4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 27, 1994 c be £idiwn Ouilg 'Republicans have their eyes on taking over Con- gress, and gridlock is a weapon.' - Michigan Democratic Sentor Carl Levin, speaking Sunday to the College Democrats 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Jessie Halladay Editor in Chief Samuel Goodstein Flint Wainess 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. Christmas at the Union Students must demand fairness, participation 'tIi COULD i~HAVE -THE !19% FEFPUBLJGAN NOMIN4ATION -TP00.V § NLY HADT ~ OtiY A Q YRAIA BJAJN! SOL A 'r PAgROF TiHE .4 ~~fC (OSQUAYT -IE <4tfIcAt 741L .Upon a Christmas season during his Presi- y, Ronald Reagan once said that he'd like to see a large Menorah standing beside the Christmas tree in Lafayatte Park to celebrate the Passover season. It wasn't that big a deal - an honest mistake in which the President confused Passover with Hanukah. Nonethe- less, it highlighted an important problem that all Americans deal with as they attempt to enjoy the season's festivities. How can we celebrate the holiday season in a society as multicultural as ours? Here at the University, the Michigan Union is attempting to deal with that same question. Last year, a wreath on the front of the Union and bare displays of Hanukah and Kwaanza on North Campus sparked controversy among the student body. And this year, in an effort to rectify the controversy, the Union is allowing students to express their opinions in open public minutes. This attempt alone does not suffice, and this holiday season could very well see a repeat of last year's controversy as a result. Christmas is the main reason why the month of December is so festive. Most of the people in this country are Christian, and the celebra- tion of the birth of Christ is central in the minds of most Americans. Thus it is easy to take for granted those who, for religious and cultural reasons, choose not to participate. The cel- ebration of Christmas is also deeply embed- ded in our culture so that it touches most Americans in one way or another. Who hasn't walked along the main street of Downtown, U.S.A. on a December night and not seen the whole street lit up? The problem is that there is a large and growing number of Americans who don't celebrate the holiday and would prefer not to see outward displays of it taking the center stage in public places. Maybe it goes against their religion, perhaps their culture, or even their personal belief system. Sensitivity toward all Americans must be exercised in the decoration of public places during the holiday season. Most particularly, in the case of the University, the Union must be decorated in a way so that no one is of- fended by others' enjoyment and celebration. That's a tall order. One solution that has often been employed in the past is that which President Reagan suggested: simply put a Menorah in the corner. This only serves to ignore a host of people of other faiths. A better solution would be to designate space in public places for all those groups who wish to display decorations for any religious or cultural cel- ebration they choose. The Union, in handling the situation, comes close, but not close enough to this ideal. When reached for comment, Audrey Schwimmer, the director of the Union, said the Union would "be very interested in speaking with those individuals" who would like to put up decorations for a holiday other than Christ- mas. That seams fair, but it tends to take advantage of the fact that at this time of year Christmas is not prominent in most peoples thoughts. Meetings concerning this topic have been getting poor attendance, and why not? The best solution for the Union to follow would involve student participation. First, public display windows should be set up in- side the Union to showcase symbols of holi- day festivities throughout the entire year. Sec- ond, students and student organizations should be the only individuals to submit decorations to be placed in these displays. Finally, no holiday should have any prominence over another - consequently, there should be no decoration on the front of the Michigan Union. In this way, students and the University can have a chance to showcase all holidays, throughout the year. Unless the Union listens to students and considers this proposal, don't be surprised to see a wreath hung outside the building again this year. When it comes to recognizing everyone's' beliefs, the Union again seems to fall short. MSA VP responds to AATU editorials To the Daily: Over the past few weeks, the Daily editorial staff has written on the battle between the Ann Arbor Tenants Union (AATU) and the Michigan Stu- dent Assembly (MSA). These editorials have not considered all sides to the issue. First, why does the AATU have such a special funding situ- ation with MSA? No other student group on campus has this special right of a line item in the MSA budget with "no strings attached." AATU's claims to such a special budget line item are no better than those of Project Serve, Volunteer In- come Tax Assistants Group (which helps over 1,000 people with their income taxes) and the Woman's Lacrosse Team, or any other student organiza- tion for that matter. All of the above groups as well as the other 650 student groups which register with MSA are vital to this campus. They bring diver- sity and a wealth of resources to the University of Michigan. My point is that many other student groups on this campus provide students with services in addi- tion to the AATU. By specially funding the AATU, the Assem- bly is saying to all of these other student groups that the AATU is better and more valuable than your student group, a claim that is totally untrue. Additionally, this year, MSA does not have a large surplus as in previous years. Last year, with a $35,000 sur- plus, it was easy to fund an outside organization over $20,000. This year, with only a $9,000 surplus, it is not fiscally possible to fund the AATU. The only way the Assembly could fund the AATU would be to cut our other funding to student organizations orcutour direct student services. If ei- ther of these scenarios were to occur, then every other student group that comes to MSA for funding beside the AATU would suffer; this is clearly an unfair solution. Also, our ser- vices to student should not be forced to be reduced because they are too important to cut. Some of these services include administering a student health insurance plan and aiding our 3,600 subscribers with their problems, helping student or- ganizations receive funding and register with the Univer- sity, and providing a very inex- pensive fax service to the stu- dents. I, like other members on the Assembly, am more than willing to help the AATU write a referendum for the Novem- ber ballot. I think it would be a good way to see if students really valuetthe services of the AATU. However, until such a vote, we must allow ourelected student representatives to leg- islate in the best long term in- terests of the student body; this interest includes ending the AATU's special budgetary sta- tus with the Michigan Student Assembly. Jacob Stern MSA Vice President College World "So," my father said. "Why do you want to go to college?" Not where, not when, but why. It is a question that doesn't get asked much anymore. In the beginning, college was the privilege (or the curse) of young men who wanted to become priests. Until very recently, colleges were still bastions of white, upper class men; the percentage of people over 50 with a college degree, in fact, is less than 15%. When my father asked me why I wanted to go to college, the first thing that came to mind was "Be- cause that's what you're supposed to do if you're smart." Other common thoughts would probably be "To make more money" or (if the survey ofnew students iscorrect)"Toparty." After my first year at college, how- ever, I decided that there is only one good reason to go to college: to learn. This is what was thought in the past, when college students studied Latin, Greek and the classical phi- losophers - despite their protests that it wasn't relevant to anything in the "real world" (and they weren't talking about the show on MTV). Now there's a phrase familiar to many college students - the "real world." If looms out there beyond the campus, sneaking into conversa- tions about "graduation" and other such tortures. Students in nursing or engineering can rest easy, knowing that their degrees will lead directly to jobs, but what does a degree in psychology or history prepare you to do? At least in my somewhat cynical view of the "Real World," college does not prepare you for life in the mainstream of American culture: it unprepares you. As I discussed last week, high school teaches you to obey rules, accept what you are taught, and fear people different from yourself. This prepares you to enter the business world and obey rules, accept what you are taught, and fear people different from yourself. If you're lucky enough to attend a uni- versity, thecollege experience comes in and throws a monkey wrench into the works of that training. There are rules in college, but they do not compare to the hall pass, the bells and the don't-chew-gum- because-we-know-you'll-stick-it- under-the-desk. (Or, for that matter, to the time clock or the corporate suit.) You can eat in a college class and no one will blink, and the clothes you wear are your choice. A good liberal arts education does not teach you to accept what you learn; it teaches you to question ev- erything. The inscription on the Gothic walls of my college library at the University of Chicago reads, "Read not to accept, nor to contra- dict, but to weigh and consider." The study of history lays bare cherished myths about our saintly forefathers, who weren't so saintly after all. Phi- losophy leads us to question the meaning of life and death. The social sciences make us realize that the customs, fashion, and morals we were taught are products of our soci- ety, not present in all cultures and not necessarily built on logic. For many people, college is often the first time they live, study, and get to know people who are different from themselves. Although the groups don't always work together as they should, college still exposes the kid from the lily-white suburbs to gay people, people of color, and women who aren't afraid to call themselves feminists. In the Stanford documentary "Frosh," the first-year students in a dorm meet an African- American woman whose mother is addicted to crack; they argue over a campus newspaper picture depict- ing two men kissing and deal with having a gay dormmate; the guys bend gender roles to put skin masks on their faces. "If only my father could see me now," one of them S c 0 c IM DoctorAssisted Suicide Recent survey begs for repeal of state law D efying logic and more than half of the state's doctors, the Michigan Legislature clings to a law banning all forms of assisted suicide. The law dates back to February 1993, but its logic is rooted in an anachronistic mindset that was dealt another blow last week when a University study showed that more than half of the state's doctors oppose the ban. The timing of the study is no accident, as the current blanket ban on assisted suicide will expire in December. Michigan lawmakers would be wise to consider the survey's find- ings, none of which should be too shocking. Two-thirds of the public and more than half of doctors want the Legislature to lift the suicide ban, according to the study. In place of the current ban, the authors of the study proposed legalizing physician-as- sisted suicide for terminally ill patients who suffer from extreme pain. The plan is a wel- come alternative to the all-encompassing ban, which forces patients to endure unbearable and unnecessary pain in the name of a slippery moral standard. That most doctors oppose the current ban on assisted suicide is strong testament to the need for a new law. Doctors pledge under the Hippocratic Oath to act in the best interests of their patients - a purpose that is clearly violated when terminally ill patients suffer without hope of recovering. While one retired pathologist - Jack Kevorkian - has stolen physician-assisted suicide, many other Michi- gan physicians are working behind the scenes to discard the ban. Their voices deserve to be heard. But will they? According to the authors of the study, state legislators will consider the survey when deciding whether to change the assisted-suicide law. Lawmakers currently are split almost evenly on whether to leave the ban intact. The study may tip the balance. In addition to outlining the public's disdain for the current ban, it suggests an alternative, dubbed Plan A. Under Plan A, physicians could aid in the patient's suicide if the patient was in unaccept- able pain. The study's authors wisely incorpo- rated several safeguards into the plan: second opinions, exploration of management alterna- tives, and two witnessed requests for assisted suicide, separated by a one-week waiting pe- riod. Physicians surveyed found Plan A more palatable than the current ban or a no law on assisted suicide. Forty-one percent of doctors favored Plan A, compared to 37 percent for no law and 17 percent for the status quo. The survey, conducted by the University's for Social Research, has a 5 percent margin of error. The survey should be a clarion call for a repeal of the current ban on assisted suicide. The doctors have spoken, the general public Sportswriter is not true Michigan fan To the Daily: This letter is in regard to Chad Safran's article "Defen- sive Collapse Leads to Wolver- ine Demise" in the Sept. 26 Daily. Chad, did you grow up in South Bend? Does Joe Paterno write your tuition checks? Did Bo Schembechler steal your blanky when you were a baby? Whatever your problem is, for whatever rea- son, maize and blue definitely does not run in your veins. Af- ter reading your article, I am convinced you have lost your love for the University of Michi- gan (if you ever had any). I am also convinced you might seri- ously want to think about trans- ferring to Colorado to cheer for the Buffaloes. I don't want to be Kordell Steward, and I definitely don't want to be Michael Westbrook. I am proud of who I am and where I go to school. I am a Wolverine fan, and no matter what the scoreboard reads Sat- urday, I do not change my alle- giance on Sunday. I played high school football; I know what it means to give your all to wine and come up short. Obviously you have absolutely no under- standing of what it means ei- ther to be a true player or a true fan. Yes, you begrudgingly wrote a blurb about how Michi- gan blanked Colorado for thirty minutes, shrugging off this amazing accomplishment in a few lines. The rest of the article however is as dismal as your subtitle, and I am really getting tired of reading it. Jarrett Irons had sixteen tackles, eleven solo. Our entire team, defense in- cluded, played their hearts out for themselves, their school, and the probably 110,000 people crammed into Michigan Sta- dium Saturday. Do you really think anyone wants to read an article from a fairweather fan? You act as if they stopped try- ing. You go even further to condemn our coaches for their tactics. You directly blame our defense for not playing a whole game. While I am sure when it comes to the last play, every defender may blame himself and give anything to be back on that field for a few precious seconds, for me it is over. Win- ning, God forbid, is not every- thing. I was devastated when the ball floated into Westbrook's arms, but at that moment I did not change from a Wolverine to a Buffalo. Many different things could be blamed for our loss, and in your article you seem to cover them all. I understand that you are just a sportswriter, and you must report the facts, but there are ways to report a Wolverine loss (even one such as this) in at least a somewhat positive man- ner. Whether we win or lose is not the entire point. Your pride and love for you school, if you choose to express it, should overcome any scoreboard. Ob- viously you have chosen to ex- press yourself as a sportswriter, and this is fine. However if you even have a minute understand- ing of what it really means to be a fan, it rarely shows in your writing. Maybe I am "insane" for still wanting to be a Wol- verine, but at least I have a little heart. Tony Lake Engineering Junior Computer Racism To the Daily: I would like to notify the University community of something I found somewhat disturbing. During the evening of September 25, while log- ging onto a Macintosh in the Dow Mezzanine at North Cam- pus, I was treated to a back- ground screen of mini swasti- kas in red, white and black. Although not the first time see- ing this symbol of hatred, I still found myself trying to figure out what kind of person has the motivation to do such a thing. Although I do not believe the entire University community is filled with hatred, it does seem to contain unmistakable signs of intolerance. WhatI am hoping for is to have the person responsible for the swastikas to consider why he/she feels compelled to act in this way, and to perhaps realize that do- ing so is unacceptable to me and hopefully many others. Robert Chen UMAASC Programming Director I 0 6 I IU II