4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 4, 1994

ciie £tign Dai g

'If college students can live two to a dorm room,
then prisoners can live two to a cell.'
- Governor John Engler's rationale for double bunking Michigan's prisoners.

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.

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Reelect Mayor Sheldon
Consensus builder deserves another term

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A nice, cheery
uplifting pe
for dhe holidays
'Twas the night before elections
And all through the House
Not a creature was sleeping
Not one single louse.
It was easy to find them -
Just follow the sobs.
The representatives were worried
They'd have to find real jobs.
They went in the closet.
And dusted off the old pamphlet.-
It came out only at elections -
"The Issues," they called it.
They met up with voters,
And whipped out their checkbooks,
And paid to receive votes,
So they could stop crooks.
They looked over maps,
They counted constituents
Their memories lapsed
As they ingested barbiturates.

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I n 1993, the Daily supported both Ingrid
Sheldon for Mayor and David Stead for the
City Council. Now, as they oppose each other
for Ann Arbor's mayoral position, voters must
differentiate between their seemingly similar
platforms. Both call themselves political mod-
erates, both offer outstanding leadership skills
andregarding studentconcerns, both are mem-
bers of the city-University liaison committee
and favor strengthened relationships between
the city and the University. In light of their past
pledges, ensuing actions and experience in
their respective positions, however, INGRID
SHELDON offers more promise and should
be re-elected as Mayor of Ann Arbor.
Although Stead is not a poor candidate, he
does not equal Sheldon's merits. In 1993,
Stead's platform for City Council stressed his
unique environmental professionalism, and
the Daily supported him as "the perfect type of
specialized expert the city needed to help
solve complicated natural features issues."
While on City Council, Stead did demon-
strate leadership andconsensus-building skills.
His accomplishments include helping negoti-
ate an agreement with the City Pension Board
that saved Ann Arbor taxpayers money and
ensuring that many social services were not
cut from the proposed city budget. His pri-
mary shortcoming in these endeavors, how-
ever, is his inaccessibility to students. Another
concern is that Stead has not separated himself
from party politics, and this is imperative for
the mayor - as the last Democratic mayor,
Liz Brater, learned the hard way.
In contrast, in her 1993 campaign Sheldon
professed she would "stay above partisan poli-
tics" and create an independent, free thinking,
democratic environment that reversed the men-

tality that Brater had established. She said she
would address Ann Arbor issues such as con-
flicts with the University, lack of accessibility,
parking problems, downtown vitality, taxes,
protection of environment, public housing and
education funding.
Duringherterm, Sheldon did follow through
on many of her promises. Among her accom-
plishments, she solved the territorial dispute
with Ann Arbor Township, relocated Oakway
Drive to save oak trees by the V.A. Hospital,
appointed a human resources director to im-
prove accessibility for the community and at-
tempted to reopen communication with Uni-
versity students by meeting with MSA. Most
recently, she worked with the University to
establish the joint police force to find the Ann
Arbor rapist.
At the same time, Sheldon still has work to
do.
Although she did make small strides in
coalition formation, and has been involved in
the community (as a teacher, block coordinator
of Ann Arbor Ecology Center, officer of SOSO
Community Crisis Center, board member of
UM Theater Associates and more), she needs
to offerless symbolic gestures and more overtly
proactive actions and policies. Keeping the
Huron River safe for swimming, and ensuring
that social programs for Ann Arbor youths
remain in place are just two areas in which
Sheldon could begin.
In 1993, the Daily supported Sheldon as a
moderate Republican who would restore cred-
ibility to local government. Sheldon acted on
and still emphasizes community involvement,
open and fair government and unity with the
University. For these reasons she should con-
tinue as Mayor of Ann Arbor.

01

Racism is alive, just read 'The Bell Curve'

BY EUGENE BOWEN
Racism exists. But after
centuries of African American
struggle and success, you
would think that some racist
beliefs have been laid to rest.
Unfortunately, this isn't so.
The Bell Curve," authored
by Richard Herrnstein (now
deceased) and Charles Murray,
is one example of old-age rac-
ism infesting a new era.
Based solely on IQ tests -
whose creator concedes are
woefully inaccurate and unfair
determinants of intelligence-
"The Bell Curve" categorizes
the intelligence levels of entire
races of people. Entire races!
According to this book,
Asians sit upon the summit of
the mountain of intelligence,
and whites control the middle
ground. The swamps and mires
of academe, where if you are
lucky you might be able to
count to ten before your 50th
birthday, are reserved for
Blacks.
Big shock.
In short, "The Bell Curve"
says that, as Blacks, we are
genetically too dumb to suc-
ceed academically. We
shouldn't waste our time seek-
ing to achieve anything that
would require the use of more
Bowen is a member of the
Daily's Editorial Board.

than two brain cells. Of course,
the book's language is more
sugar-coated in keeping with
its facade of scientific truth.
"The Bell Curve" is a slap
in the face of all Blacks. It
trivializes the scientific, liter-
ary and artistic advancements
by Black professors, authors
and the like, while simulta-
neously instigating racist lies
which point to Blacks as intel-
lectually pathetic.
As I read this book, I was
quickly reminded of the words
of ex-Harvard law professor,
Derrick Bell, who viewed
whites as those "who would
prefer to keep the achievements
(of Blacks) and forget the
achievers."*
"TheeBell Curve" legiti-
mizes the racist sentiment that
continues to plague our coun-
try. By placing Blacks in the
bottomless pit of the intelli-
gence scale, Herrnstein and
Murray release whites from
responsibility fortheir own rac-
ist feelings, and those of their
ancestors, by saying that Blacks
can never achieve academic
greatness, even if given an equal
chance.
Sadly, yet not unexpected,
not one white politician who
was so quick to denounce
Farrakhan and Khalid
Muhammad as anti-Semites
and reverse-racists have yet to
publicly display their disgust

with this obviously racist book.
"The Bell Curve" is a scary
leap backward for Black/white
relations in this nation, the ef-
fects of which will surely be
felt for years to come. To think
that in 1994, a book so bigoted,
so devoid of fact, could be pre-
sented as a legitimate collec-
tion of results of legitimate re-
search discoveries is cause for
much concern.
But, I'll give Murray a
chance to redeem himself by
researching something of true
historical and sociological
merit. (Herrnstein has died and
must face an even harsher cri-
tique of his thoughts and his
work.)
Here are a few topics I've
selected especially for him.
1. Research the lives of
American slaves whose inven-
tions and scholarly teachings
have redefined American his-
tory.
2. Discuss the contributions
of ancient Egyptians to math-
ematics, philosophy and archi-
tecture. Investigate why
Greeks, whom we know today
stole many Egyptian ideas, con-
tinue to be credited with their
discovery.
3. Research the mindset of
prejudiced authors who, instead
of printing fact, present false
stereotypes in the hopes that
certain ethnic groups will con-
form to them.

OK, maybe they didn't
Ingest those barbiturates
But YOU find a word
That rhymes with constituents.

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Ah, the old men
No PACS would they shun,
And the old men got mad
At "the old men in Washington."
The challengers screamed,
Young, noble and proud.
Because they wanted that PAC money
And they wanted it NOW!

For the City Council
Student Andrew Wright highlights the ballot

Students finally have the opportunity this
year to elect one of their own to the City
Council. However, ANDREW WRIGHT, an
Independent running in the First Ward, is not
the best choice for city council because he is a
student, but because of his experience work-
ing on city issues andhis dedication to improv-
ing campus and city life.
For the past year, Wright has served as the
Michigan Student Assembly liaison to the city
government. Over the course of the year, he
has succeeded in convincing the city to install
four new street lights along a dark corridor of
Washtenaw Avenue near sorority houses and
student housing, and has led the effort to keep
the Rock in its current location. Wright's
dedication has vastly improved the channels
of communication between the city and the
student body; student voices have begun to be
heard in the halls of city government, and
Andrew Wright's efforts are largely respon-
sible for this.
Toby Hanna Davies, Wright's opponent,
has been a strong advocate on City Council
in the past for such issues as converting the
Ann Arbor Inn into affordable housing units,
but a new presence by Wright on the Council
would be of greater value to the student body
and University community than Davies' lim-
ited areas of focus. Because of Wright's work
over the past year, he is very knowledgeable
on a range of issues that the City deals with,
from bond questions to improving the police
department.

so there is no majority student district, a student
presence on City Council is difficult to attain.
But, this year, the First Ward has the opportu-
nity to not only elect a student to City Council,
but a qualified citizen of Ann Arbor. In addi-
tion, the election of Wright to City Council
would send a strong message to the city gov-
ernment that student concerns must be listened
to and acted upon. Students enormously con-
tribute to Ann Arbor and it is about time that its
concerns be represented.
In the Second Ward, Republican JANE
LUMM should be re-elected to City Council.
Lumm is a pro-choice social moderate who
supports gay rights and is a fiscal conserva-
tive who has diligently worked to maintain a
fiscally responsible city government.
Democrat JEAN CARLBERG is the best
choice for Councilperson in the Third Ward.
Carlberg has been a teacher in the Ann Arbor
school system for a long time and would be a
fresh new voice on Council in support of
quality education.
In the Fourth Ward, Democrat STEPHEN
HARTWELL should be elected over his op-
ponent representing the religious right. Hartwell
has diligently served on the Ann Arbor School
Board and is also committed to fiscal responsi-
bility and a sound educational system.
Finally, in the Fifth Ward, Republican
Peg Eisenstddttis the best can-
didate. Eisenstadt has stressed maintaining a
vibrant downtown business corridor and forc-
ing the city to operate within its financial

College Republicans miss the mark, again

The races heated up.
Senators were near tears.
They hadn't worked
This hard in years!
And down in Virginia
They wondered, "Who's sleazier?"
That jerk Ollie North
Or Chuck Robb - he's easier.
North had admitted
Before he had lied,
And he'd stole and he'd cheated.
Isn't he qualified?
But Robb still insisted
His platform was better
And said if he won
He'd throw a big kegger!
In Michigan, the voters,
They went to the polls
And wouldn't come out
(Because of the cold.)
For senator they had some choice:
Spence Abraham? Bob Carr?
Did they have to elect
A Senator this year?
Abraham was a party man
Carr's actions almost illegal
Remember the good old days
Of the great Donald Riegle?
And for governor the choice:
Wolpe, Engler - they're dorkin'.
One needs a beer,
The other needs Kevorkian.
In Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy
Had just a small edge
He hadn't run this hard
Since he drove off the bridge.
In California they spent
More cash than the Mob.
The winner would be
Prepared for the job.
Marion Barry ran in D.C.
Despite all the naysayers
Were the voters on crack?
Or was it just the mayor?
President Clinton
Told Democrats he'd campaign
They responded in kind,
"Bill, are you insane?"
So Clinton was dazed
But still, he stayed calm
He was the prez, after all -
He'd find a country to bomb.

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It seems that once again I
am in the position of asking the
Daily readers to examine for
honesty the claims made by
leadership of the UM College
Republicans. In his letter to the
Daily "Abraham accessible to
students" the President of the
College Republicans accuses
me of playing trick or treat
with the truth. I deny the charge,
and point out that once again
the College Republicans have
demonstrated their misguided
notion of honesty by distorting
and falsifying the nature and
intent of my earlier letter.
Fletcher claims that I criti-
cized Ms. Lamer for the shal-
lowness of Spence Abraham
showing up at tailgates." This
is patently false. I did indeed
charge that it was shallow to
claim that showing up at tail-
gate parties was making one's
self accessible to students, but
that seems to have been over-
looked, or distorted, by Mr.
Fletcher. I agree that Mr.
Wolpe's attempt at the MUG
was equally shallow, but then I
also pointed out that it was not
my intention to defend or sup-
port any candidate.

garding who does and does not
attend football games. I never
said that few students attend
the games (as he accuses) but
rather I said that there were
more non-students than stu-
dents at the game. He is free to
dispute this claim if he likes,
but I wish he would be honest
about what my argument was
asserting. (By the way, since
we have never met, I wonder
how Fletcher knows whether I
was or was not present when
Abraham came to press flesh
with Michigan fans.) Fletcher
also distorts what I had to say
about junkets. I never charac-
terized them as evil, I merely
stated that the Republicans were
responsible for obstructing leg-
islation that would ban them.
Fletcher's most blatant dis-
tortion comes in the form of his
claim that I suggested that Re-
publicans are interested in
breaking down social institu-
tions. I suggested no such thing.
I merely quoted Ms. Larnerwho
wrote "I look forward to the
breakdown of these social in-
stitutions, and the lowering
of taxes." So you see Mr.
Fletcher, it is not my dream, but

get on the same page as to what
you do and don't advocate.
Finally let me repeat, for
the benefit of the College Re-
publicans, IT IS NOT MY IN-
TENT TO DEFEND BOB
CARR, HOWARD WOLPE,
OR ANY OTHER CANDI-
DATE! I merely seek the truth,
and ask that claims made by
the likes of Fletcher and Larner,
or any other political advocate,
be supported by reasoned ar-
gument, not invective, distor-
tion, or innuendo.
It is vital that we, as col-
lege students, learn to cut
through the verbal cabbage and
make informed decisions at the
voting booth. I am concerned
that the politicians from both
parties cloud the issues with
negative, inflammatory rheto-
ric and spend so little time us-
ing reason and/or ideology to
convince the voters. The lack
of honesty in campaign poli-
tics is my concern, and Fletcher
has once again demonstrated
the willingness of some politi-
cal organizations to distort and
blatantly falsify the work of
others in order to further their
cause.

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The old men they bragged
About the crime bill they passed.
It only took half a decade -
Isn't that pretty fast?

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