4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 15, 1997 c w £Iidiguu flglw 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. A1111 other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. FROM THE DAILY Savnglie Students can help all Diversity marks the University's student body, but one thing remains constant for all - the capability to give blood. Across the country, a serious blood shortage is imminent in hospitals, due to increased demand for blood transfusions. University students should find a free hour in their busy schedules to help put an end to this looming crisis. Most members of the University com- munity meet the minimal requirements needed to donate blood - people who are at least 17 years old, weigh 110 pounds and are in good health are eligible. Giving blood requires a minimal time commitment and recovery is quick, but the impact is signifi- cant - a single donation can save up to three lives. The number of blood donations has not decreased in the past few months, but a high number of transfusions has depleted nation- al blood reserves. Hospitals are reduced to one-day blood supplies, as opposed to the ideal three-day blood supply. Among other problems, the shortage may influence doc- tors' decisions to perform some surgical procedures. The type of blood that is in highest demand is type O, because it can safely be infused to nearly all people. For those who are not aware of the blood type they pos- sess, donating blood can provide the means of finding out, as well as providing a free HIV test for donors. eviate blood shortage The Red Cross makes donating blood on campus easier than ever by coming to the residence halls. Students should also look into visiting the nearest Red Cross on Packard Street -just a couple of blocks off campus. University students should take advan- tage of frequent campus blood drives. The Red Cross sets up stations at several resi- dence halls, the Union and the Michigan League throughout the year. In November, students can also show school spirit by becoming donors in the annual blood drive battle against Ohio State University. The battle pits University students against their counterparts at OSU, to see which school can donate more pints of blood. Giving blood is only slightly uncom- fortable and healthy individuals should take advantage of many opportunities on campus to do so. Most healthy individuals take for granted that they would be able, if in need, to receive a blood transfusion. If supplies continue to decrease in the cur- rent manner, patients in need of blood transfusions may have their health jeopar- dized. Giving blood provides an opportunity to do some good for the community, with little effort and great impact. It is not often that something one does will directly save lives. By seizing this opportunity, students can make a great difference to hospitals and individuals. "NOTABLE QUOTABLE,, ' Ipublicly apologize for this incident. I expect my employees to be responsible for themselves and I feel bad that this happened.' -Nectarine dance club owner Mike Bender, apologizing for an alleged racial incident involving Nectarine bouncers and University students ,JORDAN YOUNG T U N E ' Pm Y ; SST 1;z TO -1t YO)O 4# ~ , DtcOtsrtC DOtL m. flOitJ VIEWPOINT Left mst reconcile for change Overcoming Buffaloes and age-old sexual BY ERIC DIRNBACH This is a call to all those on campus who are dissatis- fied with the current state of the nation. I know there are a lot of us out there, but it is hard to tell sometimes. Those with right-wing politics can just skip this letter. It does not concern you. This is a mes- sage to all the leftists trying to exist in a worldwide time of reaction. It seems, too often, that we must be crazy for being so hopelessly out of lock-step with the New World Order. We know that the American left is in retreat these days. Attacks on affir- mative action, immigrants and the welfare safety net are only the recent manifestations of a sustained decades-long cor- porate campaign to shift American politics firmly to the right. They have been try- ing toshut down viable pro- gressive politics and action, and they have been winning. We know that the exis- tence of the horrendous NAFTA, GATT and other trade treaties that the U.S. forces upon the world testifies to the supreme hegemony of the "free market" ideology, over lesser concerns such as human rights, fair labor stan- dards, environmental protec- tion and true democracy. Multi-national corporations set policy and dictate terms, with the U.S. military ready to invade and impose order when needed. The majority will continue to live in misery, and the right tells us that this is the most natural and perfect economic system. We know the main prob- lem is that major decisions are completely out of the hands of the people. Elected officials respond universally to the interests of capital, at the expense of the majority. Corporations take much of the action that affects us, and they systematically "downsize" the workers, attack their unions, keep their wages low and working conditions inade- quate. We are not supposed to know that capitalism is just one way of doing things and perhaps not the best way. We are not supposed to realize that our workplaces lack even the pretense of democracy. We are supposed to believe that it is good to squeeze prof- its out of a health care system that neglects 40 million peo- ple. Police brutality is always an aberration, CEOs are justi- fied in making millions, the environment can be sacrificed for profits, racism is nearly gone, feminists are responsi- ble for the breakup of the family, the rich need a tax I 0 break and on and on in an endless steam of ideological lies masked as truth. We are not supposed to question this New World Order. Leftists do not believe any of this, of course. The liberals, progressives and radicals out there who want to reform the system or overthrow it, know what is going on. We are all working on the issues that are important to us, whether it is anti-racist, labor, feminist, environmental, anti-imperial- ist, gay rights or any of a thou- sand causes that desperately need fighting. We struggle against an endless mountain of right-wing money, and the dominant ideology that it sup- ports. The problem is the lack of a significant, visible, movement to change things. There is enough discon- tent and energy out there to put together a powerful force that can challenge the corpo- rate order and all its eager ser- vants. It starts with the left coming back together, drop- ping the defensive, apologetic attitude that has shackled us for too long and standing with one defiant voice for real change. We have to let therest of the country know that we are here, that we are angry and that we will not be stopped! - Eric Dirnbach is a Rackham student. CouRogue justice Courts should decide rioters' punishment exploitation SW e Wolverines certainly had a lot to cheer about this weekend. As I'm sure you've by now read, the University of Michigan's triumphs in the national spotlight this weekend didn't end with our miraculous destruction of the Buffaloes from Colorado. For those of us lucky enough to have kept our tel- lies tuned in to the Alphabet network Saturday night, we witnessed the JOSHUA annual Skin-and- RicH Grin festival com- TRAL monly known as USM the 77th Miss -- R-- T America Pageant. Looking closely, we noticed one of our very own among the toothy masses - Engineering senior Kimberly Stec. To be sure, Stec had the honor o competing as Miss Michigan, follow- ing in a long line of illustrious state champs, four of whom have been cele- brated as our "ideal" over the years: Patricia Donnelly in 1939, Nancy Fleming in 1961, Pamela Anne Eldred in 1970 and the immortal 1988 Miss America Kaye Lani Rae Rafko. I understand that it has been a longtime dream of Stec's to compete in the Miss America Pageant, so I sincerely com- mend her. From what I could see, Stec did a tremendous job: When it was her turn to smile, she smiled, when it was her turn to prance across the stage, she pranced, and when the ridiculou: pseudo-feminist, imitation "Real: World" video snippets rolled before a few commercial breaks, Stec indee; did her job by saying a few profound words. I'll admit, I honestly felt a great deai of school pride while watching one of: my peers compete in such a uniqu: arena. Hell, it took a lot of mind powe to control my inherent urge to throx¢. marshmallows at the TV set any time another contestant appeared on screen (I am now proud to say that in additio' to the fact that I once sat next to ou illustrious starting quarterback in a. film class, Kim Stec is a dear friend of one of my dear friends. Undoubtedly both haven't the slightest idea who ; am.) Much to my dismay, however, Sto' was unceremoniously left by the wa side along with the 41 other conte, tants who failed to make the exclusi early top 10 cut. And I'm so glad. Thank God Stec, mighty Michigan Wolverine like urc all, didn't have to go through t1~ humiliating tasks of politically co rectly answering a bunch of insipi: questions, or singing the love theme from this summer's action flick "CC Air" on live global television. This lak act actually was the unwelcome tale- of one of the 10 finalists, I kid younot As the millennium nears and Mis( America begins knocking on the dor of its eighth decade as the grandmo my of beauty pageants, the festival4 struggling to reinvent itself. Amon the so-called innovations in this yeas event, whose official slogan w something like Everything Old is Ne Again, whatever that is supposed to mean: a talk show-like interview seg- ment instead of the old Big Question, and - gasp - the young ladies' first time-ever option to wear two-piec swimsuits. Right, so to somehow increae respectability, the pageant now has, a more serious question session and sexr ier bathing suits. That follows. The Miss America Pageant (like any. national sporting league or the motion. picture academy, I might add) is a pn- vate organization - a TV ratings-huii ,: gry corporation that determines,-id own rules and is responsible for its. own publicity and marketability. Ii order to provide a desperately needed boost to the latter, the pageant this year spiced up its presentation on the ABC network (hence the "Mond4y Night Football"-esque contestant bids' and snazzy graphics with lines swirling across the screen), and it -is billing itself as a scholarship providet, first and foremost. Yeah, and so is the Michigan Athletic Department. Imagine, therefore, the relative, Prozac consumption of event organi., ers in the moments after they learne that Miss Vermont has a taboo -naveI, ring that can now be seen by the woid when she wears her bikini (oops!), andl that Miss Pennsylvania sports a tattoo somewhere on her body. Needless . say, neither woman was a finalist. Stil it is nice to see someone injecting a i tle noveltv into thisawfullv tired nie& 0 0 0 I I Two weeks ago, the Michigan State football team stepped all over Western Michigan in a 42-10 victory. Yet, the destruction inflicted on the field pales in comparison to the actions of hundreds of -MSU students. Police booked four students and issued at least 31 citations in the after- math of rioting that embarrassed the uni- versity and displayed inexcusably violent -behavior. :East Lansing Council members have ;devised an extended punishment to all the ,people caught. The council plans to pur- chase ads in all the hometown newspapers of :those arrested for the sole purpose of -embarrassing the students. While they deserve to be punished for their actions, the council's plan shows a blatant disregard for -9e perpetrators' civil liberties. .Police reports indicate that a victory cele- btation got out of hand when dozens of drunk -yopng adults, presumably students, threw a oOch into a street, ignited a bonfire and pro- ceeded to dance around flames reaching two stories high. In addition, the rioters threw cans and bottles at police who were attempt- ing to clear the streets for fire personnel. 'Few would disagree that the students' acts demonstrated disrespect for others, themselves, the city and the school. Their immjature behavior cannot and will never be condoned, no matter what the explanation. But those caught will either pay a fine, serve jail time or be placed on probation. This is the way society has decided to pun- ish those who violate the law, and the East Lansing City Council has no right to take the law into their own hands by publicly humiliating the students. Using people as guinea pigs in an experiment of right and wrong is more of an inhuman act than that committed more than a week ago. American law attempts to inflict stan- dard penalties for those who commit crimes. Those found guilty of a crime have enough. Neither the council's constituents nor the American people have bestowed upon the council, a body elected not as law enforcement officials, the power to disci- pline a group of people. Due process is an important part of the American justice system. Citizens rely on this system to punish and rehabilitate those found guilty of a crime. The council, by bypassing the system, is stealing many of the rights inherent to 200 years of American customs. If the city council takes it upon themselves to violate two centuries of stan- dard law, then much of what we rely on as citizens has been washed away. The actions of the council are reminis- cent of Megan's Law, a law intended to noti- fy people if a sex offender moves into their neighborhood. While the intentions may appear benevolent, the law further punishes the offenders. The targets are people who served their time, as administered by the judicial system and were released. For the council to further castigate some criminals, as Megan's Law does, and not others, undermines the justice system's validity. The East Lansing city council is execut- ing a punishment its members contrived and formulated. They are not members of law enforcement or the judicial system and therefore have no right to administer mat- ters of justice. They believe that ridiculing a small portion of the truly guilty will solve their problem. Their dilemma is one that warrants more than just a naive solution that will end up acting as a quick fix. The city council should review its origi- nal intentions and powers before placing the ads. They must delegate the authority to punish to law enforcement officials and the justice system. If the council abuses its authority, not only will their policies be detrimental to the accused, but to us all. The East Lansing City Council may be setting a dangerous precedent that violates human FIVE YEARS AGO IN THE DAILY 'The best code is no code at all' 0 "We have no comprehen- sive code now, and the University has none planned. This is not a priority for me or members of my administra- tion." - James Duderstadt, November 27, 1990, in a letter to students published in the Daily. Okay, so he changed his mind a little. In fact, the "Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities," which was mailed out to students this summer, is a comprehensive code of nonacademic conduct. While the latest code has cor- rected many of the glaring flaws in previous codes, it would still cause mare prob- lems than it would solve. In 1988, the University responded to student protest against racism by implement- ing a dangerously vague and overly broad code regulating students' conduct outside the classroom. After a district court struck down this code as an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of expression, the University implemented an interim code aimed at halting racial and sexual intimidation. This code, too, was suspended following a recent Supreme Court decision limiting anti- hate speech measures. this country. While this may seem obvious to students, it has apparently eluded our administration through four years of code-mongering. While the U.S. legal sys- tem is imperfect, it is based in hundreds of years of prece- dent and well thought-out legal theory. The student tri- bunals to be utilized under the new code, on the other hand, are mere kangaroo courts that do not necessarily follow standard legal procedure. For instance, grounds for guilt exist if a majority of jurors find it "more likely that not" that the defendant is guilty. Call us sentimental, but we prefer the defendant being innocent until proven guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt." Why, then, do we need to set up our own legal system? The letter introducing the code furnishes several horror stories; such as beatings and harass- ment of students and professors that supposedly warrant disci- plinary action by the University. This implies that if there were no code, rapists, thugs and other criminal scum could wander freely through campus and terrorize the University community without fear of punishment. This implication Granted, there may be some instances when they may spare grief to the victims of harassment by imposing swifter justice. However, this comes at the expense of legal safeguards designed to protect the innocent from false prose- cution. Victims' rights count, but they do not supersede the rights of the accused. The administration is attempting to build support for this code by playing on students' fears of rape and harassment, just as it played on those fears when pushing precious codes and deputizing the University police force. The connection is very clear. First, deputized police replace the Ann Arbor cops. Now the code usurps the legal system itself. A disturbing pat- tern emerges. The University has created its own govern- ment within the ivory tower, a government which is not bound to the standards and principles of the outside world, and is accountable to nobody. The city of Ann Arbor already had police and courts of law to protect it. The University need not assume these functions. There is no reason to assume that it can do a better job. Once again, the best code is no code at all. pi Il 1 I