4 OPINION Page 4 Tuesday, March 4, 1986 The Michigan Doily 4 fr Etitigan ati Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Bering j_, - {{{ y 1 '' L ,/ Vol. XCVI, No. 103 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board MSA k ichigan Student Assembly should be applauded for realizing its role as a student lobby group to fight for students interests at a federal and university level and anything in between. In recent months, student government at ,some of the University's peer in- stitutions have debated student government's role in crucial movements. The perennial issue of "political" versus "non-political" or "student" concerns comes up at MSA, but for the most part MSA has recognized that there is not a line between "politics" and "student interests." On the other hand, at Harvard University the recently established "Undergraduate Council just held a referendum. The referendum asked whether or not the Council should express an opinion on the issue of Harvard's half of a billion dollars invested in companies that do business in South Africa. Given Harvard student's history of pro-divestiture activism, it is not surprising that students voted overwhelmingly to call for a stance by the council. A number of council representatives felt uncomfortable with making a judgement on the major issue to dominate student politics at Harvard since the Viet- nam War. Despite the fact that its im- -inediate predecessors and unof- ficial forebearers supported total Politics divestiture, some council members wonder whether or not its En- dowment for Divestiture is an ap- propriate council program. Created by the Council, The En- dowment for Divestiture gives students the option of donating money to Harvard through an escrow fund which Harvard couldn't use until it divested or the UN determined that apartheid had been eradicated. Across the country, the Unvier- sity of Chicago's student gover- nment voted against sponsoring a talk by Noam Chomsky, one of America's leading intellectuals and political critics. Simultaneously, it voted to finance a speech on love and sex by a Playboy representative. The student government reasoned that supporting Chomsky would be political. Ironically, femininsts picketed the Playboy speaker so the University of Chicago student government embroiled itself poltically after all. It should be obvious that there is no need for student government if the University or federal gover- nment represents student interests as well as the students' own lobby group. As long as MSA represents a student interest and is not just an auxiliary consulting body for the Reagan or Shapiro administration, its actions will be political by definition, ' sJs pg US NUCIEA~ _ r "I..ADI E5 AND GENT-EA1FjN... 51JARE1JOLD-ERS, AND FRIFSV5 of THE A7rolAl.. . l PAVE GAOOD NEWS ANO 8aDzNEW5/TF. -~cD t4iE:W515 THAT AFTER COVNTA,&55 RE(WUA~7c'P DEJ-AY5 ANV? IVICwI 005 5AFETY CM4ECK5, ova PLAN~T /5 O1/kINE. TrHE SAD NEWS 15 THIAT -TME DVmHFWE sr 7-ENJOYED) HA?, Pq *fAI-F -A-FE OF 25%9 0c YE A F~s. " I I Calendar enhances stereo type' Setting priorities - he courageous resignation of- Laurence Norris from Michigan Student Assembly Minority Affairs Committee will enable MSA to resume the battle against racism. Instead of worring about internal proprieties, MSA can return to pressuring the : University to adopt the gaols of former Minority Affairs Commit- tee Chairman Roderick Linzie's Sreport. Linzie's report points out the evils of the academic "revolving 'door" for minorities. Minorities do not benefit by University recruit- Inent if they arrive at the Univer- ity only to find an irrelevant, alienating or even hostile environ- ment. Linzie's report calls for greater efforts towards "reten- tion" in addition to recruiting effor- ts. As a student-funded institution, MSA should work in a coalition to fight racism. MSA's resources should support demands for minority faculty hiring and. programs such as Afro-American Studies which are directly relevant to the minority experience. The movement to divest University stocks from companies that do business with South Africa should also receive MSA priority. By taking appropriate action and using its resources, MSA can help improve the racial climate of the University community. MSA should pressure the Unvier- sity to continue to encourage minorities who succeed in the mainstream. At the same time, the anti-racist coalition must urge the University to recognize achievement on many levels in ac- cordance with the aspirations and standards of the minority com- munity. Failure to recruit minority faculty and retain minority studen- ts demonstrates that the Univer- sity's standards of "relevance" and "success" often obscure minority goals and contributions. Unfortunately, an administrator hired a student to work in a field which directly related to his student government respon- sibilities. The effect of this action has been to divert the community's energies from tasks relevant to the minority experience at the Univer- sity. University administrators should not allow this to happen again, especially in an area as sen- sitive as minority affairs. Norris's resignation will allow everyone to focus once again on the issues of Linzie's report. By Rebecca Chung When the planned publication of the "Women of Michigan" calendar was an- nounced, a low-key yet palpable buzz of ex- citement immediately ensued. Short yet vehement discussions on the calendar seemed to crop up everywhere, displaying responses ranging from absolute condem- nation to "What should I wear?" The issue at hand is the way the women on this campus are viewed and it's bound to hit a few raw nerves. According to Neil Rosemann, president of Entrepreneurial Investors, desperate measures are necessary : "The calendar can only help their image. It can't get much worse." Rosemann has elected himself savior of the female Wolverine reputation, determined to "show there are good-looking Michigan Women." Is this admirable or despicable? Yes. The idea that University women are unat- tractive has its roots in a deeper and unquestionably sexist notion : a female cannot be intelligent and good-looking at the same time. The University of Michigan is the most academically demanding in- stitution in the state, and one of the best schools in the nation. It follows that a human being must be fairly intelligent to become a student here. Obviously, the females on this campus must possess some brains. Ergo, they cannot be attractive. (This chain of reasoning is comforting to those who are not accepted to the Univer- sity: "Michigan State has all the pretty girls"). This misconception deserves to be an- nihilated. It demeans women by evaluating their worth by a factor beyond their control. It cripples their minds by forcing their at- tentions on shallow concerns instead of more challenging matters. In general, the emphasis on appearance over character causes irreperable damage to the aging woman, the homely woman , the disabled. or disfigured woman. For most women, who are only less-than-perfect, it can mean lacking the self-confidence to take charge or to say no. Rosemann seems to believe that if the calendar is a success, all of the women on campus will vicariously share in it. It will be a shot in the arm, a reaffirmation of wor- th, a final blasting of unfair criticism. University women will see themselves in those high-cheekboned, smooth-skinned bodies. First of all, it is important to examine the implication of the charge levied against University women. They are unattractive ; at least, they are the least attractive women in the state, or the Big Ten (depending on which out-of-town rival the football team is up against). This insult tends to fly during fall term, while other tests of manhood are in progress. For some reason, a lack of physical beauty on the part of the Wolverine females is a cause for shame among the males. Many University females will testify Chung, an RC sophomore, is the Daily Book Review editor. that the average Wolverine male is not won- derous to behold, yet they do not consider this fact a reflection on the quality of the in- stitution. One could substitute "buildings" for "girls" in the Michigan State contention and not change the thrust of the statement very much. The very idea that there are no beautiful women on campus is laughable, as a quick. walk to the Diag will prove. In addition, the average female at the University has more opportunities to improve on what nature gave her than almost any other set of women around. She often has the income to Pantene her hair, L'oreal her face, Bennet- ton her body, and coordinate her Reeboks to her running outfits. In any group of ten women, one of them will probably have the ability to read French. More impor- tantly, all Michigan women are exposed to a greater diversity of dress, hairstyle and panache than anyone at a less cosmopolitan school can claim. It does not take long to realize that there are many ways to be at- tractive - and most do not require expen- sive outfits, cellophaned curls, or even svelte figures. The shame question is far more serious. It's very simple - the people who en- courage that sort of parley need to under- stand what kind of message they're handing to their fellow students. To make the point clear : How would men feel if women made jokes that implied that a University male's sexual imcapability (compared to other college males) was directly related to the size of a specific and unique part of his anatomy? (For example, one could say "There is' more than one reason why the University does not belong in the Big Ten.") Would a calendar proving that.Wolverine men did not lack inches be sufficient to dispel such an illusion? Should this reputation reflect badly on the University? (Yes, this is hitting below the belt. Tur- nabout is fair play.) Which brings up the next point - the "Women of Michigan" calendar will not do very much to alleviate the problem. For those who don't know, the method of selec- ting models is as follows : there will be ten student judges, picked from the major dor- mitories on campus. Aiding them will be a professional photographer, a cosmetologist, and a fashion coordinator. Applicants are expected to show up wearing outfits they feel represent them best (formal, bathing suit, etc...). They will be photographed and questioned by the students. According to Rosemann, applicants will be picked simply by asking the males "which ones are pret-, ty," although he has said that he will try to find out something about their personalities. There are some problems here. First of all, no attempt is being made to emphasize that the selected University women have more going for them than their looks. Any non-Wolvering will probably look at the calendar, think, "Yeah, well, sure, there's a few pretty ones" and put it down. They will equate University prettiness with all female prettiness - ergo, they lack brains. That still leaves the rest of the women in the same predicament in which they started. Secondly, the diversity of males on this campus goes far beyond the difference bet- ween Bursley inhabitants and Hill dwellers. There are also graduate students, law and medical students, and fraternity members. One assumes that there is a difference bet- ween a freshman's and a senior's concep- tion of desirability as well. Male students need to see that this calendar is not only representing University women, but University men's taste in women as well. Men who have specific ideas on this subject are going to be a bit upset if their preferen- ces are not recognized (and they won't buy the calendar). These flaws are not difficult to correct, but to do so, the nature of the calendar would have to be changed. It would require the submission of transcripts and resumes. It would involve the participation of more men. Instead of waiting for applicants to come to them, they might have to seek them out; there may be women who do not realize how attractive they are to their peers. Perhaps the name itself would have to be changed,.to something like "The Outstan- ding Women of Michigan Calendar." Per- sonally, I think it would sell better. The reaction of students from other schools would be priceless: "She's majoring in. what? And she looks like that?' Rosemann could probably expect to sell it to women as well. As it stands now, the calendar will probably do more harm than good. As men- tioned earlier, Rosemann assumes that all University women will identify with the beauties in the photographs. Any woman who has thumbed through a fashion magazine could tell him differently. Beauty alienates women from each other, because it is a determining factor in their worth. Pretty women attract more attention anyway (although not necessarily more respect). If the calendar sells, most University women aren't going to feel any differently about themselves. They will merely hear another- chorus of "pretty women are both more interesting and more valuable." But if the calendar doesn't do well, the resulting fallout could be devastating. Ef- fectively, it would say: "Extensive market research has proven that the physical ap- pearance of University women is not a strong enough motivating factor to induce sales among consumers." Women at the University have enough problems as it is, worrying about minor things like grades, career plans, and personal fulfillment. Another blow to their self-esteem just isn't necessary, particularly in the form of ap= peasing misguided sentiments, disguised as "helping their image". Rosemann should have stuck to just wanting to make money...or at least asked the women of this campus some questions before he declared he was saving them. Tryouts are being held today, March 4. .4. . . . . .: . v. .... . . :. . . .t ::"? :?.:::2 : ??^ ":?? :"...}:.?i : ??: :::: :.: : T 1PTT1P ! J LrL' 1 1 I- A 1 . a