OPINION
Page 4
Friday, September 19, 1986
The Michigan Dai
Edite mn de U
05st tgan Btl
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
LETTERS:
;a
.V
Examine the Greek system
Vol. XCVlI, No. 12
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
Ticket troubles
THE NEW TICKET procedure
at University football games will
both help and burden students.
The University Athletic
Department now requires each
student to bring their entire
booklet of tickets and their
school I.D. to enter the games.
The new policy is designed to
keep non-students with scalped
tickets out of the student
sections. In the past, the non-
students would demand to sit in
their ticketed seats which
caused conflict with students
who prefer to sit anywhere.
According to Michigan ticket
manager Al Renfrew, the de-
partment implemented this pro -
cedure to "protect the students."
The new procedure will
benefit students by creating an
all-student section but will
penalize them in more
important ways. Abolishing the
students' option to scalp tickets
contributes to the scarcity of
tickets for individual games.
Now some students who can not
afford to shell out 48 dollars at
the beginning of the term, will
not be able to attend individual
games.
To the extent that the Athletic
Department sells fewer ticket
books to students because of the
new policy, other spectator
groups will buy more. The
income students gained in the
past from scalping unused
tickets will then go to alumni,
faculty and other spectator
groups still allowed to scalp
their tickets.
To the extent that book
tickets are not used or sold
under the new policy, scalped
tickets will go up in price from
the shortage caused. People who
do manage to find individual
tickets for sale will pay a higher
price than in the past.
A student who cannot attend a
game will be wary to sell or lend
their ticket to anyone, including
friends, because of the risk they
will be taking by lending out
their entire booklet and I.D.
card. Part of the fun of
attending games is to bring
parents, siblings, and visiting
friends-people who were able
to buy scalped tickets in the past.
The lack of adequate
warning about the new system
will cause confusion at the
stadium gates tomorrow. It is
likely that a number of students
will forget their I.D. cards or
tear off their ticket as they have
done in the past, rendering it
invalid. Students risk missing
the remainder of the season if
they lose their booklets.
Football at the University is
played by students; their class -
mates have the right to enjoy
these games. The new
procedures penalize students for
wanting to have fun.
To the Daily:
Once again the fall winds
rush through leaves turning
crimson and gold in the
fading sunlight; flocks of
Canadian geese will soon be
heard overhead pointing
south toward sunshine and
warmth; a nervous influx of
post-adolescents jams the
streets every hour on the hour,
and the Daily takes up its
crusade against the Greek
system; clearly, autumn is
upon us once more.
I do not believe the Daily
raises sufficient support for
its position as stated in the
editorial entitled "Why
Rush?" (9/8/86). Neither do I
believe that those fraternity
and sorority members who
have attempted to reply to your
"allegations" as Valerie
Salkin described in her letter
"Greek experience can be
positive" (Daily, 9/10/86),
have even begun to examine
the system to which they
belong. This argument tends
to descend into bigoted name-
calling from both sides every
time it is raised.
Let me begin by stating
that I strongly support the
purported goals of the Greek
system; that is, I believe
encouraging fraternal ties,
providing a means of
meeting new people, and
providing a support network
through the troubling years
spent studying at a
monolithic institution such
as this university, are
worthwhile, meaningful
goals. If the system worked, I
would heap lavish praise
upon it. Examining the
evidence, though, it becomes
painfully obvious that the
system does not achieve these
lofty goals; in some cases, the
system works directly
against those aims,
encouraging the behavior it
seeks to discourage,
sheltering students from
anything unknown to their
backgrounds instead of
exposing them to diverse
people and situations.
I take exception with the
Daily's describing the Greek
system as "a large
homogeneous group." It's
easy to see that within the
compass of the entire Greek
system, there exists a multi-
plicity of ethnic groups, and
religious backgrounds.
What bothers me is that
within the system these
groups tend to clump together;
why are there "Jewish
fraternities" or "WASPy
sororities?" It seems that the
only catch-all heading these
people fall into is "the upper
class." A sampling of
students within the Greek
system would show that vast
majority come from
professional parents, and that
their average family
incomes are 15-20 percent
higher than the typical
University student. How
many Greeks do you know
that have never had a job, or
have only worked for one of
their parents?
I take exception, too, to the
almost total exclusion of
blacks from the Pan-
Hellenic fraternities and
sororities. Why do the blacks
on campus feel they have to
form their own, independent
sororities and fraternities?
To state that this minority
chooses to exclude itself, as
the Pan-Hellenic Society
claims, is ducking the
question. Perhaps too many
of the Greeks would think
twice about rushing if they
knew they might have a black
"sster" or "brother-"
maturity. Sad, but true. How
many people do you know that
are personable, sensitive
individuals, but act like
complete idiots in a large
group? Watching a group of
young men drink till they
puke or a group of young
women lose all restraint and
dance on tables wearing
formal gowns and holding a
drink in their hand is not my
idea of reinforcing mature
behavior. I have been witness
to both of these events at
different Greek functions.
If the Pan-Hellenic
Council is serious about
developing a mature, capable
group of members that can act
like responsible adults when
they are thrown into the harsh
realities of the working
world, perhaps they should
consider moving the rush
back at least a month and
spreading it out over a longer
time period. How well can a
sorority of sixty to one
hundred women get to know
an individual in three one to
two hour meetings?
Especially when that in-
dividual is suffering through
the adjustments of their first
month living away from
home, and adjusting from
being one of the best and the
brightest to being another
average student among the
30,000 living in the campus
area. Is it any wonder that
nearly half the first year
class is on academic
probation after the first term?
Again, I admire the aims
of the Greek system, and
decry the stereotypical
'breakdown in this debate to
Greek vs. GDI (God-Damned
Independent, if you're
unfamiliar with the abbrev -
iation). On a campusa
large as this, there is,
obviously room for people
with differing views; in fact,
that diversity is exactly what
we should strive forsto expose#
each student to aswide a:
range of people and experi-S
ences as can possibly bel
arranged. What is needed is;
tolerance, temperance, and'
prudence to remove the
pressure from students to
make such an important
decision in the first month of,
one of the harshest adjust='
ment periods they will ever
face. Give new students, 4
opportunity to think for
themselves, to adjust to a
strange new environment,
and most of the shortcoming
of this system might just
disappear. 4
-Patrick J. Fetteraa
Septembder I
of lie$r
many different ages.'
you hear what they're sayin
? "We only want what's bes
for you."
Well, that's enough for one
visit. I'm ready to go.
But if you see me out on the
street, tell me a lie. I
collecting.
-Mike Shad
Septembe
is one phase'
Building a gallery
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To the Daily:
I would like to build a
gallery of lies.
Imagine it.
You would walk up the
marble steps to the beautiful
stone archway over the door.
And inscribed in the archway
would be the motto I'd give my
gallery, " I'm doing this out
of the goodness of my heart ",
echoed by the sign on the wall
of the ticket booth, " We're not
in it for the money. "
The gallery's store rooms
are bursting with a massive
harvest of human history.
Marcos' claim to have lead
an anti-Japanese guerilla
outfit? Certainly a classic in
its time, now all but forgotten.
Maybe I can find room for it
in the Hall of Politics.
I'm very proud of my
Presidential Collection. It
reaches all the way back to the
slave owner who wrote " We
hold these truths to be self
evident, that all men are
created equal..."
I've spared no expense on
this exhibit. I hired the best
craftsmen from Mme.
Tussand's waxworks so that
you can see'Lyndon Johnson
say " I will not send
American boys to fight and
die in an Asian war. " Go
ahead, push the button and
hear Richard Nixon say "I
am not a crook. " ( Or was it
"Because, gentlemen, you
won't have Dick Nixon to
kick around anymore"?)
Watch Ronald Reagan
promise to balance the budget
in his first term. And in my
presidential hopeful category
I have George Bush's smash
hit, " We can fight and win a
nuclear war."
There'sso much to see.
Let's skip the Hall of
Commerce and Economics
Skip the Halls of Medicine
and Education, and move on
to the Hall of Human
Relations.
Here's a smoky bar.
When you wander in, it's full
of strangers promising to
respect you in the morning.
And here are all your
A cadem ic
isolation
To the Daily:
In his letter "Banner theft
squelches free speech," Brad
Foster equates a common
prank with Soviet and Nazi
repression. He believes
there's a conspiracy to censor
him. He believes that the
cutting down of a banner on
the Diag is "the use of force"
sweethearts from high school
on. They all say they'll
always love you. And here
you are, telling them the
same. Hmm.
Here's the centerpiece of
the exhibit, perhaps of the
whole gallery. The Family.
Do you see? Here are your
parents. They're talking to
you. What age are you ? So
Telephoning
To the Daily: operating support for '4
Thank you for your recent University. The $160 mil rn
front page coverage of the mentioned in your arti-Jl
Campaign for Michigan's represents the goal for
phone bank, " 'U' phones for first phase of the Campai
alumni dough", ( Daily, for Michigan. This' mol
9/5/86 ). As much as I will be used for buildings acid
appreciate the publicity ou plant improvement and for
have provided the phone endowment support
effort, I still would like to students and facult-.
clarify some statements that Through the support -f
misrepresented what Uni- alumni, corporations, apd
versity students are trying to foundations, the Campaigi
accomplish as they solicit our has realized nearly $1210
alumni and what the million of this $160 millilo
Campaign for Michigan goal.
represents. We are very excited about
Our goal for the All- the phone bank, as it 1ras
Alumni Phase of the Cam- already raised well oVy
paign for Michigan-of which $150,000 in pledges in a 149
the phone bank is a vital part- over two weeks of operatioh.
is $20 million, not $160 Moreover, I would like,1b
million. The students who encourage your readers w o
are phoning each night are, are interested in helping t e
in fact, expected to raise University to consider wor -
around $14.5 million of this ing with us as callers at e
$20 million. You can under- phone bank.
stand the awe your article Thank you for providing
inspired as our students read me this opportunity to set toe
that their goal had suddenly record straight.
increased elevenfold.
The monies raised from -Melanie Allewelt Kw
this two-year All-Alumni Director,.Annual Prograos
Phase of the Campaign will
be instrumental in providing .Septemb
Outraged by massacre
To the Daily: times such as these, innoce t
The Muslim Students and oftentimes rightedgs
Association, University individuals are attacked
Chapter, wishes to express its through no fault of their ow4.
heartfelt sorrow and outrage The Muslim Studenis
over the recent murder of Association expresses igs
some twenty-one Jewish sympathy and condolence fqr
worshippers in a Turkish the families and friends ;f
synagogoue. For us, the those killed, and carries tie
thought that this act may have hope for understanding akd
been perpetrated out of some true peace in the comikg
notion of national or years.
religious duty is truly ,A
disturbing.-Hytham A. Youms
We sincerely regret that in -Muslim Students Assoc.
SeptemI4 8
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