4A The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 18, 1997
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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
"NOTABLE QUOTABLE,
'While we don't haze, there are certain steps
prospective brothers have to take that we feel
encourage and enhance brotherhood ...'
-Alpha Epsilon Pi member Todd Michaels
YU K UNYUKI __ _ __ _ __ _ _ E
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
A place at the table
SACUA, MSA should join forces for reps.
ne formula for
groups and
roles continues
wherever we go
i's a little like lecture hall seats:
After a week or two of class, every-
one basically has a place. People in the
class can identify other students usi
locations in the room.
It's also a little
like any standard
television sit-
com: A certain
number of stock
characters must
be in every
show. Witness
the understand-
ing friend, the
ever-present ex,
the goofy neigh- MEGAN
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Since its announcement last year to push
for a voting student representative to
the University Board of Regents, the
Michigan Student Assembly had been tor-
pid in showing progress. On Monday, the
Senate Advisory Committee on University
Afirs revived the issue when it stepped in
toeivestigate the possibility of adding both
a ,student and a faculty member to the
Board of Regents. The regents - elected
by a statewide vote - oversee many of the
important decisions at the University,
ipluding increases in tuition and housing
fets. Similarly, the regents make decisions
that directly affect members of the faculty,
who currently have no representative. MSA
should join SACUA to fight for voting stu-
dent and faculty representation -- and the
University administration should embrace
the opportunity to include representatives
of two of the University's essential fac-
tions.
A University student representative is
currently allowed to sit at the table and offer
feedback, but is not allowed full voting
powers. Therefore, students have virtually
no influential role in deciding the issues of
their school. If such fundamental rights as
voting are not granted, the representatives
are essentially nothing more than a specta-
tor-it is futile to send a figurehead who is
seen but not heard. The students need a true
representative voice on the Board of
Regents who is on equal footing with the
regents to have any significant leverage. If
not, they can easily be ignored and over-
shadowed.
Traditionally, the regents make the final
decisions for the University, but ultimately,
it is the students and the faculty who face
the repercussions. Every time tuition
increases or salary increases fail to meetj
rates of inflation, the students and faculty
feel the money crunch. It is evidently befit-
ting for representatives of these factions to
having a voting voice. Students are an intri-
cate part of the University and should be
respected as such. They are an essential
piece to the well-balanced University pic-
ture. It is crucial that the regents are in
touch with the students in order to make the
best choices for the University. There is no
better way to achieve this than to receive a
student and a faculty representative as influ-
ential members of the board.
Critics maintain that an ex officio stu-
dent regent is sufficient. However, students
can do better than to accept such a feeble
definition of representation. The treatment
of University representatives is reflective of
the regents' direct relationship with the stu-
dents and the faculty. To accept prominent
representatives will demonstrate the
regents' genuine interest in student and fac-
ulty concerns.
University President Lee Bollinger has
presented himself as the students' president.
Bollinger should embrace MSA's and
SACUA's quest for student and faculty rep-
resentatives as a means to reach out to the
students. Communications on equal ground
could go a long way in bridging the gap
between students and the administration
and fostering better relations with the
University faculty. This is a tremendous and
singular opportunity for students and facul-
ty to be a part of governing the growing
University. MSA, SACUA and Bollinger
should band together and take advantage of
it.
,,...,"
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Two steps back
Reversing policy another obstacle to freedom
n a move that has sparked intense con-
troversy, the Wayne-Westland Board of
Education voted last month to reverse a
seven-month-old decision to include the
words "sexual orientation" in its anti-dis-
crinination policy. The vote came amid
advice from the board's attorney that
including sexual preference in the policy
might lead to free-speech lawsuits. Vocal
community members have met the reversal
of the decision with disapproval at subse-
quent board meetings, citing an obligation
to protect all district members and affili-
ates. The loss of protection for gays and les-
bians affiliated with the Wayne-Westland
school district comes at a time when reports
of violence, harassment and discrimination
indicated a significant need to keep such
defenses intact.
A set of 1996 figures reveal that reports
of violence against gays and lesbians grew
six percent in 17 states and Washington
D.C. between 1995 and 1996. The same
study reveals that these reports surged 29
percent in Michigan alone. Nationally, teen-
agers committed two-thirds of the offenses.
The findings underscore the importance of
maintaining protection for gays and les-
bians. The need especially prevails in
Michigan school districts, where teen-agers
compose a large proportion of the popula-
tion affected by policy.
The debate transpiring in the Wayne-
Westland district, however, mirrors a larger
national issue: ensuring gays and lesbians
the same rights and freedoms that hetero-
sexuals have always enjoyed. Historically,
out-of-the-closet gays and lesbians have
endured intense discrimination and have
been relegated to the periphery of main-
stream society. Traditionally viewed as
deviants, this group has battled unfounded
public stereotypes and, in the last quarter-
century, has made tremendous progress in
visibly demanding equal treatment.
Now the United States stands at a point
in national history when the outward public
opinion supports bestowing equal opportu-
nities and rights upon all people.
Policymakers - and the public that elects
them - should hold true to that public con-
viction by including gays and lesbians in
the list of protected groups, for these peo-
ple, too, face severe -- and often violent -
discrimination.
Currently, federal anti-discrimination
laws encompass the areas of gender, reli-
gion, race and physical disability.
However, sexual orientation remains
absent from the list. Expansion of federal
legislation to include this category would
send two long-overdue messages to the
country: Gays and lesbians merit the same
treatment as heterosexuals, and they
deserve to take their rightful place in the
American mainstream.
For a change to occur at the national
level, however, individual communities
must mirror these messages in their own
policies and actions to demonstrate a need
for revision of federal policies. Educational
practices would go a long way in achieving
this goal. The Wayne-Westland district
apparently recognized the need to protect
gays and lesbians, but bowed to legal and
community pressures. The issue of estab-
lishing and preserving gay rights, however,
must not become grounded in bureaucracy,
religion or politics. Instead, it must remain
an issue of upholding national creed and of
allowing all people to enjoy the same access
to freedom.
Eliminating
inserts cuts
waste, ends
messes
TO THE DAILY:
I would just like to say
good job to the Daily on their
Sept. 16 issue for including
some of their advertisements
within the actual newspaper
rather than having inserts. As
many students well know.
most of the inserts that the
Daily has usually end up on
the floor in a giant mess.
This is a problem not only
because it is an eyesore, but
these insert materials do not
get recycled but thrown out.
By including the coupon sec-
tion in the Sept. 16 issue in
the last two pages is one step
toward a reduction in the
waste generated by these
inserts. Hopefully this can
lead to the elimination of the
inserts altogether. Once again
- good job.
ANNA COLLINSON
SNRE SENIOR
Publicity
validates
hate acts
TO THE DAILY:
After reading the article
pertaining to the Markley
swastika vandalism
("Markley staff, residents dis-
cuss swastika incident,"
9/15/97) 1 became rather con-
cerned by the reasoning
exhibited by those trying to
grapple with this incident.
While the person(s) responsi-
ble for the vandalism are
clearly deplorable in both
their message and means,
their impetus was none other
than their own prejudiced
opinions, which as reprehen-
sible as they may be, people
have an undeniable right to
hold.
Thus while we may right-
ly challenge their chosen
form of expression for these
attitudes, the process of end-
ing such hatred goes far
beyond what any meeting or
information letter generated
by a momentary outrage can
accomplish. Shooting at ideas
is a futile task. Nothing said
or done by anyone will have
any effect on those who per-
petrated this crime, such a
process needed to begin long
ago.
By bringing such atten-
tion and undue rhetoric to the
incident you have succeeded
only in further empowering
those responsible for this
vandalism. Ignorance of such
magnitude does not merit a
response. By labeling such
actions "an attack on the
University" it only empowers
these individuals to conclude
that thi a - ,t; n. nra P,,n
ticed, but in reporting and
responding to it you must be
wary not to play directly into
the hands of those individuals
responsible.
BRIAN LAUDEMAN
LSA JUNIOR
Direct energy
to worthy
projects
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing about the
article ("Students petition to
hire James Earl Jones for
CRISP," 9/16/97) on petition-
ing James Earl Jones to be
our new "CRISP lady."
I think we may just have
misplaced our priorities here
just a bit. I love Darth Vader
too, but having James Earl
Jones as our CRISP lady is
taking it a bit too far. What
with homework, midterms,
world hunger, homelessness,
affirmative action and the
AIDS issue you'd think we U
of M students could find a
something a little more
important to occupy our time
and tuition money.
J.C. CAMPBELL
RC SOPHOMORE
E-mail users:
Be wary of
SPAM mail
TO THE DAILY:
In the editorial "Telnet
troubles" (9/16/97) you say,
regarding lTD's e-mail prob-
lems, that SPAM mail is
"sent by a user not logged in
at a University computer but
using the University network
to send or check mail." This
is not quite correct. SPAM
mail generally refers to unso-
licited e-mail that is sent to a
user, generally advertising a
product, or as part of a pyra-
mid scheme.
However, this type of mail
will still have a minor impact
on the ITD systems.
The important thing for
first-year students who have
just gotten their e-mail
accounts is that SPAM mail
is very much frowned upon
by a majority of people. You
can check LTD's or CAEN's
acceptable use policy (AUP)
and see that neither policy
supports SPAM e-mail (as
with most other service
providers). You may be
tempted to advertise your
used car for sale or ask for
football tickets to next week's
game to a large list of e-mail
address, but think twice
about doing this, and look for
alternate places to ask for
this (the Daily classifieds,
and some for-sale/looking-for
e-mail lists that are specifi-
tll, meant fn rthic_
some point, you will most
likely receive a scheme that
claims to earn you $10,000
or more in a short amount of
time. Generally this scheme
involves a list of names,
which you send a small
amount of money to, then
add your name to this list,
and distribute the message to
all your friends. This is gen-
erally called a pyramid
scheme, and is illegal, and
rarely works in the first
place, no matter how glittery
the text of the e-mail may
make it seem. I highly sug-
gest that if you get such a
message, you disregard it and
avoid falling into the trap that
many other first-year stu-
dents around the country tend
to do.
Remember, if it sounds
too good to be true, it proba-
bly is.
MICHAEL NEYLON
RACKHAM
Ineffective'
boycott
blames the
wrong group
TO THE DAILY:
This letter is in response
to "Boycott the Nectarine"
written by Kenneth Jones
(9/16/97). I believe that Jones
has wrongly admoniished the
members of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (and
same gender lover) commu-
nity that attended the
Nectarine Ballroom on
Tuesday and Friday nights. It
is simply ludicrous to place
the burden of an ineffective,
self-imposed boycott on the
LGBT (and SGL) communi-
ty. Until this alleged incident
is thoroughly examined and
both sides published, it is not
necessary to jump to an
activist stance. Once the
issue is settled it would only
then be fair to focus on the
entire apathetic University
community. Moreover the
shame and disappointment
should be directed toward the
"oppressors" rather than
other minorities.
It was also slightly irre-
sponsible for Jones, "a leader
in the LGBT community," to
suggest that "the myth that
LGBT culture revolves solely
around sex and bars" may in
fact be true. This misleading
suggestion may promote the
homophobia and misinforma-
tion that already exists.
Furthermore, I believe
that a man, who "came out"
as an ally to the LGBT and
SGL community at last year's
National Coming Out Day
Rally, denouncing the term
"gay" is completely silly.
Besides playing with seman-
tics, he is also adding more
letters to the ever growing
acronym placed on our com-
m nn.l
And so we PRESCRIPTIONS
begin to be iden-
tified by the roles we play.
Sometime in the middle of elemen-
tary school, there started to be distinct
groupings within classrooms. These
"cliques" become the source of angst,
teen magazine articles and complex
for years to come.
But this is not about who wore what
first in high school or who got into
which group. It's not about cleanly
scrubbed vs. grungy. It's not about
popular vs. wannabes.
It's merely about the fact that groups
exist. And that they still do. And why
we let them.
Take almost any group of people,
small or large, at random. Regardless
of any common ties, the group dynar
ics will feel familiar.
There will be a class comedian who
sits in the back and makes wry com-
ments. There will be "cool kids.
There will be a shy person in the cor-
ner, whose voice no one ever hears.
There willbe the "gunner" who asks
questions that set everyone's eyes
rolling. And there will be all the other.
shades of personality that are hard to
define, but easy to notice if they'
lacking.
In large groups, several people
have each persona. Every group
needs a leader. Every group needs
followers.
But every group does not need
slackers - the people who just take up
space, often with attitude and they're
there anyway. True, the slackers from
high school don't make it to college
and the slackers from college don'
make it to grad school. But there a
still slackers, at least outwardly. Think.
of all the other shades of personality
that are simply because they are.,
Things may shift, but not much
changes.
It doesn't end when you get older,.
and it doesn't become any less clearly
marked. In this caste system, some-
thing instinctively causes us to assume
one of these roles, and then to assoc
ate with the other people like us.
If, as the legend goes, the popular
people learned to be that way on some
day when everyone else was absent,
where were they when the leaders
learned charisma? When the frustrated
learned to want more? When the cre
ative learned to think for a minute
instead of acting in a split second? Or
when the wisecrackers learned sar-
casm?
Unless there really was some pr
grammed absence plan in elementarr
school - talk about a conspiracy the-
ory - we're left with natural instinct.
It's infinitely more complex than sim-
ply cursing the second-grade chicken
pox, but also reassuring in its intrica-
cies.
These labels and personality traits
aren't mutually exclusive, of course
- many people have more than one
- but every group has at least or
of each. While we are able to define
ourselves and our own personality to
some extent, groups necessitate
modifications at each bend in our
road.
Why does that happen? How doe
that happen?
Admissions offices or personnel'
offices or anyone, for all their careful
planning, cannot predict who will end
up as the one who will host great pa
ties or ask the best questions. True pet
sonality diversity is not well analyzed'
in interviews or in black-and-white
application essays.
But people still show up and develop
into groups. ~
And if no one immediately fills 0,
role, someone steps into it. Deep in the
psyche are the ingredients of every
personality type. In different situa-
tions, different parts come out in di
ferent proportions.
Yet we are often not objective - or
aware, perhaps - enough to see what
role we fill. It is often much more evi-
dent to those watching us because the
whole process is largely subcon-
scious.
And often. not extremely variable.
I