4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 6, 1998
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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
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LAURIE MAYK
Editor in Chief
JACK SCHILLACI
Editorial Page Editor
'If I had that power, I probably would.'
- English Prof Michael Schoenfi'dt. on whether
he would prohibit students fmon using Cliffs Notes.
THOMAS KULUGUSRGfir. 4EY EK <
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
Too uch
Actions to fight alcohol abuse are misguided
WN T)4 Att. Of' T
1 SS 5TAT i4AJ'
(ell t/ RVyXjMI
L ast week, two plans were unveiled to
curb underage drinking on the
University's campus. The first is a bill
passed by Congress that would allow col-
leges to notify parents when students
younger than 21 years of age commit an
alcohol or drug violation. The second is a
binge drinking task force commisioned by
Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen
Hartford that specifically targets first-year
students who drink in their residence hall
rooms. Underage drinking is, of course,
illegal; serious binge drinking can pose a
threat to students' intellectual development
and physical health. But these two plans,
which have the reasonable goal of combat-
ting alcohol abuse, do not realistically
address problem drinking.
First of all, the new national legisla-
tion, which changes the Family Education
Rights Privacy Act, is ridiculous. Federal
law previously prohibited universities
from disclosing their records on students
who have reached the age of 18. As far as
the law i$ concerned, students are legal
adults with the right to privacy after their
18th birthday. This bill is an amendment
that exempts alcohol and drug records
from the privacy requirement - and a
blantant and misguided attempt to make
universities and colleges some sort of Big
Brother-ish babysitter.
Advocates of the bill argue that many
parents have no idea their children are
abusing drugs or alcohol and thus cannot
intervene to help them. They suggest that
students might think twice about such
behavior if they knew their parents would
be informed of their actions. Students are
being stripped of their rights and the legis-
lation will probably not produce the results
it desires. The fear of being tattled on is
not what will keep underage drinkers away
from a keg.
For better or for worse, drinking is part
of the lifestyle of a large number of
University students. It is a good idea for
the task force to educate first-year stu-
dents about drinking. It is common for
younger students to get quite caught up in
the party scene their first semester at the
University, resulting in habits that may
span over their entire academic career.
But most students tune out what they feel
is out-of-touch preaching about alcohol.
While the dangers of drinking are very
real, the social acceptance and focus on
alcohol is also a reality.
Binge drinking is defined by the task
force as consuming five or more drinks on
one occasion - not exactly an enormous
amount of alcohol, especially if those
drinks occur over a long period of time.
Many underage students smuggle alcohol
into their residence hall rooms. This is ille-
gal, but the University should not go knock-
ing on doors in a witchunt for booze, as the
task force would have. The task force
should concentrate on educating students to
drink responsibly, and avoid being conde-
scending toward students.
Congress has hurt students' right to
privacy and the task force, if taken in the
wrong direction, may do the same.
Spreading the word about the dangers of
heavy alcohol consumption and beefing
up support and counseling services is
great - just stay out of students' rooms.
91,
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["ill!
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Critical intervention
U.S. should seek peaceful resolution in Kosovo
In the past several months, Serbian Army
units in Kosovo, a breakaway province of
Serbian-led Yugoslavia, have been mounting
an aggressive and increasingly bloody crack-
down on factions of pro-independence ethnic
Albanians. Allegations of widespread human
rights violations committed by Serbian units
against ethnic Albanian civilians have forced
the international community to take action. To
counter this Serbian aggression and to per-
suade Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic
to put a stop to these atrocities, several NATO
member-states, including the United States,
are contemplating whether or not to mount a
series of punitive airstrikes on key Serbian
military installations in Kosovo. In making its
decision on whether to participate in a NATO
campaign, the United States should first
attempt to exhaust all possible diplomatic and
peaceful solutions to the crisis before com-
mitting to military action.
The United States, along with its allies,
must intervene in this crisis in some capaci-
ty very soon. Hundreds of thousands of eth-
nic Albanians are waiting out the crisis in the
rugged mountains and wilderness outside
the cities and towns in Kosovo. But most of
these civilians are without shelter and have
limited food available. The safety of the eth-
nic Albanian citizens in the region will be in
jeopardy until the Serbian troops are per-
suaded to end their attacks.
But a military solution may just further
inflame current tensions and risk more lives
without producing significant results. A simi-
lar ,punitive NATO strike against Serbian
forces in May of 1994 not only failed in per-
suading Serbian units from backing off, but it
also spurred Serbian units to take U.N. peace-
keepers hostage - ultimately forcing the
United Nations to bargain for their safety and
thus significantly lose credibility in acting
decisively. Therefore, with more than 6,000
military strike may escalate into a Serbian
attack on American troops and further deepen
the involvement of American forces in this
crisis.
Besides being potentially unsuccessful, a
military strike by American forces would
probably bring widespread criticism from var-
ious regions of the world. The Russians have
longstanding cultural ties to the Serbian peo-
ple. In addition, the Russian government has
adamantly opposed any U.N. resolution to
sponsor punitive military strikes. Russian
officials have called for both sides to commit
themselves to previous U.N. resolutions per-
taining to diplomatic solutions to the conflict.
Thus, any U.S. military involvement could be
at the expense of relations between the United
States and Russia. Any increase in tension of
these relations may make the Russians weary
of looking to the United States for help in eas-
ing their economic devastation, and as a
result, a continued Russian economic crisis
could have long-term effects on the health of
the American economy.
. The United States should not undervalue
diplomacy as an answer to the Kosovo crisis
because diplomatic solutions have had posi-
tive results in past conflicts in the region. The
Bosnian civil war, in which Serbian forces
attacked the armies of two neighboring ethnic
groups, was ultimately concluded by the
Dayton Accords - an American-brokered
peace treaty.
For these reasons, it is important for
American foreign policy decision-makers
to use all available methods of diplomacy to
persuade President Milosevic to end the
violence in Kosovo before attempting any
military strikes that may prove ineffective
or even detrimental to solving the problem.
Should diplomatic resolutions fail to end
the civilian atrocities and human rights vio-
lations, a demonstration of force may be
n_ 1 8 4'f L11 ld Y- / /" -__ - A[- ri Y'I' i Tl
Prof. Fine is a
'product of
hype'
TO THE DAILY:
Although I cannot deny
that Prof. Sidney Fine has
shown great loyalty to our
University over the past 50
years, I do believe it is
important to present perspec-
tives of the man other than
those expressed as he was
honored by the Michigan
State Legislature and in a
recent Daily article ("U'
prof. honored by
Legislature," 9/28/98).
I graduated from the
University in 1996 with high
honors in history, and in my
personal experience, Fine
was perhaps the most disap-
pointing professor I encoun-
tered in my years at the
University. I registered for
his 20th Century American
History class with excite-
ment, having heard nothing
but praise regarding his
teaching ability and knowl-
edge of history. What I found
was that those who described
him as animated and interest-
ing were correct, but those
who have described him as a
great historian and teacher of
history were wrong.
Fine's class shouldn't be
considered a history class. It
should be considered a series
of lectures which explain
Fine's personal and strongly
biased views on American
history. The class in which I
enrolled mainly involved the
late 20th Century. Fine's per-
sonal experiences and emo-
tions have clearly hampered
his ability to be an objective
historian. Nearly everything
he taught us in that class
went against what I had oth-
erwise been taught about his-
tory at the University. I was
always taught to be as objec-
tive as possible and to con-
sider multiple opinions and
perspectives on any subject.
Fine presented a singular,
subjective viewpoint and
penalized students, on
midterm and final exams,
who did not agree with his
narrow perspective.
I certainly understand
why he is well-regarded. He
is a charismatic lecturer, and
his fight to overturn the
forced retirement law was
certainly admirable. He is a
friendly man and seemingly a
good person. It disturbs me,
however, to hear that the
University holds this man up
as a symbol of excellence in
scholarship and teaching.
There are better teachers and
historians at the University
who don't receive nearly as
much credit for their work or
contributions to academic
excellence.
In short, Fine has become
a product of hype or over-
promotion, much like many
people and events in our
society. His reputation is
built more on anecdote and
personal charisma than on an
of the University, but I am
ashamed to know that when
is comes to honor and recog-
nition, the University is more
concerned with hype than it
is with the true goals of a
University education.
ED FINEGOLD
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
Brooks
should not be
on team
TO THE DAILY:
It's absolutely despicable
that the University allows
someone who committed a
sexual assault to continue
playing on the football team
as if nothing had happened.
Team member Jason
Brooks admitted to and was
found guilty under the Code
of Student Conduct of "phys-
ically harming another per-
son and sexually assaulting
or sexually harassing another
person." An admission of
guilt must not be used as an
excuse to get away with this
attack. Brooks needs to be
removed from the football
team permanently.
A man who sexually
assaults a woman should not
be on national television rep-
resenting the University. By
him doing so, it belies the
University's supposed image
of being committed to equali-
ty and fairness for all women.
It certainly appears the
University is more concerned
with the dollars that sports
bring in rather than with jus-
tice for the victim. Shame on
U of M!
PAUL LEFRAK
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
Viewpoint
sent the
wrong
message
To THE DAILY:
I am responding to the
viewpoint "Gov. Bush should
stay out of teenagers' pants,"
(1/2/98 ). I was disgusted
with the way sex was por-
trayed: "to place whatever
appendages of ours we want
in any orifice we want."
Perhaps this is all that the
authors seem to experience,
which is really sad.
There are people in this
country who do not share
these feelings. Sex is held
sacred and is evidence of the
commitment and love in a
relationship between two
people.
In this day and age, sex
is carelessly treated -
including in the White
House. Young people are
constantly sent messages
rect. And it is OK to think
otherwise and consider sex
something much greater.
Bush is not preventing
teens from having sex but
merely presenting the flip-
side of an issue, one that
gets ignored constantly.
Sex, with its awesome
implications and emotions,
is perfect for marriage and
can be much better if put
off till the proper time. It is
outstanding to see in a
world where men are con-
tinuely being shown to have
only sexual interests, that
Bush tries to set an exam-
ple.
It is easy to imagine a
young teenager who is unde-
cided as to whether or not to
have sex. By handing out
condoms and birth control in
schools, will a teenager really
decide at that point not to
have sex? It is a crucial that
the abstinance message gets
out; it is OK not to have sex
before marriage if you don't
think you're ready or you
think it's not smart. Is this
really backward thinking or
being "anal about sex" just
because there was a sexual
revolution 30 years ago?
In response to the staff
of the Pitt New's accusation
that Bush has a Victorian-
era mindset: Is the Victorian
era having no STDs, mini-
mal premarital pregnancies,
no millions of abortions per
year, and no HIV really a
bad thing?
RENEE LANDSBERG
ENGINEERING SOPHOMORE
Pi Psi
presented
top-notch
program
TO THE DAILY:
This letter is to comment
about Pi Psi and their pro-
gram on "Upward Mobility:
Stabilization of the Race."~
I am a student at Michigan
State University and I heard
about the program all the way
in Spartanland. I came out to
the event because this is one of
the few times that speakers of
this caliber visit the area to talk
about specific topics concern-
ing African Americans.
All the speakers gave me
a new charge for life and
helped me understand some
of the positive aspects about
being an African American
male. It is very hard in this
day and age, but with pro-
grams like the one given by
Pi Psi Fraternity, Inc., I enjoy
the daily challenges of being
me. Like Larry Lee said at
the program, "They don't
know that they don't know."
I hope that Pi Psi and
other men begin to take the
campus by storm with pro-
grams like this. I know that
the chapter of Pi Psi at
ick ick, fick...
Iremember dreading Sunday evenings
when I was a kid. After finishing din-
ner, my family and I would crowd around
the TV at 7 p.m. to watch "60 Minutes,"
Every week, I watched stories about cor-
ruption in government, pollution by huge
corporations and political battles o
Capitol Hill from
the couch ofmyliv
ing room.
I was just a kid at
the time, so I would
have much prefered ;
to watch somethn
on"MTVbutthink
that the show
engrained in me a
specter of skepti-
cism and the shad-
ow of a desire to JAC
analyze (and per SCHILLACI
haps overanalyze)
the events that sur-
round me.
In 1968, "60 Minutes"started a revo-
lution - a revolution that started with a
trickle but now flows like a flash flood.
In an effort to ingratiate himself to
CBS's management, producer Do
Hewitt came up with the idea for a neO
show that would mix elements of a mag-
azine with the world of television and
"package 60 minutes of reality as attrac-
tively as Hollywood packages 60 min-
utes of make-believe."
To host the show, Hewitt brought in
Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner -
both of whom thought the project was
doomed to fail. It took nine years for the
program's format to catch on and push it
into the top 20.
The show's cast has changed an@
grayed over the years. What began as a
two-man show changed and grew to
include the present groupaof five "co-
editors" and Andy Rooney. The pro-
gram also remained a remnant of the old
boys' network - Hewitt didn't hire a
female correspondent until 1984, when
Diane Sawyer joined the crew,
The star of the cast, or at least the man
most people view as the wind that blo
the storm, is University alumnus Mike
Wallace. Among his pre-CBS employers
are cigarette advertising agencies and
Broadway productions. He almost
became President Nixon's press secretary.
Even today, the 80-year-old Wallace is
still considered the pitbull of journalism.
The cast is known for its stark con-
trasts: Mike Wallace's attack-dog tactics;
Ed Bradley's laid-back, soft-spoken
style; Lesley Stahl's consumate holier-
than-thou professionalism; Steve Krof@
feistiness; Morley Safer's step-back-and-
examine approach; Andy Rooney's
annoying-yet-righteous griping.
This diversity is the source of the
cast's greatest strength. What makes the
show great is not the bastion of journal-
ism skills each correspondent has, but
in the story-telling ability they all share.
The stories they report are more than
the dry recitation of fact with a five-se
ond sound bite thrown in so common
the nightly news, but a well-woven tale
delving into the heart of the issue.
And this quality is where the numerous
"~news magazines" that have cropped up
in the 30 years since "60 Minutes" found-
ing fall short. NBC's "Dateline," for
instance, is a joke when compared to the
style and panache that Wallace and the
crew give to the grandfather of the genre.
"Dateline"'s male host - Stone Philips
- looks more like a giant Ken doll than
news anchor. And I've always loved ge
ting my news from giant igneous rocks.
As for Jane Pauley, well, NBC had to put
her somewhere and "Dateline" seemed to
be a good idea. The show's content hardly
compares to "60 Minutes" - though the
fact that it airs several times a week (not to
mention numerous other times on
MSNBC) probably doesn't help.
The CBS show's other main competi-
tor - ABC's "20/20"-- also lacks son*
of the oomph that makes for greatness.
It's not because the "60 Minutes" crowd
is older - I doubt you could get much
older than Hugh Downs and Baba
Wawa. It has something to do with the
fact that it's hard to disassociate the lat-
ter with her other now-and-then produc-
tion, "The Barbara Walters Interview,"
where she really, really wants everyone
to cry. If you were a tree, Barbara, what
kind of tree would you be?
For the past 20 years or so,
Minutes" has been CBS's cash cow, earn-
ing more than $1 billion to date. Like a
Republican following a good cigar joke,
the network's executives want to take the
show, stick it in the Xerox machine and
voila, double the profit margin!
So in celebration of the show's 30th
birthday, it's s ing. "60 Minutes II" -
which will be shown on a weekday night
- is on its way in January, and Ed, Mike
Morley, Steve and Lesley (but not And
are all going along with it, kicking and
screaming. The details ofthe new show
are sketchy as of yet, but a new cast will,
be hosting it and doing most of the work,
with the old-timers there for back up.
This is another in a trend in the news
industry to follow the dollar signs,
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