4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 6, 1998 iA Lrgga al 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbr M 48109 Edited and managed by students at the UnM hverse ty f Minigan LAURIE MAYK Editor in Chief JACK SCHILLACI Editorial Page Editor This game, we shouldn't have been here, we shouldn't have won - yet we did. And it's an even greater feeling.' - Michigan hocksy coach Rc d Ber nson, on the Woerines' defeat of Boston Collcge dur ng mor im on Saurday night u n noinI.imst ned e i -ora ( rfT(et the opinion of the majority of the Dail-: editoriia b rd 11 ther articles -'tte( and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion ojfThe Michigan Daifv FROM THE DAILY Ib wnthe rules a'U' abse control over student accounts KAAMRAN HAFEEZ . ; :y . tNk. $~ OI~,AND 440046, lit Sandalism struck the sixth floor of C Z n. Residence Hall during the n ght of March 19 when someone tore a $,500 bulletin board from the wall. Though University officials do not know ho did i they have found a group to hold frnanci ally responsible unless the culprit voluntarily comes forward: the residents of the andalized floor. In deciding to pro-rate the cost of rplacing the bulletin board among the foor s resident. the University has used i power -as both a landlord and an the administrator of student accounts - to respond to andalism in a manner unavailable to any other leasing organiza- ton. The University should adhere to the same landlord-tenant laws that bind all lessors and should absorb the cost of the destruction rather than violate residents' rights. Citing disciplinary and educational ser- vices as facets of residence-hall living that differentiate it from traditional housing arrangements, co-interim General Counsel Dan Shaphorn maintains that res- idence has fall exempt from the terms of state landlord-tenant laws. He claims that the commnunal living situation of resi- dence halls deviate too far from tradition- al, self-enclosed rental units for both to f 11 under the same legal guidelines. But Shaphorn neglects to consider that stu- nts' payment for residence-hall space presumably include fees for maintenance. A c cordngly the University should use the room and board fees to maintain the resi- dence hall even if it requires replacing or repairing vandalized items. The University, however, has opted to wrongfuly exercise its control over stu- dent acounts to force the Couzens resi- demi t oabsorb the cost of repairs that lgaly a re the instit ution's responsibility. The University finds itself in a situation unique to lessors in Michigan: It has juris- diction over its tenants' living quarters and influence over their finances. It not only wields the power to levy the repair charges upon students, but also to exact late fees from students who dispute the charges. According to Director of Housing Public Affairs Alan Levy, the University has employed this ability on four separate occasions over the last four years. Under the property damage section of the Michigan Landlord-Tenant Relationships Act, landlords cannot hold any tenant liable for damages without proving that the renter actually caused the damages. If a tenant denies responsibility, the issue must come before a court. As it is unlikely that the University will be able to prove that all the residents of Couzens' sixth floor contributed to the destruction of the bulletin board - in or out of court - it has no legal basis for levying charges upon them. In holding students financially respon- sible for the damages, the University fails to consider that no barrier actually pre- vents students from other halls - or even people from outside the building - from reaching Couzens' sixth floor. Consequently, there is a good chance that the perpetrator of this vandalism - or of the other four instances for which the University charged students in the past - did not even live on the affected floor. In charging floor residents, the University will effectively punish the victims of the crime. The University should discard its group- billing practices and fall in line with all other leasing organizations in Michigan. It misuses its power over student finances when it unfairly bills students living in res- idence halls for damages. TMit r* +wM4A .. 06AW LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Meetings strengthen campus communication Te bniversity, under President Lee A olliger . has established a new meth- ods of commuication between the admin- istratior and student body, as is witnessed. by th udent 'gathering at the President's hous after he footbal team's win over Penn State and after the hockey team's na ion I champi )nship Sic n ry ove r Bost on Co~l Hut in addition to p art ymg with stadents ft wf tbal g fmes, Bon g enag mde it aa miss11=!h prs id0n cy to J : r op n y d ialogue betvw i nhe 'rudent b dy nd ad ministrors, some- Binger tln ng t hat ha been lacking under former pesidn The lates addtion to this com- nnm i aserie s of Town H all meetings. In th e me eting: Bolling r and University Pro o N ! n "y C ntor will engage in an informa discussion with faculty, staff and studet to gather informat ion and perspec- tSes on the state of the University. T h : o n w me etings ft Bollinger's ae r e in at tempt ing to e limin ate the gap btwe en t ud enmts a nd a dminist rators. U nd er prior min ist rat ions, such a s that of former University President James Du de r a d the distan ce bet ween students anod the Fleminge A dmin istration Building was readily xisile. .Razher than seeking .IL ) 1 oh Uni ersity 'ampus. these adminstatioens o ften fostered a sense of u: a 'them" Duderstadt made little oar iwork with students in order to remedy this negative precedent although some, such as the relocation of the his office from the Fleming Administration Building to a location closer to Central Campus, have yet to materialize. The Town Hall meetings are an echo of the already-implemented Fireside Chats, during which Bollinger sits by the fire in the Study Lounge of the Michigan Union and talks with students. The event is open to the entire student body, as are the Town Hall meetings. Such informal discussions are ideal opportunities for students to speak with the University's top adminis- trators and provide both negative and pos- itive criticism of the administration and its decisions. The Town Hall meetings are created with the intent to receive feedback from the stu- dent body on issues facing them at the University. In comparison, students are wel- come to discuss anything from the hockey and football national championships to the State of the Union address in the Fireside Chats. In this way, Bollinger is reaching out to every member of the University's student population - students should take advan- tage of this opportunity to discuss their inter- ests and make their voices heard. While the implementation of the Fireside Chats and the new addition of Town Hall meetings are steps in the right direction toward creating a channel of com- munication between students and adminis- tration, Bollinger's mission is not frlly accomplished. There remains a gap between the administration and the vast majority of Pi letter reinforced stereotypes To THE DAILY: We would like to respond to Tom Strait's letter ("Pi's dec- imal approximation was wrong" 4//98) by personally thanking him for gathering all he stereotypes of engineers into one letter and sending it to the Daiy for evryone (includ- ing us) to pin it up. Ws Tom a lonely child? Did he beong to a Pi Decimal Club in middle school? Did his parents poty train him too eary" We'rejust trying to fig- ure out what would drive someone to read something so closely. Not only it is unfortu- nate that he cares what Pi's 1 th decimal place is, but also that he would actually check its accuracy. Our only regret is that Tom is a first-year engineering stu- dent and we will graduate before we will have any class- es with him. We won't be able to laugh at him in class when he raises his hand to point out a rounding error the professor made 20 minutes earlier. Have fun Tom, only about 350 days until next year's big P'i Da yextravaanza! DARIN GLASSER SEAN CORRIGAN ENGINEERING SENIORS Editorial had a significant error To THE DAILY: At first glance, I thought there was a small misspelling in the March 26 editorial "Well read." The Daily edi- tors allowed what appeared to be a small spelling error to slip by, saying that Ernest "Hemmingway" was the author of "The Grapes of Wrath," instead of Ernest Hemingway (with onem'). "iemmingway was not a slight misspeling of emingway," but a nearly apocalyptic misspelling of "Steinbeck,' who was the author of'"The Grapes of Wrath." The Daily's spellcheckers must be on guard for future typos of this garish sort. PS. -Yes! Yes! Yes!" passed by more than 60 per- cent. Hug! BRAM EULAS LSA SOPHOMORE TVs have no place in M stadium .,ur_ .A,1 w. before the current graduating class was born. Most remem- ber that God-awful artificial turf, all-male cheerleaders and a guy named Bob Ufer. Ya think Ole Ufe, traditional- ist that he was, would see a couple of giant TVs in the stadium as a good idea? The scoreboards that are in there now tell me every- thing I need to know during a game. White's description of people staring at the TVs instead of watching the action on the field would be the per- fect circular argument: "Since I missed that last play because I was staring at the score- board, good thing they'll replay it again." And let's not forget the inevitable throng of humanity that will dress up in ridiculous costumes just to have their mug beamed on the Jumbotron for a second or two. Superfan is bad enough anyone remember the "Willie the Wolverine" fiasco? Athletic Director Tom (Goss must still be trying to make people forget his screw up when he couldn't accurately count both incoming first-year students and available seats. Sure, adding 5,000 paying customers was a great idea, but spending $7.9 million on big TVs certainly is not, And you know what? Ticket prices will go up, and within eight years, you'll see Pepsi, Dominoes or (God forbid) Nike ads blasting out from those TVs. Sorry Ufer ,,. they don't listen to us football fans much anymore. Only regents, administrators and those other guys who sit in the press box with food, drinks and TVs MICHAEL PEKALA UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS The 'U' uses many types of preferences To THE DAILY: I am often disappointed with the reasoning of students who suggest that affirmative action is wrong and allows less-qualified students admis- sion to universities over more- qualified students. I believe that the University administra- tion has stated clearly that GPAs and test scores are not the only criteria used to evalu- ate an applicant for admis- sion. Why, then is that argu- ment constantly used? Students entering the University are granted admis- sion based on a variety ofcri- teria. I would not want to attend a University at which all of the students gained admission with 4.0 GPAs in fact, I am sure that the majori- ty of students who whine and complain about affirmative action would not find their exneriencePat this U nivrit But that's not affirmative action, you say? Why, sure it is. You must understand, affirmative action does not always wear a black face. The University recog- nizes that fact. How many students would be willing to give back a national champi- onship title because 20 foot- ball players with less than perfect GPAs were granted admission to this University? I think my po.int is obvious. If affirmative action must end, then let all affirmative action end. No more special consider-. ation to children of alumni. No extra points for those who dis- play extraordinary musical tal- ent. Normore Heisman trophy athletes I think that all of those things combined make this University great. I don't believe for one second that each student who is accepted to this wonderful institution does not deserve to be here. MICHAEL ADAMS UNIVERSITY STAFF MTV's portrayal of Detroit was stereotypic' To THE DAILY: As I was watching an episode of "Road Rules" that was filmed in Detroit for the current season, I was out- raged by the stereotypic images of Detroit that the producers used. I did not see uplifting images of the city as it was in the middle of its summer festival season, which included the Stanley ('up Championship. What I saw was a row of half-demolished buildings in a rundown part of the city, a scene that was as negative as possible before the cast went to perform a mission at Detroit Receiving Hospital. What was most disturbing is that one of the cast referred to the city as a "nuclear war zone" As a student from Detroit, I constantly overhear people dis- cussing Detroit, and all I ever hear is that Detroit is a danger- ous, crime-ridden wasteland of a town. What irritates me is that I hear this from people who aren't two days out of the cornfield, let alone from a large city. What's worse, most of these people think that they're right. And when I turn on the television, I find out exactly where these people are getting their information from, the same people who swear they are a part of a new generation. It is an outrage that MTV would feed into such an anti- quated, ignorant and biased view of the city of Detroit, These are the people who claim to have an ear to the Qrrind w.hn all Ithe relty Just a spoonful ofsugar lets the e championships get won t's now official. Saturday night's ice I hockey victory in Boston sealed the title. Michigan Athletic Director Tom Goss is now the proud and rightful wearer of the crown - he's without doubt the Luckiest Man on Earth. With two nation- al championships, a title in the inaugural Big Ten basketball tournament, a women's basketball tournament berth and a Heisman Trophy, Tom Goss has a more impres- JOSHU sive resume in less RICH than a year than any Michigan AD in a '= ..ati half century. Tom: "Hey, Prof. Schembechler, how do you like my football and hockey national championship rings? I just picked them up at a national champi- onship banquet. Ever been to something like that?" Bo: "Uh. Uh. No, Tom, I haven't not for football or hockey. Oh, gee, thoserings are real nice, Tom. All gold and shiny and stuff:' Tom: "Yeah, they're really expensive and cool. Where are yours?" Bo: "Uh. Uh. Sorry, Tom, I don't know what you're talking ab ... Oh, gotta go! I see the football team is in a third-and-long situation - I have to remind Coach Carr to run the ball, like we always used to do.' Tom Goss is the stuff that legends are made of. So picture this: You're Tom Goss (feels good, doesn't it?). You have inher- ited an athletic department riddled with problems. The football team is an underachieving bunch, most of the hockey players were recruited from kindergarten, and something fishy is going on in the basketball program. Fa morale is so low that you practicaly have to give away Crisler Arena season tickets because no one wants to support a team that can only win postseason games in the NIT. Administration morale is so low that constant issue- dodging has nearly compromised your prestigious sports program. You enter the situation, you take charge, and immediately everything clicks. Miraculously, the football team starts winning consistently, the youn hockey team stars playing like the Detroit Red Wings, and the basketball near-catastrophe quietly, conveniently vanishes. Fans clamor to purchase tick- ets to sporting events, and administra- tion sentiment soars to the point where the University's presidentlets hundreds of students celebrate a major football victory in his living room. Dear Tom, Where on Earth did you come from Who the hell are you, Mary Poppins? Could you sing that "Supercalifragilis- ticexpialidocious " song again? Sincerely in awe, A devotedfan There's got to be some secret to his success. I mean, the athletic depart- ment's good fortune sure doesn't come with Tom's summary dismissal of Steve Fisher, or with a student athlete drop- ping dead while undergoing a risk training regimen in the middle of the night. Good thing the Duke win and the Heisman and the Rose Bowl came around when they did, eh, Tom? Still, if nothing else, Tom Goss has mastered the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. He's like a modern-day Forrest Gump. All his teams start winning - foot- ball, hockey, men's basketball, women's basketball - right when he takeg charge. But Tom didn't recruit any or the outstanding players. The NCAA hockey tournament comes to Ann Arbor, giving the Wolverines an impres- sive advantage over North Dakota, the defending national champions. But Tom didn't have a hand in creating the bid for Yost Ice Arena to host the event. The installation of video scoreboards in and renovations to Michigan Stadium are underway. But everyone's been talkin x about doing such things for years. I envy Tom Closs because he doesn't have to cope with all of the nightmares and ghosts that haunt the rest of us every time we drive past South Campus. Hey Tom: Remember how the foot- ball team basically sucked for the past four seasons? Remember how they lost to Northwestern two years in a row? Remember how their old coach totally spazzed out in a suburban Detroit water ing hole one spring evening? No answer. Most impressive is that, during Tom's brief tenure, everyone's been on their tip-top, best behavior. Take Red Berenson: He has yet to relieve himself nn h t-rainA.tp i ,hrnrv rnrp "irn