4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 10, 1994
E Chigtttt ttiig
'The only absolute knowledge attainable by man is that life is
totally meaningless.'
--Leo Tolstoy
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JESSIEHALLADAY
Editor in Chief
SAM GOODSTFN
FuNr WAMESS
Editorial Page Editors
LITTLE 1ThLL 1 IDlNL5., HOOZ)
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.
MSA: back on it f
Huge slate of candidates marks possible MSA renewal
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As this semester's MSA elections, to be
held March 22 and 23, approach, the
field of candidates is quickly forming, and
the're seem to be more options than ever for
students.
Eight candidates and five parties are
running for MSA president and vice presi-
dent, and, in total, 80 candidates are running
for 24 positions on MSA. The multitude of
parties demonstrates a revived interest in
our University's student government. Hope-
fully this interest on the part of the candi-
dates will spark renewed interest and par-
ticipation among the student body.
MSA suffers terribly from lack of inter-
est among most students. Students simply
do not care about their student government
and know next to nothing about its activi-
ties. This is highlighted every semester as
student turnout for MSA elections rarely
jumps above the 10 percent mark. As candi-
dates and parties come and go, MSA has
continued to make little difference in stu-
dents' lives and, until recently, MSA leaders
have made little effort to get students both
interested and involved in their organiza-
tion.
Now it seems that interest in MSA among
students is on the upswing as parties repre-
senting diverse student interests have come to
the forefront. Traditionally, MSA elections
have been bipartisan battles between a con-
servative and a progressive party. This two-
party system limited the number of opinions
being expressed within the student govern-
ment and alienated many students who sim-
ply did not fall into one of two polarized
categories.
Last year saw the creation of many new
student voices, specifically the Keg and
Michigan parties. This brought about the
beginning of the end of two-party domi-
nance in MSA. While voter turnout has not
increased substantially in the past year, these
new parties initiated a trend that continues
into this election.
The increased number of parties running
for MSA positions ultimately gives students
more representation within their student gov-
ernment. With a more diverse choice avail-
able, more student interests have the potential
to be served by MSA. A spectrum of choices
and ideas now exists, making it easier for
students to find a niche within the broad
agenda of their student government. But this
will only happen if students take the initiative
- and vote in the upcoming elections.
Now is a perfect time for students to make
a difference in their student government. MSA
is literally up for grabs and the future of the
University's student government will be de-
termined in less than two weeks. We hope
the large number of parties will make stu-
dents become more aware of relevant issues
in trying to decide on who they believe is
best for MSA. Students need not be discour-
aged by the increased amount of parties
running for office, but rather view the situ-
ation as offering them more choice and
more involvement.
Certainly, these new candidates are a
positive. But they are only as good as the
students who vote for them. It is imperative
that students take it upon themselves to vote
and to further the revitalized interest that the
candidates have already initiated.
A response to the
Michigan Party
platform
To the Daily:
The Outsider Party would
like to respond to the
Michigan Party platform for
the March MSA elections.
Currently the Michigan
Party controls the leadership
of the student government,
Quick research into the
success of their last 10 months
eludes to the facts of willful
negligence concerning the
conduct code and the
restrictive use of the Diag.
This past academic year, there
has been zero progress in
regaining lost user rights of
the Diag and zero
amendments to the conduct
code. The Michigan Party has
recently proposed six
amendments to the code
which have not yet been heard
by the student jurors because
of bad weather and a failure
of at least 26 of the 50 student
jurors to attend the meeting.
However, to put things in
perspective, why has it taken
the Michigan Party over nine
months to even propose an
amendment? If the reason for
their inaction is because the
amendment process is
complex and does not favor
student input, then it would
seem that the Michigan Party
would adopt a more adamant
approach to the code.
However, as can be witnessed
by all press organizations on
campus, the "new" Michigan
Party platform - which is
five pages long - contains
only two sentences
concerning the code and only
one sentence concerning the
Diag policy. It is therefore
obvious that the Michigan
Party will continue to fall
down on the job of
representing student rights.
Two students have already
been suspended from
Michigan, but only because a
more serious charge of
expulsion was successfully
appealed. The code is of
utmost importance in this
election. Students have the
right to know how powerful
the code is.
One notorious rule of the
code stipulates that through
University ordinances, a
student can be sent to jail for
10 days for "throwing-up" on
a University bus. These types
of shortfalls concern our party
greatly. However, we are not
in the business of criticism
alone; we have a very specific
plan to address the code if
elected. Our plan has already
highlighted 19 amendments to
the code which have the
chance to pass the student jury
board within our first two
weeks in office; results the
Michigan Party wishes it
could point to during this
election. Our amendments
concern the right to have an
attorney speak for the accused
no matter who the accuser is.
Another concerns the
interpretation of "double
jeopardy" as only allowing
one court system to punish
one wrongful act; currently, a
student who has punched
another student in the face can
be severely punished by the
University and also be
prosecuted by the city of Ann
Arbor for assault and battery.
(The constitutionality of this
has been upheld in many
courts because the
punishment is to right a
wrong to two separate
communities.) However, the
University is not required to
double prosecute; they just
like to.
In less than 14 days, the
students of our great
University have the chance to
voice their discontent with the
Michigan Party and elect a
party that has a solid plan to
not only restructure the
student government but a
specific plan to "negotiate"
the conduct code. We wish to
highlight the fact that our
platform, which all press
organizations are in receipt of,
provides an extensive detailed
list of what we would do if
elected. In contrast, the
Michigan plan provides plenty
of rhetoric, no details
concerning their ideas, and
mainly deals with community
service and providing safety
lectures to students. The
Michigan Party is clearly in
disarray and has completely
missed the mark concerning
the seriousness of the conduct
code. Throughout the next 13
days, our party will attempt to'
demonstrate how important
we feel the code is. We will
also attempt to display our
high level of organization, our
laser focus on important
issues, and our genuine desire
to provide a strong voice for
the students of our great
University.
TREVOR MOELLER
MSA presidential candidate
TERI STEINBERG
MSA vice presidential
candidate
Outsider Party
War: what
it isa
good for?
I've heard much about war in
my lifetime. Since 1975, the year
of my birth, the United States has
been in the Vietnam War, the
Persian Gulf War, an attack on
Grenada, an attack on Panama, and
a host of "peacekeeping"
campaigns.
War has an extensive history
more confusing than anything
imaginable, and the skirmishes the
United States has involved us in are
but a drop in the bucket compared
with the wars fought among
countries centuries and millennia
past.
I question the existence of any
positive aspects of war, for I feel it
rarely serves any virtuous purpose.
War is simply the brainchild of
those who love money and power
more than they do humanity.
Wars are seldom fought on
behalf of the common man. Rather,
they are forced to fight for countries'
leaders who could care less about
them. Can the U.S. government
justify continuously sending -
sometimes even forcing - Black,
Native American, Asian and other
minority troops to die fighting for
the basic human rights of others
they and their families are being
constantly denied here?
And why are ordinary, everyday
men more likely to be drafted than
snobby sons of senators and
corporate lawyers? Are the rich
allergic to guns? Do government
officials prefer ordering others to
fight so that foreign blood won't be
spilt on their thousand dollar suits
and $500 snakeskin shoes?
Manufacturing companies and
re-elected politicians are the only
true victors of any war.
Have you ever considered the
thoughts racing through the minds
of those on either side of the
battlefield who are about to kill -
and be killed by - one another?
Do they truly hate each other? Or,
are they more worried that a foolish
battle, part of some asinine war,
will separate them forever from
their spouses, families and children?
If those on both sides of warring
factions talked, they'd come to an
understandingthat it isn't theirwar;
it's their leaders'. In their wisdom,
these people would lay aside their
guns and go home, leaving those
leaders to fight their own damn
war.
When governments declare war
on one another, politicians should
be the one's to jump out on the
battlefield and kill each other. The
side with the most leaders standing
wins. This would definitely
decrease the number of wars fought
as many who call for war are
cowards who prefer to let others
die on their behalf.
Many governments, including
our own, try and justify war by
labelling it "humanitarian." There
has never been anything
humanitarian about war.
Governments fight wars for money,
power and prestige-nothing else.
Governments are never by, of, or
for the people. How then could
governmental wars be for the
people?
This is not to say that fighting is
always wrong. Many times the
oppressed have had to take up arms
in order to right the wrongs heaped
upon them for ages. But, the far
majority of wars are fought for
very ignoble reasons.
War is many times wrong. War
is many times unnecessary. War is
racist, classist and discriminatory.
Those chosen to fight in wars are
those who stand to gain the least;
those who gain the most from war
don't fight.
War undermines efforts to
increase world peace by making
those who should, and otherwise
would, love each other hate one
another - to the point of murder.
01
Haust conference
Universal tragedies underline importance of conference
O ver the course of time, those who were
victims of the Nazi atrocities will pass
away. It is the obligation of the youth of today
to remember those who perished and to carry
on the message to future generations. In today's
world, when neo-Nazism and xenophobia are
continually on the rise, when the Western
powers have only recently awakened to the
ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and
when more than 25 percent of the American
public still fails to recognize the legitimacy of
the Holocaust, all of us have an obligation to
learn -and to pass on -the lessons of the
Holocaust. This can be done during the 15th
Annual Conference on the Holocaust spon-
sored by the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation
and theAnn Arbor Memorial Holocaust Foun-
dation.
For those who still question some of the
truths of the Holocaust, this is an ideal oppor-
tunity to learn more about it. The conference
begins on March 12 and runs through March
19. The conference is set up not only to teach
the lessons of the Holocaust but to teach these
lessons in a diverse way.
It is important to learn about the Holocaust
for a number of reasons. First, it teaches that
genocide can occur anywhere. In the 1930s,
German society and culture was at the fore-
front of the Western world in the fields of
science, art and economics. No one would
have ever believed that this tragedy could
have happened, especially as there were Jew-
ish German officers who fought in World
War I.
Yet, the German people in times of depres-
sion gave in to the powerfully persuasive
ways of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Holocaust
education is important because it teaches us
that even in the most socially integrated soci-
Hitler can still flourish.
Secondly, Holocaust education teaches us
about the facts of the Holocaust. Many today
deny that the Holocaust ever occurred. But to
deny this is to deny the eye-witness testimo-
nies of Holocaust survivors, the reports of the
International Red Cross, the countless pic-
tures and artifacts that still remain and the
precise records that the Nazis kept of those
who had been exterminated. It is important
for students and faculty to learn about the
Holocaust because only then will we have the
knowledge to refute the lies of Holocaust
revisionists.
Lastly, Holocaust education teaches us
that we have an obligation to watch out for
those who are in need. Where were the people
of Germany, Poland and other Nazi-con-
trolled countries when millions of Jews, Gyp-
sies, Catholics, trade unionists and others
were being "cleansed?" Why did the world
stand indifferent to the horrors of fascism?
It is easy to dismiss the horrors of yester-
day as the cruel result of a combination of
anti-Semitism and economic hardship that
could not possibly happen today. But two
American presidents, and countless Euro-
pean leaders, stood idly by for three years as
the sovereign nation of Bosniawas dismantled.
Moreover, German unemployment has
reached dangerous proportions -approach-
ing the pre-World War IIlevels that provided
the impetus for the scapegoating of Jews.
For the past 50 years since the Holocaust,
survivors, community leaders and people of
all races and religions repeat the words"Never
Again" when referring to the atrocities that
occurred under the Nazis. However these
words need to be updated: "Never again ...
means never ... for any person ... in any
Support Men's Gymnastics
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To the Daily:
On Saturday night,
March 12, the fifth-ranked
Michigan Men's
Gymnastics team will take
their home floor at Cliff
Keen Arena, for possibly
the last home meet ever.
We come into the
Michigan Invitational after
breaking an all-time school
record at Ohio State, and
clinching a qualifying spot
in the East Regional. The
Wolverines are picked to
make the NCAA Final Six
in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Regardless of the
success of our team this
year, the Athletic
Department and your
Board of Regents has
decided to kill our
program, now in its 50th
year.
The traditions that are
dying with this short-
sighted decision are
disturbance is a cancerous
and dangerous one that
takes away from the very
opportunities the
University is here to create.
'Gender equity is a well
needed policy to create
opportunity for women.
Dropping Men's
Gymnastics is simply an
accounting approach of
addition by subtraction to
the equity problem, making
the numbers look better
without benefiting any
student.
I urge you to support
Men's Gymnastics and all
non-revenue sports, by
voicing your opinion and
forcing policy that puts
Michigan back to the
position as "Leaders and
Best."
I am sorry to say that
right now we lag far
behind. Penn State,
Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota,
Gymnastics, an Olympic
sport that needs
Michigan's support. This
would all be possible if the
administration cared in
fulfilling our motto as
much as the students do.
At next year's Big Ten
Championship, the
Michigan Women's team
will be the only team
without a men's
counterpart, leaving them
the sole team unable to
participate in the co-ed
format.
I leave Michigan this
spring knowing what it
was like to be a part of a
successful team and a
championship tradition. My
younger teammates and
friends who have dedicated
their lives to take this
Olympic sport to a
collegiate level deserve
opportunity as well. I want
to ensure they have the
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