‘Guarantee’ now
2 • Thursday, March 18, 2010
a four-letter word
BY Amy Barnette
Copy Editor
When University of Memphis
President Shirley Raines
unveiled her slick, new pro-
posal to increase enrollment
and funding while boosting
The University’s stature, she set
herself up for almost inevitable
failure.
Last September, Raines
announced that The U of M
would gradually guarantee an
internship to all students, begin-
ning with current freshmen.
In February, The University
released a video advertisement
touting the empty promise,
underscored by a rousing cho-
rus of the word “guarantee.”
Unfortunately for the school’s
current and future student body,
words are cheap, and the coun-
try is in a recession. Raines’
“guarantee,” which has since
been downgraded to a “com-
mitment” after scrutiny by the
media and University faculty,
was made hastily and without
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1 Relatives of odds
5 Presently
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14 Marjorie Morningstar’s creator
15 San __
16 Fortuneteller’s deck
17 Old Dodge
18 Diva’s moment
19 More than plump
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23 Flier that had a St. Louis hub
24 Compete
25 1971 hit for Ringo
33 Sticking places?
34 Ford Field team
35 Collar
37 Firing chamber
38 First professional musician to
become Chairman of the Board of
Lincoln Center
39 Galileo’s patron
40 Sumac of song
41 2009 “Survivor” setting
42 Muslim mystics
43 Bone injury in which the skin is
intact
46 Like
47 Posed
48 Regular Letterman show seg-
ment
57 Biker’s invitation
58 Pale tan
59 Buffalo’s lake
60 Concerned with
61 “__ the heck!”
62 Freelancer’s encl.
63 Word that may appear above a
silhouette of a man
64 Not all
65 1/2 fl. oz.
Down
1 Hirsute “Star Wars” creature
2 Seward Peninsula city
3 Shore thing
4 Take a powder
www.dailyhelmsman.com
The Daily Helmsman
Volume 77 Number 92
Editor-In-Chief
Ryan Poe
Managing Editor General Manager
Megan Harris Candy Justice
News Editor Advertising Manager
Brent Fisackerly Bob Willis
Sports Editor Admin. Sales
Joseph Russell Sharon Whitaker
Adv. Production
proper consideration. It is unen- ence and prestige, this recogni- Copy Editors Rachelle Pavelko
forceable, irrational and unfair tion derives from the fact that Amy Barnette Rachel Rufenacht
Christina Hessling Adv. Sales
to both students and faculty. they are typically hard to find Beth Spencer Robyn Nickell
At the core of the problem and harder to secure. Applying
are the basic facts of internships. for an internship can be a long News: The University of Memphis
(901) 678-2193 The Daily Helmsman
Although the student may ben- and tedious process, and stu-
Sports: 113 Meeman Journalism Building
efit from the assistance of fac- dents determined to score one (901) 678-2192
ulty and staff in tracking down typically apply to multiple Memphis, TN 38152
Ads:
an internship and earning solid programs, staying relentlessly (901) 6 78-2191 The Daily Helmsman is a “designated
recommendations, just two par- involved until they reach their Fax: public forum.” Student editors have
(901) 678-4792 authority to make all content deci-
ties are essential to the process: goals.
the employer and the student. In most academic depart- sions without censorship or advance
dailyhelmsman@gmail.com approval.
Only the employer can judge an ments at The U of M, intern-
applicant’s suitability, and only ships are encouraged but not The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum of 10 copies from each
issue available to a reader for free, after which $1 will be charged per copy.
the student can demonstrate an required, so seekers are accus-
ability to perform. tomed to going above and
Solutions on page 11
By pledging that any student beyond to meet their goals. But
with a 2.0 GPA will receive an with this promise, which The
internship, Raines inserted her- University brandishes like a car-
S
self into thousands of employer- rot to attract new contributors
student relationships, essential- and tuition-paying students, the
ly shifting responsibilities from necessity of ambition and hustle
both parties to the school. The is devalued. Students unable to
u
school’s enthusiasm to ensure attain internships on the first
that students have internship try may blame not themselves
opportunities is admirable, but or their potential employers but
d
it lacks the authority to make the institution that told them
these promises. they would obtain one by enroll-
While internships can provide
students with beneficial experi- see Interns, page 3
o
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323-3030
u
Complete the grid so that each row, column and 3—by—3
box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.
5 Correction
The March 17 article, “Voters to decide SGA issues
on March ballot,” should have said SGA President
James Johnson supported but did not personally
draft resolution 59-110. 
AARON KARO’S
Ruminations.com
“Writing What You’re Thinking”
“I love how one of the key points in online college
commercials is that you can take classes in your
pajamas. I guess they have never been to an 8 a.m.
class at an actual college.”
— by Malaka24
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See 32-Down 36 Low
38 Word with bar or days
hours.’”
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10 Literally, Spanish for “the tar” 44 Chart “Any unpleasant activity should burn calories, not
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just exercise. Talking to your crazy old aunt on
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13 Jeanne d’Arc et al.: Abbr. 49 Choice for Hamlet the phone should burn 200 calories. Listening to a
21 Possesses 50 “Once __ a midnight dreary ...”
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country song in its entirety should burn 500.”
22 Alternative to odds
25 Eliciting an “Ewww!” 52 Repeat — by nocleverthoughts
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28 Weather, in poems 55 Popular version of a design “It’s come to a point where a cassette tape player in
29 __ Olay principle acronym spelled out by
the starts of this puzzle’s four lon-
a car is preferred over a CD player thanks to MP3
30 Back biter?
31 Glitch gest answers players. Next up: the reemergence of 8-tracks!”
32 With 5-Down, former PLO chair- 56 Ooze
— by xavierlloyd
man
The University of Memphis
Interns
from page 2
ing and maintaining a low “C”
average.
Furthermore, throwing the
weight of The University behind
this commitment could damage
relations with potential employ-
ers. Local corporations that have
traditionally collaborated with
the school, like FedEx and St.
Jude, hold their interns to high
standards, and as the applicant
pool from U of M increases, the
overall quality of the aspirants
could decrease. These Memphis
institutions select from a broad
scope of candidates, many hail-
ing from private colleges or
other cities. The University of
Memphis’ name stands to lose
credence if employers are inun-
dated with submissions that fall
short of their requirements.
Meanwhile, the new corpo-
rate relations that Raines and
school development officers are
struggling to create will only
last if the chosen interns prove
worthy. U of M has plenty of
students capable of building and
maintaining that trust, which
may also become vital to the
school’s financial partnerships,
but the internship guarantee was
not limited to these pupils. If an
internship is assured for nearly
every student, The University’s
reputation could suffer, and in
turn, delivering on that assur-
ance could become more dif-
ficult still.
The administration employs
a handful of personnel devoted
to internships, such as Dixie
Crase, director of academic
internships, but these top offi-
cials are in no position to over-
see the internship application
process on a student-by-student
level. Administrative concerns
center on forming partnerships
with companies that have the
resources to ally with the school
and create internship opportu-
nities.
Just as they always have,
students seeking guidance will
Lee
from page 1
“I can’t wait to see Mr. Spike
Lee and ask him questions about
movies and his thoughts on col-
lege life,” he said. 
Alpha Phi Alpha members,
who brought Cornell West to
speak on campus last year, have
Foreign Film Festival
7 p.m. • University Center
rely on faculty members to aid
them, and the few departmental
internship coordinators could be
crushed under the weight of so
many students demanding ful-
fillment of the oath that coaxed
them to U of M. In departments
where internships are readily
available, this may have a negli-
gible effect on faculty members,
but in other fields, it may be
overwhelming.
Financial concerns may
increase staff stress further. The
already-underfunded University
has no budgetary allowance to
hire extra personnel, so all the
responsibility for taking mea-
sures to find more positions for
more students will fall to current
faculty. The guarantee hurts the
staff, and students will suffer as
well if class quality declines due
to a faculty already stretched
tissue-paper-thin.
As both Raines and indi-
vidual departments agree that
internships should relate closely
to students’ fields of study, stu-
dents majoring in the liberal arts
are likely to experience a short-
age of opportunities. If a phi-
losophy major only finds a few
open positions relevant enough
to his study to qualify for credit,
The University has no course of
action if he is passed over for all
of them.
In such a situation, the school
will almost certainly be forced
to renege on its promise. The
only feasible solution if intern-
ship availability is limited is
creating positions out of thin air,
and even if the school were will-
ing to turn its existing employ-
ment needs into unpaid intern-
ships — glorified work-study
jobs — they would not meet
most departmental standards
for course credit.
Though unpaid internships
have become standard, their
merit is questionable. Any
internship can be valuable to a
student’s resume, even without
pay, and may lead to future
job opportunities. In a reces-
sion economy, however, many
corporations use unpaid interns
been organizing the event for
more than a semester, said Trey
Easter, member of the frater-
nity and junior chemistry and
Spanish major.
“We wanted to tie together
Greek life as well as show stu-
dents that by holding themselves
to a higher standard, they can
make a difference too,” Easter
TONIGHT
City of Men
Thursday, March 18, 2010 • 3
to boost their own profits. As
long as college students are
clamoring to get their feet into
the doors, these companies
can exploit their eagerness and
hard work to cut staff and save
money on salaries.
In a way, by taking an intern-
ship to help secure a future job,
a student is actually limiting the
job pool. Employers need not
pay entry-level workers when
they can get the job done for
free, and this manipulation of
the workforce cannot go unno-
ticed. It is unfair of companies
to require internship experi-
ence to secure a job when those
internships demand so much
time and effort without com-
pensation from already-indebt-
ed students.
It’s curious that the harder a
student works at an internship,
the less likely the company is
to hire new salaried employees
when the student has gradu-
ated. The corporations with
which The University hopes to
curry favor have a lot of weight
to throw around, and some stu-
dents may be crushed under it.
While the intentions behind
The University’s commitment
to internships for every student 28th Annual
are likely good, the plan is ill
conceived and poorly executed.
Freedom of Information Congress
Unless the school takes drastic
measures to fund the program
Featured Speaker
and encourage a broader range
of companies to get involved, it
has no hope of delivering.
Even in better circumstances,
though, Raines would be speak-
ing out of turn. She cannot
promise any student an intern-
ship because, by definition, the
school does not provide them.
Perhaps with the semantic shift
from “guarantee” to “commit-
ment,” she signified that she
recognizes this distinction, but
Clarence Page
after distributing press releases Pulitzer Prize Winning,
and ads, she should find it dif- Nationally Syndicated Columnist
ficult to undo the knots she has The Chicago Tribune
tied to bind both herself and
The University to its resolution.
Then again, if it hits the fan, Speaking on
she could probably use a gratis “The Future of News:
intern to lend a helping hand. Holding Leaders Accountable
In an Age of Do-It-yourself Media”
said.
The Student Events Allocation Thursday, March 25 @ 7 p.m.
Committee paid Lee $38,000 for
speaking at the event, including University Center Theater
the copyright fee for the movie
“School Daze” shown Tuesday
Reception @ 6 p.m.
night, as well as Lee’s personal
appearance fee. Free & Open to Everyone
This event sponsored by Student Event Allocation, U of M Chapter,
Society of Professional Journalists and the Department of Journalism
Coming Up
Saturday 3/20
SAC Cinema
Where the Wild Things Are
2 p.m.
University Center