engage Advantage Books: Humanity: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Paperback)

Product Description
Using engaging stories and clear writing, ADVANTAGE BOOKS: HUMANITY: AN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Eighth Edition introduces cultural anthropology within a solid framework centered around globalization and culture change. Peoples and Bailey focus on the social and cultural consequences of globalization, emphasizing culture change and world problems. The book's engaging narrative provides new ways of looking at many of the challenges facing the world in this century. As you explore more contemporary issues, including recent debates on gay marriage, cultural and economic globalization, population growth, hunger, and the survival of indigenous cultures, you'll gain a better understanding of the cultural information you need to successfully navigate in today's global economy. The authors emphasize the diversity of humanity and reveal why an appreciation and tolerance of cultural differences is critical in the modern world.

Annual Editions: Anthropology 07/08 (Paperback)

Product Description
This Thirtieth Edition of ANNUAL EDITIONS: ANTHROPOLOGY 07/08 provides convenient, inexpensive access to current articles selected from the best of the public press. Organizational features include: an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites; an annotated table of contents; a topic guide; a general introduction; brief overviews for each section; a topical index; and an instructor�s resource guide with testing materials. USING ANNUAL EDITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM is offered as a practical guide for instructors. ANNUAL EDITIONS titles are supported by our student website, www.mhcls.com/online.

Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge (Paperback)

I use this book in my cultural anthropology courses in part because it does what is expected: cover the major divisions of what an introductory class should expose students. However, the plus to me is that the last couple of chapters cover culture contact and change based on a dominant culture coming in contact with smaller groups and also covers "globalization" which is directly relevant to the lives of my students. So at the end of our term we can switch a bit from abstract academic discussions to issues happening the in the world today. We examine concepts like "modernization" and whether the western dominant perspective that this is always good (for everyone) is true and we look at global issues that affect our species, nation, security, and subsistence from a diverse perspective. Adding Annual Editions brings the text to life, as well.

Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology (12th Edition) (MyAnthroKit Series) (Paperback)

This is an ideal book to use to try to pull people into the study of cultural anthropology. It successfully stays away from the excessive use of jargon. The articles are short enough that even students with the lowest attention spans can't complain. The articles themselves come from many different angles, and while almost all of them are extremely articulate and well-structured, they also tend to be successful at emotionally engaging the reader. If used in a class, students will respond.

Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village (Paperback)

This book, suggested to me by a professor, was absolutely engrossing. "BJ" Fernea is newly married and accompanying her anthropologist husband Bob from Chicago to the conservative shiite muslim village of El Nahra, where she spends about 1.5 years in the late 50's living, as the native women do, in purdah, veiled from head to foot and almost completely segregated from men. While her husband conducts his studies, BJ, to help her husband's work, involves herself in the daily lives of the women of El Nahra. There are lavish festivals, rampant poverty, marriages, illness, holy celebrations of mourning, enmities created and friendships formed while BJ finds her way through the minefield of social propriety, familial obligation and hard work that composes the lives of these women.

The Arab World (Paperback)

This book is a collection of personal essays by Elizabeth and Robert Fernea concerning aspects of daily life in the several corners of the Arab world where they lived and conducted their anthropological research. The areas covered include Beirut (Lebanon), Amman (Jordan), Marrakech (Morocco), Cairo and Nubia (Egypt), Hail (Saudi Arabia), the West Bank, and Baghdad and Al-Nahra (Iraq). The Ferneas began their acquaintance with Arabia in 1956, when in their first year of marriage, Robert Fernea chose to do his doctoral research in Al-Nahra Iraq, and Elizabeth accompanied him there. After Robert was awarded his doctorate, the Ferneas went to Egypt, where Robert took a teaching post at the American University in Cairo. While in Egypt, Elizabeth wrote her now-classic description of women's life in Iraq, Guests of the Sheikh. Later research projects took the Ferneas, together with their three children, to Nubia and Marrakech. In each location, the Ferneas observed local cultures for their formal academic publications. But they also kept journals of their daily experiences in dealing with the culture and trying to learn the answers to anthropological questions as Westerners, and it is excerpts from these journals that appear here. Interspersed with these descriptions of their personal experiences are short background or follow-up essays that provide further information about some of the associated topics.

In Search of Islamic Feminism: One Woman's Global Journey (Paperback)

Amazon.com Review
To the West, the Islamic world often appears homogeneous and monolithic; the Islam practiced in Iran or Saudi Arabia is our model for Islam everywhere: heavily veiled women, strictly segregated schools and workplaces, the harsh law of sharia demanding a thief's hand cut off or an adulterous woman stoned to death. In reality, the practice of Islam varies widely from place to place and culture to culture; in Turkey, for example, Islam may be the religion of the majority, but the political and legal systems are strictly secular. In Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, politics and religion are one, represented by the power of the mullahs and the ruling family. Uzbeki Muslims are different from Senegalese Muslims, and North African Islam has more than a little sub-Saharan influence to thank for its pantheon of djinns, afrites, and holy saints. Just as religious practices differ from country to country, so does the impact of Islam on women. Muslim women in Morocco, for example, have the legal right to drive a car, while women in Saudi Arabia do not. This being the case, is it even possible to define an Islamic brand of feminism? Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin, certainly tries and, in many cases, succeeds. Her book, In Search of Islamic Feminism, is both an account of her many years spent living and traveling in the Middle East and an attempt to define the issues facing Islamic women today. Though Fernea occasionally comes off as naive, she also makes valuable points about the many faces of Islam and feminism. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Islam: The Straight Path Updated with New Epilogue, 3rd edition (Paperback)

Product Description
This updated version of Islam: The Straight Path includes a new Epilogue by John Esposito in which he addresses the impact 9/11 and its aftermath have had on both the Muslim and non-Muslim world, discussing Islam's relationship to democracy and modernity and focusing more sharply on the origins and growth of extremism and terrorism in the name of Islam. This exceptionally successful survey text introduces the faith, belief, and practice of Islam from its earliest origins up to its contemporary resurgence. Esposito, an internationally renowned expert on Islam, traces the development of this dynamic faith and its impact on world history and politics, discussing the formation of Islamic belief and practice and chronicling the struggle of Muslims to define and adhere to their Islamic way of life. Lucidly written and expansive in scope, Islam: The Straight Path provides keen insight into one of the world's least understood religions and is ideally suited for use in courses on Islam, comparative religions, and Middle Eastern history and culture.

What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam (Hardcover)

From Publishers Weekly
Georgetown professor Esposito has written an excellent primer on all aspects of Islam. The question-and-answer format allows readers to skip ahead to areas that interest them, including hot-button issues such as "Why are Muslims so violent?" or "Why do Muslim women wear veils and long garments?" In his answers, which are anywhere from a paragraph to several pages long, Esposito elegantly educates the reader through what the Qur'an says, how Muslims are influenced by their local cultures, and how the unique politics of Islamic countries affects Muslims' views. All three elements contribute to a fuller understanding of Islam. For instance, in answering the question on veiling, Esposito accurately clarifies that though the Qur'an instructs believers to be modest, it does not require head coverings. He continues by describing how the custom of veiling gained popularity in and after Muhammad's time as a status symbol. He ends by pointing out how some women who veil today feel they are making a social protest against judgment based on appearance as much as they are fulfilling the modesty requirement. Occasionally Esposito excludes some key information. He says that jihad is sometimes called the "Sixth Pillar" of Islam without pointing out that Western critics propagate the centrality of jihad, not Muslims. In his discussion of Qur'an 4:34, which appears to permit domestic violence in a disciplinary capacity, he omits new translations by feminist scholars that change the meaning and mitigate the controversy. However, overall, this book honestly and clearly answers the questions most non-Muslims have about Islam.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

How To Reach and Teach All Children in the Inclusive Classroom: Practical Strategies, Lessons, and Activities, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

Review
"Steer your students toward academic, social, and emotional success regardless of their learning styles, ability levels, skills, and behaviors. This book provides strategies and activities to differentiated instruction,engage reluctant readers and writers, boost organization and study skills and more." (Learning Journal, Back-to-School 2007)

Solving Discipline and Classroom Management Problems: Methods and Models for Today's Teachers, 6th Edition (Paperback)

Features

* A new chapter discusses how to deal with and support parents.
* Includes proactive models and techniques for preventing problems, as well as new models of Love and Logic, Discipline with Dignity, and Linda Albert’s Cooperative Discipline.
* Examines current practices for dealing with assaultive and potentially violent students.
* Clear, unbiased explanations of each model include strengths and weaknesses.
* A step-by-step process helps you build your own discipline/classroom management system.
* Examples show how to implement each model in specific situations.
* A Beliefs About Discipline inventory enables you to determine which discipline models best fit your own personality.

Fred Jones Tools for Teaching: Discipline, Instruction, Motivation (Paperback)

Simply put: This book covers all the bases. If you are a new teacher stressing out, this book is a must. If you are a veteran teacher searching for that spark you had a few years ago, this book is the answer. For whatever reason, colleges do a really poor job preparing this country's soon-to-be teachers. All I remember learning about in my EDU classes were countless theories and how to write five-page lesson plans.

Once I started teaching I quickly realized that my college professors didn't prepare me for the realities of teaching. (All of you veterans out there know exactly what I am talking about.) Anyhow, if you are looking to be more successful in the classroom, at any point in your career, pay the $20 and if this book takes away just one headache during your next month of teaching then it was worth it.

Classroom Management: Creating a Successful K-12 Learning Community (Paperback)

Product Description
With this innovative book, teachers and prospective teachers will gain the skills needed to create a positive classroom community. It presents fundamental principles of classroom management and discipline along with ways to involve students in the creation of their learning environment. The new third edition reflects a practical, realistic view of teaching with the content being organized in a logical, sequential order. Standards are used to guide the development of new teachers, help inservice teachers improve their performance, and assess both teacher preparation and teacher performance.

The First Days Of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher (Paperback)

Product Description
Over 3 million copies have been sold of the preeminent book on classroom management and teaching for lesson achievement. The book walks a teacher, either novice or veteran, through the most effective ways to begin a school year and continue to become an effective teacher. This is the most basic book on how to teach. Every teacher and administrator needs to have a copy.

The book is used in thousands of school districts, in over 65 countries, and in over 1000 college classrooms. It works and it s inspiring.

Included in this 3rd edition is a free 38 minute Enhanced CD, Never Cease to Learn. This bonus CD features Harry Wong with a special introduction by Rosemary Wong. The motivational message delivered is one all educators must hear and see.

In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad (Paperback)

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. London-based Ramadan, the Oxford research fellow who authored Western Muslims and the Future of Islam, is probably best known for being denied entry into the United States, based on alleged violations of the Patriot Act. This excellent, engaging book ought to turn public attention back toward Ramadan as a writer and a skilled interpreter of Islamic history. In deliberately brief chapters, Ramadan brings Muhammad to life. He highlights Muhammad's resolute faith in spite of setbacks like orphanhood and poverty, and upholds the prophet as a spiritual hero—bravely compassionate and unusually tolerant of others, including non-Muslims. Ramadan notes his extraordinary kindness, even to those he battled. For example, a slave who had been given to Muhammad turned down emancipation, saying he preferred service to Muhammad over freedom with anyone else. (Muhammad immediately freed the slave and adopted him as his own son.) Similar tales of mercy lace through Muhammad's life: in the midst of a battle march, Muhammad advised his troops to be careful not to hurt a litter of puppies on the roadside; on another occasion, Muhammad released prisoners of war because they had taught community children how to read and write. Ramadan ably demonstrates why Muhammad is a spiritual paragon to the followers of Islam. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (Paperback)

Product Description
A revised edition of the internationally acclaimed biography of the prophet

• Includes important additions about the prophet’s spread of Islam into Syria and its neighboring states

• Contains original English translations from 8th and 9th century biographies, presented in authoritative language

• Represents the final updates made on the text before the author’s death in 2005

Martin Lings’ biography of Muhammad is an internationally acclaimed, comprehensive, and authoritative account of the life of the prophet. Based on the sira, the eighth- and ninth-century Arabic biographies that recount numerous events in the prophet’s life, it contains original English translations of many important passages that reveal the words of men and women who heard Muhammad speak and witnessed the events of his life.

Scrupulous and exhaustive in its fidelity to its sources, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources is presented in a narrative style that is easily comprehensible, yet authentic and inspiring in its use of language, reflecting both the simplicity and grandeur of the story it tells. This revised edition includes new sections detailing the prophet’s expanding influence and his spreading of the message of Islam into Syria and its neighboring states. It represents the final updates made to the text before the author’s death in 2005. The book has been published in 12 languages and has received numerous awards, including acknowledgment as best biography of the prophet in English at the National Seerate Conference in Islamabad.

Tales of the Prophets (Qisas Al-Anbiya) (Great Books of the Islamic World) (Hardcover)

Product Description
One of the best-loved versions of the prophetic tales is this Qisas al-anbiya composed by al-Kisai around 1200 AD. A master storyteller, the author's sense of dramatic value in ending a narrative section at precisely the right moment to heighten an important point in the mind of the listener is exhibited throughout. In the preface, the author describes the formation of a human fetus in the womb and its entry as a newborn baby into the external world. This is contrasted with the descriptions, typical of the genre, of the birth of the world ex nihilo by God's Word of command, Be! Angelology and cosmology follow with descriptions of the world and natural phenomena, all of which set the stage for the climax of God's creativity, the shaping of Adam, His most perfect creature. Unlike the rest of creation, all of which was brought into existence by divine fiat, Adam was fashioned by God's own hands and was bestowed with God's own breath of spirit. Following the stories! of Prophet Adam and his immediate family come the stories of Prophets Idris, Noah, Shem, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Ishmael and his mother Hagar, Lot, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Shuayb, Moses, Aaron, Khidr, Joshua, Josephus, Eleazar, Elijah, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, Jonah and Jesus son of Mary.

Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain (Hardcover)

Product Description

Our captain and leader has not left us, today, tomorrow, this year, next … Our endeavors will reflect our love and admiration for him.”
—Honorary plaque to Munson in Yankee Stadium

Thurman Munson is remembered by fans as the fiercely competitive, tough, and—most of all—inspiring Yankee captain and champion from the wild Bronx Zoo years. He is also remembered for his tragic death, at age thirty-two, when the private plane he was piloting crashed in Canton, Ohio, on August 2, 1979.

Munson is the intimate biography of a complex and larger-than-life legend. Written by former Yankees public relations director Marty Appel, who worked closely with Thurman throughout his career, Munson captures the little-known details of the young man from Canton and his meteoric rise to stardom in baseball’s most storied franchise. Appel examines the tumultuous childhood that led Thurman to work feverishly to escape Canton—and also the marriage and cultural roots that continually drew him back.

Appel also opens a fascinating door on the famed Yankees of the 1970s, recounting moments and stories that have never been told before. From the clubhouse and the dugout to the front office and the owner’s box, this thoughtful baseball biography delves into the affectionately gruff captain’s relationships with friends, fans, and teammates such as Lou Piniella, Bobby Murcer, Graig Nettles, and Reggie Jackson, as well as his colorful dealings with manager Billy Martin and his surprisingly close bond with owner George Steinbrenner. Munson paints a revealing portrait of a private Yankee superstar, as well as a nostalgic and revelatory look at the culture—and amazing highs and lows—of the 1970s New York Yankees teams. More than a biography, Munson is the definitive account of a champion who has not been forgotten and of the era he helped define—written with the intimate detail available only to a true insider.

Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir (Hardcover)

Product Description
“I had more or less resolved not to write a book about my parents. But I’m a writer, and when the universe hands you material like this, not writing about it amounts either to waste or a conscious act of evasion.”


So begins award-winning satirist Christopher Buckley in the most personal and transcendent work of his life, the tragicomic true story of the year in which both of his parents died.

In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York’s most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. Writes Buckley: “They were not — with respect to every other set of loving, wonderful parents in the world — your typical mom and dad.”

As Buckley tells the story of their final year together, he takes readers on a surprisingly entertaining tour through hospitals, funeral homes, and memorial services, capturing the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a fifty-five-year-old orphan. Buckley maintains his sense of humor by recalling the words of Oscar Wilde: “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.”

Christopher Buckley offers consolation, wit, and warmth to those coping with the death of a parent, while telling a unique personal story of life with legends. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

ORGANISASI ALUMNI PERGURUAN TINGGI MUHAMMADIYAH

Pendahuluan
Pertemuan nasional pengurus organisasi Alumni Perguruan Tinggi Muhammadiyah (PTM) pada tanggal 26 april 2008, sangat positif bagi keberlangsungan organisasi alumni PTM.

Dengan pertemuan itu banyak persoalan yang muncul terutama mengenai persoalan kontinuitas (keberlangsungan) aktivitas organisasi alumni sendiri. Persoalan itu umumnya sama di setiap Perguruan Tinggi Muhammadiyah ataupun diperguruan tinggi lain secara umum. Masalah personalia dan masalah finansial menjadi sesuatu yang sulit terpecahkan. Oleh karena itu pertemuan almni itu selain sebagai ajang tukar pengalaman juga bisa memotivasi kembali para pengurus untuk mengaktifkan pergerakan alumni di universitasnya masing-masing.
Jumlah alumni PTM yang begitu besar, tentu sangat berpengaruh terhadap dinamika kehidupan sosial ekonomi di negeri ini. Oleh karena itu, potensi itu harus dimanfaatkan sebaik-baiknya bagi kemajuan bangsa dan negara ini. Seperti nasehat yang disampaikan oleh Prof. Dr. Dien Samsudin, dalam sambutan pembukaan menyatakan bahwa alumni PTM yang cukup besar itu harus memperjelas peranan strategisnya dalam keikutsertaan pembangunan masyarakat Indonesia. Untuk itulah diperlukan adanya wadah agar peranan alumni PTM bisa diformulasikan dan dipetakan dalam kaitannya dengan penyusunan strategi pembangunan masyarakat secara luas.
Ada beberapa point penting yang dapat diambil dari pertemuan yang dilaksanakan di Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta itu. Pertama, adanya kesamaan persepsi akan pentingnya komunikasi antarorganisasi alumni PTM seluruh Indonesia. Komunikasi antarorganisasi akan memberikan kesempatan saling belajar diantarorganisasi alumni PTM. Disamping itu juga pertemuan itu akan menjadi ajang diskusi mengenai persoalan-persoalan krusial negeri ini. Dari sinilah diharapkan para sarjana ini mampu merumuskan langkah-langkah strategis dalam menyelesaikan persoalan itu.
Kedua, pertamuan nasional organisasi alumni PTM secara nasional akan menjadi ajang instrospeksi pengurus organisasi alumni. Artinya para pengurus bisa mengukur seberapa jauh kiprah alumni selama ini dalam pengembangan kampus maupun dalam kaitannya dengan pembangunan masyarakatnya. Apakah para intelektual muda itu sudah maksimal dalam partisipasinya membangun negeri ini? Jika ternyata belum, maka perlu usaha yang lebih keras agar komunitas itu dapat berperan secara efektif terhadap perubahan sosial masyarakat di negeri ini. Karena bisa tidak bisa persoalan-persoalan bangsa, baik politik, ekonomi dan sosial harus bisa dipecahkan oleh para intelektual, sebagaimana para alumni PTM. Minimal keberadaan mereka tidak menjadi beban negeri ya hampir kolaps ini.

Tantangan dalam mengelola organisasi alumni
Organisasi alumni merupakan organisasi yang sangat potensial, baik dalam kaitannya dengan pengembangan PTM terkait maupun masyarakat secara luas. Sebagai organisasi yang beranggotakan lulusan perguruan tinggi, organisasi ini merupakan pusat tersedianya SDM yang disebut well educated. Artinya bahwa SDM yang ada di organisasi alumni adalah individu yang terampil dan berwawasan luas. Namun demikian, menjalankan organisasi semacam ini tidaklah mudah. Banyak kendala yang harus dihadapi terutama berkenaan dengan hal komitmen personalia. Selain kesibukan masing-masing personal yang cukup padat, para alumni juga masih banyak yang secara finansial masih sangat lemah. Sehingga konsentrasi para lulusan masih menitikberatkan pada hal-hal yang sifatnya ekonomis. Hal inilah yang menjadikan sulitnya mengkoordinasi setiap kegiatan yang diadakan oleh organisasi alumni.
Kendala lainnya mungkin adalah kendala psikologis. Persepsi para alumni yang mengangap bahwa mengurus organisasi seperti ini tidak produktif menjadikan sulitnya mencari pengurus organisasi ini. Bahkan untuk sekedar melaksanakan program tahunan saja terkadang sangat sulit. Akibatnya banyak alumni yang bersikap masa bodoh dengan keberadaan organisasi semacam ini.
Dilihat dari segi finansial, organisasi ini memang tidak produktif. Sehingga menjalankan organisasi seperti ini sering sekedar mengisi kekosongan. Apalagi dalam kenyataannya keputusan-keputusan yang dihasilkan pengurus sering hanya menggantung di awang-awang, karena terkadang terlalu idealis tapi tidak pernah teraplikasikan.
Namun demikian, ada beberapa langkah yang bisa dilakukan agar alumni berminat berkiprah di organisasi alumni. Langkah itu diantaranya adalah dengan memberikan wewenang seluas-luasnya kepada pengurus untuk mengelola salah satu bidang atau unit pelayanan kampus. Seperti misalnya membantuk unit usaha miliki alumni yang dikelola sepenuhnya oleh organisasi itu.
Pendirian unit usaha milik alumni akan sangat bermanfaat bagi keberlangsungan organisasi ini. Unit usaha ini bisa dijadikan sebagai tempat praktek para alumni maupun mahasiswa yang ingin mengembangkan kemampuan enterpreneurship. Dengan adanya unit usaha ini para pengurus akan lebih betah berada di lingkungan kampus karena adanya aktivitas yang dilakukan. Mereka bisa tetap mengurus organisasi sekaligus belajar berwirausaha melalui unit usaha tersebut. Apalagi kemampuan berwirausaha memang sangat dibutuhkan di era yang sangat kompetitif ini. Unit usaha alumni juga bisa menjadi batu loncatan bagi para alumni yang baru saja lulus dari perguruan tinggi bersangkutan.
Selain unit usaha, alternatif lain yang bisa dilakukan untuk mengikat komitmen lulusan adalah dengan mewadahi para alumni melalui berbagai aktivitas kampus. Seperti misalnya pengelolaan asrama mahasiswa. Lahirnya asrama mahasiswa yang saat ini sedang digalakan oleh PTM hendaknya dipercayakan kepada organisasi alumni. Asrama mahasiswa bisa dijadikan sebagai wahana silaturahmi antar alumni, juga sebagai media mengabdikan diri di alma mater mereka. Jika hal ini terlaksana, maka bisa menjadi langkah strategis mendidik kader yang selalu siap berperan aktif dalam pengembangan perguruan tinggi itu sendiri.
Dari kedua solusi di atas, komunikasi antaralumni merupakan kunci utama bagi keberlangsungan organisasi alumni. Komunikasi ini sangat penting karena akan sangat menentukan bagi keberlangsungan ikatan emosional antar alumni. Di era modern ini kendala komunikasi hampir tidak ada. Tersedianya alat komunikasi yang canggih seperti HP dan internet sangat membantu komunikasi antar alumni. Dengan adanya komunikasi itu segala informasi bisa langsung tersebar luas sehingga bisa direspon dengan cepat oleh setiap lulusan.
Agar komunikasi tidak terputus dengan para alumni luar daerah, maka perlu adanya organisasi alumni di daerah. Persebaran alumni di daerah sebenarnya merupakan keuntungan tersendiri bagi perguruan tinggi bersangkutan. Organisasi alumni daerah akan bisa dijadikan sebagai pusat pertukaran informasi antara alumni, juga sebagai wahana promosi PTM itu sendiri. Dengan adanya organisasi alumni di daerah informasi mengenai PTM akan semakin mudah didapat oleh masyarakat setempat. Hal inilah yang nantinya akan mempermudah perekrutan mahasiswa baru dari daerah-daerah di seluruh Indonesia.
Sistem gethok tular di atas sangat positif dan harus mulai dipikirkan realisasinya oleh PTM. Terutama PTM yang berada di kota Yogyakarta dimana kompetisinya lebih ketat dibanding dengan daerah lain. Jika hanya mengandalkan pendaftar dalam kota tentu tidak mungkin bisa mencapai terget yang diharapkan. Hal ini menuntut persebaran perekrutan mahasiswa baru dari luar daerah. PTM tidak bisa berpangku tangan dengan hanya mengandalkan nama besar. Dengan banyaknya perguruan tinggi, persaingan akan semakin ketat dalam perekrutan mahasiswa baru. Pada dasarnya sistem pengelolaan perguruan tinggi tidak berbeda dengan bidang bisnis yang lain. Apalagi pada kenyataannya pembiayaan perguruan tinggi masih sangat tergantung pada pembayaran SPP mahasiswa. Hal ini disebabkan tidak adanya pendapatan lain yang bisa diandalkan untuk biaya operasional perguruan tinggi. Berkenaan dengan hal itu sistem “pemasaran” PTM harus diperhatikan secara serius.

Kesimpulan
Semua gagasan untuk meningkatkan efektifitas peranan alumni PTM di atas hanya akan berjalan jika mendapat dukungan dari pihak yang berwenang. Dalam hal ini adalah pejabat kampus yang secara langsung memiliki kebijakan dalam pengelolaan perguruan tinggi. Jika pihak kampus mendukung semua kegitan itu, Isya Allah keberadaan organisasi alumni akan semakin mempercerah masa depan perguruan tinggi yang bersangkutan.
Oleh karena itu rencana pertemuan lanjutan yang akan dilaksanakan di Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta, pada bulan Oktober, hendaknya melibatkan pejabat kampus di setiap PTM. Dengan begitu pemikiran para alumni bisa segera direspon oleh pihak kampus. Hal itu juga bisa menjembatani persoalan kesenjangan antara alumni dengan pihak kampus yang selama terjadi. Mudah-mudahan dengan cara seperti ini peran serta alumni akan semakin kongkrit baik bagi kemajuan PTM masing-masing, masyarakat, bangsa dan negara. Amin! Wallhua’lamubish shawab.
Yogyakarta, 30 April 2008