4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 24, 1998
lt Lebian&z
Babykillers?'
The men and
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
Care for all
U' should include students In Kids Kare program
'If peace is an alternative, then it should be taken.
If they've come to an agreement, they shouldn't
have to worry about Saddam, at least in theory.'
- Engineering senior Darick Holland, on yesterday s announcement
that UN. Secretary General Kofi Annan reached a deal with Iraq
YUKI KUNIYUKI
HENH, H E H HEVH, Hre H
NATURAL CEC
Pt
AND 11) SY 8 AD ifs A RE ?AIIFui. APt)ToY
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
T hroughout the course of the latter half
of the century, families with two
working parents have become more and
more commonplace. In response, the num-
ber of daycare providers has grown rapidly
to accommodate the needs of working par-
ents. A major problem for working families
arises when a child becomes ill, since most
daycare providers refuse to tend to sick
children and often, parents cannot afford to
take a day off from work. Until recently,
many University employees were faced
with this difficult predicament. Starting
this past January, faculty and staff mem-
bers had another option to help them deal
with this problem - thanks to the new
Family Care Resources Program developed
by the University.
The University's Family Care Resources
Program runs the Kids Kare pilot program
and attained the services of the home health
agency Friends Who Care. This agency
screens the program's workers and the
University provides them with additional
training on child development and pediatric
illness. These two steps ensure University
employees that they will be leaving their
sick children with qualified caregivers. In
addition, the program did a good job of
establishing rapport with the employees by
giving them a chance to meet the caregivers
at an open meeting in the Michigan Union
when the program began. The program is
extremely beneficial to working parents but
it does come with a price tag. The
University pays for the first 16 hours of this
service, but after those initial hours, the
family must pay $14 per hour with a mini-
mum usage of four hours.
While this program is relatively new, the
demand for its service has long been pre-
sent among University employees. But this
demand does not stop with staff and faculty
members. Even though the population of
University students with children is rela-
tively small, this group faces the same prob-
lem that staff do when their child becomes
ill. Students, like employees, should not be
forced into choosing between the care of
their child or attending class - currently,
most students have to make this difficult
decision. Student child care at the
University has been a poorly addressed
issue in the past. With the new program,
administrators have the opportunity to give
such students greater flexibility when a
confouding situation presents itself. This
program should be expanded to give
University students the same options
University employees enjoy. This small por-
tion of the student body would not put a sig-
nificantly larger financial strain on the
University's budget. The benefits of this
service are hard to quantify, but they defi-
nitely outweigh the monetary costs.
In addition, this program could be bene-
ficial to students and employees at the
University's Flint and Dearborn campuses.
Implementing similar programs at these
satellite campuses would put a greater
strain on those schools' budgets, it is a
worthwhile expenditure.
Programs like Kids Kare could help stu-
dents and employees tremendously, and it
could foster a better relationship between its
clients and the University. The program and
the administration deserve commendation
for their efforts but the program must be
expanded to include other members of the
community who need the same help.
Pulling rank
U.S. News omit qualitative measurements
ach Winter, U.S. News and World
Report publishes its university rank-
ings issue, which lists what the magazine
views as the best graduate programs in the
country. But this year, prospective lawyers
may not run to the news stands, as most of
the nation's law school deans have spoken
out against the magazine's ranking system.
Last week, 164 of the nation's 179 law
schools made a convincing appeal to U.S.
News by pledging to mail flyers to their
applicants claiming that law school rankings
may be "unreliable" and "bad for (their)
health." Two notable exceptions to this antag-
onizing majority are Harvard University and
The University of Chicago, whose law
schools are ranked second and fourth, respec-
tively. The University's Law School is a mem-
ber of the faction opposing the rankings. The
164 law school deans have set a convincing
case on the table - the magazine's survey is
conducted in a rather narrow-minded fashion.
Under the current ranking system, two of
the most important factors are applicants'
law school admissions test scores and under-
graduate GPAs. These are given more cre-
dence in the evaluation than the law schools'
academic environments and other qualifica-
tions of the applicants. Other factors that the
deans cite as problematic include nationwide
reputation surveys sent out to judges and
lawyers - who are generally far removed
from academia - and alumni groups' annu-
al donations to the schools.
For the moment, with just one major sur-
vey, applicants could be fooled into taking the'
U.S. News rankings as the final word. But
finding a good graduate school takes much
more than simply applying to the best pro-
grams in the country. These rankings con-
vince manv nrosnective law students that for
according to the magazine's ranking scheme.
When the rankings are used as an exclusive
map for one's future, important personal fac-
tors could be overlooked.
The ranking system also indirectly hurts
many students. In recent years, as the ratings
have taken on divine importance, some law
school admissions councils have been look-
ing simply at LSAT scores and GPAs with the
hope of boosting their school's ranking.
Because of this trend, more important quali-
tative measures of knowledge and skill are
not considered - possibly excluding many
qualified students from attending law school.
Supporters of the U.S. News rankings
claim that law schools willingly turn over
their application numbers and facts and that
if these deans have a problem, they could
boycott the magazine. But if a given school
does not give the magazine the information it
wants and therefore is not listed in the rank-
ings, it would be a shock to alumni, students
and applicants looking for information about
this school. Many readers would probably
not know of such a boycott, so it would
appear as if the school simply received a low
ranking. A boycott by high-ranking schools
would likely prove ineffective since admis-
sions information from state-funded law
schools can be accessed under the auspices
of the Freedom of Information Act.
The short term remedy for this problem
would be for U.S. News to change its rating
system - including more qualitative indica-
tors of student-bodies such as internship work
or undergraduate extra-curricular activities
and placing less emphasis on quantitative tests
and grades. In addition, students should take
the magazine's rankings as they are - simply
a system designed to take information and put
into a formula. A knowledieable decision
Miller ignored
the dangers
of smoking
TO THE DAILY:
I am usually an ardent fan
of James Miller's writing, but
I just have to say that I don't
understand why he chose to
be so snotty toward anti-
smokers in the Feb. I I Daily
("Light it up, pass it on and
shut up already"). As some-
one who works to educate
others about the health haz-
ards of smoking, all I have to
say is excuse me for trying to
save lives. When all there is
are good intentions behind
something, I don't under-
stand the need for attack.
As a Medical student here
at the University, I see and
hear daily the horrible out-
comestand maladies that
befall those who smoke. I
also take real plastinated
lungs (some healthy, some
brittle with emphysema, and
some black and rock hard
with lung cancer) to fourth-
grade students at local ele-
mentar schools to educate
them on smoking. When I
tell them that people who
smoke emit radioactivity like
an X-ray machine because
smoke contains radioactive
particles, and that they con-
tain tar like on the roads, and
that they will make you their
slave for the low price of
$2.50 a pack for the rest of
your life, they look at me
with the widest of eyes and
ask, "Why would anyone
ever want to do that to them-
selves?" And I just shake my
head back and say, "I don't
know." It's too bad that those
9-year-olds seem to have
more common sense than
Miller does.
Also, I just want to say
that it does become a moral
issue when the big tobacco
companies target low-income
African American cities - I
would be a little worried if
that fit under his category of
morality. So, to all his bitter-
ness and spite directed at
proponents of public heath, I
say that what makes us
smarter than you is that we
know better than to be pawns
in the game of the tobacco
industry and all the while pay
them big bucks to have them
kill us. When I'm a physician
in a few years and people
like Miller who threw our
education and help back in
our faces come in with lung
cancer and there is absolutely
nothing I can do for them,
maybe I'll feel a little less
sorry for Miller. Will he still
think he's smarter then? I
doubt it.
KRISTIN LEVY
MEDICAL SCHOOL
Marathon will
ha rump a
the passion that I have for the
Dance Marathon, and I hope
that they all were a part of it
and felt the same way.
Events don't happen like
this at the University. They
just don't. But you know
what? All of the participants
have embraced the marathon
as their own. That is truly
remarkable. If you ask any-
one what the marathon meant
to them, they couldn't
describe it in words. The best
response from the partici-
pants is, "I want to get
involved next year."
I personally want to thank
all of the dancers that partici-
pated in the event. Without
them, there would not be a
dance marathon. We could
have had 175 "moralers," 200
volunteers, amazing sponsors
and a wonderful planning
team, but without you, it
could not have happened. It
was brave of all of you to
participate in a first-year
event when you didn't know
what to expect. Thank you.
Finally, to the University
community, I thank you.
Many people said this event
could never succeed at the
University. Well you know
what, it has succeed. It has
surpassed the dreams of any-
one I know, including myself
The only suggestions I have
for people that missed out on
it this year is to get involved
next year! Thank you and go
Blue!
BRADLEY HOLCMAN
KINESEOLOGY JUNIOR
'U' can afford
to buy better
toilet paper
TO THE DAILY:
I recently read that the
University will garner a lot
of money because the foot-
ball team won the Rose Bowl
and national championship.
This money, combined with
the tuition revenue it receives
each year, makes one believe
that the University is in pret-
ty good financial standing.
Could it then be possible for
the University to allocate a
portion of its wealth to the
purchase of quality toilet
papersfor University bath-
rooms?
As it stands, the current
toilet paper is either way too
thin (like fabric softener) or
way toohard and crunchy
(like tree bark). I don't mean
to sound like your typical
disgruntled Gen Xer who has
nothing to do but complain.
Sure, we have the No. I foot-
ball team and the No. I
Business School in the
United States, but we're
ranked 318 out of 318 in toi-
let paper quality. Don't get
me wrong, I love this school
and its atmosphere. Join me
and demand quality toilet
paper.
lose to Michigan State, I rec-
ognized one thing. That was
the most hustle and effort I
had seen from a Michigan
basketball team in all the
time I've been at the
University. They gave it full
effort in the second half with
their backs against the wall.
Without Maceo Baston and
Robert Traylor for the last six
minutes, they did not give up,
and I believe put up a mag-
nificent effort. If Coach
Brian Ellerbee can a get the
team to play as they did in
the second half during every
game, I would be sad if he
wasn't back next year. This
effort gave me confidence in
him as a coach who can
make the Michigan
Wolverines play to the best of
their ability. Good luck,
team.
JON SCHWARTZ
LSA JUNIOR
Affirmative
action relies
on reverse
discrimination
TO THE DAILY:
I am not surprised that Isa
Kasoga ("Letter Ignored
Societal Problems," 2/19/98)
was disappointed with my
response. As someone who
enjoys brandishing words like
"elitist" and "racist" as a
smoke screen to hide their
viewpoint's inherent paradox-
es, Kasoga must clearly be at
a loss when someone pre-
sents a logical counterargu-
ment to affirmative action.
My letter highlighted the fact
that "corrective legislation"
is, by definition, reverse dis-
crimination. Kasoga seems to
feel that this is "illogical,
uninformed and elitist."
Let's think about this for a
moment. Granting minorities
special privileges over white
people (e.g., quota-based
promotions, admissions or
what have you) is a form of
discrimination. Granted, this
is done to assist the minority
applicants because they have
been disadvantaged, presum-
ably as a result of discrimina-
tion by white people. In
essence, affirmativeaaction is
attempting to solve a problem
created by discrimination
with more discrimination.
This is illogical! While it may
be a rather jejune precept,
"two wrongs do not make a
right" is still valid. In addi-
tion, if one takes an objective
look at the Fourteenth
Amendment, they would find
affirmative action explicitly
unconstitutional in that it
denies U.S. citizens (albeit
whites) equal protection
under the law.
Finally, Kasoga faults me
for not proposing an end to
racial strife. Well, I must
apologize. Even though
women in unWfbrm
deserve better
' { abykiller" The voice must
I have been overwhelming - if
not for its volume, then for its mes-
sage. Faces must have been way to
close and tempers
way too high. A
bearded man
screamed the accu-
sation again, spit
flying into the
unseasonably at
warm air, the
crowd behind him ttz
flaring into a brief
bout of shouts.
"Babykiller!" WhITE
Never mind theWHITE
fact that this is not
the I1964s and that
we are not currently
engaged in any active warfare as a
nation, and never mind the fact that the
student who was being accosted was
merely on her way to class last week.
Don't consider these things because the
unruly group that basically attacked thi
woman on Thursday didn't eithe
Sometimes passion overrules rational
thought.
This woman stood her ground and
walked away nervously, wondering if
the shouts would turn to violence, won-
dering why she had been singled out.
Unfortunate for many others on cam-
pus, she wasn't singled out on her own
- others wearing their ROTC uniforms
also were faced with barrages of shouts
and assaults from a group of studen
protesting possible military mobiliz
tion against Iraq.
Perhaps because Thursday was a
day all Army ROTC students had to
wear their uniforms on campus was an
ill-fated irony that clearly opened
these students up to attack, and
because the protesting students situat-
ed themselves outside of North Hlall,
ROTC students were required to pass
the rowdy group several times thO
day. It is too bad that the protesters
(who seem also to be the same people
who protest most everything else on
campus) weren't standing in the right
place and that they were criticizing
the wrong people.
My friend Nicole put it best - the
military does not make policy deci-
sions, they follow orders.
The Army does not act on feelings
or emotion, they act on directiv
without passion or prejudice. Th
fire the rounds, but do so only when
others tell them to - and all of this
with a sincere love for the country and
the will to do what the country feels is
best for them to do.
Nicole was not the woman men
tioned above, but she too faced scruti.
ny because she was wearing her uni.
form with pride. She was placed in the
position of having to justify h*
actions as a protector of our democrat
cy, she was put in a wringer because
she fights to protect the protester
right to yell at her.
Her alarm at having to face such
opposition was genuine, her confusion
understandable.
While I give the protesters a lot
respect for their decision to air their
views and to bring their opinions to the
public, I question their methods.
Perhaps in the future they should cri*
cize the president for his policy deci-
sions rather than the instruments he uses
to carry them out.
The Army follows the orders of the
commander in chief regardless Jf
what they are, regardless of whether
they agree or not. (It would be safe to
say that a majority of those in the mil-
itary did not vote for Clinton, and I
think it would also be safe to say th,
few of them agree with his polic
decisions).
ROTC students should be admired
for their commitment to an increasing-
ly unpopular endeavor. These are the
students who are putting their liveson
the line for us and our rights - and the
only thing they ask for in return Js
respect. These are the students who
allow us to be the leaders and the best
simply by doing their job and doing it
well.
As the man shouted "babykillers
over and over again, it must have been
quite daunting for ROTC members to
endure. The most difficult part must
have been knowing that none of them
have ever killed another person and
that none of them ever wants to -
Nicole, as an Army nurse, was
shocked that anyone would think of
her or her friends as killers - and that
their tireless work was going unapprO
ciated.
These protesters need to understand
that they are dealing with dedicated
people who have little to no control
over the actions they must take, that it
is the elected officials who represent
I