2008 Woodie Awards
Letters to the Editor
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Opinion
Congratulations to our Truman Scholar
I want to extend my congratulations to a colleague and friend, Phil Hannam, who is a 2008 Truman Scholar. This achievement is no small feat, as the Truman program is not only exceedingly rigorous, but is institutionally structured away from people with Phil's expertise. Phil is a mechanical engineering major and a leader in the Engineers Without Borders and EcoHouse programs, but he also has significant public policy interests. While he is extremely well qualified, the Truman program seldom awards technical experts, preferring social scientists with strong policy education and training. In fact, because of his status as an engineer, Phil was told by faculty members long associated with the program that his chances were slim. In the face of long odds Phil was able to secure an award that not only acknowledges his own success, but brings prestige to the university.
While Phil's success is quite impressive and laudable, it also brings me a measure of concern. This is only the third Truman award given to a student at this university since 1980, while our peer institutions have been racking them up for years. The University of North Carolina has had 28 such scholars in the same period, including six since 2003. Our peer institutions have also far outstripped us in Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars and many other national competitions of intellectual, academic and leadership prowess. What is the problem? Phil Hannam is strong evidence that competitive students are here in College Park, and the strong positive impact from students in programs such as Gemstone and Honors here on the campus imply that he is not alone.
The university is often too busy on other tasks, such as developing East Campus into a beautiful shopping mall and movie theater or revamping the general education requirements, aiming for the lowest common denominator.
If the university is really serious about competing in the academic world, these things have to change. The university should do more to seek out and support top students - and not in traditional, boring ways, like offering scholarships and awards to students with high GPAs (or good SAT scores on the way in). The university instead has to become a place for innovative ideas and unique projects of research, activism and education by encouraging and supporting students who want to think outside the box. The bottom line is that the university must reach out to its strongest students (and potential students) and be sure to send the message that they are where the future lies. This means giving them tools, resources and access to collaborators, students and faculty alike, and challenging them to do more than fill in the blanks in order to graduate on time.
Phil Hannam's success is a beautiful example of this process working. The Truman faculty coordinator, Joe Oppenheimer, is notorious for his aggressive courting of possible Truman scholars and is merciless in his demands for excellence. But in return, prospective Truman students leave his mock interviews and application reviews with an iron stomach and the confidence to perform well. Perhaps if programs on the campus had similar demands for excellence and provided the tools to achieve, they would perform as well as Phil Hannam and Joe Oppenheimer. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and until the university is a regular contributor of Truman and other elite scholars, we will remain beneath our potential.
Renard Sexton
Senior
Government and politics
Brenda's girls, not Gary's boys
As I was going about my daily ritual of reading The Diamondback before class on Monday, I stumbled across the NCAA Tournament brackets … for the MEN'S basketball teams. While I am an ardent supporter of all university athletic teams, this spacious figure in the center of the page upset me. The men's basketball team had lost in the NIT and didn't even make it to the NCAAs. The women's basketball team, however, just won their first game of the NCAAs this past Sunday. Yet whose NCAA bracket did we see? The men's. Why? I am not quite sure.
Women's athletic teams are frequently overlooked. A lot of college students care about the men's NCAA Tournament, which is why I am not against including it in The Diamondback. However, I know a lot of students, including myself, who would have loved to see the women's NCAA brackets as well. It would have been nice not only for the women on this campus but also for the women of the basketball team to know they are appreciated, cared for and cheered on just like the men.
Katharina Hess
Senior
Philosophy
I want to extend my congratulations to a colleague and friend, Phil Hannam, who is a 2008 Truman Scholar. This achievement is no small feat, as the Truman program is not only exceedingly rigorous, but is institutionally structured away from people with Phil's expertise. Phil is a mechanical engineering major and a leader in the Engineers Without Borders and EcoHouse programs, but he also has significant public policy interests. While he is extremely well qualified, the Truman program seldom awards technical experts, preferring social scientists with strong policy education and training. In fact, because of his status as an engineer, Phil was told by faculty members long associated with the program that his chances were slim. In the face of long odds Phil was able to secure an award that not only acknowledges his own success, but brings prestige to the university.
While Phil's success is quite impressive and laudable, it also brings me a measure of concern. This is only the third Truman award given to a student at this university since 1980, while our peer institutions have been racking them up for years. The University of North Carolina has had 28 such scholars in the same period, including six since 2003. Our peer institutions have also far outstripped us in Rhodes Scholars, Marshall Scholars and many other national competitions of intellectual, academic and leadership prowess. What is the problem? Phil Hannam is strong evidence that competitive students are here in College Park, and the strong positive impact from students in programs such as Gemstone and Honors here on the campus imply that he is not alone.
The university is often too busy on other tasks, such as developing East Campus into a beautiful shopping mall and movie theater or revamping the general education requirements, aiming for the lowest common denominator.
If the university is really serious about competing in the academic world, these things have to change. The university should do more to seek out and support top students - and not in traditional, boring ways, like offering scholarships and awards to students with high GPAs (or good SAT scores on the way in). The university instead has to become a place for innovative ideas and unique projects of research, activism and education by encouraging and supporting students who want to think outside the box. The bottom line is that the university must reach out to its strongest students (and potential students) and be sure to send the message that they are where the future lies. This means giving them tools, resources and access to collaborators, students and faculty alike, and challenging them to do more than fill in the blanks in order to graduate on time.
Phil Hannam's success is a beautiful example of this process working. The Truman faculty coordinator, Joe Oppenheimer, is notorious for his aggressive courting of possible Truman scholars and is merciless in his demands for excellence. But in return, prospective Truman students leave his mock interviews and application reviews with an iron stomach and the confidence to perform well. Perhaps if programs on the campus had similar demands for excellence and provided the tools to achieve, they would perform as well as Phil Hannam and Joe Oppenheimer. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and until the university is a regular contributor of Truman and other elite scholars, we will remain beneath our potential.
Renard Sexton
Senior
Government and politics
Brenda's girls, not Gary's boys
As I was going about my daily ritual of reading The Diamondback before class on Monday, I stumbled across the NCAA Tournament brackets … for the MEN'S basketball teams. While I am an ardent supporter of all university athletic teams, this spacious figure in the center of the page upset me. The men's basketball team had lost in the NIT and didn't even make it to the NCAAs. The women's basketball team, however, just won their first game of the NCAAs this past Sunday. Yet whose NCAA bracket did we see? The men's. Why? I am not quite sure.
Women's athletic teams are frequently overlooked. A lot of college students care about the men's NCAA Tournament, which is why I am not against including it in The Diamondback. However, I know a lot of students, including myself, who would have loved to see the women's NCAA brackets as well. It would have been nice not only for the women on this campus but also for the women of the basketball team to know they are appreciated, cared for and cheered on just like the men.
Katharina Hess
Senior
Philosophy
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Jerry
posted 3/27/08 @ 8:42 AM EST
Katharina, I agree with you 100 percent! The women's sports programs here at Maryland are generally excellent across the board. Several are super. The women's lacrosse program, field hockey program, and women's basketball program stand among the very best in the country, while the men's two biggies (football and basketball) continue to disappoint. (Continued…)
Doug
posted 3/27/08 @ 9:25 AM EST
Katharina,
I hope your comment was a joke. I did get a good laugh.
As much as I support the lady terps, and enjoyed there wins over Coppin and Nebraska, you cant be serious as to why the mens bracket was in the paper and not the womens. (Continued…)
lol
posted 3/27/08 @ 4:21 PM EST
This argument really, really gets old after a while. The women's team is amazing and I greatly respect what they have accomplished thus far, however, honestly nobody gives a fuck. (Continued…)
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