4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 15, 1993
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420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JOSH DUBOW
Editor in Chief
ANDREWLEVY
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.
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A WONCH, 01---V60S
SPANKINGJ( THEIR,
a ~MON KEy
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Bad medicine
To the Daily:
I was on psychiatric medications
for over 12 years. The medicines
put me in a lot of pain. Prolyxin
was the main one they kept me on.
It was very painful, and no one
seemed to care. I would lay on a
sofa most of the time, and the
doctors wouldn't help. They started
me on Haldol, and 15 minutes later
I was in pain. The medicines hurt
alot.
There was no reason for me to
go through that for 12 years. Now I
am on a new medicine called
Closaril. It is much better.
I intend to sue Washtenaw
Community Mental Health for
leaving me "that way." I suffered
through the prime years of my life,
from the late 70s through the early
90s The doctors had better
medicines, but not for me. I had to
go through hell. It was preventable.
Maybe this letter can help
someone else. How many others are
suffering for the same reason?
JOHN RICE
Ann Arbor resident
Is Deane Baker for
real?
To the Daily:
First of all, I have nothing
against Western civilization- and I
consider myself a liberal. So I'd
like to explain why I think Deane
Baker's argument is so flawed:
"Western civilization and gays
don't mix?" What is it that Mr.
Baker considers to be Western
civilization? Quite a bit of what I
learned to be our culture seems to
exist because of people who
happened to be homosexuals. Are
The Odyssey and The Iliad not part
of Western civilization? Is the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel not
part of our civilization? Do I have
to make a list of the artists and
authors in the past few centuries
who fall into Mr. Baker's
unacceptable-lifestyle category?
Maybe I'll admit things about our
culture that Regent Baker will not.
I'm not a homosexual and cannot
speak from experience, nor do I
claim to possess an above average
knowledge of the Western
hemisphere. But I have to argue
against a moral crusade in which
the terms are undefined.
Well, just to show that we
shouldn't take our declining society
too seriously, I'll leave you a
quotation from one of my favorite
dead-white-male authors.
"Wickedness is a myth invented
by good people to account for the
curious attractiveness of others." -
Oscar Wilde "Phrases and
Philosophies for the Use of the
Young"
AMELIA NATOLI
Art junior
What's in a name?
To the Daily:
The Keg Party did not win five
seats in last year's assembly
elections based on our "catchy
moniker" alone. Our greater success
came from working our butts off,
camnixnine hard within our dorm
happiness and a better campus. It
hurts to be slandered because we
happen to have a appealing name.
We are damn fine reps, and we
take offense at anyone stating
otherwise.
THE KEG PARTY
Inappropriate moral
considerations
To the Daily:
I've been quietly observing this
recent controversy raging: AIDS
activists versus college
Republicans. It is troubling to read
of the self-righteous invoking
morality as an AIDS cure. The only
appropriate moral considerations
involved here should be strong
compassion, and an ability to
empathize with those who suffer.
People having accompanied a dying
family member or friend no doubt
understand this.
For an individual to choose
certain personal behaviors is well
within his/her ethical rights, but to
attempt arrogantly impose upon
others to follow on grounds of
morality is simply narrow-minded
and ultimately inappropriate. It does
not belong in the dialogue. People's
moral convictions are subjective
and based on differing assumptions;
in this culture, the language of two
different ethical structures ay be
mutually unintelligible. Both world
views are valid and demand respect.
Some adherents of Westen
religious tradition may find the
above difficult. I can think of no
major religious doctrine, Judeo-
Christian included, that denies
compassion as a fundamental
precept to its moral fabric. If one
feels compelled to invoke morality,
compassion may constitute a rare
common thread, an ubiquitous word
despite moral language barriers.
JOSEPH BOGAARD
SNRE graduate student
Reverse racism in
Los Angeles
To the Daily:
As the acquittal was read in the
Los Angeles police brutality case,
the country was sent into an uproar.
Cities were burned and looted, and
millions of people protested.
Needless to say, these people let the
government know that they were
displeased with the result of this
case.
Recently, we have seen another
case come to the forefront, the case
of the trucker Reginald Denny. He
was dragged from his truck, and
dealt one of the cruelest beatings in
American history. As in the
Rodney King beating, this action
was caught on camera, and the men
accused with the beating were
clearly identified. The case against
these men was heard, and the jury
was sent to decide on what seemed
to be an obvious verdict of guilty of
some extreme charges. The jury
returned a verdict of not guilty on
almost all major charges, but there
was no uproar.
This case was truly an injustice
and was clearly on the same level as
caught in the wrong place, and there
was absolutely no reason for these
men to attempt to kill him other
than Denny's skin color. This was
the most blatant act of racism in
recent history, yet these men still
were merely given a slap on the
wrist.
MATTHEW OUTLAW
LSA sophomor
The Daily, not MSA, is
a joke
To the Daily:
If MSA is a joke, then your
worthless piece of newsprint is the
laughing stock of the entire campus.
With all of your emphasis on
students getting screwed by the
administration and not having
enough power on the campus,
abolishing the student government
would be the best thing students
could do to help the administration
achieve all of its goals. It would
take years to re-establish a new
student government. During this
time, the administration would have
a free pass to screw students.
Also, MSA is the organization 4
that does the difficult and time-
consuming work that you only bitch
about. You call for reforms on this
campus, but all you do is whine
through nameless editorials. MSA
members work their asses off
combing through long documents
and sitting through hours of
meetings working to change
University policies.
There are still some
improvements MSA must make. If
you really want a better student
government, you should work to
help MSA make the changes it
wants to make, rather than
continuing to spew such ridiculous
rhetoric.
I
I
4
* DOUGLAS HORLICK
LSA junior
Mocking tragedy
To the Daily:
I wonder, Jim Lasser, what the
hell you were thinking in creating
your absurd cartoon in the
November 9 edition of this paper
("California Dreamin', 11/9/93)?
Did you actually think about it at
all? It is neither humorous nor
thought-provoking, but rather it is a
disgrace to you, and can perhaps be
seen as analogous to your burnt wit.
I think maybe you thought you
could get away with such a tasteless
and altogether insensitive cheap
shot just because we're so far from
California. But, you buffoon, do
you not realize that there are
hundreds of Californians here, not
to mention the scores of other
students whom I'm sure have some
compassion for the victims of the
fires? Why don't you make some
more really funny cartoons. , . how
about mock the hurricane that
destroyed Miami; or, better yet,
how about you hit closer to home
and ridicule the victims of the
floods here in the Midwest? I'm
sure a lot of people would
appreciate your feeble attempt at
witty humor then.
CRAIG POLIN
LSA junior
College Roundup a
MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson is
a :cused of backroom maneuverings
in the now-infamous presidential
sc arch. These revelations should stand
a-. a stellar example of a closed search
gi "ne awry.
The Lansing State Journal reported
A ednesday that depositions from a
civil case involving the presidential
search reveal Ferguson's wheelings
and dealings. The Journal reported
Ferguson called on Gov. John Engler
and former MSU interim President
Gordon Guyer to try to sway fellow
allegedly "non-partisan" Board, this
sounds a little strange. Granted,
Engler did appoint Mawby, but he
had no business supporting
Ferguson's interests in a University
presidential search. All this alleged
back-scratching and politicking con-
firms assumptions made from the
beginning regarding the nature of the
search.
Ferguson claims the quotes in the
Journal were taken out of context and
are inaccurate. Whatever the justifi-
cation for the politics, it is just an-
already is in office and trying to run
the University, is when these facts
are revealed. Yet more damage has
been done to the image of
McPherson and the trustees - not
to mention the University as a
whole. It encourages the assump-
tion that the whole process was
veiled in suspicion and fraught with
cloak-and-dagger politics.
What other revelations will be
made during this lawsuit and other
investigations into one of the messi-
est searches this state has known?