0 Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Monday, October 21, 1991 20 Maynard Street Arbor, Michigan 48109 ANDREW GOTTESMA 747-2814 Editor in Chief 4 Ann N Edited and Managed by Students at the University of Michigan STEPHEN HENDERSON Opinion Editor 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. 4;?:;r:;:;:":?S'r,:{":-}:":'}:{?"F.?rfr:?'G'r'.{rfri"'f.{::v:"}};{.:":":ti{."{: vv:.".".v.": "rr:r.."."::...."r w::vv.:: v.".v:.":r r."."."r.::v, . .Jf. .1.... . .:...'.... J.S"J}..J. .r'......:.. . ..1 JJ :"Nrr: rr ."r: r::r:r:r."." ::" r :411Vr: " V.V'f" rr:."JN J:r,.": J:.v ." J:r :::::::::" :".L :": :w:::: rv: r.::::: " ;,;{"r}":: r: Xr."r:r Yr rr."".":J :: rr N::::r :'r "}rN.. J,.:". . r.. ,.J....... ..5.{ti:...... ,SY}:S'}:S"}....1 .4 . ..{.......,.. ::{":?? ......................'..........'...... "r:::"}:"::":... ... fr .."'.. r ... r . .. r.: ":.:. r... rvr.1... ... r : r."." 4.?{J":"Y.:3:??"}};.".;.v: r.".":: :" :v: :"::.".:v." ":." ........... .. tt . . ."."."i ".". ..... .. J. 4 " ......1.. . . r....1:.... x... r... . r...v.":.": .".":.v J.v.'}.{.}:?": :v.".":: r. r.. rr. rr :".::":: .": ::"r:: r: rJ::::.v::.v:e::: r. ::.: :":"n":J.v "r: :..r : rrJi}'":"}}}':" :{8 v::vX"a4: r}:"};,; ": : :":?"}:{"}: 4.{vf .. . r...".{v:{.:;.;:;.,.,. r :.. rrr r : r.:v."::.".v.":.".":.':ti{"};.'.v::"}:":": ... Y ": . r.:: rf.".vv.".": r:.": r:."."."."..".".".vJ: "."r."."."."::.".v."::.".":."::": ".".":::.": v."::::.:::.^. ..r:: ::"} :r,. ;..,.;ri: r." v: r.?S{.".. ..L'... " ?:"}:"'. :":"."if: f :::":"r:: i:::.":v: :J ...... .... ............. V' .. r, ":V: " r... .. rr ." .......t...... : "r ,,.. J. r: r ":." :":::.".": J:': l. V."Yfr {'r:"."Jl " rf .. f... ::,f{LLrr.:}k"J."."."r:".":"."."r:::::..':.".?? >":?J." .e,. .f 4: r .. r.. .} r. f; :":? :":J.":":v."::":": : ::?vitti'}}}"::." ::.....:. . r ." " .?"::::::.:...... . ... ".:; {: v:. J :."} y,'"::}: , Ir 'f: f. "r.? " :^; "::... . '=:4 : :fiivi: :} vJ.1.R.": v:......, :."r. ""r: :{. ;r "v:.%%::: f}' "r.{":":v...:..."::.r.".": ?: :":v: i: ::fi:"::........... :"i: : i: : ..1::1.r. JJr: r::r:r :"r:.1Y.: r'. :rr !"':; ""}:J?"};';". 'i:" h. '{ t:::'11:::"r: .:. '. r.{'.?J{:..f: }f ":"}:'.":?":":":"}::........ t:':":"}:{ .f rJ :":'1. Yr" f} Yl: J." .4 J. r.".": r: f"J.".".".v:: " :": r::.^.".v ":";.;; r. ."r r.. '{'{:;: :::v' ?G '4' .. r .......................:......:....:":"}:?fil:: }: i:":{"}:":{ '" .r .Y . r.. r.. Y.: J:: 1.;."r.vvrr .1:::....: ." .......:.:... yr.{ .. ;.f..,.,.,.,1,. ..,.,. " "......."!......... r}:":.r .,.: "r::.. ,....,.,.'.}vYLf.{.F. r ..a..,..".-..., .:Y...,.,e.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..{{.". {.;t. Distributed by Tribune Media Services tB I~ JNcdko kJc4 TANK pod' IOS? *I Sigma Kappa City should allow sorority to renovate its house T n September, Sigma Kappa Sorority sought 1 approval for an expansion of its house at 725 Oxford. The sorority was forced to gain the city's acceptance of the plan because of an ordinance the city passed in 1976 regulating group housing for students. Despite the fact that Sigma Kappa met all of the zoning requirements, the city planning commission denied the request. The planning commission voted unanimously against the sorority because of con- cerns voiced by neighbors who live in near-by single family dwellings. The decision by the planning commission to deny the renovation plans was unfair. The pro- ceedings entailed a short presentation of the plan by the sorority's nationalorganization and executive board and was then followed by a seemingly endless lobbying session by virtually every neighbor who lives in the vicinity of Sigma Kappa. By the end of the session, it became obvious that the planning commission was more concerned with the political ramifications of its decision on future elections than in the fundamental fairness of the decision that it eventually rendered. The city completely neglected to recognize the fact that Ann Arbor is a college town which naturally in- volves "mixed" housing of students and permanent residents. The planning commission's vote represents a setback for all students who wish to live together in large groups. This is not the first time that the city has actively opposed students' request to occupy property that is rightfully theirs. This summer, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity was forced to sue the city after the city planning commission denied the fraternity use of their new house at 903 Lincoln. It is clear that the City Council and the residents of Ann Arbor are opposed to group housing for students. Although the city has only used the decade old zoning ordinance against greek orga- nizations, students should not be fooled. The or- dinance also applies and was originally intended for cooperative housing. Indeed, it is difficult to take seriously the proposition that the city actually wants "mixed" housing given recent decisions made by the plan- ning commission. Fortunately, Sigma Kappa has chosen to chal- lenge the fairness of the zoning ordinance by filing suit against the city on grounds of discrimination. Lawyers for the sorority intend to argue that the ordinance is unfair to students because it does not apply to all forms of group housing, namely housing occupied by adults. Sigma Kappa has a strong case. Pi Kappa Phi won a similar case against the city based on grounds that the ordinance fosters sexual discrimination.As students, we can only hope that Sigma Kappa is equally successful so that our right to live in groups is preserved. a a a tet t L 0 co 1 (I - O * . V//! _-- 'In' I . ................ .. :.". ". :.l": ... r :J 4 .:V........ tiV : V: r. V........ .. . :.1V. . y V: .A'.":.1V ..1 ..11 '.'r. "}::":":'::"}T:...:r:.:V....r:'::".}:...:::;J:r::,1":.LV......: J::.:": r::":::: "..":rr:::.L'; .1':: :".}:.. ............ ..."................ :...r. .. ...... .... :.1"::l .r..a,.. .....i :A1a..... ......... ..I.. n..... ........... :"::.....:r.l ".. J+'."..::: '. "} ".... "...".. "...... " .............. :.L":::.......... r.. .........."...:.'t: .:.......... ............. "w:w":"v::::: ::L"::":":r ................" .......... ...... " . .... ..................................; ... -. r . ." " r " .. "....................... .... ... ".. :: ':.Vr: ..... .. ......."........r 1... r....r............... ..... ..1.. .'.ti":"}.":M 'rr1 :1VJ"Vl: rtAV.'.LV:I ..... V VJ :........ ..1 ........... .1 V . . .. ....:. 1::.V:::: J. .... .::: . .1 .. '.4. . ....... .1. Vrr ....":."." . ................ . .1 A. ..1. '.."':. ........................................ ... ti :ti r1VJ. V .".".... r.: ':.:^r:AVrL4"::r:.4V:: :::r::r:.1L1:4':.1'J:;:... .........................r.r.V: rr:J4':. ."......: ..: A." .. .LtiAr' :: ...:. . ". ................... 1 1 ............... .. ......... A..^..........'Y1:"r.".. 1 ....,... n.. "1.".1...... ::V . } A':::::.V V:.4':r.}Vl:. r.Vl:: r.4 :. ." .1".VJ: """"""""""""":.V:.V::.V:.V.:. 1.,. ..." V r't. '..'.. .. 1 L': A..... ....v"" .. Ja: ' i " ' r} '-... Lti :: '. A "rJA": JrAV:.L" :: AO ": .'Jr .1"r:: r.L"IAVI.VAV::::I.VI.V ......... ...... .. t :.... V. :.V.'.1'JA1: A ...... .11 1...:.V::::.. 4":ti"""V :ti ..L. " .............. . :': i. :4"rr; trrrrril}iri'. .:'rf"LV:.V/.L"r .. ". ..'. :'.' ........:.:. ".^ .. 'r.. ...... "tr . Vlr: r; ::::: A11"..r4:". ":":':":,:ti"... " .... .......... ".. "..1................... ........................ .............................. V..:.:.V.:...1..V..'.1.V.V: ': :A .V:.V::.V:.V:.:V:.V.V:... .... . , ti4:4;..: r. " rr:4::4 ...... "::........... ........................................... ::': :":'.:": : : :':': :':': .':r:: ":4::':'.i '::: ::": ":: ':' }:': t:^:':"i: fi:'i :: Jy'i i:1'.i i ::r.'::"i:ti"}}:":"i:.'{.."s..rr:'::r " " " V:: J V ":::: .1.:V.":.". ..:... ".:1" ..1. ....... ..... ::.. r:fA....... ..:.:tir^".::... ::.r"::a'i::":::1......" 4:14::::": Xt".".:::.v. A . :' . A...1. a4: ::4":":44:":4; :':":'::'. : J.. 1J :':. :::' ::: 1i: fir:: V 4..::': 4:4JA K Jr"" : Yi ''i1 . ':111 :AV:; I.".. r.".........""r ":. .Vr.L rJ::'r :. ::.V:rI:A ::1:::: A':.".:1.. ........r....l.....:r:.V:r:"^::rrr..."".L..:.........1..... .. A....4 A1..... A....1 .L. A..1 :::: ".V.4..r..t :4:1L' ".i11 4 .4 "... "y .111.."^."J:.{.:11{.Jr:::. ....... }."L1 .:: A.1Y. }.{".. 1. A Hindus excluded from WeVAMkend 0 Midnight Madness Events had potential for greatness, but came up way short Midnight Madness, an event that marks the booed off the court by the estimated 2,500 Wolver- beginning of the NCAA men's basketball ine faithful. The lip-synching that followed was a season, is celebrated religiously at a handful of chapter out of The Gong Show files that made the Division I schools. This penultimate pep-rally was audience wish they were sitting through a four- held at midnight Oct. 15, and marked the first time hour biology lab. that the "madness" hit our University. . After three and a half hours of boredom, the Imagine 10,000 screaming devotees packing Michigan Marching Band took the floor. The band Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum, or a sell-out of woke the crowd up again, but only played for about the Allen Field House at the University of Kansas 10 minutes. This was followed by a weak perfor- as the thirst of the die-hard fans is quenched with mance of the cheerleaders and Wolverettes who the very sight of their round-ball warriors. People lulled everyone right back to sleep. go crazy and the team is energized with the stu- Finally, the team emerged from the tunnel. The dents' enthusiasm. crowd cheered as the players were announced. Although this is the scene at most participating However, this, too, was put to an end as coach schools, the hysterics in AnnArbor were abit more Steve Fisher took the microphone. His inspiring subdued. words were essentially: Tell your friends to buy The festivities began with a potential spark plug season tickets because we still have 1,000 left from - the Legends Game. But this jump start was the 4,000 available. poorly planned and consequently ineffective. The The actual practice session and the team 3-point players were neither contemporary nor legendary, shooting and dunk contest were great. The five and were either out of shape or out of talent. Not new recruits - among the best in the country - one of the participants had graduated within the were the favorites, and the "oohs" and "ahs" rang last four years, and many were ex-football players clearly with each monster jam. who never had stepped foot on the Michigan bas- At about 1 a.m., Midnight Madness was over, ketball court. and most people were thankful. The evening lacked This segment could have been great, but it "madness" because of a lack of both fan partici- turned out to be a rousing flop. pation and quality entertainment. This poor attempt Next came the comedian/karaoke contest. Al- reminded the students of two things- they had though some of the singers did have excellent neglected a lot of homework, and they were a long voices, the vast majority of the performers were way from Lexington or Lawrence. To the Daily: I am deeply disappointed that the Weekend special Religion Issuee(Weekend, Oct. 11, 1991) did not include a section on Hindu philosophy. Hindus are the third largest religious/cultural group on campus after Christians and Jews, according to the Univer- sity Office of Ethics and Religion. In the United States, there are between 700,000 and 1,000,000 Hindus. In a way, it is good that Hindus were not included in this issue, because we do not consider our philosophy and culture to be a religion, in the sense that the West uses the word. Hindus do not have one sole authoritative text, one spiritual founder or leader, or religious hierarchy/organiza- tion, and they do not follow a belief simply because it is preached. Beliefs are followed only if they only if they make sense and have a good pur- pose. Furthermore, Hindus do not believe that there is one set of beliefs that must be followed. The beliefs of Hindus are a result of thousands of years of experiments by millions of monks, ascetics, swamis, gurus, rishis, and other great souls. What Hindus follow In a way, it is good that Hindus were not .included in this issue, because we do not consider our philosophy and culture to be a reli- gion... today is a result of answers into questions such as: "What is one's duty in life?" and "What is the relation between people and other forms of life?" and "What is the true nature of a living being?" When the answers to these questions were confirmed over and over again through the ages, they became common beliefs among Hindus. Also, Hindus believe that there are infinite paths to reaching TRUTH (or reality, or God, or realizing one's true nature: all are equivalent terms). Individuals, having different personalities and inclinations, will have varying paths to the same Universal TRUTH. Thus, nobody can claim to be the sole authority on philosophical and meta- physical issues. Because of this, Hindu dharma, or way of life, is not stagnant; it is continuously evolving. Old texts are superseded by newer texts, outmoded ideas are replaced and discarded, and new leaders can receive as much, or greater, respect as ancient leaders. In today's age, it is unfortu- nate that some religions are claiming a monopoly on TRUTH and spending absurd amounts of time claiming that there is only one way to God, or that simply believing in a God with a different name would mean everlasting damnation. Ancient seers from India, thousands of years ago, proclaimed the following: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - the whole world is one big family Ekamam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti - Truth is one, sages call it by various names (Or God is one, names are many). If people realized this today, we could concentrate on helping each other rather than worrying about what Godone follows, or who will go to Hell. After all, if there is a God (or TRUTH), he, she or it will be common to everyone. Mihir Meghani Overall coordinator Hindu Students Council LSA-inteflex sophomore 01 Elliot Abrams Iran-Contra resolutions are welcome, but late in coming E lliotAbrams has finally admitted his guilt. The formerAssistant Secretary of State for Central America for the Reagan Administration admitted to lying underoath before two Congressional com- mittees in October 1986. He lied to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about official U.S. support for the Contras, and to the House Intelli- gence Committee about funding for the anti- Sandinista resistance. Abrams is the first and only State Department official to face criminal charges for the cover-up of the Iran-Contra affair. Hejoins along list ofReagan Administration employees to face investigations or to plead guilty to charges relating to the scandal. Lawrence Walsh, special prosecutor for the Iran- Contra affair, has investigated Oliver North, John Poindexter, Robert McFarlane, Albert Hakim, Richard Secord, Carl Channel, Alan Fiers, and several other officials for their involvement in the affair. Last July, Alan Fiers plead guilty in a plea bargain that would help in the prosecution of other key figures. Now that Fiers and Abrams have both plead guilty to lesser offenses in similar plea bar- gains, Walsh must ensure that Abrams holds up his end of the bargain in order to convict higher-ups* without merely giving Abrams a slap on the wrist. The successful prosecution of Abrams con- firmed what investigators had said foryears: Reagan administration officials continually lied to Congress in order to increase funding for the Contras. These lies denied Congress its ability to check the ex- ecutive branch when wrongdoing occurred. Walsh achieved this victory after persevering through long months of a seemingly fruitless in- vestigation. But many questions remain. A crowd of gov- ernment bureaucrats, and perhaps top administra- tion officials, still need to be brought to justice before Iran-Contra can be resolved. Bad band corner To the Daily: If the Daily can't write about the Michigan Marching Band in a positive manner, it shouldn't write about them at all. Asa four-year veteran of high school marching band, a friend of several of the band members, and a resident of Brown Street (which is two blocks away from the band practice field), I am in a position to know how much time and energy the members of the band put into their performances. At the very least they deserve our/your appreciation, not the sarcasm and abuse so frequently heaped upon them by the Daily. Paul Levine Engineering sophomore Pulling punches To the Daily: Good arguments end with a punch. But when throwirg the final hook, a writer can some- times miss the target. The "Gay Soldiers" editorial in the Oct. 14 issue attempted to persuade us that the U.S. military should follow Canada's Defence Minis- try in allowing homosexuals to serve in the armed forces. The opinion ended with, "If the Mounties can do it, so can we." But did the Mounties do it? The Royal Canadian Mounted Police does not come under the Ministry of Defence, and is not subject to policies of the Defence Ministry. The RCMP is a national police force reporting directly to the solicitor General in the federal cabinet. The Mounties have as much to do with the Defence as the FBI has to do with the Marines. he thinks students "really care" about. But I would also, in the interests of fairness, like to further clarify the "derisive comments" of the security guards that he professes are so irrelevant. For the guards he refers to were not only making "derisive comments," they were laughing and joking about how they would be able to gas and shoot students when they were finally deputized and given guns. Kelly Goodman, a former worker for the Department of Public Safety and Security, "cared" enough about these threats to resign in protest: and yet the administration, obviously under no pressure from Green, have yet to look into her allega- tions. Since the time these "derisive comments" were made, DPS officers have indeed gassed students, and used their fire-arms in circumstances that are impos- sible to justify. With this hindsight, it seems all the more ludicrous that Green could dismiss these "derisive comments" as something no-one cares about. But perhaps that is a matter for Green, and those who might consider voting for him, and his party, a second time to think about. For my own part, I care a great deal about what the new armed security guards say, whether it involves open threats to student protestors, racial epithets or homophobic remarks. I care not only because they are unacceptable in and of themselves, but because they are indicative of how security guards deal with students on this campus. Do students have to wait until someone is shot before Green "really cares?" I personally would a certain Rackham student who is apparently very confused. According to Tracye Matthews, in a statement in the Oct. 14 article, "Group to protest police at Diag rally," Christopher Columbus is responsible for all the problems in today's American society, mainly racism. From her statements, one would think that Columbus himself initiated slavery in America - in that case, one would be wrong, and Matthews herself is very, very wrong; possibly a bit insane. Perhaps Matthews should also think about the fact that, without Columbus, she might be present- ing her leftist views to a not-so- welcoming Communist society, or possibly enjoying the benefits of a socialist economy. However, she would probably not mind this a bit. All I ask is, "What next?" possibly a rally condemning Clarence Thomas for initiating sexism in America? I wouldn't doubt it. Jonathon Iverson LSA sophomore Letter was homophobic To the Daily: I would like to respond to Jeff Luther's letter to the editor that appeared on Monday, Oct. 14,1991 ("Gays not normal") Luther is homophobic! Thus, it should come as no surprise that he has been and will continue to be "looked down upon" by those more enlightened and open minded than he is. I Nuts and Bolts AS 1AREDITS UWLY AP ONCEAGEAIN. r L FPCT E'iERYONE TO NTER A PRCUECr A NpWAT'C-Sr )r/ MARS-{ L RNGIH D1,71 OA VARtATeON ON PAVV flRY".HE. GAM MAKE DOCY ON COMAND by Judd Winick ER*IoUS? us-Nu SEYOU $T401)L CAT ACES WHEN NE PUT HE TV. S..ON! 'I-', Leo O'Brien La w student