4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 18, 1996 iwe £ichigan Daig 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 'Anybody having a baby ought to have it in the new (hospital) wing. It's beautiful. It's like going to the Ritz- Carlton for a couple of days.' - Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor), telling people at the regents' meeting Thursday about her baby delivery at University Hospitals. JIM LASSER SHARPAs ToAsT 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. ROM THE DAILY l Without representation Wainess lax in important duty espite the many changes at the Univer- sity during the past four months, one 'thing has remained consistent - Michigan Student Assembly President Flint Wainess' " 'bsence at every regular regents meeting since the November sessions. Wainess is the '4irst student representative to the University Board of Regents. Getting the right to this ;position was no easy task; many people, including Wainess, put a great deal of work .into obtaining a student voice on the board. Wainess de- ascribed his own attendance at ,he monthly regents' meetings 'las "sporadic." By not attend- ing those meetings, Wainess Js negating his work. - Wainess told The Michi- gan Daily his presence is un- !necessary at the majority of the meetings because so much -pf what is discussed amounts to "simple working matters that don't require student in- xut." But last Friday, the M .Graduate Employees Organi- zation picketed the regents' meeting. At the end of the meeting, they loudly voiced their ,,desire to complete contract negotiations to -o.University President James Duderstadt and the regents - a sharp variation from day-to- ,Iay business. But GEO members were with- ,Cut a representative who could have voiced ;heir concerns when they were not able to ,peak outside of public comments. Wainess was not in attendance. Although Wainess has the option to send replacement, he has not done so for the last one in his place). Meanwhile, students are silenced in the vast majority of regents' busi- ness. Furthermore, his absences leave the re- gents with a bad impression of the students who worked hard to put a student representa- tive in place. Wainess said he is in constant contact with the regents and characterized their working relationship as amicable. But how can the regents take students seriously if EXPERTS ARE SAYING THAT A ROSS PEROT 36P PARTY CANDVIDACY EN.0 A C E .R MESSACnE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR i. MATT WIMSATT/Daily their highest representative doesn't show up to represent them? Wainess is not only sup- posed to represent student needs as they arise - he should be there representing the student body as a compe- tent, concerned group. Wainess said his is the first "administration" that has the power and responsibility of addressing the regents in this fashion. His disregard creates a weak precedent for succes- sive MSA leaders. MSA in- tended a representative as an "incremental step in the process of obtaining a full regent," he said. However, future students will have problems attaining a full non-voting student regent in the wake of Wainess' careless ne- glect. Wainess did not paint his halfway com- promise to be a permanent sellout, but an effective voice that would be respected and an effective tool of students at this institu- tion. Wainess' more than lax representation of students is equivalent to a breaking of that several months (although after questioning, pledge. It is time the position lived up to its he indicated he may again start sending some- potential, so that the silence might be broken. Undignified potur NBA forced Abdul-Rauf to make unfair choice 0 ~ h say, does that star-spangled banner line up in a dignified posture" prevents play- + ~.yet wave in the National Basketball ers and coaches from acting on their personal $Association? Not only does it wave, but or religious creeds. The NBA's rule must be NBA administrators are wrapping it around changed to allow for the diversity that makes players' throats. the league great. No other organization in the Last week, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (for- world offers the opportunity for basketball merly Chris Jackson) of the Denver Nuggets competition of such caliber. The NBA's en- found himself suspended indefinitely with- forcement of cultural elitism is abysmal and out pay-particularly severe sanctions, con- woefully outdated compared to standard sidering he earns about $30,000 per game. upheld by other professional sports organi- i And what was his offense? Refusing to stand zations, such as Major League Baseball. Na- for the national anthem in pre-game ceremo- tional professional sports leagues must rec- 1. l s -e -l -d French do not deserve lashing TO THE DAILY: I am writing in response to Brent McIntosh's ridiculous and extremely offensive article ("Confes- sions of a Francophobe," 3/ 15/96) entailing all the ways he hates the country of France. I have two ques- tions: What is this guy's problem and what has France, or any French person ever done tohhim? He even states right in his own article that he really has no reason to hate France, he just does. I've read for weeks now as McIntosh has put down everything and everyone he can think of, but this article was just too much. Making fun of the French language, calling the people whiny, insulting their soccer team ... is this what he has been reduced to? This article is so ludicrous and without merit, it's really quite comical. First of all, none of it is true, and even if it were, does he have nothing better to do with his meager journalistic talents than attack a country that basically won us the Revolutionary War? I don't care if this article is meant as a joke or not. As someone who happens to be part French, I don't appreci- ate it and I would encourage McIntosh to make better use of his column space in the future by concentrating on something that's either true or amusing. He can take his pick. JEREMY L ASEUR LSA JUNIOR Media Union policies restrict students TO THE DAILY: I must say I am im- pressed with the architecture of the Media Union, and the smoothness with which it has been integrated to the other buildings of North Campus. However, it always raises some concerns. The spirit of North Campus has always been that the students are trusted and respected. The Media Union policies are violating this feeling of trust by restricting student access to the building and the general interior design of the building. The restricted hours of the building is not an of things to be completed in the never-ending construc- tion of the building. The emphasis on security is rather excessive considering that the usual purpose of a campus building is to serve the students, not to enforce zones of control by various University splinter groups. Also, it vexes me that the Media Union has asked all of the students studying and passing through the building not to bring food or drink with them. I feel this is a very hypocritical decision for the administrators of the building considering that there are in fact kitchens in the building for the adminis- trators. I feel that the inability of students to have food and drink in a building that they will be asked to maintain is bad policy, but the fact that non-students are allowed to eat their lunch in the building. If these policies con- tinue, I will have no choice but to voicermy concerns through more official channels. Perhaps a student petition might be in order, although this University traditionally ignores any desires of undergraduate students. However, I am sure that there will be more than a few people annoyed at such policies, and eventually someone will have to take notice. NATHAN RAWLING ENGINEERING JUNIOR Students' Party is best choice to lead MSA To THE DAILY: As a former executive officer of the Michigan Student Assembly, External Relations Chair and long- time member of the Michigan Party, I want to throw my full support behind the Students' Party slate of Jonathan Freeman and Olga Savic for president and vice president of MSA. Although this endorse- ment may seem unexpected, I have chosen Freeman and Savic because they appear to be the only slate that has the integrity and ability to lead the assembly. It was not so long ago that both members of the Michigan Party slate were members of the Students' Party. This may be a point that has been forgotten by the student population, but as someone from the inside of the Michigan Party, I know it was done solely for political gain. Fiona Rose first came to MSA as a creative leader, continually her creative energy and focused it increasingly on inside politicking and personal gain. The personal views of Jonathan and Olga have not inspired me to write this letter, but their consistent integrity and passionate dedication to student issues. Having worked with Jonathan over the past two years I know that he has the leadership ability and skills to lead the student body. Rather than steamrolling his own agenda, he will work to forge a positive consensus that will benefit all. Fiona, however, in her brief chairmanship of ERC, did not show that she was interested in getting any form of opinion other than her own. For example, she even referred to the member- ship of the External Rela- tions Committee as"My steering committee." This kind of power-hungry behavior is not needed on the assembly, and has contributed to MSA's poor image. , Although I do not ideologically agree on everything that Jonathan and Olga stand for, I believe they do have many qualities that can finally increase the legitimacy of MSA with the student body. The Daily has continually endorsed the Michigan Party on a few lackluster issues. Now faced with choosing between an authentic Students' Party slate and a Students' Party slate running under the Michigan Party name, it's time to make a change by choosing integrity over political maneuvering. ADAM CLAMPITT LSA JUNIOR Create a newspaper for parents To THE DAILY: You should publish a weekly Michigan Daily designed for parents. You can get weekly subscriptions and added revenue. CARL LOESBERG UNIVERSITY ALUM Swimsuit column was sarcastic TO THE DAILY: While I'm sure you've already heard it, Kathy Mann's letter "Swimsuit issue exists to entertain sexist men" (2/22/96), just goes to show that some THE DOUBLE X Voice fom theps help to close the genemation gap in modern feminis have just emerged from a seven- month series ofimeetingswiththree other women. The meetings existed only on the pages of their pbems and essays, in my head and on the pages of the senior English thesis I was writing, but it was the best I could get. Espe- cially since one of the women I talked to, Emily 'e;. Dickinson has been dead for more than 100 years. I met with the KATE three woment- EPSTEIN the 20th century poets Adrienne Rich and Alice Fulton, along with Dickinson - to discuss, through prose and poetry, what it means to be a woman and a poet of ourrespective generations. Emily Dickinson's po- etry was published for the first time in 1890, four years after her death; Rich published her first book of po- etry in 1951, while Fulton began pub- lishing her poetry in book form in the mid-1980s. In 1996, Ilam only begin- ning to send my poems to literary journals. Listening to feminist poets across generations taught me a lot. The work of Dickinson, Rich and Fulton re- flects their level of development as poets, which is higher in each case than mine. Their longer experienc as poets gives them insight I do not have about our mutual craft. But their experience isn'tjust longerthan mine. Each poet has had a particular expe- rience coming of age as a woman poet because she was born at a par- ticular time. The condition of American women has changed hugely since Dickinson's time. Dickinson could never have had the time to write more than a few " poems if she had married, much less the 1,775 she did write inthe 36years between her first known poem and her death. Not marrying caused a significant loss in social status before and after her death, and some of Dickinson's poems ponder her pref-' erence not to marry. They reflect an experience of womanhood and poethood I could not imagine on my own. The situation of the woman poet has changed more subtly from Rich's coming of age as a poet, to Futon' coming of age, to mine, than betweer Dickinson's death and the earliest of Rich's poems, but there was much to- learn in that history. As a feminist,1 am always striving toward change i women's lives. Without knowing where we have been, I will never understand where we're going. With* out talking to older feminists, I will never know where we have been. Feminists ofall professions needtd. meet across the generations to listenV to each other. Most of the feminists older than me to whom I get th chance to talk are my mother or my professors. In the first case, there is too much history, too many emo tional stakes, for free discussion of politics. In the second, there is to: much power difference, too much formality. Feminists of all ages need, to seek out less loaded spaces.for discussion. Emotional investment in one an- other and differences in power will always be a factor when women of different generations get together to talk. Older feminists have a certaig authority by virtue of their greater. experience, but they're vulnerable too, because their hard work will be for nought if we don't take the torch: Feminists cannot afford to permi the sexist media's choice of young feminists' reactions to the so-called feminist establishment to represent all feminists under age 25. Nor ca4 we permit the older feminists' react tion to the media's pet yopng femi- nists, whose poorly argued and poorly researched treatises resemble the arr rogant rebelliousness of an adolesk cent, to represent the second wave of feminism's attitude toward younger feminists. We need to be creating out own dialogues instead of dialogue$ officiated by Time Magazine. Divisions along any line damage a political movement like feminism: The generation gap is no different; Without talking to one another, we'll never understand the differences be- tween growing up before the 1 970s surge in feminism and growing up after it. If we don't listen to oldet 0 r G 0i nies. Abdul-Rauf proclaims himself a devout Muslim, and asserts that his personal reli- gious creed prevents him from recognizing the American flag and the national anthem as symbols of freedom. Abdul-Rauf said the anthem represents tyranny and the type of "nationalistic ritualism" that his religion for- !:bids. Therefore, Abdul-Rauf exercised his constitutional religious freedom by sitting down or staying a few extra minutes in the locker room during the playing of "The Star- Spangled Banner." NBA officials responded last Tuesday by suspending the Nuggets' I leading scorer. A few days later, Abdul-Rauf conceded to stand for the anthem --with the stipulation that he would recite a personal prayer instead of observing the flag. The NBA violated Abdul-Rauf's free- ,, dom of religion and speech with its harsh imove. Some argue that the sanction is appro- riate because the NBA is a private organiza- t1ion, but this argument is unfounded. Re- . gardless of the NBA's status as a private organization, it is still subject to constitu- tional laws like every other American busi- ness. ognize that they draw players from all over the world -and not all players hold standard ideologies. Diversity among players must be respected. Although the controversy surrounding Abdul-Rauf's suspension has faded with the compromise, the NBA's rule requiring play- ers to rise for the anthem still stands. In effect, the NBA did very little compromising - it has maintained the appearance of vic- tory while Abdul-Rauf has lost some free- dom. Abdul-Rauf's concession was one he never should have had to make. The NBA must not impose standardized cultural practices that do not affect the com- petitive purpose of its business. Abdul-Rauf did not conduct himself ip an unsportsman- like fashion. He was not guilty of missing practice. He did not abuse narcotics or com- mit a crime. He did nothing that hurt his game. Nor did his actions' detract from his athletic prowess. He performed his job - and will continue to do so -- with the same enthusiasm and talent as other players on the same court. The NIA had no cause to contest his performance. It should not include cul- tural premises among league guidelines.