4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 8, 1997 GIc tichigttn :43tclt 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 TH E DAILY loEa-Iit y threatend NOTABLE QUOTABLE 'The city will not be the sane again. People who need her most do not even have the power to look for a substitute.' - Calcutta shopkeeper Khokan Sen, as he waited to pay his final respects to Mother Teresa, who passed away on Friday at the age of 87 JORDAN YOUNG T. *P Wi W' 1, ,sw.c 'U' must stand strong T he nation's most powerful affirmative action opponents are looking to butt heads with the University. David Jaye (R- Washington Twp.) and three other conserv- ative legislators are seeking the Center for Individual Rights' assistance in challenging the University's affirmative action policy. CIR, as the plaintiff's legal counsel in Hopwood v. Texas, poses a formidable threat. The University's unwavering commit- ment to diversity gives students the prereq- uisite skills needed to work in today's mul- ticultural society. CIR and other affirmative action opponents, if successful, would cause irreparable , harm; forcing the University to serve only a homogenous cross-section of white and privileged state residents would leave graduates unprepared to face the working world. Since introducing the Michigan Mandate, the University has increased its minority population from 12.7 percent in 1987 to 25 percent this year. Employers increasingly desire graduates with multicul- tufal skills, and the University's environ- ment is now better suited than ever to accommodate this need. Moreover, all state citizens' taxes help fund the University - these tax dollars should ensure accessibility. However, minorities often face circum- stances that normally would make it impos- sible to continue their education beyond high school. The Mandate has opened a window of opportunity - a world-class education is now available for many minor- ity students. Merely upholding affirmative action is not enough - University officials cannot allow efforts to attract minorities to lose steam. Last year, the admissions office experienced a dearth of minority applica- tions and extended the admissions deadline for minority students in a desperate move to correct the problem. These last-minute Recollections leave out the 0 on affirmative action actions should not be necessary. Restructuring recruiting efforts could reach the students whom current efforts do not. Innovative programs such as on-site admis- sion, where students can apply directly to admissions officers during school hours, should be expanded to prevent a repeat of last year's situation. The University of Texas provides an alarming example of the consequences of eliminating affirmative action programs. A year following the Hopwood decision, which upheld plaintiffs' claims that the uni- versity's admissions policy discriminated based on race, total applications to the school have decreased 13 percent. Scholarships designed to attract minority students have been eliminated and the num- ber of African American students entering the University of Texas law school has dropped to a sparse handful. The landmark Supreme Court Bakke v. California decision stipulates that race can be a factor, but not the sole overriding fac- tor, in public university admissions deci- sions. Jaye calls University policies "unfair, un-American and evil," and is looking to bring a class-action lawsuit against the University alleging discrimination in admissions and financial aid. Jaye's reason- ing is flawed - the University also gives similar consideration to children of alumni, students from exemplary high schools and applicants from under-represented regions of the nation and Michigan. Thus, the University falls well within Bakke's estab- lished guidelines. A lawsuit against the University - with its status as a large, public and selective school with a strong commitment to affir- mative action - is inevitable. The University must vigorously undermine any of Jaye's, CIR's and other potential plain- tiffs' erroneous claims - affirmative action's future may hang in the balance. OAA1THA'S v'1 ~XA~D VIEWPOINT Affirmative acti s emarstood By PAUL BHASIN The controversial and high- ly misunderstood concept of affirmative action has long been a topic of Daily letters to the editor as well as a signifi- cant platform on the national and state levels. For many, affirmative action is one of many "sunset legislations" that has served its purpose and should be done away with. For others, it is a lukewarm push towards the abatement of racial and gender misrepresentation and inequality in our nation. For still others, it is an ethereal idea shrouded by questions and self-admitted ignorance. All too often, we see the potent ideology behind the concept of affirmative action trampled upon and forgotten by innocent arguers and debaters who have a funda- mental misunderstanding of what exactly this policy is and what it seeks to accomplish. Affirmative action, as I understand it, is the idea that, in order to correct the faulty balance of racial representa- tion in our society, race, gen- der and ethnicity must all become factors in the evalua- tion of candidates who wish to occupy positions in it. Affirmative action does not seek to wipe out racism in America, nor does it seek to facilitate the selection of hope- lessly unqualified candidates solely based on their race or gender. The latter is counter- productive, the former is impossible. What needs to be clarified is that most affirma- tive action supporters realize that the policy in itself is flawed; it is not a perfect solu- tion to creating a level playing field in our society because it does serve to select candidates based on color or gender rather than their merit. This. is irrele- vant, however, when one real- izes that the entire point of this less-than-perfect system is to integrate minorities into acad- emia and professional commu- nities. Try to understand that this idea is at most a gentle tug at the sleeve of the empowered white male American elite when one takes into account the three centuries of misrepre- sentation and exploitation of American people on the basis of gender, race and even class. The average anti-affirmative action argument exemplifies the creed of the average American: "Me, me, me!" American soci- ety is based completely on the individual. America - unlike nations such as Japan or Africa - has built a social ecosystem around the concept of the indi- vidual over the group, rather than allowing times where the group is more significant than the individual. - Every single anti-affirmative action voice I have ever heard has been the same in this respect: they all hate the idea of one person being overlooked because of something other than sheer merit. I hate that idea too. Because no one ever wants to make any sort of sacrifice in America to help the greater good (which would be a bal- anced representation of all of America's rich ethnic and racial diversity in positions of power and influence) the anti-affirma- tive action rally becomes a sim- ple two-word anthem: "Why me?" Right now someone is reading this and saying, "Why should I be punished for what happened to them?" Because it is your group that holds the vast majority of power and influ- ence in America. Look at it this way: Something very, very spe- cial happened to minority groups in America in the past 300 years. Now something spe- cial needs to be done to help them along so America can truly celebrate its diversity, not claim that serious racism does- n't exist. I challenge all anti-affir- mative action individuals to recognize and admit to their fruitless behavior. I, for one, am a bit tired of reading and hearing opposition to some- thing as controversial and important as affirmative action when the voice I hear offers absolutely no better alterna- tive. Yes, affirmative action hurts some while it helps oth- ers, but our society needs what affirmative action is trying to accomplish. In fact, I chal- lenge any reader - professors, students, staff, or GSIs - to come up with a plausible, water-tight and just alternative to affirmative action. If you don't like the idea of it, fine. Just be a part of the solution. Paul Bhasin is a School of Music junior mundane and the important W hen was the last time someone asked you to write an essay about your summer vacation? In third or fourth grade, everybody had to write them - first-day back assignments. The fans whirred, and while Miss Dum- dee-dum, Mrs. La- di-da or Mr. So- K and-so droned on about all things 4, academic, you stared out the win- dow and wished for just one more pop- sicle and one more ERIN day of freedom. MARSH There were lots of THINKIN white sneakers and OF . brown arms. Back then, you stood up in front of a class that was one big squirming mon- ster and read aloud: "on my summer vacation I took swimming lessons and piano lessons 'cuz my mom made me and I went to visit ray aunt in New York. We drove there in our station wagon. It was hot and my sister was a brat." Everyone had stories to tell about camp, vacations, new toys, and sometimes a new brother or sister. Big events - it was all about big events. Lots of times the swimming lesson or the trip to visit Random Relative did not occupy the bulk of your summer hours, but it was the most easily retrievable memory. So what did we actually do in between all of those major happen- ings? We probably ran through some sprinklers and made some trips to the ice cream man and did some whining about being hot and bored. We did all kinds of fun things that never made the essay cut because they didn't seem special enough. We could go to, the lake or take bike rides anytime we wanted - what's the big deal? Why bother remembering those times? The same phenomenon appears in high school yearbooks. Flip through- the pages of yours. What do yougsee? Staged photos of proms and home- coming dances that show a pyramid of your classmates wearing big, toothy grins. Lots of senior portraits of your friends looking airbrushed and perfect. The pictorial chronology skims the surface of all things happy and won- derful, leaving you to wonder what became of everything that happened in between proms and football games. Didn't that count, too? Like high school yearbooks, our what- I-did-on-my-summer-vacation essays didn't reflect the events that really tran- spired. I wonder if our recollections now would include all of the things we excluded as kids. I think mine would. Think about all of the good, ordinary things you did this summer. I sat in a car with a terrific friend on a hot day and ate a big cherry Slurpee with one of those spoon-straws while an old Bruce Springsteen song played on the radio. Try it - remember the things that would escape the surface summary, but that gave you the best moments. Like playing whiffle ball, or falling asleep during a thunderstorm, or sharing a great kiss. The first-day-back essay is one of those rites of passage to mark the begin ning and the end of the cycles that mat- ter in our lives, at this point. Some ofthe excitement tinged with dread we felt' back then is the same we feel now As all the TV and newspaper ads remind us, back-to-school time means new stuffi New notebooks and teachers and friends. You may not have a Smurfy new lunchbox this year, but you might have a new roommate, or a new apartment or dorm room. Shopping for a new Trapper Keeper and sneakers has been replaced by shopping for new towels, or a mini refrigerator, or a futon. Even if it's not your first year at college, the college- student-housewares-shopping ritual is evidence that we all seem to gravitate to new things to start off a new year. Parents see us off to school with the same old mixture of pride and wistful- ness (though by this point they might be a little more eager to send us along), and at some time we realize - maybe suddenly, maybe gradually - that we are less and less anxious about leaving home and more and more excited about getting out on our own. Maybe this is your first first week of' college. Maybe it's your last first week of college. They're both pretty impor- tant. It's all moving up, moving out, moving on. Regardless, we are faced with a wonderful phenomenon: a new school year! This year, some of us will just begin to discover the University, and some of us will try to hold on to the days that move by much too fast. The little things that were glossed over or forgot- ten in our elementary school accounts of life will become much more important. i itr +h ___mar v.n; .tha Eduaonal exchange 'America Reads' adds dimension to workstudy M ore than 700 universities across the country have instituted a new work- study program called the "America Reads Challenge." America Reads is a national program designed to sponsor workstudy college students tutoring elementary school children. The University is embracing this effort and will soon begin to organize with many schools in the Ann Arbor area to offer young students the opportunity to get a head start in reading. Program organizers hope to incorporate half of the University's workstudy students. Introducing the America Reads program to the workstudy system has the potential to benefit both primary school students and their college student instructors. Participating students will receive academ- ic instruction to complement regular class time. The service is a relief to many schools, in which classes are large and indi- vidualized tutoring is a rare occurrence. On the other end, workstudy college students stand to gain valuable teaching experience by working directly with students in the classroom. In this case, education begets education in an arrangement that benefits all concerned. The costs of housing, tuition and books for students at the University forces many to enlist in financial aid programs. Unlike student loans, which can lead to long-term debt and bad credit ratings, workstudy pro- vides a valuable opportunity for students to work against their expenses while working always welcome - the more workstudy opportunities students get, the more they can avoid costly unsubsidized loans. By sponsoring the America Reads pro- gram, the University also continues to strengthen its admirable reputation for community service. Most workstudy stu- dents spend their work hours on campus performing clerical or other occasionally mundane tasks. The program will move stu- dents into the community, encouraging stu- dents to take an interest in the city and encounter community members who fall outside the age group most common on campus. Forging educational bonds with children may serve a larger and more important goal: planting seeds to inspire future col- lege education. University students partici- pating in America Reads have a golden opportunity to touch young minds and encourage them to continue their academic pursuits into young adulthood. In a way, the student tutors will become ambassadors of the University. Paramount to the America Reads program is literacy. As many scholars can attest, it is not unusual for high school students to grad- uate without knowing how to read. Reading functions as the fundamental component of education. Without its mastery there is little opportunity for academic achievement. America Reads is intended to combat these pressing problems. The University's support of the program demonstrates a dedication to LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Regional humor is not discrimination To THE DAILY: Normally, James Miller's columns provoke a strong sense of nausea and dyspep- sia in my system when I read them. However, as a student who lives out of state myself, I found his New York-bash- ing column (Welcome to the 'U': An open letter to New York students," 9/3/97) enjoy- able and rather funny at times. It was obviously all in good fun, and employed what most would deem satire. However, what is more amusing are the aggrieved responses of New Yorkers who have had their pride wounded. It is simply ridicu- lous for such letter writers to compare a bit of regionalism to such problems as ethnic discrimination. Being from Cleveland, a city made fun of much more often than New York, I can reasonably argue that regionalism expressed in this fashion does no harm to anyone. I haven't been deprived, discriminated against, or emotionally likelihood, very few people, from New York or not, really were that torn up by Miller's column, and for those of you who were, for God's sake, grow a thicker skin, or this campus will eat you alive. BENJAMIN KEPPLE LSA SENIOR 'U' needs a voting student regent TO THE DAILY: I would like to comment on the article by Jack Schillaci ("Student regent should be installed," 9/3/97) regarding a student on the Board of Regents. Even though I graduated last year, I still feel that hav- ing a full-voting member on the Board of Regents is important. I would like to commend Schillaci on his presentation of the issue. The article was inaccurate in a few areas, though. Although it is true that we lobbied Sen. Schwarz (not state Rep. Schwarz) last year, we never had his promise to Appropriations Sub- Committee on Education, but we did not give up when he decided against supporting the bill. We always had the support of Speaker of the House Curtis Hertel, and we focused mainly on the State House, where we felt (and still feel) that the bill can be introduced and passed. I agree that we should focus on a full vote instead of an ex-officio vote. We explored the option of ex- officio, but in the end decid- ed that we should pursue a full vote. Since that time, Andrew Wright and Trent Thomson (representing the Michigan Student Assembly) have spearheaded a drive to unite the University with Michigan State University, Wayne State University, U of M - Dearborn and U of M - Flint. They have made great strides and are closer than ever to getting this idea into the State legislature. The Daily, as well as all students, should give their support to Andrew and Trent to make this student priority a reality. They can be reached at 763- I I * ..a: . .iI ..L ....