4A'- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 10, 1996 i n U e £IrI1igrn 1tailg JORDAN STANCIL LAsT-DrrcaRtArr.A 0 ,420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI Street 48109 Eited and managed by students at the Oniversity of Michigan MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in Chief JULIE BECKER JAMES M. NASH Editorial Page Editors Postponzg the ievitable onset ofgrades, school and reality 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. 4 Try again ACLU rightly calls for N~eed a friend? Don't call on the Board of Regents. The Washtenaw County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is likely to- be iost sympathetic in a crisis, particularly if it iovolves the Code of Student Conduct. Last month, Martin Gold, chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs' Civil Liberties Board and an ACLU member, began investigating the November regents meeting at which the Code passed. Gold noted that University President James J. Duderstadt invoked accreditation to com- pel a quick yes vote - and became suspi- cious of the president's sly maneuver. Gold was right to be wary, because the University's accreditation is quite safe, code or no code. ,Gold brought the issue to the local ACLU chapter, which voted in Deccmber to take a two-pronged approach. The organization will publicize the mishandling of the vote, and pressure the Board of Regents to vote again. In the meantime, it will try to help students charged under the Code. The ACLU is mak- ing a tremendous effort on students' behalf -Gold spoke of finding the original 1990 accreditation team to discredit Duderstadt's reasoning - a far stronger effort on behalf of student rights than Duderstadt demonstrated. Chhpter President Mary Rave said Duderstadt "behaves more like a corporate executive than a (university) president." He saw a deal and pounced to clinch it, forgetting about the people aboard his corporate ship. The ACLU - if no one else - recognizes this, and Code reconsideration believes the regents should have a chance at an independent vote. While they lobby the regents and the press, ACLU members plan to get involved with AdvisorCorps, the group that will ad- vise fellow students on the intricacies of Code procedure. Even ifinembers can't speak with every student brought up under the Code, they would at least like to be aware of cases as they happen. The ACLU can screen for egregious injustices, as well as provide a legal safety net for Code defendants. The ACLU shares concerns with many students about the Code's inherent civil rights violations. Member Jean King, who gradu- ated from the Law School, mentioned a stu- dent who had been sanctioned both by the University and the state for marijuana pos- session, effectively punishing the student twice for the same crime. For all ofthe University's in locoparentis propaganda, the outside organizations are the ones coming to students' aid. The regents pride themselves on their parenting skills, which is why they advocate a behavioral code. Gold said he has always advocated a code of ethics rather than a code of conduct, but apparently the regents never listened. ACLU members are afraid their demands will get little attention from regional news sources. Their efforts must not go to waste. The regents should vote again on the Code, this time with accurate information. The out- come may not change, but Duderstadt's ma- nipulation must not go unchallenged. This is a column about evolution. I don't know much about science, but I do know how what should have been an easy three-hour drive from home to Ann Arbor yesterday ended up as a day-long, full- fledged road trip. It's a story about how three guys who didn't really want to go back to school and who definitely didn't want to get their grades prolonged their agony through childish silliness. It all started at 8 a.m. when I woke up, planning to drive back to school with Nick and Max at about 9. We left town at about 11 and, after driving about 10 miles, realized that Max had forgotten his new lighter at home. We actually turned around and went back, but this time we were ready. No more excuses. Our next problem was the road itself. Since northern Michigan has only three snowplows, there were a good four inches of unpacked snow covering the freeway. Since this tends to cut down on one's speed, we weren't very upset. The only problem was the 45-mile drive to the nearest Burger King. Not that I'm a big fan of Burger King, but we had discovered that our glove compartment contained eight coupons for two-for-one double cheeseburgers, which really meant that we could get 16 for the price of eight. Be glad you weren't there. It was ugly. To put Ann Arbor and all that it entails off as long as possible and to soak up a little more of the local flavor, we ate in, alongside large smelly men wearing orange hunting gear. We realized at this point that we had no tapes, and this is where things got (sort of) interesting. America being a great country, you can generally buy tapes at gas stations. In fact, in many areas of northern Michigan you can buy tapes only at gas stations. If you ever find yourself in need, these tapes can usually be found near the cash register. They have titles like "Sunoco's Drivin' Classics." We desperately wanted to buy a tape like this, one with songs that shamelessly glorify America's wasteful, classist and environ- mentally unsound automobile culture. We decided to stop at every gas station along the way until we found what we were looking for. The fact that this took about two hours and 52 gas stations seriously weakened my faith in American capitalism. Just when I was about to renounce my citizenship at the nearest consulate, we hap- pened upon Conlee's Travel Center in Birch Run, Mich. It is true that the Conlee Travel Center is oddly named and holds within itself many cashiers with big hair and many threatening men who easily could and prob- ably would take you out back and kick your ass, Out I would still recommend the Center for its wide selection. Right there by the side of the road they sell car parts, wiper fluid, firewood, motorcycle and paramilitary maga- zines, shotguns, ammo, fishing poles, bait,4 clothing, assorted foodstuffs and these cal- endars that have pictures of old steam loco- motives. They even had one for 1996. They alsohad ... tapes! After buying CCR's"Have You Ever Seen the Rain" we were ready to go. Seriously this time. There was no longer any way to put off the inevitable. It was time to suck it up, finish the drive and ... get our grades. Of course, we couldn't start our new tape until we were actually on the freeway, with cigarettes ready. "Run Through the Jungle" and Buick City and we were seriously con- sidering getting a room for the night. It's amazing how the strong the desire to avoid school can be after spending three weeks in a state of mental torpor. After all, I spent virtually my entire vacation either asleep or lying on the living room floor with my golden retriever. How can I be expected to take classes, write a thesis and look for ajob, when I just spent 22 days eating breakfast at4 2 p.m. and worrying only about the fate of Wayne Fontes? At any rate, now I'm back and, yes, it's great to see my friends and all that crap. The real question is: Will I evergrow up? God, I hope not. - Jordan Stancil can be reached over e-mail at rialto@umich.edu. 1 I -~ Jim LASSER ,WHO 15 ULTIMATELY RESIONS 'aN WH-O WIt-L- eBNERT13 Y NCQ...1i'IR CIA?.. . SELL C0ol SHARP AS TOAST ,(LEFOR THESE THEIR. ALE ?., COOKIES, THE F131? LINC-i KI E5 T / STONE! 1/ fF- I/ NOTABLE QUOTABLE It all depends on the weather.' - Detroit Metro Airport spokesman Michael Conway, on when normal flight schedules woul resume 'I On again, off again Budget accord needed to avert 3rd shutdown LEI RnS F ollowing a reprieve in which furloughed federal workers are finally coming back to work, party differences again threaten to plunge the government into a third shut- down. With public faith in the government collapsing along with federal services, party leaders once and for all must approve a bud- get that incorporates the agreed-upon seven- year time line for a balanced budget as well as protections for Medicare, Medicaid and welfare. On paper, the dollar differences between the Clinton and GOP budget proposals are so wide that an agreement may seem impos- sible. Republicans have proposed a budget thi over seven years would cut $168 billion inanticipated growth from Medicare, com- pared to $102 billion under Clinton's plan. Furthermore, the Republican plan would trim $85 billion of expected growth from Medic- aid to Clinton's $52 billion and $75 billion in welfare and the earned income tax credit for the working poor, compared to $45 billion under the president's plan. Both sets of num- bers result from an arduous negotiation pro- cess punctuated by a six-day shutdown in November and a three-week closure that ended this past weekend. Emboldened by their success during the 19,4 congressional elections, Republicans cdisider their massive budget cuts a mandate frin the public. Clinton, on the other hand, rightly wants to preserve government pro- grains that date back to the Great Society of the' 1960s and have helped countless Ameri- caps. Clinton's budget plan would slow the grbwth of Medicaid, Medicare and welfare, making the seven-year balanced budget pro- jeption realistic. The Republican plan takes a mbre slash-and-burn mentality. HOW TO CONTACT THEM President And for what? The GOP wants to offer an estimated $200 billion in tax cuts, primarily to corporations and wealthier Americans. Clinton's own budget would cut taxes by about $78 billion. Cutting taxes at all while butchering worthy programs like Medicare is bad policy, but Clinton's budget is the lesser of two evils. The Republicans have shown some willingness to budge from their tax-cut numbers, and Clinton should force them to a more practical level, thus preserv- ing programs for social welfare. Republicans and Democrats have already agreed on one major point: the seven-year schedule for a balanced budget. Assuming that current projections hold true, the federal government would actually register a sur- plus in the year 2002 - for the first time since 1969. It is encouraging that both par- ties have vowed to break the quarter-century cycle of deficit spending that has burdened the economy with large interest payments on accumulated debt and undermined public trust in government. While this latest round of budget talks has sharply divided Demo- crats and Republicans and roughened politi- cal dialogue on both sides, in the larger picture the promise of a balanced budget may well overshadow the petty bickering. Unless Clinton and Republican leaders reach a compromise by Jan. 27, the govern- ment will again lapse into dysfunction. Pros- pects do not look positive - though opti- mistic about an end to the stalemate, Clinton announced yesterday that talks will halt for a week while he travels to Bosnia. The last thing the government - and the country as a whole - needs is a third government shutdown. There is still room for compro- mise. The parties should seize the moment. Men face chilling atmosphere on campus To the Daily: While reading Stephanie Jo Klein's viewpoint which railed against "bald, fat white men," "Old Boys Clubs" and the term "feminazi" ("Flippant use of Nazi' cheapens history," 12/7/ 95) a word came to mind: misandry. The following defini- tion comes from the book by Patrick Arnold, "Wildmen, War- riors & Kings: Masculine Spiri- tuality and the Bible" (1991). "Misandry (mis'-an'-dre) n. hatred of men. (1) the attribution of negative qualities to the entire male gender. (2) the claim that masculinity is the source of hu- man vices such as domination, violence, oppression and racism. (3) a sexist assumption that (a) male genes, hormones and physi- ology,or (b) male cultural nurtur- ing produce, war, rape and physi- cal abuse. (4) the assignment of blame solely to men for humanity's historic evils without including women's responsibil- ity or giving men credit for civilization's achievements. (5) the assumption that any male per- son is probably domineering, op- pressive, violent, sexually abu- sive and spiritually immature. "Misandry is an ideological spin-off of extreme feminism," Arnold wrote. "Its practice is by no means limited to women. Many men, full of self-hatred and guilt, also purvey it. Where it prevails, it presents a bizarre and Kafka- esque form of moral algebra to the males who live under it. Their very masculinity attaches to them a negative value. No matter how hard they try, no matter what they do to prove themselves, the best they can do is remove the 'minus' t".a a c n a . vnr tpm ,_ a aspect of feminism is matronizingly accused of backlashing and dismissed as a chauvinist or worse. Even though there are many, many examples of discrimination against men such as incarceration statistics (men far outnumber women for incarceration for equal crimes), male-female survivorship (women live close to eight years longer than do men, yet we have special women's health agendas), family law matters (women get custody of children in the major- ity of the cases whether or not it is in the best interest of the child, as in the Ireland-Smith case) and others. Diversity seems to include every group except white males. Only they can be excluded from special scholarships and pro- grams. Ethnic and cultural pride may include everyone except them. The only racial slur accept- able on this campus is "angry white male." The list goes on. To use feminist terms, there is a "hos- tile, chilling environment" on this campus for any male who dares speak out in defense of his gen- der, and worse for any white male who speaks out in defense of his ethnic group. While this preju- dice clearly is not held by most people on campus, as it is also true that the vast majority of white males are not sexistsor racist,the fact that there exists an aggres- sive loud group of prejudiced people cannot be denied. Yes, the tide of prejudice has indeed turned. The fostering of this situation on our campus speaks volumes. It speaks of a campus environment with a new underclass; it speaks of division rather than unity; it speaks of alienation rather than inclusion and it speaks of preju- dice. Whether people agree with it, whether they see it, it doesn't matter; it exists just the same. This should not be tolerated any more than any other form of sex- ism or racism, yet it is. I don't like the term feminazi; Don't fight prejudice with stereotypes To the Daily: It is a new low for the Daily when one of the people they have chosen to do unbiased and care- ful reporting can write such gar- bage as "Flippant use of 'Nazi' cheapens history." It is true that some valid points were raised - obviously, we should not trivialize the English language. But, the author goes on a tan- trum and decides the solution to stereotypes is - voila! - more stereotypes: "The old boy net- work of bald, fat, white men." Moreover, NWROC is a pro- totalitarian, demagogic commu- nist-sy.mpathizer organization that seeks violence ("smashing fascists") to achieve their means. Also, a man who "stands up for his beliefs" is not a mascunazi (thank God), but a chauvinist! I'll bring that up at the next meeting of the International Conspiracy of Angry White Men. It's in the Michigan League Ballroom. This groupthink is subverting intelligent and provocative thought. We are individuals first and members of the "Old Boy Network" secondly. Let's treat people like people, not spokes- men for different groups. We're sorry, that's all we can say for now. We're "running from militant females and uppity mi- norities ." Jon Winick Chris McCann LSA juniors Viewpoint writer abuses language To the Dfliv: nothing to do with the totalitari- anism of Nazi Germany from 1932-45." Speaking as a bald, fat white man, I have to wonder if yo*, think we are the only members of the "network" you mention. Some good-looking buffed football- player types that you might date,2 are also making strides toward gender equity. Don't hate these guys because they're beautiful. Thanks for the compliment. My x wife agrees with you. We're glad you don't think fat, bald, white guys are comparable to Nazis. If any sexist wench though we were, we would hoist our- selves out of our easy chairs and go to her campus commons. We would protest until she was fired from her lofty newspaper job and made to feel like dirt for her un- conventional views. And we would make sure she never again voiced a prejudiced view about people who did not fit her imag' of male beauty. Personally, I think only femi- nazis who know how to use the English language should be al- A lowed free speech, don't you? . Matt Gilbert Northern Illinois University w. a 'M' fans had class; at Alamo Bowl To the Daily: I am a student attending Texas A&M University. I would like to" thank most of the Michigan fans for showing their class in the 22- 20 loss to Texas A&M. The game at the Alamo Bowl was as good matchup between good teams as the Fiesta Bowl. I enjoyed talk- ing with the Michigan fans who sat around with us as much as I am sure they enjoyed the conver- sation. The fans from both sides showed that a group of competi, tive neonle ould ge ogther and Bill Clinton The White House Washington. D.C. 20500 .