4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February_15, 1994
420 Maynard JESSIE HAuADAY
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editor in Chief
Edited and managed SAM G4ODSTHN
by students at the FLINT WAINESS
University of Michigan Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board.
All other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
"The University of Michigan is an intellectual Disneyland in
the best sense of the phrase."
State Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek),
speaking about undergraduate access to University faculty.
'Friend'
Entreepus0
he eye-catching Entree Plus promotional
arves in students' mailboxes over the
summer, promising the instant attainment
of countless goods and services. But those
students who bite on the offer get more than
they bargained for. Although the University
touts the service as simple and efficient,
little emphasis is placed on the confusing,
bureaucratic fine print that places all re-
sponsibility for the maximization of ser-
vices upon the students' shoulders and, in
effect, creates a non-user friendly program.
For example, few students know the final
resting place of their unused Entree Plus
funds. Most assume that they either used all
of their capital, a likely assumption, or for-
get about the extra money over the course of
finals and vacation.
In actuality, the funds return to the
student's account and are applied to any
outstanding fines or bills that the student
may very well be unaware of at the time-
without his or her consent. The residual
amount is then forwarded to the next year's
account, and while the student has already
paid for these unused services, the Univer-
sity collects interest on whatever funds re-
main.
For the ambitious ones who actually look
into their accounts, the request return check
presents itself as an option. The key word
here is "request," for the student must call
and specifically ask that his or her funds be
returned at the end of term. The University
should do its clients, the students, a favor
and make the community aware of this op-
tion.
The inability of the University to provide
smaller Entree Plus deposit increments also
provides frustration for the student on a tight
budget. The University states that smaller
amounts, such as $50, are simply not feasible.
One reason holds that by using larger amounts,
the University can prevent student fraud more
easily, for small amounts allow imperson-
ators - criminals who acquire accounts to
names other than their own - to get away
quickly. The high frequency of these fraudu-
lent occurrences leads one to wonder how
securely and thoroughly the University checks
the identity of each person who opens a new
account.
Unfortunately, the student who legiti-
mately uses his or her account and can only
afford an extra $50 faces the unruly option of
using cash. The standard amounts presently
established require many students to sign on
for more Entree Plus than they can afford, an
action that leads to more kickbacks for the
University and that ever-present possibility
of extra, unused, interest-collecting dollars at
the end of the year.
The University should provide the op-
tion of smaller increments for those stu-
dents who are established users. The work
involved behind this move would be rela-
tively minimal, as the entire system oper-
ates on computer, contrary to reports of
more bureaucratic paperwork involved with
this enlargement of services. Bureaucratic
concerns seem to occupy the University
machine on this entire issue, whether it be
increased revenue from unused accounts,
the inability to catch fraud, or the recent
battle with local merchants on the expan-
sion of the system. The University's reluc-
tance to make the system more user-friendly
demonstrates a lack of knowledge of stu-
dent needs. It is time for the University to
step back and examine these needs seri-
ously, for the system was created for the
students.
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Religion and politics do
mix
In his letter "Religion and
Politics Do Not Mix" (2/10/
94), Jared Levin chastises
political conservatives for
introducing religion into the
abortion debate. But Levin
fails to understand the true
relationship intended for
church and state in the
Constitution.
Levin states that "the
Constitution guarantees
separation of church and
state." Wrong. The First
Amendment guarantees that
the state is not to set up an
establishment of religion or
interfere with its free exercise,
not that religion should have
no effect on the state.
Levin states that "religion
has no place in an American
political election so long as
the freedom to practice
religion is guaranteed."
Wrong. People of deep
religious conviction have
always been deeply involved
in American politics, starting
with those who asserted that
"all men are created equal,
and endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights,
among them life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness."
The tradition continues into
our century: dare we forget
that Martin Luther King, Jr.
was a Baptist minister who
was propelled into the civil
rights movement by his
understanding of Christianity?
We are far richer for the
efforts of such patriots.
Of course, there are
dangers here; Levin rightly
points out that not every
political argument must be
justified from a religious
perspective. But let us not
throw out the baby with the
bathwater. Those who have
religious convictions have
much to contribute to our
political landscape.
JIM HUGGINS
Rackham graduate student
'U' should consider
dress code
To the Daily:
I believe the school should
enact a dress code for the
students and staff. The code
need not be very strict; but at
the moment the unwritten
rules are being abused.
Ripped jeans, obscene T-
shirts and baseball hats call
too much attention to
themselves and disrupt the
learning environment. I am
not saying that the students
here are immature, but back
home in my country, it seems
that the student works better
and has more respect for his
school when he is required to
dress respectfully. Young men
might wear slacks and
collared shirts, while young
women might wear either
dresses or skirts with
sweaters. Hopefully, this
change will boost academic
performance, respect and
pride for our University at
large.
BRIAN SPIEGEL
Engineering Sophomore
Violence against men
overestimated
To the Daily:
I am responding to the
"Viewpoint" of Jason Dandy
that appeared in the Daily (2/
8/94). Most of his comments
are based on the premise that
men's and women's rates of
physical and sexual abuse are
equal. My research and
reviews of the scientific
literature have found that
surveys indicating equal rates
are seriously flawed in two
ways. First, they do not show
that much of women's
violence is self-defense.
Second, women are much
more likely to be injured
physically and
psychologically than men. The
best estimates of actual
victimization indicate that
about five percent of the
victims of intimate violence
are men. Sexual abuse of
boys does occur at a rate of
five to 10 percent. However,
sexual coercion of college
men by women is much less
common than this. Dandy
gave the impression that
programs for victims of
sexual and physical violence
do not help male victims.
This is not the case. Few men
seek their services, probably
from the combined effects of
shame about the abuse and
their low rates of
victimization.
My research and that of
others gives another reason for
not asking men to help victims
in crisis. College men have
more traditional views of
male-female roles than
women and these views are
directly related to blaming
victims for the abuse that they
suffer. The most distressing
news for this research is that
college men's victim-blaming
attitudes on average do not
differ much from those of
rapists and men who batter.
The good news is that these
attitudes are learned and thus
can be unlearned. As men, we
have a lot of work to do in
uncovering and challenging
the attitudes that restrict our
lives and harm women.
SAPAC is very committed to
involving men in this
important work.
DANIEL SANDERS, PH.D.
Assistant Prof.
School of Social Work
will no
longer do
If you had a good or even a
neutral Valentine's Day this year,
congratulations: you have just
joined one of the smallest
minorities on Earth.
It's not just that the 14th of
February depresses the
unattached; it also tends to
expose the cracks in the most
stable of romantic relationships.
The commercials on TV try to
convince you that anything less
than diamonds means your love
must be fading, and if you can't
manage that you're required to
buy perfume which costs more
than escargot and smells worse.
But remember, guys, if a woman
says she doesn't want flowers
for Valentine's Day, SHE IS
LYING. (A few of you may have
learned that lesson this year.)
Valentine's Day is not the
most difficult thing about being
in a relationship, however.
Knowing what to call your
relationship (and each other) is a
much bigger problem. My
college boyfriend and I spent a
summer living together, yet when
I visited him at his parents' house
I was always introduced as his
"friend," as if I were someone he
had met last week. And what
kind of terms are "boyfriend"
and "girlfriend" anyway? It
makes us all sound like we're
playing in a sandbox together
("Jenny and Johnny, sittin' in a
tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!")
Now that we're at least a little
more grown up, we need better
names forallof the complications
romance can throw our way.
These terms come from various
friends of various ages and are
guaranteed to make talking about
the slippery topic of relationships
just a little more manageable:
Relationships of Utility -
Also known as relationships of
convenience. These consist of
two people (as one 18-year-old
friend of mine put it) "who are
using each other, but that's
understood, so it's okay." One
or both of the partners is often
involved in a long-distance
relationship but wants someone
they can roll in the hay with a
little more often. Guaranteed
trouble, because there are these
strange little emotions called love
and jealousy which humans have
been known to have every once
and awhile.
Chemical Warfare - Also
known as love. Just when we're
starting to get work done or
getting over that nasty breakup,
those little love and sex thoughts
gas us with their hormones.
Before we know it we're
floundering for our gas masks
and calling the object of our
affection on the phone, begging
for redemption. Without getting
into any of the biopsychological
details, let's just say that there's
some truth to the idea that we get
addicted to being in love and
suffer withdrawal when we go
without it.
Fluorine Atoms - Like
the element they are named after,
these people do not exist in single
form. They must be continually
bonded with someone; they've
overlapped relationships in a
continuous chain of boyfriends
or girlfriends stretching back for
years. If left alone, their romantic
energy immediately attracts
someone; otherwise they are
liable toself-destruct. To
continue the chemical analogy,
they may also be known as
"intimacy junkies."
Significant Other - This
is becoming a common phrase;
recognizable variations include
SO, "partner" and POSSLQs
(Persons of the Opposite Sex
Sharing Living Quarters. Don't
ask me, Ann Landers made it
up). There was no need for these
terms when women married at
age 20 on average and the divorce
rate was below 50 percent, but
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The battle over books
The story is not new - students getting
-Tripped off in September and January of
each year at our local bookstores. Students
don't have a choice in the matter; if their
course syllabus requires a certain textbook,
then they are off to the bookstore with al-
most no choice but to pay the outrageous
price of, say, $116 for Gas Dynamics, Vol-
ume I. At the beginning of every semester,
student voices resonate throughout the cam-
pus, as they complain of their enormous
book expenses. And at the end of every
semester, another outpouring of complaints
comes as students receive little to no money
in return for their used books. Senator Don
Koivisto (D-Ironwood) has recognized this
problem and has called for hearings in the
Michigan State Senate on university text-
book prices, which should take place in the
next few weeks. We must commend Koivisto
for taking action to examine this pressing
and most important issue.
Despite his efforts, however, it is doubt-
ful that these hearings will result in any real
change; there is, after all, only a limited
amount the state government can do. It seems
likely that these exorbitant book prices are a
result of American capitalism, which allows
the market to determine the prices of goods.
And while the state government must inter-
vene if price gauging or fixing can be shown,
the fact remains that prices are normally de-
termined by the demand of the consumer.
Many consumers have the ability to lower
prices by mobilizing competition. In other
words, it is essential that students take some
initiative, and promote a way of forcing
down the prices of costly textbooks.
One thing students can do is to join to-
gether to help expand and improve the Stu-
dent Book Exchange. Rather than being
forced to pay full price for new books at
retail bookstores, this creative group gives
students the option of buying used books
from other students. Currently this exchange
is small and inefficient, and many students
together to make this operation more acces-
sible, as well as to provide students with a
cheaper and more reasonable alternative.
To go along with this call for student pro-
action, there exists a need for support from
the University. It would make sense for the
Office of Student Affairs to help bring to-
gether, organize and assist grassroots stu-
dent groups in their pursuit to make buying
textbooks more affordable. Equally impor-
tant is the need for faculty support. Rather
than continuously changing the required
reading material in their syllabi, they need
to commit to certain books with the intent of
using them as long as possible. Of course,
they should change their texts when either
curriculum or literature changes; however,
they need to at least be sympathetic toward
the high cost students face, and to make
what efforts they can to help control these
skyrocketing costs.
Also, the University administration
should consider promoting new policies
that could help mitigate the lofty costs of
textbooks. Paul Rosser, general manager of
Ulrichs, suggests that the University do
what other colleges have already done -to
put a three-year minimum on a book, so that
once the book is adopted, it must remain in
use for up to three years. As it stands now,
many publishers continuously come out with
new editions, while terminating the produc-
tion of the old editions that they deem as
"obsolete" only a short time after they came
out. Once this 'old' edition is no longer
offered or used in the classroom, students
receive no money when they try to sell their
used book. This new policy, if implemented,
would give students more opportunities to
receive back more of the book's cost.
It will be interesting to see the result of
the legislative hearings that are forthcom-
ing. But regardless of their outcome, it is
important that we call upon students, the
administration, faculty and government to
contribute toward finding new ways to mak-
Buchanan coverage is biased
By MARK FLETCHER
There were several
major, politically biased
flaws with the Daily's
article on Angela "Bay"
Buchanan (2/3/94). These
flaws leave numerous
questions to be answered.
I have been to almost
every College Republican
event this year. A
significant number of
College Republicans had
exams and prior
engagements that
Wednesday and yet we
still had over 200 people,
many of whom were new
faces to me, show up.
How then, could the writer
describe the audience as
"largely partisan?" If they
were true partisans, would
paper?
Of all those who
attended our event and
asked questions, only one
spoke out against Ms.
Buchanan in the Q and A
section. However, Mr.
Shere (the Daily reporter)
conveniently finds two
people "angered" over her
speech and puts them in
the article. More
importantly, one dissenter
was not even a college
student! It is sad to see
that in order to get more
dissenters in the article, a
students newspaper had to
revert to interviewing a
child. The writer evidently
agrees with the boy,
stating one could find
"obvious flaws in
The boy's opinion was
summarily disproved as
incorrect by Ms.
Buchanan as well. The use
of the word liberal was not
a "labeling" technique, but
rather identification of a
certain ideology. If the
general public considers
using this word negative,
that's due to the
ideology's obvious flaws,
not her use of it. Why
were our speaker's
rebuttals to these
accusations not included
in the article?
Although the article
included some positive
comments made by
College Republicans
members, these cannot
make up for the article's
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