4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 3, 1997 2i £irttbiir ilg 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan JOI JosH WHITE Editor in Chief ERIN MARSH Editorial Page Editor Lnless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials r( lect the opinion of the majority of the Daily s editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily refect the opinion of The Michigan Daihy FROM THE DAILY Acting responsibly City elections focus on ecological concerns "NOTABLE QUOTABLE, 'We have to be able to maintain a balance by being able to function well and provide student groups with funding.! - Michigan Student Assembly President Michael Nagrant, on the assembly s budgeting priorities ,JORDAN YOUNG ANT 3AK LFETTERS TO THE EDITOR n a time when environmental issues seem to have fallen from the national political spotlight, the University and the city are making a tremendous effort to revitalize their importance. The recent resurgence of the issue is due in part to the upcoming city elec- tions and the debate surrounding the expect- ed vote on the Clean Air Act in Congress. Last week, a dozen students held a rally on the Diag urging the federal government to pass the act. Several organizations sup- ported their effort, including Environmental Action (ENACT), the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and the Environmental Information Center. ENACT collected more than 1,000 signatures in support of the Clean Air Act - a bill that would update health standards for smog and soot passed in its 1990 counterpart. , Tomorrow, residents of Ann Arbor will elect representatives to three seats on the city council for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th wards - the elections for the 1 st and 5th wards are unopposed. A remarkable aspect of the elec- tion is the general agreement among the politicians about the importance of main- taining a clean and safe environment in the city. In addition, some Democratic candi- dates are pushing to improve existing condi- tions - an important concern that is too often overlooked. For instance, Heidi Herrel (D-3rd ward) wants to continue her efforts to bring natural gas and electrically powered vehicles to the area. Local politicians seem to have an easier time supporting the envi- ronment's well being than their federal counterparts - a stronger emphasis on environmental issues is needed at the nation- al level. Federal environmental measures to decrease pollution usually run into stiff resistance from businesses that would have to spend large sums of money in order to conform to the new regulations. The United States is accountable for almost a quarter of the world's pollution - a staggering statis- tic that underscores the need for more con- trol over national pollution output. Environmental concerns about the green- house effect, air pollution and other nega- tive effects of industrialism are realistic - the government must address them immedi- ately. Congress should pass the Clean Air Act to make a strident effort toward improv- ing the nation's air quality. The effort displayed by students and members of the Ann Arbor community, in an attempt to improve the nation's environ- ment, deserves commendation. Organized voices are extremely important when trying to command the attention of politicians and influence their votes. Tough choices lie ahead for our coun- try's leaders. Protecting the environment is not always politically popular, especially when faced with the economic conse- quences of businesses laying off workers due to increased costs from new regula- tions. But the country's future generations need to be considered - they have the right to live in a clean and safe environment. But this right is severely threatened if political leaders are not willing to enact ecologically sound legislation. Citizens involved in the rally last week and the local elections are working to ensure that environmental con- cerns receive the attention they deserve. The government should follow the citizens' cue and put forth efforts to reduce the coun- try's pollution output. Financial finagling Reform would level election playing field Incumbents always fight tooth-and-nail to keep Capitol Hill inaccessible to new- comers. But the public is tiring of this ploy and is demanding substantial and sweeping change. The McCain-Feingold Bill would implement just that - revolutionizing the way senators run re-election campaigns by closing fundraising loopholes and putting challengers on a more level playing field with entrenched incumbents. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) used his position to keep the bill off the Senate floor. But Lott bowed to mounting public pressure last week and reluctantly agreed to allow a preliminary vote next March. Passing the bill would force senators to serve their constituents' interests, rather than those of big money campaign donors. The campaign finance bill would set up voluntary campaign limits for Senate con- tests, similar to those in place for presiden- tial campaigns. These would be based on state population and would also stipulate that candidates raise 60 percent of their funds from individuals in their home states. Benefits from following the proposed vol- untary restrictions would be substantial. Candidates would receive 30 minutes of free television time and a 50-percent dis- count for all television advertisements beginning 60 days prior to the general elec- tion. Voluntary spending limits would encourage increased grassroots fundraising efforts, bringing candidates closer to their constituents. During 1996 election campaigns, there was $260 million in "soft money" dona- tions. But soft money donations, supposed- ly used for organizational purposes, are not subject to otherwise strict reporting and the funds to affect the outcome of federal elections. The McCain-Feingold bill would eliminate soft money contributions - industries or interest groups would no longer be able to buy access to politicians in ways that are out of the reach of average citizens. ' Issue ads are another popular way to skirt around campaign funding laws. These ads allow organizations to fund multimillion-dollar election activities, as long as ads do not expressly say to vote for or against a particular candidate. But these ads are usually anything but bias- free. The proposed law would ban issue ads that clearly advocate to a "reasonable" person the election or defeat of a particu- lar candidate. These issue ads, in combination with soft money, have increasingly bound politi- cians to large national interest groups -- often relegating constituent interests to sec- ond-priority status. The McCain-Feingold bill would change the campaigning land- scape - instead of catering to large donors, its provisions encourage candidates to go door-to-door, seeking citizens' campaign contributions and input. Only 49 senators - 45 Democrats and four Republicans - have publically sup- ported the McCain-Feingold campaign financing measure. A filibuster in March would likely kill the bill unless 60 votes in favor of it can be secured. As of late, an increasing number of campaign finance scandals have plagued Washington. There are too many timely and important public policy issues for Congress to spend so much time investigating internal scandals. Sweeping change is necessary - the Column made an incorrect assumption To THE DAILY: Paul Serilla's column in the Daily ("Homogeneous' and other words that don't belong at the 'U,"' 10/17/97) made a false assumption in his defense of race-based affirmative action. He states that if affirmative action is turned back, then the campus will lose the diversity of opinion that affirmative action supposedly brings. That argument depends on the assumption that all the students who come to the University without benefit of affirmative action don't bring diverse opinions, there- fore we have to subsidize diversity. The students who come to the University without the help of affirmative action aren't all cut from the same mold (The "white boy in sub- urbia" mold so touted by Serilla and others). They all have different interests, beliefs and attitudes. Look at the top students in the College of Engineering, the Business School, LSA or any other school and you will see that they are not all white boys. They are highly moti- vated, intelligent men and womeniwho are a rainbow of humanity. They are definitely not a "homogeneous" group. If affirmative action ends, they will still be here at the University, bringing life to classroom debate and the community. In the months ahead, readers will see more columns and editorials by the Daily and other students as University administrators use the student media and student leaders to whip up opposition to the lawsuit. I can only say that those of us who oppose race-based affirmative action will continue on with our. lives, resting confident in the knowledge that the only argu- ments that matter will take place in the court of law, not public opinion. And in that arena, we will win. NICHOLAS KIRK BUSINESS SCHOOL JUNIOR BAMN's goal is to defend affirm ative action To THE DAILY: There have been some misconceptions on campus concerning the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary. California. Force the University of California Regents to rescind their vote to destroy affirma- tive action. Build militant move- ments to stop the University of California, the University of Michigan and other uni- versity administrations from implementing any anti-affir- mative action policy in employment and/or admis- sions. Stop the implementa- tion of racist anti-immigrant Proposition 187 in California. C Build a militant, inte- grated. independent move- ment that uses any means necessary, including educa- tion, rallies, marches, build- ing occupations and strikes to defend affirmative action, win our demands and to fight for equality in American society. Use democracy to build the movement. Hold open mass meetings and confer- ences, vote on strategies and tactics, and elect a steering committee accountableto the members of the Coalition. Build a democratic, state-wide coalition that is financially and in every other way independent of the University Board of Regents, the University of California and other administrations and governments. Open it up to anti-racist activists and orga- nizations from high schools, community colleges, state universities, unions, black, Latino and other minority organizations, anti-racist groups, women's rights groups, lesbian/gay organiza- tions, etc. JESSICA CURTIN LSA SENIOR MEMBER, BAMN Athletes do not deserve special treatment TO THE DAILY: I am disturbed by the arti- cle in the Daily ("Goss asks faculty to give athletes options," 10/7/97) regarding Tom Goss's ideas concerning student-athletes. He suggest- ed that the University ought to do more to accommodate our athletes. Time conflicts with athletic schedules limit many of these students to certain programs. Should it be necessary for the University to restructure the academic programs to accommodate our athletes? I would hope this would be obvious from the term "stu- dent-athletes" used by Goss. First and most important, they are students that have come to the UJniversity for an this problem, Goss pointed to UCLA's policy of allowing athletes to register before other students. Is this fair to the rest of the students? Are student-athletes more impor- tant to the University? Let's not lose our perspective. They have chosen to play a game. I f the game does not allow them to achieve their academic goals, perhaps they should not play the game. CORTNEY HAYFLINGER SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Miller's column was 'bigoted' TO THE DAILY: I would like to respond to James Miller's column con- cerning Nike ("Taking a stand for the swoosh' 10/22/97). He presents a nar- row and bigoted view of pro- testers that attempts to dis- credit them by class baiting them. lie should be careful because not all protesters fit into such neat categories. For instance, we were anti-Nike protesters at the Michigan- Iowa game and we are a union family. One of us is a former member of Teamsters Local 25, SEIU local 509, and Jobs with Justice. The other is a former member of the Graduate Educators' Organization. We are both members of the Labor Party. Most vocal support we encountered came from union members. Furthermore, the question for us is not Nike's ulterior motives in their desire to maintain the contract. The question is child labor. I think capitalists in this country agree that 14-year-old American girls should not be working more than 40 hours a week in sub-human condi- tions. That is why such things are illegal in the United States. Why should Nike, an American-owned company, be allowed to do in Indonesia what is illegal in this country? Why would anyone condone such practices? And especial- ly, how can the University condone such behavior when it also professes a commit- ment to protecting the rights of children, most notably within the School of Social Work, the Child Advocacy Law Clinic, and the Center for the Child and Family, not to mention countless other civil rights and human rights orga- nizations that the University supports and Nike is in viola- tion of. We are not thumbing our noses at large corporations because we think it is cool to do so. We are outraged at these companies' violations The real world can't be found on MTV or in Touchdown o, like, I totally don't even want to talk to him any- more. If he thinks he ca just - uch -- walk in here while I'm on the phone, he can just, like, kiss my (bleeceeep), because I have had it with him!" Welcome to "The Real World." Or is it? Last Wednesday. about 700 folks lined up outside for hours and p a c k e d Touchdown Cafe ERin for their shot to MARSH live in TV's THINKN trendiest fish- OF 'U' bowl, The Real World," or join its field-tripping cousin, "Road Rules" We'll ignoredfor the moment that more students showed up for this casting call tha will probably show up to vote at Michigan Student Assembly elections later this month. In case you've never seen the show, allow me - a self-proclaimed TV cul- ture buff- to give you the lowdown. "This is the true story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house. Find out what happens when peope stop being polite - and start getting real s" What this means, basically, is th for 30 minutes a week, viewers can tune in and watch a bunch of trendy 20-somethings snipe at each other about things like who shirked kitchen duty and who is sticking what appendages into the peanut butter. It's like a junction of high school, a soap opera and voyeurism. Presumably, most of the people who waited hours in line for an interview think it would be pretty neat-o to live in some corporate-sponsored, funki- fied pad free of charge. I agree - no rent plus cool couches equals big fu. But to call this the "real world?" Who arc you kidding? No one on the show pays bills. No one is seen cleaning a toilet or is des- perately trying to dream up a recipe that does not involve spaghetti. These things constitute part of the "real world" for people at our station of life How about stretching to pay rent, or worrying about finding a job that will not only offer a livable salary, but will also provide some kind of health ben- efits package? Nope. On "The Real World. ryou're more lkely to hear a catfight about which cast member is douiblecrossing her boyfriend. which would make her, by "Real World" def- inition, "like, a total slut" In MTV land. open strife constitute a big chunk of the real world. So what do casting directors really look for? Seven of the biggest attitude problems they can find? Another prerequisite seems to be common among cast members: Some degree of personal suffering. Death of a parent, history of drug or alcohol abuse, growing up without a father or enough food. or some other event or condition that has made growing up l tough and emotional process is a con- mon thread among almost all the kids in the cast. Some issues have hit the target audience with positive mes- sages. An example that comes to mind is Pedro, the man who lived with AIDS and appeared on the show a few sea- sons ago. His visibility promoted an image far above and beyond the com- mon stereotype of "the AIDS patient" He probably educated the MTV audi ence more effectively than 100 public service announcements. However, a lot of these people's per- sonal grief and trauma have been triv- ialized. It's an unfair misrepresenta- tion to deal with a topic like sexual abuse or death of a parent in a halIf- hour time slot, then leave the audience with an image of the affected person gazing off into the distance, dewy- eyed and content, with some modern- altrntiv-rckmusic in the back- ground. Psychological healing takes time, folks, and not the one-break- down-and-it's-out-of-your-system method that MTV employs. It just doesn't happen that way in the real world. Plus, I shudder to think the extent to which interviewees went on Wednesday to convince directors they are tortured enough to be on the show.4 I envision .lots of waterproof mascara, so the make-up would stay put when potential cast members tearfully con- fessed to that one time when they baked some brownies - and ate the whole pan! Please. It's true that no one watches TV to see what happens in the course of a 0 it