4 1 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. 4 4 I 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 ._ A- / ~/////A7X ii,,-. /U .-, AL it " " r /'i/'fi ,_4,- 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