4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 26, 1998
420 Maynard StreetL
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 LAURIE MAYK
E'Editor in Chief
Edited and managed by
students at the JACK SCHILLACI
University of Michigan 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
OffcuwreM
MSA should pick up where MDS left off
'It's all lies,'
Kicking the
mental habit
proves hardest
G o ahead, I dare you. Give up the
one thing that you rely on most in
times of stress, relaxation or normal
life. Cold turkey. For the next six weeks.
Let me tell you this: It's very hard. Be
forewarned.
Close to a month ago, I gave up
4
F or 18 years, students enjoyed the smell
of a freshly printed coursepack at
Michigan Document Service, but the
copiers will stop for the last time at the end
of this month because the store can no
longer make money under current copyright
laws. This business strove to provide stu-
dents with inexpensive coursepacks, and
with its closing, the need for a student-run
coursepack store becomes even greater.
Jim Smith, proprietor of Michigan
Document Service, said that new copyright
laws brought about the end for his estab-
lishment. Throughout its many years, the
company did everything in its power to
maneuver around copyright laws that drove
coursepack prices higher for students. In
1992, the American Association of
Publishers, a group of more than 250 pub-
lishing companies, successfully sued Smith
for noncompliance with national copyright
laws. Although Smith managed to have the
verdict overturned on appeal, the associa-
tion pursued and received a reversal of that
decision. The legal ordeal ended with the
U.S. Supreme Court's denial of Smith's
final appeal last spring.
To comply with the law, MDS began
requiring students to push buttons on
copiers themselves to make coursepacks.
While this saved students a good deal of
money, it produced severe inconveniences
and long lines. Some students simply chose
to ignore the ordeal and not purchase their
coursepacks. Staying open became finan-
cially impossible for Smith.
The expensive fees that publishing com-
panies can set on materials students need
for their coursework greatly harm the goals
of higher education. University students
must pay a great sum of money for tuition,
textbooks, room and board alone; coursepa-
cks that can cost upwards of $60 only
aggravate an already-difficult financial sit-
uation for students. Ideally, publishing com-
panies would recognize that students need
much more affordable excerpts from certain
texts; but profit-driven publishers are
unlikely to let this happen.
The way to get around expensive licens-
ing fees is to print them for a nonprofit,
academic purpose. Because coursepack
stores are for-profit businesses, the materi-
als they reprint are subject to royalty fees.
The student-run, nonprofit coursepack store
that the Michigan Student Assembly trum-
peted last year could ease this burden for
students by offering relief from the exorbi-
tant fees. But as of yet, the founding of such
an outlet has stalled.
Understandably, the creation of such a
service must struggle against the conven-
tional way of doing things. MSA's first task
is to earn the faculty's confidence in their
proposed store, showing that they can
accommodate professors' needs. While this
certainly will take time, every delay simply
hurts MSA's constituents.
Besides supporting the student-run
coursepack store, the faculty can help stu-
dents in another way. If possible, faculty
members should shun those publishers
charging exorbitant fees for small additions
to coursepacks. If the faculty were to stand
up for their students and not use works pub-
lished by over-charging companies, the
publishers would soon feel compelled to
reduce their fees.
The loss of Michigan Document
Service is a painful blow to University
students, but the integrity they demon-
strated in serving students before publish-
ers is honorable and should be appreciat-
ed. MSA, the group that is supposed to
stand for students' interests, must now fol-
low through on its proclamations and
establish its store. Such an accomplish-
ment 'would greatly help students and
serve as a shining emblem of the MSA's
effectiveness.
- Julia Carter; in response to the prosecution against her hus-
band, Ken Carter of Battle Creek, Mich., a member of the
Michigan Militia, for illegal weapons possession charges
PURPLE HERRING C.-NVEN-INE.NCE A B-Uf:JND
So A A i CIoAeACT IN SAYNG THAT OVE 7 1ME
T4E AG/gSM/5 /N Tl/ f CLOSe S YSTEM Wto Wm..
N i EThFIR EN. 1NoMNt& O THE PO:Nr WIE
wr EY fE MINA1f ThE)PLA EXrsc ENE,
LT E
LET TERS TO THE EDITOR
0
drinking pop (or
soda, whatever).
I was becoming
rather addicted
and it was get-
ting more than a
little out of con-
trol, especially
during exam
week at the end
of February. So
fine, I decided.
Being bigger
than one's addic-
tion is impor-
tant.
MEGAN
SCHIMPE
JMC.iN
Well read
Exposure to minority authors benefits students
Daily's
coverage of
debate was
misleading
TO THE DAILY:
The March 19 Daily arti-
cle on Ward Connerly's
speech at the Michigan
Leaguetseriously misrepre-
sented the events that
occurred ("Connerly met
with debate, high emotion").
The implication of the arti-
cle's second paragraph is that
Connerly was unable to fully
express himself because sup-
porters of affirmative action
were present and actually
made up the majority of the
audience. But as the article
later said, Connerly spoke for
only 10 minutes, and within
this time period, he gave
what appeared to be a com-
plete speech. In other words,
he was not forced to stop
speaking and answer ques-
tions but rather completed his
speech and moved on to the
previously announced ques-
tion-and-answer period.
Of course, to even say
that Connerly answered ques-
tions might be going a bit far
as his "responses" rarely con-
sisted of more than glib
insults and warm historical
fuzzies about the United
States that bore no relation to
actual history. (My favorite
was that the United States
has not traditionally tolerated
unfair treatment based on
race. What about slavery or
the internment of Japanese
Americans during World War
II?) Perhaps the most impor-
tant question raised but not
addressed by Connerly was
why he is more interested in
eliminating programs that
benefit people of color and
women than he is in fighting
the tremendous income and
wealth differentials that exist
between white males and oth-
ers in this country?
The comments made by
state Sen. David Jaye (R-
Macomb) in the article were
also very interesting. In say-
ing that opponents of affir-
mative action should have
been allowed to speak, Jaye
conveniently ignores the fact
that all were allowed to wait
in line for a chance to ask
questions and that Connerly
left the podium before any of
his supporters could address
him. The only attempt to pro-
vide "preferences" to people
because of their political
beliefs was when the event's
moderator attempted to call
upon a speaker from the
crowd (who was obviously a
supporter of Connerly). To
his credit, Connerly decided
to keep with the announced
format, but anyone who was
there could see that he only
did because of an outpouring
of protest against the moder-
ator's undemocratic sugges-
tion. Some, of course, called
unable to intellectually
defend his positions and that
the supporters of affirmative
action could and did defend
theirs in an articulate and
intelligent manner.
Unfortunately, the Daily and
other media sources com-
pletely ignored this and
decided to portray Connerly
as the victim of an unruly
mob unwilling to listen to
him. Supporters of affirma-
tive action such as myself did
listen to Connerly and did not
hear a single argument from
him that he was willing to
defend intellectually. Instead,
all we heard were attacks on
affirmative action, one of the
few programs ever that has
attempted to remedy the
inequalities based on gender
and race that have and con-
tinue to exist in this country.
MICAH HOLMQUIST
LSA SOPHOMORE
Day of action
opponents'
reasoning is
'empty'
TO THE DAILY:
In the days following the
National Day of Action, I
have noticed a number of let-
ters to the Daily condemning
the collective action for vari-
ous empty reasons. There
seems to be two types of dis-
gruntled students, though
they probably are very like-
minded: those who felt the
protesters brief disruption of
classes in Angell Hall was
rude and inappropriate, and
those elitist anti-affirmative
action students who dispar-
age the protest itself - often
referring to vocal affirmative
action supporters as "racists,"
if you can believe that one.
To the former: I'm sorry
you briefly had to open your
eyes and ears to the sights
and sounds of social struggle.
Of course you would much
rather remain in your narrow
little world, where everyone's
biggest problem is where
they are going for spring
break. But you see, that is
what protest is all about. We
are letting comfortable peo-
ple like you know that the
status quo is not providing
for everyone. There are thou-
sands of students across this
country with bigger prob-
lems, like whether they will
have an opportunity to
receive a real education.
To those who were out-
right against the protest, those
who honestly believe affirma-
tive action is discrimination, I
have a question: Why are you
so silent, so invisible? Those
in support of affirmative
action are angry, invigorated
and willing to sacrifice a day
of class to come together in
protest. You are claiming that
the entire white race is being
viciously discriminated
Affirmative
action fosters
bigotry
TO THE DAILY:
The recent uproar over the
issue of affirmative action at
U of M and colleges across
the country has raised some
important issues that must be
addressed in our country.
Proponents of affirmative
action do right to point out
that inequality still exists
between races in our country.
But it is important for every-
one to remember that the
purpose of any civil rights
movement should be to bring
equality of rights and unity to
the people. This concept
seems to have been largely
ignored on campus recently.
First, proponents of affir-
mative action have decided
that inequality at other levels
in society should be solved
not by eliminating the
inequality (for example, by
giving equal government
funding to all public educa-
tion institutions) but by creat-
ing a separate inequality at
another level that will bal-
ance out the original prob-
lem. This seems a bit like
complaining that one side of
the room is dirty and then
throwing garbage all over the
other side to even it out.
Judgements on the basis of
race do not eliminate but per-
petuate racial discrimination.
Inequality does not beget
equality.
Second, a great deal of
divisive language has been
used of late. This is the same
sort of language that implants
the seed of racism in the
heads of little kids that will
become full-blown bigotry
when they are adults. Calling
anyone who is against affir-
mative action a racist or a
resegregationist is pure pro-
paganda.
Any movement of this
type should attempt to blur
the lines between race so that
we can forget this childish
notion of "I am this color,
you are that color" and move
on. Instead, the current affir-
mative action movement on
campuses across the United
States has served only to cre-
ate a larger gap between peo-
ple of different races. How
can we expect our children to
grow up believing that all
people are simply people,
regardless of what they look
like, if we ourselves are con-
stantly arguing over who's
music this is, who's language
that is, who can go in what
lounge, or who has exactly
the correct number of people
in which college. Unless we
forget this ludicrous notion of
brotherhood with people of
"our own kind," we will do
nothing but create an entirely
new generation of politically
correct, closet bigots. The
nnewrin ot to mnkc+fl f n m'l -V1..
Empowered by the ability to sleep
and away from my usual haunts in
Ann Arbor, the first week - spring
break - was relatively easy. After a
day of piercing headaches - I wasn't
kidding when I said it was out of con-
trol - things improved greatly. I
thought this would be easy, and that
my addiction perhaps hadn't been so
severe after all.
Ah, a false sense of security. Beware.
Then I discovered mental addiction.
A much more brutal beast, trust me,
regardless of what you've given up.
The first couple days back, with that
post-vacation aura, were still easy. Get
a little more sleep, try some other
things to drink. Variety is good. No
problem.
But inevitably, that old lifestyle
comes back with all the same places,
events and stimuli, and it's harder than
could ever be expected. Everything else
is second best. It's still there, as alluring
and inviting as always, except this time
there's no giving in. Regardless of how
long the day has been, what you're
doing or where you are, with whomever,
the answer is still the same. Your mind
wants one thing while your voice says
another.
The association between place and
substance is purely mental. The desire
to repeat a sensation is rooted in memo-
ry, reassurance and pleasure. But the
determination not to give in is also men-
tal. Thus, the paradox.
By telling yourself to give some-
thing up - even temporarily -
you've created a battle between the
person you want to be and the person
you are. Being simultaneously the
prisoner and the warden creates a
whole new dilemma. The physical
addiction, which comes and goes rela-
tively quickly, is nothing compared to
the mental desire to have just a little
teeny, tiny bit, since this time it's real-
ly only for taste. How bad, really,
would that be? This isn't heroin.
And while any person's addiction
may seem ridiculous to others, no one is
completely addiction-free. The process
of coming down from that is just as dif-
ficult for everyone.
After a few weeks, I expected to
reach a point when I didn't think about
it every day, when I didn't look in the
fridge and see that can taunting me,
when I could honestly say I wanted
something else instead. I had hoped this
self-denial would make it easier to resist
somewhat once I inevitably return to my
addiction. I had wanted to cut my caf-
feine intake overall, and this was the
best way to start.
Goals are nice, aren't they? Too bad
this one's not coming true. I can tell
already.
I can also tell you that it's only two
and a half more weeks.
I was not so silly as to give up caf-
feine; that would be really hazardous. I
was reluctant to develop any new, worse
habits, so I stayed away from coffee.
Until last week, when I had exhausted
every other possible method of staying
awake: Juices. Lemonade. Ice water.
Tea. More tea. I became surgically
attached to my insulated mug and yet,
somehow, it was still not enough. In five
days, I had two double lattds with
caramel shots.
This was officially the low point.
Coffee never tastes much better than
bad hot chocolate; it's certainly not the
same sensation. All the while, I was
reassuring myself that in just about
three weeks, life would be back to nor-
mal.
I never really understood the extent of
my mental addiction until I started suf-
fering its effects. It's been painful. At
the same time, I discover this self-
imposed detox was more necessary than
I thought, I've come to value the will
power keeping me from giving in. It's
more than being competitive and
loathing failure. It's about keeping a
mental promise.
I look at my calendar, see that finals
week is in the distance and know I will
I
a
Most high-school seniors nationwide
sit through their last years of
English while contemplating the meaning
of Ernest Hemmingway's "The Grapes of
Wrath" or Arthur Miller's "The Crucible."
These classics of English literature have
been a part of the ordinary high school
reading curricula for generations. They
represent reading that stood the test of
time and constitutes a basic part of the
American fiber. But many student face
quite a different life than portrayed in
works of "classic" literature but are still
attending a school that teaches a reading
curriculum of only 19th Century,
European and American, classical litera-
ture written by white authors. Students
from inner cities will have a hard time
relating to stories of a bitter army veteran
living on a grand estate, mourning the
loss of a lover as in "The Great Gatsby."
Some high schools in Detroit are trying to
remedy this situation by installing a
diverse curriculum utilizing a vast spec-
trum of writers from a variety of different
ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This
change can only improve the quality of
education in Detroit's high schools and
sets a precedent that schools across the
nation should follow.
Exactly what constitutes classical litera-
ture can lead to much debate. The writings
of minority authors such as Ralph Ellison,
Maya Angelou or Toni Morrison have not
yet stood the test of time and have yet to be
completely woven into the cultural fabric
works of literature - schools hold the
responsibility to widen the spectrum of
what can be considered a "classic."
Minority authors have not yet been given
the chance to establish themselves as writ-
ers of classic literature, but that does not
decease their importance or mar their
genius. It is important for high school stu-
dents to at least taste the diversity now
offered by writers and appreciate the color-
ful stories of many cultures.
The reading curriculum's expansion
can only aid in improving the quality of
education given to the sometimes disillu-.
sioned students. Learning that members of
one's ethnic background have succeeded
in the literary world could lead to a
greater sense of pride among students.
Students also could gain a role model in a
world often lacking true heroes. Critics of
this curriculum expansion must not feel
threatened, for classics will always be
classics, and there is no harm done when
students of different cultures celebrate
their heritage.
Schools should keep in mind when
forming their curricula to include both
minority authors and works of more tradi-
tional classical literature. Changes to a cur-
riculum, such as the one instituted in
Detroit, must be careful not to go too far. It
is important to remember, appreciate and
continue to study literary classics in every
high school nationwide. But equally impor-
tant is the effort to expand what is consid-
ered a classic. The test of time for minority
4