4 -- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 6, 1995 EFbe dwlwigau talv JASON LIcHTsTEIN JASON'S LYRIC 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan I MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in Chief JULIE BECKER JAMEs NASH Editorial Page Editors Hard-core Martin Gore smoking on a rainy day 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. Cauting ontrat TA union brings important issues to table gainst the backdrop of uncertain state appropriations to the University, the union for teaching assistants is demanding a wage increase. Although the Graduate Em- ployees Organization has yet to specify its salary demands, TAs are justified in asking for more than the 3-percent raise the Univer- sity traditionally offers. Overshadowing the simple pocketbook request are a host of new and reincarnated issues the GEO is bringing to the table in an attempt to create a more hospitable academic climate for TAs. These demands have merit, and the University would be wise to take them seriously.* The current TA contract expires Feb. 1, 1996. Representatives of the GEO and Uni- versity administration plan to begin meeting in November to adopt a contract for the next year. Both sides are hopeful they will reach an agreement without resorting to the threats that occasionally characterize last-minute contract negotiations. The spirit of goodwill should help insulate the negotiations from thornier issues like the state budget alloca- tion and performance evaluations for TAs. But the two parties no doubt will find areas of disagreement, chiefly salary. The University customarily offers TAs a raise of 3 percent, barely in line with inflation. That figure does not account for skyrocketing rent and other living expenses - meaning that, barring a fair raise from the University, TAs find it increasingly difficult just to stay in Ann Arbor. Yet he University persists in offering these paltry salary hikes to its TAs even as public-school teachers' unions rou- tinely receive raises in excess of 5 percent. GEO negotiators stress that the contract talks are about more than money, however. They correctly point out that TAs are an undervalued link in the academic food chain, their inadequate salaries coupled with poor working conditions and a general disrespect from the University community. To address this problem, the GEO has asked the Univer- sity to upgrade the title of "teaching assis- tant" to "graduate student instructor." While the distinction may seem picky or unneces- sary, it differentiates assistants - whose title implies an auxiliary role - from instructors, whose job is actually to teach. The change in title is appropriate, since many professors' concentration on research and publishing leaves TAs with the lion's share of responsiblity for undergraduate education. GEO officials are also correct in seeking written guidelines on class sizes and health- care co-payments, but they must not let writ- ten policies impede normal procedures for ensuring TA competence. The GEO demands in their present form would not undermine TA accountability, but they could be stretched to provide a safety net for incompetent TAs. Additionally, in a novel plan to recognize the special needs of minority TAs, GEO is bar- gaining for a liaison between the union and the University. This negotiating stance is well-intentioned but demands further expla- nation. Will the liaison improve the climate for minority TAs, or will the position simply become another rung in the bureaucracy at the University? Despite these concerns, on the whole GEO has crafted a reasonable package of demands for the upcoming negotiations. If both sides continue to negotiate in good faith, next year's contract should provide a model for years to come. It's paradoxical to say the least. From culture-starved suburbs and gated resi- dences in Florida, Illinois, New York and Michigan, we travel to a University firmly in the hands of the Michigan Party Ma- chine. We young up-and-coming politi- cians, writers, poets, engineers, physicians, lawyers and pollsters arrive on the colle- giate scene undaunted and indomitable, all at the ripened age of 18. But something downright twisted happens after three or four years in Ann Arbor. Maybe it's the exposure to too many greasy BK Value Meals or daily doses of pungent incense or those all-too familiar Masleyesque say- ings like "the Dental School 3." But whatever it is or was, my friends, let me suggest that we tend to lose that hard core (Martin Gore!) ideological edge, that black-and-white view of the world, that moral, intellectual and personal cer- tainty that we thought we had so thor- oughly cultivated before we had even com- piled a mere 30 credits. Developmental psychology tells us that this is to be ex- pected as we mature intellectually and conceptualize the world around us in more abstract, complex ways. I know that I came to the oldest public university in the Continental 48 a fire-breathing, unabashed leftist radical with a poster of Morrissey in a bathing suit on my dorm wall. Repressed but remarkably dressed? During my first week in Couzens Hall, at the convening of the inaugural 5th floor hall meeting, I pronounced myself a "com- munist," when the rest of the boys were talking about B-School and frat parties and how much they liked the Fab Five. That month I attended two meetings of the local Trotskyist organization. That rela- tionship quickly dissolved amid repeated disagreements over the need for violence to attain the socialist dream, Trotsky-style. All I knew about Mr. Trotsky was that he was assassinated in Mexico City by the friends of Stalin and that he spent his interwar days in the lovely city of Vienna. Still I persisted and I inquired of a goateed adolescent freedom fighter, "What about democratic socialism? What about non- violence?" and they didn't acknowledge my comments with even a flicker of the eyelashes. From that point on, the Trotskyists and I parted our ways. We were so sure, so certain, so reso- lute, postpubescent New Republic sub- scribers. But what do I know now? I know that (a) I like comfortable clothes; (b) I don't want to be just another pawn on the corporate chess board; (c) Thursday night TV is about as enjoyable as a peaceful hour with The New York Times; (d) life is more than A's and promotions and acco- lades; it is about hot cups of coffee, relax- ing on a comfortable couch and poignant songs like Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows"; (e) bickering over politics isn't that gratifying, which is quite a revelation coming from a card-carrying ACLU mem- ber circa 1988; and (f) If I can put all of these together in a lifetime I'd be one happy boy scout. Life, our lives, are what we make of them. Now I know that an endless number of people have probably tossed this cliche your way more times than Sen. Byrd's twitched, but it's a powerful truth that the determinists of philosophy courses eter- nal and the bewildering ying-yanginess of everyday life tend to muddle up. Folks, we don't all have to be Lawrence Tribe, a wealthy radiologist, Joshua Steiner or an adviser to President Clinton. We can try our wits at writing, we can pursue more degrees than Catharine MacKinnon, we can test-market new and improved pot- pourri scents, we can get a dozen shots pumped into our veins and head overseas as a Peace Corps volunteer. Human life is both full of incredible potential for happiness and at the same time plagued with the realization that it is virtually impossible to avoid those bouts of sadness that come like a broken tooth or a deportation order tr Bob Probert. I've come to realize this more than anything else at my tenure in the hallowed halls of LSA. To listen, to feel, to try to under- stand, to make it through each day without Prozac, to try and learn from the day before is much more of a challenge than landing an internship in the Renaissance Center or being able to convince a room full of people that the GOP is a bunch of exploitative capitalist homophobes (yet I'd say that the latter is a tad bit easier). So take those B.A. and B.S. and B.G.S. degrees into the real world, but remember a famous Graylingite's famous line on the pleasantries of life in the material world: "Ya know what I like to do ... I like to come home on a rainy afternoon and get in bed and smoke a cigarette ... an ashtray on the windowsill ... you sure as hell can't do that if you're a corporate lawyer." Damn straight. 0 0 JNM LASSER Breathtaking Monuments at The Ulilerslty of Michigan: Burton Tower Michigan Stadium SHARP AS TOAST wLIj rx _ The Michigan Union a ra. Tom Collier's Teaching NOTABLE QUOTABLE "We need to find a way to stick- handle around gender equity." 0 0 Ambassador Clinton First lady gains new visibility abroad uring the past couple of weeks, un- known to much of the country, Hillary Rodham Clinton has been conducting a 12- day diplomatic tour of the Asian subconti- nent. From Bangladesh to Pakistan to India, the first lady has been given the respect and titles customary for an official state visit by a senior U.S. official. And with good reason. Ms. Clinton is an important representative of the United States - not simply because she is the president's wife, but even more be- cause she is a well-qualified diplomat. The irony of Ms. Clinton's trip is that she must travel abroad to receive such respect. The United States should wake up to the reality of a vocal and activist first lady and the eventuality of women in the most promi- nent positions of government. Ever since Bill Clinton began his cam- paign for president, questions abounded over what role his wife would play in the admin- istration. Some believed a cabinet appoint- ment was appropriate, but there was also a vocal majority that disliked the idea of Ms. Clinton having any prominence beyond that which Nancy Reagan or Barbara Bush held. When Ms. Clinton was given the role of supervising the drafting of the health care plan, many shouted in protest. When the legislation as a whole failed - for reasons far beyond Ms. Clinton's role - many used the opportunity to deride her: Her leadership was weak, misguided, too despotic, not open- minded enough or she simply didn't belong there in the first place. Last fall, due to concerns that her unpopu- lar prominence was hurting her husband, Ms. Clinton was forced to distance herself from the domestic political arena. Telling Barbara Walters that she had been "naive about do- mestic politics," she apologized to the coun- try. And withdraw she did. This foreign tour is the first time Ms. Clinton has made much news at all lately. The most unfortunate bit about this whole episode is that critics did not cite Ms. Clinton's qualifications as reasons to oppose her activ- ism, but rather complained that it violated tradition for a first lady to take a leading role in government. The argument that Bill ran for president and Hillary didn't has some validity. However, this country has long been troubled by women in positions of leadership and only slowly is it accepting changing gender roles in society. As part of that acceptance, respect should be accorded to a first lady who has sought to transcend the traditional role of that title. No longer are the women of the White House expected to be the happy homemakers. Why is it so implausible to see a first lady who will undertake ambitious government assign- ments? . While the past leading ladies played no role beyond that of spokesperson for move- ments like the anti-drug or pro-literacy move- ments - all worthy projects - no first lady, at least since Eleanor Roosevelt, has played as important a role as Hillary Clinton has. Ms. Clinton's efforts to redefine the role of the first lady are commendable and neces- sary. After all, if we cannot accept a vocal and activist first lady, how are we ever to accept the possibility of a first man? - Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh LETTERS Construction a gift from 'U' higher powers To the Daily: I am one of the few people on this campus who absolutely loves construction. You should have seen how ecstatic I was when the poles and fences were placed around the anticipated addition to Angell Hall. It sent ripples of pleasure down my spine! In addition to this new construction project, Randall Lab isn't quite finished yet, there's still a mound of dirt near Dennison, and the Michigan Union will soon be worked on in the future. The very thought of these projects makes me shud- der with pleasure. Pro-construction advocates will say that more buildings for office space and classrooms are in dire need. In fact, they must be built immediately because the idea of "starting a job and finishing it before you go on to the next one" is not only absurd but incomprehensible. I agree that more trees should be up- rooted and grass torn apart for the simple fact that concrete is much more appealing! After all, squirrels don't belong in the U dents should receive free hard hats and shovels while receiv- ing construction lessons from the administration. This will al- low everyone tofeel. the true glory of digging up Ann Arbor. Finally, we should announce not only to the state of Michigan, but to the nation and the entire world, that the University's of- ficial mascot is no longer the Wolverine, but rather - the Bulldozer. Paul Zaziski LSA senior 'U' swimmer chose rightly To the Daily: As a member of Michigan's women's swim team, I am of- fended by the Daily's choice to persecute Carrie Zarse for her decision to attend the Pan American Games instead of NCAAs. It is not her "fault" that we finished second. There is not one woman on the team who iesents her for her decision. We are proud of our performance in Austin, and of Carrie's at the Pan-Am Games. Our team did not travel to Texas to. win. We went to the meet to swim fast, to race, to have fun and to represent the Carrie's absence from NCAA's rather than the our team's suc- cesses. Carrie took home a bronze medal from Pan-Ams. Alecia Humphrey ended her senior year with first place fin- ishes in two individual events and helped the 400 medley re- lay team of Rachel Gustin, Talor Bendel, and Megan Gilham to another first. Numerous Big Ten and Michigan records were bro- ken. The majority of our team had all-time best swims. Not only did we succeed in swim- ming, but we had fun and learned about ourselves as a team. How was this accomplished? Through hard work and support for one another. We support each other in and out of the pool, even if that pool is halfway around the world. We areproud of our team's accomplishments, and that in- cludes Care's. In the words of our coach Jim Richardson, "They do it for a prize that will tarnish. We do it for a prize that will live forever." I just wish everyone else could share that attitude. Unda Riker Michigan swimmer Theater review pettv. Witless punches in a patently unprofes- sional critical assessment of the production's playwright and director. Furthermore, Ms. Bernardo sinks to even deeper levels of tactlessness by saying of one actor "... a stellar cast from beginning to end - the one glaring exception being who I'm convinced was cast more for his height than his acting ability ..." On another occasion in her article, she used similar scathing and unneces- sary language to again mali- ciously criticize the aforemen- tioned actor's abilities. Undoubtedly, I realize full y that the measure of the worth of any production and its actors is a matter of opinion and is purely subjective. Ms. Bernardo is in every way entitled to harbor any opinion she deems applicable in regards to the current produc- tion of "Sirens." However, I would have hoped that she would have been able to find a less venomous manner in which to publicly word her criticisms (especially those regarding stu- dent actors). One must remem- ber that the actors in university 0 productions are only students, and are at different levels of development in their craft. These productions are first and foremost a means of further de- Michigan Student Assembly Flint Wainess, President 3909 Ulnion