Transforming the U

This questionnaire includes 10 open-ended questions. To enable us to better understand the viewpoints of a cross section of communities at the University, and to be more focused in our recommendations, we encourage you to complete also the optional demographic section. Your responses will be handled in a confidential manner, and, again, no individual responses will be identified.

On behalf of the Task Force on Diversity, thank you for your participation in the strategic positioning process.

1) In your opinion, what are the current efforts that are being effective at:
a. Improving the diversity of faculty and/or staff at the University of Minnesota?
b. Improving the diversity of students at the University of Minnesota?


2) In your opinion, what are the past efforts that have been effective at:
a. Improving the diversity of faculty and/or staff at the University of Minnesota?

Ethnicity, handicap, sexuality, gender and such have no bearing (Positive OR Negative!) on being hired for a position (or at least it better not be....)

b. Improving the diversity of students at the University of Minnesota?

Encouraging group work in courses where it makes sense
Ethnicity, handicap, sexuality, gender and such have no bearing (Positive OR Negative!) on a student's grades (or at least it better not...)
The online registration process is the same for everyone, and easier for all to access.

3) What should be the strategic measures of success for diversity at the University of Minnesota?

When there are no "Special Task Forces" or "questionnaires" on the topic, it will be a non-topic, and you will know you have succeeded.

4) What are the barriers to success for diversity at the University of Minnesota?

The desperate focus on diversity is causing every 'minority' to become a special interest group, which is the exact opposite of the intended effect.

5) Who should be accountable for the state of diversity at the University of Minnesota?

The students and faculty.

6) In what ways should the University collaborate with the external community to enhance the state of diversity at the University of Minnesota?


7) What can be done to create a supportive University environment in which:
a. Students feel understood, respected, and valued?

Modify your business practices to be user-friendly for everyone. This includes registration, bursar, bookstore, etc. Make sure all offices and facilities are handicap accessable. Make sure that those who cannot speak/read English make ESL their top priority. It is not fair to expect teaching to take place across a language barrier.

b. Faculty and staff feel understood, respected, and valued?

Modify your business practices to be user-friendly for everyone. This includes registration, bursar, bookstore, etc. Make sure all offices and facilities are handicap accessable. Make sure that those who cannot speak/read English make ESL their top priority. It is not fair to expect teaching to take place across a language barrier.

8) What are the 4 most important priorities the University should focus on to enhance the state of diversity at the University?


1 - Investigate why diversity is more important to the University than other areas such as safety, inflated tuition rates and fees...
2 - Define what you mean by "enhancing" the state of diversity...
3 - Make facilities more handicap accessable
4 - Improve and expand on Distance Learning techniques and technologies.

9) How might the current state of diversity hinder the University’s ability to achieve its goal of becoming one of the top 3 public research universities in the world?

Wasting resources on Task Forces and Questionnaires on Diversity instead of utilizing Common Sense which is cheaper and faster, will reduce the University's resources for other goals, like "becoming one of the top 3 public research universities in the world."

10) How might an enhanced state of diversity support the University’s ability to achieve its goal of becoming one of the top 3 public research universities in the world?

It really won't, but I suspect the answer you were looking for is something like, "The ability of the University to tap into the diverse knowledge and experience of multiple cultures and backgrouds will make it one of the most robust and resourceful public research universities in the world."

Sincerely,
Conrad Zero

Labels: americans, Open Letter

The Dude recently introduced me to the energy drink, Bawls. I was formerly of the opinion that energy drinks (like medicines) only worked if they tasted like crap. For example you know Listerine works. You know Nyquil works. You know Red Bull works. They all taste bloody awful. It might be that your body simply gives in and does what you want it to, just so you won't drink that stuff again. But Bawls is really good. Not too sweet, and there is a sugar-free version. Anyway, here is a link to the caffeine levels found in lots of drinks and medications. (Who knew Tab had caffeine in it? The taste alone is enough to wake you from a coma...)

Thanks to www.digg.com for the link.

-C

Labels: Caffeine

I am impressed with bands like Staija. These are talented people. Their music is tight. They have good studio production. They have a cool website. They wear black.

But. (For those who don't know, the word 'But' means 'Ignore everything I have just told you.)

I just can't understand the genre of 'metal emo' that just spreads like a cancer or fungus through the music world. The dichotomy of angry, tight, rip-your-face-off, metal music, glazed with useless, sappy, (let's be honest, Girly-Man) lyrics. Bands like NIN, Tool, and Korn are able to run a mood swing from angry to sad and it sounds authentic, but bands like Staija and P.O.S. (Sorry, I mean P.O.D.) have lyrics that sound like they were lifted from a Danielle Steele novel. These songs are usually easy to identify, because 99.9 percent of them are based around only two characters, and the relationship gone wrong between them, told from a first-person perspective, they all contain the word 'trust' (or more likely 'trusted') they are drowned in pronouns: I, Me, My, and You. Some Examples:

'I know you felt like I was fading away'
'Youre just everything I wanted'
'Ive left nothing for myself'
'You said you wanted me'
'I love you'
'I hate you'

Useless.

Strangely, the vocals can swing over to very angry, yelly, death metal, 'but there seems to be no validity or truth to them, you just want to tell the singer just to get over it already. My theory is that useless lyrics like this are easy to write; an afterthought really. Even easier now, because we have moved beyond the need to rhyme. Kiss the vocal hook goodbye. I thought Bon Jovi and Def Leppard taught us better.

Listen to NIN's 'Big Man With A Gun', then listen to 'Hurt', and then try to call Trent Reznor a pussy. You can't. Then listen to Staija and try to imagine the lead singer getting into a fist-fight. You can't. The lyrics and subject matter make them seem so silly-nonsense-sensitive that anything more brash than cutting you off at the checkout line at the grocery store, or flipping you off on the Interstate would make them burst into tears. They seem more angst-laden than actually angry, or perhaps all their anger is directed inwards? They seem much more likely to hurt themselves than anyone else. Suicide Sheik?

Sadly, the genre is already established enough that someone will probably realease a compilation album, and if so, Staija should get top billing. In short; a good band, but a bad genre.

-C

Labels: Emo Sucks, music reviews