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OPINION
Page 4 Saturday, November 22, 1980
It's just not the same without
The Michigan Daily
Too late, we learn some people are indispen-
sible.
It was a gloomy, misting Saturday in Ann
Arbor, more autumns ago than I dare admit.
Ohio State had invaded Michigan for the
wrapup of a mutually nondescript season-yes,
children, once upon a time this game didn't
automatically decide the Big Ten title. On this
occasion Wisconsin and Northwestern-I
swear to God-were vying for that prestigious
honor, while U of M and OSU limped along in
the middle of the pack, both in danger of
Coming
Apart
By Christopher Potter
terback's heroism had gone virtually un-
noticed.
Unnoticed by all but one personage. BAM!!
Out from the Ohio State bench shoots a sideline
marker thirty yards up into the stands,
placekicked by a portly, shirtsleeved figure
convulsing out on the field. CRASH! A folding
chair disintegrates into multiple scraps of
wood, zealously hurled to the ground by the
same distraught individual. His nearby com-
patriots restrain him before he can transfer his
avenging wrath from inanimate objects to
human beings.
In a stadium full of cool sophisticates, one
passionate innocent has asserted himself:
Woody Hayes had struck again.
TODAY IT HAS all changed. The fat man no
longer casts his shadow across the football field
like a corpulent grizzly, sniffing out innocent
Wolverines to rend and devour. Woody has
moved on to more pastoral leisures; Ohio
Stadium no longer rumbles and thunders,
epithets no longer go flying forth in ob-
streperous bellows.
Woody was a demagogue, a tyrant, and a
bully. Yet like Nero, Idi Amin, and other
spoiled brats of history, he employed his assor-
ted tantrums with such a childlike theatricality
that you half-loved him even as you recoiled
from his excesses. The man's duality was
legend; he could lecture like a sage on the vir-
tues of civics and good citizenship, then scream
and whine like a six-year-old whenever a foot-
ball game turned against his Buckeyes. He
would slug-literally slug-his own players if
they miscued on the field, then years later
would selflessly aid any ex-OSU gridder
monetarily or otherwise down on his luck.
Woody never practiced his profession for
the glory inherent in it. He spurned all per-
sonality - worship; his coach's salary
remained-by his own request-the lowest in
the Big Ten. Like The French Connection's
Popeye Doyle Hayes was obsessed solely and
consumingly by the thrill of the hunt-a passion
that each Saturday would transform this
charming, often gentle man into a petulant,
fulminating lunatic.
TO HIM DEFEAT was worse than death; it
was a degradation so incompatible with his
own persona that he instinctively, shrilly
sought out any applicable excuse, however im-
probable, to explain away a loss: an official's
botched call, a crucial injury, even the
weather.
When unable to invent a convenient
scapegoat, he would lock himself-along with
his team-behind closed doors, sullenly
barricading himself from reporters' queries.
Occasionally he would find solace in overt
parochialism: When demon Michigan defeated
the Buckeyes one year, Hayes took vocalized
comfort in the fact that "it took other Ohio boys
to defeat us"-referring to the Wolverines'
massive recruitment of players south of the
Michigan border.
To Woody, such generalizations never seemed
at odds with his philosophical purity. In his
world life meant nothingwithout commitment,
without creed, without victory. His beliefs may
have been myopic and despotic, bdt oh, did he
believe. And enough athletic disciples believed
along with him to carve out one of the most
spectacular won-lost records in the history of
football.
YET EVEN HUMAN dynamos run down.
Gradually the years began to wear on Woody; a
heart attack in 1974 left the once-bustling,
rotund figure shrunken and flaccid. When he
posed for Sugar Bowl pictures with Alabama's
Bear Bryant a few years later, Hayes was
shockingly dwarfed by college coaching's only
other living legend. Face to face with Bryant's
hulking robustness, Woody looked tiny, fragile,
incalculably old.
Rumors spread that he was losing interest
in his team, that he now let his assistants call all
the plays while he stood back as a kind of
detached elder statesman. His on-field tan-
trums were as numerous as ever, but Ohio
State was losing more often now, and school
bigwigs were far less inclined to benignly tut-'
tut his boorishness.
When Woody finally committed the un-
forgivable-mugging an opposing player for
the crime of intercepting a pass to defeat his
Buckeyes-the reaction was swift and brutally
unsentimental: After three decades as kingpin,
Woody Hayes found himself forceably dumped
into the ranks of the unemployed. Many feared
it would mean the end of him-that his only
reason for existence had been torn out and he
Woody,
could not live with the sudden void.
YET HE HAS survived-he regularly tours
the banquet circuit, regaling his audiences with
folksy sports homilies and right-wing political
harangues. He remains a venerated, adored
citizen in Columbus; coaching colleagues and
former players dutifully flock to his door like
pilgrims. It all does much to fill the void-ex-
cept on Saturday afternoons in autumn. Woody
does not attend the Ohio State games. He can-
not bear it.
It still disorients me not to see him in his ac-
customed mode, raging and cursing in his red
Ohio jacket. An imposter named Earle Bruce
stands there now, mellow and anonymous. The
annual Buckeye-Wolverine holy war is fast
dissolving into just another"big game"-that
special, delicious quest for blood has been lost,
perhaps forever. November has turned anti-
climactic, its showbiz thrills a feeble antidote
to the reality of an increasingly brute world.
Barring a terrorist attack at halftime,
nothing that occurs at Columbus today
can remotely match the strung-out ferment of
the recent gridiron past. We need our grand,
draconian villains, yet they're turning ob-
solete, replaced by faceless, pitiless
technocrats. Times may change. Future
moguls may come and go.
But there will not be another like Woody.
Christopher Potter is a Daily staff
writer. His column normally appears every
Friday.
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finishing sub-.500 for the season.
IT WAS A GAME that held no meaning
beyond inter-school bragging rights-it wasn't
even a sellout. Its high point occurred a few
seconds before halftime when Michigan's quar-
terback twisted, turned, and somehow lunged
through the grasp of three Buckeye defenders
into the OSU end zone. The touchdown gave the
Wolverines a lead they were never to
relinquish; yet the blase crowd reaction left
both my dad and me with the feeling the quar-
I
bje Mfi i igan Ba4
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Anabortion showdown
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
T HERE'S A showdown brewing in
Lansing, one that pits Gov.
William Milliken against the combined
forces of Right to Life of Michigan, the
Michigan Catholic Conference, and the
state chapter of the infamous Moral
Majority.
The fight is over funding of welfare
abortions-not a new battle in this
state. Milliken will soon have a bill on
his desk that would ban state funding
of welfare abortions except in cases
where the ,pregnancy places the
mother's life in danger. Aides have
confirmed that the governor, who-has
been a staunch supporter of abortion
rights for the poor and has vetoed all
previous legislative efforts to cut off
funding, will veto this bill as well.
But this year, the anti-abortion
crusaders have a special weapon
available to them: The legislature for
the first time is prepared to seek an
override of Milliken's veto. Only once
in the last 29 years has a veto by a
Michigan governor been overriden.
State House members voted Wed-
nesday to approve the bill banning
abortion funds by a 68-34 margin-that
is just six votes short of the number
that would be needed to override the
governor's veto.
The anti-abortion lobbyists are con-
fident they can get those six votes.
And we are fearful that they might.
Now more than ever must pro-choice
forces in this state unite and present a
solid front to oppose those who would
deny poor women the freedom to
choose abortions.
Fortunately, there is one way to
derail the anti-choice drive, even if the
legislature does override Milliken's
veto. The bill soon to be brought before
the governor got through the state
Senate in October through tactics that
the American Civil Liberties Union,
among other groups and individuals,
believes were unconstitutional. It is
therefore possible that the bill could
yet be killed by the courts, even if it
survives the legislative process.
Our legislators need to know that
there is a vast constituency that sup-
ports freedom of choice-and supports
lawmakers who favor that freedom.
Moral Majority is a formidable foe;
perhaps if we can defeat the group on
this issue, we can prevent it from
gaining a foothold in our state.
Israel has always
To the Daily: I don't see how the editorial c
I was disappointed to see that board can reach the conclusion t
the Daily didn't cover Moshe that "it no longer makes sense to t
Gilboa's talk on "New Realities ask whose fault a given incident 1
in the Mideast" last Monday, is." Who started the fighting? t
Nov. 17 in the Union. I thought Who takes, or should I say, tries
that a newspaper with respect for to take 6-year-olds hostage? Whoc
all opinions would want to attain sets off bombs in busy market- t
as much information as possible places? Israel wants and always t
before publishing a well-defined has wanted peace-a fair peace.
opinion. Your editorial concer- To attain peace with Egypt they
ning "violence" in Israel ('Daily, made all the concessions just forc
November 20) proved me wrong. the promise of peace. Not only l
SAID slate responsible
To the Daily: tising hatchet job.
I am an at-large member of the During my term on LSA-SG, I 1
LSA student government, and a have been very favorably im-
member of neither Students for pressed by the dedication and
Academic and Institutional concern of Susan Porter and
Development ifor the Student Margaret Talmers, the presiden-
Alliance for Better Represen- tial and vice-presidential can-
tation, the two parties competing didates from SAID. Their cam- +
in the forthcoming LSA-SG elec- paign literature focuses on I
tion. Although I am not running issues, and I suggest that this is
for election, I am appalled at the by far the better tactic for I
tactics that one of the parties, gaining votes, not to mention
SABRE, is using. Specifically, running the council.
the campaign literature being The negative campaign now
spread by this group amounts to a being waged by SABRE only
smear campaign against SAID, draws attention away from the
and does not even mention any of ongoing work of LSA-SG and
the pressing concerns that the brings an unsavory and discour-
new LSA-SG must address, teous flavor to the task of selec-
regardless of the winning party. ting a new council. With the
budget cuts and other problems
The potshots that SABRE is facing the College, we should be
taking (example: "What's been selecting those who can bring the
SAID and actually done is most ability to bear on these
nothing! ") indicate that they do problems, not those who can hat-
not care for these issues, and ch the most vicious campaign.
would rather rely on a slick, -Pat Anderson
Madison Avenue-style adver- November 20
SABRE posters vicious
did the Israelis give up 25 percent
of their precious oil supplies
which they discovered and now
pay Egypt for, they also gave up
the whole Sinai Desert (for the
second time) which they took'in a
defensive war and in which
millions of dollars were'spent to
make it usable and livable. (Who
is it usable for now?)
The fault of any given incident
cannot and does not lie with the
Israelis. If these "Palestinians"
wanted peace there would be
peace, but as long as the
Palestine Liberation
Organization has as a major goal
the pushing of Israel into the sea,
no peace will exist. As Moshe
Gilboa, the consul general of
Israel for the Midwest, said,
"There will be no peace in the
Middle East until all the Arab
countries realize that Israel can-
not be destroyed by military for-
ce." How can Israel even begin to
negotiate peace if prominent
Palestinians have to fear for their
lives every time they show any
kind of friendship with Israel?
Israel's offer of autonomy was a
gigantic concession, especially
since the Israelis were offering
autonomy to a people who intend
to destroy them.
The Daily asserted "The
Palestinians have long been suf-
fering under a system that denies
them both freedom of expression
-and fulfillment of their national
aspirations." There is already a
Palestinian state. Even before
the modern State of Israel existed
there was a Palestinian state. In
the wake of World War I Winston
Churchill separated Jordan from
the rest of Palestine andmade a
Palestinian its ruler. The
Palestinians have a state today,
and if they, want to fulfill their
wanted peace
"national aspirations," they
merely have to cross a river.
When Israel was created in
1948, thousands of Jews were
homeless after the most;
atrocious manhunt in history,.
and the tiny state of Israel made
room and settled all of them.
Meanwhile, more than 20 Arab
countries with plenty of space of-
fered no help to the Palestinians
and chose to use them as political
weapons. They remained in tents
for over 20 years. Now who is
denying the Palestinians freedom.
of expression?
After 1967, when Israel took
over the "West Bank," these
same Palestinians who are being
denied "freedom of expression"
voted for the first time. Most
recently, these same
Palestinians used the privilege of
expressing their views for the
destruction of the state that has
advanced t-heir status much
faster than Jordan did in its rule
over the area. Can you imagine
that in Russia? There, Jews can't
even proclaim they are Jewish
without fear of being called state
criminals, let alone call for the
destruction of the state.
It is much easier for these
Palestinians to blame their
problems on Israel than on their
Arab counterparts. Israel has
nothing to be ashamed of in the
way the Palestinians have been
treated. If only the Jews were
treated that kindly every, time
they were conquered!! The end of
the bloodshed cannot be in sight
until the Palestinians realize that
Israel is there to stay, and agree
to work with the Israelis for a
solution, not against them.
-David Brief
November 21 *
,.' t ._
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.-, AL
it
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To the Daily:
I am compelled to comment on
a particular poster that is being
used by the Student Alliance for
Better Representation campaign
in the LSA Student Government
elections because I find it very
deceptive. The poster thanks
SABRE for the structure the par-
ty brought to MSA. SABRE is
correct in asserting that its
executives restored MSA's ac-
countability last year. Jim Alland
is to be complimented for
achieving this. However, that .is
just about the only accomplish-
ment MSA was noted for last
year. I would contend that the
credibility of student government
means little to students if it is not
coupled with positive programs
for change.
This year MSA has been
recognized for its positive con-
tributions to student life. Some of.
these accomplishments, in-
cluding restoration of North
Campus late night bus hours,
restoration of late night UGLI
hours, organizing the MSA
Security Task Force, organizing
students to defeat the dangerous
Tisch Proposal, fighting for the
Responsible advocacy can only
result from an active effort by
student politicos (like myself) to
initiate progr'ams to improve
student life at the University.
Most students don't really care
whether or not student gover-
nment is accountable to the Un-
iversity administration. I realize.
that a good relationship with the
administration is generally basic
to our effectiveness, but student
government should focus its ef-
forts on. students, not the ad-
ministration.
In this regard, I feel a respon-
sibility to endorse for president
and vice president of LSA-SG two
people who share my views on the
appropriate role of student
government. These people are
Sue Porter and Margaret
Talmers of the Students for
Academic and Institutional
Development party.
LSA-SG already has accoun-
tability in the eyes of the ad-
ministration. What it needs now
is these two leaders, who are
committed to continuing to
initiate programs foriprogessive
improvements within the
College. I have worked with Sue
and Margaret in the past and
To the Daily:
In response to your editorial on
Thursday, November 20, and as
representative of the Culture
Committee of the General Union
of Palestinian Students, I would
like to express my appreciation
to the Daily for recognizing the
tragic Israeli military policy
directed against the Palestinian
students at Bir Zeit University. In
order to prevent further blood-
shed, we call on the peace-loving
forces within Israel to join with
the Palestinians and bring peace,
democracy, and freedom to
Palestine.
-Nader Ajluni
November 20
Preventing bloodshed
Goodbye, Second Chance
To the Daily:
I attended the 11:00 p.m. show of
George Thorogood at Second
Chance on Wednesday, Nov. 19. I
have no complaints regarding the
music-Thorogood put on a show
that was well worth the cost of the
tickets. What I do find extremely
offensive is the greed,
callousness, disregard, and
overall mentality of the
management and certain em-
ployees of Second Chance.
A few questions for the
ting chairs on the dance floor?
Money? Isn't the cost of the
tickets enough to cover your
profit margin?
And a question to one of the
bouncers: Why did you hit that
man in the face, with enough for-
ce to knock him off his feet?
From what I saw, it appeared to
be unaggravated assault. But
then I suppose you do have1 a
reputation to maintain, don't
you?
Last evening thoroughly,'
refreshed my memorv a tn why t