4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 16, 1998
tw £id igun EImaig
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 481090
Editor in Chief
Edited and managed byERN AS
students at the EI A~
Editorial Page Editor
University of Michigan
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
Housinj
U' should establ
A t last month's meeting of the
University Board of Regents, mem-
bers called for the development of a long-
term housing policy in response to the
recent University Housing decisions that
restrict upperclass students' options to the
University residence halls of Baits,
Fletcher, Cambridge and Oxford Housing.
The recent attention given to housing con-
cerns falls after the enactment of a new
policy that displaces an estimated 370 stu-
dents from traditional residence halls.
Much of the debate has centered on who is
responsible for this overflow of students at
the University.
The problem lies in the inability of
admissions officials to accurately predict
how many accepted students will decide to
enroll. With the University's increased
media attention - mostly due to the law-
suits against LSA and the Law School and
the football team's national championship
undergraduate applications for Fall '99
could see a substantial increase - similar
to what happened following Northwestern
University's Rose Bowl victory several
years ago. University officials should devel-
op a permanent housing policy in expecta-
tion of a possible increase in the number of
students applying to and possibly enrolling
at the University.
Last Monday's annual Off-Campus
Housing Fair was estimated to have had
more attendees than in previous years. This
is likely due to the University's new housing
policy that has restricted the residence hall
choices of upperclass students. University
.Housing officials estimate that nearly 66
percent of students will not live in residence
halls or family housing next year.
'crunch
ish housing policy
Residence hall space is becoming increas-
ingly scarce and with a potential increase in
applications, the problem will only be
greater. The situation could be worse than
earlier this year, when 1,000 enrolled stu-
dents, most of whom were underclass stu-
dents, were forced to live in residence hall
lounges or overflow triples. A long-term
housing policy that addresses the issues of
increased enrollment and a lack of space
needs to be developed.
The University's Housing and admis-
sions officials need to work together with
the regents in developing such a policy.
Sitting on a waitlist for months might be
frustrating, but students would probably
rather come to a school that has ample liv-
ing accomodations instead of one where
there is no room for them. In addition, it is
not wise of the University to overbook
without offering adequate living arrange-
ments. Enrolling more students and remov-
ing housing options for a number of upper-
class students is only a temporary solution.
The direction the University has taken is a
revolving door - it moves a greater num-
ber of upperclass students out of residence
halls each year in an effort to handle the
increased numbers of first-year students.
While the housing dilemma is compli-
cated, tough decisions need to be made -
no longer can the situation be patched with
temporary solutions. All evidence points to
an increase in applications for next year and
a greater number of enrolled students
searching for off-campus living arrange-
ments. University administrators must work
together to make policy decisions now - a
long-term housing policy must be devel-
oped.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE,,
'For the first time in the nation's history, the only
prerequisites to college are preparation and desire.'
- President Clinton, in a written statement to
promote his proposal regarding education reform
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L ETTERS TO TH E EDITOR
actually help
people; imagine
the possibilities
In the United States, we like to think
of education as the great equalizer.
We see education as more than just 4
chance for the intelligent and/or hard-
working to better themselves at the tax
payers' expense
-ideally it is
the kindling that
ignites young
minds so that
Politicians can
4
they might
achieve great
things despite
the limitations of
social class or
institutional
bias. We'd like to
believe that
througheduca-
tion all men
PAUL
SERILLA
SERILLA
WARARE
Premature decisions
State should not legislate without research
I n an attempt to bridle the raging growth
of genetic technology, state Rep. Kirk
Profit (D-Ypsilanti) last month introduced
Pouse Bill 4846, a proposal to ban "the
making of human beings in production
lads." Profit's bill will go before the state
iegislature at the same time as the federal
gQernment reviews several bills to limit or
end human cloning and related research.
His call-for legislation comes amidst an
international flood of anti-cloning laws,
including an agreement signed Monday by
19 European countries to prohibit cloning.
While governments do seek to protect citi-
zens from a potentially reckless use of tech-
nology, the decision to propose strict
human cloning legislation comes prema-
turely. Neither politicians nor the general
population possess enough knowledge of
the new genetic technology to legislate it
out of existence. By acting without proper
education, governments may inadvertently
suppress an invaluable medical resource.
Last year, when Scottish scientists suc-
cessfully cloned the adult sheep Dolly after
277 failed attempts, President Clinton
urged U.S. scientists to delay their research
activities until the government could make
an - informed decision about how - or
whether - to regulate human cloning. But
in the months since the request, little new
-information has trickled from the scientific
community to either Washington or the
general public. Neither lawmakers nor the
public they represent have become better
qualified to regulate human cloning - they
still lack a practical knowledge of the pur-
pose, potential and possible consequences
of such wAle
sationalism of the cloning issue. The public
furor urging lawmakers to act stems more
from the public's fear of a true-to-life sci-
ence fiction novel than from its rational
understanding of human cloning research.
In addition, the promise of publicity-hun-
gry Chicago physicist Richard Seed to
manufacture the first human clone within
18 months has done much to catalyze wide-
spread desire for a swift ban of all cloning
and related research. These factors have
obscured the scientific and clinical aspects
of human cloning and have shrouded the
issue in tabloid headlines.
Given the distortion of the issue that
has arisen in the absence of true informa-
tion, these sweeping proposals should not
gain approval. U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers
(R-Grand Rapids), for example, seeks to
pass by April a ban on all cloning within
the United States. Another proposal he
has introduced would prohibit any
research on human cloning nationwide. In
Michigan, bills from House Health Policy
Chair Joseph Palamara (D-Wyandotte)
and Sen. Loren Bennett (R-Canton Twp.)
will undergo review later this year - they
both contain similar restrictions as those
in Profit's bill. Clinton, too, seeks to
extinguish all cloning research for at least
five years.
If enacted without sufficient understand-
ing of genetic technology, these proposals
might unnecessarily preclude scientists
from making important advancements in
such related areas as organ generation and
infertility treatments. The government -
both at the federal and state levels - must
not hasten tn restrict this active branch of
Medical field
ignores
dyslexia
TO THE DAILY:
Modern medicine has been
unable to provide an answer to
the problem of dyslexia.
Almost 10 percent of
Americans are believed to be
suffering from some form of
dyslexia. It is very unfortunate
that despite massive amounts
of data and research by such
notables as Dr. Alfred Tomatis,
a French otolaryngologist
studying this phenomenon for
the past 40 years and having
more than 200 centers world-
wide, the American Medical
Association and the public in
general are under a cloud of
ignorance and uncertainty
about this subject. Tomatis has
proven that the primary organ
responsible for dyslexia is the
ear. It is the processing of
sounds of different frequencies
by the middle ear that deter-
mines to a great extent how
one hears and reads. He has
also proven that humans can
produce the sounds he or she
can hear. The implication is
that a person being subjected
to Tomatis's Electronic Ear
machine can immediately
become another Pavaroti with
the same vocal tone as the
sounds of the particular fre-
quency his/her ears are sub-
jected to while being under
the machine.
The implication for dyslex-
ia is that sounds of certain fre-
quencies strengthen the middle
ear muscles, which in turn
process the sounds properly,
send the signals to the left
brain, and ultimately influence
the region of the brain respon-
sible for learning and decoding
visual signals. When this
process is hampered, the per-
son may then become afflicted
with dyslexia. The Tomatis
method holds that the primary
function of the ears is that of
learning; not just listening. His
centers do offer very effective
treatments for dyslexia. The
only center in the United
States is called the Sound,
Listening, and Learning
Center, in Arizona, and is
directed by Dr. Billie
Thompson.
It is my sincere hope that
this knowlede is disseminat-
ed fully in the best interest of
those in need and a better
planet with happier and
healthier people.
AFSHIN JADIDNOURI
LSA SENIOR
Bookstore
causes grief
TO THE DAILY:
Jim Knapp's letter to the
naily fat ino Shaman Drmm
quality.
But the inconviences that
the bookstore imposes upon
students, with its long lines,
cramped spaces, relatively high
prices and gripping monopoly
on the books of some courses
overtly burdens the students.
Noting that the setup of the
bookstore is not necessarily the
bookstore's fault but rather the
reluctance of the professors to
release their booklists to all the
bookstores and thereby let stu-
dents choose where they want
to buy their books. Many
believe that the professors give
Shaman Drum their business
for two reasons: The professors
are not aware of the immense
burden imposed upon students
and they support the idea of an
independent, fairly liberal
bookstore and they want to
keep it going.
As a Michigan Student
Assembly representative who
cares about the high costs of
college that students bear, I
am going to bring more
attention to this issue. My
hope is that some healthy
competition is introduced in
the course book market and
that ultimately, the students
are served better for the
prices they pay for their
required texts.
BILL BRIGGS
LSA JUNIOR
U.S. piety is
not surprising
TO THE DAILY:
We were not surprised to
learn that the United States
beats out other industrialized
nations in "piety" as measured
by percent of population
attending church regularly: 44
percent in the United States,
27 percent in Great Britain, 21
percent in France, 4 percent in
Sweden, and 3 percent in
Japan ("Study names U.S.
most pious country," 1/12/98).
But we are skeptical about the
hypothesis offered by political
science Prof. Ronald Inglehart
to explain these figures, name-
ly that the United States was
founded by people escaping
religious persecution.
We offer two other
hypotheses to explain the reli-
giosity of Americans: First,
because the United States is a
racially and culturally diverse
country, members of each
group are more likely to feel
the need to preserve their cul-
ture and identity; that includes
practicing the religion of their
ancestors. Second, because the
United States has a less gener-
ous and secure social safety
net than do the industrialized
European countries, Americans
are more insecure about their
individual futures and there-
fore more likely to turn to reli-
gion for comfort and to be
convinced of the importance of
Cod Pnmethi uhirh ueie_
by the government because we
are more ethnically fragmented
than other industrialized
nations. We do not want to pay
taxes for the well being of all
Americans because we fear
that the beneficiaries are likely
not to be members of our
group. The European pattern
seems to be in line with our
viewpoint - the most ethni-
cally homogeneous country,
Sweden, is also the most
socialist and the least religious.
Our high score in church atten-
dance may partly reflect some
aspects of U.S. society of
which we should not be proud.
If we could succeed in regard-
ing our diverse fellow
Americans as sisters and
brothers, then we would have
reason to be proud.
DAVID SIRKIN
MEDICAL SCHOOL
BETH O'LEARY
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
Affirmative
action should
remain at 'U,
TO THE DAILY:
David Mohler's rational
for abolishing affirmative
action is absurd ("Affirmative
action is an immoral solu-
tion," 12/10/97). Mohler
seems to think that racial and
gender injustice should be
allowed to stand as it is,
because he thinks affirmative
action is unjust to white men.
From this, I can see that your
zeal for justice waines when
it is not exclusively for his
own benefit.
For Mohler to recognize
that there is an injustice and
then dictate how that injus-
tice should be handled
because he is not comfortable
with it (also because these
injustices are his inheritance
from his forefathers which
have allowed you to excel
with ease) is hypocritical.
It is this type of rationale
- "all for me" and "all for
my race" - that has allowed
educational and financial dis-
parity among minorities and
women to fester for so long.
Affirmative action is an
affront to that type of think-
ing, that way of life, and that
is what most bothers him.
Tell me, if Mohler has a
son and he is considering
attending the University, he
would expect that his son
would recieve special consid-
eration because he is a stu-
dent with a family legacy. If
this type of preference,
regardless of the students'
educational backround, is
allowed to continue at the
University (which it is), why
then does Mohler attack the
affirmative action program,
being created
equal can be more than a proposition.
Of course, we also like to believe
that those men who were dedicated to
the aforementioned proposition used
the term "men" to be inclusive of thA
entire human race, not just land-own-
ing white guys on the East Coast -
unfortunately, neither is quite reality.
But this week, a couple of politicians
laid out radically different plans to
attempt to make the opportunities for
young minds a little more equal. As I
said, the plans realy couldn't be more
different, at least in terms of cost,
degree of complexity and overarching
intent. 4
First, Gov. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) pro-
posed that the parents of every new-
born in the state receive a CD or tape
of classical music. The idea supposed-
ly would only cost about a $100,000
initially and is based on several psy-
chological studies. The first study
indicates that soothing music helps
infants cope with problems, including
math, later in life. The second study
showed that students who listened t
10 minutes of Mozart before an IQ test
had higher scores. I like to think of it
as a low-budget Headstart that
absolutely no one can complain about
because it is more harmless than Bert
times Ernie.
Miller has a pretty good record on
education, including creating the
state's first lottery to pay for a top-of-
the-line preschool program, so I am
willing to cut him some slack and sa
that this whole thing is completely fea-
sible.
Apparently, the governor has even
been consulting with the conductor of
the Atlanta Symphony to pick appro-
priate tunes and part of Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony is near the top of his
list.
Personally, I think the recording
should also include some of Georgia's
native musical genius. Putting a littl
James Brown and some Allman
Brothers on the tape along with the
"Ode to Joy" would improve kids'
chances at being bad-ass-funky-
groove machines and virtually ensure
that the kids would rock in addition to
being well adjusted and smarter.
On a vastly more serious scale,
PresidentsClinton gave the nation a
sneak peek at a multi-billion dollar
plan aimed at reducing class sizes
across the nation. The full extent of th
plan is suppose to be revealed during
the State of the Union address on Jan.
27; congressional Republicans already
have a rival plan in its early stages with
the same goals in mind.
Both plans dive directly at what many
educators see as a primary dysfunction
of American public schools, too many
students in too few classrooms and
teachers spread too thin to give student
the individual attention they needto
learn. Clinton's plan would target (but
not be exclusive to) inner cities where
class sizes have rapidly ballooned in the
lower grades of primary education for
which educators agree that smaller
class sizes do the most good.
Of course, smaller class sizes are not
a cure all for the ailments of public
schools, but it is certainly a step in the
right direction. By adding a $5 billion
plan for school construction and earg
marking $350 million for scholarships
and other aid to colleges with the
intent of putting more teachers in the
work force, this is more than just a
feel-good political tactic.
The plan backs up the promise of edu-
cational improvement with the infra-
structure needed for them to function.
You can't have smaller class sizes with-
out adding more space, hiring more
educators and training existing staff tc
function in a different environment.
This plan gives the Clinton adminis-
tration its best chance at stepping out of
the shadows of scandal and leaving
behind the growing sentiment that the
president is a lame duck even at this