4 4- The Michigan Daily -- Friday, October 21, 1994 . Iwil £LI43U u t 1r.Aow t wr rr A A i w II I fl 0:11 ~lIIW~: II 0 K-SEWIMMUM, %ftp %w a &--Savonam I 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. s t Journalism concentration Dean should adopt professors' recommendations 'Governor, what you have done is put a $1 billion time bomb under the children of this state.' - Gubernatorial candidate Howard Wolpe at the debate Wednesday night, referring to the economic shortfall for education some economists are predicting for Michigan 3'3~~ 1H15 15 MICHAEL~ ZACKo0v...-~ \.A E Lb IF-r YOU NW" r ' IIIAN A'PY 1-0 1AkE CAREZ 0 ' -Q . .- .... - --- - -.- MR W . Covering the presidential election of 1872, the New York Times "reported" that if any one man could send a great nation to the dogs, that man is [Democratic candidate] Mr. Greeley." Obviously, times have changed.- Journalism has gone from being the domain of the partisan to a house built on objectivity and .bservation. Predictably, with these new goals scame new responsibilities, and new questions for potential journalists. What are appropriate means for story seeking? Should sources be paid? Should the names of crime victims be printed? And the list goes on. The University never quite knew how to go about training students to answer these ques- tions. For a while, an undergraduate journal- ism program existed, but it was to be merged into the Department ofCommunication. How- ever, consolidation was bound to fail. In big cities, such as New York or Chicago, churning - out journalism "generalists" may be accept- able. There, real experience can always be found in the diverse opportunities available in aprofessional mass media outlets. In Ann Ar- bor, those same internships and opportunities =just aren't available. The result: journalism classes have floundered, and there may be some that would like to see them die a slow death. Most University classes that focus on jour- nalism are taught by lecturers. Professors, and tenure-track faculty are conspicuously missing from the fold. Not surprisingly, this lack of consistency has allowedjournalismto, in many ways, disappear as an avenue for students to seek at the University level. A host of University professors have recog- nized this, and are proposing a new structure to assure journalism's autonomy. Knowing that the mission of ajournalism program is qualita- tively different than that of the Communica- tions dept., these faculty members have recom- mended -- in a lengthy report -- that LSA Dean Edie N. Goldenberg create a journalism concentration at the University. Under this proposal, majoring in journal- ism would not be an easy task. Students would be required to take on dual concentrations, ensuring that journalism students would be at the forefront of their field. Today's journalist are specialists. To work for the New York Times or the Washington Post is probably to have at least a master's degree. Papers are looking not only for writing skills, but a particular area of expertise -not to mention the ability to analyze and synthe- size. The latest proposal to Dean Goldenberg would dojust that. Its recommendations should be adopted. Unfounded prejudices often lurk in our minds BY EPHRAIM GERSTEIN "Always ask why" - Anne Frank "Never Lump people together" - Otto Frank (Anne's Father) Much of the learning I do at this school happens outside the classroom. This happened again last Tuesday when Miep Gies spoke about her experi- ences helping Anne Frank and her family hide out in Amsterdam during the Holo- caust. For me, this was an in- credible experience because the Holocaust is such a major part of my heritage. In a very real sense, I view Anne Frank as family, and to see such a courageous act committed on her behalf makes makes me very grateful. Even more important, though, the speech taught me a lesson about toler- ance of other people. I came to Ann Arbor from a homogenous community. Great Neck, N.Y. is mostly Jewish, and most of the people I grew up with and dealt with were Jews. I never considered myself prejudiced against any- one, but I have to admit that I did have unfounded notions Gerstein is a member of the Daily's Editorial Board. about a lot of people. Coming to the University was a bit of a shock for me because although I grew up in the New York area, this was the first time I lived and worked with people who were not Jewish. Before this, I never really had black friends, now I have many. I also have Asian friends, friends who are gay and friends who are WASP's. The differences be- tween me and all ofthese people didn't keep us from becoming friends, but I did harbor ideas that all black people liked rap and were good dancers, that most Asians were very hardworking, that many Jews were upper middle class and wanted to be lawyers. I never really thought about it until now, but the prejudices were there. The lecture made me very aware of that fact. Austrian born, Miep Gies remarked that she was very eager to become a Dutch citizen so she wouldn't have to be a part of the people who committed the atrocities ofthe Holocaust. She told about how every time she'd come into contact with Germans af- ter the war, she'd give them a hard time. It never occurred to me before, but I'm exactly the same way sometimes.I wouldn't say I'm prejudiced toward Germans individually, but Germany does make me feel uncomfortable as a whole. Miep learned, however, that in truth many Germans were vic- timized under Nazi rule, and like herself there were others who helped Jews, even in the midst of the evil. Her experi- ence taught me a lesson about myself; I dojudge people with- out getting all the facts, espe- cially here where I meet differ- ent types of people every day. The University is a diverse place, and this can sometimes be uncomfortable. I know I'm not the only person on this campus to have unfounded ideas about people, but this lec- ture taught me an important lesson in dealing with that. It is racist to lump people of one group together. It's not initially dangerous, but that type of thinking can lead to problems with people. That night I was reminded of the value of view- ing people on an individual basis. I'm not saying I have the solution to the ethnic problems on this campus, they're too complicated, but I'll keep this idea in mind as I deal with people of different back- grounds. It's not so much a matter of ethnic relations that's coming into play here for me, it's hu- man relations. Advice for Generation X. Be like Mike4 I don't mean to pull rank here, but Iam a memberof a pretty exclu- sive group. It's called Generation X, or, as they say in Rome, "Gen- eration 10." I like being in this group. Forone thing,Idon'thaveto pay dues. Also, I don't have to attend any meetings. Another nice thing is that since this exclusive club admits every- body in my age group, I run a very small chance of getting kicked out of Generation X. First Generation X security of- ficer: "This guy murdered 17 inno- cent children." Second Generation X security officer: "How old is he?" First Generation X security of- ficer: "He's 20." Second Generation X security officer: "Aw, let's keep him." So, basically, I have complete freedom to do whatever I want and still be a member of Generation X. Of course, membership has its privileges, butitalsohas down sides. One problem is that I am only able to express myself in TV commer- cial-speak, so I'm constantly utter- ing stupidcatch-phrases like "mem- bership has its privileges." While there are no actual re- quirements, there are some activi- ties members do to feel like a part of the group. Personally, I feel obli- gated to wear a flannel shirt at least once a week, even in the summer. When I'm feeling really dedi- cated, I also wear a dirty white baseball cap backwards. There's no real reason forthese clothes tobe the choice of a new generation, but they are. So don't argue about wear- ing them. Just do it. Of course, even when I'm wear- ing my Generation X outfit, life isn't perfect. We are living in The Age ofthe Jewish Mother-every- thing you do makes you feel guilty. Eat a chocolate bar? You racist Give money to a beggar? You're supporting a drug habit! Ignore a beggar? You elitist oppressor! Call someone a beggar? You politically incorrect slime! Write a humor col- umn? You're wasting paper! ', .,. 01 01 Economic boom? The middle class should not be neglected SYh e World Economic Forum, the acknowl- Hedgedauthority on international economic rankings, placed the United States on top of its annual economic survey last month. After eight years of Japanese domination, the U.S. economy was declared to be the world's most competitive for 1993. Business journals in this country acknowledged the news as the result ofaleaner, more technological economy. These "findings do hint at continued wholesome eco- nomic growth in the future. But mixed feel- ings prevail: has the corporate downsizing that helped shoot company profit margins back into the black taken in its toll on the American worker? While there is a labor shortage in some areas of the country, such as the Midwest, permanent employment still eludes thousands of workers. Lay-offs resulting from corporate downsizing are still displacing workers, while the flurry of new jobs have notbeen able to replace the quality of those lost. A good pro- portion of these new jobs are temporary or part-time, meaning such benefits as health- insurance and pensions are not available. An- other moderate proportion of these jobs are low paying service jobs. Hailing the 5.9 percent unemployment rate, one forgets that many are only temporarily employed or underemployed. American pro- ductivity is rising beyond that of all other countries. However, as shown by the General Motors strike over the past two weeks, work- ers now find themselves nearly burnt out. Companies are not rehiring but simply giving the extra work to fewer employees. 50 and 60 hour weeks and Saturday shifts are not un- heard of as many assembly lines struggle to meet demand. Yet, one of the most disturbing economic indicators is that median family income has fallen for the past five years, and real wages continue to decline for the average American laborer. Today's positive indicators do not neces- sarily olen well1for the fnitiire_ t is nhvinne that social distress will result from two-parent working families who find little or no time to keep things in order at home because they can't afford, or find, adequate child care. So- ciety has already come to grip with the strains of single-parent homes, but soon, the same might apply to two-parent homes. Also, the trend in temporary employment means that a greater proportion of people will be uninsured for health care and will have little or no pen- sions to fall back upon atretirement. The strain on public services trying to fill the void left by diminishing corporate benefits could be disas- trous. It is still early. Economists say a time lag should be expected between economic up- swing and when the general populace feels it. If demand stays robust as expected, compa- nies will be forced to rehire permanent posi- tions and wages will eventually start reflecting the rising profits. Still, indications are clear that things can be done to help. Health care reform must be used to lower the health costs that discourage employers from hiringperma- nent positions. Means testing of Social Secu- rity andMedicare would free up huge amounts of money to help form a parachute for those displaced to get back on their feet. Education must be reformed so that more people have the skills necessary to access high-tech jobs that are being created in the booming computer and technology industries. The price of inac- tion will be the further decline of America's greatest asset: the strength of the middle class. During the time that Japan enjoyed its status as the world's most competitive economy, numerous polls showed that the Japanese work force felt itself overworked and was rife with high stress and general dissatisfaction. It is hoped we can learn from that example and perhaps reprioritize our ob- jectives. If this current economic boom is the real thing, let's not squander the chance to ensure that all segments of society can enjoy the nrnfite I An unjust criticism of Christie's campaign is bi-partisan To the Daily: I am surprised that you would run a heading called "Christie dishonest with vot- ers" over a letter which is clearly one man's opinion and far from factually correct. Yes, Mike Christie, Jr. is running for County Commissioner and yes, Mike is a Republican. That is where the factual content of Mr. Pokrywa's letter ends. Mike's campaign includes both Republicans and Demo- crats who are serving as mem- bers of the campaign staff and as members of the student group Citizens for Mike Christie Jr. Mike and those who support him can by no means be characterized as "radical right wing". Mike has a proven record of working for the students, most notably with his hard work on the issue of textbook costs. In the June 15, 1994 edition of the Daily, Mike is named as one of the students selected to work on a committee to study textbook prices. This commit- tee, as reported by the Daily, was created by "state Rep. Kirk Profit (D-Ypsilanti), chair of the House Higher Education Committee." NotonlydidMike serve as a member of this bi- partisan committee, but he also proposed solutions that would resolve the current frustrations of students, professors and lo- cal businesses, with an ultimate goal of saving money for the students through lower text- book prices and higher buy- back rates. Mike is truly running a bi- partisan campaign, and he is running to serve the best inter- ests of the students. Mr. Pokrywa is merely running his mouth. Pamela M. Nash LSA Senior, Treasurer Citizens for Mike Christie the Pope To the Daily: Jason Lichtstein is unjust in his criticism of Pope John Paul II and his actions. Recently in the a Daily editorial, the Daily editorial board supported the giving of the Nobel Peace Prize to Yassir Arafat, leader of the P.L.O. and aman whohas com- mitted huge atrocities against the Jews. Now amember ofthe Daily staffcriticizes Pope John Paul Iand the Catholic Church for bestowing papal kinighthood upon Dr. Kurt Waldheim.'No one is denying that Waldheim may have com- mitted great atrocities against the Jews. This honor was not granted because of those deeds. Rather, the Catholic Church is allowing for the fact that people can change, repent and be forgiven of any sin because of Jesus' death and resurrec- tion. This is the central mes- sage of the Gospel. Jesus' dis- ciples included tax collectors for the Romans, prostitutes and sinners of every kind. Surely there is room for a reformed German officer. Why is it that Yassir Arafat can be praised, while when .the Catholic Another minor problem is that my colleagues and I are saddled with a $4 trillion debt, which is not only difficult to pay off, it's tough to spell. I try not to question it much. I mean, why ask why? But it's things like the national debt which have TV reporters around the country asking us dumb ques- tions about "how we feel." TV reporter: "You have a $4 trillion debt, an environment in shambles, an overpopulation prob- lem, a gang problem, a poverty problem and no culture, and none of it is your fault. How do you feel?" 0 Actually, it just feels right. I don't feel so bad about this stuff, because I am a career mistake- maker, and none of this is my fault. I may oversleep for class half the time, and I may fall asleep in class the other half of the time, but no- body can blame me for a $4 trillion national debt. It's like moving into anew apart- ment and seeing beer all over the floor. On the one hand, there's beer all over the floor, but on the other hand, you can't possibly have spilled it. So it's not so bad. Keep that in mind if you rent my apartment next year. That really should be the motto of Generation X: None of this is my fault 1 F7 Make profs hire their own TAs success in the potential fruit- fulness of capitalism. If you actually considered it for more than afew seconds, then I'd probably see flying hogs the next day. I