4 -- The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 11, 1998 (9i 141§ua~ 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan LAURIE MAYK Editor in Chief JACK SCHILLACI Editorial Page Editor Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Dailys editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. FROM THE DAILY Conduct unbecoming U' regents to receive Code reports this month 'At the least, it could make for a better learning environment. At most, it could save some lives.' - state Rep. Alan Sanborn (R-Washtington 74p.), on a bill he sponsored in the state House that would allow state universities to condition admission on the signing ofa responsibility contract A LOOK BACK YUKI KUNIYUKI R C1L4 4 tE q os Ao . I LETTERS TO THE EDITOR W hile students are off campus during break, an important process that can affect the life of every student will be going on - the University Board of Regents will begin a preliminary review of the Code of Student Conduct. The Michigan Student Assembly and the Office of Student Affairs will present their reports on the Code to the regents. The University's administration should use this opportunity to either revise the Code extensively or abandon it alto- gether because not only is it ineffective, it violates various doctrines that American society holds dear. Under the Code, the University can try to convict students for offenses already handled by the criminal justice system. But unlike the justice system, the Code does not allow students the rights they have as citizens: legal counsel, appealing to prece- dent, burden of proof, among others. The University should not have the right to hand out punishments that add to those that have been deemed suitable by a court of law; this basically amounts to double jeop- ardy. And as the majority of University stu- dents are legal adults, the administration should not have a punitive system that tries to act as a parent. ' The secrecy of the Code is another of its flaws. All participants in Code hearings are required to sign a statement of confiden- tiality, resulting in the lack of evidence that the Code is effective at all. In fact, the only time the Code is in the public spotlight is when it fails to work. The secrecy of Code hearings means that there is no way of seeking precedent for appropriate punish- ments, which is an important part of the criminal justice system. The result is that there is no basis for determining the proper sentence or procedure, making the sanctity of the Code's processes questionable at best. In addition to the unfairness and inef- fectiveness of the Code, it is also suspect that the University has selected a time when the student population will be off campus to begin reviewing it. Given the general lack of student knowledge of the Code in the first place, this scheduling makes student input on the process incred- ibly unlikely. But since public review of the Code will probably not begin until January, students should make an effort to get involved in the process. In addition, the two regents-elect, Kathy White and David Brandon, will likely get their first exposure to the Code within the next couple months. Since they will be involved with the many important decision on this policy in the coming months, it is important for them to take an objective stance on the topic. They should not allow votes of boards past to crowd there deci- sion-making - instead, they should try to see the Code for what it really is. The University should be a place where students prepare for life in the outside world. And since they must face the same laws as any citizen, it is not the University's place to continue to enforce those laws when the legal system has already done so - that violates students' constitutional rights by effectively placing them in double jeopardy. Furthermore, the secrecy of Code hearings makes it impos- sible to know for sure whether or not the Code works, and may be a hindrance to determining fair sentencing. When the regents formally review the Code, signifi- cant changes should be made to solve these problems - or, better yet, it should be abolished entirely. Making a connection College courses benefit high school students T he days when a high school graduate could land a lucrative job without any additional training are gone. It is almost a given today that students seeking any type of career will need to continue their formal edu- cation. Despite this trend, higher education has not taken great strides to become more accessible to those who could benefit from a college education but cannot afford it. Many high school students do not even consider col- lege because they were not encouraged by their parents and teachers to pursue higher education. A new partnership between Wayne County Community College and the Belleville and Romulus high schools is attempting to help solve this dilemma. The partnership between the community college and high schools allows juniors and seniors to earn college credits in vocational areas such as heating ventilation and air conditioning instillation and repair. The partnership gives students another chance to get ahead. The goal of making students job-ready in a short- er amount of time is not only more efficient but opens up opportunities to some students who might not have had them otherwise. Community colleges are ideally positioned to pick up the slack and take on a role that bet- ter fits a community's needs. Rather than waiting for students to come to them, the part- nership puts Wayne County Community College in an active role in recruiting stu- dents. About a dozen high school students currently attend at least two morning classes on the five campuses the college has through- out Metro Detroit. Once the two-year program is complete, students earn their high school diploma and are just 15 credits away from receiving an associate's degree. To enroll for tuition, books and transportation. This pro- gram has allowed the high schools to expand their vocational programs without spending much money. A partnership between high schools and colleges is not a new idea but a highly underused one. For example, Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School offers a program for juniors and seniors to attend Washtenaw County Beauty College and work toward their cosmetology degree while completing their high schools diplomas. Washtenaw Technical Middle College also serves as a high school and vocational school in one. While the WCCC-Belleville/Romulus high schools education sharing program is new to the district, administrators should recog- nize the diamond in the rough they have on their hands and jump at the chance to expand the current program to make it available to more students and offer a wider selection of classes. Pioneer, Belleville and Romulus high schools are using their community college partnerships to track students into blue-collar jobs. While not everyone has the ability or interest to attend a major university and become a professional, these options should still be open to those students. Education is empowering; students who planned on taking jobs that do not require much training may not have been aware of their talent and interest in other fields because they were simply not exposed to it. Community college partner- ships with high schools give students -espe- cially those at high schools that do not offer Advanced Placement classes - not only a better chance of succeeding in the workplace, but a second chance at their education. It ..1 Ua ~ws" vei4s n ha~t vA^.I.n-n -a 'one nation, under the Code ...' TO THE DAILY: I would just like to say that I supprt state Rep. Alan Sanborn's (R-Washington Twp.) ideas for reducing the state budget. In the Dec. 10 article "Bill may lend support to Code," Sanborn said that passing a bill allowing insti- tutions of higher education to require students to sign a responsibility contract "would put the full force of the Michigan Constitution behind codes of conduct cur- rently in place." What Sanborn is saying is that there is no need for the state Supreme Court since any bill that the state Legislature passes must be constitutional. So millions of dollars per year could be saved by abol- ishing the Michigan Supreme Court. While he's at it, he could pass a bill allowing people to shoot anyone who looks suspicious. That way we could save millions more per year by not having a police force. And think of the relief on the legal system! How do you try a dead man? Just think if Sanborn made it to the White House. We could wipe out the U.S. Supreme Court. And why not pass a bill allowing Texans and Californians to shoot immigrants coming across the border, thereby reducing social expenditures in those states by millions more a year? And the education sys- tem could be improved because students shouldn't have to waste time taking civics in high school. I mean, that whole checks and bal- ances thing can't be right, can it? I guess it's too bad for Sanborn that term limits can't be found unconstitutional. One nation, under the Code, with closed hearings and dry campuses for all. JOHN GES RACKHAM Lockyer is 'insensitive' TO THE DarLY: When we opened Tesday's issue and read Sarah Lockyer's article ("The 20-something guy is not all that bad, just ask Susan and Sarah"), we were horrified at the messages con- veyed. Lockyer insists that the TV show "Sex and the City" is about feminism via female sexual assertion, but the rest of her article makes it clear that such assertion is in fact little more than destructive objecti- fication of men. As Lockyer states, the show's female protagonists "encourage us to simply take guys put us through the soli- tude of the morning after and the bore of the pr-game." Excuse us, "our" guys? Not all 20-something men are insensitive pigs who abandon their sexual partners within hours, nor do all such men talk exclusively about sports. Many are perfectly decent, caring, affectionate human beings with cultured tastes to share. In fact, by saying that the women in "Sex and the City" have the right idea when they use men strictly for sex, Lockyer is showing herself to be on the same insensitive level as the type of man she mocks ASTRID PHIWlPS LSA SENIOR DAVID PAM ENGINEERING SENIOR Granger does not belong at the 'U' To THE DAILY: I was amazed at the opin- ion that was expressed in the editorial titled "Closed doors" in Tuesday's Daily that reflect- ed "the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board." If this truly is the majority opinion, then I am beginning to see how the idea of "accountability for one's own action" is failing in today's society. The argument in the article went something like this: Daniel Ganger did a bad ting by committing statutory rape, he was punished by the courts and is serving his sentence, and when done, he should be able to go on with his life as if nothing had happened. The Daily then declares that his rights were being stepped on and that the University is mak- ing a judgement on the justice system by revoking his admis- sions. So, using the same logic: Should the police officers who beat Rodney King be allowed to come back to the job after having finished their prison terms? I mean, they are reha- bilitated right? And it would be stepping on their rights and interfering with their rehabili- tation if they were not allowed back on the job, right? Wrong. The action that those officers took will stay with them for the rest of their lives or until they convince the community otherwise. "Rehabilitation" does not equal "clean slate." Serving a prison sentence does nothing for the trust that must be build back up between granger and the community. The campus community will accept Granger if he shows that he has changed his ways by suc- cessfully completing a year at another educational institution I'm sure that Washtenaw Community College would the University makes such a move as in Granger's case, I am comforted that such factors are in fact being considered. If the University allows other students who have com- mit similar offenses to contin- ue their schooling here, then that is a separate issue that does need to be dealt with. Those individuals should also be encouraged to continue elsewhere until they have proven their worth. It should not, however, be used as an excuse for Granger to stay. SCOTT CRAWFORD RACKHAM Beethoven never wrote a Requiem To THE DAILY: Yet again, I find myself writing to the Daily as a result of faulty journalism. This time, however, I am responding to an article that covers my actual area of expertise: music. 1 am referring to the preview of Wednesay night's concert at Hill Auditorium ("Great work returns to campus," 12/9/98). 1 was glad to see a concert by the philharmonia and the chamber choir covered in the Daily. Heaven knows the clas- sical music coverage is slin due in no small part, I am sure, to the decreased interest in this art form in the general popula- tion. Two small items in your article, however, are in need of correction. First, in your discussion with Prof. Morrison on the sporadic performances Beethoven's "C major Mass" receives you printed that "he speculated that the more wide- ly known Beethoven's late 'Requiem' may be partially responsible for overshadowing this work..." I found it inter- esting that a work that does not exist should overshadow the "C major Mass." It might behoove you to learn that Beethoven never wrote a Requiem. The piece Morrison was most likely referring to, as his half-humorous comment that "no one can sing it or play it" leads me to believe, is the "Missa Solemnis in D major" This is indeed a work of intense difficulty from Beethoven's late creative peri- od and is probably the work Morrison was referring to. The next item is simply semantical. In mentioning the second half of the program the article talked about "Metamorphose and Till Eulenspiegel, two composi- tions for strings by German composer Richard Straus." The only problem with this statement is that only Metamorphosen is scored for strings. Till Eulenspiegel is scored for full orchestra. In giving money, people show a bit of themselves j admit I used to inwardly groan when I saw groups collecting money on the Diag. As if "anything you've got in your pocket" really makes a difference. So it was with terrific reluctance and a wry nod to irony that I picked up 4 bucket last year to fulfill membership requirements in a group I had recently joined. It was one of the coldest days of winter, of course. Life has a way of laugh- ing at you like that. But by the time I had dethawed later MEGAN that night, I had SCHIMPF new insight into PRESCRIPTIONS people, bucket drives and the dedication of anyone who does one. Last weekend - pleasantly warmer - was my second as one of the medical students who blanket Ann Arbor annual ly to collect money for Galens Medicap Society. In its 71st year, Tag Days is a well- known and generally respected charity among Ann Arbor residents. Many peo- ple who seemed to want to keep walking stopped when they saw Tag Days signs. Others were convinced by the description of what Galens does with the approxi- mately $68,000 it collects every year - making those two days by far one of the most successful charity drives at the University. Galens donates all the mone to children's charities; a majority of th money goes to Child Life at Mott Children's Hospital, a program that pro- vides toys, art supplies and games to help children be kids instead of patients, if only for a couple hours a day. Of the hundreds of people we encountered, most were polite, some were friendly and some were rude. And while this is to be expected, it is quite different on the asking side than on thq ignoring side. One man wanted to know who Galen was before he'd donate. Another pre- sented a flash card and asked the name of the pictured muscle. We found high school students willing to dig intheir pockets for change while adults who drove up in expensive cars walked by stonily. We met people who had benefit- ed from Galens money in childhood. One woman told me about her father a traditional neighborhood doctor, whose memory she donates every year. We met a man who first donated in 1956. 1 convinced my senior prom date to donate, which bought him endless taunting from his wife for his previous disavowals of Tag Days. I heard stories about people who did not donate - including priests and sports columnists. We encountered plenty of nodding and smiling, all people who kept walking. Some of the more amusing response to the question, "Would you like to donate to help the children of Washtenaw County?": E "Yes," while walking by without donating. 8 "Help Washtenaw County? They locked me up!" "I hate kids." "I'm having enough trouble raising them." 0 "1 do, but not in that way." "They should be helping me. While it is obviously preferable to collect as much money as possible when you've devoted 12 hours to standing outside with a heavy bucket, it is also understandable when people cannot - or do not want to - contribute at a par- ticular time. We watched people scurry with eyes cast downward, try to slip past unasked and wear their tag as protective armor.s Particularly offensive, though, are those who outright ignore the request - as if you are not a person, as if you did not just speak to them, as if because they are the askee that they are at some higher level of humanity. Absolutely not. This is the most direct lesson I have learned: Saying "No, I'm sorry" or "Not right now" is the best thing to do aside from contributing. It is the respectful way to treat another human being wh* asks a simple question. Stand outside collecting money for any period of time, and you will begin to appreciate just some of what home- less people face every time they ask strangers for money. You will feel relief at simply being acknowledged and the frustration of being completely ignored. Because of my experience, I now respond in some way to everyone who asks. I have found that almost everyonW is appreciative for just that effort. And pocket change does make a dif- ference. The man who declined because he was too "poor" but later added a cou- ple coins to my bucket is equally chari- table as the man driving the Mercedes