0 Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, March 24, 1992 Gbe Mrrbigwu laiIQ an 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 764 - 0552 I(itor in CIilef MA'ITIJEW D. RIENNIE Opinion Editors YAEL CITRO GEOFFREY EARLE AMITAVA MAZUMDAR Edited and Managed by Students at the University of Michigan 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. FROM:P --==-- I- ,-f---- C .// _,,--- Helping the homi A s snow continues to fall outside and the home- less population skyrockets, the dire need for low-income housing becomes increasingly appar- ent. Whilethe City Council has moved onthis issue with the speed of a turtle, the International House ofAnnArbor, anon-profitorganization, announced its plans to purchase the Ann Arbor Inn in an effort to provide affordable housing and educational programs to local residents. In February, the City Council quietly dropped a proposal to renovate the Ann Arbor Inn, which has been closed for about two years, claiming the project would be too costly and promising to pursue other alternatives. Now, one month closer to elections, City Hall publicized the approval of $870,000 for low-in- come homes. But before commending City Coun- cil for its social awareness, Ann Arbor voters should realize that approval of this money was inevitable - it was a federal fund specifically allocated for low-income housing in Ann Arbor. The City Council's vote, while commendable, was little more than stamp of approval. In addition, this money will most likely go towards rent subsidies, which mostly benefit land owners, not tenants. Fortunately, people outside of City Hall are tackling the problem head-on. The five month old eless if city won't International House of Ann Arbor has produced funds to renovate the Ann Arbor Inn. Purchase of the building must be swift, in May the state will take possession of it to compensate for the more than $1 million owed in back taxes. "If the state takes over, it's going to cost more money to barricade it up than to take care of the building by using it," said John Rasmussen, a board member of the new group. If successful, the International House plans to use the building to supply many vital community services. It plans to house international guest speakes and visitors,sublease space toTrailblazers of Washtenaw, Inc., a club specializing in helping people recover from mental illness, and persue its primary goal of providing affordable housing for Ann Arbor residents. "The only real solution to the problem (of homelessness) is the creation of low-income hous-, ing, according to Carole McCabe of the Shelter Association of Ann Arbor." It would be nice if City Council members shared her sense of urgency. Unfortunately, while complacent City Council members sit in City Hall wrestling with red tape, the International House of Ann Arbor is taking matters into its own hands, getting people off the street and into apartments. -- THE ~c.- -2- RACK. IV ...........................................................................-.''1 Daily cartoonist clarifies cartoon 0 Thowing out bai L et's see that again on instant replay. Perhaps the biggest dispute to face professional sports in recent years has been the use of instant replays to overrule decisions made by referees, umpires, etc. Last week, National Football League owners wisely chose to keep these high-tech, video refer- ees out of professional football. Many would argue that instant replays add a higher degree of accuracy to the officiating of professional sports. It should be noted, however, that instant replay officiating is fallible, not unlike its human counterpart. More important than the issue of accuracy is the question of what the late Major League Baseball commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti, referred to as "the purity of the game." Athletic competition is a human endeavor that stretches back to the dawn of recorded history. Some of the world's greatest sporting events, such as the Olympics, are mere reflections of classical antiquity. caff The human element is something that must never be lost from sporting events. That is why virtually every sport regulates its equipment. With a non-regulation baseball bat and enough cork, anyone can hit a homerun. Unchecked technology could move athletic competition off the playing field and into the laboratory. For the same reason, athletes are not permitted to use steroids and other drugs to artificially enhance their abilities. Maintaining sports on a human level should involve not only the players, but also the officials. Part of the splendor and excitement of any sport is the element of chance. In a football game, first possesion is determined by the will of a coin toss. Luck and fortune add spice to a game and make it more unpredicable. There is no doubt that football games have been won or lost on a single, questionable ruling by an imperfect referee, but that's just part of the nature and beauty of the game. As a result of the confusion about the cartoon which appeared in the Daily (3/20/92), I would like to explain the message I was trying to convey through the cartoon. The cartoon depicts two prehistoric cave dwellers remark- ing that a nearby chimpanzee-like primate is taking "his first steps." The chimp is labeled "South Africa." The cartoon was a commentary on the recent vote in South Africa to end Apartheid; the "South Africa" label on the chimp indicates that the monkey represents the white South African government, not the Black people of South Africa. The chimp is dark not because it is supposed to beBlack, but because chimpanzees are generally dark! The Cro-Magnons represent a further stage of evolution that most of the rest of the world is already at; therefore, the cartoon implies that South Africa is finally taking the "first steps" towards evolving to the stage the rest of the world has already reached. The "fist steps" idea also represents the first steps a chimp would have to take in order to make the transition from a quadruped to a biped. By using the Cro-Magnons to represent the further stage of evolution, the cartoon acknowl- edges that the rest of the world is still not fully evolved when it comes to racism; however, the rest of the world is still far ahead of South Africa. The Cro-Magnons are not white because they are meant to be viewed as the white people of South Africa. The race of the Cro- Magnons is irrelevant since they represent a level of evolution rather that a segment of the South African population. Neither of the cro-magnons has the label "South Africa" - only the monkey is so labeled. The cartoon is an indictment of the white South African govern- ment, for the government is the force behind the laws of Apartheid which have caused the country of South Africa to lag far behind the rest of the world with its abhor- rently primitive policies. I regret any confusion caused by the cartoon. Greg Stump Daily cartoonist 0 Standing up to the administration Virtual reality, more than just a video game To the Daily: The author of the movie review ("Cyborgs have feelings (and sex) too," 3/1/92), in his poor attempt to summarize the film, saw fit to define the concept of "Virtual Reality" as a video game. While one of the early proof of concept vehicles for VR has been a video game-like experi- ment, the ultimate implementa- tion and ramifications of such a technology are far beyond this. In the future, I would suggest that the author either learn the meaning of the "buzzwords" he so carelessly throws around or avoid subjects in which he has little to no knowledge. It is already difficult enough for newly evolving technologies to gain acceptance without trivializing comments by those who are uninformed. Mitchell M. Rohde Engineering junior To the Editor: Jeffrey Dahmer has been a household name for quite some time now. His recent trials in court dealing with his killing and eating of human flesh for sheer pleasure has taken America by storm. The trials have brought up a number of interesting arguments. Most noted was whether he was sane or insane, to which he was found sane. Dahmer was sen- tenced to over 900 years in prison, and will be ineligible for parole many lifetimes over. The question is we must answer about this man is why are we keeping him in jail and not the death penalty. It can be argued that many people in jail, those who have stolen or embezzled might deserve a second chance at life if the show improvement in a prison or in extreme care. But Dahmer? This man openly admitted that he killed to receive pleasure by eating another human being. Dahmer has taken the lives of Dahmer deserves death penalty many citizens, family people - people who gave to society. If he had was found insane the case would take on a whole new set of circumstances. He would be given psychiatric help for this sick disease. But the fact remains that he wasn't - and rightfully so. This maniac was perfectly mentally healthy and knew exactly what he was doing and the consequences of being caught. There is nothing that he is doing that is benefiting our society by keeping him locked in a cell for the rest of his life. By not giving the death penalty to these murderers we are in essence giving them a little slap on the wrist by putting them in jail, and then telling them not to do it again, by letting them out. This is why there are so many murderers back out on the streets today who have finished serving their jail terms. Marc Edwards LSA first-year student L ast week the Faculty Senate Assembly passed a resolution to form a committee to thor- oughly investigate the University administration. The committee plans to create a method for the evaluation of all administrative personnel at the level of Dean and above. By evaluating the admin- istration the Faculty Senate intends to monitor and influence future administrative decisions. The senate stressed the need to employ faculty involvement in the academic affairs and in the overall direction of the University. The resolution comes as a direct response to the increasing lack of attention payed to academic issues by the adminis- tration, in addition to the growing concern that faculty members have been excluded from deci- sion making process. The message is clear. Many faculty members are fed up with the administration's control over the University without sufficient regard for faculty interests. A slew of events in faculty-administra- tion relations are cause for alarm. Recently, the administration restructured the Intellectual Properties Office (IPO), which issues patents forresearch findings made by faculty mem- bers. Despite the fact that this office affects prima- rily faculty, the administration did not consult faculty members when it made the decision to restructure the office. The University places far too much value on research instead of the education process. The University is one of the largest research institu- tions in the nation. When considering faculty for tenure positions, research work and whether the faculty member has "published" are heavily weighted. Meanwhile, criterion like student evalu- ations are practically ignored. In addition, faculty members are under intense pressure to not only develop research projects, but to develop research that is profitable. Faculty, as well as students, are hurt when teaching is not a University priority. The Faculty Senate Assembly has also voiced concern about the decrease in credits awarded for English and political science classes. By making this change, the LSA curriculum committee only made it more difficult - and more expensive - for students to graduate. The corporate image that the University has adopted is also of concern to many faculty mem- bers. The Faculty Senate's Resolution may be a step toward reversing that trend. The administra- tion should take notice of this legitimate dissent the faculty has voiced and take action to re-direct the University's focus. In many ways, students have been ineffective when combatting the administration. It is good to see the Faculty Senate taking charge and standing up for faculty concerns. Hopefully, its actions will benefit students as well as faculty. ::':v:{ti r: ::: a1:": }a"b;ti{1tiC5a:C5.p; ".} {' {,}v: {::.v{. .:; :::. ::::::. . ::::::...::. ::; : v::.w.: :, v:. 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Of all the letters thing to the effect of, "This evoked by the that not only is Gottesman incident, one par-: hating Jew, he is also a self tk iar gem stays {$ Greek." branded in my s memory because ...:& :V:...... : Droves of self-hat it off-handedly every Tuesday nig referred to then ..politically correct editor nm chief AndyGottesman by Matt Self-haing Greeks - as a "self-hating concept! The really amusin Jew." Adler about it is that there are sc A few weeks self-hating Greeks on this c ago I was flipping through some By "self-hating-Greeks" I more recent letters to the Daily, and enlightened students who a I came across one by Inter-Frater- cognizant of the sexism,i nity Council President Bruce homophobia andconformit Namerow. Namerow was writing inherent in the Greek syst because he was upset about a Daily join the system anyway. editorial that condemned a frater- Look around, self-hating nity rush poster. The poster por- are everywhere. Some fratc / fn al n r J 1 f- enlightened few former won't see many self-hating Greeks Andy -GoodtimeCharlie'sforexample. it smile Other bastions of true-blooded, self- Id have loving Greekdom include L.A.'s some- Club Cafe, anyInterfraternityCoun- proves cil (IFC) sponsoredevent, and, worst a self- of all, The Mud Bowl. You might -hating run into a few self-hating Greeks at Greek Week, but they'll probably 0 ing Greeks flock to Ashley's ;ht to take in the music of- jazz bands. The Daily and the Michigan Review will be holding a debate tomorrow between Michigan Student Assemby presidential candidates Scott Gast, of the Conservative Coalitionand Ede Fox, of the Progressive Party, at 7:30 p.m. in Anderson A and B of the Michigan Union. Everyone is encouraged to attend. Nuts and Bolts RiZ t10A. TO'DAYg & if EN~~1P. NEXF CALLBR R AS. HELLO Voc 4F CW what a. g thing o many ampus. I mean re fully racism, y that is em, but Greeks ernities be wearing dark sunglasses and laughing at things that aren't sup- posed to be funny. As nonsensical as all of this may seem to some, it raises an important question - why do so many of these seemingly anti-Greek people join fraternities and sororities in the' first place? This is a tough question. One can only speculate about the true causes behind self-hating Greekdom. but I suspect that it has by Judd Winick wJHEAKS 4 I W & T E O W N A N I 1 . bW HA T HA V E '.Y L 1u T 00 1:nE ®)/ d haQ -- i