4A - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 1, 1996
be £idi3&u ullg
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
Ni;
RONNIE GLASSBERG
Editor in Chief
ADRIENNE JANNEY
ZACHARY M. RAIMI
Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority ojfthe Dailv s editorial board. All
other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
FROM THE DAILY
Reelect Mayor Sheldon
Incumbent continues to work for students
NOTABLE QUOTABLE,
'I want every person in America to have a
chance to live out their dreams if they're
responsible enough to work for it.'
-President Clinton, speaking at a campaign ally at
Eastern Michigan University on Wednesday
JIM LASSEERSHARP AS TOAST
ST'LL SLINC-1N, MUD......
L E T H D
4~ t
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Republican Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid
Sheldon deserves re-election. Her
active working relationship with the
University, combined with her great acces-
sibility, are two compelling reasons to give
her another term. Her opponent,
Christopher Kolb, a Democrat and current
City Council member, would bring enthusi-
asm to the job. However, Sheldon has estab-
ished herself as a pillar of the community
she has earned another term serving Ann
Arborites.
Sheldon, a two-term incumbent, has
earned the Daily's endorsement in her two
previous mayoral elections. She continues
to display a nonpartisan, moderate approach
to city government that has made the City
Council more effective. She consistently
puts the city's interests above partisan poli-
tics, making her a likable and effective
mayor in a heavily Democratic town. While
Kolb has some good ideas, Sheldon satis-
fied her constituents for the past two terms.
Sheldon has had a stabling influence on
the Ann Arbor community. Residents seem
much more satisfied with the work of
Sheldon than they wire with the skills of
Sheldon's predecessor. Among her accom-
plishments since taking office, Sheldon has
improved and expanded Ann Arbor roads
that both city commuters and football spec-
tators use.
One of Sheldon's greatest assets is a
willingness to work with the University to
improve the lives of one of her constituent
groups - the students. Sheldon has gone
out of her way to improve safety for
University students who live in the city's
neighborhoods.
During her tenure as mayor, Sheldon
approached the University and suggested
that the city and the school share lighting
costs for off-campus housing areas. When
the University chose not to take part in the
project, Sheldon took matters into her own
hands and had the city pay for the lighting.
Before implementation, however, she
walked around the area with students to
determine where the lighting would be most
effective. This type of hands-on leadership
offsets Sheldon's calm style well.
When Sheldon was a City Council mem-
ber and the council was selecting a new
police chief, Sheldon was one of the only
council members to seek student opinions
actively - she put a student on the com-
mittee. Her attitude did not change after
stepping into office. In fact, she often seeks
Michigan Student Assembly input on cam-
pus issues.
Sheldon's stability in the mayor's office
is also a plus. The current status of the
University administration is shaky. The new
University president will need some time to
adjust to the job and secure an administra-
tive team. Meanwhile, Sheldon will contin-
ue to provide a stable relationship with the
University - which voters should not
underestimate.
Democrat Christopher Kolb would bring
strong leadership skills to the mayor's office
as well as abundant energy. However, he
and Sheldon seem to differ on few points.
Some of his many ideas have merit; for
example, he would like to introduce a cus-
tomer service plan for city services, where
residents have a better opportunity to evalu-
ate the Ann Arbor's public agencies and ser-
vices.
Voters would need a compelling reason
to drop a solid incumbent like Sheldon to
take a chance on Kolb. Ann Arbor has ben-
efited from Kolb's contributions as a coun-
cil member, but Sheldon has maintained her
reputation as a competent mayor. She dis-
plays political savvy - and has proven her-
self to be approachable and fair with the
University community.
Vote Ingrid Sheldon for mayor to let her
continue the substantial impact she has
already made on Ann Arbor. She has given
voters every reason to keep her.
Computing co
Vote 'Yes' on WCC millage
Rivers fights
for families
TO THE DAILY:
In light of recent articles
and television ads that have
attacked Lynn Rivers, I feel
compelled to support and
defend her record. Rivers, it
may not be known, was mar-
ried at age 18 and was a
mother by the age of 21. She
was able, though, to raise her
family and work her way
through college and law
school, often depending on
student loans and assistance
to help pay for rising tuition
rates and fees.
Prior to being elected to
Congress in 1994, Rivers was
a longtime community
activist and served as school
board president for three
years. But let River's strong
record speak for itself. Rivers
fought against Republican-
proposed cuts to student loan
programs, co-sponsored a bill
that would give companies
tax-credits for employer-pro-
vided educational assistance
and fought to continue fund-
ing Head Start and other pro-
grams benefiting disadvan-
taged children. Also, Rivers
opposed Republican-spon-
sored bills (H.R 743, H.R.
1279) that would weaken or
abolish trade unions, and
fought against a proposed
amendment to the Fair Labor
Standards Act that would
give employers the power to
"average" worker's overtime
over a two-week period, thus
cheating the workers out of
their hard-earned overtime
earnings.
Rivers exemplifies com-
mon sense values and com-
munity involvement while
understanding the struggles
of the nation's workers.
Unlike her opponent, Joe
Fitzsimmons, who only
moved back to Ann Arbor in
1995. Rivers has a genuine
interest and concern for the
community and is dedicated
to students and workers alike.
Don't be fooled by negative
attacks by Republicans like
Fitzsimmons - Rivers is the
common-sense, outstanding
choice for Congress.
JOHN LEFFEL
LSA STUDENT
MSA should
absolve itself
TO THE DAILY:
I think the entire
Michigan Student Assembly
machine has gotten way out
of hand! I keep seeing state-
ments from these little
resume inflators about the
need for more money and
how much it is needed to help
students. Should I laugh now?
Not a single MSA politi-
cian campaigned on the plat-
program they want to sup-
port. If there is no program
an individual wants to sup-
port, he or she could have a
Happy Meal. Because if pro-
grams end due to a lack of
student funding, it means stu-
dents did not want to fund
the program.
I am sick and tired of
groups of people deciding
how our money should be
spent. I am even more dis-
gusted when a useless, child-
ish, petty group like MSA
says things like "we have a
mandate" and "we need this
money ... it is our duty to
support studentsu..." frankly,
I need this money in my
pocket. I am sure that a lot of
students need this money in
their pockets. Why should
part of my student loans go
to support an organization
that is, for all intensive pur-
poses, a money pit?
Does MSA want to lower
our tuition (as they claim) so
that they can raise our fees? I
am at the University to get an
education not to fund some
micro-welfare system. The
best thing the members of
MSA could do for every stu-
dent is issue student fee
refund checks and then
resign immediately. If that
doesn't look good on your
resume, MSA should ask the
regents to allow students to
opt out of the student fee and
all its glorious benefits.
CARLOS E. HERNANDEZ
LSA SENIOR
LSA-SG funds
help students
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing this letter in
response to the editorial
("Money Madness,"
10/29/96). As an elected stu-
dent representative and trea-
surer for LSA Student
Government I feel it is nec-
essary to defend the criti-
cisms directed toward the
proposed $1 student fee
increase to benefit individual
college governments.
The Daily claims that
governments such as LSA-
SG are most effective in han-
dling administrative details
and "these endeavors do not
require much money." An
astute reader of the Daily will
quickly realize that this
directly contradicts an article
that was run four days prior
to this editorial. The article
"LSA-SG budget increase to
benefit many groups,"
10/25/96) describes a recent-
ly approved budget that has
allowed $20,000 for student
groups. "When MSA turns
students (funding requests)
down it suggests alternatives,"
the article said. LSA-SG is
one of those alternatives.
A $1 budget increase to
LSA-SG would potentially
provide $25,000 more for
increase to both MSA and
the individual college govern-
ments lightly. However, there
is no possible way to keep up
with increasing student group
demand and inflation without
increasing the student fee.
The Daily claimed that
"MSA often is the only
avenue groups have to
receive funds." I hope that
after reading this letter stu-
dents realize that this is not
the case.
LSA-SG is the largest
college government on cam-
pus (serving 15,000 stu-
dents). I can ensure the stu-
dents of this University that a
$1 student fee increase would
go right back to the students.
Let's continue to make this
University something we can
all be proud of. One way to
do that is to continue to pro-
vide money to the 600 stu-
dent groups on campus that
make this University great.
ADAM SCHLIFKE
LSA JUNIOR
LSA-SG TREASURER
Vote Dole
TO THE DAILY:
Thursday night is defi-
nitely the night for comedy
on TV NBC held true to its
tradition by showing a
Clinton ad. In the ad, Clinton
claims that he is the choice
for supporting women and
children. Then how do you
explain Clinton vetoing
increasing funding for the
Violence Against Women Act
by more than $175 million?
Or legislation to go after
deadbeat dads who live in
luxury across state lines
while their dependents suffer
elsewhere? Or constant veto-
ing of tax breaks for middle-
class families? The ad claims
that Dole's campaign is full
of personal attacks and no
ideas for America. But the
end of the ad levies a person-
al attack against Dole and
Newt Gingrich. It claimed
that they were in favor of cut-
ting Medicare. However, the
Republicans never proposed
reducing Medicare benefits.
Both Republicans and
Clinton have proposed
restraining the future growth
of Medicare: the GOP by
$270 billion over seven years,
the president by $124 billion
over the same period.
Under the GOP plan,
Medicare spending still
would have risen by 7 per-
cent per year, the
Congressional Budget Office
says. Of course, one of
Clinton's stated goals was to
balance the budget, even
though he vetoed Congress'
balanced-budget amendment.
Is Bill Clinton really the can-
didate to support women and
children, as he would like you
to believe? No.
Bob Dole is the better
choice for the American fami-
SHAKING THE TREE
Ways to cope
with campus
human rights
violations
was in Angell Hall computing site
the other day, minding my own
business, when this chick put her coat
in MY space. You
know the area -
there are lines
dividing your
space from the
space at the next "$a
computer. And zi
people inadeMt
your space all the a
time - with
books, bags, their 4
butts and the like. KATIE
Not that I neces-~ HUTCHINS
sarily need the HTHN
space. But it'stthe principle of the
thing. If I should need the space in the
future, I want to know that it's there.
It's as if one of ny housemates put
food on my refrigerator shelf Not that
I ever have anything but beer and left-
over pizza in the fridge, but should I
become domestic, I want to know the
space is there.
Now picture me telling this girl -
who has deliberately placed her coat in
my space - to get her damn coat out
of my computing area. All of a sudden
I'm the asshole rightp?
Everywhere on campus, incidents
like this occur in which you have every
reason to assert your rights. Somebody
is stepping on your territory, and they
shouldn't be. But you're the asshole if
you step on theirs.
The most common place these viola-
tions of human rights occur is at the
time "limit" spots. You know the ones
- five-minute limit at the UGLI com-
puters, the 10-minute limit at Angell
Hall and the Union, and the 10-minute
limit for the typewriter at the Career
Planning and Placement Center.
Nobody ever observes these limits.
Last week, I was typing up another4
application for law school and, observ-
ing the 10-minute limit, I got off the
typewriter so the lovely young lady
behind me could take her turn. She
took five minutes figuring out how to
use the typewriter, five minutes figur-
ing out how to load the paper, and
another 10 minutes typing the first two
lines on her form.
Then she turned around and said,
"Oh, are you waiting?" Really sweetly.
What could I do?
I told her that, yes, I did have more
to type. And I also informed her that 1
had only relinquished the typewriter in
observation of the 10-minute limit.
"Oh, I have no idea how long I've been
on. Sorry!" She giggled, turned
around, and said she'd be off the type-
writer in a few minutes.
What do you do with these people?
Do you say, "No, sorry, you've already
exceeded your limit?" Do you inform
the reference letter staff that she is
breaking the rules? No. You can't.
Because then you're the bitch.
The same goes for people wandering
around the computing site looking for
a free computer in the middle of the
day. First of all, nobody puts their
"Open" signs down when they arrive,
and nobody puts them up when they
leave. So you still have scores of peo-
ple hovering over computer screens4
trying to assess which one will be
available shortly.
A friend of mine had a system
worked out. He would stick with the
sections where most people were
checking e-mail, because that's some-
thing you do just before you start your
paper or just before you leave. He fig-
ured it would be more likely that
someone would leave in these areas.
Little did he know, there are students
on this campus who happen to have
time in the middle of the day to spend
hours and hours on e-mail, who have
12 credits and nothing to do but find a
Cyberfriend in Australia.
He also wasn't aware of the vicious
computer vultures, who hover some-
where unseen and dart in front of you
when you glance down to read the
Daily for a moment.
And then there are the people wh
leave their computers while they take a
beer break at Ashley's. You know these
when you see a computer with the
"print"command on the screen; they
leave their computers like this so they
won't automatically turn off while
they're gone.
Sure, we're all guilty of leaving our
computers at oneutime or another.
Some of us need bathroom breaks,
some need a cigarette, but for God'
sake - give it up if you're going out
for beer or a hook-up in the third floor
restroom.
I've started a sort of personal rebel-
lion. When I'm in the computing site,
everyone is the enemy. Whether it be
pushing people aside at the printer,
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U niversity students are used to walking
into their residence halls, classroom
buildings and libraries, and finding a num-
ber of modern and mostly well-maintained
computers. The University owns and oper-
ates a vast supply of superior technological
tools. Not all institutions are so fortunate.
Some schools cannot collect millions of
tuition dollars and therefore must turn to
millage-based funding for technological
improvements. Washtenaw Community
College is one such institution. This
Tuesday, voters should vote yes for WCC's
.85 mil computer and technology proposal.
The college - which has not had a mill-
age-rate increase in 10 years - is sorely
lacking the funding to update its computer
systems. As University students know, a
school's computer system is all-encompass-
ing - it affects students' abilities to com-
municate, do research and obtain sources
from other schools or even other countries.
At WCC, an extensive adult job-training
program makes the situation more urgent.
In August, the school approved a bond issue
to improve high-tech training programs and
to construct a new technology education
facility. However, the newly appropriated
funds are only able to do part of the job.
WCC's business-centered job training pro-
grams must focus on computer systems like
the ones popular in the business world. To
prepare its students for the work force,
WCC must update and integrate its current
In accordance with high-tech training
programs, the millage would allow WCC to
offer employee training programs for local
companies. Broadening the scope of educa-
tion by incorporating local business is a
good strategic move for WCC - coopera-
tion now helps to place students in jobs
later.
One of the most important functions the
millage would serve is to rewire WCC's
campus to provide students, faculty and
staff increased access to communication
networks and the Internet. Research using
the Internet has grown significantly over
the past few years, fast becoming an inte-
gral part of higher education. WCC stu-
dents need the chance to improve their
resources and catch up with technology.
In the classroom, the millage would
allow instructors to modify the curriculum
to improve basic skills instruction. Adults
who want to take advantage of WCC's job
training programs may feel intimidated
because of their lack of basic skills. A few
refresher courses in math, reading and writ-
ing could alleviate some of their worries.
Due to Gov. John Engler's cuts in adult edu-
cation, adults interested in job training pro-
grams must increasingly rely on institutions
like WCC to continue their education.
This Tuesday, when voters choose a
president to take the country into the future,
they also should remember local issues.
Voters should support WCC's proposed
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