OPINION
Sunday, April 5, 1981
Page 4
The Michigan Daily
q
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
The 'U' and academic ideals
Vol. XC1I, No. 151
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
By Lisa Ryan
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
ir ~ ~ t r " " ' !!'1L11
Coun"{ ,.ICil En l~.. orseme [,
Incumbent Lou Belcher for mayor;
During his three years as mayor of bor will someday be a major cent
Ann Arbor, Louis Belcher has been an new capital-intensive industries
6thtisiastic leader who does what he as robotics. Such industries wil
says he will do. The city and its further insulate the city an
iesidents will continue to prosper un- University against the economic
der another two years of Belcher's that plague the rest of the country
progressive leadership. will provide a much-needed bo
-:Beicher's opponent, Democrat the state's economy.
bert Faber, shows little potential for Belcher's campaign has addr
kecoming an effective mayor. His specific services and programs,
4audy idealism offers voters few solid Faber, for the most part, has s]
proposals about the direction the city only in generalities. Faber say
mould take under his administration, wants to increase cooperation bet
Belcher's record during his three the University and the city-a wi
years as mayor is full of successes. He goal, but one that Belcher has al
Is offered residents millage roll initiated.
backs every year and has considerably Faber's major emphasis is o
&iwnsized City Hall by consolidating need to prepare the city's huma
some departments to make the entire vices for inevitable federal cuts
gpyernment operation more efficient. concern, although perhaps sli
":Belcher's energy plan has the exaggerated, is real and one w
university and the city combining for- Belcher does not share. If Belch
eips to develop efficient ways to use and re-elected, City Council members
Conserve energy. His energy steering make sure their constituents in ne
pimmittee is currently studying a plan human services are not neglect
:convert four Huron river dams into the city budget shrinks.
just-effective hydro-electric power But for the most part, Faber's
generators. intentioned liberal philosophy i
The mayor has been instrumental in what Ann Arbor needs-Belcher's
attracting high-technology industry to sible leadership is.
the area. With Belcher's help Ann Ar-
Lowell Peterson in First Ward;
MOCRAT LOWELL Peterson is from cutbacks in federal assis
the obvious choice for City Coun- under the Reagan administratior
member in the First Ward. Through each of these issues, Peterson
s involvement in city and state devised a number of intell
$olitics, Peterson has shown he has a proposals which, once enacted, v
clear grasp of city issues and has represent a first major step towai
proven his commitment to, work solution of many of these prob
toward their solution on Council. which have long plagued residen
,In fact, Peterson has shown, the First Ward-especially studen
Well-defined list of priorities. Once on Steve Brownell, Peters
0ouncil, Peterson, 22, plans to focus his Republican opponent, on the
attention on combatting the city's hand, while full of good intent
crime, chronic shortage of affordable simply does not seem to offer a v:
housing, and attempting to minimize platform that would solve
the loss of city services that will result problems.
Morris clear choice in 2d Ward;
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I remember looking up to
Angell Hall when I came to Ann
Arbor two years ago as a wide-
eyed and impressionable fresh-
man, and reading the profound
statement that streamed across
the frontispiece of the grand
structure: "Religion, morality,
and knowledge being necessary
to good government and the hap-
piness of mankind, schools, and
the means of education shall
forever be encouraged." The
building was to become a temple
for me, a sacred house that
stored the truths one discovers,
or rediscovers, in the departmen-
ts of English, Philosophy,
Mathematics, or Classical
Studies.
I was 18 at the time, and I had
my ideals on what education
should be. The hundreds of cour-
ses listed in the bulletin over-
whelmed my naive and
malnourished thirst for
knowledge-I wanted to take
them all.
I wanted to gain a firm foun-
dation in the liberal arts, and
eventually, after having
developed one millionth of my
potential for "religion, morality,
and knowledge," I would take my
principled self to a professional
field where I would most cer-
tainly preserve these ideals. If I
didn't go to law school, I would go
to graduate school, of course. I
wanted as much knowledge as I
could get.
Now, as a junior, I am,
although not anxiously looking
forward to the day I graduate.
Perhaps the University, the in-
stitution shall we say, promised
too much in its banner, which all
who pass State Street may read.
Or, perhaps I expected too much.
The "Hall of Truth," the name
that Angell Hall projected to me,
lied. The statement reads
"religion, morality, and
knowledge;" which implies the
DOES THE UNIVERSITY live up to the academic ideals inscribed on
Angell Hall which promise to encourage "Religion, Morality, and
Knowledge?"
conjunction of three distinct en-
tities, not one or the other, or one
of the three; it is an inclusive
statement. (I took a Logic cour-
se.)
Religion? There are
humanities courses offered
focusing on various religious
traditions, but who cares about it
today? If you must take a
humanities course (sigh), take
English to help you write when
you enter law school; or
philosophy to help you support
anything you say in your law
practice. If you memorize the
fallacies you may even convince
the jury of the truth of a false
proposition.
There's always com-
munications, so you can learn to
dress and smile correctly so that
you may have a successful
business career.
Why bother with religion?
There are certainly better things
to do with your time than develop
yourself as an individual at one
with nature. We must learn to fit
into society here on earth. The
days are short enough without
worrying about the future.
Take history. Look back and
see where we went wrong - that
seems to be helping us so much
today. The calvary has certainly
stopped massacring the Indians.
Morality? The red "x's''
smeared across the sidewalks of
Ann Arbor, reminding us of the
plight of an innocent rape victim
mirror the state of today's
morality. How many people have
taken an ethics course? How
many students know what ethics
is? Who can tell us why murder is
wrong with an answer other than
because it is killing
. why? ... because it is
taking a life . . . so what?
Because taking a life is mur-
der . .. so, why is murder
wrong?
Knowledge: the University
today teaches knowledge: facts
and figures. We know one and one
makes two, but that's easy. Isn't
it more difficult to believe? We
are saved by Pythagorus in
defining our angles, but how
much more difficult it is to say
why you didn't like Capra's last
film, or more importantly, why
you can't relate to the student sit-
ting next to you in class, or even
your own parents.
Today's graduates have well
trained memories. When they
approach the employment'
market outside in the "real
world," they'll have their.
reference books and periodic'
tables to back up any statement,
they propose. What adds to th1
difficulty of morality and religion,
is that you can't find God's birth,
date in the appendix of your'
history textbook. It's up to yotr
alone to make decisions about
what you believe, and why you
choose to do so. You may even,
have to be creative.
Leave the Religion to the
Catholics and the Jews; the-
morality to the philosophers; the
painting to the art majors; and
specialize. How many art,
students turn white at the sight of
an algebra or calculus book. "I
am an 'art' person," the art:
student said arrogantly,
"mathematics is not creative."
Tell that to Descartes, or da Vin-
ci.
A business major once told me
he had gotten to his junior year
without ever having taken a
humanities course. "Why should
we?" he asked. "Because the°
humanities are beautiful," I said.
"Prove it." I did meet a chemist
whose hobby was sculpture, and
whose circle of friends consisted
entirely of artists; he didn't:
believe in God.
Freshman year was a long time
ago. My eyes are narrower, and I
am more discriminating in what I
choose,,to affect my mind. I still0
glance dp to Angell Hall while
passing down State Street, and I
know I've changed.
My reading may not have im-,
proved, but my understanding
has. The banner displays the
same words, "Religion, Morality,
and Knowledge ... " but I've*
grown wary of their promise. My
first two years as a University
student are now in the past -=
along with my old nickname for
the "grand structure." I will
always remember Angell Hall.'
Lisa Ryan is a junior in the
University's School ofArt.
tance
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Feiffer
I
SECOND WARD Councilwoman
Leslie Morris deserves reelection
to a third term on City Council.
Throughout her four-year tenure on
Council, the Democrat has demon-
strated a much-needed commitment to
her constituents.
The hard-working Morris has con-
sistently encouraged the input of
residents of the Second Ward. She has
often served as a watchdog on City
Council, looking out for minority and
student interests.
In the predominantly-student Second
Ward, Morris has shown that she has
her constituents in mind. An example
of this is her work with rental housing.
Close races in 3r
N THE THIRD Ward, we endorse,
with some reservations, Cheryle
Brown Griffin, the Democratic con-
tender. Although she has not shown a
great understanding of the com-
plexities of city government, she has
proven her willingness to work hard
for Third Ward constituents. Griffin
has sworn to fight on Council to curb
city crime-especially assaults-and
to preserve human services that are
threatened by federal budget cuts.
Griffin's Republican opponent,
Virginia Johannsen, has concentrated
her campaign on an assault on city
taxes and would likely do little more
than tow the traditional Republican
(
In the past, she has been responsible
for a city ordinance requiring smoke
alarms in all rental property. She is
currently working on a retrofit or-
dinance which would require landlords
to insulate rental properties to keep
tenant-paid fuel bills down.
Morris's opponent, Republican Toni
Burton, does not demonstrate a clear
knowledge of city issues. If elected, she
would likely act as a "rubber stamp"
for the Republican status quo on Coun-
cil.
In the interests of protecting student
interests and maintaining hard-
working support on Council, Leslie
Morris should be reelected.
d, 4th, 5th Wards
politics and therefore would not likely
serve well on Council.
*In the Fifth Ward, Democrat Sheila
Cumberworth is the clear choice. She
has outlined five important city
problems-ranging from storm water
run-off to proper storage of road
salt-that she intends to focus her
energies on once elected to City Coun-
cil. Her platform has avoided lofty,
meaningless rhetoric and has stuck
close to serious issues and responsible
solutions.
Her opponents, Republican Louis
Velker and Libertarian Glenn Men-
sching, have not offered similarly
re licfio eninn. Ve lrr the
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LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Little Daily minds
To the Daily:
Having just read the coverage
you have afforded my candidacy,
I can only say that you are little
people with little minds.
You don't seem to think rent
control is important, in a city
where students get financially
raped by their landlords each
month. You don't even mention
our current proposal to require,
landlords to insulate rental
housing. Heating bills may as
much as double next year. You
don't really know what's impor-
tant to students, do you?
No, the Ann Arbor City Council
will never pass a rent control,
that's why we must take it into
our hands in an initiative and
referendum. Ann Arbor is 57 per-
FAW AMWC7 fISr
Ge 4OF ,
AIX'
Physical Arts we have proposed.
Courses would be offered for
credit, and farmed out to the
many local pratitioners of such
disciplines. Since these courses
are most often offered by these
people at a lower cost than that of
a one credit course at the Univer-
sity, the University would stand
to make money on this venture.
This is not a time for mere con-
traction of the University into the
lowest common denominator, it
is a time to decide what is really
important to us as people, and act
accordingly. -
It is plain you are afraid of
anyone who does not stay within
the narrow, almost meaningless
bounds you define to be student
government. It is also obvious
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