- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 17, 1998

420 Maynard Street. LAURIE MAYK
Arnn Arbor, MI 48109E trC,
Edited and managed by g E
students at the JACK SCHILLACI
University of Michigan Editorial Page Editor
pless 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
ROM THE DAILY
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reaction to the team's loss to UCLA on Sunday
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Shile advertisements and hype for the provide students with an opportunity tc
Michigan Student Assembly elections become better acquainted with faculty ir
rampant across the University's campus, their concentration departments and car
h individual school or college is also hold- also help them in their search for intern-
elections for the leadership of their respec- ships and jobs in their respective fields.
student governments. In the race for LSA While the Michigan Party candidates
dent government - the body that repre- viewed such a diversion of resources as
its the University's largest college - three damaging to LSA-SG's role of supporting
ties are vying for control of the president all student groups, LSA-SG should work tc
I vice president positions. Of them, the support such worthwhile groups.
idents' Party candidates - Geeta Bhatia The Students' Party also has made con-
I Greg Linnear - are the best choice to nections with other student organizations
d the government. and the LSA administration. The Office o:
Bhatia is a well-known face around LSA- Student Affairs has pledged to expand pre-
. As the current vice president, she is well sent living-learning programs in both num-
rsed in the many issues facing the gov- ber of student involvement - while some
nent. In addition, her accomplishments of the present ones continue to be flawed
LSA-SG speak well of her ability to get and problematic. The programs tend to be
job done. Linnear is one of the co- academically restricting - preventing stu-
inde of the Speaker Initiatives, which dents from fully exploring all of the options
brought many notable academics to the available to them at the University. The
iversity. Students' Party plans to set up a committee
Michigan Party candidates Pak Man with both the Residence Hall Associatior
ien and David Silver are worthy of note. and the dean's office to evaluate present
uen has served as MSA's Peace and Justice programs before new ones are established.
mmission chair for a year while Silver is a With a significant class-action lawsuit
mer LSA-SG representative and has been pending against LSA, the college's student
iye in efforts to oversee the use of the Code government is in a position to greatly influ-
Student Conduct. But while their respec- ence students. As Linnear said, "Educatior
a credentials are impressive, their ticket is is the first role the LSA student government
as cohesive as it should be. can play in this very controversial issue.'
At the center of the Students' party plat- The Students' Party has supported the
m is the increase of student input into the University's affirmative action symposiun
ys that LSA departments work. and also has brought speakers on the issue
partmental committees guide curriculum to campus.
ielopment and faculty promotion and LSA-SG plays a large role in the
curement. The party's efforts toward get- University community. The Students' Party
g students on these committees will help shows the best combination of vision and
,vide much-needed student insight into experience to expand the group's role and
artments' activities. serve student interests. Vote Geeta Bhatia
Another of the party's strengths is the and Greg Linnear for LSA-SG president
>nsion of departmental clubs. The clubs and vice president.
Sa vot e
~ast a ballot in the MSA elections this week

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s the Michigan Student Assembly and
other student governments' elections
roach, the temptation to not vote may
m harmless. After all, the representatives
bably do not hold the administration's
ntion and often seem unable to achieve
ir platforms. But the low number of stu-
ts at the MSA paper and electronic polls
e the assembly's voice less effective. If
re students paid attention to the candidate's
as and voted on the basis of their platforms
goals, the administration and government
y listen more closely. Thus, it is important
students to get involved in this week's elec-
and help build student government's role
e University community.
During the next few days, students will
vitably pass campaigning candidates on
Diag or in the Fishbowl. Instead of
oring their efforts, pedestrians should
them questions and see why they feel
lified and worthy to be elected. The
knon perception that they have little
hority after elections will become closer
reality if apathy among students persists.
Bent representatives have made impor-
t changes and often contact the adminis-
live centers of power on campus. Also,
rol of MSA's funding for student orga-
ations alone is an extremely important
'sequence of the elections.
Regardless of their platforms, the candi-
es will determine how to spend thou-
cis of students' dollars. The importance
campus organizations for students and the
pnunity should motivate more than 15
reent of the electorate to vote. Those who
{they do not care about the MSA issues

ing students' lives out there. By speaking to
or e-mailing a candidate, anyone can see
that the election's results will make a differ-
ence in what happens. And by voicing an
opinion, the student vote will give MSA fur-
ther leverage in its interactions with student
groups, the administration and local and
state government. The University student
body could create a strong political force -
both on and off campus - if everyone tried
a little harder to participate.
Certainly, everyone cannot run for office
since it demands a considerable commitment
of time and energy that most students cannot
afford. This is why more students should take
a little time to find out who they want to rep-
resent them and then vote for them. Since
campus issues affect everyone, the minimal
effort required to vote is worthwhile.
Additionally, more students ought to value the
services student government provides. If a
greater portion of the student body informed
themselves about campus issues, better
avenues for discussion and action would open.
Lastly, political participation on campus
is an excellent introduction to the issues and
ideas that one will encounter in the polling
booths during real elections. Since the nation
relies on higher education to produce aware,
intelligent citizens who understand the
democratic process, students should exercise
their political muscle on campus and not
excuse their apathy because seemingly small
differences are at stake. Students can change
the political scene on the University campus
and in the nation merely by considering the
various candidates and casting a ballot this
week. Don't forget to vote in the MSA elec-

Regents do
not represent
students
TO THE DAILY:
I'm writing to urge stu-
dents to vote "yes" on March
18 and 19 to fund the cam-
paign for a student regent.
Few students realize just
how much power the
University Board of Regents
holds. The regents can strike
down any U of M administra-
tive decision and contain
exclusive control over all
budgetary and tuition mat-
ters. Despite the enormous
consequences of the regents'
decisions, students have little
opportunity to give their
input. They have minimal
time to speak during regents'
meetings and are barred from
attending executive sessions,
during which the regents vote
on important issues.
Besides being unfair, this
lack of input ensures a certain
insensitivity to student con-
cerns. A student regent would
force the other regents to pay
attention to these concerns.
The fee increase may strike
some people as too steep to
support. But if a student
regent could keep tuition
down by say, $800 next year,
then wouldn't the small
increase be well worth it?
Although I'm a candidate
for the Michigan Student
Assembly this spring, I'll the
first to admit that as much
good as MSA can achieve, it
will never in its wildest
dreams achieve one-tenth of
the good that a student regent
could. The "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
campaign deserves every-
body's support.
PETER HANDLER
LSA SOPHOMORE
Soldiers are
not 'Nazis'
TO THE DAILY:
As 1 read Noah
Robinson's letter, "Soldiers
must think about their
actions" (3/9/98), the hair
stood up on my neck and my
ears turned bright red.
First of all, it is impossi-
ble for me to substitute the
word "Nazis" for the word
"army" As a U.S. Marine, I
am well aware of my respon-
sibilities for my actions.
Next, let's talk about
protesting outside of the
ROTC building. I would not
want to live in a country that
did not allow free speech.
Therefore, I respect the rights
of the protesters to express
their views wherever they
wish. But I am not aware of a
single foreign policy decision
that has ever been made in
North Hall. This being the
cae. I can se no reason to

set by Nazis but by elected
officials. That is, officials
elected by the majority of the
voting citizens of this coun-
try. The day that Robinson's
views become the views of
the majority is the day that I
make a career change.
Let me finish by saying
that the above statements are
my personal views and should
in no way be interpreted as
representing the positions of
the U. S. Marine Corps or the
Department of Defense.
BRIAN BRODERICK
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
Student
regent would
help improve
'U' campus
TO THE DAILY:
Whatever people think
about the manifestations of
campus activism, no one dis-
agrees with the intentions
behind the actions. We should
(and I think we do) respect the
desire to change the University
campus for the better.
On March 18 and 19, we
all have a chance to do just
that. By voting "yes" on the
three-part Michigan Student
Assembly ballot question
asking whether students sup-
port the drive for a student
regent, we will be taking
steps to change the way that
U of M is governed. Students
for the first time will have a
voice in the government body
that runs this campus, and we
will finally be able to tell the
regents that we can't afford
skyrocketing tuition and
escalating housing costs. We
will get to help decide how
our University is run and
how our money is spent.
This may sound like an
unprecedented move or a pipe
dream. It's neither. Every other
public, Big Ten school has a
student regent, so this idea is
nothing new. (It's no coinci-
dence that they also all have
lower tuition that is increasing
at a slower rate than ours.) The
people of Michigan want a
student regent, too - 73 per-
cent of them said that they
would vote for the creation of
a student regent if the question
was put on the state ballot.
Voting "yes" will do just that.
People have used the letters
to the editor section of the
Daily to debate the merit of the
day of action sit-in. No matter
how you feel about the tactics
used during the sit-in - no
matter how you feel about
affirmative action - if you
respect the idea that students
on campus can and do want to
change their own lives for the
better, then the "Yes! Yes!
Yes!" campaign and the drive
for a student regent deserves
your support.

MSA should
do away with
undemocratic
procedure
TO THE DAILY:
As a commission chair
for the Michigan Student
Assembly, I welcome the cur-
rent trend toward tightening
the rules concerning atten-
dance and responsibility
expected from MSA repre-
sentatives and MSA commit-
tee and commissionmchairs.
I welcome even more the
increased policing and recent
crackdown on representatives
and committee commission
chairs for breakingsuch rules.
I have no sympathies for
those who are removed from
the assembly for failing to
conduct their usual activities,
but it is the way those
replacement representatives
are chosen that worries me.
When a representative is
removed from office, the
student government of his or
her respective college or
school appoints a new repre-
sentative to the assembly.
This system is not democrat-
ic, but in the days of paper
balloting, was a reasonable
compromise between
upholding democratic princi-
ples and saving precious
resources. But in today's
information age where vot-
ing is done through the Web,
such compromise is no
longer so palatable.
I urge the good people on
MSA to initiate a change to
the All-Campus Constitution
so that when representatives
are kicked off, an election is
held to choose a replace-
ment.
PAK MAN SHUEN
LSA SOPHOMORE
CANDIDATE FOR LSA-SG
PRESIDENT
Vote Winling
for MSA
To THE DAILY:
As I passed the paper-
covered walls of Angell Hall
this morning, I could not
help but notice that among
the scores of candidates, one
stood out from all others.
Dale Winling's simple, yet
informative posters were
hard-hitting, straight-forward
and did not shy away from
the issues.
Here is a candidate who
respects the voters and
shares his view on the stu-
dent-regent campaign, the
state of the Michigan
Student Assembly and a
host of other topics, giving
the voters the naked truth
and asking them to judge
him on his merit and not

Greek Week is
not what it
appears to be
here's no question in my mind that
T hundreds of University students
will make complete and utter fools of
themselves, in public, this week.
Jumping around in Jell-O, slamming
french fries into their mouths, playing
musical chairs and
pinning each other in
oversize Sumo suits,
these students will
no doubt seem child-
ish, ridiculous and
just plain stupid. I
have not only seen it,4
but have been one of
those students, and I
felt pretty stupid
myself.
As many will OSH
soon realize, theHITF
annual tradition of M
Greek Week is upon > l ..
us. Participating in
more than 25 events, close to a quarter
of the undergraduate population will
run, jump, dance and sing their way
through what amounts to be a relatively
meaningless competition - at least that
is what appears on the surface.
Over the past three years, I have
heard many complaints about Greek
Week, from "It's just a dumb Greek
thing" to "It's just a way for the houses
to haze their pledges." What is sad is
that these opinions are not only igno-
rant, they are plain wrong.
Behind the show- which is quite silly
and immature, but fun - and behind the
curtain, Greek Week raises an immense
amount of money and donates an
immense amount of community service
from its participants. Aside from jumping
in Jello and the obstacle courses, Greek
Week is one of the most community-ori-
ented events of the entire academic year.
Above all else, Greek Week is the sin-
gle-largest philanthropic fundraiser on
campus and has been for several years. A
non-profit corporation, Greek Week
hopes to donate more than $65,000 to
chosen charities this year- based on one
week of fundraising. Greek Week organiz-
ers also expect participants to donate close
to 600 pints of blood to the American Red
Cross and about 1,500 hours (about 2
solid months) of community service to
Safehouse. Not shabby totals for what
most people envision as a stup-a-lympics.
T-shirt sales often account for a large
proportion of the revenues, already mak-
ing upwards of $15,000, all whie instill-
ing pride in individual Greek houses and
in participating teams. Individual events
and corporate sponsors make the rest, a
total of $100,000, about $35,000 of
which is used for operating costs and
publicity. Several of the events are pure-
ly for fun, but it is pretty hard to argue
that there is much wrong with that.
According to Richard Bauer, who is a
central figure in this year's Greek Week,
the biggest highlight of this year's events
is one that many non-Greek members of
the community will never see. On
Community Serve Sunday, coming up
this weekend, Greek Week participants
"will provide internal improvements and
general cleaning" to Safehouse, Bauer
said. While half of those at Safehouse
clean, the others will provide a carnival
outside for all of Safehouse's children.
Safehouse is merely one of the five
major philanthropies Greek Week plans to
support this year. Chosen by the 30-mem-
ber Greek Week Steering Committee for
their importance to and impact on society,
the four other charities are the National
Coalition Against Domestic Violence,

Washtenaw vCouncil on Alcoholism,
HI V/AIDS Resource Center and Eating
Disorders and Exercise Network.
Greek Week is also sponsoring a panel
discussion on Domestic Violence a week
from today, titled "The Violent Truth.'
Co-sponsored by Speaker Initiatives and
the LSA student government, the panel
will host several nationally recognized
speakers, a student survivor from SAPAC,
Mayor Ingrid Sheldon and others - a
cause that has special relevance to this
campus, lest we forget what happened to
our own Tamara Williams earlier this year.
Showing great concern and awareness for
the community, this year's Steering
Committee offers this event as a reminder
that we cannot ignore such issues.
Sure, the Greek system has many
problems, from underage drinking to
hazing, things that are neither unique
nor limited to Greek houses. Just as any
social organization on campus has its
share of skeletons or practices of which
it is not proud, the Greek system is often
stereotyped by these past concerns and
is pigeon-holed because of them.
It is also obvious that not everything
the Greek system does is for the benefit
of the community, as it is hard to see the
philanthropic benefits of a two-way or
an open party. But holding Greek hous-
es to that standard is unfair - I would
hesitate to espouse the societal benefit
of going to the bar on a Friday night or
hosting a house party. Just as everyone

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