4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 15, 1996
l e aichtgatt tilu
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
RONNIE GLASSBERG
Editor in Chief
ADRIENNE JANNEY
ZACHARY M. RAIMI
Editorial Page Editors
NOTABLE QUOTABLE,
'MSA is like a spoiled child right now. And when you have
a spoiled child, you spank it and put it to bed.'
- Michigan Student Assembly Rules and
Elections Committee Chair Paul Scublinsky
MATT WIMSAT MooiE' s DILEMMA
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. A ll
other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
FROM THE DAilY
Educationa borrowing
MDS coursepack ruling a victory for students
K(EEP KIL LING EAI4 oTHNP% ovm Totis
LIr'fLE 131kROA TP o~f LNDALL IN 'THE
NAtAE OF '1'lS "THING CALLUO.. RLIGKJN
Ifs, IHAT RIGNT'
S mall businesses won a victory this week,
as the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Ap-
peals ruled in favor of Ann Arbor's Michigan
Document Services. The copier no longer
has to pay royalties to Princeton University
Press, Macmillan Inc. and St. Martin's Press
charges for copyright fees could be consid-
ered extortion - students gain knowledge
from coursepacks, notprofit. Publishing com-
panies should not charge royalties on small
portions oftheir product, especially when the
materials are used for teaching purposes.
As a result of the decision, coursepack
prices will probably decrease now that copy-
L RTTET
LETTrERs TO THE EDTOR
for duplicating copyrighted
coursepacks.
The outcome reinforced
community unification to win
a fight. Students and profes-
sors signed more than 350 affi-
davits in support of MDS -
which the judges said influ-
enced their decision. Students
in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee
and Kentucky, also can thank
Jim Smith, owner of MDS. His
persistence in this case greatly
benefited universities.
Publishing houses may ap-
peal the decision to the U.S.
Supreme Court, an unneces-
sary and probably useless step.
Currently, two federal courts
opposing rulings affecting the
material in
MATT WIMSATT/Daily
ing centers do not have to pay
publishing houses unneces-
sary royalties. Furthermore,
University professors will
now have access to a wider
variety of materials - texts
prohibited by publishers can,
be included in future
coursepacks. Overall, stu-
dents pay less and learn more,
professors have more avail-
ability to materials and copy
centers will not fold by pay-
ing publishers unnecessarily.
Publishers make a small
fortune by overcharging stu-
have issued
copying and
selling of coursepacks on university cam-
puses. However, the latest ruling is an expan-
sive 30-page decision that cites the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976 as its foundation. The
decision held a solid two-thirds vote in favor
of the verdict, and should stand up in a
Supreme Court challenge.
Coursepacks are used primarily as substi-
tutes for putting a book on reserve - not as
a substitute for purchasing the book. There-
fore, publishing houses will not miss profits
from textbook sales. In fact, publishers'
dents for their textbooks. If students must
accept textbook prices, the publishers must
accept the court's decision. One Saline-based
manufacturer said academic publishing ac-
counted for 30-35 percent of its $31 million
in sales last year. The loss of these royalties
will not cause bankruptcy. For students, how-
ever, any money saved on coursepacks could
be used for other expenses, such as tuition.
Coursepacks are an important part of the
University, but they are often overpriced.
Students, faculty and local businesses were
able to lower that cost. Now it's time to work
on textbook prices.
Censor all
pornography
TO THE DAILY:
The editorial written on
Feb. 6 as a majority opinion
of the Daily's Editorial
Board concerning Internet
"censorship" ("Indecent
Proposal: Communications
bill launches 'Net censor-
ship")argued that banning
pornography on the 'Net
"inhibits freedom of
speech." I disagree with this
view and believe it is
altogether proper for
pornography to be banned
from the 'Net considering its
harmful consequences. Laws
already exist that prohibit
various forms of pornogra-
phy. Thus, saying that with
this bill "lawmakers added a
clause to the First Amend-
ment of the Constitution," is
misrepresenting what
freedom of speech means.
In the modern university
"open-mindedness" seems to
be revered above all else, but
only if that openness shuns
absolute standards of truth.
Did this nation become great
because its Constitution says
that "citizens should be free
to express what they wish,"
as the Daily has written? Or,
in this pluralistic society, do
we still believe we are "one
nation under God," and that
real freedom inherently
implies responsibility?
Some may argue
concerning this issue of
pornography on the Internet
that it cannot be perfectly
enforced or we are just
trying to protect people from
themselves. What do we
stand for as a nation'? Are
we going to stand by and
watch the society continue
into the abyss of immorality,
or are we going to try to
make a difference?
Finally, regarding the
consequences of pornogra-
phy, consider these words
from the sixth chapter of
Galatians in the Bible, "Do
not be deceived: God cannot
be mocked. A man reaps
what hie sows. The one who
sows to please his sinful
nature, from that nature will
reap destruction, the one
who sows to please the
Spirit from the Spirit will
reap eternal life."
MICHAEL GERHOLD
RACKHAM STUDENT
Daily gives
Mehta too
much press
TO THE DAILY:
It took me almost 30
minutes to find Probir
Mehta's name in
Thursday's (2/9/96) issue of
the Daily, but I diligently
searched until I found it, for I
knew it would be there.
Must the Daily mention
Probir every single day? As a
general rule, when something
is a running joke at East
Quad (home of Probir), MSA
(job of Probir) and at The
Michigan Daily itself
(periodical of Probir), it has
probably gone too far.
I know Probir, and I like
him as just as much as
anyone.
But enough is enough.
Contrary to popular belief,
the M in MSA does not stand
for Mehta.
My advice to you is to get
a more diversified opinion of
the proceedings of MSA.
There are other people in it,
you know.
I sincerely doubt that you
will lose any readers as~a
result of this.
Truth be known, it is the
crossword which lures us in,
and we will continue to
remain faithful to it, with or
without the "Find Probir's
Name" game to further deter
us from our studies.-
ANITHA CHALAM
LSA JUNIOR
SHAKUNG THE TREE
Out with the
pink, bring in
the cobalt blue
V alentine's Day, my first year at
Michigan: Two packages ar-
rived at my dormroom-both were
huge heart-shaped chocolate chip
cookies. My roommate's heart had
a red icing message: "All my love."
My heart was from the same guy,
and it said, "Men
suck? "'.. .-
My guy situa
tion was so pa
thetic that my
roommate's love
interest felt sorry ,
forme andsent me
a Valentine's Day
gift too. I brought
my cookie into the k
hall, threw it KATIE
against the wall HUTCHINS
and stamped on
the shattered
pieces, grinding them into the beer-
stained carpet. My answer to his
question was clear.
Valentine's Day hasn't improved
since then.
This year, my gift came two weeks
early. My love interest (if you can
call him that) dumped me over des-
sert at Seva and bought me a bottle
ofsparkling water as compensation.
A bottle of sparkling water? It's a
cute bottle - a unique dark blue
color. But water?
This is the latest event in one of
those on-again, off-again, platonic
then non-platonic relationships
many ofus are involved in through-
out our college careers.
For those who are single and spent
Valentine's Day wallowing in
drunken misery, weird relationships
are typical. Our love stories are se-
verely dysfunctional. One person is
desperate to find love and someone;
to cuddle with on weeknights; the
other is interested in a one-night
stand. We never like someone "that
way" unless we're sure they don't
like us. What is it that is so self-
destructive about us that we push
away our most arduous suitors in
favor of the unattainables?
Many engage in the struggle for
dates for Valentine's Day, the idi-
otic and tortuous Sweetest Day, date
parties and Friday nights. In all the
emotional messes we create, we end
up missing out on what might be.
some ofthe best experiences life has
to offer. What does all the game-
playing amount to when - after
four years-we discover that we've
accomplished nothing?
All ourmarks of success in life are
based on tangibles that reaffirm our
self-esteems: The relationship, the
grades, the good body and the clean
room are all marks of achievement
that we can point to and say our lives
are OK.
But simply having someone to
call your significant other doesn't
cut it. Just as straight A's - al-
though nice - don't indicate that
we really know anything, having
the best possible boyfriend or girl
friend doesn't mean they bring qual-
ity to our lives. But hideous events
like Valentine's Day pop up and
make us feel inadequate in our so
cial development.
So let's ban it. Ban the pink cook-
ies, the red hearts, the roses and the
candy. Hell, let's ban the Relation
ship altogether. Think ofall the time
we'd save - no more phone calls
(or waiting for phone calls), no more
hours-long laments to our friends
about how we've been mistreated.
No more prettying up or planning.
We can simply live and love those
who happen to be around.
The bottle of sparkling water I
received as I picked at my vegan
cocoa cake might be more symbolic
than it first seemed. Its dark electric
blue color is the same hue as the
mysterious waters of the Chinoyi.
caves in Zimbabwe. A tiny lake is
buried in a maze of caves, and the
way the light hits the water gives it
an iridescent glow. That glow -
'and the feelings it evokes- have
amazed tourists for years. It also
connects them, as each person is
touched in a slightly different way
by the overwhelming aura.
Every person walks away from
Chinoyi with a new perspective, and
a connection to those who inhabited
the caves hundreds of years before.
Perhaps our dysfunctional relation-
ships can have significance in the
same way. We're all ultimately seek
ing something similar, and the weird
experiences we have in love and.
loss teach us something new about
ourselves.
Touching each otherjust briefly is
I
0
Sound bitten
Republican slate reflects overall poor choices
A s the balloons and banners, sound bites
and blue suits indicate, the primary sea-
son has arrived. Republicans poured mil-
lions of dollars into Iowa last week - an
airwaves blitzkrieg - with a mere 17 per-
cent. Was the impersonal media campaign-
ing responsible for the record low turnout, or
is it the abundance of charismatic vision
among the candidates? Both seem to have
played a part, along with the role of money
within the primary process - a system that is
now in dire need of reform.
Steve Forbes raised the stakes by spend-
ing his millions on the airwaves and dimin-
ishing the impact of handshakes and town
meetings. But his use of television's and
radio's encompassing scope to introduce,
reinforce and virtually drown the field back-
fired. Forbes reaped only 10 percent of the
vote. Calls for a spending cap that first arose
with Ross Perot's campaign resurfaced with
Forbes. Yet no amount of money will win a
race if the ideas are poor. Negativism and the
impersonal nature of the sound bite cast the
superficial glow oftelevision upon the candi-
date. Money, as Phil Granun has discovered,
will not win an election; it will only keep the
candidate in the race.
The meager offerings, the courtship ofthe
elusive moderate vote and the need for a
cohesive Republican vision threaten to splin-
ter the party and its ability to select an elect-
able - much less formidable -- opponent to
the Democrats. President. Clinton, in com-
parison, appears powerfully presidential. The
ensemble presented thus far seems empty.
Trying flannel practicality, didactic states-
manship or isolationist conservatism, candi-
dates have failed to tantalize or invigorate the
electorate. Though it is early, voters are
searching for the candidate of movie lore,
the assured calm hero - the role Colin
Powell declined. Politics has become pro-
hibitively expensive and bitterly distaste-
ful despite its lack of substance. The mix
has effectively screened out countless quali-
fied candidates before they had the chance to
run.
The mercurial moderate voter seems to be
searching to make an informed and confident
vote. Americans need real discussion of is-
sues, not meaningless media phrases, to cast
educated votes.
Access to equal, untainted television time
blocks for all registered candidates might
provide each presidential contender a forum
to fully air ideas. Media spin would be some-
what circumvented. The sound bite would no
longer dominate voter decision. Contenders
would be evaluated not by their ability to
group funds but for their ability to articulate
vision.
The perennial desire to vote "none of the
above" has lingered too long. Candidate se-
lection deserves a more careful process. Un-
til an open and complete debate in each state
is implemented, voter disenchantment -
and apathy - will continue.
LETTERS POLICY
The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from its readers.
Alllettersfrom University students,faculty andstaffwill be
printed, space providing. Other materials will be printed at
the editors'discretion. All letters must include the writer's
name, school year or University affiliation and phone
number. We will not print any letter that cannot be verified.
Ad hominem attacks will not be published.
Letters should be kept to approximately 300 words. We
reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and accuracy.
Longer "Viewpoints " may be arranged with an editor.
Letters should be sent via e-mail to daily.letters@
umich.edu or mailed to the Daily at 420 Maynard St.
Editors can be reached at 764-0552 or by sending e-mail to
the above address.
VEEWPOINT
AIDS is still a campus issue
BY TRISHA MILLER
National Condom Week,
February 12-17, is dedicated
to protecting students against
AIDS by encouraging condom
use and other safer sex alter-
natives. The focus of the week
of AIDS education is to per-
sonalize the issue for students,
especially those involved in
sexual relationships.
Throughout the week, stu-
dents from AIDS Education
Issues Among Us, AIDS
Awareness Group and UHS
peer educators will be distrib-
uting condoms in the Diag,
residence halls and various
University building with the
theme of safer sex this
Valentine's Day. The message
is simple - show your loved
one that you care about their
safety by using a latex barrier
during sex. AIDS should not
be an afterthought; a disease
that is now the No. 1 killer for
people between the ages of
25-44 magnifies the risks of
,,nnrotected sex
issues, Magic Johnson sent a
wake-up call to the American
public -no one is immune to
HIV.
More students today are
familiar with the term AIDS,
and demonstrate their support
for the issue and those affected
by wearing the symbolic red
ribbon. Is something lost in
the symbol? As visible signs
of awareness increase on col-
lege campuses, AIDS contin-
ues to rise at the fastest rate
among men and women ages
The University
campus is using
this week to pro-
mote safe sex.
18-24. Familiarity with issues
of AIDS should not be mis-
taken for knowledge. Infor-
mation alone is not enough to
combat this deadly disease in
our community. AIDS educa-
speaking out at the Univer-
sity. River Huston, a renowned
poet and AIDS activist, con-
tracted AIDS in 1991, while
attending Hunter College in
New York. Her compelling
story has the potential to posi-
tively impact students' lives.
River went to have an HIV
test, confident that there was
no chance of her testing HIV
positive. Four years later, she
is living with AIDS. Huston is
the changing face of AIDS in
our community. She is young
and active and does not look
like someone who has been
diagnosed with a terminal ill-
ness. Huston knewhvery little
about AIDS when she was told
she had it. She now shares her
story to prevent it from hap-
pening to someone else.
We are not winning the
battle against AIDS. Many stu-
dents at the University still
don't protect themselves.
Washtenaw County has the
second highest number of
AIDS cases in the state. Col-
EDUrORs Nom
On Tuesday, a reporter for The Michigan Daily started working on a story about a forged
e-mail sent under President James Duderstadt's name. As the story progressed, we were
shocked to find out the message originated from our offices. In cooperation with the
University's Information Technology Division, we discovered one of the Daily's editors had
sent the message. Showing dedication and respect to the Daily and the University community,
James Nash tendered his resignation. While we are troubled and saddened by this incident, we