4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 15, 1995 U~lbe #Mic bi!3Uu tadg DAVID WARTOWSKI STANDING ON THE 8 4 0 Tales of adventurefrom 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan -- MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in Chief JULIE BECKER JAMES NASH Editorial Page Editors __.... the 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. Stealing the spotlight FLandefeld's words on racism harm his goals ast week, Pharmacology assistant Prof. omas Landefeld asked the state House appropriations subcommittee on higher edu- cation to tie state funding for the University to a study on racism. This action was clearly inappropriate. Itis true that racism exists at the University. Within a community of more than 60,000, a certain amountofprejudice is inevitable. How- ever, by every indication, the University itself 'does not sanction official racism. In fact, the University has made many worthy efforts to recruit and retain minorities and to foster a hospitable climate for minority groups. The idea that at the same time it is undertaking a massive effort to subjugate minorities, as Landefeld asserts, makes little sense. Despite the fact that Landefeld's vision of the University is, at best, incomplete, he may have some valid points. However, these griev- ances should be addressed within the Univer- sity, not taken to Lansing. Instead of heading to the state House, Landefeld should have pushed his specific concerns harder to the regents or the administration. Since the Uni- versity is, already dealing with issues of race and has been for some time, it is not unrea- sonable to believe that it would at least have given Landefeld a fair hearing - and it probably would have been more responsive than state officials were. However, addressing these grievances in Ann Arbor would not have garnered the media attention that taking them to Lansing did. Appearing before a House subcommittee was a chance to grandstand - a chance for Mountli Student loans must be Although the Republican congressional attack on social programs has been re- lentless, no legislation has threatened to harm university students as much as the bill sched- uled for a House Appropriations Committee vote next week. Funding that subsidizes stu- dent loans by offering interest exemptions for students in higher education is in danger as the recent proposal threatens to eliminate the subsidy program. These recent attempts to cut education spending are both misguided and alarming. By terminating a program that pays the interest for student loans, this new bill threat- ens to cost some University students up to $4,000 annually. This bill would directly af- fect about 8,000 students at the University alone. Students across the country would face similar problems. Presently, many stu- dents leave college and graduate school with tremendous debts and this act would only add to their burdens. As educational debts reach astronomical proportions, many youths will be discouraged from furthering their educa- tions. Not only do today's young people need to attend college to succeed in the present eco- nomic climate, but graduate school is becom- ing increasingly important. This can amount to tip to a decade of schooling. Under current procedures, students are exempt from paying interest on their loans as long as they remain in school - they are only responsible for that which accrues after they graduate. But if this proposal passes and subsidies are cut, com- pound interest could cost as much as $35,000 Landefeld to criticize the University while giving himself good publicity. This is not inconsistent with Landefeld's history at the University. Last May, he threw himself into the midst of a procedural debate with the provost over a racial issue - and this was not the first such incident. He seems to be fight- ing a one-man war against the administra- tion. Faculty activism can be beneficial. But Landefeld's actions border on destructive. Disturbing as Landefeld's grandstanding is, perhaps most troubling is the fact that he asked for a cut in funding for the University if his request for a study was not heeded. This action was illogical at best, deliberately harm- ful at worst. Why would a faculty member want a cut in funding for his institution? There are far more effective ways to combat racism than to undermine the entire University. In fact, if state funding were to be cut, as Landefeld has proposed, minorities would be the biggest losers. With less money, the first programs to go would be student ser- vices and funding for student organizations. This would mean that services designed for minorities, as well as minority student groups, would feel the blade of the ax - in other words, the University would be forced to cut its programs designed to combat racism, all in the name of "fighting racism." Landefeld was out of line in his statements in Lansing last week. His representation of the University was incorrect, and his remedy for the University's racial problems was wrongheaded. Next time, Dr. Landefeld, please stay home. ng debt spared from budget ax in accrued interest to a student enrolled in a doctoral program. That is $35,000 in interest alone, in addition to a much larger initial cost. By making it more difficult for middle- and lower-class youth to attend college and gradu- ate school, this bill threatens to tilt an already slanted playing field. For much of America's lower and middle class struggling to obtain the disappearing American dream, this legislation will jeopardize their decreasing chances. Of- ten referred to as "the great equalizer," educa- tion is an integral part of providing equal opportunity in a free-market system. Children from low-income families are already at a significant disadvantage in educational oppor- tunities, but subsidized loans are one way of overcoming the disadvantage. By eliminating the subsidies that help make it possible for some students to attend institutions of higher education, the government will be cutting off the equalizer. In general, cutting funding for education is a large step in the wrong direction. Thin- skinned lawmakers do not hesitate to sacrifice programs for college-age Americans, while they are loath to even discuss cutting programs for older Americans. Why? Because while over 20 percent of those who voted in 1992 were age 60 or over, college-age students were the most under-represented among eli- gible voters at the polls. The logic is clear: Politicians know which side their bread is buttered on. College stu- dents must awaken from their slumber of po- litical passivity before programs like subsi- dized student loans fall under the budget ax. f you enter through the door in the lobby of the Graduate Library, and scamper down the steps to Basement A, you may be able to find a book by Gandhi in the economics section. It is a good read. Up on the second floor, somewhere in the 820s, used to be another book, bound in old leather, called Varsity Stories. It was written by a bunch of students here back in 1900. The last person to check it out did so last year. That was me. The last person before that checked it out in 1987. Not well-read, but this book's a gem. I don't know how I ran across it, but Varsity Stories is one of the most interesting bits I've gotten my hands on in those stacks; the book gave me a feeling I had found a lost treasure, a piece of history. Who knows what's still out there? The stacks are a jungle. With my bag and my coat, I always sweat as I race between the towering shelves, avoiding other adventurers who navigate the vast untamed territories of the Grad. Way in the HG's of the basement, I'll find some- one searching for a book. Is there any- where people don't go? Grad library But more often, there is nobody. Some- times, as I seek my book in the stacks, I find parts of the Grad where I bet no one has ever been; surely some books have never been touched since the first time they were places on their shelves. This is amazing. To me, it spells out only one thing: A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E. This is adventure of the Indiana Jones genre. When I hunt for book in there, I feel like I'm tracking down archaic tablets. Or something like an idol. When I'm in the stacks, I feel like I'm taking stuff that has been sitting for years, untouched. I am the perpetrator. I am the adventurer. I find a book. I have succeeded. Call me Indy. The stacks offer much more excite- ment than the chance to search for histori- cal documents as you role-play your fa- vorite screen character. The library's stacks are an adventure in every sense of the word. People have sex in there, they sleep in there, they pick their noses. They study. I saw a prof. scratch his ass there once. People always think they're alone. But they're not, because of people like you and me looking for adventure. stacks The stacks are a place where you can be alone, but there's always the chance some- one will come along. It's like having a quickie in the elevator. For some reason, it exhilarates the experience, if that's your thing. It's not mine, so I look for books. I invite you to give it a try yourself - even if you didn't like Raiders of the Lost Ark -look for some old books, do people- watching, or if you'd rather be adventur- ous in another way, have sex or simply pick your nose, but do it in the stacks. Do it where there's the slight possibil- ity that someone may see you. Or be the one who is seeing the other. In either case, be adventurous. Be your dream. Be Indy. Be some other favorite character, but hell, I'm telling you: Do it in the stacks. With the temperature this warm, what are you going to do anyway? Study? Many more gems are waiting to be discovered: Lost treasure lurk among the books. A book from 1872? They allow that to be kept here? This should be in a museum! But it's not. It's right here on campus in the library, accessible to us all. Amazing. 9 4 01 1 JNIM LASSER 17 S,tA'Y S Tfi N.Ft E FOcUGHT Or-AL i.. .. , . oiG ti1 A AC^o T 7t , : u , 1 , " O X' f K 6] f" fttT jJ V PR, i NOTABLE QUOTABLE "I love Ann Arbor. I love the Diag. I love free speech." -street performer Stoney Burke I '1 01 LETTERS Students' Party fiscally responsible To the Dally: What is financial responsibil- ity? According to the current MSA leadership, financial re- sponsibility is setting money aside for frills for the MSA office and spending an exorbitantly high amount of the students' money on operational expenses, even for a high-end nonprofit organi- zation. The Students' Party, on the other hand, believes that fi- nancial responsibility is using the student fee money for projects and events that the students want to see occur, not spending thou- sands of dollars on computer and ethernet connections so that as- sembly members can more con- veniently use electronic mail. The Michigan Student As- sembly must exist solely to serve the interests of the students, not the interests of its members and employees. Additionally, the rep- resentatives' actions must also be geared toward the students. To ask the representatives to serve roughly three hours a month working the front desk of the MSA offices would not only save the assembly most of its part- time employee costs, but would also make the representatives more knowledgeable about all of the behind-the-scenes services that the assembly provides. Such a service should not be consid- ered an undue burden by any assembly members committed to serving their constituency. Financial responsibility in- volves giving the committees, commissions and select com- mtoPCte. 2mnno thev nai-ed t putting ADVICE on-line is en- tirely feasible. It can be made as easy as clicking an ADVICE icon that could be part of the Univer- sity auto-load set, and selecting the courses, professors, or de- partments that you would like to view or compare. All of this can be accomplished with software the University already supports. ADVICE is one of the most valuable and visible services that MSA provides and the Students' Party has no intention of reduc- ing its effectiveness. The Students' Party's pro- posed budget is no "campaign stunt" as some would have you believe. On the contrary, it is a commitment that we take very seriously. Brian Elliott Students' Party presidential candidate Fiona Rose Students' Party vice- presidential candidate Daily neglects LSA-SG race To the Daily: With elections fast approach- ing, I have been disturbed by the general lack of coverage for the LSA Student Government elec- tion. Of the three articles pub- lished by the Daily, not one has focused its 'attention alone on LSA-SG. There were more ref- erences to MSA than to LSA-SG in the articles. I feel this is wrong. LSA Student Government is an important organization that de- serves its own feature article. By focusing on the potential impacts for MSA, the Daily has provided LSA students a dis- service.-Specifically, the Daily has nnt nrnvideda denate in- the LSA Students' Party have been instrumental in restructur- ing LSA-SG, revising the Con- stitution and bylaws, and estab- lishing the academic focus of the government. The LSA Students' Party is determined to keep LSA-SG non- political, service-oriented, and accountable to students. We wish to focus even more on academic concerns of the College of LSA such as the pass/fail deadline, foreign language instruction and the ROE requirement. We want to increase student awareness and involvement in LSA-SG. We will continue the student outreach program, establish the Student Incorporation plan to increase outside participation in LSA-SG and maintain the money-back guarantee program. Finally, we understand that some restructur- ing of the government is needed. We have proposed to eliminate overlapping committees and cre- ate a new member orientation program. This is a more accurate depiction of our goals. In the future, I hope to see more articles that examine just the LSA Student Government. I also encourage those individuals not planning to vote in the MSA elections to definitely vote in the LSA-SG election. It is an organi- zation worthy of your effort. James Kovacs LSA Students' Party presi- dential candidate and LSA- SG treasurer Parties help government. To the Daily: The recent trend toward po- litical parties is ultimately ben- eficial tonnr sident overnment. ture a healthy conflict so that constructive ideas and solutions arise to student issues. Parties propose alternative government programs. Through the plat- forms of each party, a stude* can see how a particular party may help their views become reality in student government. Furthermore, if a student identi- fies with a party, that student may wish to become more ac- tively involved. The focus of this election needs to center on how to in- crease incentive for student pare ticipation in University student government. The party is just a tool for the student to use to achieve the ultimate goal of par- ticipatory government. The po- litical party is meant to mobilize each student to help lead the stu- dent government forward into a new prosperity forUniversity stu- dents in which every student i involved in each decision that affects their lives. Scott Buser LSA first-year student SAC above MSA politics To the Daily: In response to a statement in "Parties differ on Leadership 2017 funding, purpose" (3/13/ 95): The Student Alumni Coun- cil has neither in the past nor does it have any intention of in- volving itself in the MSA poli- tics. We do not now, and we will continue to refrain, from en* dorsing or rejecting any party. SAC both invites and seeks cooperative ties with MSA as with all student organizations on cmmniin hNit will not wnrkrexclu.. HOW TO CONTACT THEM For information on lobbying Congress about student loan funding, e-mail: NAGPS@netcom.com.