4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 21, 1998 U1 z £iC Ygrn ?ad 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 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 Research revamped UROP expansion benefits upperclass students NOTABLE QUOTABLE 'The administrators were getting increases when faculty were not getting increases. That was inappropriate.' - Physiology Prof Louis D'Alecy, chair of the faculty's Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, on changes in University employees'salaries MATT WIMSATT A LooK I1 I I fRJR .E4YOLtp FAMILY Po P.RA\ - This cartoon originally ran in the Daily on Jan. 16, 1996. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR T he University's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program has always provided a unique experience to stu- dents who wish to work closely with renowned professors and participate in ground-breaking research projects. Recently expanded to include junior and senior upper-division students, UROP has increased its base of students and its research opportunities. From a program that initially catered to a small portion of stu- dents at the University, it has grown into a highly recognized program, not only at the University but across the nation. UROP's expansion follows its own philosophy - unique and personal opportunities for the entire student body of a large, public uni- versity. While prestigious universities draw Nobel Prize-winning scholars, students rarely receive the benefits of such accred- ited intellect. Lecture enrollments num- ber in the hundreds and office hours are few and far between. The University is no exception to the rule: Well respected nationwide, especially for many of its social science and population studies, the University community provides varied and thorough research is produced year after year. Hardly a textbook is published without reference to a study conducted at or through the University. Because tremendous amounts of research is at students' fingertips, UROP provides a bridge between knowledge of such research's results and actual participa- tion. Originally available only to first- and second-year students, UROP gained the sta- ble foundation and necessary credibility at the University. Now, with nine years under its belt, upperclass students can benefit from the opportunities UROP provides. UROP allows students a certain degree of autonomy while leaving much of the professional relationship at the discretion of the professors and students - partici- pating students usually help with data collection, fact checking and summaries of data sets. Weekly meeting conducted by peer advisors provide watchful eyes and helpful hands. Not only do students involved in UROP gather experience in the field of research but they also receive important career-ori- ented information. Students accepted to the UROP program must go through a selection process in order to gain a spot on a research team. Professors are encour- aged to ask for a student's resume and interview the candidate before selection. This mock job hunt allows students to practice skills that will certainly be a necessity in the future. The many aspects of UROP are growing every year and this semester these wonder- ful opportunities are available to the entire undergraduate community. Students inter- ested in a particular field of research or curious about the research process should check out the opportunities available through UROP - a world of research awaits. The dng stuff Glenn is an example of heroism and service p oliticians are strange, funny people. They spend their lives creating policies that affect everyone. But at the same time, many feel that they never make the right choices. Always under attack, lawmakers seem to find something comforting in the prestige and power they wield. At the end of their careers, they traditionally record their memoirs and retire on the money from the book sales. But not so with Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio). In a press conference last Thursday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced that the 76-year- old U.S. senator will be accompanying the six astronauts aboard the space shuttle Columbia on its next voyage in October. This move was not a surprise for many, as Glenn has been campaigning for his return to space for the past two years. Glenn - the first American to orbit the Earth - is no stranger to heroism. With his safe return from orbit in 1962, he rode a wave of fame around the world until it ulti- mately rocketed him to Washington in 1974. While in Congress, Glenn has rarely been out of the limelight, most recently standing up as an outspoken Clinton sup- porter and ally. For Glenn, more prestige is not the main goal of this journey. NASA hopes to study the effects of weightlessness on elderly people. This will make Glenn -- who will be 77 years old and the oldest person in space by the time of the launch - its guinea pig. Especially in a time where legislation and name recognition seem to drive most politicians, Glenn's selflessness is atypical and brings a refreshingly new and wholesome image to people working on Capital Hill. Ever since the Challenger disaster of 1 4R where c.hrnnl teaeher rirfict policy of not letting civilians travel in space with a highly trained crew. While it would be hard to argue that Glenn is just an average civilian, this is nonetheless a notable decision by NASA. Who better to represent the elderly than Glenn? And who better to open the door for the possi- bility of general space travel for the aver- age citizen? When he announced that he will not run for political office and that 1998 would be his last year in Washington, D.C., Glenn made those who are involved in government take a moment to reflect on what roles a good lawmaker plays. Always a champion of the underprivileged and underrepresented, Glenn has given a new definition to the role of senator. With ref- erence to Glenn, no longer is a senator an old misogynist, preaching the party line and spending or saving taxpayers' money. The astronaut has made the senator a national hero, literally putting his life into harm's way for the sake or scientific research. In the end, how can a person's worth be fairly measured? Does value come from the amount of completed orbits or the number of welfare bills passed? It is not that John Glenn is more important that famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin or House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.). Glenn is simply re-evaluating what it takes to be a true hero and what the term "civil ser- vant" really means. Perhaps this is just a publicity stunt for NASA and a way for Glenn to get into his- tory books once again, but what a stun- ning way to go about such actions. Great developments in geriatrics may not sur- face in October, but the fact that John Glenn will be in orbit should make people ievrxre -e ele tter lnnminr tha t Discrimination claims are out of hand To THE DAILY: I must applaud Scott Thompson for coming for- ward and highlighting yet another area where the University discriminates. ("'U' admissions are biased against poor students," /15/98). It's trailblazing pio- neers like Thompson who give a voice to those poor, poolless, trackless U of M hopefuls who, since they come from poor white areas, must be too busy sitting in their trailers watching "Jenny Jones" or reading the "National Enquirer" to write their own letters. I think I'll throw another log on the fire: Left-handed people like myself are blatantly discrimi- nated against. The proportions of right- handed people to left handers here does not even come close to representing the actual number in society. We have been discriminated against for years, and it's about time someone stood up. Life is much harder for left-handed people - we get in more fatal car crashes, nearly kill our- selves with scissors, and hey, forget ironing. There is no way to tell if someone is right or left hand- ed just by looking at their application, so here is my solution: Five extra points should be added on to our ACT score. I figure that's at least the margin of error creat- ed by making left-handed peo- ple take those damn tests at desks designed for (you guessed it) right-handed peo- ple. Your body must twist in all sorts of bizarre positions to fill in those little circles. Not to mention the fact that as we write, our left hands smear what we've just written, so it's quite possible we got more correct and the smearing made the machine think we'd filled in the wrong answer. I think five is quite generous on our part, come to think of it. I am appalled the University had been allowed to get away with this kind of behavior for so long. This blatant discrimination must end. I demand justice! REBECCA EwING LSA SOPHOMORE Daily music poll ignores R&B, hipop To THE DAILY: I have a question for the Daily music staff who picked bly the Daily's worst over- sight, EryKah Badu. When I walk around campus, I see students of color all over. I doubt that most of them who are bobbing their heads with their headphones are listen- ing to The Verve, Sarah McLachlan, Blur, etc ... . Come on Daily writers, that poll is ridiculous. I think the Daily needs to take affir- mative steps to get some diversity on that staff? NATE WEDS LAw SCHOOL US. piety not a result of insecurities To THE DAILY: I am writing to comment on a recent letter to the Daily, ("U.S. piety is not surpris- ing," 1/16/98). The authors of the letter offer the hypothesis that the United States is one of the most pious nations in the world because it has a "less generous and secure safety net than do the indus- trialized European countries' The authors continue by say- ing that Americans are less secure about their futures and therefore more likely to seek comfort from God. Finally, they draw the conclusion that high church attendance in the United States reflects aspects of society "of which we should not be proud." Well, I'd like to offer an alternative hypothesis. Citizens of Sweden and other European nations have low church attendance compared to the United States because the people of Europe practice a religion that does not require church attendance: worship tQ the State. The governments of industrialized Europe are so intrusive and oppressive that virtually all sense of individual identity is lost. While most Americans rely on themselves, the people of many European nations, such as Sweden, rely on the govern- ment. The ideals of individual- ism and self-reliance form a central tenet of Christianity, which is the dominant religion in the United States. Thus, a strong relationship between a limited state and a belief in God is bound to exist; the two ideas compliment and rein- force each other. Given this, I fail to see why high church attendance reflects aspects of U.S. soci- ety "of which we should not be proud." High participa- tion in religion reflects the strength and continuation of those ideals that have bred the strongest economy and nation on Earth: self- reliance and individualism. Of this, we should certainly atively short-lived: the gov- erment. GREGORY HILLSON LSA JUNIOR Ticket lottery disappoints hockey fans To THE DAILY: One of the best experi- ences I've had in my time at U of M has been going to hockey games. Being from the Caribbean, it is something I didn't get to do before com- ing to the University. During my second year here, I decid- ed to get season tickets. Although it was my first year buying tickets, I thought I had great seats for a game. My seat was located four rows from the top, directly behind the visitors' bench. The view was very good and was only partially blocked by the rafter next to me. I had such a good experience that I decided to buy tickets again for this sea- son. When I got my seats for this season, I found that I was seated one section farther down (one section closer to the pep band), but I was seat- ed two rows higher up! Now, it may be my inexperience here, but I don't consider the seat that I have now better than the seat I had last year. After the first couple of games, I went to the ticket office and asked for an expla- nation, since I believed that as a second-year ticket holder, I should have better seats. The lady behind the ticket window told me that it was due to the lottery and that I might have just gotten a bad number. As an engineering student, that argument just doesn't fit in my book. Looking at it logically, if a certain number of students bought tickets for the first time the same year I bought my first tickets, it's obvious that only those students can have the same level of prior- ity as I do. That number actually decreases because people either don't want to buy tickets, can't afford them or graduate. Now let's assume that in my first year, I got the worst lottery pick in my group; that obviously means that I should sit in a better seat. But let's assume that my seat was the best lot- tery seat for the first-year student, that means that my second-year seat has to be better. The fact that I there are first-year students and people who bought tickets for just one game doesn't help. I keep on seeing peo- ple who bought tickets last year with me getting incredi- ble seats right up on the glass. Do I think I got a raw Racism goes much rther than idle intellectual talks Ididn't go see Cornel West. I didn't go to the panel discussion with Provost Cantor and Chuck D. I don't know why, either. I know that we have problems about race. I know that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a brave man, a hero and an intellectual. I know that he was one of the few people who truly believed in the doctrines of non- JAMES violence and inte- MILLER gration, and there MILLER have been few ON TAP true disciples since him. I know that racism and separatism are still a part of all of us. I know that because I am white, I can't see some of what goes on, sometimes right in front of me. But I also know that the war over race is not here. It's not on the Daily's editorial page. It's not lurking under David Jaye's bass-ackwards little tongue and it's not scrawled on a BAMN placard. When I heard West was coming to speak, I thought that a man of his rhetorical abilities and formidable intellect would be the perfect weapon for the side of righteousness and equity. Certainly he would be able to open the rustiest mind and crush the poor logic of the race- baiters and separatists. But then I thought about the audience.fThe worst thing West would have faced would have been some rail-necked College Republican goober who heard a few good anti-affirmative remarks from George Will and was itching to use them in public. That man is not the enemy. Even Jaye, poor, confused little populist that he is, is not the enemy in the race war. Of all the anti-affirmative action activists, a tiny sliver actually believe that black people are born inferior to white people, and can't control themselves, sexually or phar- maceutical ly. The enemy is that one uncle of yours who still tells the joke that starts, "Two niggers walk into a bar ...." Anyone who has the brains to respect Cornel West and read his books is not a problem, no matter where they fall ideologically. The problem is that there is a segment of the population thatstillacan't see why the Confederate flag offends people. There are those among us who won't wait on black people in stores and restaurants, won't let them into their cabs, and assume they got to where they are in the world by leg- islative charity. OK, maybe I need to rethink my position on David Jaye. I would venture that most of our racial problems are caused by people who don't go to race forums at uni- versity auditoriums, and don't care what Cornel West, Chuck D. and Nancy Cantor have to say about any- thing because their dad told him black folks are black folks and white folks are white folks and never the two shall meet. Just like his dad told him and his father's father told him before that. This is not to say that calm discus- sion among rational, intelligent people encourages dialogue and thought is a useless thing. Even people who aren't racist could still use a calm voice to steer them in the right direction. But there is a huge difference between someone who believes affirmative action is immoral and someone who still owns a set of Sambo salt and pep- per shakers. Racial division causes such pain in our national psyche because it's like no other problem we know. It stumps us; it confounds us. We throw money at it and it doesn't get better. We hit it with legislation and still it advances. The reasons why we can't live together peacefully yet start in the Middle Passage and reach from the Triangle Trade to Jim Crow to O.J. Simpson. Every journalist, author and teacher who has anything to do with racial issues has said that the wounds of race run deep. This does- n't go far enough. Our wounds run to the bone, ooze pus and cry in agony every time our national cor- pus tries to roll over in bed. We hated each other for centuries before black folks were officially declassi- fied as animals. It was another few decades before lynching fell out of favor as a hobby in the southern rr_ . _ .._ . . a ,. _a .. Ui p U, 0 0 0 01 op I II