4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 18, 1994 alei7E #ftcbgnuI 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the JESSIE HALLADAY Editor in Chief SAM GooDSTELN 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. Fire, Fire!d Incidents of false fire alarms in dorms must end 'Croatia Forced To Admit That Its Army Is In Bosnia' -headline that appeared in the Feb. 16 edition of the New York Times SOUTH I STATE15r 'PAT f "A1 r 4 en1 I~; ' mDlu hile false fire alarms may seem like a harmless break from the everyday routine, they are a far too familiar nuisance to students living in resident halls. There have been 17 false fire alarms in the resident halls during the 1993-94 school year. There have been nights where as many as four false fire alarms have been pulled in South Quad, and the majority of these alarms oc- cur after midnight while most students are asleep. This is simply unbearable to those who must live, day and night, in this most onerous reality. The sentiment of most residents is that any alarm will be false. When these alarms sound during the winter months, students are per- turbed, for they are required to leave their warm beds and trudge down flights of stairs to congregate outside, wearing little more than pajamas and flip-flops, in sub-zero tempera- tures for 20 minutes or more. Students who fail to evacuate face a $50 fine. There is little worry of impending death; all see the (false) fire alarms as nothing more than a hindrance cruelly parting them from the bliss of sleep. The inability of the University to provide an alternative plan frustrates many. A DPS officer, speaking on the condition of anonym- ity, admits that University administrators have been presented with proposals to curb the incidences of pranksters pulling false alarms, but they feel that the cost of implementing these plans outweighs the legitimate com- plaints of the responsible, law-abiding stu- dents who lease their rooms and who cause no trouble. One such proposal is to have DPS officers and trainees monitor the fire alarm boxes after midnight to deter pranksters. The University could even start a work study program hiring students to monitor the alarms. The second proposal is to place an unwashable dye on the fire alarms. This would cause a great number of potential trouble- makers to think twice, as anyone - a fellow resident, a professor or a stranger - could view the stains on a culprit's fingers and report it to DPS. Also, the simple installa- tion of cameras around fire alarm sites would challenge those few brave souls who now risk being so easily identified - all in the name of a few cheap thrills. For some time now, University officials have been launching a campaign to reinvigo- rate the process and encourage reluctant stu- dents to live in residence halls. They are frustrated as they've lost over $400,000 in revenue in the past year alone, as many stu- dents have opted to live off campus. Each year, more and more students realize that living in residence halls is not advanta- geous. False fire alarms are part of the reason. No one would want to live in an apartment building where pranksters pull fire alarms. almost nightly, and the management acts as if it doesn't care. This is exactly what's occur- ring in University dorms. Residents, many of whom pay "rent" prices higher than those living in off-campus apartment buildings, are forced to deal with troublesome and irratating false alarms while the administrators, the "management," refuses to address the prob- lem - and at the same time, demanding payment in full of students' room and board fees. Dealing with the problem of false fire alarms won't necessarily be simple. How- ever, it should not cost residences any extra money. If the University can afford to give thousands of dollars in raises to its adminis- tration, then it can afford to pay for solutions to the problem of false fire alarms. But for the 'U,' which is cheaper, to pay money now and have a better chance of keeping more students in the residence halls, or to continue to ignore the problem and stand by helplessly as another $400,000 is lost next year? LETTERS Don't confuse inexperience and bias To the Daily: Mark Fletcher's letter (2/ 14/94) was poorly thought out. Fletcher claims the Daily's coverage of Bay Buchanan's Feb. 2 speech was biased. He criticizes the Daily reporter for describing the audience as "largely partisan." Fletcher asserts the audience was not partisan because "all were invited." Fletcher forgets the College Republicans' flyers, which read "Liberals beware!" -- hardly invitations for all to attend Buchanan's speech. Perhaps those flyers explain why so few people spoke out against Buchanan's ideas. Fletcher says "only one" person challenged Buchanan openly. Fletcher fails to explain why only one person from this supposedly nonpartisan crowd (on a left- leaning campus) challenged Buchanan's conservative ideas. Perhaps so few spoke out because the crowd was indeed "largely partisan," composed of conservatives and not the liberals the College Republicans told to "beware!" Fletcher could argue that more liberals didn't speak because they found Buchanan blindingly convincing. He doesn't, and Buchanan wasn't. I know, I was there. So was my brother, Frank. Fletcher mocked the Daily for quoting Frank, whom Fletcher calls "a child." Frank is 14, but as he told me over the phone, "Just because I'm a 'child' doesn't mean I'm an idiot, or that my opinion doesn't count." In calling my brother names, Fletcher overlooks this concept: if a 14 year old can see the flaws in Buchanan's ideas, then perhaps Buchanan's ideas are not so perfect. "Perfect," I agree, does not describe the Daily's coverage of Buchanan's speech. The reporter misnamed my brother ("Giancolla") and (according to Frank) misquoted him. These mistakes are excusable; the reporter is a student and was working under deadline pressure. What's more important is how the reporter tried to balance Buchanan's views with views that opposed hers. Those opposing views were few (that's because the audience was "largely partisan"), but the reporter quoted conservatives too. The worst one can say about the reporter is that he's inexperienced. That doesn't mean he is biased. OLIVER GIANCOLA LSA senior Clinton strikes out With both state and federal politicians coming under increasing pressure to solve the perceived epidemic of crime, the "three strikes and your out" plan has risen in popularity. The idea, supported by 80 per- cent of Americans, refers to the proposed measure that would mandate that once a person has been convicted of three (violent) felonies, the judge has no choice but to sentence the person to life in prison without parole. This is already on the books in the state of Washington, is part of the president's crime package, and is being considered in various forms by 30 states - this could conceivably affect the entire American judi- cial system. Instead of being "tough but smart," on crime , this law is not particularly intelligent, and it is extremely counterpro- ductive in the prevention of crime. First, no one is suggesting that repeat offenders not be sentenced to long, hard time. People convicted of violent crimes should go to jail and stay there until they are no longer a threat to society. However, the Lott Amendment is nothing but window dress- ing by politicians to try and appear tough on crime without actually doing anything about it. The most obvious problem is that people who commit crimes deemed violent, but not necessarily dangerous - such as snatching a purse and pushing the victim down - will qualify in some proposed state versions. In the state of Washington, where the law has been on the books for two months, obvious flaws are already evident. A 35-year old man, who has been convicted of two felo- nies is now facing his third, and a lifetime sentence. For his first conviction, he pushed his grandfather down and took $390; the other, he robbed a pizza parlor of $100, threatening the clerk with a concealed fin- ger. His third offense was holding up a cealed finger was a gun. While not a role model citizen, this person does not deserve life imprisonment. To do so is a strain on the jail system, one that desperately needs room for more serious offenders. There are other defects as well. A sym- pathetic jury in a minor felony trial, decid- ing between two drastic alteratives, acquit- tal or life in jail, may very easily acquit. Even though the person should be convicted and do time, there will be no flexibility, under the three strikes proposal, to take account of mitigating circumstances, previ- ous record, or the amount of time between each conviction. Other factors are many. Once inmates meet the age of 60, their capacity to do violence decreases greatly, yet they will remain in jail at a cost of $25,000 a year , per inmate. As well, there are cases where people being picked up by police have used vio- lence to resist. With their third conviction and life imprisonment looming, they felt they had nothing to lose. Finally, people facing a third conviction will almost cer- tainly fight tooth and nail through the courts to avoid the mandatory sentence, thus clog- ging the already overburdened court sys- tem. People who have committed their third violent crime are likely to receive long sentences without this law anyway. If they are not, then something is wrong with the judicial system, something much more seri- ous than any "three strikes" bill will solve. In the words of former Deputy Attorney General Philip Heymann, "This is simply a bad deal ... Politics has overwhelmed serious debate." The politicians should come up with better alternatives to solve crime and calm an over anxious public, but not with propos- als that are clearly cheap "fixes,' and short Why I'm not seeking re-election To the Daily: While I do look forward to having a social life next year, it is not the reason I am not seeking re-election as MSA president. I am not running for MSA president because I have 100 percent confidence that Julie Neenan, Jacob Stern and the rest of the Michigan Party will continue to improve MSA and expand its leadership role on campus. Therefore, I feel comfortable pursuing some of my other interests on campus, knowing MSA will continue to move forward under Michigan Party leadership. Also, with less time committed to MSA, I will actually be able to devote some of my time to studying for classes and the upcoming LSAT. Some of my goals for the next year include placing a student on the Board of Regents and improving the quantity and quality of programming on this campus; on such issues, I plan to continue to work in conjunction with MSA and other student organizations. Not being MSA president will allow me to focus my energy on such specific goals. Being MSA president is a great job; I would enjoy being president for another year, but there are just too many other things I want to do before graduating from the University. CRAIG GREENBERG LSA junior B-Ball players embarrass Michigan To the Daily: How depressing to see the good name of Michigan in the headlines with regard to the five "role-model" athletes. I'm embarrassed to wear my Michigan shirt in public. Are these guys so destitute that they have to resort to shoplifting? And why are they drinking beer during the basketball season anyway? They don't deserve a lot of compassion or leniency for putting Michigan in such a bad light. ROY SEPPALA Class of 1952 IFC extends apologies to rape survivors To the Daily: It is with great sadness that I see the words fraternity and sexual assault together once again on the front page of the Daily. The Interfratemity Council has spent a great deal of time and energy over the past few years trying to educate our membership about the issues of sexual assault The seven golden rules Recently, I was approached by a number of people asking me to write about relationships Specifically, this "number" was one: myself. Considering the fact that most people are now tanning themselves in some exotic locale, you, the reader, will be fortunate enough to share in the fruits of my knowledge. So for the sake of of you, sit back, relax and remembe to spit out the seeds. I can almost hear your question from where I'm sitting. Ho couldyou know the first thing abou relationships? Well, smart-ass, happen to know quite a bit abou associations between the sexes thank you. I read a lot of books. And if you must know, I just happen to involved in one as we speak. W sort of. You see, we are not allowed t refer to it as being a "relationship.' This would naturally imply: nou 1. The state or character of bein related or interrelated. This is bad as it places a "label" on things. I case you didn't know, label i French for "bad." This is rule numbe one: do not label. Your next question is so obvio that I will ask it for you: wha mental or physical deficiency doe this girl have to be seeing me? Is sh blind? Schizophrenic? Rule numbe two: do not ask questions. I am th columnist here. But since you asked I will bend the rules a bit and tell you There is absolutely nothing wron with this woman (whom, for th sake of this column, I will refer to say, "Heather"). Not only is sh intelligent, beautiful and funny (relatively speaking), she also ha cool posters hanging in her room Unless, of course, you get her angry Then she will not hesitate to stab you with a sharp object. However, th wounds are usually not very dee and most heal within 2-3 weeks. Rule number three: relationship never occur when you expect the to. No joke, but I met "Heather' standing in line at the post office Usually, one ends up meeting th person of his/her dreams while engaging in such activities as Wh Can Fart the Loudest, or while delivering a pizza wearing a gian pepperoni for a hat. As a matter o fact, let's make this rule numbe four: a person must be doi something downright degrading order to meet one's mate. University of Michigan stud showed tha a person picking his/he nose is more than five times as likely to meet someone than a person actin like Mickey Rourke. Go figure. Rule number five: women ar impossible to figure out. Actually this is straight from the Bible: "An God created women who, qui frankly, are impossible to figure out.' Men are simple: we want sex Consider the following though processes of a young couple initiating a potential relationship: Woman: Gee, that guy looks kind, caring, and intelligent. Maybe we could get together and read Dostoyevsky. Man: I want sex. Women, being women, mus necessarily over-analyze everything in a relationship. It's i their genes. Just the other day, generously sent "Heather" a knife which happened to have some bloo on it. "What does this mean?," sh asked accusingly. "Nothing," I tol her. "I just thought you may like t have a bloody knife." See what mean? Ever give your significant othe Something Costly, like a car, onl to be dumped seconds later? Sill fool. You have failed to read rul six: learn the signals in an relationship. Just follow this handy dandy guide, and you are on the road to love: If you receive a: It means: Car Your I- 01 M 0 Ode to a dress code There once was a fellow most foolish who thought skirts and sweaters were schoolish in pants we are flirts but its too cold for skirtsg this draconian measure is ghoulish For Brian academics would better if we all donned a skirt and a sweater about the dress code it is a load guess what we think of your letter There once was a man named Brian whose clothes fetish there is no denyin' my sweats turn him off my jeans make him scoff but a few good laughs he's supplyin' Dear Brian your letter's a joke you sound like a stuffy old bloke America 's free no damn skirts for me my rights and liberties you choke My knowledge comes from the head but you speak of my clothing instead I'd be just as smart if I dressed like a tart your letter just makes me see red Apparently if we dressed nicely our work would be done more concisely we'd stick to the books without getting looks these are Brian's thoughts precisely The new dress code is a must slacks, collars and ties are quite just I strongly agree With Brian, vou see 1l I s. Rose Bloody knife counterpart wants to run you over. Your lover thinks you smell. Nothing. S fl