The Michigan Daily- Friday, November 1, 1991 - Page 5 1 2 o ds t7j of the any qwgy 0I JJMarchi_ _ i Most students are unfamiliar with the complete Michigan Marching Band experience. Apart from the noticeable Football Saturday routine, including three shows and marches to and from the stadium, much remains hidden behind the end- less practices that take place in early-morning fog and late- night darkness. The hard work, dedication, time commitment, competition, and rewards that go along with the blue jacket (ever meet Joe Tuba?) are not for the consumption of 100,000 or even 100 spectators. Most of the time, it's just a band, its instruments and its music on a parking lot off South Division. "It's an intense escape," said snare drummer Mark Lemon. For us, too. L 1. The Marching Band hits the pavement, not the turf, when it practices on a lot near Elbel Field each afternoon. 2. Reservists Wendy Parsons (1) and Amy Glezen (r) practice their "machines," a drill that breaks down marching fundamentals. 3. The "225-member Meeech-igan marching band" actually contains 348 total students, including reserves. 4. Mark Lemon, a snare drummer, "dresses to attention." 5. Director Gary Lewis, in his second year, conducts from atop a practice platform. 6. Tuba players Greg Burke and Todd Bannen share the music for a medley by the group Chicago. 7. Win or lose, home game or away, light or dark, the band practices until 6:15 every evening. Graduate Assistant Ken Polsinelli checks his drill chart near the end of Tuesday's practice. Listen to what your mother tells you "Use your mouth!" my mother would say sternly, taking care to articulate each word and simulta- neously point to her own mouth. "Use your mouth and your mind Stephen instead of your fists!" Usually, she'd say this after I socked the kid down the block, who would often say things to which I took great offense. Many times, he'd say hurtful things about the color of my skin. I'd hit him, and he'd stop doing it - at least for the time being. I was pretty young then, and didn't take much stock in what my mother was saying. That kid made me angry, and shutting him up was much easier than address- ing or ignoring what he wanted to say. But as I got older, I began to understand the idea my mom was trying to get across. Besides preventing me from pummeling the kid down the block, she wanted to teach me to respect other people's ideas and their right to express them, no matter how hurtful or offensive they were. More importantly, she wanted me to counter ideas that offended me with my own ideas, not a muzzle. So I learned to argue verbally instead of fight physically; I learned to reason instead of stifle. And I learned to censure instead of censor. These were important lessons. Not just to apply in my personal life, but also in my chosen profession,journalism. The power that I have as an editor to keep offensive ideas out of the newspaper is essentially the same power I had to silence that kid who lived down the block. That's why, as Opinion Editor at the Daily, I try to print every letter that comes in, and I never turn a submission away because of what it says. I disagree with most of them; many offend me and perhaps offend other mem- bers of the community even more. But because something is offen- sive or hurtful to some doesn't mean it shouldn't be published. The ideas people express in their letters exist, whether I choose to print them or not. And I'd rather have them out in the open, where the community can address them, than hidden away somewhere. But I don't employ this polic. because of a law. The First Amendment guarantees my right to do it, but it certainly doesn't tell me I have to print everything I get. In fact, most newspapers don't print all their letters, and many print only those with which they agree. The strongest influences on my decision to print all the letters are the lessons I learned from my mother's advice.I feel a responsi- bility to give a voice to everyone I can, no matter how distasteful I may find their ideas. "That's the way to truth..." my mother used to say, "...truth and understanding." Am I writing this in response to the criticism the Daily's received for printing the anti- Semitic Holocaust revisionist ad? You bet. I feel it's important to take a stand in defense of what the editors did, and explain why I support it. Had the decision been mine, I would have run the ad for the same reasons I run all my letters. But I also feel it's necesarto. 3 4 5 .................................................................................................