4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 3, 1996 UhIe #3idtigtn Udg 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 Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Dailv s editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily FROM THE DAILY A helping NOTABLE QUOTABLE It's a good way to like someone for their inner qualities without their physical appearances Interfering.' - LSA sophomore Stacie Sherman, explaining the benefits offinding romance on the Internet JiM LASSER SHARP AS TOAST VHY Do EL RU~i5 .?"na-l ONE DAY TAKE MY I'4oTH ER AROUDJ ThE BLOCK ir' A B161 NEWE TAEE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Two 'U' programs c( wo University programs are actively trying to offer hope and motivation to underprivileged children - the King/Chavez/Parks program and Project Lighthouse. The University's Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives sponsors both inno- vative programs. King/Chavez/Parks focus- es on underprivileged middle school stu- ourt underprivileged message: Opportunities are available. As visible support for high aspirations, some benficiaries are now program hosts. Former middle school students from depressed neighborhoods attend the pro- gram to encourage children to work hard in high school. The adults return to their old schools and help young people in similar circumstances. dents, most of whom are black, Native American and Hispanic. Project Lighthouse per- forms many of the same functions, but addresses the unique problems of Asian/Pacific American students. Pigeonholed as a "model minority," the prob- lems they face are often overlooked. The programs bring middle school students i( Project Lighthouse and the King/Chavez/Parks program are win-win situations. Students win because they can discover options open to them - and may gain inspira- tion to pursue those opportu- nities. The University wins because the programs help foster campus diversity, bring- ing in students from a variety of socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. The University should continue to develop such programs, as well as pur- suing diversity from other directions. from underrepresented school districts to theM University for a visit, which aims to give them a glimpse of all aspects of college life. Students observe residence hall life, classes and campus activity. Through financial aid presenta- tions, students learn feasible means to attain a University education. These glimpses of campus life may encourage students to put strong emphasis on their studies - and set their sights on higher education. The basic ITT WIMSATT/Oaiy America has a long way to travel toward making its educational system equitable and accessible. While far-reaching changes must occur to keep underprivileged chil- dren from falling through the cracks, both the King/Chavez/Parks and Project Lighthouse programs motivate students to rise above difficulties by offering them a chance. Hiking for fairness Congress should raise minimum wage T he purchasing power of Americans employed in low-paying jobs has decreased dramatically in the past 15 years. To rectify the problem, President Clinton proposed a minimum-wage increase. Congress should disregard the pleas of big- business lobbyists and instead further the interests of low-income Americans. Clinton has been advocating a raise in the minimum wage since his 1992 presi- dential campaign. Recently, he pushed Congress to enact the proposal. He wants to increase the minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.15 per hour. When the bill came before the U.S. Senate last week, Republican lead- ership prevented a vote; House Republicans employed a similar tactic earlier - hence the bill is disappearing quickly from the legislative agenda. In 1979, the minimum wage was today's dollar equivalent to $6 per hour. Moreover, the purchasing power of the minimum wage decreased by more than 10 percent since 1991. No mechanism allows the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation. Thus, since its induction in 1938, Congress has raised the minimum wage 17 times. Congress is responsible for keeping the minimum wage at a reasonable level. Opponents of a minimum-wage hike have little foundation for their claims. They argue that Americans will have fewer employment opportunities for low-skilled workers. Renowned economists David Card and Alan Kreuger recently studied the fast- food industry and discovered that a mini- mum-wage increase would not decrease employment - instead, it would create more jobs. Other research reveals that a minimum-wage increase could lessen the widening gap between the lower and upper classes. The minimum wage has not increased at a rate even close to that of college tuition. In the past, many students worked their way through school. Now, it is nearly impossible to pay tuition with a minimum-wage job. Those who claim teen-agers do not need the minimum-wage increase are mistaken. Teen-agers' job earnings are often not used as casual spending money, but instead as a means of getting an education. The other significant case against rais- ing the minimum wage is that the most affected workers are teen-agers from well- off families or secondary part-time work- ers. This assumption is untrue. According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than 70 percent of minimum-wage workers come from families with low incomes. Currently, almost 50 percent of minimum-wage earn- ers hold a full-time job - and they are still below the poverty line. If Clinton's propos- al passes, minumum-wage workers could earn enough to push above the poverty level. A minimum-wage hike could provide the means for support other than welfare. Minimum-wage earners working 40 hours per week earn less than $9,000 per year. Some may choose to go on welfare rather than work and earn a salary below the poverty line. The number of entry-level jobs probably will not decrease; middle- and upper-class families could use the wage increase to help pay college tuition. Republicans in Congress must pass Clinton's proposal to help Americans sup- port themselves. Code should not be used in paper theft TO THE DAILY: I would like to applaud The Michigan Daily's deci- sion to pursue the prosecu- tion of the miscreants who stole the Daily on March 27 through the legal system rather than charging them under our quasi-legal Code of Student Conduct. By making this decision, the Daily has also stood up for two impor- tant notions. First, that cen- sorship, be it from the right or the left, based on the doc- trines of fascism or political correctness, will not be toler- ated on this campus. Second, that students are perfectly capable of using the real legal system of this nation rather than the mock- ery of an imitation Maureen Hartford et al. have set up for us. If we cannot get rid of the Code, then the least we can do is refuse to use it. Someday, perhaps, the Code will be nothing more than hollow words, a slip of paper which signifies as little to this university as the treaty guaranteeing Belgian neutral- ity signified to the troops of Imperial Germany in August 1914. BEN NVICK RC SENIOR Mad gun disease strikes To THE DAILY: Mad cow disease is a health threat in England, but I am pleased that Daily colum- nist Jordan Stancil is stand- ing up and voicing his oppo- sition to the spread of "mad gun disease" in the United States ("How could Congress be so ... dumb," 3/27/96). Mad gun disease, of course, causes a person's brain to turn to fertilizer upon touch- ing a gun, leaving him liable to pop someone for cutting him off or not thanking him for holding the door open. While Stancil correctly recognizes that mad gun dis- ease can propagate through human contact with any gun, certain politicians think that only certain types of "assault" weapons can trans- mit it. They consequently move to ban this subset of firearms and tell us that crime will be all but eradicat- ed thanks to their action. But since few Americans seem to appreciate the preva- lence of mad gun disease and support a total gun ban, other politicians who agree with and Charley Reese that they are intolerant and cruel to accuse those mad gun disease victims in Texas and (recent- ly) Detroit of "deliberately" wasting a couple motorists when they clearly had suf- fered irreparable brain dam- age from touching a hand- gun. Thank you, Stancil. Keep up the good work and the fight for mad gun disease awareness. MICHAEL R. WHEATON ENGINEERING SENIOR GSIs deserve increased pay, benefits To THE DAILY: I would like to respond to Jose Alvarez's letter (Title of the letter, 3xx96). He expressed some confusion regarding the bargaining process and some anxiety regarding the prospect of strike, both of which I would like to address. First, teaching here is an honor and a pleasure. Working with undergraduates at the University is one of the most challenging and reward- ing jobs I have ever held. Second, it is also precisely that: a job. As such, its terms of employment (as statedin our contract) are of profound importance to me and to other graduate student instructors. As employees of the University, we are, under- standably, interested in the terms of our employment and are invested in shaping the conditions under which we work. Bargaining is a process that takes place when our contract is about to run out (as it did on Feb. 1), not an informal discussion that can be moved to the summer months. Indeed, moving negotiations to June or July would simply pose the same dilemmas for those teaching and taking classes during the spring and summer terms. I understand and share your concerns regarding the disruptions that a strike would cause. No one ever wants to go on strike. A strike would pose extreme problems for gradu- ate students who, like every- body, need to pay rent and feed themselves (and some- times their dependents). However, when over 80 percent of us voted yes on the strike authorization vote, we sent a message that we would be willing to undergo that hardship in order to cre- ate a better work environment for us, for future graduate students, and for undergradu- ate students who are unde- administration urging them to settle with us. Thanks. REBECCA PoYouRow GSl Stop the racist bias To THE DAILY: I must admit that Wednesday March 27, 1996, was a very pleasant day. Especially after noticing as a replacement of the Daily is a sign that read: The Michigan Daily Has Been Canceled Today Due to Racism, signed by the "Ad Hoc Committee Against the Bull!@#$ in The Michigan Daily." I figured it was about time someone real- ly did something about one of the many racist pillars on this uncomfortable campus. It upsets me to see that this newspaper that is for the students does not represent the students, especially the minorities. Being a first-year student, I am inclined to notice your daily reflection upon us students treated unlike equals. Starting with unfair coverage on a student party, as you put it, "a party built on single-minded resis- tance" ("Vote Michigan Party: Rose, Mehta would provide strong leadership," 3/26/96). As a candidate with the United People's Coalition party, I must ask: What makes you think we are "not fit to lead the assembly"? Is it because we are running a slate of candidates who hap- pen to be non-white. Just think of all the other parties that are running candidates that happen to be non- African American. Of course you didn't, seeing that your staff is just one happy "multi- cultural" family. It pleases me to see that UPC (mem- bers are) caring individuals that happen to be minorities. But of course I know you would have been happy if we would have been like Andy Schor and Matt Curin's (Wolverine) party that just had to place a picture of a lit- tle African American child on their flyers with the possibili- ty of influencing us African American folks. Or maybe if UPC would have recruited one African American or per- son of color just like the other parties did. Maybe it would have pleased you if UPC would have pulled in individuals that happen to be white and have them do our "majority interacting" work, just like some of the folks in your staff. A music editor and a staff writer, I wonder which minority issue they will cover next? Or maybe we should have sat down with Jim Lasser concerning us stu- dents that are "Sharp as LAsr-DFFC.H APPEAL The mysteious conneci'on between Crosses and women It was, to paraphrase Garrison Keillor, a quiet week in Grayling. At the Women's Prayer Circle at the Methodist Church they were getting ready for a banquet and the theme of the banquet was goingto be the History of the 20th Century. It was a ban- quet for women,x. so they thought that they would concentrate on women's history. They would have posters about women getting the JORDAN vote and about the STANCIL law passed in Utah that said that women couldn't wear skirts more than three inches above the ankle. Things like that. No controversy. The problem started when Hert* suggested that the women make minia- ture Iron Crosses for everyone to wear. That would commemorate the World Wars. Iron Crosses! In Grayling, home of the Michigan National Guard and the place where, in 1915, an arma- ments plant blew up under mysterious circumstances and everybody knew the Germans did it. Iron Crosses in this place! Now, even the Methodist Womens Prayer Circle is a kind of melting p* and Hertha is not exactly from this part of the world. She's from Austria, and she left Austria for America in the 1930s after Austria became a part of the Third Reich. Kurt von Schuschnigg was, the chancellor of Austria in 1938, and he was forced from office by the Nazis. There were Nazis in Austria, Gestapo men were in Vienna. Big Germ armies were at the border, and wh was tiny Austria to do? There was only one thing to do. Chancellor von Schuschnigg walked around the Chancellery, looking in on all the offices that had been occupied by the great statesmen of the past, none of whom had ever faced disasters like this one. It was evening, or it was get- ting to be evening, when Schuschnigg went on the radio and announced that Austria would not oppose Germany. So Germany "invaded." Austria, unlike Belgium or Denmark or Finland, was not about heroism, and all that remained to be done was for Hitler to march into Vienna, the city that had rejected him as a painter, and to pro- claim the Anschluss, the pan-German union, between Germany and Austria. Hertha lived in Vienna while all this was going on. But she left, s came to this country, she came Chicago. She lived in Chicago for a while, but eventually moved to Grayling, where she ran the gift shop in the Holiday Inn. It's a long way from Vienna to the Grayling Holiday Inn. She's been in town for a long time, run- ning her gift shop, and she goes to church and she's in the prayer circle, but she still has an accent when she speaks and, besides that, people s she tries to run everything. Some pe ple just don't like her. She's a little dif- ferent. But she's hardly a Nazi and she's not even German, so it's unclear why she wanted to make Iron Crosses. Maybe she has an underdeveloped sense of irony. Some of the women in the Prayer Circle didn't know, or didn't remem- ber, what an Iron Cross is. Some@ them can't hear too well anymore, some weren't listening. Maybe they were thinking about what to cook for dinner that night. But some heard loud and clear. They heard the words "Iron Cross" in a German accent. And they were mad. Just about mad enough to make Hertha buy a Liberty Bond. "Not on your life, Hertha," said one of the ladies. "Vell!" said Hertha. Now, Grayling is a small town a everyone knows Hertha. They've known her for a long time. She's not ostracized or anything like that. You might think that someone would have asked her why. Or explained why not. If there's any hope for inter-cultural understanding in this world, you would think it would be in a small town, among people who know each other well and see each other all the ti You would think that in Grayling, ofa' places, in the Methodist Women's Prayer Circle no less, people would be communicating with one another. They do communicate with each other about some things. They might HOW TO CONTACT THEM ONIS CHEATHAMS COORDINATOR, PRE-COLLEGE PROGRAMS 1042 FLEM IFNG ANiri APRnrpo MI ASR1C-12Ufl I