4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 18, 1998

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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

N 'QUOTABLE
E ;.xke Chris to be remembered in happy times,
s ointe1igent individual and intellectual.
- Don Giacherio, talking about his son
Chris, who died Tewsdav morning

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
Empty seats
ITD should place consultants at all sites
I n the past few years, the University has their term paper is due, their computer is
made a significant effort to incorporate experiencing an "error" - nor should
technology into several aspects of student they. The purpose of support staff is to
life. E-mail is no longer the preferred form allow a person who is very experienced
of communication for computer afficiona- with computers take over when a comput-
dos alone, but an essential part of academ- er has a problem. In addition, when com-
ic life; many professors rely on class e- puting sites face all-too-frequent technical
snail groups to update their students on an failure, the presence of a consultant can go
assignment or recent lecture. The Internet a long way to explaining what is going on
is no longer a guilty pleasure but a neces- - and to prevent students from inflicting
sary tool to find postings on class further damage on to their files and the
Websites. Last semester was the first time system.
in the history of the University that the Expecting students to incorporate com-
courseguide was available only on the puter usage into part of their everyday life is
Internet. These three factors make it not a bad idea. Computer experience is a
imperative that all University students be criteria for an overwhelming number of
computer savvy. jobs in the market today. The University
But not all students are comfortable should be commended for its extensive
with using computer technology. Even resources; students who do not own their
those that are may not be skilled enough own computer can easily access the Internet
to handle the variety of technological from a variety of sources on campus, from
problems that plague computer sites NUBS to ResComp sites.
around campus on a near-daily basis. The First-year students get their feet wet at
Information Technology Division, the Orientation when they learn how to access
entity that operates much of the comput- their ITD e-mail account for the first time
ing services that students use, needs to and print out their schedule from Wolverine
have on-site staff at every computing cen- Access. However, there is no computer lit-
ter in order to help students use the com- eracy test required before a student may use
puters. the University computers. Students' experi-
After investing so much money into ence can range widely. ITD cannot assume
building computer sites featuring hundreds that the introduction received at Orientation
of computers, plus scanners and printers, alone is enough to get by for the next four
the University should be making sure that years.
students know how to use them. Currently, ITD does offer a variety of computer
only the School of Education and Angell classes. Students are encouraged to take
Hall computing sites have walk-in consult- advantage of these course offerings and
ing. ITD's consulting line, 764-HELP, build their computer literacy. Nonetheless,
gives advice over the phone to students many students who have neither the time
dealing with computer crises. The line is a nor the interest in taking such extra classes
good resource but cannot replace speaking still have many computing needs - ITD
face to face with a consultant. Students should not leave them to fend for them-
often have no idea why, 10 minutes before selves.
Filibustereagfa
Senate should pass camp aign finance bill

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

a While most of the buzz in Washington,
D.C., focuses on President Bill
Clinton's unbecoming behavior, others on
Capitol Hill continue to take care of day-to-
day business. Last week, campaign finance
reform legislation was once again blocked
in the Senate.
In a disturbing show of partisan poli-
tics, the Senate failed to reach the neces-
sary 60 votes to stop a filibuster orga-
nized by Senate Majority Leader Trent
Lott (R-Miss.). The sponsors of this legis-
lation, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and
Rusell Feingold (D-Wisc.) should not be
discouraged by this all-too-inevitable out-
come, and continue to reintroduce their
bill.
The McCain-Feingold bill attempts to
revamp the way this country finances
political campaigns. By banning the
unlimited, unregulated amounts of soft
money that special interest groups, rich
individuals and corporations give to indi-
vidual candidates, this legislation
attempts to keep special interests from
affecting what should be politics for the
people.
Already in this election cycle, Senate
and House Republicans and Democrats
undoubtedly have spent millions of dollars
in soft money for campaign ads. This is a
perfect case of special-interest money
unfairly affecting the political process.
Television and radio advertisements,
along with the expenses of regular cam-
paigning is no doubt expensive. But sell-
ing out to the highest bidder is not what
the people elected officials to do. Even
though distracted and overwhelmed with
scandal, lawmakers need to see the

Last month, the House overwhelmingly
supported the Shays-Meehan bill - a simi-
lar campaign finance reform bill - and it is
past time for the Senate to follow suit.
Claiming that regulating soft money in
effect regulates free speech, opposition to
the McCain-Feingold bill have rested on the
First Amendment platform since the first
introduction of the legislation. Since that
time, it has been filibustered numerous
times, and it seems as though the Senate is
not in favor of setting up a system of rules
and regulation that would ensure fair cam-
paign practices.
With the public's growing revulsion of
politicians and politics, and the opening of
a preliminary investigation into Vice
President Al Gore's 1996 fundraising tech-
niques, it is time for comprehensive and
effective legislation.
Last year, the American public watched
as the Senate spent a year investigating
alleged 1996 campaign abuses. Such large
amounts of time, money and effort should
not end so anti-climactically - the nation
needs campaign finance overhaul. Now
more than ever, politicians need to begin
rebuilding trust in elected officials and the
political system in general.
Fifty-two senators have pledged their
support to the McCain-Feingold bill. Only
eight short of defeating a filibuster,
McCain and Feingold should not stop here.
On a short road to becoming a "do-noth-
ing" Congress, it is time to take on some
serious legislation and get something done
- something other than discussing White
House scandal. There is no more appropri-
ate place to start than ensuring that the
next group of lawmakers got to Capitol

rticles were
hypocritical
TO THE DAILY:
On September 10, the
Daily ran a "news" article on
its front page with the head-
line, "Study backs affirmative
action at 'U.' The story
explained how past presidents
of two Ivy League universities
wrote a book that, in the esti-
mation of President Lee
Bollinger "clearly supports"
the University's current legal
stance. Bollinger was the only
member of the University
community quoted in the arti-
cle (and probably the only one
to read the study in question).
On page 4 of that edition,
the Daily ran a column that
accused leaders of the
Michigan Student Assembly
of "fawning over" President
Bollinger, and of being "star-
struck hypocrites."
Hmmm.
DAVID BURDEN
ENGINEERING SENIOR
MSA REPRESENTATIVE
Look at the
'big picture'
of scandal
T T HE DALLY:
Is it OK to commit adul-
tery and lie? 1 wouldn't think
so. Not for a business person,
school official or military
member, and you wouldn't
think it's appropriate for a
government official to do so
either, right?
Think again. It's OK for
the "man" who holds the
highest office in the land to
do these very things and
waste our time and money
while we try to pull the truth
from his legal maneuverings
and delays.
I am dismayed by the fact
that because this "ma" has
apparently done great things
for this nation, his atrocious,
self-destructive behavior and
poor example for all goes
unpunished and unremedied.
We must look past his focus on
each little group that seems
intent on the "what's in it for
me" mentality and look at the
consequences of these actions
on the presidency, our nation
and our value systems. Look at
the big picture of what this
"man" has done to his wife
and his daughter, not to men-
tion the liberals who now feel
intent on defending him
because he's got a 'D' (for
Democrat) next to his name.
He has done all these
things, bringing great disgrace
to the presidency and our
nation at a time when world
events are in great turmoil. His
actions put us all at risk since
he has control over the lives of
many individuals and his valu-
able time is being taken now
from his sworn duty to "sup-
port and defend the

that his 2000 campaign slogan
read: "No more adulterous oral
sex while on the phone with
representatives to the Congress
of the United States of
America."
Oops, he's under investi-
gation too!
Impeach "President"
Clinton.,
AARON BROOKS
ENGINEERING SENIOR
Schoolkids'
would have
closed anyway
To THE DAILY:
I'm sad to see an indepen-
dent business fail due to a
major corporation, but in the
case of Schoolkids' Records
closing its dors, having a
Borders across the street mere-
ly brought about the inevitable
in a more timely manner.
In the years that I've been
in and around Ann Arbor,
I've bought a handful of
records at Schoolkids'
because of the store's outra-
geous prices and poor selec-
tion. Borders offered the pub-
lic another place to buy
music and it kept its prices
semi-reasonable.
And snooty? The clerks I
interacted with at Schoolkids
gave new meaning to the
term!
MICHAEL WHITE
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
'U' should
improve
parking
TO THE DAILY:
It's 8:45 a.m. and I'm off
the water with the men's row-
ing team rushing off to North
Campus in search of parking.
A few minutes later, I arrive at
the Glazier Avenue lot which
now resembles the warm up
lap at a Formula One race as
drivers search for that one
parking spot that might be left.
Those unfortunate enough to
arrive late like myself have
three options. First, they can
brave the vigilant parking
police and make a donation in
the envelope provided on their
windshield when they return
from class. Second, they can
feed the meter which is always
hungry for quarters. Third,
they can find "alternative park-
ing." Now where is that alter-
native parking? The sign says
to call a number to find out
where the parking is, but how
can you call about alternative
parking when you don't have a
parking place? If I could call
from the parking lot on a cell
phone, I probably would have
a sticker on my car and would-
n't be in this situation!
I am a graduate student
who has worked in the real
world for a few years before

A2 government
is conducting
a witchhunt'
TO THE DAILY:
The government of Ann
Arbor has launched a vast
political witchhunt. Its target
is the entire active antiracist
movement.
Ten of the 21 people arrest-
ed so far are charged with 10-
year felonies. The charges pro-
vide cover for a McCarthy-ite
witchhunt. This witchhunt is
an attempt to cripple or destroy
the only two active antiracist,
antifascist organizations in the
Midwest: the Nation Women's
Rights Organizing Coalition
and the ARA.
Those being dragged into
court are among the hundreds
of people who opposed the Ku
Klux Klan on May 9. They are
black, Asian and white; male
and female; they include long
time Ann Arbor residents and
University students, ranging in
age from 15 to 64 and coming
from all walks of life.
They share the conviction
of a nearly unanimous major-
ity of citizens of Ann Arbor
who do not want the KKK
rallying, recruiting, burning
churches or murdering peo-
ple in this community.
The charges against nine
of the defendants facing the
possibility of 10 years in
prison stem from police alle-
gations of something most 13-
year-old boys have done -
throwing rocks at windows.
On the basis of this allegation,
police arrested one 17-year-
old Ann Arbor youth bursting
into his grandparents' house
with a drawn gun.
One defendant is charged
with the 10-year felony
"Inciting to Riot" for allega-
tions that include speech
alone! Sixty feet away, the
Ku Klux Klan was urging
mass murder of minorities in
transparent, coded language
- under the protection of an
army of police!
There are three allega-
tions of assaultive crime; two
against "peace keepers" and
one on a police officer. The
police reports indicate that
there are no injuries of any
seriousness whatsoever asso-
ciated with these charges.
The bulk of the charges
center on allegations of dam-
age to city property - yet the
police themselves have valued
the damaged property at less
that 1/27th of the tax money
that the city government
shelled out to stage the racists'
rally in the first place!
The police insist that they
are "handling this just like any
other charges" - but the facts
speak louder. The "inciting a
riot" charge has not been
brought in Michigan for over
25 years! Fourteen people who
are accused of misdemeanors
alone have had their photos
shown repeatedly on cable
access TV's "America's Most

Repentence
doesn't erase
George Wallace's
place in history
ven those too young to remember
them recognized the black and
white photos that dotted news reports
across the country this past week. Theo
image of a stern young southern gover-
nor, flanked by mil-
itary troops, squar-
ing off with the
national guard on .
the steps of a
University of
Alabama building
is burned in our
memories.
Alabama Go.
George Wallace's
1963 theatrics in LAURIE
blocking the MAYK
schoolhouse door to X11;
two black students AY S'(
attempting to enroll
there quickly became a symbol of his
legacy and what equated to state-spon-
sored racism as the Civil Rights
Movement was brewing across the
South.
Wallace, a man who fought desper-
ately for the country's attention and then
couldn't seem to shirk the label it gave
him, elicited strong reactions from
Americans in the days following his
death late Sunday night.
Some people couldn't restrain them-
selves from displaying a sly grin and a
cutting remark about Wallace's politics
and his faceoff with the federal govern-
ment in '63. Some African Americans
whose parents and grandparents had
lived in his shadow came t@
Montgomery, Ala., to view the former
governor's casket. Some forgave him
and wished him peace.
Many of the mourners who filed into
the Alabama capital to pay their respects
this week commented that Wallace
deserved a legacy of change and
enlightenment as much as one of
racism. After surviving a paralyzing
gunshot wound while campaigning for@
the presidency in 1972, Wallace has
publicly recanted his stance on segrega-
tion and other race-based policies he
touted so fervently. His contrition and
dedication to the equal rights causes he
abandoned in the '60sall but endeared
him to civil rights defenders such as
Coretta Scott King and Jesse Jackson.
Wallace's repentance, however, has in
no way earned him a place alongside
such notable reformers. He will always
be remembered for his staunch defens*
of segregation and his stubbornness at
the schoolhouse door.. The images that
his name brings to mind still makes
many Americans' stomachs churn and
blood boil.
But the former governor's presence in
American politics for several decades
should leave us with more than a bad
taste in our mouths. Wallace's life -
both personal and public - teaches us
bit about ourselves and the way w
choose our heroes and leaders.
In some respects, Wallace represents
the great flaw of populist ideology.e
provided the answer to what can happen
if a candidate comes along who appeals
to our dark and ignorant sides. Against
even his own instincts, Wallace gave
strength and credence to the argument
of the Southern segregationists.
A chilling defeat in the 1958 guberna-
torial race convinced him that the major-
ity ruled in Alabama politics. Vowing
never to be beaten by a candidate who
took a stronger stance on race again,
Wallace transformed himself into a

spokesperson for white dominance and
states rights. He traded the support of the
NAACP, which he had in 1958, for more
votes than any Alabama gubernatorial
candidate had ever received at that time.
Voters in Alabama cheered when
Wallace made his historic "segregatior
today, segregation tomorrow, segregation
forever," inaugural remarks in 1963. By
reaffirming the status quo and assuring
them that the politicians in Washington
wouldn't have their liberal way, he told
them what the majority apparently want-
ed to hear. And they cheered.
But Wallace forgot that elected offi-
cials must do more than follow; they
must lead, too.
Any historian or political scientist
could explain for hours the complicate
balance of responsibilities and expecta-
tions for elected officials. But the bottom
line is, we expect our leaders to make
policy decisions based on more than a
rally of constituents outside their win-
dow. We expect them to have a deep and
unwavering understanding of the United
States' collective rights and values.
As loudly as we yell at our represen-
tatives because sometimes they don't
vote as we would have, we take comfor4
in knowing that they have the sound
judgement to ignore the wishes of cer-
tain constituents.
Wallace learned too late that he had
the personal strength to shut out the
pressure from segregationists and Ku
Klux Klan members. He may have