4 --The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 15, 1997


GIw di[igan iEali

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
'The AIDS epidemic is pretty scary regardless of what
kind of sex you're talking about. I think It comes down
to ideology and upbringing. Some people have ethics.'
- LSA first-year student Adam Barr; on the
reported decline in approval offcasual sex
JIM LASSER SHARP AS TOAST

!.

Vnless 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
Celebrate the dream

WOW! Loo
.5UP PoRT
ClAY" MARK?

K AYAL-i- THE
FoR LI Tl IP~2WN(
JAA-F SI!

9

MLK Symposium
Next Monday, Jan. 20, students will
a wake up to find no classes. At least,
none of the classes for which they regis-
tered last semester.
The University reserves this day every
year to honor Martin Luther King Jr., in
accordance with the national holiday.
Instead of holding classes, the University
provides a symposium packed with speech-
es, panel discussions, a unity march and
other opportunities for reflection. This
year's theme is "Campaign for a Unified
Community of Justice," and its events will
continue throughout January and February.
Those drawn by music will be pleased to
know that Kelli Williams and the Clark
Sisters will grace the events with a perfor-
mance at 8 p.m. at Hill Auditorium on Jan.
19. Tickets are available at the University
Musical Society Box Office.
The keynote address is scheduled for the
.; next morning. The, speaker will be a
University alum, Mary Frances Berry, chair
of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Berry's distinguished credentials promise to
make her a worthwhile speaker - worth,
even, getting up to see her speak at 10:30
a.m. on a holiday. And, after all, the purpose
of this national holiday is to learn.
To express the day's remembrance pub-
licly, the Black Student Union's annual
MLK Unity March at noon will follow
Berry's speech. Marchers will begin at
South University Avenue between South
Forest Street and Washtenaw Avenue. Those
who prefer activity to reflection may also
prefer the march to the lecture hall.
Project Serve will pitch in to offer a ser-
vice project from 1 to 7 p.m. "Acting on the
Dream" will bring participants into youth

provides education
centers and homeless shelters, locally and
in Detroit. This is a good way for students to
see beyond cozy dormitory living and into
the real world.
As the day is set aside for reflection -
and the University will provide several
stimulating options - students should seize
this opportunity. However, students who
already planned to take advantage of the
free day and leave town will not have to
miss everything - more than 100 events
will continue past the holiday. Later events
include talks by Martin Luther King III and
Julian Bond, and a panel discussion Jan. 21,
"Activism in Backlash Times" (3 to 5 p.m.,
Angell Hall Auditorium B).
Manning Marable - an author, profes-
sor and the director of the Institute for
Social Research in African American
Studies at Columbia University - will give
a talk Jan. 22 (3 p.m., Lydia Mendelssohn
Theater). The next day, there will be a panel
discussion, "Peaceful Resolution of
Conflict in the Global Village" (4 to 6 p.m.,
Angell Hall Auditorium A). On Jan. 28,
Native American activist Dennis Banks,
who co-founded the American Indian
Movement, will give a talk (5:30 p.m.,
Mendelssohn Theater).
In past years, some have complained that
MLK Day did not necessarily follow in
King's activist traditions. They may have a
point - understanding is not passive, and
activism is not confined to a conference
room or one day of the year. This year, get
involved in the day's events, and carry the
spirit of the holiday with you throughout the
year.
Many of the lessons learned on MLKj
Day are prevalent throughout the year.

r!
VIEWPOINT
Clinton, Gingich must follow ethics

Grating liberty
Court must affirm physician-assisted suicide

B ERIN PAYNE
Last Tuesday, Washington,
D.C., played host to* the
swearing in of the 105th U.S.
Congress.
With the ceremony came
promises from both the
Democratic and Republican
parties that this term would
bring change for the nation.
But, in all reality, changes
are promised, but the political
pattern . rarely changes.
Despite campaigntpromises,
politicians tend to behave
similarly regardless of their
party affiliations. Perhaps the
most obvious issue is ethics.
In many Americans'
books, there are few honest
politicians, if any. And if there
are honest politicians we
don't hear about them. Yes,
some political types are evi-
dently not too bright when it
comes to making decisions
that affect the people.
But overwhelmingly,
politicians are highly educat-
ed Americans who know what
they are talking about.
However, they are humans
and make mistakes.
With every decision we
make, we face the possibility
of making the wrong decision
and making a mistake. And
with every mistake we make,
we must deal with the conse-
quences.
However, it seems as if
many politicians are immune
from dealing with the conse-
quences and, instead, the peo-
ple suffer. Government privi-
leges have saved many politi-
cians from facing public
scorn.
This is exactly why politi-
cians should have to face the
consequences of their poor
decisions. Instead of burying
scandals, granting immunity
and then using political tac-
tics to hail the wrong-doer in
another fashion, the process
should be simplified by mere-
ly making politicians take
responsibility for their own
actions. After all, that's what
they expect the rest of the
nation to do.
Ethics violations are made
This article was originally
published in The Iowa State
Daily on Jan. 13, 1997.

on all sides of the political
arena, regardless of party
affiliation.
The most recent cases
include probably the most
powerful individuals of the
Republican and Democratic
parties: House Speaker Newt
Gingrich (R-Ga.) and
President Clinton.
Gingrich was re-elected
speaker of the House last
Tuesday by a narrow margin
- only three votes more than
the 213 necessary for a major-
ity. Just days before the vote
- and on the determining day
- Gingrich apologized to fel-
low Republicans for ethics
violations. One representative
from New York said some
GOP members were looking
for an apology prior to the
vote.
Gingrich has been under
fire for teaching a college
course at two Georgia col-
leges, which was then beamed
across the country. Gingrich
Ethics and politics
should be synony-
mous words.
reportedly allowed a tax-
exempt charity to pay for pro-
duction costs of the course.
These groups are legally
barred from funding political
activity.
However, what could be
most detrimental to Gingrich
is evidence that he lied to the
ethics committee.
When Gingrich told the
ethics panel that his political
action committee, GOPAC,
was preparing a college
course, Gingrich said GOPAC
didn't have a role in the
course. But investigations
have found that Gingrich and
his committee did have a role
and a goal - political recruit-
ment. In a GOPAC letter,
Gingrich aimed the course at
capturing " ... first
(Americans') imaginations
and then their votes."
What is disturbing here is
that despite clear ethics viola-
tions, violating the very fabric
of our country's lawmaking
body, Gingrich was re-elected
house speaker.
Is that the kind of model

we want for our future? It is
not a good example.
The committee plans to
render its decision Jan. 21,
but it is likely that Gingrich
will get anything more than a
slap on his hand.
Politicians have no deter-
rent for following ethics rules.
Most underage college stu-
dents would go to the bars if
they knew they weren't going
to be punished for violating
the law.
On the Democratic fore-
front is the Paula Jones sexual
harassment case against
Clinton. Recently, the
Supreme Court heard argu-
ments on whether a sitting
president can be required to
stand trial in a civil case.
Clinton and his lawyers
will argue that a civil case
wouldundermine the execu-
tive branch, and that the pres-
ident should be granted
immunity until lihe leaves
office. Jones, on the other
hand, wants to bring forth a
civil suit because Clinton
allegedly sought sex with her
and exposed himself to Jones
in 1991 when he was gover-
nor of Arkansas.
Although the fabric of the
Supreme Court case is the
constitutional powers and
privileges of the president,
ethics come into play. If
Jones' accusations are true,
Clinton could be found guilty
of sexual harassment.
What is troubling here is
that someone whose job it is
to enforce the law could com-
mit such an act.
If the court says Jones can
go ahead with the civil suit,
Clinton could be forced to
answer uncomfortable ques-
tions about the incident Jones
alleges, as well as other
actions Clinton took as gover-
nor. Although the president
should have some privileges,
why shouldn't he be forced to
answer questions about his
past, as all other Americans
must. Clinton's answers could
be incriminating, which is all
the more reason to question
him. Face up to your actions,
Mr. President.
Arguably, ethics and poli-
tics aren't two synonymous
words. But they should be.

MILLER ON TAP
Knights withot t
armor in a
savage land
C ollege students, practically b
definition, are supposed to b
rude, disgusting, ill-mannered litt
primates who run around frate t
houses with the gooey remnan o
Jell-O shots
smeared on their
faces and
Panchero's mugs
spot-weldedtto
their hands.
I realize this.
Hell, I ,even enjoy
it. We play fast
and loose with the
rules of etiquette
and public deco-
rum because we JAMauL
can and because MILLER
anybody who's job
it is to fake intelligence like
"Baywatch" girl on celebrit
"Jeopardy!" for four years deserves 
fairly extreme mode of relaxation.
But it would seem that our laisez
faire way of behaving has gotten it
tle beyond the adorable stage, w d
n't you say?
I first started cluing in on this in the
cafeteria - incidentally, where mos
of the world's deep thinking occurs
(That, and if you are a male, the bath
room.) Let's just start with table man
ners. Some dinners in East Quad make
"Lord of the Flies" look like the dinne
scene from "Dead Poet's Society."
And I feel bad for doing this, bu
guys, this is pretty much in our
The caveman grip on the fork.
face hovering a few inches above the
plate. And the big two: chewing witl
your mouth open and talking with you
mouth full.
You will never see a woman doin
this. It's always the guy in the
"Highlander: The Series" T-shirt wit
the $10 Perry Drug's glasses and con
genital acne who is projectile launch
ing bits of his garlic bagel into th~s
mos while he's in the middle of a tru
excellent story about his UNIX mini
course.
Perhaps this has something to d(
with the disappearance of the famil'
dinner. With actual nuclear faflilie:
these days being about as hard to fin
as food scraps in Newt Gingich:
garbage, there really is no plae t
practice the fine art of dining liea
civilized person. Personally, I can i
an elbow on the table without heng
my step-father's voice in the back o
my head scolding me. Perhaps we nee
a bit more draconian Emily Post in ou
childhoods.
There are certain conventions, like
no elbows on the table and a napki
on the lap, that have fallen by the way
side without causing too much dam
age.
I'm not suggesting that w 11
become the kind of tea-swilling, dIo
rum experts who get bent out of shape
at the placement of a salad plate.But
Jesus Christ in a cardigan sweater
somebody's got to start toeing the line
somewhere or we're all going to lool
like slovenly idiots by association an
none of us are going to get laid.
This is not to say that women are no
culpable when it comes to poor publi
behavior. While the fairer sex has mas
tered eating, they do seem to h
problem with another facet of obtain
ing sustenance: drinking.
In an alarming number of instances

alcohol has the ability to remove the
female's genetic predisposition to gen
teel behavior. If you ever want to watch
a reasonable and with-it group o
women go from zero to stupid in abou
a half an hour, stick around any moder
ately large fraternity or house pa
Without fail, there will be a c n
gent of girls who left most of thei
brains in their tiny backpacks and are
busy fermenting the one or two chunk:
they brought with them in Sam Adam:
Cherry Wheat, or what ever it is dis
criminating lightweights drink.
They are the one who have decided t
make up for a life of mousy quietnes,
and falsified stupidity by havinga beer
and half and making everyone else a
the party wish they had stayed aton
to watch the "Melrose" marathon. Tc
the girls who turn into the happy, ebul
lient drunks that everybody hates, here
are a few things that people are usuall
afraid to tell you to your face:
No. 1: If you choose to dance, don'
spend the entire night freaking dowr
your girlfriends or doing the twist.I
know when that techno beat hits, you
just can't sit down. But try an
remember 19 or 20 is a little oo
slumber party antics. Put down the
Sassy and get with the program:
No. 2: Things look better after you'v
had a few. Here's a tip: If you spot Mr
Right Now from across the room anc
decide to subtly let him know you're

Tife, death and liberty. These fundamen-
L. tal ideals appeared before the highest
court in the land last week. The questions
are framed in two issues that have simulta-
neously tugged at the national psyche:
physician-assisted suicide and the right to
die. The questions present the Supreme
Court justices with rare opportunities. First,
they can give a forum to issues that have
seldom been addressed openly by society.
Second, the justices should affirm individ-
ual liberty by asserting individuals' rights
to control the last stages of their lives - so
as to maintain dignity and avoid needless
pain.
In both cases - New York's Vacco vs.
Quill and Washington vs. Glucksberg -
federal appeals courts overturned state laws
to make physician-assisted suicide a crimi-
nal activity. The appeals courts ruled that
the right to die is an issue of personal liber-
ty, and therefore protected by the U.S.
Constitution.
Under the 14th Amendment, states can-
not deprive "any person of life, liberty or
property, without due process of law."
Attorneys on behalf of the New York plain-
tiff made this particularly clear and the
focus of their argument. That maintains that
- the state of New York divides terminally ill
patients into two separate categories.
The first consists of life-supported
patients who can choose to have the
machines removed under New York law.
The second group includes those denied a
medicine-induced end to their pain because
they have no machines to remove. The new
a categories remove decision-making power
from non-life support, terminal patients.

who drastically increases the pain medica-
tion of a terminally ill patient, ostensibly
with the intent of easing pain - and the
side effects of an irreversible coma or
death, or both - is not violating the law or
the Hippocratic oath.
But, a doctor who prescribes medication
to a terminal patient with the intent of eas-
ing his or her suffering is subject to crimi-
nal prosecution. The doctor would lose his
or her right to practice medicine.
A lawyer for the Washington plaintiffs
said, "Ours is a culture of denial of death."
The medical and political communities
should come to more honest terms with
death, and, more specifically, the right to
die. That can only happen with the under-
standing that people have the right to
choose their fates - and that control begins
with individual control over one's own
body.
The general tone among the justices is
that they should not be ruling on this case;
instead, they have indicated that they might
let the state legislatures determine the legal-
ity of the issue.The justices voiced a some-
what valid concern that without regulation,
cost-cutting insurance firms might be able
to recommend assisted suicide as the only
method of treatment for terminal patients.
The justices' thinking is partially correct:
Despite their ruling, the issue will continue
to surface.
However, the high court must uphold the
lower courts' rulings. The legislatures, with
the aid of health care professionals, need
the opportunity to fine tune regulation sys-
tems for physician-assisted suicide. The
justices seem to want such systems to be in

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Punishment
by death is
necessary
TO THE DAILY:
Opposing the death penal-
ty has always been a favorite
issue of liberals and the
Daily (aren't those words
synonymous?). However, I
have three words that are a
convincing argument for cap-
ital punishment: Richard
Alln. nai e ntino fina-

Klaas of sexually abusing his
daughter. The death penalty
was created for monsters like
Davis and the epic crimes
they commit.
When these actions of
murder and crimes against
children are so heinous, only
death is a sufficient punish-
ment.
It is easy to say that the
death penalty is unfair to the
criminals until you become a
family member of thevictim.
They have the right to see
that a final punishment is
rnriPi ait n;anittnc whn

capital punishment, then
maybe the appeals process
for Death Row inmates needs
to be reviewed as not to
waste the state's money on
legal dealings.
The claims of racial bias I
believe are just the Daily's
further attempt to push their
liberal guilt agenda on the
students of the University.
Even if these allegations are
remotely true, it still does not
excuse the fact that a person
was convicted of murder.
Maybe if the Daily had its



i