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