4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 30, 1997 cue 3 iirgt Daig 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 i NOTABLE QUOTABLE 'If you become successful at investing, there is no better way to make a living. I could stay home every day.' - LSA junior Peter Tsu, president of Investment Partnership, a students' investing club Uniess 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 Home sweet home Duquette can change adoption for the better YUKI KUNIYUKI 0. , 7 ,jROUND ZERO RoyJ ROEKLE$S ZRIsH r Mky.. 3~aT1 t - 3. niversity Law professor Donald Duquette has taken his position as the had of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic a step further by becoming involved in Adoption 2002 - President Clinton's ini- tiative that aims to double the number of children adopted each year by 2002. Prof. Duquette and his colleagues should be com- mended for their efforts on the initiative - but their work should be extended to resolve other nationwide problems involved with adoption. The initiative focuses on changing how state governments regulate adoption and foster care. While legal proceedings involved in adoption and foster care are a necessity, more attention should be placed on the welfare of the children involved. Children's mental and emotional health dur- ing the adoption process is an integral fac- tor in their long-term welfare. The main concern in creating these new regulations is to provide children with happy homes. While the initiative is attempting to 'b'reak down racial and ethnic barriers, it should be concerned with gender, sexual orientation and marital status as well. These factors have no detrimental impact on the loving, nurturing environment that may be provided for adopted children. There are currently no laws preventing gay or lesbian couples or single parents from adopting :children, but they frequently face signifi- cant obstacles. A gay or lesbian couple or a single parent who has met the same require- ements as a heterosexual couple should not be denied the right to adopt a child based on their sexual preference or marital status. There are too many children in America without a home or parents to love and care for them to be eliminating potential parents from the pool. The ability to provide a nur- turing environment for an adopted child should take precedence over all else. Another concern the initiative addresses is the unnecessary removal of children from their families. Uprooting children from their homes, both foster and biological, can upset the emotional development of the child. A stable environment should be the goal of any foster placement. An integral part of stabili- ty is permanently establishing children in one home, to allow them to adjust to school and the people around them. While welfare is the main concern, trading young children like baseball cards must end. Courts currently use the adversarial sys- tem to mediate adoptions, which depends on the court to resolve differences. Duquette aims to replace this adversarial system with mediation and family group conferencing. An approach such as this would help to ease the transition of adop- tion for both the child and the adoptive fam- ily. This conferencing could prematurely address the child's and the family's con- cerns, and could head off problems that children typically face further down the road as a result of adoption. Due to the many innovations this initia- tive is attempting to set in place, the adop- tion and foster care process may become easier on all parties involved. The imple- mentation of many facets of the plan would ease many of adoption's legalities. Adoption's purpose should be refocused on the most important parties involved: the children. M'i_ "" i- Jet~rtNE I IRISH 3 (loss thra, ) ( ( ( 1~ CsET tnSS e, ,a 1QJo 1HLeI cro P 1(C1wr LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Bill for change New laws will preserve funding for education Drunken driving touches the lives of almost anyone who gets behind the wheel. Whether it is the passenger, driver, or innocent victim; the stories, or realities, affect all involved. Michigan has successful- ly decreased the percentages of drunk dri- ving accidents - but state and federal offi- cials still seek ways to cut alcohol-related accidents and fatalities. A bill pending in the legislature would lower Michigan's legal blood-alcohol con- tent from the current 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent. While this reduction symbolizes concern and effort by the state, outside pressure exists. Michigan is in danger of losing $1 million a year in federal alcohol prevention funding because the state's drinking laws fall short of proposed new federal standards. While Michigan cannot risk losing this amount of federal funding, those trying to further reduce drunken dri- ving accidents must realize that a 0.02 per- cent change in the legal limit will not nec- essarily deter those who pose a threat - repeat offenders and individuals with drink- ing problems. Numerical manipulations with the legal blood-alcohol content will not successfully deter. It is therefore the new federal standards that need adjust- in California said, "We are talking about people with serious alcohol problems who are intractable to change." Even with the headway that Michigan has made, to those closest to the problem, the glass is still half empty. Even though the pending bill will not necessarily curb alco- hol-related accidents, it is a mandatory step in order to maintain the much-needed fed- eral funding. One of the most successful Michigan programs aimed at curbing drunken driving is run by New Paths, a res- idential treatment center in Flint. The New Paths program includes personal counsel- ing, education courses and mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as well as talks by members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In particular, MADD's high-impact counseling and emotional dis- cussions tap into the angst that families feel after being affected by drunken driving accidents. Programs like New Paths rely heavily on federal funding and show high rates of success. A 1995 study showed that 95 percent of those who complete the New Paths program are not arrested for subse- quent drunk driving offenses. Federal officials should recognize that a reduction in the legal limit will not effec- tively reach those who continually violate the law. Instead, the next step should entail increased funding for programs such as New Paths. The Michigan legislature needs to pass this bill, simply to retain federal funding. At the same time, however, it must not pretend that this bill will seriously reduce alcohol-related fatal accidents. The efforts to curtail and eventually end fatali- ties due to drunken driving must not cease after this bill becomes law. Continual efforts to reach repeat offenders and alco- holics must accompanv this nending legis- Lower flags for Tamara TO THE DAILY: I am originally from Washington, D.C. I'm used to having flags lowered to half staff after the deaths of important people. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, the day after the hideous murder of Tamara Williams, 1was sur- prised to see that no flags on Central Campus had been lowered. Would it have been too much trouble for the University to lower one or two flags (perhaps on the Diag or the Union)? Or per- haps there were more press- ing issues than the death of a University senior. My feeling is that there is no good excuse for forgetting such an important act of deference. Lowering a flag to half staff is not only an act of respect. It is a gesture of mourning. It is also a strong symbolic gesture that makes anyone who looks at the flag reflect on the death and have a visual reminder of the loss and even the pain that per- vades the campus. I remember the flags at half staff after the Challenger exploded. I remember the flags at half staff after the death of Thurgood Marshall. I remember the flags at half staff after the death of Richard Nixon. I wish that the University could have made it possible for me to remember the flags after the death of Tamara Williams. Now I just remember the University's aloofness. AARON RICH RC FIRST-YEAR STUDENT Skaters are considerate TO THE DAILY: In Tish Lehman's letter, "Skateboards damage, U' property" (9/25/97), she describes skateboarding dam- age to the Cube courtyard. Ann Arbor and University laws do not target the damage, they target the skateboards. No one is advocating vandalism of any sort! Most skaters would agree that "dangerous and destructive actions" such as public building target prac- tice, breaking benches, or per- sonal assault, should be ille- gal. However, there is no logi- cal link between destroying University facilities and rolling down the street on soft, efficient polyurethane wheels. Why should skateboards be outlawed as opposed to any other mode of transportation? I protest the notion that destruction is inherent in skateboarding, that the mere possession of a piece of wood makes one an immediate don't want to run into you any more than you want to be damaged. The new organiza- tion of skaters (e-mail skaters@umich.edu) promotes both safe and legal skating. i am strongly in favor of police and DPS officers giv- ing out tickets for any destructive behavior, from skating into pedestrians to domestic violence to anti- semitic vandalism. But effi- cient modes of transporta- tion, safe tricks and exercise should not be criminal offenses. The cliche of evil skate- boarders is outdated; a spe- cific ban on skateboards is ridiculous; the laws should be changed. DAVE GINSBERG LSA SOPHOMORE Resources needed on North Campus TO THE DAILY: In response to the recent death of a fellow student. I believe we need to provide domestic abuse services on North Campus. It is not always practical to go to Central Campus when you live on North Campus because you need to wait for the bus to take you there. In a domestic abuse situation, there is no time to wait for the bus. There needs to be a place for victims of domestic abuse to go to in an emergency on North Campus. North Campus is also an appropri- ate place for domestic abuse services because that is where the family housing is. The families living in student housing generally have low income and high stress levels, which increase the risk of domestic abuse. The services provided need to address the problems of the families liv- ing on North Campus. These services might include job counseling to help the family to find employment, family counseling and a safe place to go in the event of abuse. These services need to be providedto prevent another senseless death. MEuSSA DREGER SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Michigan must make it to Pasadena TO THE DAILY: Michigan must go to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1998. Why? I'm glad you asked. Michigan did go to the Rose Bowl in 1948. My wife and 1 were University stu- dents at the time and had damn well better be there too. PERRY NORTON HARRIET DAVIS NORTON UNIVERSITY ALUMNI NEA is essential TO THE DAILY: Recently, there has been a heated debate over the National Endowment for the Arts and its relevance to the overall budget scheme for this country. And while there is a significant debate over its necessity and its effectiveness, there are a few points which have oft been overlooked. First of all, the NEA receives a budget of almost $100 million annually. In the entire national budget, this amount figures in as less than one-tenth of one percent. As a developed nation, we spend far less than any other on the arts. Second, the NEA's grants, which are several thousand each year, are never enough to cover full cost of a given pro- ject. The small amounts of money that the NEA is able to grant are actually a foundation upon which most projects can then assert their validity and receive funding from the pri- vate sector. Private funding typically accounts for at least 80 percent of a project to which the NEA has given money. This goes to show that the NEA is actually one of the government's best examples of the public and private sec- tors working together. Third, relying on private companies for funding would bring the arts programs in this country to their knees. Right now, R Reynolds, one of the most notorious big tobacco companies (and a huge arts funder), is asking people to whom it has donated money to speak on its behalf at tobacco trials and in front of grand juries. The threat that RJR is using is that it will pull funding a specific project unless that beneficiary speaks on their behalf and sings the praises of smoking. Humiliating? Yes. And the NEA is perhaps the last pro- gram that can help put a stop to big corporations control- ling arts programs. Finally, while there have been some controversial pro- jects funded by the NEA, con- sidering the broader picture is better than focusing on a point here or there. The fact is that the NEA funds thousands of arts events every year, and one among those thousands is not reason enough to pull the plug on this program. As an arts student myself, I know that I present a view that could be seen as biased, but this is something which is a very important issue in this country. The arts are not The Michigan Daily celebrate 107 years of editorialfreedom s the daily paper a go?' This oft-repeated question is answered once for all by our appearance today. Yes, the Daily i4s go. It is here to stay .... Those words began the first editorial statement printed in the first issue of The Michigan Daily, on Monday, Sept. 29, 1890. Having completed 107 years ofapublica- tion at the University, theJosH Daily celebrated WHITE its birthday yester- JUMPING day, along with the THE GUN editorial freedom it has been afforded since its inception. Spanning more than a century of culture, ideas, wars, technology and expansion, the principles that guided the founding of the Daily and tb inauspicious beginnings of colleg newspapers around the country have not changed; it is those very principles that allow our nation's students to be informed about their university com- munities, about ideas from outside of their universities and to be exposed to an educational experience through journalism. The Daily has always striven to "attain and protect an entirely inde- pendent, student-run newspap because we believe a voice indeper* dent of the University administration will help us best attain our goals." Not coincidentally, those words come from the Daily's preamble, which was drafted about the time of the Daily's centennial - when a group of editors realized that 100 years had passed since the paper put down in words why it exists. From the yellow and frail pages of what began as tW "U. of M. Daily" to the full-color broadsheet (and electronic edition on the Web) that we know today, the need for a college newspaper has only increased. Founded at a time when Grand Opera House show tickets could be purchased for 35 cents and when there were fewer than 2,200 students at the University, the Daily united publica- tions on campus that were faltering, order to provide a useful daily paper for the University community. At its outset, the Daily began to both support and critique the University through news reports, sports stories and edito- rial commentary, claiming that "The Daily is its own excuse." Above all, the Daily pushed to be a place where students could air their opinions and find a forum for the stu- dent voice. In the third issue of to Daily in 1890, the editors wrote that "believing that a true U. of M. paper should voice the sentiment of the entire University, we have made this publication, not the organ of one department, but of all." Throughout the years, the Daily has remained separate from the University administration - students edit and manage all facets of the paper, from selling advertising to writing and edi ing stories, and the newspaper receiv no funding from the 'University. Students work to keep the Daily a viable business while providing the University with the most comprehen- sive coverage of important news, events and athletics. The separation is important to allow for the paper's editorial freedom. That freedom gives the Daily the ability to show the campus how its administrati works without having to bow University pressure. Financial indepen- dence permits the Daily to operate on its own, without any outside ability to "pull the plug" or unduly influence coverage. This freedom is not provided every- where. Some schools are subject to editorial control or financial strangle- holds - if a university provides the newspaper's funds, they can withdraw them at any time. At some college & editorships are positions that are in general student-body- elections, which puts editor-hopefuls in the posi- tion of pandering to large student groups and currying favor with other student leaders. From the Daily's first edition, the founders believed in providing the University with a newspaper that had integrity and independence while pro- viding a journalistic education. Tod without a journalism curriculum aO with the absence of any courses that provide practical journalistic experi- ence, the Daily's role as educator increases. Students who want to work for a professional daily newspaper after graduation have nowhere else on campus to turn. ments - focusing on prevention. Of the more than 490,000 licensed Michigan drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated, nearly 5,000 have at least six offenses on their record. This group of dri- vers are targeted and eventually swayed through long-standing publicity and educa- tion campaigns, not through a decrease in the legal blood-alcohol content. While the lower legal limit places added fear upon those who cannot decide whether to have another glass of wine, this type of drinker is not the problem. As Russ Fontaine. a senior .