Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Friday, October 9, 1992
be Mtl~btn auili1
Editor in Chief
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552
MATTHEW D. RENNIE
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.
ROMny DEDAILY
County, Democrats dog Dolgon
W ashtenaw County voters will actually have a
choice when they pull the lever for county
commissioner, no thanks to the county clerk, or the
local Democratic party. That's because despite
Washtenaw County Clerk Peggy Haines' attempt
to keep University graduate Corey Dolgon off the
November ballot.on a technicality, a Michigan
judge ruled against her, and the county's case fell
flat. This is a welcome ruling during a political
season when voters need as many choices as they
can get.
The Michigan election law that applies right-
fully forbids candidates from hastily switching
their party allegiance to get on the ballot. Haines
claimed that Dolgon, whose name appeared on the
spring ballot as a candidate for delegate to the
Democratic county convention, could not run for
county commissioner as an independent. The prin-
ciple is sound, but her evidence is sketchy. Accord-
ing to Dolgon, he tried unsuccessfully to get his
name off the ballot when he learned of the rule, but
failed, and was elected anyway. After he was
elected, he tried to resign, only to be told that there
was no mechanism in place for him to do so. He did
not attend the convention.
The law is designed to keep people from influ-
encing one party and then running for another. That
logic is sound. But if Dolgon did not attend the
convention, and tried to resign from his post, he
was hardly influencing the internal politics of the
Democratic party. Why then, would the Demo-
cratic party go through so much trouble to ensure
Dolgon was on the ballot as a delegate and was
denied a resignation? The answer may lie in the fact
that Dolgon's opponent for county commissioner
- and the Democratic nominee - is the incum-
bent Meri Lou Murray.
Such political posturing on behalf of the county
and the Democratic party is unfortunate. It is not
unlike the Republican party's attempt to keep David
Duke off the ballot in many states.
But whether the candidate is a former Klansman
or a left-wing University graduate, the principle
remains the same.
/- I
J (J
Read it, know it, join the debate
Greek system: What's it all for?
The decision to join - or not to join - a Greek house is one that confronts almost every student at the
University. The positive and negative affects of the Greek system have been debated amongst friends, in public
forums and, as of late, on the pages of The Michigan Daily. Some say that women in sororities form fake
friendships and coddle male sexism. Others are of the opinion that sororities provide a positive environment for
women to live together and govern themselves. It is a place for women to develop necessary skills for life. Some
say that fraternities are blatantly sexist organizations which allow for the objectification of women. Fraternity
parties have the reputation of being a place where women are taken advantage of, and often times, raped.
However, others are of the opinion that fraternities are a place for men to form close friendships and have a
good time. Fraternities are a place where men can learn form the experience of other older men and form
networks that can prove to be helpful in the pursuit of a professional life. Fraternities and sororities do a lot of
charitable work in the Ann Arbor community. Is there a judgement to be made here? Is there a right and a
wrong answer? Or, is it simply the case of personal preference?
It should be noted that a considerable effort was made to find someone who had de-activated a fraternity or
a sorority. However, all those who showed an interest in participating in this forum wanted to remain anony-
mous, which is against Daily policy.
"
Be a good host to MSU fans
The annual Michigan-Michigan State football
game never fails to inspire hate-filled chau-
vinist hysteria between the state's two sister insti-
tutions. The vitriol seems all the more unnecessary
as the woeful Spartans limp into
Michigan stadium to face certain
defeat against the vastly superior "
Wolverines. In light of the plight
faced by our brethren from East
Lansing, and the hateful words -
and even violence - which in-
variably develop between parti-
sans of both schools following the
game, we must make the follow-
ing plea to all civilized, indepen-
dent thinking members of the Uni-
versity community:
Kick them when they're down.
That's right. Rub it in their
green-and-white faces. After all,
do they ever take mercy when
dumb luck and outrageous offici-
ating combine to let the Spartans
eke out an undeserved victory? Of
course not.
Juniors and seniors will not
soon forget the stomach-churning PER LES
display of arrogant gloating put on by Spartan fans
following their "victory" in 1990. Dejected Wol-
verine fans, trying to forget the travesty that they
had witnessed, faced repeated verbal harassment
by State fans eager to relive every detail of the
game - often at high volume.
So if the Spartan fans foolish enough to travel
down to Ann Arbor for the purposes of watching
their team, school and entire way of life be dis-
he pot caling
yVice President Dan Quayle seems to take the
American people for fools. He recently re-
marked at a U.S. goods exposition in Michigan
that he is "at a big disadvantage" going up against
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Al
Gore (D-Tenn.) in the upcoming vice-presidential
debate, because of the unfortunate conditions sur-
rounding his high school public education in rural
Indiana. Gore, said Quayle, "went to the most
expensive private schools in Washington, D.C.."
And since Quayle (who is now worth upwards of
$40 million) was forced to attend public schools,
he should never be expected to match Gore on an
intellectual level.
While the second half of this cynically dishon-
est statement is completely true, the Republicans'
futile attempt to paint the Democrats as agents of
a morally decadent "cultural elite" represents the
anti-intellectual populist nonsense typical of Bush's
desperate re-election effort.
The Republican strategy of presenting the Bush/
Quayle collective upbringing as more humble and
less pampered than the Democratic ticket is truly
comic. Bush, the self-professed "education presi-
dent," must have had a deprived educational expe-
rience, when he was somehow forced to attend the
nrestipnious Andover orep school and then Yale
graced on regional television do not wish to discuss
the game as they leave the stadium for their dairy
farms up north, do not let the subject drop so easily.
Be sure to remind them of the vast discrepancy that
has opened up over the last two
years between our football pro-.
grams - and now matches the
academic gap which has existed
ever since Michigan Agricultural
College set hoof in East Lansing.
The only downside to the
laughable ineptness of the Spar-
tans is that the Wolverines will no
longer be able to declare them-
selves state champions after the
game, because that they don't play
Central Michigan.
Michigan fans can thank one
man for this delightful turn of
events: MSU coach George
Perles. Now that the steroid flow
has slowed down, Perles' stone-
age strategy cannot beat even
Mid-American Conference
teams.
Unfortunately, many MSU
fans are now calling for Perles to
be fired. We urge all University students and staff
to begin a massive letter-writing campaign to MSU
athletic director Merrily Dean Baker, urging her to
retain Perles. Perhaps Michigan can offer part of its
endowment to sign Perles to a lifetime contract -
including free medical treatment at the University
hospital should Perles' health falter. If the "keep
Perles" campaign is successful, we will be tor-
menting State fans for many years to come.
Sororities; Organizations by women, for
women
by Meghan Cleary
and Susan Kridler
What do Joan Lunden, SandraDay
O'Conner, Ann Richards, Dr. Joyce
Brothers, Ann B. Davis, Elizabeth
Cady-Stanton, Margaret Bourke-
White, Jane Pauley, Anne Klein,
Kathy Lee Gifford. Faye Dunaway
and Mary Tyler-Moore have in com-
mon? Besides being successful, strong
women, they were all members of a
sorority. This group of women at-
women and women's issues. They
are a safe place to reside, an environ-
ment developed to help women excel
in whatever area they chose to pur-
sue. Whether that goal be career re-
lated, academically oriented or an-
other group on campus, a sorority
provides a base from which women
can reach out and attain their goals.
From Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center workshops for
pledges, to the Human Dignity state-
ment in progress by the Panhellenic
Association, sororities are commit-
Sororities exist for the support of women and
women's issues. They are a safe place to reside,
an environment developed to help women
excel in whatever area they chose to pursue.
tion, members are encouraged to be-
come an executive-board member of
the Panhellenic Association, where
broader campus issues are addressed,
including sexual assault, alcohol
awareness and other timely issues.
Sororities promote scholarship and
scholastic achievement of all forms.
The all-sorority grade point average is
consistently higher than the under-
graduate women grade point average
on our campus. Sororities also offer
tutoring from members in the house
and recognize and reward scholastic
achievement and improvement by its
members.
Sororities are student organiza-
tions, just like many organizations on
this campus. They are self governed
within each chapter and all take part in
the Panhellenic Association, the gov-
erning body of all sororities. Sorori-
ties are and option for those who wish
become involved in the University
community and interact with other
students on campus. Sororities are not
an "issue." They are merely another
way to get involved in our commu-
nity. Many individuals make up the
sorority system here at the University,
and each contribute this diversity to
the system. Sororities may not be the
path to everybody's happiness, but
for those who choose to become mem-
bers of a sorority, the rewards can be
invaluable and life long.
0
tamed many of the skills necessary to
become high achievers while taking
part in sorority life. Sororities are a
channel through which women can
experience living and being involved
with a large cross section of other
women. Those who join the sorority
system, are offered many opportuni-
ties.
Sororities exist for the support of
Cleary is Publicity Chair and
Kridler is Excecutive-Vice Presi-
dent for the Panhellenic Associa-
tion.
ted to empowering women with the
confidence and skill with which to
face the 1990's and beyond.
Sororities offer leadership for
women, by women. There are many
different levels in which to get in-
volved, whether it be serving on a
committee or running for an office.
Every sorority is governed by an in-
ternal executive board elected annu-
ally. This provides strong and posi-
tive role models for the younger mem-
bers of the chapter as well as a
strengthened understanding of lead-
ership for older members. In addi-
01
ie ketfie elitist
its to parents who send their children to private -
even religious - schools, is puzzling, considering
Quayle's stated disdain for the prep school crowd.
It is hard to imagine why any sensible person
would fall for this double-talk. Quayle, the grand-
son of the founder of the Pulliam Newspapers, and
Bush, a New England preppie who claims Texas
residency to avoid Maine's state income taxes have
both aggressively promoted capital gains cuts and
opposed raising federal income tax rates on the
highest brackets. Do these two men represent
middle-class America?
By portraying Clinton and Gore as educational
elites, Quayle is dodging the real issues and waging
a hypocritical cultural war. These crude dishonest
tactics represent another attempt to divert voters
away from the real issues, and reveal the utter
bankruptcy of the Bush-Quayle platform.
CRASS
ROOTY241
DAY
Foundation of Greek system rests on individuals
by Bruce Namerow
Over the past term as Interfrater-
nity Council (IFC) President, I have
always found it amusing when I'm
asked to defend the Greek system.
After all, when I arrived on campus
three years ago, I had written the
Greek system off as elitist, superfi-
cial and socially high on itself. But as
this overplayed story goes, my room-
mate forced me out to rush and I went
along for the free food. Life has been
a lot different ever since.
When you search for the core of
what it means to be in the Greek
system, it can all be condensed down
to the simplest term: friendship. How-
ever, the cynics will respond that any-
one can have friendship. What makes
friendship within the Greek system
different?
Nothing actually. Friends will be
friends with or without Greek involve-
ment. But the Greek system does pro-
vide the support, activities and struc-
ture to help friendship grow and thrive.
On a campus such as this one,
most students move out of the dorms
and into off-campus housing. There-
fore, fraternity and sorority houses
can provide a consistent home base
for friends to come together, whether
it be to eat, study or hang out. And of
course there are the big parties for
everyone to just have fun - parties
which are now run safely and respon-
sibly.
In our houses, we also find the
support to help us academically.
There is nothing like approaching an
older member to ask for help in a
particular class. The opportunity also
exists to receive class and career coun-
seling from older members who've
already been through it all.
There is community service and
philanthropy which plays a big part
in the role of the Greek system. Al-
though such activities go on all year,
during Greek Week alone we raise
over $50,000 and perform hundreds
of hours of community service. That
is a record we should all be proud of.
To add to it, in the past year the Greek
system has registered more than 1,000
members to vote.
With all this said and done, it
would seem that the Greek system is
a utopia. But like the rest of society,
we all know that isn't possible. Like
the rest of society, we are not perfect,
Of most consequence is the his-
torical problem our system has had
with sexual assault. I would stress,
however, that we are currently bring-
ing this issue to the forefront and
dealing with it honestly. Everyone
When you search for
the core of what it
means to be in the
Greek system, it can
all be condensed
down to the simplest
term: friendship.
can help stop sexual assault: no means
no, it's that simple.
We have also worked to address
abusive drinking. Our recent adop-
tionofanew restrictive alcoholpolicy
has moved us in the right direction.
Our continuing efforts to educate our
members has moved us even further.
No matter what your opinion of
Greeks may be, one should remember
one thing: the foundation of the Greek
system rests on the accomplishments
and responsibility of individuals. So,
although this article has sought to
defend the worth of an entire system,
01
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