4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 2, 1998 G E SidituIug EDatig What's next? The Bill Clinton 4 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan LAURIE MAYK Editor in Chief JACK SCHILLACI 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 Adgocade for 'U' Editorial page stands for students' ierests 'Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.' - Thomas Jefferson KAAMRAN HAFEEZ As IT HAPPENS E T ERSANKY) T r TEEDTR oilf LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The student voice is a unique and ever- changing thing. Over the years, stu- dents have changed the methods they use to express their views and beliefs. Technological advancements, such as the proliferation of e-mail and the World Wide Web, have ushered in an entirely new arena in which students can express themselves. But with each step forward, there appears new regulations to squelch the freedom of expression. Thirty years ago, University students were known for their riots, protests and sit-ins. The Fleming Administration Building was designed to withstand the wrath of angry riot- ers outside. The attendees of a University Board of Regents meeting once had to escape through the underground tunnels because they feared a group of student protesters who awaited them outside Fleming's walls. But tumultuous student rebellion is not as common as it once was. The regents no longer flee from their meetings in fear of angry students. While the Diag is still a hotbed for political rallies and demonstra- tions, student activism in 1998 is a lot dif- ferent than it was 30 years ago. But this does not reflect student apathy. Students simply have found new ways of expressing their opinions. The Michigan Daily is here to serve the University's student body. The main goal of the editorial page is to be the voice of stu- dents - promoting their interests above all else. While student activism and expression have changed greatly over the years, the Daily remains a strong advocate for students. One hundred and seven years after its gene- sis, the Daily remains a strong defender of civil liberties, human rights and justice. Above all, the editorial page belongs to students. Whether it's a bill in Congress, a vote by the regents or a Michigan Student Assembly resolution, if it effects students, the editorial page will respond, serving - through printed words - as an advocate for students. From increasing financial aid to threats on individual civil rights to ending discrimination and promoting diversity, the Daily's editorial page will comment, backed by 107 years of editorial freedom and precedent. One of the backbones of a democratic society is a free press. While it is the respon- sibility of the government to work in the best interests of the people, it is the press that is responsible for letting the people know when they are not fulfilling their duties. Through the editorials printed on this page, the Daily hopes to check the governing powers of the University, the state and the nation. It is our goal to make sure that student interests are addressed at all levels of government. But the backbone of the open discussion and commentary that we at the Daily seek is ensuring that all voices are heard. The edito- rial page serves as a forum for public dis- cussion of important issues at the University and beyond. Belief in the value of this dis- cussion is why a portion of the page each day is dedicated to readers' letters and view- points. In addition, we cull cartoonists and columnists from the University community - trying to represent an optimum balance of individual beliefs. It is our job to represent the student voice as best we can. But students should keep watch on the Daily. Tell us what you think and when we are wrong. The benefits of the Daily's editorial freedom extend to its readers - students must continue to take advantage of it. -- Jack Schillaci Editorial Page Editor Poorly statde Higher education should come before tax cuts S tate Gov. John Engler gave his eighth State of the State address last Thursday. During the speech, he discussed many areas of concern for residents, such as efforts to clean up pollution and a health insurance program for children whose par- ents lack employer-provided coverage. But one of the main thrusts of his speech involved a new tax plan and changes to public school spending. As part of the speech, Engler unveiled a tax-cut plan that he claimed would save tax- payers $3 billion begin- ning in the year 2000. The problem with this 4 proposed tax cut is that it comes with severe conse- quences - there would be fewer funds available to support the state's Engler higher education institutions. Similarly, budgetary estimations for the new fiscal year - which begins Oct. 1 - suggest that there will be a small allocation to state-supported colleges and universities this year. The reason for a minimal increase in spending is the implementation of a $300-million tax cut that will tighten the state's budget - putting an unneces- sary strain on important programs. Tax cuts at the expense of higher educa- tion are not good for the state in the long run. With tuition already high and the desire to attract high-quality faculty members con- tant, small increases in state funding will hurt students pursuing higher education. If fer. If the choice is between tax cuts and maintaining higher education, the cuts are an irresponsible choice. Families will ulti- mately give back money saved from the tax cuts if they have to pay higher college tuitions. Tax cuts should only be considered when resource-deprived programs have been allotted their necessary appropriations. In addition to his lack of vision for the University and others, the governor tried to change his image concerning the public school system by proposing an activist edu- cation agenda similar to the one President Bill Clinton offered in his State of the Union address. Some changes include an increase in K-12 spending, an effort to decrease class size and a new summer school program for students who are not reading at their grade level. While these proposed initiatives would address some problems in public schools, Engler's track record with public schools places his state- ments in _ a different perspective. Throughout his two terms in office, Engler has been unfriendly to public schools with his constant threats to cut back funding if schools do not maintain standardized test scores and his backing. of public-school alternatives like charter schools. If the governor wants to change his rep- utation regarding education, he must follow through on his proposal to improve K-12 education, and he must not cut taxes at the expense of higher education. State universi- ties need funding from Lansing in order to stay competitive nationally and remain fis- cally sound. Engler needs to put his words 'Bear Bones' objectifies women TO THE DAILY: I am asking the Daily to stop running David Berenson's cartoon, "Bear Bones." I have remained silent after reading the major- ity of Berenson's negative, androcentric drawings. But his Jan. 29 cartoon was more than I could bear. Let me make my message clear: It is unacceptable for women to be to portrayed as sexual objects. To represent women as anything less than dynam- ic, intelligent and powerful should not be tolerated with- in the University community nor anywhere else. Further, it is wrong of Berenson to imply that a woman who has sex with a man does so because she is stupid, rather than because she has made a conscious decision to do so. And to all who believe that a cartoon is "just a car- toon," let me draw you a lit- tle picture of my own: In Berlin during the '20s, Joseph Goebbels - who was soon to be the Nazi Minister of Propaganda under Hitler - organized an entire anti-semitic campaign in the form of a comic strip. The result was an over- whelming sense of hatred that non-Jewish Germans developed toward Jews. The Germans were unaware of the impact of the cartoon and thought it was funny. By depicting women in a passive, victimized and objectified manner in which he has, Berenson is perpetu- ating sexism, stereotypes and violence within our community - a community that values equality and diversity. The Daily boasts of 107 years of editorial freedom. Perhaps the paper would be better suited if it chose to employ editorial judgement. If the Daily continues to sup- port David Berenson, it will find that is has far fewer sup- porters itself. CAMILLE NOE LSA SOPHOMORE Religion is important to American society TO THE DAILY: I am writing to respond to "Self-reliance and piety are 'contradictory"' (1/26/98). Andrew Dempz makes sever- al uninformed attacks against religion, specifically the for the power and presence of God in all situations. "Christianity ... is not conducive to ideas of self- reliance or individuality." The history of the United States alone refutes this dis- torted view. It was "the cow- ardly masses before us" who molded a republic that affirms the unique potential, ingenuity and autonomy of the individual. Considering the piety of our own school's founder, it is no coincidence that the plaque above Angell Hall lists "reli- gion" foremost among the prerequisites for "good gov- ernment" and the "happiness of mankind." It is comparatively easy to develop perceptions of right and wrong according to one's own whims. It is much more difficult to maintain standards that do not permit compromise or may not seem personally advanta- geous. Is it truly horrible to uphold a "voice of absolute authority" that instructs us to place others before our- selvesand to aid the oppressed? In an apparent attempt to highlight our conformity, Dempz states that many Americans share the same cars, food and homes. It seems rather shallow to label ourselves by what model car we drive or by the design of our house. We should define ourselves by what we believe and what we do. Faith does not require that one relin- quish all semblance of self; rather, believers affirm both their uniqueness and their common bond as children of God. JOHN CX LSA SOPHOMORE Small correction is inadequate TO THE DAILY: I would think that being the sole paper to serve the University campus for many years, The Michigan Daily would be characterized as professional. But what I read in the Jan. 28 edition proved me wrong. An article located on the third page of the Daily was about ethnic Greek organiza- tions on campus. I was excit- ed to see that my sorority, the only Asian Pacific American sorority on campus, finally got some time in the spot- light. When I read the article, not only was I surprised to find many incorrect state- ments, but I was also infuri- ated by the carelessness and the lack of professionalism of the article. We are not Kappa Alpha Theta Phi. We are Alpha Kappa Delta Phi. To have a mistake of this magni- tude cannot simply put as a "simple mistake" or even an "honest mistake." As a communication studies major, I am truly sur- prised by the lack of profes- sionalism found in the Daily. You would think that after going through the author, Rachel Edelman, and two other readers, the basic information for a story would be checked and rechecked. When I spoke with someone from the Daily, he informed me that "the editor has enough trust in the reporter that she would at least get the facts right." Well, she didn't. Being the only four-letter sorority on campus, in my opinion, is enough reason for an editor to check and verify the information given to him by Edelman. This mistake is a major one. One that I will not easily forget. It stabs at the very essence of our sisterhood. Our letters represent us, these 30 women at the University. We have more than 700 members nationwide that are proud to be members of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi. For the Daily's lack of accuracy, we only ask for what is fair. We do not believe that a tiny blurb of an apology in some random cor- ner of the paper's next edition is adequate. What is neces- sary is a correction as large and noticeable as the mistake itself. We are not asking for too much, just what is right- fully ours. Respect for our sisterhood, respect for the Asian Pacific American com- munity and most of all, respect for Alpha Kappa Delta Phi. NIDHI JAJOO LSA JUNIOR Tobacco articles were 'amusing' TO THE DAILY: I just wanted to say how amusing it was to find a huge color ad for chewing tobacco on the same page with two articles about lawsuits and investigations into the tobac- co industry and related research. Intentional? Either way, the Daily should take a bowl CAROL KAMM UNIVERSITY STAFF School ofSexual Ethics Studies? E ven though its NBA franchise recently changed is nickname from the Bullets to the Wizards, the city of' Washington, lD.C.st rangely remains one of the great fortresses of irony in this country. After all, how can you explain a city whose major land- mark is a slender, 555-foot monument that was erected in honor of a sterile president? To many readers, Washington may be the place where you JOSHUA went with your RICH eighth grade class, Ji;1. or the city where 1l.' you can snag a cool internship on Capitol Hill. To me, it is the place where I was born;, it is my home. Surely, ironies have always existed in the nation's capital. Founded as the sea4 of government for a democratic republic where all people are created equal, where there is supposed to be no taxa- tion without representation, the town itself has no representatives elected to serve it in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives (save a non-voting del- egate in the latter). That's nearly a quar- ter of a million American citizens need- lessly taxed by a government that is not necessarily of them, for them or by them. When I was younger, it took me a while to understand that, even though various congressmen lived a stone's throw away from my house, they were there essentially only to serve the rest of the country - not me. Worse, they had complete authority over how my home- town operated. If, for example, it snowed and we needed the streets to be plowed, the D.C. government had to as4 representatives from places like Florida and Hawaii for the appropriate funding. I'm sure my bankrupt city could have gotten greater amounts of money over the years; unfortunately, we don't usual- ly have hurricanes or erupting volca- noes in the District of Columbia. Then there are certain formalities that make Washington stand out from the rest of the nation. Many would agree, I think, that D.C. is virtually unrivaled a one of the most physically beautifhe cities in America. It is also one of the most violent towns around, its mayor has served time in prison for smoking crack-cocaine on national television - and he keeps getting re-elected And what about our football team, the Washington Redskins? Without a doubt, the best organization ever to grace the gridiron. This squad is so damn formi- dable that it has put the Detroit Lions t shame in every single game the two have played for more than 30 years! Even this season, the Redskins smacked the Lions so badly that Detroit missed the playoffs ... again. And the 'Skins have been victorious even without a 2,000-yard-per-season running back. Indeed, the ironies never cease. Take, for example, the almost-com- pleted Ronald Reagan Building, which sits on a huge parcel of land o. Pennsylvania Avenue, between l 3th an 14th streets, N.W. When it is finally opened after almost a decade of con- struction, the structure will be the sec- ond largest government building in the nation, after the Pentagon. It will also be the most expensive, a great testament to the excess of the '80s and the tremen- dous debt Reagan left for us to suffer. Rumors suggest that the Ronald Reagan Building will house movie theaters food courts, shops and organizatioI such as -get this - the Environmental Protection Agency, certainly one of Reagan's all-time favorite groups. In addition to this farce, there is a cur- rent congressional initiative to rename the newly renovated Washington National Airport after our 40th presi- dent. Friday is Reagan's 87th birthday -judgment day for partisan politicians who, in an unprecedented move, are pushing for the name change in spite o vehement oppositionfrom thelocas government and constituents - almost 100 percent of whom are either Democrats or unrepresented minorities. I heard some of Reagan's old pals, the former airttraffic controllers in particu- lar, aren't too amused by this prospect. Of course, the more I think about it, the more I realize that, although it is a shame- lessly fascist move, this act has some twisted merit to it. After all, Reagan oni4 spent about half of any given year actual- ly in Washington; the airport is probably the one single place in the D.C. metropol- itan area that he knew best. What's particularly insulting about all of this nonsense is that Reagan isn't ECTING 'U' Tis WEEK MONDAY City Council Meeting I-.. 7r-I 7 .)2A r - I