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 ng back kissed ght land L (apd, ), butit ig Ten ey could sive line d less of our line ad of nning r the oles in e are in a your [aybe ared on We heard loss he nchin a ing for a .d by' vis has you'fl all l"after Ou. our is 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 MEN a ' .k : .... .. M." m m m