4A - The Micnigan Daily - Monday, November 17, 1997 ,I Dauitg 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the JOSH WHITE Editor in Chief ERIN MARSH Editorial Page Editor University of Michigan- Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board.AII other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily FROM THE DAILY eDvison'sdecision New 1.TD policy takes away student choice " NOTABLE QUOTABLE, 'if our offense and defense are clicking, we should beat them by two or three touchdowns. We're going to go up there and upset Michigan. I think we're better than Michigan.' - Ohio State University wide receiver David Boston JORDAN YOUNG T EP OH ' -..' LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Traditions can y enhance the 'U," but they do not n an effort to ease its computer billing methods, the University's Information Technology Division decided to sacrifice student choice. Starting in January, ITD will give all students a comprehensive com- puting package that provides certain limits to basic computing services per term, the package provides 120 pages of printing, 80 hours of dial-in access and five megabytes of IFS storage space. These rigid standards are not acceptable - students should be able to prioritize their computing funds' allocation to reflect their individual needs. Presently, ITD gives users $10 per month to spend on computing services. English concentrators, for example, often print hundreds of pages per term and may opt to use the majority of their allocation for printing. Students with computers at home who wish to dial-in to University servers have the opportunity to use most of their funds for this service. Under the new plan, these choices will be eliminated - users will be given services they may not use and will have to pay extra for printing or dial-in services that they now get for free. Currently, ITD cuts off computing priv- ileges for students whose account balance drops below zero. Users may need to print a few extra pages at the end of the month and must add money to their account to do so. But it is abominable to charge a $25 mini- mum to open a self-funded account for what may amount to less than a dollar of addi- tional services. ITD's new policy addresses this concern by billing student accounts for all services that exceed the service package. It is imperative for ITD to inform students of the changes in their billing policy. The University bills residence housing and 0 tuition costs on student accounts, and unex- pected ITD charges could be an undue finan- cial burden for many students. ITD has plans to inform students via e-mail or personal let- ter before their account will be charged. But currently, many computer users do not even know what an account balance is until they get a message that they have run out of funds. ITD must do a better job of informing computing users of the cost of services - and should make it simple for users to regu- larly check their account balance. The Michigan Student Assembly, at the urging of LSA Rep. Barry Rosenberg and Engineering Rep. Mark Dub, recently formed an ITD student issues committee. As students increasingly rely on computers, the University should give ITD more money to provide their much-needed services. Under this premise, the committee plans to urge the University to include a larger package of computing services free with tuition. Moreover, Dub and Rosenberg are incensed that the new package will include only 120 pages of printing per term, a scant 30 pages per month. Many students exceed this amount regularly, and the committee will push to raise the allocation. MSA must make sure the committee fills its intended role as a liaison between the student body and ITD. ITD's new computing package simpli- fies billing practices, but at the same time it eliminates student's flexibility. ITD should consider offering a number of packages that address students with different needs. They must also do a better job informing users of their computing privileges. Computing access is essential to student life on campus - ITD must make sure their services remain available to all students. Caring hand MIChild gives health care to state's children n the 1992 presidential campaign, Democratic candidate Bill Clinton brought the problem of the uninsured to the nation's attention. After Hillary Rodham Clinton's appointment as head of a task force to implement health care reforms, she failed to convince Congress to institute significant changes in the nation's health care system. Since then, the issue has diminished significantly from the political spotlight. The state of Michigan is now bringing it back and making significant efforts to address children's health care problems that continue to persist today. The state Department of Community Health is.designing a health insurance pro- gram called "MIChild" to insure almost 156,000 of the state's uninsured children. These children are not currently insured because their families earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid but have an annual income close to the federal poverty level - which is $16,000 for a family of four. Under the new program, families will pay no more than $8 per month for one child and no more than $16 per month for two or more children. These children will have health coverage provided by a man- aged care company. Services covered include doctor's visits, in- and outpatient care, prescription drug coverage, mental health services, dental services, diagnostic tests and vision screenings. The federal government deserves com- mendation for the funding of this benefi- cial program as it is a part of the bi-parti- san budget passed last summer. Democrats and Republicans in Congress, under the leadership of President Bill Clinton, passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The act requires the federal government to five years to pay for programs like the state's across the country. Under the new bill, programs like MIChild will be paid for by both the states and the federal gov- ernment -- a new trend in the implemen- tation of major legislation that requires greater cooperation between the levels of government. MIChild will receive $40 million from the state and almost $92 mil- lion from Washington. Michigan's elected officials also deserve credit. Gov. John Engler and the state legis- lators are putting forth a genuine effort to protect the state's uninsured children. In addition to providing financial support, the state organized a series of suggestive forums in which citizens can give their input on the program. The state Department of Community Health also deserves equal praise. Before the program goes into effect, it needs approval by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services. The depart- ment should quickly approve it to allow for the program's expected implementation this spring. State officials should pay special atten- tion to getting the word out about the pro- gram's services. In order to prevent the fed- eral funds from going to waste, the state must ensure that poor families know how to go about obtaining MIChild's coverage. MIChild is a good example of govern- ment working to aid its citizens - design- ing public policy on a nationwide level and seeing to its enforcement on state and local levels. The federal government depends on the states to implement its policies just as the states depend on the federal govern- ment for financial support. This positive display of bi-partisan governing is needed to help overcome more of the nation's MSA forum will educate students To THE DAILY: We want to thank the Michigan Student Assembly and especially the Minority Affairs Commission for beginning what we hope will be a fruitful community-wide discussion on diversity within higher education. This week's symposium, organized entire- ly by students, should help to bring a variety of perspectives on the issues of affirmative action and admissions policy. We have begun to plan other fora during the academ- ic year with various speakers who will continue to inform us for our own on-campus discussions. We are delighted that University students have come together independent of our efforts. The lawsuit brought by the Center for Individual Rights against the University challenges our undergraduate admissions policy as uncon- stitutional. We firmly believe that this suit is without merit and that we will win it. We do not know how long this matter will take to resolve but during this time, there must be opportunities for all parts of our communi- ty to continue an enlightened and energetic discourse about the important issues it raises. Even though we are in litiga- tion vigorously defending a University policy, we must remember always that we are a University committed to full and open discussion and analysis of important social questions within an environ- ment that is respectful of dif- ferent points of view - that is what the University is about. We wish MSA every suc- cess with this week's sympo- sium. LEE BOLLINGER UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT NANCY CANTOR UNIVERSITY PROVOST Affirmative action is a form of discrimination TO THE DAILY: I know I stand opposed to most people at the University in regard to affirmative action, but I just had to add my two cents. I am against affirmative action at the University as well as prefer- ence given to relatives of alumni or other special privi- leges. When I applied, I gave little thought to such things and happily filled in the appropriate places that only on that basis. I do not deny that there is racism. One can take affirmative action too far. What if the same logic were applied to professional sports? At 5. foot-6, I am one of the tallest people on the Maltese side of my family. You know what? I don't know of many Maltese women playing professional football - hey, I'm an underrepresented minority! Let's kick a well-qualified player off the field so I can play! I couldn't play profes- sional football to save my life, but my team would be more diverse. My point is that I love everyone regardless of age, sex, race, religion or sexual orientation. If this school's most qualified individuals for next years' class were all black, white, Asian, hispanic, Native American or multira- cial, I wouldn't love them any more or less. Let's not sup- port discrimination in any form. JILL SAMMUT LSA SOPHOMORE Intergroup Dialogues offer unique experiences To THE DAILY: I am both an Intergroup Dialogue facilitator and also a staff member at the Intergroup Relations, Conflict and Community office. I want to thank the Daily for the editori- al on the program ("Fostering diversity," 1/ 12/97). As a facilitator, I feel that the dia- logues offer an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about the different groups of people that share the campus and the many issues facing a diverse, multi-cultural community. I was excited and honored to learn of President Clintons recognition of the program and some of the pub- licity that has been the result of being associated with the "One America" initiative. On a personal level I appreciate the Daily's encour- aging students to consider taking a dialogue or other cul- tural exploration class as I believe that the issues brought up in these classes are impor- tant to everyone and may impact students lives more then they might think (e.g., the affirmative action suit against the University). From a facilitator's perspective, I think that the classes offer a unique experience for stu- dents in a non-traditional atmosphere and really gets them to think about topics from other points of view. In both the dialogue I facilitated in the past between people of color and white people and ing one they have taken while at the University. JEFF WALKER LSA SENIOR Article on Prof. Faller was 'biased' To THE DAILY: I am responding to the article written by Stephanie Hepburn regarding Prof. Kathleen Faller ('"U' prof. faces trial for improperly interviewing a child," 11/4/97). I am currently a doctoral- level student in the joint pro- gram of Social Work and Psychology. I am also a thera- pist and forensic evaluator who has specialized in work- ing with sexually abused chil- dren for the past 20 years. I am writing to challenge the tone and impression left by the very biased article you print- ed. First, it is not clear that this is a civil matter rather than something criminal. Second, it should be clear that defendants in such a case are generally unable to respond to media smears in their own defense because of the trial. Finally, the real issues of this case were obscured by profes- sional slams against Faller that are misleading, if not untrue. What Dr. Elissa Benedek, who does not specialize in this type of work, said about her opinion of a case in 1990 does nothing to.shed light on this case. The issues of this trial do not even focus on whether or not abuse occurred, which may never be clearly ascertained, but on whether professionals operat- ing within the standards of their profession should be penalized for making difficult judgment calls or for fulfilling their legal obligation to make reports when they suspect child abuse. In the difficult cases Faller's clinic handles, referrals frequently come there because of complicated factors which make others unwilling or unqualified to make a call regarding whether abuse was likely to have occurred. Should we stop evaluating cases with young children since it is unlikely that we will get 8- by 10-inch glossies to confirm our deci- sions? In fact, many profes- sionals with years of experi- ence have left the field of child abuse because of its dif- ficulty, exacerbated by attacks or threats of lawsuits. I am proud to be affiliated with Faller and the work of the clinic, having been a social work consultant there for the past seven years. Before the Daily becomes a mouthpiece for an attorney who has stated wishes to close down the clin- ic, or for a parent unhappy with a decision made by this define it O 0 ne afternoon last week, about 30 cute junior high kids came into the Daily to look around and ask some questions. "Is working here fun? What do you do? Where do you _______ make the papers? Where's the bath- room? How come Michigan?" I could answer all " their questions - except that last one. It's the same question I've tried ERIN to answer for a lot MARSH of people: first- TINKINC year students, o 'y friends visiting from other schools, some misguided family members who decided to attend Michigan State, and kids who just want to figureout what they're doing after they leave high school. My 16-year-old sister, for exam- ple, visited me two weekends ago and just wanted to see some "good college stuff." Fortunately, she was here for thepost-PenndState bash on South University and at President Bollinger's house (I have a feeling that story went over pretty well in her high school halls on Monday morning). She definitely saw some "good college stuff." And there's no way I could have explained that occasion to her if she hadn't lived it herself. I counseled some incoming first- year students when I worked as an ori- entation leader a few summers ago. Without fail, all those students wanted some answers. They cane here full of questions:. "How easy is it to drink underage? Is there a curfew? What if I hate my roommate?" But the real questions lay someu where beneath the cheesy nametags - and those were the ones that they wanted most badly for me to answer: "Did I make the right decision by enrolling at Michigan? What if I don't meet anyone? What if I get lost - really lost - in the middle of all these people?" And then the most important one of all: "Can you tell me why I'll like it here?" I would like nothing more than to adequately express to everyone who asks me why I love it here, and why they probably would, too. But I can't. What I could tell them is all the stuff that's printed in the Student Life Handbook or the literature that comes with admissions applications. And don't get me wrong - it's all terrific stuff. Despite the differences that mark us as a student body, everybody knows a tradition. Every Michigan hockey fan knows what to say when a player from the opposing team lands in the penalty box. No one wonders what's going on when, on a chilly night in April, hundreds of people run through Ann Arbor in the buff People here are loathe to step on the 'M.' Everyone pumps their fists when they hear "The Victors." Traditions are the rock of cultures, religions and people. They are ageless and timeless. They bridge our lives and allow us to forge bonds that might otherwise never come to be. But they cannot explain anyone's individual experience - and if you try to explain the University solely in terms of its traditions, the explanation will come up woefully short. So try as I might, I couldn't explain to those junior high students, my sis- ter, those (then) first-year students or anyone else who asks why exactly it is I like it here. My reasons, are, well, mine. Like how terrific it is to wake up on Saturday mornings in autumn and hear the marching band practicing "The Victors" over on Elbel Field. Or that rush of working incredibly hard and then really acing the exam. Or how it feels to watch another winter slowly, quietly settle on the Diag. My reasons might not be everybody else's. And those who ask might not really know until they live their own University experience. Students have a tendency to imagine that no one has ever experienced the University quite this way before. Many will argue that they have had the best time anyone has ever had at the University of Michigan. They're all right.4 But the University's history is full of unique stories - grab a University alumnus the next time you see one and ask her or him for a story - a real story, not a repeated tradition - from their college days. Odds are they'll have a good one. The University has the largest living ol M' I: 0 I r r I-