Two personal rules of thumb on "hometown bias" (which I have frequently violated) 1). What is important to you and easy to you because you grew up knowing it or it's a campus/hometown tradition, may end up being the hardest question in your packet. 1a). Don't do this if you know that one of your A's/B's/C's/etc.'s may be playing on the packet, as it could very easily give them a distinct advantage in many cases. 2). Hometown bias can lead to canon expansion, but it is a tricky thing. A question from me about a John Dewey, a Clarence Darrow, or an Arthur Miller may be not a major issue, but a question about Edward White and James McDivitt (1) or David Scott, James Irwin, and Alfred Worden (2) might draw blank stares even though many Michigan students learn about them at some point during their tenure in Ann Arbor. What's my point here? Well, it's like anything in quiz bowl. You write the question, you take the responsibility for the reaction, and you learn from it for the next time. Don't let failures discourage you, but, by the same token, don't cast a deaf ear to the critique of your work. But most of all, if you write it, and you edit it, you MUST take responsibility for it. (I mention the last caveat, because sometimes, after the packet leaves your hands, well, it's no longer your question when you hear it.) CDB (The views expressed by Mr. Barker are Mr. Barker's views and solely the views of Mr. Barker, unless you agree with him, in which case, they would sort of be your views too, I suppose, but then, well, get out of my head) (1) McDivitt and White were the crew of Gemini IV [unofficially the American Eagle], which saw NASA's first extra-vehicular activity by White as well as the first astronauts to use the American flag on their uniforms. (2) (From UMAlumni.com) Apollo 15, an all U-M space flight, flew to the moon from July 26-Aug. 7, 1971, with astronauts Col. David R. Scott, '49-'50, commander; Maj. Alfred Worden, MS'63, command module pilot; Col. James Irwin, MS'57, lunar module pilot. It was first expedition with a lunar rover vehicle (used by Scott & Irwin who went to the surface of the moon) and the first flight in which all three astronauts were from the same university. They carried three U-M items: a miniature of the U-M flag, a miniature of the U-M Dept. of Aerospace Engineering seal, and a charter of the U-M Alumni Club of the Moon, which was left on the moon.
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