4 -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 10, 1997 4 - The Michiess Daily - Wednesday. December 10. 1997 I 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 JOSH WHITE Editor in Chief Edited and managed by ERIN MARSH students at the Editorial Page Editor University of Michigan tInI's otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily/i editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion ofThe Michigan Daily FROM THE DAILY Legislative meddling Assisted suicide should be a private decision I ast Thursday, the Michigan Senate The medical establishment offers the passed a bill making assisted suicide a best hope for an acceptable resolution to felony. The House, in all likelihood, will this conflict. After all, doctors play a vital drastically change the bill, but any changes role in the lives of most individuals, espe- avoid the obvious point - that this deeply cially in their later years. If a suffering per- personal issue should not be subject to leg- son makes up his or her mind to die, a doc- islation. The state government should step tor wishing to help make this death as aside and leave assisted suicide decisions peaceful as possible should have the to individuals and the medical community. opportunity to do so without prosecution. The legislation, passed by a vote of 28- Ideally, members of the nation's med- 7, seeks to make assisted suicide a specif- ical community would find ways to train ically defined crime. Currently, a person doctors in dealing with patients consider- helping another person to die may face ing suicide, and preparing these patients prosecution under murder laws. But for their death. Doctors must evaluate each because of the current law's ambiguity, assisted suicide case carefully; there is a prosecutors have been unable to get a con- very real threat of cases where patients feel ,viction in an assisted suicide case. Clearly, pressured to die or are not in the proper the Senate would like to change the current mental state to make such decisions. Also, situation to make prosecuting these cases doctors should make patients aware of all more feasible. their options; for example, people may be The House brings a different perspec- unaware of pain-relieving treatments or tive to the bill, and to the handling of the hospices. Finally, patients should have issue. If a major House Judiciary access to counseling, as should their fami- Committee revision passes the legislature, lies. The family left behind feels the pain the assisted suicide bill will become a of a loved one's death long after he or she 1998 ballot proposal. Though this plan passes. They also require preparation to puts more choice into the hands of ease this traumatic time. Michigan residents, it still fails to effec- The medical profession, renowned for lively address the topic. its concern with ethics, exists to help peo- The problem lies in the fact that there ple in their most painful hours. People will are so many diverse opinions regarding continue to kill themselves to avoid assisted suicide. People's morals differ in unbearable pain, and doctors will continue respect to whether or not suicide is a prop- to help them from the shadows if legisla- er course of action when death looms on tion like this bill becomes law. The issue the horizon. Furthermore, many different simply is too complex for government reg- cultural views of suicide come into play. ulation. An individual, guided by his or her Quite simply, no legislation could possibly religious, cultural and moral beliefs, along address the issue to the majority of the cit- with the input of family and doctors, must izenry's satisfaction. ultimately decide what is right. -}Friendly skies NOTABLE QUOTABLE, 'We make an educated estimate of how many students are going to come. This year the turnout was higher than the forecasted rate.' - Alan Levy, director of Housing public affairs, explaining why upperclassmen cannot live in traditional residence halls next year JORDAN YOUNG ~d EIERSo CTHE A EDITOR t - 4'- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR F irst .two Americ questio Admini Transpe agencie much o of coop part. Th recomm of coop will cau dLast investig pose a probesi comesi ruled oi mechan from th NTSB Jim Hal with the an exan inject in explosic TWA 8 request Anot of actio ing 11 Florida The NT crash w oxygen In its ci plane " hod bee extingui the cras tien bef be outf FAA must hasten its safety decisions it was ValuJet. Then TWA. These denied the request, stating that it did not fit flying tragedies instilled fear in the into their cost-benefit ratio. an public and posed many difficult Many of the FAA's policies are backward ns to the Federal Aviation and should be corrected immediately. New istration and the National FAA Administrator Jane Garvey must )rtation Safety Board. These two assume her new leadership role in the most s have been feuding for years, with efficient way possible. She is an outsider to f the conflict resulting from a lack the aviation community, which may or may eration and slow action on the FAA's not be conducive to FAA affairs. But it does e FAA must respond to the NTSB's mean she can attack the current internal sendations in a timely fashion; lack bureaucracy full force, adding new ideas io a aeration has potentially caused and somewhat aging agency. ise many unnecessary deaths. There is a severe problem occurring week, in response to the TWA 800 between the FAA and the NTSB that must ation, the FAA finally agreed to pro- be resolved at once. The FAA must consid- directive protecting fuel quality er as expeditiously as possible all NTSB in 167 Boeing 747s. Their proposal recommendations: If, in 1993, the FAA had in the wake of NTSB findings that not been so concerned about its cost-bene- ut all potential problems aside from fit ratio and more concerned about the fly- ical failure. But this latest action ing public and the NTSB's recommenda- e FAA is a delayed attempt to follow tions, it should have mandated the immedi- recommendations. NTSB chairman ate installation of fire detection equipment 1 has repeatedly expressed discontent in all commercial airliners. Instead, it cost e FAA's lack of action. Hall cited, as 110 lives to finally convince the FAA aple,'the NTSB's recommendation to change was necessary - but change will ert gases into fuel tanks to prevent an still not come until 2001 when all Class D an similar to the one suspected in the cargo holds must be fitted with fire detec- 00 crash. The FAA flatly denied its tion equipment. with no explanation. The FAA has seen many recent improve- ther case illustrating the FAA's lack ments and will hopefully grow under n was ValuJet 592 - a DC-9 carry- Garvey's control. It has banned oxygen gen- 0 people that plummeted into the erators from all passenger planes, increased Everglades 11 minutes after takeoff. airline maintenance and operations inspec- 'SB concluded that the cause of the tors and has required the implementation of as a fire caused by improperly stored fuel monitoring circuits on select 747s. The canisters located in the cargo hold. FAA must build on this new beginning and onclusion, the NTSB stated that the forge a better relationship with the NTSB. It would likely not have crashed" if it must clean up its internal problems to better n equipped with fire detection and service the entire aviation community and ishing systems. Three years before those who travel. Flying remains the safest h, the NTSB placed a recommenda- form of transportation, yet there is always ore the FAA calling for all jetliners to room for improvement. The FAA has a long itted with these systems. The FAA way to go. Bakke is not a 'firm precedent' TO THE DAILY: Your story on the legal response of the University to the class action suit regarding affirmative action ('U' offers response against lawsuit," 12/4/97) closed with a quota- tion from me, and I thought I should clarify a point that bears on the case. Itpis true that Justice Powell, in the famous 1978 Bakke v. Calfornia case on affirmative action, argued that race could be used as a "plus" (as I was quoted in the story). However, his "opinion" was not the opin- ion of the court. Only his "decision" to require the University of California-Davis medical school to enroll Allan Bakke represented the ruling of the Supreme Court. Four justices voted for Bakke's acceptance on statutory grounds, arguing the "plain language of the statute" (the 1964 Civil Rights Act) forbids exclusion on the ground of race. Four other justices voted against his acceptance on constitutional grounds, argu- ing that "racial classifications are not per se invalid" under the 14th Amendment. Powell voted for Bakke's acceptance on constitutional grounds, but argued that race could be used only as a "plus" in the interest of diversity and not as a fixed barrier for those not of a spe- cific race. In short, no justice's "opinion" or reasoning gar- nered a majority of the Supreme Court's votes. As was noted by the Circuit Court opinion in Hopwood v. Texas: "While he (Powell) announced the judgment, no other justice joined in that part of the opinion discussing the diversity rationale." Thus, the Supreme Court has yet to establish a firm prece- dent regarding affirmative action in schools because no majority of the justices have agreed on the reasoning or argument for their decision. Simply put, a majority in Bakke agreed he was unjustly excluded from applying for some seats in the medical school (16 were set aside for "disadvantaged" students), but no five justices could agree on the reason why! LUCAS MOREL JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY 'U provides environment for racial interaction TO THE DAILY: I believe that most people on campus have the social skills to make friends with people of diverse back- grounds. People who say that mem- bers of different ethnic groups stick together and desire to socialize with mem- bers of their group use this as an excuse. This is compara- ble to using the excuse that your graduate student instructors did n your dorms or al tutor you as a re, ing a test. The Universi the opportunity to interact withc And like GSls, I provides the opp you to excel in y too. However, yi advantage of the ties rather than University spoor opportunities to This campus student body of does not constil body of pre-sehi need the recessl ate their relation Affirma action i 'immon solutior TO THE DAILY: I saw the At news broadcast affirmative actii facing the Univc a terrible sound son why it wass so painful to the affirmative actii University Presi Bollinger told tf was honest abot whereas most p of it are afraid t truth. Affirmative ot drop by of MSA members constantly partments to blaming their shortcomings ason for fail- on the student body. They blame students for not vot- ty provides ing in the MSA elections, for students for not educating themselves each other. about the candidates and for the University laughing at them when they )ortunity for campaign. However, they are tour studies, unwilling to take any ou must take responsibility whatsoever for se opportuni- this. o have the The fact is that if these n-feed these MSA candidates want other you. students to give some legiti- constitutes a macy to their resume-build- adults. It ing game by voting, then they ate a student need to do something mean- oiolers who ingful with MSA to make lady to medi- students care about it. iships. They have utterly failed to do this (that is, assuming that GRACE YEE they ever tried). Instead, they LSA SENIOR would rather blame us for not caring about them even. though they haven't given us t ive any reason why we should. Let me clue you in, MSA: s an The reason why people laugh at you is because your insti- a "tution is widely seen as a joke. Whose fault is that? Yours! You have the opportunity to do something meaningful with MSA, but you have IC television failed. The proof of this is in (about the the thousands on campus on lawsuit who won't give you the time ersity). It was of day. If you want to change bite; The rea- that, stop blaming them and so terrible and do something to change their se in favor of minds. Otherwise, blame n, was that yourselves. You can't expect dent Lee people to vote for you just he truth and because once in a while they ut the subject, see your smiling faces plas- eople in favor tered all over campus ro say the CHRIS BORHANI action is dis- RACKHAM An idiots guide to shopping cae make Christmas stress free E verybody either is or knows a Chrstmas Idiot. Your lunatic great aunt who sends you a $5 check and an illegible card every year is a Christmas Idiot. guy who buys his wife unsolicited exercise equip- ment is a Christmas Idiot. The year that your mother gave you socks, wool longjohns and a calculator, she had a fit of Christmas Idiocy. (How do I JAM know so much MILLER about your moth- MILLER er? You probably ON TAP shouldn't ask.) I used to be a Christmas Idiot. I know what it's like to buy tacky jewel- ry for every female on your list, the kind ofjewelry that is almost automat- ically doomed to a life in the bottom of a bathroom drawer. From books y dad never reads to kitchen supp your mom never uses, I've given them all. But I like to think I've cleaned up my act. People no longer wince as they open packages with my name on them, and most of my family is speaking to me again. In my role as a kind of AA sponsor to the Gift Impaired, the fo- lowing is a brief explanation of how to have a happy and fruitful materialistic Christmas. For mom. This one is always the most difficult because mothers never ask for things that are fun to buy. One year, my mom actually asked fora bt- ter dish. We asked her why she wanted a butter dish, when we would be happy to get her whatever self-indulgent pr- sent she wanted. She just said, "Welt, I need a butter dish:' So this is the problem. You never feel good about buying them what they for, and if you improvise, you worry about getting something stupid. Bad: Miss Clairol, a membership in the Beer of the Month club, golf clubs and clothes from Lane Bryant. Good: Come on, she's your mom. If she put up with and paid for you this long, she'll like, or pretend to lie, whatever you get her. Just get the but- ter dish and start worrying about her birthday. or your girlfriend. This one I5s killed more men than smallpox:as could name you, off the top of my head, at least three guys who have started major relationship wars because they screwed up the Christmas present. Bad presents p- chased for girlfriends are the stuff of legend and anecdote. In this case, the issue tht needto be addressed directly is the Lingerie Question.And, I'm ashamed to admit, this one is too hard for me. There are no set rules. If you want to go to lace country, I can't help you. Let me just say this: do not overestimate her size. She'll suspect either yu think her ass really is that big, oru have a fat mistress with more discrid- inating tastes than her. Bad: Sex toys (no return polic, track cleats, "Greatest Hits" from films, roach clips,"a copy of " Thighs in 30 Days," cookbook, chas- ty belt, fishing tackle. Good: Stuff you can't afford. - 8(ovfriend. Ladies, I can't hep bt think you have this a lot easier than'-,e do. Unless you're a lesbian. Theres really no mystique to buying a gift Tor your man. For women, buying the Oir- feet present without asking for hint-is a mark of skill, an example of t ~ vaunted communications skills. To ask a woman what she wantslfor Christmas practically begs the response "If you really loved me yat know what I want." For men, this litle game really doesn't mean that much. We don't care. Ask a man what'he wants, and if it's under the tree'o Christmas morning,uhe's happy. Bad: Enya CDs, a subscriptionsjo Redbook, "Our Bodies, Ourselv " matching sweaters, his and hers a thing. Good: Anything you would probably hate. I'm not sure why this is a godd rule but it seems to work. Examte: Would you like a series of Big en beer stems? Now, as you just wrinld your face in disgust, at the same time 10 guys somewhere on this campus just said "Hey, cool!" Good luck. s - Professors. That's a toughi t depends on what use he or she you at the time. The wrong gift t.:a professor who still holds part of ytir life in their hand may look unpros- sional. Greeting him first thing in the mstrn- ing at his house, after just wishing-his car and painting his trim may mae you into that Mark David Chapnan category, which is not good. ' To err in the other direction maiy insult them. Try and imagine crusty, tenured old fart of a clas professor being wowed into subms sion by the complete set ofl McDonald's "Flubber" cups. Grade or recommendation pendig: Cuban cigars, cognac, call girl. Bad grade or recommendation turned in: Wal-Mart gift certificatejar of broken glass, syphilis. -James Miller can be reacrea over e-mail at jamespm@aumich. crimination at its core and can never be "mended." The U.S. Constitution is based on individual rights, not group rights. During the early years of the nation when slavery was allowed, an hon- est appraisal of the U.S. Constitution clearly shows that the rights of black peo- ple were ignored, "for the greater good," that being, avoiding the dissolution of the union. In the end that could not be avoided, and a terrible civil war was the price of ignoring the Constitution. We are again told by those in power in the White House and the University the same argument that "the greater good is served" in ignoring the rights of white people. This too will not come with- out a price, the price of con- tinued racial distrust and division. You can not resolve a moral failure with an immoral solution, no matter how good the intentions, ends will not justify the means, and unintended consequences are usually the result. I hope thatomy school will lead the way to the future, and not the past. DAVID MOHLER UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS MSA must be accountable for its faults TO THE DAILY: In response to Erin Carey's letter ("MSA cannot force students to vote"12/8/97), I must say that I'm getting rather sick Daily should support UMGASS productions TO THE DAILY: I am writing this letter because upon picking up my Dec. 5 copy of the Daily, I was shocked to find no refer- ence to the production of "Princess Ida" by the University's Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Being a company promot- er for the show, I called the Daily and had a reviewer come to the Wednesday dress rehearsal, with the under- standing that an article would be published on Friday. However, in lieu of a review for "Princess Ida" was another review of "Henry V,' in addition to the review which waskpublished earlier in the week. The Gilbert and Sullivan Society is a 51-year old University institution, incorporating many students, as well as faculty and staff, and I think it is horrendous that the only mention of the production is a quip in the Weekend, etc. section about a "little known operetta." UMGASS does great work every semester to put out a wonderful and funny show; to receive support from the student newspaper would have helped us to spread the word that the show is not something to be avoid- ed like the plague. Although apparently that is how we are seen by the Daily. STEPHANIE TEETERS LSA SOPHOMORE * rs A F Ly a . IL-b lilt m3 A .