4 -The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 28, 1997
U{be4 S Ig kig
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
JOSH WHITE
Editor in Chief
ERIN MARSH
Editorial Page Editor
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All
other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
FROM THE DAILY,
Back to sahl
Atending class could dispel parents' fears
"NOTABLE QUOTABLE,,
'Well, basically we're pissed off with
the way MSA operates right now.'
- Jim Smith, SNRE senior and the Pissed Off with
Korrupt Executives Party candidate for MSA President
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L ETTERS TO TH E EDITOR
166 ill they have a well-balanced
VVdiet? Get enough sleep? Party
too much? Neglect their studies? Have
enough warm clothes for the Michigan win-
ter?" When sending a child to the
University of Michigan, the list of parental
worries may go on and on.
Yet one concern of many parents is the
quality of teaching that their children will
receive. Parents often object to the thought
of anyone but a tenured professor teaching
their child. Graduate Student Instructors,
especially, get a bad rap from parents -
concerned (though misinformed) parent
voices are often heard during new-student
orientation weeks on campus: "I don't want
my child being taught by one of those grad-
uate students."
Parents fail to recognize what a valuable
part GSIs play in their children's education.
GSIs are taking a step to bridge the gap and
make parents feel more at ease by inviting
them into their University classrooms for a
day. Their invitation is a positive idea that
parents should accept. Because GSIs face
constant parental criticism, they should plan
- and parents should attend - similar
events in the future.
This week, more than a dozen University
GSIs invited parents to attend their classes.
The invitation is part of a weeklong cele-
bration of graduate teaching across the
country. Eric Dirnbach, Graduate
Employees' Organization Secretary,
encouraged the invitation because parents
rarely have the opportunity to meet and
speak with the GSIs who teach their chil-
dren. "We just want everyone to realize that
we make a crucial contribution to the
University," Dirnbach says.
GSIs teach more than 40 percent of the
classes at the University - parents often do
not recognize the extensive teaching experi-
ence GSIs have or the breadth of their work.
Darcy Leach, GEO Vice President and one
of the GSIs to extend the invitation, said, "I
just really wanted people to know that I care
about teaching and that I have been trained
and that sometimes I have more contact
with the students than professors do - but
that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Leach brings up an important point -
discussion sections are often the most valu-
able part of a University class. The imper-
sonality of a 300-person lecture is intimi-
dating. Most students feel insecure asking
questions during a lecture, yet in a discus-
sion, the GSIs provide an environment that
facilitates discussion and can be more con-
ducive to learning. Students in a discussion
section are forced to have direct contact
with the GSI. This contact assists students,
giving them a place to turn when they have
questions.
The class visit program allows parents to
come face to face with their child's learning
experience. In the future, more GSIs should
join the other 12 to plan similar programs.
Parents are often in town for Parents'
Weekend or Homecoming; invitations for
class visits around these weekends would be
opportune - and a useful alternative to the
standard golf tournaments and catered
lunches.
GSIs are a valuable part of University
students' education - it is time that parents
realize their importance. As the GEO motto
states: "The University works because we
do."
Under wraps
Military should re-examine Gulf War illnesses
D uring the Persian Gulf War, most
experts were confident that Saddam
Hussein did not carry out his most potent
threat: using his chemical weapons arsenal
against coalition troops. Even so, Pentagon
officials assured full and expedient disclo-
sure of any personnel exposure to chemical
weapons. New evidence casts doubt on
whether the military is living up to that
promise.
Recently declassified Central
Intelligence Agency documents show that
the CIA gave the Pentagon detailed warnings
more than five years ago that, while demol-
ishing an Iraqi ammunition depot following
the war, U.S. troops could have been exposed
to nerve gas. It is speculated that it affected
more than 20,000 troops. The U.S. Army, in
an Inexcusable administrative blunder,
shoved the report aside for four years.
The documents revealed that United
Nations weapon inspectors found American
demolition material near an arms depot lit-
tered with destroyed sarin gas-filled rock-
ets. At the onset, the Army examined the
materials and determined that the 24th
Mechanized Infantry Division was in the
area. The 24th reported that they did not
destroy the depot, but the army negligently
failed to further pursue the issue.
Last year, Army officials discovered that
members of the 37th Engineering Battalion
demolished the depot. Many of the engi-
neers have since reported severe medical
problems. In the future, the Army must
eliminate any possibility of similar over-
sights. It must ensure that, when the lives of
personnel are in question, it comprehen-
sively pursues all investigatory avenues.
A number of mysterious illnesses, col-
ans have trouble collecting disability pay-
ments from the government because there is
no scientific evidence directly linking these
illnesses to service in the Middle East. The
health problems within the 37th
Engineering might make this link possible.
The Army has the responsibility to thor-
oughly investigate the medical dangers of
exposure to sarin and other chemical
weapons. Afterward, the government should
individually re-examine all claims of Gulf
War Syndrome. If there is any evidence that
the illnesses are related to the Gulf War, it
should immediately award full disability
benefits.
The Presidential Advisory Committee
on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses recently
reported its final findings. The panel criti-
cized the Pentagon for a "superficial"
investigation of chemical exposures. The
committee also found that chemical
weapons were probably not the cause of
most Gulf War ailments. However, given
the "new" information, it is suspect that the
CIA released its documents following the
panel's final report. President Clinton
should consider reconvening the panel to
determine if the evidence would signifi-
cantly change the committee's report.
The military and CIA have some clean-
ing up to do. Failure to follow up on evi-
dence that could have adversely affected
thousands of personnel was irresponsible.
But the deception of the public and the
president was equally inexcusable.
The military and CIA should have
released the documents to the presidential
committee researching Gulf War illnesses.
The military can no longer hide its mistakes
by stamping them with top secret clearance
Metallica
review was
'unintelligent'
TO THE DAILY:
I have not written to the
Daily before, but I am com-
pelled to now after reading
Brian Gnatt's article concern-
ing the Metallica show
Sunday at the Palace
("Metallica drops 'Load' at
Palace," 2/25/97). That is one
of the worst articles I have
ever read in the Daily.
First, Gnatt states that
Metallica looked "a bit silly"
with their short hair and
"alterna-gear," whatever that
is meant to mean. I guess that
if T-shirts are considered
alterna-gear, a lot of people
must look "a bit silly." Also,
the author continually refers
to Metallica "the way the
band used to be." That shows
his complete ignorance of
what Metallica is about.
Metallica is not Slayer,
Ministry or Motorhead, bands
that were formerly popular
but put out the same stuff
over and over again.
Metallica does what it wants
to do exactly how it wants to
do it, and that's why they are
one of the best bands ever.
Gnatt's ignorance of mat-
ters concerning the band in
this article is appalling. His
surprise at them opening up
with "Last Caress" is unwar-
ranted, since the band
changes their set list slightly
every show and had opened
with another cover, "So
What," the night before. This
is only one example, but
there are several more
throughout the article.
Next time the Daily wants
to cover a show, they should
send someone who knows
something about the band
which they are covering.
Maybe if Gnatt worked as
hard at writing a good article
as he did at whining about
Metallica, he would be able
to write an intelligent article.
LAWRENCE SUWINSKI
LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT
Columnists
should reveal
oddities of
campus life
TO THE DAILY:
This is in response to Erin
Galligan's comments in her
letter to the editor ("Miller
put humor over intellect,"
2/26/97) against James
Miller's column "Anatomy of
a University class discussion"
(2/19/97).
I think students like
Galligan who can no longer
take a joke must really do
some deep soul-searching.
gard such closed-minded
comments and just keep on
truckin'!
LARA HAMZA
LSA JUNIOR
Review bears
no 'ill will'
against CRs
TO THE DAILY:
Recently, University
College Republicans' presi-
dent Nick Kirk illegally rep-
resented himself as a member
of the Michigan Review in
order to gain admittance to a
recent Republican conven-
tion. I regret that these events
had to come to pass. I further
regret the possible stain that
may have been brought upon
the reputation of the mem-
bers of the CRs when we
published the story last
Wednesday, Feb. 19.
I would like to publicly
state that neither I nor the
Review blame the members
of the University CR for the
action of their president,
Nick Kirk. The vast majority
of CRamembers are decent,
honorable people. I do not
feel that the dishonest actions
of Kirk should reflect upon
the reputations of the CR
members. Ideally, someone
with the leadership ability of
Kirk would not have resorted
to such deplorable actions.
However, given that the
ideal does not often occur, it
was my hope that, when
faced with evidence of his
wrongdoing, Kirk would live
up to the ideals of leadership,
and admit to his wrongdoing,
and accept responsibility for
what he had done. That he
would protect the interests of
the CR and accept responsi-
bility for his actions.
However, he turned out to
be more concerned with pro-
tecting his own interests.
Instead of resigning and end-
ing the conflict, he chose to
throw his own group into
chaos and force them to
impeach him. His actions
have brought negative atten-
tion on not only the CR, but
on the conservative members
of this campus.
I wanted to write this let-
ter first to reassure the mem-
bers of the CRs that the
Review does not bear ill will
toward them. The Review and
the CRs have a long history
of cooperation - indeed our
founding publisher was the
chair of the University CRs
when the Review was created
in 1981. We applaud the CRs
for taking quick action
against Kirk and restoring
friendly relations between
our groups.
Second, I wanted to make
sure that that the University
community not hold the
actions of one person against
'U' coaches
Fisher, Carr
'must go'
TO THE DAILY:
For years I've defended
Steve Fisher because of what
happened in 1989. No more.
We all need to admit that .
Glen Rice won that champi-
onship, not Steve Fisher.
Fisher absolutely needs to go.
Combining the pathetic
showing of the Wolverine
basketball team over the last
three years with the pathetic
showing of the Wolverine
football team over the last
four years, I have to wonder
what people at the University
Athletic Department are
thinking. These two sports
are the ones that give the
University the most national
exposure. What the nation is
exposed to every year are two
mediocre teams living off a
grand tradition. (While I take
pride in the hockey team,
how many people nationwide
know about it, let alone know
it won a National
Championship last year?)
How long before the
University name no longer
draws top recruits? How long
before people stop wearing
University apparel? How
long before alumni stop giv-
ing money to a mediocre pro-
gram? Soon people will real-
ize what the University foot-
ball and basketball programs
are - mediocre programs -
and then what will become of
the University Athletic
Department?
As an alumnus, I am
bewildered and angered by the
athletic department's inability
to find decent coaches for the
football and basketball teams.
Lloyd Carr? It is plausible that
Fisher and Carr are fine
human beings. It is certain that
they are ineffective coaches.
Why can't the athletic depart-
ment find coaches who are
both fine people and good
coaches? Sure, easier said than
done. But even if your goals
are purely humanitarian, it is
hard to believe that the coach-
es are really doing much for
the players - how else can
you explain game after game
of sub-par, unmotivated, lack-
luster performances'? Maurice
Taylor can't make an impact
on a game, yet every year he
considers leaving for the
NBA. Is Fisher providing
proper guidance for this young
man? Perhaps Fisher's nice-
ness is actually a detriment to
the development of players
like Taylor, both as basketball
players and as people.
Carr and Fisher have both
been loyal to the University,
and for that I should thank
them. (But maybe not too
strenuously - I'd be pretty
loyal to an employer who
hired me despite my inability
to produce - no one else
Ladies: Watch
outfor players
the looks
can be deceiving
W hen I was just a young budding
freshman, my roommate and I
had a little phrase that we wrote on our
loft (ah, the days of lofts) that summe
up, in a way unsuitable for print, our
general sentiment
that men are jerks.
Before I bring
upon me the wrath X
of all the Y-chro-
mosomed mem-
bers of the
University, please
note that it is com-
mon for us all, }a
males and females
alike, to enter HEATHER
phases character- GORDON
ized by a deep and RMEWTH
soul-pervading ME
disenchantment
with our respective dating pools.
Perhaps I did not feel that the whole
crop of men were evil despots, but
rather in a Murphy's Law sort of way,
only those in whom I was intereste
Thus, Iwould like to share with you
some of my impressions of and experi-
ences with the types of foul others the
females of the campus might expect to
encounter in search of their better half.
For you girls who think you like nice_
guys, you should first beware of what I
title as the "Nouveau Cute" breed of
boys. These are guys who are good
people at heart, but are jaded by past
experiences with women (namely, by
being allotted to the "just a friend'
position one time too many). One day
in college, a boy gathers together a
strikingly fine assortment of clothes
off the floor and cleans the six inches
of dust on the mirror just enough to
have the stunning realization that after
that last growth spurt, he has in fact
become attractive, thus commencing
nouveau cutehood. He then buys him-
self something other than concert T-
shirts and gets a chic hairdo (perhapi
something involving gel or an unas-
suming ponytail), and sets himself on
the world of women.
He is pleased to find out that finally
the babes are responding, yet he is too
bitter to want them for anything other
than revenge. Specifically, his interest
is solely in maximizing the number of
notches on his bedpost in the interest
of making up for lost time. However,
as sleazy as he wants to be, a nouvea
cute boy still has the strong vestiges o
his nice-guy former self, so he goes
about attempting to seduce by earnest
means all the pretty girls he never
could have had before. Sort of a con-
flict of interest. He wants to bed them,
but he finds himself asking them to
dinner. It is a double dirty dog trick,
since the ladies (or at least I) will fall
for his nice guy routine before he flees
in the interest of another skirt.
Next, the perilous "starving artist,"
genus Salvatoric Dalius. This brand
typically appeals to girls who are work-
ing on their own uniqueness or simply
just trying to disturb their parents,
since a starving-artist boy possesses
neither money nor comb nor matching
clothes. His appeal lies in his dedicated
devotion to his
music/sculpture/dance/insert artsy-
fartsy thing here, since it would only
logically follow that he would be
equally as passionate about the girl of
his choice. So not only do the ladies get
to worry their parents by dating some-
one with no apparent earning potential
(before you get your panties all in a
bunch, I am taking merely a typical
concerned parent's point of view, here),
but they also get to watch their honey
create majestic things. Ah, but girls, I
tell you that you are mistaken. The rub
is that your artist usually reserves
every last savorydrop. of his verve for
his art, as he has made the difficult
choice to follow such a serendipitous
route, with not a drop to spare for you.
So girls, ride the train somewhere else.
The third, and most rampant type is
the ever-popular "player" - the guy
who blatantly just wants to chase as
much tail as he possibly can. Yet, there
are subtle sub-varieties to this particu-
lar flavor of mate. For example, the
recidivistic philanderer: the type that
just adore women so thoroughly - all
women. He cannot help but love each
and every woman that passes in his
sightline. He means so well, but his
short attention span gets in the way.
Then we have the serial
monogamists, who seriously date girls,
but due to some horrible take-down in
the past by some brazen, braces-boun
bimbo in the eighth grade (from which
they are still healing), can never truly
commit. And of course, my. favorite
pedigree, the egoist - the player that
loves himself so dearly that he uses
women like disposable tissues; in it for
the pleasure with no regard for them.
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