization to our increasingly diverse customer
base. By valuing and leveraging the contributions of all our
employees, we are able to drive better business results.”
Another example is education. According to the United States
Supreme Court, diversity in a student body is a “compelling
government interest.” Despite the Court’s recent scrutiny
toward race-based programs, they held in 2003, in Grutter v.
Bollinger, that the University of Michigan Law School can
legally consider the race of applicants in order to achieve a
“critical mass” of minority students to further “the
educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.”
This is a good bridge into the realm of law and our judicial
system. The Grutter opinion was written by Sandra Day
O’Connor, our nation’s first female Supreme Court Justice.
First of all, let me say I think it’s a disgrace that it took
us until 1981 to get a woman on the High Court. But that’s the
liberal, “rectify the past” part of me speaking; I think an
even more compelling case can be made for increasing female
membership on the Court simply because it improves the
institution.
Justice O’Connor would and has agreed with me here, and as a
Reagan appointee, she’s hardly a liberal. O’Connor said just
last month that she was glad to see another woman joining the
Court (Sonia Sotomayor), but she added that “it’s not enough.”
She went on to say, “I don’t think we should have nine clones
up there,” and she further stressed the importance of
diversity in general, including diversity of religion and even
regional origin.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our nation’s second female
Justice, has been even more outspoken on the matter. She
insisted Obama should replace the retiring Justice David
Souter with a woman (which he did by nominating Sotomayor). To
justify this position, Ginsburg has discussed some cases in
recent years in which she felt her eight male cohorts simply
didn’t understand the female’s perspective in the case.
Such a case was that of Lily Ledbetter, who sued when she
watched her pay drop over time compared with men of equal or
less seniority. The Court ruled against Ledbetter, which led
Ginsburg to conclude that her colleagues showed “a certain
lack of understanding” for discrimination women face on the
job. She also said about O’Connor, “As often as Justice
O’Connor and I have disagreed, because she is truly a
Republican from Arizona, we were together in all the gender
discrimination cases … I have no doubt that she would have
understood Lilly Ledbetter’s situation.”
The simple fact is that women think about some things
differently than men because of their experiences, not because
they’re any better or worse than men. And when they’re not
well represented on the courts, justice suffers because the
court is thinking from an inherently male-biased perspective.
The same is true of race. Ask any racial minority if their
minority status is an important part of who they are and if it
has indelibly shaped their view on things, and nine times out
of ten they will say yes. This is what Sonia Sotomayor meant
with her “wise Latina” comment: Her status as a woman and a
minority are beneficial because she brings life experiences to
the judiciary that have been lacking there for 99 percent of
its history.
President Obama’s decision to exclude men from his short list
of Supreme Court candidates and his ultimate decision to favor
a minority among them simply wasn’t a “judgment” of Sotomayor
or any other candidate. Rather, it was a recognition that it
would be a disservice to the nation to continue to fill the
Court with “clones,” as Justice O’Connor might say.
– Robert Switzer is an IC Columnist and a third-year law
student.
Jacobs
to
interview
tenure applicants
all
Arts and Sciences Council members reacted in shock when the
Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Nina
McClelland announced that UT President Lloyd Jacobs plans to
personally interview all candidates who are up for tenure
positions.
McClelland, who is also the Interim Dean of UT’s School of
Advanced Renewable Energy, said at Tuesday’s ASC meeting that
a letter was sent to all deans from the Provosts that said, “I
want to let you know that Dr. Jacobs desires to interview
every candidate for tenure before making his recommendations
to the Board of Trustees.”
The letter read, “He wants to be sure that we give everyone
involved a heads up, this is yours, so that there will be
adequate time in the process for this additional step.”
“I think this could be a positive thing in terms of giving all
faculty with strong futures a chance to meet Dr. Jacobs and
giving him a chance to learn how talented and committed they
really are. They are the future of the university,” McClelland
said. “It also sends a message about the importance of tenure.
We all work hard to ensure that only very qualified people
reach this stage and I am confident that the hard work of the
faculty and the deans who put these people forward will be
respected.”
McClelland said she hopes the decision will not be
misinterpreted and asked that ASC members not judge the task
falsely.
Despite McClelland’s urging the council members not to view
the change in procedure negatively, some said they feared the
process may result in those candidates being judged personally
rather than professionally.
Chair of the Foreign Languages Department Ruth Hottell said
having a one-on-one interview with Jacobs may be intimidating
for some.
“I, at tenure when I was coming up for full [professorship],
was not intimidated by it, but I can tell you that people who
were coming up for tenure were very intimidated by it. And
it’s no secret that Dr. Jacobs is an intimidating man,” she
said
Chair of the Economics Department Mike Dowd, said this could
cause very serious legal problems for every tenure case.
Dowd referred to Henry Moon, provost at UT in 1999, who was
forced to stop a similar interviewing process with candidates
for tenure promotion.
“Provost Moon, when he met with candidates for tenure
promotion, stopped that process because [when] meeting with an
individual personally, the candidates for tenure promotion can
then say his decision on their particular case was based on
personal views rather than promotion integrity,” Dowd said.
“Provost Moon was forced to stop that interviewing process.”
“It’s not anything that they don’t want to speak with Jacobs,
but this can be a very uncomfortable thing,” he said.
Though some faculty members do not agree with Jacobs’ desire
to interview tenure candidates before recommending them to the
BOT, McClelland said the interviewing process will go through
whether they react well to it or not.
“We have to make lots of choices. We have a choice here. We
can handle it one way, or we can handle it another way, but I
think we ought to handle it in a way that has the greatest
potential to help us the most,” she said. “You can go in with
the wrong attitude, or you can go in with the right attitude.
It’s going to happen.”
Hottell said she hopes the intention of this interviewing
process is as positive as McClelland implies.
“I really hope that’s how it’s meant; that it’s a chance for
people to get to tell the president what they do so the
president can speak about what the faculty does instead of not
knowing,” she said.
“I really wish you try to hear what I’m saying. I know you’re
listening, but really try to hear it,” McClelland said to the
council members who offer opposing views on the decision to
interview tenure candidates. “At least give it a chance.”
The CAS has four people up for tenure candidacy this year.
Benefits of diversity
This week I was going to get off the unintended series I’ve
been doing on race and other identity issues, but I feel
there’s one more point I need to make to wrap it all up, which
occurred to me while perusing the online comments to my latest
column.
One of the comments came from fellow IC columnist and fellow
law student Joshua James Brown. Let me preface by saying that
I have nothing but respect for Mr. Brown and find his columns
very thought-provoking. That said, we obviously have
fundamental philosophical differences that are illustrated by
issues such as these.
The comment reads, “The thing you miss is this: conservatives
and libertarians believe that people should be judged based
purely upon individual merit and character. To judge someone
based upon the arbitrary and immutable characteristic of race,
is to give them no choice but to accept judgments forcibly
attached to them by other people.”
I’m sure I could have found a dozen different examples from
conservative thinkers saying basically the same thing, but I
think this sentence very elegantly summarizes the point I want
to address, so I figured I’d use it here.
So let me counter with what I think conservatives and
libertarians miss: By being conscious of race, gender, or
other identity traits like religion and sexual orientation,
and by factoring these traits into decisions, one isn’t
necessarily judging the people involved. This becomes clear if
you focus on the institution for which candidates are being
chosen rather than the candidates themselves.
There are at least two reasons why someone would consider such
factors for the sake of an institution. One reason might be
simply to rectify a past of discrimination. Conservatives
universally reject this reason because they don’t think it
justifies what they see as “reverse discrimination.” I get
that, even though I might disagree with it.
But another reason – one that I think is hard to deny
ideological perspective – is that an institution
diversity is simply not as effective or as good as it
with diversity. And therefore, it’s justifiable to
seek diversity.
from any
without
would be
actively
Look at the business world. Let’s say I’m the chairman of a
corporation and my board of directors is all white males.
Let’s say I have one open spot to fill, and I’m looking to
expand my product into new markets which my current board
doesn’t understand as well as we should because of our limited
life experiences. So I look at my pile of resumes, and I have
ten exceptionally qualified candidates, and one of them is a
minority female. I may give special preference to this person
because she can very likely help us achieve our goals more
effectively simply because of her background and identity.
Corporations in fact do things like his all the time, and it
shouldn’t be seen as a slight to anyone, either the
hypothetical minority female or the white men who didn’t get
the job. Dennis W. Archer, former mayor of Detroit and
Michigan Supreme Court Justice (and board member for three
public corporations), made this exact point recently when he
spoke at our Law Center.
He argued that white males actually gain as much as anyone
from diversity programs because of the benefits they have been
shown to bring to the bottom line. If my memory serves me
right, he mentioned Pepsi as an example. Pepsi Bottling Group
states right on their Web site that “[d]iversity allows PBG to
better understand the markets we serve and be a more effective
selling organization to our increasingly diverse customer
base. By valuing and leveraging the contributions of all our
employees, we are able to drive better business results.”
Another example is education. According to the United States
Supreme Court, diversity in a student body is a “compelling
government interest.” Despite the Court’s recent scrutiny
toward race-based programs, they held in 2003, in Grutter v.
Bollinger, that the University of Michigan Law School can
legally consider the race of applicants in order to achieve a
“critical mass” of minority students to further “the
educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.”
This is a good bridge into the realm of law and our judicial
system. The Grutter opinion was written by Sandra Day
O’Connor, our nation’s first female Supreme Court Justice.
First of all, let me say I think it’s a disgrace that it took
us until 1981 to get a woman on the High Court. But that’s the
liberal, “rectify the past” part of me speaking; I think an
even more compelling case can be made for increasing female
membership on the Court simply because it improves the
institution.
Justice O’Connor would and has agreed with me here, and as a
Reagan appointee, she’s hardly a liberal. O’Connor said just
last month that she was glad to see another woman joining the
Court (Sonia Sotomayor), but she added that “it’s not enough.”
She went on to say, “I don’t think we should have nine clones
up there,” and she further stressed the importance of
diversity in general, including diversity of religion and even
regional origin.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our nation’s second female
Justice, has been even more outspoken on the matter. She
insisted Obama should replace the retiring Justice David
Souter with a woman (which he did by nominating Sotomayor). To
justify this position, Ginsburg has discussed some cases in
recent years in which she felt her eight male cohorts simply
didn’t understand the female’s perspective in the case.
Such a case was that of Lily Ledbetter, who sued when she
watched her pay drop over time compared with men of equal or
less seniority. The Court ruled against Ledbetter, which led
Ginsburg to conclude that her colleagues showed “a certain
lack of understanding” for discrimination women face on the
job. She also said about O’Connor, “As often as Justice
O’Connor and I have disagreed, because she is truly a
Republican from Arizona, we were together in all the gender
discrimination cases … I have no doubt that she would have
understood Lilly Ledbetter’s situation.”
The simple fact is that women think about some things
differently than men because of their experiences, not because
they’re any better or worse than men. And when they’re not
well represented on the courts, justice suffers because the
court is thinking from an inherently male-biased perspective.
The same is true of race. Ask any racial minority if their
minority status is an important part of who they are and if it
has indelibly shaped their view on things, and nine times out
of ten they will say yes. This is what Sonia Sotomayor meant
with her “wise Latina” comment: Her status as a woman and a
minority are beneficial because she brings life experiences to
the judiciary that have been lacking there for 99 percent of
its history.
President Obama’s decision to exclude men from his short list
of Supreme Court candidates and his ultimate decision to favor
a minority among them simply wasn’t a “judgment” of Sotomayor
or any other candidate. Rather, it was a recognition that it
would be a disservice to the nation to continue to fill the
Court with “clones,” as Justice O’Connor might say.
– Robert Switzer is an IC Columnist and a third-year law
student.
Dangers of political apathy
Let’s talk politics. Not a particular salient issue in the
news, but politics on the whole and your feelings toward
politics.
To me, political ideology and public opinion have been two of
the most intriguing topics in political science and sociology.
I even log on to the Gallup polls’ Web site every so often to
read up on the developments in public opinion (I know,
probably not a typical activity of someone my age, but I enjoy
it nonetheless). Lately, I have looked into political
attitudes and issues of political apathy. Notably, I have
found that our generation of Americans, referred to as
“Generation X” or the “Baby Busters”, should be referred to as
the “apathetic generation.”
Now let’s be honest: While student political activists and
student organizations on campus serve as exceptions, too many
students our age do not concern themselves with politics or
the events taking place locally and globally. I have observed
this back in high school and even at the University of Toledo.
Granted some college students are aware of general
occurrences, especially after the Obama campaign rallied a lot
of young people to campaign and vote, political apathy is
still a common issue on the whole. At UT there is a low level
of political discussion. When I attempt to discuss current
events with my peers I frequently receive indifferent
responses and even confessions of being unaware and not
keeping up with the news. Others profess that they just do not
care. Not to mention, I see far too little dialogue on the
Independent Collegian’s Web site, where students are welcome
to offer their opinions in response to columns and news
articles.
We may attribute these tendencies to the isolation and
independence of college campus communities, the distractions
of pop culture, social networking and other leisurely
activities and overwhelming school work and stress. The
general lack of political efficacy, distrust in the government
or the belief that one cannot influence political affairs may
all be responsible for the apathetic attitude of many college
students.
I find this concerning. No democracy can exist without active
citizenship.
The disengaged mindset in which I feel many of my fellow
students carry is potentially dangerous. The reasons for which
many of our peers are civically insensitive are not excusable.
Living in the United States, we oftentimes take our freedoms
for granted. In order to conserve our civil liberties and
rights and assure that the government does not abuse its power
we must make every effort to be active citizens. This includes
exercising our right to vote on political candidates and
issues and participating in political activism for causes we
regard as important and relevant to us (there are several).
Domestic issues directly impact the American people while
international issues impact America’s role and perception in
the world. Some matters including trade, immigration, energy
and climate change are “intermestic,” meaning thet combine
both domestic and international concerns and therefore are
highly pertinent. In other words, while we are still young
now, such issues will ultimately impact us in some way when we
are adults.
Our peers often argue that politicians pay far too little
attention to issues directly concerning them. Yet this should
not prevent the young from taking a more active role in public
affairs in order to strengthen their voice and achieve their
objectives, particularly in areas such as public education.
Many of us are cynical when it comes to politics, but must
first take action in the process to realize any change. If one
does not vote or involve oneself in public affairs, then he or
she should not complain. Deeds must follow where words leave
off.
As our nation and world’s future leaders, we will have
numerous questions to resolve, from global warming to the
future of political system as a whole, since quite a few
including myself do not have faith in the current two-party
system.
We as a generation must prepare ourselves for future
challenges. While one should not go overboard and constantly
obsess about politics, it is essential to recognize the value
of citizenship and one’s duties as a citizen of a nation.
Without taking part in its affairs, one is merely an
inhabitant of a country.
There is more to life than conventional occupations and not
questioning what happens in our nation and the world. Ralph
Nader once said, “To the youth of America, I say, beware of
being trivialized by the commercial culture that tempts you
daily. I hear you saying often that you’re not turned on to
politics. If you do not turn on to politics, politics will
turn on you.”
– Butheina Hamdah is an IC Columnist and a freshman majoring
in political science and public administration.
Classic rock icon releases a
Christmas cover album
Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan was born in
Duluth Minnesota nearly 70 years ago. From his humble
beginnings, performing folk songs at small bars and cafe
shops, Dylan has gone onto become one of the most iconic and
influential figures in modern music.
His catalogue consists of some 54 albums released, spanning
from 1962 to present day. The Rock and Roll hall of famer has
sold millions of albums and continues to sell out venues
across the globe. Dylan has created albums that cover a
variety of genres, from folk and rock to even gospel.
Artistically speaking, what more does this man have to prove?
Last month, he released the latest edition to his already
extensive catalogue, a holiday album called, “Christmas in the
Heart.”
The 15-track CD features holiday classics such as “I’ll be
home for Christmas,” “Little drummer Boy,” and “Have yourself
a merry little Christmas.” Released by Sony Entertainment, the
album also includes guest artists by the likes of David
Hidalgo from Los Lobos and jazz guitarist Phil Upchurch.
Christmas in the Heart” follows in similar footsteps as
rockabilly band, Brian Setzer Orchestra. Setzer’s band has
released Christmas albums throughout the past several years
like “Boogie Woogie Christmas” and “Ultimate Christmas
Collection” where traditional songs are redone with a rock
twist.
At first listen, the tracks from “Christmas in the heart”
sound like a traditional holiday song with but once Dylan’s
vocals come through the song the dynamics and feel of the the
track take on a different tone. All the tracks are very well
done, but the vocal contrasted with the joyful melodies seem
to be remnisant of Randy Newman, synonymous with the Toy Story
soundtracks.
Dylan has been an icon in pop culture for most of his life,
drawing attention and interest since his rambling days in the
60s to more recent times. Ruminations on different years in
the life of Bob Dylan became the focus in the 2007 abstract
film “I’m not there,” starring Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale
and the late Heath Ledger. The film’s soundtrack featured the
music of Bob Dylan covered by a slue of artists paying tribute
to him. Musicians such as Jeff Tweedy, Eddie Vedder, Richie
Havens and Willie Nelson were all featured on the CD.
In the 60’s Dylan quickly became respected as a musical poet
with lyrical stylings from such songs as “It ain’t me babe”
where he sings, “Go lightly from the ledge, babe, Go lightly
on the ground. I’m not the one you want, babe, I will only let
you down.” He was also recognized as a voice of his generation
with protest songs like, “The Times are a-changin,” “A hard
rain’s gonna fall” and “Blowin in the Wind.”
In regards to his lyrics in “The times are a-Changin,” he once
stated, “I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme
song, with short, concise verses that piled up on each other
in a hypnotic way. This is definitely a song with a purpose. I
knew exactly what I wanted to say and who I wanted to say it
to.”
In true christmas spirit, Bob Dylan is determined to not only
spread holiday joy through his music, but also by way of
putting his tunes directly to work for the less fortunate. All
U.S. Dylan’s royalties from “Christmas in the Heart” will be
donated to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic
hunger-relief charity. In regards to the royalty donation, the
68 year old musician commented, “It’s a tragedy that more than
35 million people in this country alone — 12 million of those
children – often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning
unsure of where their next meal is coming from.”
most of his life, drawing attention and interest since his
rambling days in the 60s to more recent times. Ruminations on
different years in the life of Bob Dylan became the focus in
the 2007 abstract film “I’m not there,” starring Cate
Blanchett, Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger. The
film’s soundtrack featured the music of Bob Dylan covered by a
slue of artists paying tribute to him. Musicians such as Jeff
Tweedy, Eddie Vedder, Richie Havens and Willie Nelson were all
featured on the CD.
In the 60’s Dylan quickly became respected as a musical poet
with lyrical stylings from such songs as “It ain’t me babe”
where he sings, “Go lightly from the ledge, babe, Go lightly
on the ground. I’m not the one you want, babe, I will only let
you down.” He was also recognized as a voice of his generation
with protest songs like, “The Times are a-changin,” “A hard
rain’s gonna fall” and “Blowin in the Wind.”
In regards to his lyrics in “The times are a-Changin,” he once
stated, “I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme
song, with short, concise verses that piled up on each other
in a hypnotic way. This is definitely a song with a purpose. I
knew exactly what I wanted to say and who I wanted to say it
to.”
In true christmas spirit, Bob Dylan is determined to not only
spread holiday joy through his music, but also by way of
putting his tunes directly to work for the less fortunate. All
U.S. Dylan’s royalties from “Christmas in the Heart” will be
donated to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic
hunger-relief charity. In regards to the royalty donation, the
68 year old musician commented, “It’s a tragedy that more than
35 million people in this country alone — 12 million of those
children – often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning
unsure of where their next meal is coming from.”
Pondering the characteristics
of success
A couple of weeks ago I talked about how a friend and I
brought up success. It greatly bothered me that I did not have
an understanding of what it meant to be successful and what it
takes to attain success. What bothered me most is that if
success is something we all value, then why is it so unknown,
undefined and misunderstood?
Last time I talked about how success is defined. I discussed
that it is completely dependant upon the individual and that
there is no common success. That success can come in many
ways, shapes and forms. It is true that it must first be
defined before figuring out how to get there, but seeing how I
did that weeks ago, this column is all about how to get there.
Now that I have defined success as a visible and tangible
goal, how do you get there?
If you think of some individuals throughout history that would
be considered successful, a redeeming quality that is common
amongst the majority of them is their leadership capabilities.
Disregarding how ambiguous the term leadership is, I will
roughly define it as the opposite of being a follower. Leading
is doing what others aren’t doing. Leadership is being the one
who takes the initiative to make sure things get done. This
does not mean he or she owns whatever they happen to be
leading; a leader is an individual who serves whatever he or
she happens to be leading. The president of a student
organization does not own the student organization, he or she
serves the individuals of the organization by doing the tasks
that need to be done with a diligent focus and a clear sense
of direction.
Leadership is giving value to something. If you want to be
rich, find something of value and give it to people and the
money will follow (look at Google, for instance). Leadership
is quality which most successful people demonstrate in their
actions, because it really is not something tangible but
rather an behavioral trait or an attitude.
Another attribute of successful individuals is persistence.
That is, leadership is focusing on a task and pushing to get
it accomplished; removing self-doubt and learning from
mistakes; and pushing through the challenges that keep us from
our goals. When you ask someone why something did not get done
the common answers go as follows: “Not enough time,” “not
enough help,” “not enough…anything.”
All in all people blame it on resources, but being resourceful
comes from being persistent. Persistence accounts for a lot.
It accounts for a lack of knowledge, good ideas and resources.
It is true that no one gets something the first time around,
and you should not expect that of yourself. If you persist
through your failures, you will be well off.
The last attribute I’ll talk about – which is probably the
most important – is passion. Passion involves being driven,
motivated, and disciplined. Loving what you do will make it
extremely easy to become successful because, to a certain
extent, we all deem happiness as a form of success. Being
passionate will make up for any inequities. Being passionate
will make an individual persistent and focused. So stick to
what you love, and the money will come later. It’s true that
money does not buy happiness; it sure helps, but it will not
make you happy. Here is a small list of what money can buy to
make me happy: a very nice car, Prozac and some uncomfortable
yet nice clothes. All of those things do not even compare to
what truly makes me happy: doing what I love.
All in all, stay true to yourself in your goals, and in what
you love doing. Be a leader by not following others. Lead by
giving people a service that is not replaceable. Persist
through all the hardships and challenges. Continue to push and
practice when things seem to be going wrong. Make every
failure an opportunity to learn. Lastly, make sure you do what
you enjoy. Money will only buy you things you don’t really
need, where doing something you are passionate about is
priceless.
– Jason Crowe is an IC Columnist and a senior majoring in
mechanical engineering.
W. Basketball looks to take
next step in 2009-10 season
After being picked to finish last in the Mid-American
Conference West Division last season, the Toledo women’s
basketball team went 18-13 (11-5 MAC) under first-year head
coach Tricia Cullop and ended the year as the second-ranked
team in the division. As a result, Cullop earned MAC Co-Coach
of the Year honors and the Rockets were picked as the
favorites to win the MAC West Division this season, which
begins with an exhibition game today against Ashland in Savage
Arena at 7 p.m.
With nine returning letterwinners and all five starters
returning, as well as six new additions to an experienced
roster, the Rockets have both the depth and the experience to
make a bid at a division and conference.
“It will not be an easy road in 2009-10, but our goal is to
take that next step and win our division,” Cullop said. “In
addition, we want to challenge for an overall MAC
championship.”
Toledo certainly has the tools to do so, led by a trio of
talented senior forwards in Allie Clifton, Lisa Johnson and
Tanika Mays, who was named to the preseason All-MAC West
Division team along with sophomore guard Naama Shafir.
“I expect our returners to give us great leadership and set
the tone in building our team chemistry,” Cullop said. “I
believe chemistry is a big factor and something that people
don’t talk about that much, but I think that was a huge factor
in the success we had in 2008-09. We beat teams last season
that maybe had more talent on paper, but our players came
together, gave everything they had and played with a lot of
passion.”
One of those players was Shafir, who started all 31 games at
point guard as a true freshman last season, leading the team
in assists and earning a MAC All-Freshman team selection. A
native of Hoshaya, Israel, Shafir has competed in the FIBA
Europe competitions (Division B) for the last five years on
the Israelis National Team and is the first female Orthodox
Jew to receive an NCAA Division I scholarship.
“Naama really opened some eyes last season,” Cullop said. “She
arrived in the United States for the first time and played a
pretty impressive role for us.”
In addition to leadership and experience, the Rockets have
added talented depth to their roster. Between the returning
letterwinners, four incoming freshman and a transfer that will
be eligible to play at the conclusion of the fall semester in
junior guard Ashlee Barrett, Toledo will have bodies to rotate
throughout the season. Among the new faces is 6-2 freshman
Yolanda Richardson. A Toledo native, Richardson averaged 14.8
points and 12.1 rebounds per game as a senior at Start High
School last season, helping guide the Spartans to a 22-3
record and the school’s first appearance in the state finals.
Richardson earned numerous individual accolades, including
first-team all-state, Toledo City League and Associated Press
Northwest All-District Player of the Year honors.
“Yolanda brings a new dimension to our team,” Cullop said.
“She is a tremendous rebounder, a great shot-blocker and
finishes very well around the basket.”
With a deep roster and a veteran core, the Rockets are poised
to accomplish great things this season if they can stay
healthy and focused on their goals.
“Obviously, people are going to expect us to do well this
season, so we have to come back better than we were last
year,” Cullop said. “We have to do the work that is going to
get us over that next hump and challenge the squads at the top
of the MAC.”
The Rockets’ season opener is on Nov. 13 against Northwestern
at Savage Arena. Tip-time is set for 7 p.m.
Housing
with UT
Web
site
partners
Searching for housing off campus may be easier for University
of Toledo students through a free Web site called Living Off
Campus 101.
UT’s Office of Commuter Students and Off-Campus Services
partnered with the Web site to help ease the difficulty of
searching for apartments and other off-campus housing for
commuter students and others who are considering living off
campus.
Through the Web site, students can search for housing by the
criteria of property type, price range, distance from campus
and the number of bedrooms or bathrooms. The Web site also has
an advanced search link, which can refine student’s search
options and include other aspects of the property including
community features, utilities and pet policy.
“We were trying to make this an all-in-one Web site, which
provides anything and everything you need to make your housing
decision,” said Michael Bumgarner, president and CEO of Living
Off Campus 101.
“When you do find a property you are interested in, you can
click on it. There will be up to five pictures, lease
agreement, floor plans and custom directions,” Bumgarner said.
Multiple forms of contact information regarding the property
owner, and availability of the property, can also be found on
each listing.
“It’s a very easy, two click, three click navigational Web
site,” said Brandon Gaddy, coordinator of UT Commuter Students
and Off-Campus Services. “It’s certainly easy for anyone who
wants to post something, anybody who is looking to get a new
roommate or looking at changing housing, things of that
nature.”
Gaddy said the Web site makes it easier for students to make a
housing decision because it provides pictures of housing units
students would be interested in.
“Students won’t have to hunt for [off-campus housing]
information anymore; rather, it’s right at their fingertips,”
said Interim Dean of Students Michele Martinez.
According to Martinez the company was chosen among other
options because it was free for both students and UT
“We thought it was more up-to-date than what we had previously
provided through the off-campus living directory,” she said.
Other features of the Web site include a message board for
finding roommates and a buying-and-selling board, which works
as a free classified space for anyone trying to barter for
books, furniture and electronics.
Bumgarner said the site also posts contact information for the
Toledo Police Department and Toledo Fire Department if a
student gets in trouble with things such as alcohol and needs
police assistance. Bumgarner explained to post a property on
the site, prospective property managers and owners can log on
to the Web site, sign up, upload all property information and
it is instantly listed on the Web site. Property managers or
owners who sign up can list a property for 12 months, have the
option to pay extra to become a featured member and have their
properties listed first.
Living Off Campus 101 is linked to UT’s Commuter Students and
Off-Campus Web site through the Office of Student Involvement.
– Students can visit Living Off Campus 101 at loc101.com
Another
take
predicament
on
the
Dear IC readers, I would like to respond to Butheina Hamda’s
column in the Independent Collegian, “Mideast Predicament
(Mon. 09/28/09)”with an answer that would have me identified
by the formations of my surroundings as well. My background
may not have been such that I was born in Israel, however, my
heritage as a latter part of my own self-development leads me
to follow the paths that have been laid forth. I have lived in
the United States for all of my life; however, this does not
mean I have been excluded from the scorns of anti-Semitism or
the idea of simply being different. As the author of the
stated article noted, I will not focus solely on the issues
stated above, for the Middle Eastern conflict encompasses more
than just the words and wars of the sorrows of the Jewish
people. From the experiences of my Mother and Father, I was
exposed to the feelings of indifference and ill normalcy.
Ignorance is something that is not very new in the United
States. I am of Russian and Polish descent, and I value my
ancestry as a very important part of my history. When times
come to a moving interval, at which one feels their history is
fading into the past, then it becomes imperative not to forget
and to make sure that he and subsequent generations do not
forget where they have come from. This digression of
philosophical and historical discourse shows why others and I
feel so strongly in this grave time for Israel and its
predicament. As for the oozing feelings of anti-Semitism,
which I subtly mentioned earlier, they made their appearances
to me in ways that were grotesque and mostly un-meaningful. As
people would say, to them, more or less as jokes, but to me
they were hurtful. For the sake of this article I will only
say certain phrases such as “Jew boy” or saying things like
“Hitler missed one.” I will refrain from the topic of antiSemitism, as this is not the main subject of discourse. The
plight of the Palestinians is sorrowful and not to be ignored,
but when a people’s political and social authority uses
violence as a means of negotiation and diplomacy, then that
violence should either be countered – or else one risks the
loss of countless innocents. Hamas is a terrorist organization
and they only wish to seek the annihilation of Israel as well
as the radical enforcement of their estranged ideologies. To
say Israel is wrong in defending their people would be
intrinsically wrong. Next, according to the Geneva Convention
Guidelines and rules set down by the powers to be, “Individual
or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of
protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of
the occupying power or to that of any other country, occupied
or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.” First,
“the occupying power of to that of any other country” does not
apply in this particular situation. Reasons being that
Palestine and the Palestinian Authority are not recognized
sovereign or governing bodies; therefore, this situation is
overtly inherent to them. Secondly, the Palestinian Authority
has connections and is a terrorist organization. (A terrorist
organization is defined as a group that will not stop until
they achieve their prime goals whether by force or means of
irregular diplomacy.) To further expand upon the agonies of
this “predicament,” one must look upon the outlying nations
who procure an outright anti-Israel stance, as well as behold
with them their theologically enforced governments. For the
latter point, to deny Israel a claim to a Jewish state would
need to be backed by excluding the theocratic ideologies from
the other Arab nations. If not, then the idea of a single
Jewish state holds complete legitimacy. I understand the
plight of the opposition in the previously stated article, and
it’s clear that things must be dealt with. But before one can
look at these problems the fact at hand is that the
Palestinian territories are corrupt and nothing can be
achieved until their governing bodies find some sanctum for
the violent tendencies of the ideological splinter groups that
continue this bloody war. Looking back to history, it’s only
the plight of others and the meaningless struggles that
procure the wars that we continue to see ourselves locked in
today. Maxwell Gold Sophomore, political science and
philosophy
Student Senate resolution
pushes medical amnesty
Students under the age of 21 may not be in violation of laws
that prohibit underage drinking when they need to seek medical
attention if a medical amnesty policy that exists in Michigan
is brought to Ohio.
UT Student Senate is trying to bring the legislation regarding
medical amnesty to Ohio in order to save lives and make an
impact on the entire state.
Under this new Michigan law, minors will not be penalized by
law enforcement when presenting other minors to the attention
of medical staff and hospital agencies, even if they have been
drinking themselves.
The existing law, House Bill 4876, was introduced to the
Michigan Legislature on May 5, 2009, by Michigan State Senator
Mark Meadows and was passed on Oct. 21, 2009.
Mark D’Apolito, a junior majoring in criminal justice and a
member of the Student Senate, said he wrote the resolution to
bring the law to Ohio after discovering that it had recently
been adopted in Michigan.
“Michigan is the first state that I found that has adopted
this policy. They took this to the house and presented it and
then it was adopted by the Michigan law; the governor still
has to pass it,” D’Apolito said.
The Michigan bill, which D’Apolito said he plans to take
forward to the Ohio state legislator, includes any minor who
has consumed alcohol and presents themselves to a health
facility or agency for treatment, any minor in accompaniment
of another minor, and anyone under the age of 21 who contacts
a police officer or emergency medical services personnel over
the telephone.
D’Apolito said this new provision would reduce the amount of
underage student drunk drivers because, under this law, they
would be able to call 911 and not be penalized.
“This would mean that minors under 21 who have been drinking
can care for their peers who are in need of medical attention
due to alcohol poisoning or overdose,” D’Apolito said.
Bringing this enforcement to UT’s Campus, D’Apolito said,
would be a reasonable measure to relieve some fear of minors
getting into legal trouble if they need medical attention
while under the influence of alcohol.
“I’ve had people tell me ‘why not just lower the drinking
age?’ Well, regardless of the drinking age, it has to do with
peer groups, More students party in college,” D’Apolito said.
The process for getting the legislation approved would involve
multiple steps, D’Apolito said.
“There has to be some public interest on the matter first.
Then you have to find a state legislator to take on the
project and rewrite it. The revised bill is then sent to a
committee where it is studied. The committee generates an
analysis before it goes to the floor of the [Ohio] House or
the Senate,” D’Apolito said. “Minor changes may be made here
and if the bill passes these two steps, then it bypasses the
next step and goes to the governor for an approval or veto.”
D’Apolito said this would be a huge step for the state of Ohio
and the University of Toledo to pursue public policy.
“This would reduce some of the dangers associated with
underage drinking by freshmen and sophomores,” D’Apolito said
“This issue should be of great concern to many campuses across
the state. This would save lives and encourage students to get
help before it becomes a dire situation.”
Sleiman Sleiman, a senior majoring in chemical engineering,
said if this law were brought to Ohio it would encourage
people to be more responsible and they would not refrain from
getting medical attention due to fear of getting in trouble
with the law.
“This would make college a safer experience. You hear stories
about students drinking and being neglected,” Sleiman said.
Though some students think the medical amnesty regulation
would be a good thing to bring to Ohio, especially for the
benefit of college students, others think it may be abused.
“I can see where they are coming from, but I feel that would
allow underage students a reason to drink even more,” said Tim
Escondo, a senior majoring in history. “Drinking is a
privilege and you should wait until you’re 21 to drink.”
“Why would you give them the benefit to drink anyway? Minors
drinking should not be let off the hook,” said Jonathan
Dawson, a senior majoring in criminal justice.
Dawson said this law would open the doors for a whole new set
of problems with underage drinking.
Obama’s
signing
of
the
Shepard Act is a step in the
right direction
On Wednesday, President Obama signed into legislation the
Matthew Shepard Act, which has established violence carried
out against people based on their sexual orientation and
gender identities as a federal hate crime. We welcome the
passage of this legislation as a bold step in the right
direction for equal rights and protection under the law for
people of all sexual orientations and genders.
The bill serves as a benchmark for civil rights in the United
States, and shows us that the civil rights movement did not
end in the 1960s – in fact, it is alive and well in our time.
We treat this piece of legislation not only as a triumph for
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people; we view it as a
victory for all Americans. The passage of this bill reaffirms
that America remains dedicated to the freedom of expression
and “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” So long as
individuals are not harming others because of the ways in
which they express themselves and pursue their definition of
happiness, they should enjoy the same privileges and
immunities under U.S. law – especially protection from
violence and discrimination.
Whomever a person chooses to love and the gender an individual
decides to espouse does not bar them from contributing in a
positive manner to the betterment of society. There are good
and bad people everywhere; whether an individual is a good or
bad citizen does not correlate – neither positively nor
negatively – to their sexual and gender preferences.
The government’s efforts should not rest here. Lawmakers in
Washington and across the U.S. should continue to recognize
and enforce the rights of all people regardless of their
beliefs, race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.