4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 24, 1997


Uwe artIctigttn Etftllj

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
'We have a policy of responsibility. Recruitment is
based on everything but alcohol. If partying is your
priority then this is not the fraternity for you.'
Ryan Brennan, director for new charter
development for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity

How to escape
the dorms and

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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.

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PURPLE HERRING

4

FROM THE DAILY
Nur 'station
'U' should support North Campus clinic
W hen students on Central Campus feel pay for visits to the clinic if they d
a little under the weather, they can have adequate health insurance.
take a short trip to the University Health University should provide funding fo
Service. The UHS provides a free (or dis- clinic to help alleviate students'L
counted), convenient source for the financial burdens.
University community to receive simple, In addition to supporting the alr
outpatient health care. Students living on existing programs that the clinic prov
Central Campus may take for granted the the administration should provide addit
services that are provided to them by UHS. funding to help the clinic expand its ser:
University students and their families who MSA is the students' voice - including
live on North Campus recognize the need dents living in the North Campus area.
for a facility of similar caliber as UHS. The population has particularly strong he
North Campus Nursing Clinic, which care needs - many of the campus' resid
serves nearly 1,500 families and local are families with small children.
University residents, performs a constant It is likely that these young familiesl
tight-rope walk - running on a tight bud- insufficient health insurance, poteni
get while trying to maintain service for the forcing them to struggle with medical ca
community. The University should provide forgo it altogether. The clinic prevents 1
funds for the clinic to support the entire families from having to take a 15-minute
community. ride in order to treat sick children or
In an effort to improve the situation, the care of other health problems. Withs
Michigan Student Assembly passed a reso- assistance from the University, the c
lution on Tuesday to support the clinic and could get back on its feet and run smoc
present the issues to Vice President for In addition, the clinic could help fulfill0
Student Affairs Maureen Hartford and unmet medical needs of the North Car
other administrators. While the MSA reso- student population. The clinic must als
lution is a good first step, it is not a cure- equipped to inform families about situa
all. MSA President Michael Nagrant of domestic abuse or violence.
should bring the issue to the table at the The University should expand the cli
next University Board of Regents meeting existing resources. The approaching w
to convey the importance of the clinic and months will likely bring a large numbe
present its current financial distress. North student-parents and children seeking(
Campus students fund UHS through their The North Campus clinic couldl
tuition dollars, but the service is often too increase the quality of health care avai
distant to be utilized by them. They still to students and families and provide a n
must pay separate fees to support the North convenient location to students living
Campus clinic. In addition, students must North Campus.

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40 CI


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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

..


Read America
Testing should not be part of tutoring program

Illiteracy can strike a debilitating blow to a
person's chances at success in life. It can
prevent them from getting adequate employ-
ment opportunities or furthering their educa-
tion. The America Reads Challenge, a pro-
gram proposed by President Bill Clinton last
May, recently came under fire from
Republicans in the U.S. House of
Representatives. The proposal, a drive to
increase youth literacy rates, would help all
students read proficiently by the time they
reach the fourth grade. The program would
employ college students to tutor the children
as part of federal work-study programs. The
University is one of nearly 700 higher educa-
tion institutions across the nation whose stu-
dents would take part in the program.
Clinton's proposal also calls for voluntary
national tests in reading for fourth-graders
and math for eighth-graders. This is where
the proposal runs into trouble - House
Republicans oppose the testing aspect of
Clinton's legislation. Consequently, all work
on the proposal has been stalled until the
president and the legislators resolve their
dispute.
National testing should not be a part of
the program. Standardized tests are often
biased against minorities in poor, urban
areas. In addition, it is unclear what influ-
ence the test scores will have -if they are to
play a role in deciding which students
receive federal financial aid dollars, many
students may be unfairly penalized - these
groups have the most need for the tutoring
program. If the test results were used to
determine the allocation of federal funds to
school districts, the program could hurt
those it was intended to help.

Without the voluntary tests, the program
will still help children learn to read. The
testing is not an integral part of the plan -
rather, it is one that can and should be
dropped. This would end the political
debate over Clinton's proposal and allow
students to get the help that they need. The
plan must proceed, because reading is so
crucial to later success. It would be a mis-
take to end or delay the program, but drop-
ping the testing requirement would only
enhance the program's benefits.
It is extremely important for the future
of the nation's educational system that the
America Reads program is successful.
Reading is the cornerstone of all education
- without it, it is extremely difficult for
students to succeed academically or in the
workplace. Increased literacy among young
people should be a national goal, regardless
of political differences. The legislators
should do what is best for the nation's edu-
cational system and approve the America
Reads program.
The America Reads Challenge is a good
plan that should prove extremely helpful to
all involved - children will learn to read, the
volunteer tutors will have the opportunity to
help their community while earning money
to offset tuition bills and the job market will
get the promise of a stronger, more-literate
future work force. It would be a great shame
if political disagreements between Congress
and the president brought the initiative to bet-
ter the country's future down. The best solu-
tion is to abandon the tests allowing the pro-
gram to be successfully instituted so that it
will benefit the students across the country
who need help with reading.

'U' denied
admission to
'deserving'
students
TO THE DAILY:
In all of the controversy
surrounding the lawsuit filed
against the University I think
everyone is forgetting the
most important aspect of the
suit: Two very deserving peo-
ple were denied admission to
the University because of the
conscious effort of admis-
sions to represent "diverse
areas"
Clearly there is a need for
affirmative action. There are
a great number of minorities
that simply are not given an
equal opportunity in the work
force, in education and in
other aspects of life as well.
Affirmative action has done
its job in giving those minori-
ties a chance, but to what
extent should it be extended?
Should the University give
priority to "lesser" students
because they are of minority
groups? Affirmative action
was set up to create a more
equal nation, giving opportu-
nities to minorities who oth-
erwise could not get those
opportunities due to racism.
Equality is what its main dri-
ving force was, and still
should be today. But denying
anyone admission because of
their racial background is not
promoting equality even if it
is within the quota system
promoted by affirmative
action. It is contradicting
equality by pointing out the
irrelevant.
It is true that the
University is a very diverse
place. The people that are here
should be proud to be a part of
one of the most prestigious
universities in the nation.
What of Patrick Hamacher
and Jennifer Gratz, who, under
questionable admissions poli-
cies, were denied the ability to
attend the University? Should
they feel proud to have been
considered but denied because
they do not fit a quota?
Clearly, things need to be
changed one way or another.
Admissions should not be
based on ethnicity but on
merit. If someone is intellectu-
ally ready and deserving to
attend the University, then
they should be allowed to
attend, whether that person be
black, white or otherwise.
ERIC CONN
LSA SOPHOMORE
BAMN
contradicts
diversity
efforts

I understand that this issue
may mean a lot to members
of BAMN, but there are two
sides to an argument. Maybe
it's time they take a step back
and look at the big picture.
They fight for affirmative
action because it promotes
diversity. What is diversity? It
is more than just skin color. A
diverse campus, such as ours,
should strive for diversity of
backgrounds, appearances
and ideas. This is the contra-
diction of BAMN. Anyone
who claims to be "diverse"
does not threaten violence
against supporters of an idea
which he or she does not like.
If members of BAMN are
representative of this campus,
the attempt for true diversity
is failing.
KIRK MEULEN
ENGINEERING SENIOR
Editorial
mistreated
important
debate
TO THE DAILY:
I feel very deeply that the
debate over affirmative
action must be a serious one,
as it is likely to be the most
important topic of public
discussion here at the
University over the next
year. As such, I was appalled
a the atrocious journalistic
quality of the Daily's recent
piece ("Under attack,"
10/16/97).
First off, legislators were
referred to as "legislatures."
But much more importantly, a
little later in the piece, the sec-
ond half of a sentence
appeared to have been left on
the editing room floor. That
sentence, as printed, reads, "In
that decision, the court ruled
that although affirmative
action may among many fac-
tors in hiring and admissions
decisions:' The apparent omis-
sion of the conclusion ofsthat
thought not only resulted in
poor grammar, but also served
to eliminate the most salient
point of the court's decision in
the Bakke case.
To quote Justice Powell's
decision in the case, "While
the goal of achieving a
diverse student body is suf-
ficiently compelling to jus-
tify consideration of race in
admissions decision under
some circumstances, peti-
tioner's special admissions
program, which forecloses
consideration to persons
like respondent, is unneces-
sary to the achievement of
this compelling goal and
therefore invalid under the
Equal Protection Clause."
Although the Bakke case is
most remembered for legit-
imizing the use of race in

Swastika
is a 'symbol
of truth'
To THE DAILY:
Ryan Hudson's letter
"Swastika has a 'hideous
connotation" (10/15/97), has
hit home in a very disrespect-
ful way. Hudson's remark that
"(Hindus) should be grateful
it (swastika) was only a mere
part of the symbolism of
their tradition that the Nazis
stole from them," basically
implies that Hindu culture,
one of the most ancient, spir-
itual, and tolerant cultures in
the world, could be rooted
out of human existence based
on the actions of a few igno-
rant individuals. Hudson's
implication is an affront to
not only Hindu culture, but to
all cultures and religions of
the world. By believing that
an individual would rid them-
selves of their faith due to the
intolerant manipulative
actions of others, Hudson
underestimates reverence
people have for their tradi-
tions and culture.
Second, Hudson's impli-
cation shows that he confuses
the distinction between a
symbol and the underlying
beliefs behind that symbol.
Hudson writes, "Any merit
the swastika ever had was
washed away by the innocent
blood of 12 million undesire-
ables." A set of analogies can
adequately demonstrate that
such a contention is both dis-
respectful and illogical.
Hudson fails to distin-
guish between a symbol and
the meaning behind of this
symbol. In the examples
above, we must recognize
that it is the individual action
that is evil in each case; it
does not reflect on the sym-
bol itself, be it a flag or reli-
gious symbol. Symbols are
quite simply mental represen-
tations of our ideas. These
ideas can be good or bad.
When I think of the swastika,
I see it as a symbol of truth
and harmony as intended in
the ancient Vedic scriptures. I
am also, as Hudson is, very
saddened by the fact that this
symbol was manipulated by
intolerant individuals to serve
their own purposes. However,
Hudson has chosen to view
the symbol of the swastika
solely in its manipulated
form as evil, and might I add
exactly as the way the perpe-
trators of the Holocaust
would have desired. The evil
of their actions is remem-
bered rather than the purity
of the original symbol of the
swastika and its important
underlying message.
1 feelthat we stand at a
crossroads. We must decide
how to address hatred against
people of distinct religions,
races, sexual orientations,
etc. We could take a passive
2nd reiactive renone tht

live itupinoff-
campus housing
A hhh yes, late October: A time when
residence-hall-bound frosh and
sophs' fancies turn to visions of Ann
Arbor that exceed the boundaries of on-
campus living. Yep, by now they are
most certainly sick
of the dorm - as I tGl
told myroommate
in the last year of
my dormitory
tenure, "It's time to;
get the hell out of
Dodge:
Actually, as your 4
friendly neighbor-
hood Residence
Hall Association PAUL
representative SERILLA
will remind you, SEIRLLA
the University has WAFARE
no dorms. "The
word dormitory," as their annoying lit-
tle mantra begins, "comes from the
Latin root meaning 'to sleep' and the
University's residence halls offer so
much more than a place to sleep, they
are really living communities that
offer a host of social and interpersonal
opportunities."
Shut up. It's a dorm.
Using the term 'residence hall' is
like calling a '75 Pinto a classic Ford
with never-again-replicated styling
and explosiveacapability under the
hood - it is a spin doctor's phrase,
nothing more (no, I don't have a pock-
et full of kryptonite). Besides, why
would we take housing advice from a
collection of freshmen and 25-year-
olds who still live in the dorm?
The next obvious question is: Why
would anyone take housing advice
from me? It's a point well taken, but if
you really like the "tastes just like
turkey surprise" and you still think
sleeping on the top bunk is pretty boss,
then I am sure no one, not even myself,
could pry you out of your cozy cell.
There are certainly no hard and fast
rules to looking for off-campus housing
except that despite the noble efforts
of the Tenants' Union and the Office of
Off-Campus Housing, you are still
probably going to get hosed. I have a
personal preference for landlords with
names like Bob or Sue that I can call at
home, instead of Crap-o-House, Inc.,
which seems to be entirely run by voice-
mail; but there are definitely losers on
both sides of the fence. The only advice
I can honestly give is to ask lots of ques-
tions and read what you sign.
Getting down to the nitty gritty, let's
assume you sign your life away on the
house or apartment of your dreams, so
that in May or August you can finally
close the dorm chapter in your life. There
are certain things every college home
must have and every college household
must do - they can be placed under1
three subheadings: social, sustenance
and environmental maintenance.
First, the social - let's face it, it's the
real reason you want to move out of the
dorm. In all likelihood, you aren't a
complete putz, but let's take a worst case
scenario: you can't cook, don't know
how to clean, can't balance your check-
book so you can forget about paying
bills, and the reason you spent $150 on
a Franklin Planner was to remember to
brush your teeth (but you got a 27 on
your ACT and here you are, viva la
review course).
You didn't move into an overpriced,
somewhat livable space to experience
a little whiff of that perpetual annoy-
ance called reality - you want to
party! How can you be sure this is
you? If your top two potential room-

mates are that guy with a fake and the
dude who owns his own tap, check the
box. Just make sure you can get the
column speakers up the stairs.
I think we've established that you
need a big stereo and room to store beer,
but you have to eat too - the suste-
nance category.The onetcommonality
of college kitchens is that they are
always well stocked, but with nothing
you would actually eat. For example,
one of my roommates (let's call him
"Phil" to protect his real identity)
recently made me aware that we are the
proud owners of seven bottles of catsup,
nine bottles of mustard and about three
pounds of butter. Man, why do I eat out
so much? I could be whippin' up butter-
mustard-catsup souffles for months on
end - in fact I'd like to take this oppor-
tunity to invite everyone over for dinner
(we'll set the date some other time).
The only food that is equally at home
in the dorm and the college kitchen is
the mighty ramen noodle. Let me just
offer one helpful preparation hint for
post-dorm ramen - add boiling water.
That's right, it makes them much softer
and easier to swallow, while still giving
you a full lifetime's supply of MSG.
Finally, environmental maintenance.
Face it, something will go wrong with

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How TO CONTACT THEM

MAUREEN HARTFORD
601 5 F F-MING ADMINISTRATION R UI DING

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