.411111111111100,
.1111D
4411111111010110101011111.011 1 %.-
Front Lines
NOTEBOOK
JI4enline
This Week
Inquiring Minds
Go, Tigers!
sk me no questions, I'll tell you
no fibs:' This line from Oliver
Goldsmith's She Stoops To
Conquer leads me to look at questioning as a
part of life. How else do we learn?
The questions I have specifically in mind,
however, are not really of the knowledge-
enhancing kind.
On a daily basis, we encounter questions
that seem to be almost cliched in that they are
Sy Manello
asked perennially,.and the answers are never
Editorial
good enough. I would like to present some of
Assistant
them and go into why they need not be asked
— which doesn't mean they won't be.
• "Are we there yet?" Who has not taken a
ride with a child and not had this posed? Often it is raised as a query
before the driveway has been exited. Not so anymore. Now cars come
with individual headsets and TVs. Now the question will probably be,
"When can I watch MY show?" or even better, "Why do I have to get out
now? The movie isn't over. Let Grandma wait."
• "Can I have that recipe?" Remember when this used to be a
regular exchange when neighbors got together? Neighbors? You know,
they are those people who inhabit the structures next to your house.
Now we do very little cooking of our own since so much comes pre-
packaged and frozen. Why, you needn't even bother making the kids'
lunches anymore; have you not heard of ready made CRUSTLESS PB
&J sandwiches?
Since we're talking food, how about the question:
• "Is dinner ready yet?" No longer a needed inquiry since there
are so many aids (see the paragraph on recipes) as well as mechanical
devices to speed our consumption of comestibles. Worth special note
are the microwave and the pizza maker (as if we did not have enough
'stuff on our countertops now.)
• "Is there something to do? I'm bored." (And to think that
winter or summer vacation just started yesterday.) Well, of course
you won't hear this any more as long as there is a supply of batteries
in your house. There is a never-ending parade of electronic games to
keep kids enthralled. They also pick up all sorts of wonderful abilities:
car theft, bloody attack, etc. As a by-note: It is predicted that in not too
many years, our progeny will be reduced to beings with small heads
and only two appendages on the arms — two large thumbs.
• "How do I get to ... ?" This question is becoming an antique
with the advent of such aids as Mapquest (which I highly recommend
if you want to get lost with little effort). There is also the directional aid
in many cars these days like Onstar. Judging by TV ads, more people
use it to help them when they have locked their keys in the car than
when they are lost. The only meaningful answer to the question is
public TV; but the question has to be, "Can you tell me how to get to
Sesame Street?"
If you are a shop-aholic — and that seems to be a prevalent "sick-
ness" these days, you will probably no longer hear:
• "How do you want to pay?" Since so few salespeople know
how to handle cash, the question is now, "Which card do you wish to
use?" Then you only have to decide if it is debit or credit.
Yes, inquiring minds do want to now, but WHAT they want to know
has changed a lot in the last few years. I
Simon Says
Giving More
While the population of most Big Ten schools is 30 to 45 percent out-
of-state students, only 13 percent of the student body at Michigan
State University is from ouvof state, said MSU President Lou Anna K.
Simon. "Michigan State has remained true to the state."
"One-third of our undergrad students come from the southeast
area of Michigan:' she told a crowd of 70 at a Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit forum in Birmingham on Oct 17.
"We also have the largest number of Michigan Jewish students in
the state she said, while touting the now fully staffed MSU Jewish
Studies Program. -
She also spoke of the MSU program in Israel cancelled this summer
because of war. Though a committee must decide whether to reinstate
it next year, she said, "From my perspective, the reason we brought
the students home early was an episodic event, not a systemic one.
Personally, I see no reason why the program should not be continued."
When asked about the performance of MSU's football team, she
replied, "I'm looking forward to the start of basketball season."
The Gamma Kappi Chi men's fraternity, founded at Wayne University
in Detroit in 1936, held its 70th reunion in August and endecrup with
surplus funds.
The group, known in its day for its "jocks and docs," decided to
turn the extra money over to two local organizations — Hillel of
Metropolitan Detroit and the Israel Emergency Fund of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
On Oct. 12, a group of 35 members, wives and widows met for
lunch at Sila's in Berkley to turn over the checks. Josh, Lerner, Hillel
president, accepted a check for $500. He talked about Hillel programs
and updated the group on anti-Israel activity on campus, includ-
ing a recent rally seeking WSU divestment from Israel. Lisa Cutler
of Federation accepted a check for $1,000 and described problems
caused by the recent war with Hezbollah and gave an update of cur-
rent needs.
Personal donations from the Gamma Kappa Chi group also were
made.
- Harry Kirsbaum, staff writer
Name To Reflect Mission
The National Conference for Community and Justice of Michigan
has changed its name to the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and
Inclusion. The goal is to better reflect the mission of the nonprofit
Detroit-based organization: to promote diversity and advance inclu-
sion, said Dan Krickbaum, its president and CEO.
Additionally, the organization has partnered with the National
Federation of Just Communities, a recently forined federation of simi-
lar organizations throughout the United States. The organization had
been associated with the NCCJ.
The Michigan Roundtable is a human-relations organization seek-
ing to end discrimination and racism by working proactively across
10 October 26 = 2006
'
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
racial, religious, ethnic and cultural boundaries through diversity
training, advocacy, conflict resolution, youth leadership training and
community dialogue.
On Nov. 28, the Michigan Roundtable will host its 59th annual
Humanitarian Tribute. Ralph W. Babb Jr., chairman and CEO of
Comerica Inc., and Tom Wilson, president and CEO of Palace Sports
and Entertainment, will be honored. Steve Smith, color analyst for
FOX Sports and Turner Sports and a former MSU All-American, will
receive the William Beckham Community Service Award.
For more information, visit Ww.MIroundtable.org or call (313)
870-1500.
- Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor
Looking for some fun Tigers'
souvenirs brought to you by
enterprising folks in our own
community? We've got Lem! Now
you can, too.
Just click on Web Extras on
the menu on the left.
JBlog
Jeff Klein offers his
Perspectives on everything from
dating to this week's column on
playing devil's advocate. Always
thoughtful, often provocative.
Or perhaps you'd rather read
about the adventures of Laurie
Freeman's China Punim? This
week Amada, 4, works at her
favorite Chinese restaurant.
Only at JNonline.us. Just click
on JBlog on the menu on the
left.
Latest From Israel
Want the most current news
from Israel? Check our stream-
ing news from Ynetnews.com for
continuous updates and longer
news, opinion and feature sto-
ries.
Just visit JNonline.us and click
on a scrolling story on the left.
Web Extras
Here's your chance to get ahead
of the printed issue of the JN. In
this spot look for a stories that
deal with breaking local, nation-
al and international news.
Just visit JNonline.us and click
on Web Extras on the left.
Poll Results:
Do you think Israeli President
Moshe Katsav, who may face
charges for alleged sexual
offenses, should be replaced by
a candidate not affiliated with
any political party, as Prime
Minister Olmert suggests?
Yes 64%
No 36%
This week's question:
Do your children or grandchil-
dren go "trick or treating" on
Halloween?
Visit the JNonline.us homepage
to cast your vote.