4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 15, 1993
~I! £irbian& F~
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JOSH DUBOW
Editor in Chief
ANDREW LEVY
Editorial Page Editor
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board.
All other cartoons, articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
NAVTA: 993
UnHappy Valley?
It looks to be a long weekend for the Nittany Lions
Let's just get this straight. "Joepa" is no name
for a football coach.
Joe Paterno is simply a wonderful man -a fine;
human being, a great coach and a master of the two-
step.
The adorable cardboard cutouts that are every-
where in Happy Valley attest to his icon status in
State College
But what is a Joepa? You don't see anyone calling
Gary Moeller "Gamo," do you? No, you don't. It
sounds silly, it is silly.
And another thing. What is "Centre County" all
about?
There's one thing to say about that. Someone who
is "academically challenged" is still afool. Spelling;
"center" as "centre" does not make you look any
more cultured than you already aren't.
Not when people who don't own overalls for each'
day of the week are referred to as snobs.
And especially not when your school offers de-
grees in leisure.
We thought losing to Michigan State was embar-
rassing. Geez, compared to attending a school that
willingly and publicly hands out leisure degrees, the
loss doesn't look too bad.
This isn't to denigrate all of your students of
leisure.I'msure that they're all great folks and if you
give them a few minutes, they can put together a
complete sentence.
Is "outside research" an acceptable excuse for
missing leisure class?
Would solitaire be independent study?
And about the football team-does it always line
up powerhouses like Maryland and Rutgers?
If this is the wonderful eastern football that Penn
State is going to bring to the Big Ten, no thanks. And
if you thought Minnesota and Iowa were good
examples of how football is played in the midwest,
guess again.
You can all see the real deal tomorrow. Five
straight Big Ten championships, and while we like
to say things like, "We'll be winning Big Ten titles
until the cows come home," we don't mean it liter-
ally.
How is the field anyway? Is it looking better, or
did you forget to place it green side up?
And about the football game. Playing the 1,000th
game, huh? Incase you'rewondering, we've already
played our 1,000th football game.
We won ours.
By THE DAILY COLLE(
Who's afraid of the bi
wolf? Not the Nittany Lit
why should we be afraid?
you are "bad" - you mo
proved that last week aga
Michigan State. And earl
season against Notre Dar
It must be really depr
a once great program teet
brink of failure. It must b
upsetting to see this year'
team drop straight off the
we're more than ready to
final shove.
A lot of talk has arisen
State about the potential r
between the Lions and th
Wolverine's clothing. Af
Saturday's game, we'll b
get that Pitt rivalry starte
- they're sure to be toug
opponents. Now Ohio St
a team we could match ul
Surely you know the Buc
they'll be the fourth loss
schedule.
Coach Gary Moeller';
matter is Ohio State? We
Buckeyes and Wolverine
This article was submitte
staff of The Daily Collegi
State University). Itclear
reflect the opinion of the.
Lions ready to win 1,000th
GIAN arch-rivals, but is he trying to make anyway'???)
ig, bad you look bad on the field, or do you How appropriate, a runni
ons. And do that yourselves? And he coached named Ty on a team that has
? Granted, you to three ties last year, as many as its sister more often than a
re than Joe Paterno has in 27 years at Penn backwoods farmer. 3-4-5 mi
inst State. You should be so proud of you a playoff spot in the NH
ier in the him. maybe a winning lotto ticket
ne. But let's take a time-out here. Oh, won't grab you this year's B
essing to see yeah, I guess you guys ran out of title.
ter on the those this March. Right, Mr. Of course, maybe Wheatl
e even more Webber? get a few yards if your offen
's Wolverine Now, you may criticize our non- was more of a brick wall and
cliff. And conference schedule, but at least WE a speed bump. But at least y
provide that can beat unranked teams. And our doesn't discriminate -inste
conference games? We're opening the holes for your ru
n at Penn undefeated, and we also shut out the backs, it's providing them fo
ivalry Hawkeyes in Iowa City. How'd you defenders. There are more h(
e sheep in do against them at home? your offensive line than ther
ter this And how about that Tyrone golf course. Everybody says
e ready to Wheatley? A sure bet for the backs are against the wall. M
d up again Heisman Trophy, huh? That was an that's why they haven't appe
;her impressive 33-yard rushing the field yet.
ate , there's performance last week. We know Good old Todd Collins.V
p against. that in Michigan you can't count that that after the Michigan State
keyes, high - at 21 you'd get arrested for injured his throwing hand pu
on your indecent exposure. locker. Actually, he was aim
Let's see who Wheatley ranks wide receiver, but he misfire
s alma behind in rushing ... Oh. it's Penn feet. It's just a shame that Eli
know the State's Ki-Jana Carter. By the way, left the building. Of course, y
s are such he's just a redshirt sophomore. Of be singing "Heartbreak Hote
- course, if Wheatley does win the the Lions are through with yi
d by the Heisman, we'll never have to worry So last year you played y
ian (Penn about hearing from him again. 1,000th game and won - th
rly does not (Where is Desmond Whatshisname, weekend so will we.
Daily.
Toni Morrison
Brilliant author wins Nobel Prize in literature
"You are not bound by the future and you are not bound by the past."
- Morrison during 1992 Rackham spring commencement
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A week ago the course of history changed. In an
acclamation of her painfully beautiful works,
novelist and essayist Toni Morrison became the first
Black woman to receive the coveted Nobel Prize in
literature. For more than two decades this artist has
mesmerized readers with her exquisite language and
haunting tales. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer
Prize for her bestseller "Beloved," in which a run-
away slave is forced to slice her own baby's throat
so that it will not be taken by her white pursuers. In
addition to her previous accolades, Morrison can
now claim to rank in a select group of writers,
including Joseph Brodsky, Saul Bellow, and Isaac
Singer, the only American writers to have garnered
the Nobel Prize for literature.
But Morrison can claim much more than this.
The significance of her works lies in the fact that they
provide uswith a visionof history rarely discussed,
and even more rarely depicted. Morrison explains
that she writes to fill "silences in literature." Through
her characterization of the plights of slavery and
subsequent racial dilemmas, Morrison is breaking
silences not only in literature, but also in history.
Morrison offers us a vision of history in need of
revision, an American history that has only permit-
ted certain groups to state their version of the story.
Two years ago, amidst the turmoil that followed
the Rodney King beating, Morrison accepted an
honorary doctorate from the University. In her re-
marks, Morrison emphasized the importance of
actively remembering history. While the gifted art-
ist told Rackham graduates that they held the future
in their hands, she asserted that understanding the
past is as crucial an endeavor as shaping the future.
"The past is also in your hands. The past is change-
able as well," she said. Mornson is right. Luckily for
us, she has been a premier voice in critiquing a one-
sided view of American history.
Through the magic of her lenses, Morrison has
corrected a nearsighted view of history. Neverthe-
less, there are still adjustments to be made. The past
must be reexamined, not so that ludicrous revisions
of history are accepted, but rather to understand
certain events as they truly occurred.
While it is wonderful that there is a University
course devoted to Morrison's works and students
eager to take it, it must be acknowledged that this
African American writer was long ago accepted into
the canon of American literature. This is to say
Morrison's unconventional view of history has been
authorized.
As students who often read the traditional texts,
we must continue to think about the versions of the
world that we are receiving. This does not mean that
we need to invalidate the canon of American litera-
ture, but we should realize that there are stories that
have still not been voiced. A traditional text only
provides a limited view of history. Where are the
stories of Native Americans or of the Japanese
concentration camps in our canon of traditional
literature and history?
Through her amazing literature and essays, the
lesson Morrison teaches us is that there are aspects of
the past that are silent, that the past is not a fixed
entity because only some of us have had the oppor-
tunity to show our side of the story.
As students engaged in the process of shaping our
own education, wemust be aware that the past needs
to be examined and critiqued in order to illuminate
that which once was suppressed. After all, the re-
sponsibility of the future and the past rests in our
hands.
Daily editorial
misreads alcohol
survey
To the Daily:
In contrast to the high quality of
reporting by Randy Lebowitz and
David Shepardson on the UM
Initiative's survey on the use of
alcohol and other drugs in the
University community (9/27/93),
your subsequent editorial (10/1/93) is
problematic.
In it, the survey is stigmatized as
unscientific. Yet it was carried out by
a highly qualified and experienced
investigator, who was advised by a
committee that included individuals
nationally recognized for their
expertise in survey research and in
the subject matter of alcohol and
other drugs. State-of-the-art
methodology was employed,
including the random selection of
respondents to promote
representativeness of the sample and
to reduce selection bias. Similar
surveys conducted elsewhere have
had substantially similar results. In
common with every other study, the
survey has its limitations. But that it
is unscientific is not one of them.
Responses to the survey were
received from 1,471 undergraduates.
The responses are highly detailed,
and the questions asked of each
respondent were identical. How
many undergraduates were queried
by the Daily in framing its editorial,
and in what way? A handful at best,
and informally. Which is likely to be
more representative of undergraduate
opinion? The reader may safely be
left to judge.
The Daily editorial neglects to
mention an important area of the
survey. A majority of the
undergraduates who responded
that focuses on punitive measures
and is bent on rooting out drinking."
But the University Task Force on
Alcohol and Other Drugs, which
recommended the survey,
specifically eschewed a
prohibitionistic approach,
recommending instead that the
moderate, legal use of alcohol should
be accepted. It also recommended
that the usual institutional response to
an alcohol or other drug problem
should be assistance. Two years of
effort in assisting the University to
come to terms with the use of alcohol
have amply demonstrated the
widespread acceptance of these
recommendations.
FREDERICK B. GLASER, M.D.
Coordinator
UM Initiative on Alcohol and Other
Drugs
Even Holocaust
deniers deserve free
speech
To the Daily:
The Daily should be commended
for upholding a simple democratic
principle, that of open and free
discourse. By printing a letter from a
group of Holocaust revisionists
disclaiming the existence of the
Holocaust, the Daily chose the high
road of journalism. In addition, the
Daily chose to do the right thing by
printing, at considerable length a
denunciation of the revisionist
argument.
The persons who should receive
any criticism in this matter should be
those who oppose free speech, as
well as those who claim that millions
were not exterminated in what was
the world's greatest genocide. When
fringe groups try to rewrite history
arguments of fascists both 11
conservative and liberal, who would
have us live in either a new Reich or@
a new Soviet-style Trotskyist police
state.
On Friday, October 8,
AACDARR/NWROC/RWL
members screamed themselves
hoarse on campus in hopes of
somehow bringing about censorsip
of the Daily. While they shouted that
those who disagree with themselves
should be silenced, they made
themselves look like pathetic, sorry
individuals who carry extremely,
large chips on their shoulders.
I would hope that students would
not believe that the hate of a few
Communists like the AACDARW-
NWROC/RWL is indicative of other
liberals or conservatives on campus
who do oppose Nazism, but in a'
manner befitting members of a
democratic society. The way to fight
hate speech is with free speech, with
public debate, with an airing of the,
discourse for public scrutiny. :.
I urge liberals, conservativesand
even supporters of Ross Perot (!)to
please voice your disgust of the hate
mongering on both the left and right.
Kudos to the Daily for holding to
principle. Kudos to those students
who have also.
SCOTT CHAMBERS
LSA senior
Chair, Campus Chapter, Democratic
Socialists of America
Tracking planes in the distance
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