4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 10, 1998 ahte 3lr u utIg 420 Maynard Street L AURIE MAYK Ann Arbor, MI 48109 E.C f 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 Worthwhile theatdcs ~nArthutr Miler Teatre xil nhace arts community 'Colleges should be ranked by their peers, not outside institutions.' - Terry Denbow, vice president for university relations at Michigan State University, in response to the US. News and World Report annual college rankings A LoK BACK M - N - This cartoon originally ran in the Nov. 12, 1995 Daily. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR T hroughout the year, the University sponsors countless cultural and per- forming arts events that maintain the University's status as a center for the arts. Both world-renowned performers and the University's own emerging artists showcase their skills in various University-owned venues. Now the University seeks to devel- op a theater that will honor one of the University's most famous alumni, play- wright Arthur Miller. The University's plan to construct a new theater will contribute not only to the University, but to the greater Ann Arbor community. Arthur Miller attended the University in the 1930s, graduating in the class of 1938. He wrote some of his earliest plays while a student at the University, before returning to his native New York after graduation. He struggled for a time, but in 1947 he had his first hit, "All My Sons." Miller followed that effort with perhaps his most well known drama, "Death of a Salesman," which won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Over his long career, Miller has become one of America's foremost playwrights, penning such other notable works as "The Crucible" and "A View from the Bridge.' His body of work, to which he continues to add, compares with those of Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams. The proposed theater may be estab- lished at Liberty Square, which shows a new direction of expansion the University should continue to pursue. Currently, popular University venues such as Hill Auditorium and the Power Center are located near each other within the con- fines of central campus. Their location somewhat separates them from the Ann Arbor community, making performances there University events more than Ann Arbor events. Establishing a theater fur- ther down Liberty Street brings the University and its sponsored events clos- er to the community beyond the confines of State Street. The University is taking appropriate steps to contain costs. The theater con- struction, which may cost approximately $8 million, will be financed from University fund-raising efforts. Once com- pleted, the theater should seat several hun- dred people. The small theater will not accommodate elaborate settings; instead, productions will focus on the actors in the performances. This should help make the theater somewhat unique, as many produc- tions - particularly in large cities - wow audiences as much with their set pieces as with their casts. The only flaw in the plans for the theater is the lack of room for University students to perform on its stage. The University expects to schedule numerous professional performances, which would likely keep University productions from using the the- ater. Given that Miller himself was writing while on campus, the University should leave ample time in the schedule for promising University actors and playwrites to give performances. Establishing the Arthur Miller Theater is a worthwhile endeavor. It would be an honor to both Miller and the University. And constructing the theater on Liberty Street could help strengthen the relationship between the Universityand Ann Arbor. The University is a fine supporter of the arts, and the Arthur Miller Theater shows a desire to continue cultivating the local arts community. Crossfire Youths' voices overshadowed by politics I t seems that lately many public events and statements are politically motivated and one-sided agendas often defeat ideolog- ical arguments - nothing exemplifies this trend more than last week's Million Youth March, which took place in Harlem, N.Y.C. The hateful rhetoric between the city's gov- ernment and the organizers of the march succeeded in almost annihilating the rally's stated goal of reaching out to urban youth by reducing their voices to little more than background noise. The rally, which organizers began plan- ning months ago, was initially denied a time and place by the city. At that time, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani claimed that the rally was actually a hate march, particular- ly referring to the infamous anti-semitic, anti-white words of the march's leader, Khallid Abdul Muhammad. Combining the permit denial with a denunciation of Muhammed, Giuliani only succeeded in aggravating already-existing tensions. Similarly, Muhammed failed to alert Harlem's community members of his plans, negating a united front among - the black community. These two men, both having prominent power and influence, have for- gotten whom they should be representing - the people of New York City and more particularly, the youth of Harlem. But a week before the rally's scheduled date of Sept. 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said the organizers had a right to hold the rally. Terms of the gathering, however, were to be decided by the city, which assigned the event a four- hour time period and a six-block radius. It seemed as though the Million Youth March would finally be allowed its due time and With 6,000 attendees, the rally was not as large as expected, but still provided a platform for black unity among urban youth. The march began peacefully, but minutes before 4 p.m. (the rally's court- ordered ending time) violence erupted between the attendees and a rather large deployment of police. Whether Muhammed's speech, which he intention- ally began moments before the ending time, or the police presence sparked the melee is still up for debate. But as the city and the event organizers continue to point fingers at each other, once again, the underlying message the event was sup- posed to send has been muddled in fierce politicking. The Million Youth March could have been a day dedicated to change and unity. Instead, both political forces behind the march - the city's administration and Muhammed - used a veil of helping youth to benefit their own political agen- das. A menacing police force stormed a stage threatening an until-then peaceful gathering and the key note speaker, Muhammed, encouraged the crowd to fight the police. Both sides of the fence are at fault here. Race relations will never improve if situations like this continue to occur. A new generation was taken advantage of by politically motivated individuals and was never given the opportunity to unite and change the status quo. It is a shame that the leaders of today are setting such abhorrent examples for the leaders of tomorrow. In the future, both sides of such arguments must make sure that they represent who they claim to, not their own Natatorium renovation wastes 'U' money To THE DAILY: I would like to comment on the recent article describ- ing the renovation of the Canham Natatorium and the type of attitude it presents ("Canham gets a face-lift, 8/10/98). As a recent graduate who will soon have to start the long process of paying back the $12,000-plus in student loans that I had to take out to attend this school, it bothers me tremendously to see the University allocate $7 million to renovate the natatorium. I guess what I don't understand is why a public university such as ours will take $7 million of their bud- get to fix an already perfectly good swimming pool, one which is already considered "among the finest college- owned swimming and diving buildings in the nation by students and athletes," while many of its students are struggling to pay their tuition bills and their rent. Are ath- letics considered more important than education from a budgeting standpoint? From the looks of it, you might think so. As quoted by the Daily, student Randall Johnson said students "... know that the natatorium exists, but I am not sure they visit it." This might be because a good por- tion of us spend our free time working full- or part-time jobs to pay for our tuition, the same tuition that con- tributes to the funds allocated to renovate the natatorium, which we never have time to visit because we are working. In addition, not only are the students quite often not getting the money they need, but other programs are suf- fering as well. There were several activities that I was involved in as an undergradu- ate that had trouble obtaining necessary or adequate fund- ing. Many of the smaller, non-athletic organizations on campus run on tight, restric- tive budgets that keep them from being optimally produc- tive and also keep them from growing and expanding while the athletic teams get all of the funding that they need and then some. And this is not to mention how incredibly selfish it is to spend $7 million on a swim- ming pool. It's a good thing there are no longer any needy or starving children in the world. I do believe that extra- curricular activities are important. I think that athlet- ics build both strong charac- ters and bodies. It's essential to have facilities to use for their commercial value get top-priority over educational and scholarship programs. This is a university, not a sports camp. AMY LEBLANC UNIVERSITY ALUMNA Clinton betrayed other Democrats TO THE DAILY: So he did it. The question haunting America since we first heard about tapes and interns and special investiga- tors has been answered. In front of a grand jury, deliver- ing his testimony from his own living room, President Bill Clinton admitted he had an "inappropriate relation- ship" with Monica Lewinsky. He admits it and he knows it's wrong; end of story - or is it? He forgot about us, his supportive, liberal party. That's right, the Democrats have been left in the dust. When the news first came out, Clinton called on us for support. He told us nothing ever happened and he needed our help getting him out of trouble. And we did. Democratic politicians went before their contingen- cies only months before an election to quell rumors of a carousing president. Writers put their credibility on the line and stated flatly, "he says he didn't do it, she says they didn't do it, he didn't do it." And then, one day, "Oops. Y' know, I forgot, I did have an extramarital affair after all." Thanks a lot, Mr. President. The question is, what to do now. As a president, Clinton's done his job better than anyone since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The coun- try is in good shape, the bud- get is balanced, and the future is looking bright. We'd like nothing more than to continue our support of President Clinton and what he's doing for our country. But next time he gets in trou- ble, don't be surprised if there's an awful shortage of those willing to speak out in his favor again. SETH FISHER LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT 'U' should accommodate recent grads To THE DAILY: I am a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, with a B.S. in engineering. I am currently living in Los Angeles, but I purchased air- line tickets to return to Ann needs to be heard. It is a trav- esty to the University's recent graduates, and avid Michigan football fans, that Michigan Stadium is now larger than ever and a large number of recent graduates still did not receive tickets. I fully under- stand that the ticket depart- ment wanted to avoid the same situation as last year, when many first-year students were allotted split-season tick- ets, and I fully support this. The students should always receive top priority whenever it comes to athletic ticketing. But with the stadium renova- tions and the extra seating capacity, I am compelled to inquire as to who all of these seats are being allotted to since the recent graduates are being hung out to dry. I have been a ticket holder for five years now, and I think I speak for many Michigan football fans when I say that I am very disap- pointed with the assignment of football tickets this year. I have been a fan through the hardships and the exaltation associated with the last five or six seasons, and I will continue to be a Michigan fan regardless of whatever may happen. But the current unjustifiable ticket situation is truly a test of my faith, and I am only left with the feel- ing of being screwed. I have travelled with the team, have gone to the bowl games and loved every minute of it. How can the new Big House not find room for last year's occupants? JASON CLEVENGER UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS Article lacked journalistic skepticism TO THE DAILY: I just finished reading Rachel Groman's story in the Aug. 10 issue ("Nuclear reac- tor closed for 3 weeks"). It sounded like a press release from the University. Did Groman really take the techno-veep's word that the violations were "just techni- calities," whatever that means? And how about this three-week shutdown? Is it truly voluntary? How do sim- ilar facilities at other schools compare? Would this be a big deal for them, or the business-as- usual that Vice President for Research Frederick Neidhardt claims it is? Those are the opening questions I would ask before even slotting the story for possible publication. I'm not suggesting that anyone become hostile or combative (except, perhaps, at the invi- tation of a reluctant news source). But when I finished the story, I sure didn't know Bmw-nosing fan club shows MSA can t represent student interests S ometime last winter I first heard of a fan club for President Lee Bol linger. The group's existence seemed a syi bol of an enamored student body w over by the University's charis- matic new presi- dent. I pictured a col- lection of earnest, .' well-meaning undergrads holding weekly reading groups for "A Tolerant Society." Perhaps they occa- JE sionally met with ELDRIDGE Bollinger at a local \ coffee house, where <£; s everyone discussed the virtues of Michigan athletics, affir- mative action and the U.S. Constitution. The club could hold special celebrations on Bollinger's birthday. Each fall there could be meet-the-president tailgate parties and all-campus ice cre4 socials. Perhaps we'd even see a Bollinger look-alike contest. But it's not that simple. The fan club instead consists largely of the University's most notorious apple polishers. Far from of an innocent bunch of admiring undergrads, the group represents a massive conflict of interest for the University's woebegone student government and a new high in hypocrisy. The Official Fan Club for te University of Michigan President: Lee C. Bollinger (as the group e-mail list clumsily bills itself) reads like a who's who of the Michigan Student Assembly: Members include MSA President Trent Thompson, Vice President Sarah Chopp, Treasurer Bram Elias, former presidential candidate and LSA Rep. Ryan Friedrichs, and a host of other MSA representatives and failed cand* dates. It doesn't take a lot of cynicism to see the hypocrisy behind such a roster. The folks on MSA like to make a big show of talking about students. They run around like a pack of bush-league demagogues trying to establish a stu- dent regent. Along with filling the halls with annoying trash, their campaign posters pledge to stand up to the admin- istration and fight for lower tuition rates. Naturally, few of their goals materifT ize. Converging together in a small fan club for the University president, as if Bollinger were New Kids on the Block, doesn't help. Such hijinks are why the University treats MSA like a bad joke. My criticism is not a dig on Bollinger. There probably should be a student fan club for him. He let use hang out in his house after a football game; he spars with undergrads in his poli sci course; he's like a hyper-artic- ulate version of your best friend's father. I keep waiting for him to take the campus population to a Tiger's game, a swim at the pool, and then treat us to dinner at Ponderosa; per- haps, if he can work out the logistics, this will happen soon. But no matter how swell a president is, he or she should always be q4 tioned, respectfully and otherwise, by portions of the campus - particularly its newspaper and student govern- ment. This fan dlub's cliquey membership casts a harsh light on MSA's already- dubious effort to see a student on the Board of Regents. It's silly (to say the least) for MSA to argue it needs a voice in the administration when its lead% are doing everything they can to sn gle up to those they might have to con- front. It also calls to mind the role of a stu- dent government in a campus with a long history of activism and protests. I don't think it would be a good thing if MSA and hordes of wild-eyed radicals stormed the Fleming Building, picketed daily on the Diag, and annoyed every- one by screaming chants through mega- phones. But it's inherent that the goals c president and the goals of a student gov- ernment occasionally diverge - as with the Code of Student Conduct. I'd rather see the student government thoughtfully working to change issues of great con- cern, instead of fawning over the power- ful figure who controls their eventual results. Does forming a fan club for the school's president lead to construcW dialogue between students and admit- trators? No. It makes those students look like star-struck hypocrites. I don't know if I could seriously engage with a group of people who formed a'fan club for me. I