4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 10, 1993
Ulie £bian ailI
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JosH Dunow
Editor in Chief
ANDREW LEVY
Editorial Page Editor
Unless otherwise note4 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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"BEAVOS AND
MSA President addresses students
01
By CRAIG GREENBERG
"So what do you do?"
That is always the first question
people ask me when they find out
that I am president of the student
government here at the University.
The question is very hard to
answer because the president of the
Michigan Student Assembly can set
his or her own agenda each year and
do different things as president.
Therefore, this year I will probably
be doing things that are very different
from my predecessors.
The most important thing that I
will be doing this year is working to
create a new atmosphere within
MSA - an atmosphere where fun
things are happening and meaningful
jobs are being accomplished.
Such an environment will help
ensure that all of MSA's elected
representatives are fulfilling their
duties and working hard to make the
University's campus-wide student
government one that influences the
administration on policy decisions,
fully supports student organizations,
assists in planning enjoyable and
beneficial programs to all University
students, and has a large presence on
campus.
To create such an environment, I,
with the help of other MSA
members, have begun tackling new,
exciting, non-political projects. For
example, MSA has sponsored bands
playing on the Diag and will
hopefully soon provide free snacks to
students during exam periods.
By depoliticizing parts of MSA
and making it less conflict- and
partisan-oriented, it will then
accomplish more and be a much
more action-oriented student
government - for students will be
getting involved in MSA because
they enjoy making a difference on
campus, not because they are junior
politicians who need a soapbox for
loudly voicing their ideas and getting
Greenberg is President of the
Michigan Student Assembly
Alexander great choice
for NEA head
To the Daily:
It's our turn now!
With President Clinton's recent
nomination of distinguished actress
and civic advocate Jane Alexander to
chair the National Endowment for
the Arts (NEA), we American artists
can look forward to a renewal of
positive support for the arts in the
United States.
For far too many years, the NEA
has only received the national
spotlight for a couple of controversial
projects. The image of the NEA has
been tarnished in the past by partisan
attempts to paint (no pun intended)
the endowment as a "radical"
government program.
The fact is that the NEA has
sponsored thousands upon thousands
of arts programs over the years. This
important support has helped the arts
thrive throughout the country, where
free press in the Daily.
To turn this goal into an
accomplishment will take a lot of
time and effort - no one event or
project will create such a new
environment.
A majority of my time is spent
ensuring the details of a planned
project are in order and talking to
other students and MSA members
to generate new ideas for MSA-
sponsored projects.
This also requires that MSA's
executive officers, committee and
commission chairs, and
representatives are working hard for
MSA.
To me, it is very important that
all representatives work hard for
MSA, for students elect them to do
just that; they must fulfill their
obligations as set forth in the MSA
constitution and be held
accountable for their actions.
As such, I must be in constant
communication with the other
MSA members to find interested
people to help out with these new
projects and motivate them to
change the ideas they got elected on
into realities. (Trying to get a hold
of these busy students is nearly
impossible, so I spend a lot of my
time talking to answering
machines.)
In addition to helping motivate
MSA members and allowing them
to accomplish their own goals
within MSA, I also am working on
establishing MSA's presence
around campus within other
organizations, projects, and
activities.
I believe that a president of any
student government should be
active in more than just the student
government and, therefore, I also
help plan non-MSA activities.
For example, I served on the
committee that planned last year's
Michigan Madness celebration and
this year's Welcome to Michigan
activities along with members of
the Interfraternity Council,
Panhellenic Association, Student
Leader Board, University Activities
Council, and Michigan Union Board
of Representatives -just to name a
few of the other organizations
involved.
These meetings have led to my
frequent communication with other
student leaders and members of the
University administration; I think this
is very important so that I know what
is going on around campus and
always feel knowledgeable of
University news.
This way, if the student
government needs to take action in
opposition to or in support of
something, it will happen in a timely
manner and its effects will be seen.
(Because of this frequent
communication, I sometimes feel like
I live on e-mail.)
This communication also helps
MSA because it generates support
from other student organizations;
MSA then has more credibility and
ability to be influential within the
student body and University
administration.
Even if MSA is very active, it can
only get better if more people are
involved. Therefore, I am also very
active in recruiting new members. I
am almost always around the MSA
offices on the third floor of the
Michigan Union, except when I take
short breaks for classes and long
breaks to maintain some sort of a
social life.
In addition to working on MSA
business and doing the other things I
have mentioned, I am always eager
and ready to meet with people who
walk into the office or call. I believe
that the more people are involved in
MSA, the better it will be, because
the student government will then be
more active and representative of all
students.
I encourage everyone to stop by
and say hello, even if you are not
interested in getting involved, but
just interested in getting your voice
heard by students who care.
MSU president search was a sham
Everything you know is wrong. Or
at least everything you know about the
Michigan State University (MSU)
Boardof Trustees,itsalleged Presiden-
tial Search, and the Universitys loudly-
touted concern for diversity and the
interests of MSU's minorities.
If any sense of legitimacy still sur-
rounded the Presidential Search after
the controversy about closed meetings,
the Board systematically destroyed it
through a series of backstabbing and
disgraceful maneuvers.
The Board showedlittle regardeven
who became a candidate in the final
stage of the search. Unfortunately for
MSU's students and faculty, these in-
tentions never included "diversity" or
concern for minority affairs that sup-
posedly take a front seat at this Univer-
sity. This last-minute underhandedness
proved that candidates such as Henry
Tsu Yow Yang and Lou Anna Simon
were merely tokens included as a dis-
tractions while the Boardquietlyslipped
the candidate of its choice into the
presidency.
Ifthereisany doubtas totheBoard's
candidate (McPherson) out of thin air,
for he certainly was not one of the four
finalists - and certainly was a white
male - and railroaded him past any
formal procedure in one day of whirl-
wind antics.
The official rationale for this, of-
fered by Joel Ferguson, chairperson of
the Board, is that there simply was not
enough support for Simon, that not
enough votes could be swung in her
favor. The question, then, is: Why
would they support a businessperson,
who lacks academic experience and
Directions organization.
In addition, Alexander has
authored books, narrated
documentaries, acted in many films
and on the Broadway stage, and she
has organized regional theater
programs across the country.
I agree with President Clinton's
statement that "Jane Alexander,
when confirmed by the Senate, will
work tirelessly and courageously to
make the arts a full and productive
partner in our nation's future."
Please call or write your member
of Congress today to let him or her
know that you too support
Alexander's nomination.
M.L. LIEBER
Faculty member
Wayne State University
Dont make AAU fight
for Its own survival
To The Daily:
D1M unr hoe itt hat nnPagnanthe
alike) who understood the merits of
the AATU's "non-student" services,
the AATU nevertheless met the
challenge, and has been continuing
its work through a combination of
MSA funds and other outside support
(including a recent grant from the
City of Ann Arbor). In other words,
in compliance with MSA
requirements, the AATU has been
using MSA funds-to directly assist
the housing needs of University
students, and has sought additional
non-University support for the work
it does above and beyond these
efforts.
The AATU provides valuable
information to students regarding
their rights and responsibilities as
tenants as well as informing them of
their landlord's rights and
responsibilities. Besides serving as a
source of information and an
advocate to students, the AATU has
been responsible for drafting
legislation which directly affects the
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