4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 16, 1998 ~1~e £d~i~mTTh41V 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the Unl versity of Michigan LAURIE MAVK Editor in Chief JACK SCHILLACI Editorial Page Editor Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Dailys editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. ROM THE DAILY No, No, No Hefty fee would not guarantee a student regent 'There are no special precautions and no concerns ... I truly believe the people of Detroit are very adult and mature and will act that whatever the verdict is.' -Detroit Police Chief Isaiah McKinnon, on the preparations he has made for the verdict in People v. Budzyn, which could be handed down as early as today KAAMRAN HAFEEZ T JIT HAPPE1N/x LETER T TH EITr M t 6 " LETTERS TO THE EDITOR his week, the Michigan Student Assembly will make its second attempt to collect $400,000 of student money to fur- tier its push for a voting student representa- tilre on the University Board of Regents. ILuring MSA elections, students will have the opportunity to decide whether to approve a student fee of $12, spread out over three sdmesters, to support the MSA Student Regent Task Force in its effort to collect the 310,000 signatures needed to bring the stu- dent regent proposal to a statewide vote. Although students should align themselves biind the push for representation on the beard, approving a hefty student fee is not an eficient or effective means of helping the task fdrce achieve its goal. MSA would do better to step up lobbying efforts and continue fighting alngside other state universities through the ooe-year-old Coalition for Student Representation - an alliance of higher edu- cation institutions seeking to secure voting seats for students on their governing bodies. Tie assembly's current funds enable it to con- tinue both of these activities without exacting an additional charge from students. Poll results released by the state Office of the Governor reveal that 73 percent of Michigan voters would give their affirmative vote to a student regent ballot proposal, yet bringing the issue to a referendum vote proves a difficult task. The path MSA chose by ask- ing for a fee only complicates the endeavor. Should students approve the fee, the reents also must vote to allow MSA to levy tlt charges. As the fee would constitute a step tdwiard lessening the regents' power, board niembers would have little incentive to give their approval. But if the board did acquiesce, success in gathering 310,000 signatures vw&uld still be far from guaranteed. To its credit, the task force has already awned itself with contacts at the same signa- ture collection firms employed by the office of U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Michigan). Nevertheless, the professional headhunters will undoubtedly encounter difficulty in com- pelling 310,000 voting adults - most of whom graduated from college decades ago - to petition for a cause which does not. directly affect them. Although voters would likely support the push for a student regent if lawmakers placed the issue on the fall ballot, the average voter would likely prove too apa- thetic to support a signature drive. The result: 400,000 wasted student dollars. In working with Michigan State University, MSA recently succeeded in secur- ing Rep. Lingg Brewer (D-Holt) to sponsor a bill in the state House of Representatives to place the student regent issue on the ballot. The new sponsorship constitutes a large step forward from last year when MSA had no definite support in either house. While the bill will likely slide through the Democrat- controlled House, it will still be laid to rest on the floor of the Senate, where it faces conser- vative opposition. Having conquered one house, however, lobbyists now have more surety to back future efforts. MSA has made appreciable progress in organizing and solidifying its quest for a stu- dent regent in the year since it first requested a fee to fund a signature drive. But flaws inherent in the process of securing student dollars to fund a signature drive with only a marginal likelihood of success eliminate it as a practical means of winning a student regent. The MSA task force, in alliance with other state universities, must remain committed to lobbying the Legislature and furthering efforts to rally students and the general voting population behind the issue. Since it will like- ly not effect the creation of a student regent, students should vote "no" on MSA's student regent ballot question. Construction zone Projects can harm 'U"s O ne of the worst perceptions about the University, held by outsiders and stu- dents alike, is that it is too big and bureau- cratic. While these concerns are often exag- gerated by people not enrolled at the University, they do have a truthful founda- tion. For example, class scheduling for iicoming first-year students can be diffi- cult, and the number of people in many introductory lectures is often overwhelm- ing. These parts of University life can be very frustrating and are one of the major problems that large institutions of higher education have to sort out. These types of problems often can harm the University's academic environment - administrators must work to counteract them. This semester, students living in East Quad are dealing with a major inconve- nience that exemplifies this sort of problem. After more than five years of planning, the construction of a new elevator designed to make the residence hall more accessible to handicapped students began last month. With this construction, students living near the stairwell being gutted to accommodate a new elevator shaft have had to deal with the disruptive noise of jackhammers and other machines used to clear space for the elevator. The problem with project like these are not their intent - indeed, the construction of a new handicap-accessible elevator is a neces- sary improvement to the building, providing greater access to disabled students. The only existing elevator in East Quad is inadequate for handicapped students. The problem with this type of construc- learning environment of the construction. Students should have been made aware before any leases were signed for next year that this construction project would extend through October. Students should also have been informed in writing when this construction was going to begin, not through word of mouth or the sound of jackhammers. The construction *of the elevator should not occur during the school year but instead, should take place during a period when most students will not be disrupted. More opportune times include the beginning and end of summer break - when Orienation is not in session - and spring and winter breaks. The construction schedule of this long-awaited elevator was handled very poorly by University officials. While University Housing espouses its "living-learning" environment, construc- tion projects like the one in East Quad severely hamper the educational nature that the administration hopes to foster. But this problem is not limited to one residence hall - construction is common among University Housing's buildings, often forc- ing students to leave their homes to study. Problems like the new East Quad eleva- tor make students, who are enrolled and liv- ing in a University residence hall, feel like their concerns are not being taken into con- sideration during the decision-making process. In order for the University to improve broad-based negative assumptions about the inefficiency of such a large bureaucracy, it must conduct itself in a dif- ferent, more student-considerate manner. Students have to feel like their voices are MSA should not try to raise fees To THE DAILY: Currently, the Michigan Student Assembly has a drive to raise student fees to hire a lobbying firm known as the "Yes! Yes! Yes!" campaign. What the campaign repre- sents is another attempt by MSA to raise student fees. It would be wrong for me to say or even suggest that I have discussed this campaign with all of my constituents. Having said that, those con- stituents I have talked to are extremely concerned with MSA increasing student fees once again for any reason. On the surface, a student regent seems like a noble and worthy cause. But when the simple needs of graduate schools and their feelings of disenfran- chisement go unresolved, how can MSA now try to reach for broader powers aid more cash? MSA has a serious problem with constituent feed- back, and feedback is what is required for representation. I'll be the first to admit it. As a representative of a small school (the Medical School), I have trouble getting feedback from my constituents. As more and more students fall to the sidelines and do not receive adequate representation, MSA cannot in good conscience continue to propose one fee increase after another every election cycle. MSA fee increases are not being passed or supported by the majority of the student body. It hurts MSA's credibil- ity when it calls for a decrease in coursepack and student fees and then calls for an increase in MSA fees at almost every election. It's bad leadership, it's bad poli- tics, and it's bad representa- tion. MSA should solve its domestic problems before it goes to the capitol. CARLOS HERNANDE FORD MEDICAL SCHOOL MSA REPRESENTATIVE National Day of Action was a 'success' To THE DAILY: The National Day of Action at U of M on Feb. 24 was a great success. We set an important precedent in the fight to defend affirmative action. For the first time, University students called a one-day strike/class stay-away in defense of affirmative action. Through the participa- tion of hundreds of students and many teachers, we the unprecedented unity achieved among various stu- dent organizations. At the march and sit-in, the unity of our causes and the necessity of building a united movement was stressed. University and high school students from Ann Arbor and Detroit addressed issues of racism, sexism, homophobia and opposition to bombing Iraq. We made plans to continue building the activism that was begun on Feb. 24 by organizing to protest and then speak inside when anti-affirmative action leader Ward Connerly comes to campus on March 18. Despite a virtually com- plete local media blackout, we succeeded in getting our message out to the country over CNN. Students from New York and New Jersey have initiated the call for another National Day of Action to take place on April I and have contacted us to act in conjunction with them. The organizers of the National Day of Action invite all students to join the student movement that is being built at U of M and spreading to uni- versities across the country. We are on the threshold of build- ing a new mass civil rights movement that can fight for real social equality and justice. Please attend the Ward Connerly protest on March 18. To the Students for America and Ward Connerly: BAMN is interested in having our National Organizer, Shanta Driver, debate Connerly on March 18. Driver recently attempted to debate state State David Jaye (R- Macomb) but ended up mak- ing a solo appearance when he failed toshow up. Please con- tact us at bamn)umich.edu if you are interested. JESSICA CURTIN LSA SENIOR Vote 'yes' for a student regent TO THE DAILY: Getting a student on the University Board of Regents is an idea that dates back to the '60s and U.S. Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Calif.). More than a year ago, I started the Student Regent Task Force. We began to research how to get a student on the board, and we made some great progress. Unfortunately, I decided to ask the students for money for this effort before it was ready; and the students justly rejected the proposal. Fortunately, the students of the University were not let down after this setback. Trent Thompson and Andrew Wright took over the reigns of this project and moved it to statewide so that this issue can go on the 1998 general elec- tion ballot. Now this issue has come to a deciding point for the stu- dent body. The "Yes! Yes! Yes!" campaign is in full swing, and MSA is asking the students for a temporary fee increase in order to make this dream a reality. Even in the '60s, when student activism was at its peak, the students weren't able to accomplish this feat. Now, 30 years later, it is in our grasp. I urge all students to vote "yes" on the student regent questions dur- ing the next election. ANDY SCHOR UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS Vote Friednrchs for MSA president TO THE DAILY: I'm very disappointed in student government here on campus. Oh, it's my own fault as much as anyone else's, I know. A couple of years ago, I threw my hat into the ring only to find out that I was as incompetent as most others in student government. 1 am greatly pleased to see that Ryan Friedrichs is running for the presidency of the Michigan Student Assembly. I honestly can think of no one who can per- form a better job leading MSA than that he can. I feel that the University's student population has largely tried to pass off life here as an island isolated from the rest of the world. How many of us are content to sit around doing absolutely nothing to con- tribute to the world around us, even the community that we live in? I'd hazard to guess that the number is pretty high. So, who's doing anything to make sure that somehow the student body is better off? I answer Ryan Friedrichs, a ceaseless worker for students. Unlike the vast majority of MSA candidates, he seems not to invent clever issues to put on his posters and forget them the day after election. He gets stuff done. Potentially more important is his work off campus: Friedrichs was one of the leaders of Voice Your Vote, which got thousands of stu- dents registered last election. He's been an active force in making voter registration easy here on campus by convincing the Office of Housing to make it part of the move-in process starting next year. Friedrichs has been a leader all over campus - I've just had the pleasure of knowing him in a few roles. With his running mate, Albert Garcia (who himself seems to be quite a doer), Old playmates, childhood and a return to the sense ofsnow S ay what you will (and I'm sure you will) about the weather in Michigan. It's too hot, too cold, too rainy, tci. snowy, and yes, we even get snow aft spring break. What an insult. But it makes ________ sense to me. Summer is hot. Winter is cold. Spring and autumn are usually some- where in between.' To quote Lucy M a u d e Montgomery, author of my favorite chil- dren's book, "Anne ERIN of Green Gables," MARSH "God's in His heav- dKING en, all's right with 1.)' the world." Of course, there are surprises. Take, for example, the unexpected snowfall that hit just as many of us were settling in to watch the first round of the NCAA tournament. Fodder,rI'mdsure, for g4 ing aplenty come Monday morning. Growing up in southwest Michigan, my first words were "mama," "daddy" and "lake effect." The lake effect, for those who may not be familiar, is a weather pattern that causes snow show- ers when cold air passes over a large, warmer lake (like one of the Great Lakes) and picks up moisture and heat. The sixth-grade translation of this is, "Yaaaaaaaaaaay! No school!" I'd forgotten the degree to which m life had been governed by whatever wintertime phenomena happened to be occurring outside. In Ann Arbor, believe it or not, we don't have it so bad. Salt the roads, scrape the walk, brush some snow off the car, and you're good to go. Not the case in my hometown. And at the end of our "spring" break last week, for the first time since I'd left for col- lege, Iwas snowed in. When I watch the evening news made-for-TV specials about natural dis- asters, I'm constantly amazed that some wind, some rain or some snow can pro- duce such utterly devastating effects. The Titanic, after all, was sent to her watery grave by nothing more than a big ice cube. The power wielded by our basic environmental elements is really nothing to scoff at. And when it snows in West Michiga the flurries are fast and furious a swirling. So I was literally stuck at home. After pacing the house and fret- ting about whatever work I was missing at school, I resigned myself to the kind of stay-at-home activities I enjoyed years ago, when snowy days were a golden license to play. I picked up some very important lessons in the process. I relearned what it means to be a big sister to Megan, Chris and Willt Kitten. When I left, I thought of my si - ter as a nuisance with blond pigtails. In that child's place is a gorgeous, clever, funny, stylish, 17-year-old woman (happy birthday, Meg!). My brother, I thought, was positively embryonic when I left home. Not so now - he's smart as a whip, he can sing a whole repertoire of songs from "TheaSimpsons," and he's always game for a Hitchcock movie, a discussion about the politics of Northern Ireland or a scorching contest of TetriO Will the Kitten is now Will the Ca. Whensdid all this happen? Best of all, I recaptured the unfet- tered joy of the "snow day." I remem- ber monitoring winter evenings very carefully in grade school, pressing my nose against the window and crowing triumphantly as the flakes fell fast and heavy. As the frosty quilt carpeted the trees, mailboxes and birdhouses, as the traffic slowed to a crawl on our ro4 the inside of the house came to life. Kids jumping on couches, begging for later bedtimes - because school would surely be canceled the next day. The next morning, sitting up in bed, in the dark, hugging knees to chest, lis- tening carefully to the radio for the list. "Allegan County," Mr. Weatherman droned, "... Hamilton, Hastings, Hopkins ... Thornapple-Kellogg .. Wayland Union." Freedom. It was like getting a day £ your life back. No dittos, no arithmetic quizzes, no homework. Just fun and snowmen and videos and grilled cheese with pickles. That was the best - no one made anything better than Mom's grilled cheese. I feel lucky to have experienced another couple of snow days with my brother and sister. True, it's not exactly like it used to be - I guess nothing im Things change. But I have two new, wonderful play- mates. I'm grateful to have rediscovered them while we're all still schoolkids. Before long, I'll be a "grown-up" with a job, a health plan and a 401(k). And I I