4 -- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 16, 1997 IfB citigrnt aEilg 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the *University of Michigan ....................... emit AN :> 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 r. 1 . Take a note Online notes give students extra options any University students constantly - perform a balancing act. Between a :r=fll load of classes, a part-time job, a full -Tialette of extracurricular activities and : haintaining a social life, many students =fid their time stretched, at best. Students vtied help in whatever manner possible to help prevent their active schedules from overburdening them and threatening their s Tlasswork. One unique study aid offered by Three University students could help stu- dents manage overactive schedules and ::w make their lives easier. Notes4Free, the *ainchild of three LSA juniors, will post totes for various classes on the World Wide Web (http://www notes4free.com). The idea of students putting their notes online offers -,he student population interesting new options for studying and saving money. Students can benefit from the service in several ways. If students feel that their notes are inadequate or need help preparing for an exam, they can access one more supple- mental study aid with just a few clicks of the mouse. In addition, if they have to miss a lecture, students may be able to catch up without having to copy from someone else's notebook. The service could also relieve students of the feeling that they must scrib- ble every syllable during lecture, leaving time to listen to what the professor is trying to convey. In addition, the service could save stu- dents money. Many students opt to purchase lecture notes from one of the many com- mercial note-taking services on campus. While it does offer them a study aid, it can be a drain on students' checkbooks. In com- parison, Notes4Free does not charge for student notes, helping cost-conscious stu- dents maintain their bottom lines. The stu- dent-run service offers students the oppor- tunity to help each other out and avoid cost- ly bills from note-taking services. Some professors do not like the idea of their lectures being accessible by everyone. As lectures are their intellectual property, professors often refuse to allow note-taking services the right to sell notes for commer- cial gain - a block that also applies to the Notes4Free service. Some professors argue that students will forgo lectures and use notes as a substitute for lecture attendance. While students will probably find that notes from any source are insufficient without class attendance, the notes could enhance the lecture environment by allowing stu- dents more flexibility during lecture. If pro- fessors are concerned about inaccuracies or misrepresentations in the lecture notes, they can offer their own notes to help students get the most complete and correct informa- tion possible. University students have a lot on their minds. Juggling their various responsibili- ties can often be difficult - students usual- ly feel that they need whatever help they can get. The Notes4Free service could help free up time to allow students greater flexi- bility and the ability to manage their sched- ules better. Students should support and capitalize on this unique service. NOTABLE QUOTABLE,, 'When I got here, they had three pages of classes taped up outside the offices. I just had to pick my classes off the wall.' - LSA first-year student Jim Dudnick, referring to the scarcity of space in LSA introductory courses that has left many new students scrambling for a schedule YUKI KUNIYUKI GROUND ZERO DANCE S W/thg I1 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Boycott the term "gay" I have used in ing in Miami, Fla. I could describing my sexual orienta- feel the defense's hits (in Nectarine tion. For I wish to no longer Saturday's football game) be a part of a group that is a down here. Bravo! TO THE DAILY: minority within itself that is Brian Griese and the Approximately a week reluctant when it comes to entire offense were great too. axwe became aware of a family members of darker Still, some offensive calls in racis nideneawae hues. I am assuming the posi- the second quarter were too Nectarine Ballroom. As a tion of a Same GenderLover conservative. Coach Carr, let Ndue"rinoalroom.n Ahsa (SGL), joining my other Brian air it out! "double" minority m this minority brothers and sisters While I won't miss the sciotyoI amahkamedg be who at one time were lesbian, Michigan winters, 1 already lesbian, gay, bisexual and gay, or bisexual. miss walking to Michigan transgender (LGBT) individu- This is nothing more than football games. Enjoy this als who attended the estab- a wake-up call to the lesbian, Rose Bowl season. Go lishment on Tuesday and/or gay, bisexual and transgender Blue! Fridy nghta~ka Ga Niht. individuals on this campus Unid thenit ationis esglveh and the Ann Arbor communi- DAN MATLOW LGBT individuals attending racist, sexist and classist we this establishment are a are within this community in shame to the entire communi- arti ntiounbeint ty and in particular those Particular. Until you begin to B drv members who are of color. support and fight for other Blood dirive As a leader in the LGBT rights besides your own, do adAfrian Aerian c - Lnot expect anyone else to com es to dfniAthesempeoleappalm- help fight homophobia and munities, these people appall demand rights entitled to all cam pus me. These individuals perpet- humans. Continuing to turn a uate the myth that LGBT cul- blind eye on other forms of Thursday ture revolves solely around oppression makes it difficult sex and bars. It makes me to make allies when theo T DAIY wonder if sex and bars are oppressors come for us.T THEDAILY the only forms of expression Surprising as it may seem, I In response to Heather in the LGBT community do not think they will come Wiggins' article ("Blood These individuals displayed for us Same Gender Lovers shortage plagues region," how apathetic they are when (or LGBT individuals) last. 9/10/97)I would just like to it comes to other forms of They are already here, inform Daily readers that oppression that are not there is a blood drive being specifically homophobia. KENNETH JONES held from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Whatever the case may be, LSA JUNIOR Sept. 18 in the Blue Lounge it shocks and disappoints me in the G.G. Brown building how uncaring some individ- on North Campus. ual's can be. It makes me Alum nu There will be a sign-up wonder if LGBT individuals Aum nus sheet in the EECS Atrium on are deliberately making them- m ise 'IA' Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. - 2 selves blind when it comes to s p.m., but walk-ins are wel- other forms of oppression. football come on the day of the Truthfully, with all of the sex- drive. ism, racism and classism within the LGBT community, TO THE DAILY: CHRIS REILLY I am fully denouncing the I am an alumnus ('97) liv- RACKHAM 10 YEARS AGO IN THE DAILY Unfair silence shmuds reali I magine this: You are a member of a large student organization on cam- pus that routinely searches for, even relies on, new membership. While there are many eager new students on campus who want to join your organi- zation, you may not talk about your group, promote your group or even mention your group, lest it be loos considered "publi- cizing." A gag order, of sorts, has been thrown around the lips of you and your fellow organi- zation members, and god forbid any of you should break the silence. Reprimands, some including the revo- JOSH cation of privileges WHITE to recruit even a JUMPING single new mem- THE GUN ber, hang over the group like a dark cloud ready to burst, While this may seem a bit Orwellian, an all-too-real "silence period" has befallen one of the largest student net- works on campus, and few of members can understand why. I truly absurd aspect of the scenario is that this is something that these same groups deal with each and every fall semester - most without questioning the merit of the silence. During their lengthy rush process, sorority members and their executive boards are silenced by the University's Panhellenic Association, which is gen- erally quick to point out that -the silence is mandated from the natioi Panhel organization. The buck passed because no one wants to take responsibility for a policy that only makes sense on theasurface. Sorority rush, far different from the fraternity rush process, is shrouded with silence. And this silence is so per- vasive that the process is hidden from public scrutiny, and members of the Greek system are scared into keeping their opinions to themselves. And t4 are scared for good reason. 1. According to Panhel rules concerning publicity and social events, "individual sororities may not publicize during the silence period. ... General publicity includes, but is not limited to, any print- ing, posting, singing, chanting or cheer- ing outside of one's house that refers to one's sorority or any sorority." Breaking the rules can lead to varying sanctions, from social restrictions to a ban on ing new members. Stiff penalties promoting your organization. The justification for such a rule seems to be that by limiting the speech of each house - by preventing publicity or pro- motion for each individual house - the playing field is leveled. Panhel President Shelby Brown said the restrictions make rush a "fairer" process that doesn't favor one house over the other. The line is hat Panhel shows each rushee every ho and lets them decide on their own, son - thing that is assumed fair. (I find it appalling that the word "fair" could be applied to a process that parades gils around in specified uniforms to silly par- ties so that a large group of singingand cheering women can take their pick of the litter, but that is another topic altogether). The assumption continues that a house that publicizes will unfairly draw a larger interest from a group of rushees --but the rule doesn't stop at self-publcizin* Sororities mentioned in The Michigan Daily, for almost any reason during the silence period, will be sanctioned for having their names in print. A house I won't mention (I wouldn't want to bring them any more trouble) faces rush infrac- tions because they were named in corre- lation with Kimberly Stec, who was in the Miss America Pageant last week. Stec, a member of the house and c~lo friend of the sorority's president, un tingly brought problems for her house simply because she achieved something amazing. Her friends, quoted in this news- paper mna front page story last Wednesday. got themselves in hot water for merel praising their friend. And, it seems, should the Daily choose to write about any soror- ity during this silence period, the house will get infractions, whether they had a part in the publicity or not. That leaves us a lot of po because we don't have to follow t rules. If I were to list all of the sorori- ties right here in this column, they would all have to face sanction hear- ings and a lot of people would have to go through a lot of hassle - for noth- ing other than a few words in print. Maybe I should start now, Alpha - Don't worry., .. But the sororities take this very seri- ously, or at least they live in fear@ breakingMthe rules toa point of pnic: After a Michigan Daily reporter talked to her for a rush article in progress, a sorority president called the office, apparently very afraid that we would print her sorority next to her 'cbm- ments in the story. She had heard what had hannened with Stec's sororitvy FighingI Survivors face anoth M ost of the social movements that stu- Prosecu dents have seen throughout their life- of man times have experienced some sort of back- least - lash. The strides to curb domestic violence chology prove to be no exception. The Shelter as these Available for Emergencies House, or SAFE can be House, discussed this backlash - stemming should from batterers, lawmakers, and even the sensitiv Washtenaw County judicial system - dur- Mack ing a free seminar last week. Participants problem said that domestic abusers are now fighting violenc the organizations that protect survivors. lawyers Susan McGee, SAFE House executive direc- cials wh( tor, commented that even though communi- They fr ty and government workers are increasing and pres efforts to combat domestic violence, the any con backlash is a well-financed and organized that ou attack specifically aimed at domestic vio- together lence organizations. One example is the force. E ever-growing number of abusers who file survivor lawsuits against organizations such as SAFE when en House, taking up precious funding and time. To ta Officials must work to quell this backlash so port for that survivors can be helped to the best of the state she abilities of both the organizations and the state pm legislature. lence ca Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian nization Mackie stated that the backlash is enabled ing such by the Michigan legislature, which has no the fiel clear-cut policy on domestic violence cases. knowle For example, when batterers appear before closest legislators, stories and grudges can carry a could b case to court. Domestic violence must be between treated as a serious problem from the out- organiza set. While it might be difficult to alter the Laws Michigan legislation surrounding domestic hope fo violence, small steps can be made to create with fai an awareness and sensitivity among the courtroo people who work these types of cases. those w How TO CONTACT THEM mck er challenge tors and judges who hold the trust yy battered women should - at the - be educated about the basic psy- surrounding abuse. In cases such e, emotions run high and evidence hard to come by. However, this rnot detract from lawyers' or judges, ity toward the case. kie offered an example of the type of as that further complicate domestic e cases. He cited phone calls to and testimony from religious offi- Zo call on behalf of accused offenders. equently offer support to the accused ssure the family to stay together under dition. Prosecutors should be aware tside pressure to keep the family can be a powerful, intimidating ven more, they need to be aware that rs must not be forced to feel guilt nding an abusive relationship. ake steps toward empathic legal sup- survivors of domestic violence, the ould mandate sensitivity training for rosecutors handling domestic vio- ases. Perhaps SAFE House, or orga- is like it, could participate in teach- Ih a seminar - certainly experts in d would be willing to share their dge and their time to educate those to domestic violence cases. This uild a positive working relationship n the legislature and community ations without draining budgets. suits can be an abused woman's best r safety. Survivors must be treated rness and respect - especially in the om. A first step should be to educate hom women entrust with their lives. Take advantage of ' Summer may officially end September 20, but for most students in Ann Arbor, it ended yesterday. While people still play frisbee on the Diag and the bars remain crowded, these activities are only superficial- ly as they were two days ago. It's harder to be carefree when a paper is due tomorrow or a quiz takes place in an hour. The school year lends itself to considerations of major, career, grades and other unpleasant but impor- tant subjects relating to one's future. As tempting as it may be to put off these stressful thoughts, confronting them now can make life easier later. Here are some ways to begin that process: Don't treat your sched- ule as a sacred, immutable document. Courses are designed to be dropped. Sit in on a variety of different class- es and take advantage of the three-week period during which you can drop/add at no charge. The University has a lot to offer, but you've got to shop around to find it. Frequently, it is impossible to get into the best classes because they were filled the second day of CRISP. The University needs to ensure that places are available in classes want to take and that class size remains workable. Pace yourself. Don't take school so seriously you forget to go to happy hour, follow the Tigers, or, heaven forbid, read the Daily. On the other hand, there are few feel- ings worse than contemplat- ing an unstarted reading list the night before a final. Finally, get involved in something outside of class. In many cases, extracurricular activities are an equally important or more important part of one's education than course work. The University harbors many political groups, social organizations and career-ori- ented clubs which are worth investigating. Remember, while summer is undeniably over unless you follow your calender unques- tioningly, the school year offers its own unique plea- sures. Like it or not, it is time to move on and begin experi- encing them. This editorial was originally published in the Daily on Sept. 10, 1987. GOV. JOHN ENGLER P.O. Box 30013 LANSING, MI 48909 (517)335-6863 cIaAaAAfMrt/&Al C'TATr A 1C >;