4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 12, 1998 be S~id{igan &gi g ASB teaches us the truth about Southerners i 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited andtmanaged by students at the University of Michigan LAURIE MAYK Editor in Chief JACK SCHILLACI Editorial Page Editor I though it was kind of funny so I sent (the application form) in.' -LSA senior Eric McCutcheon, commenting on his upcoming visit to Los Angeles as a contestant on the Wheel of Fortune 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 State suggestions Admissions quotas should not begin at the 'U' KAAMRAN HAFEEZ i. $ .... E very year, students, admissions coun- selors, state legislators and Michigan residents debate whether state high school graduates should gain admissions prefer- ences over out-of-state applicants to state- funded universities and colleges. This issue emerges annually during the Legislature's debate - which often focus- es on the University - on state funding for Michigan's 15 public colleges and univer- sities. Historically, the University is comprised of about one third out-of-state and two thirds in-state students. This is based on an unofficial guideline that dates back to the tenure of former University president Robben Fleming in the late 1960s, who sug- gested these breakdowns. Currently, there are no quotas limiting the number of admissions of in-state or out- of-state students to the University. But since the University receives state funding, the Legislature has given the University a list of suggestions and requirements along with its budget appropriation. This addditional paperwork. suggests that the University should work hard to recruit and admit qual- ified Michigan students. But the Legislature has stopped short of setting a quota; some- thing that should never be an issue. The University takes pride in its diverse student body. One of the main reasons for such diversity on campus is that admissions are based upon individual merit rather than on a basis of a quota system. This puts out- of-state students on level terms with their in-state counterparts. Setting up a quota for out-of-state admissions would deter the number of out-of-state applicants, and more important, could seriously affect the strength and diversity of the student body. This could harm the reputation of the University as many would-be applicants turn their focus to other universities, where they know they would be considered on their individual merits rather than on uneven grounds brought about by a state- imposed quota system. In addition to the damage done to repu- tation, the University's academic competi- tiveness could also be affected. One of the reasons the University is competitive with many leading colleges and universities is because of its strong student body that rais- es the standards within the University. With less academic diversity, the student body could be weakened and campus's high stan- dards might be significantly reduced, result- ing in a less competitive academic environ- ment. While the state-imposed quota system could assist in-state students in admissions, these students could later be affected finan- cially. Out-of-state students pay higher tuition, and if a quota is established that reduces the size of this group, it could threaten the University's finances. This could then increase the financial burden of in-state students. The most important reason that there should not be a quota, however, is that the University's autonomy would be under- mined. If admission quotas were set for the University by the state Legislature, ques- tions could be raised over who really runs the University - the Legislature or the University Board of Regents. A university so rich in tradition needs to be autonomous. A quota system aimed solely at the University would hinder, rather than enhance the academic community of the University. UNCLE SAM HIS VFIS' STUCK) EN RE CAN'T PULL LSxSE. DE TAR HILT 'IM. BUT. TAR- eA, SHE STAY STILL) EN BRER OAM A, E LAY W. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A united effort Giving to the United Way is important Non-profit organizations are bound to struggle. While most people support the concept of an establishment that aids the community, not everyone supports the cause financially or through volunteer work. Thus, the process of raising money toward a goal is slow and arduous. So when one of these agencies faces a situation in which aid becomes even more scarce than usual, an extraordinary amount of work is necessary to make a worthwhile impact. Since 1996, the Washtenaw United Way has been battling vigorously to rebound from problems involving a former presi- dent's corruption. The most recent cam- paign began almost five weeks ago, with both a new president and a new board. The 1998 campaign represents a changed image for the United Way - one with a reassuring degree of integrity and an impressive drive for success. Laminated cards given to all volunteers and donors list the positive changes that have been made and those that are in the near future, including significant cuts in overhead, an increase in funding and a concept of community participation in decision-making. The cards also reminds those involved of a shift back to the agency's original focus - raising money for a number of local non-profit organiza- tions. As far as the moral integrity of the management and the drive to succeed among those involved with the campaign are concerned, the United Way appears to be back on track. The process, however, is still experienc- ing repercussions from 1996. Although reports from individual campaigns are showing significant improvements from last year, there still appears to be some mis- trust from potential donors. Notably, the the College of Literature, Science and the Arts - is showing only limited success. Although a certain degree of apprehen- sion from community members would be understandable and even expected after what happened two years ago, it by no means should be used as an excuse not to donate to or volunteer for a worthy cause. Those who were responsible for the finan- cial mismanagement are no longer involved; those who have recently become involved are struggling to right the wrongs. But their efforts are being under- mined by the shadow of their predeces- sors' actions. Now should be the time to increase donations to encourage the rebuilding process, not to hesitate as a result of misgivings caused by past inci- dents. Those who have convinced them- selves that the United Way is no longer a worthy cause should re-evaluate the situa- tion looking at the current campaign, not the dishonesty they remember. To donate is to willingly give one's money to extraordinary cuses without directly receiving anything in return. Therefore, to discover one's hard-earned dollars are being subject to extortion causes a person to feel upset and violated. But the fact is that the United Way is once again an honest, worthwhile cause - one that is deserving of this community's support. The limited success of some individual cam- paigns, especially that of the University, suggests that a number of people are more focused on the past than on the current real- ity. A good cause aimed at the betterment of its surrounding community should be embraced by those who live and work in and also rely on that community. This year's United Way campaign is one that should be Congress is a group of petty' voters To THE DAILY: When I picked up my copy of the Daily on Oct. 9, I saw the front page article on the House of Representatives vote to begin formal impeachment proceedings ("House approves inquiry"). When I read the statistic on the vote (258-176 for impeachment) I was interested to see how it broke down according to party lines. According to the article, all Republican members voted for the pro- ceedings, as well as 3 1 Democrats. This was very disheartening. There were two possibil- ities facing our legislators going into this vote. It was either blatantly obvious and clear that President Clinton's actions deemed necessary full impeachment proceedings or it was not so clear cut. Let's look at the first case, where it is obvious he should be impeached. If that were the case, we should have seen a vote similar to the one 25 years ago when President Nixon was about to be impeached. That vote, according to the Daily arti- cle, was 4 10-4 in favor of proceedings. If it were bla- tantly obvious that Clinton should be impeached, and we had a Congress made up of men and woman who were compelled to do the right thing for the country, we would expect to see a landslide of just that sort. But we see that the over- whelming majority of Democrats voted not to hold total impeachment proceed- ings. This means that the majority of Democrats are complete fools or they voted only to back their party. If indeed this is the case, we should all be very disap- pointed. Looking at the other case, where it is not so cut and dry, we would expect a different outcome. We would expect to see some indeci- sion in Congress. We would not expect a vote of 410-4 but one more like 258-176. But that said, we would again expect a Congress made up of men and woman of conscience to vote for what they believed to be the correct action. We would expect the parties to be a microcosm of the whole. We would expect both the Republican and Democratic parties to have statistics sim- ilar to the 60-40 split in votes of the Congress as a whole. But we don't see that either, we see that not one Republican voted against impeachment proceedings. This would seem to indicate that, as oposed to voting very petty career politi- cians, DAVID MANZI ENGINEERING SENIOR Article about Delta Zeta was wrong TO THE DAILY: I was very upset after reading the Oct. 9 article about the closing of my sorority ("'U' Delta Zeta chapter to close"). Despite the efforts of our members, the Daily just couldn't get the facts straight. It's painful enough that ournchapter closed. Unfortunately, it seems that the Daily basically made up the facts of the story to fit into its mold of what it thought it should be. It seems that the Daily was trying to take yet another blow at the Greek system. Delta Zeta did not close because we could not attract new members. In fact, we did not even try to attract new members. Our special recruit- ment week that, according to the article, was part of the "reorganization effort" was to take place this week. The real reason we closed can be found later in the article. Last year, we experienced a severe decrease in membership due to a series of deactivations. Rush on a campus this size cannot be conducted by the small number of women that stayed to help reorganize. Basically, the article was an insult to me and my soror- ity sisters. In the past, the Daily has gone out of its way to make the Greek system or any individual sorority or fra- ternity look bad inany way possible. The Daily should get the facts straight next time. MEGHAN BRODERICK LSA JUNIOR Daily should fill space with better stories TO THE DAILY: This letter is concerning the Sept. 29 article "Grocery stores differ in price, conve- nience." I realize that the edi- tors of the Daily have a certain amount of space they need to fill for each issue, but this par- ticular article was both a waste of space and a waste of the reader's time. My initial response to the headline proclaiming that grocery stores vary in both service and price was "No kidding." Isn't that one of the perks of a free market? The article was filled with com- mon knowledge and trivial information. Meiier has an 'Fighting words' are a part of every revolution TO THE DAILY: In the spirit of the "fair and honest dialogue" that Micah Peltz is seeking in his Oct. 7 letter ("Viewpoint was damaging to efforts for peace"), I would like to make a few points clear. First, Peltz's conception of an editorial page as a place where one should not use "provocative language" is at odds with the history of American journalism, The editorial pages of America's newspapers have historical- ly been the home of some of the most provocative lan- guage in the business. And in a more general sense, "fighting words" themselves have been intrinsic to every struggle for freedom: Where would the American Revolution have gone with- out the fiery pamphlets of Thomas Paine? Would slav- ery have ever been abol- ished without the speeches (deemed "violent" and "inflammatory" at the time) of a Sojourner Truth? While Gandhi was a pacifist, his words against British colo- nialism were not nice and friendly but fierce and out- raged. What would "a woman's place" be today if people like Gloria Steinem had never been brave enough to use "fighting words?" As to the specific objec- tions raised in Petz's letter: Israeli soldiers do tote machine guns. And it is my opinion that any state that has different offi- cial policies for one ethnic/racial group than anoth- er is racist. Are the Palestinians suffering under a "holocaust?" Well, six million of them haven't been murdered - yet. The question is, do we wait until this happens or do we head off another tragedy like what happened to the Jewish people while we still have the chance? A Jewish friend of mine.has said that Israel sup- porters who object to Nazi comparisons should be told, "OK, then the Israeli govern- ment aren't Nazis, they're Klansmen" (i.e., the difference is one of scale, not principle). The truth is, supporters of Israel have never been will- ing to "sit down and examine the facts" in the manner Peltz suggests unless it is assured that they control the terms of discourse. This is because the facts are against them: We are not talking about an equal conflict where "everybody has their opinion and that's that" but a fundamentally unbalanced power relation- ship where Palestinians have been routinelydenied an open forum for their con- cerns. Is it any wonder, then, tihai a nennI n cocntanty A college students, our Spring Break experences are rather predictable. The one-week respite the University so generously allots us each February is typ- ically squandered on some of the most bland activities imaginable. Despite our truly heterogeneous aspira- tions for adven- ture, it is inevitable that our vacations will be spent in one of two ways. Option A:We wedge our butts between our sofa cushions and imbibe" seven days' SCOTT worth of "My- HUNTER 14-Year-Old I< \1 Daughter-Is- Pregnant" episodes of Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake and/or Rolanda, all the while intending to do something intellectual tomorrow. Option B: We take off with our cliques to frolic for a week in the vomit-stained streets of some warm, tropical tourist town. Each day is spent sifting through the miles of bare flesh for a hookup who is actually over the age of 18. Well, I'm here to tell you that there's no reason to throw away your precious Spring Break on Jerry Springer or 16- year-old "women," no reason to expend your few days of freedom and unfet- tered glee trying to re-enact "Baywatch" (because, frankly, you're no David Hasselhoff nor Pamela Lee). You don't have to embrace the airbrushed images* of trivial diversions that Campus Travel throws at you. The University has something better in store for you: Alternative Spring Break, a week of service that some stu- dents undertake in lieu of watching "Rolanda" re-runs. Each year, about 400 college students take the week of Spring Break to travel to 40 sites across the nation and volunteer@ under different issues like rural poverty or health and aging. This Project SERVE- sponsored activity gives students a chance to get help out communities and take a dirt-cheap trip somewhere in the country. And don't think this is just some shady little thing that some scrub over at Project SERVE thought up. Cool col- leges like Columbia University do it, too ... So, don't worry, it's OK. Now, I know what you're thinking to yourself right now: "I'm notchanging no bedpans or diapering no old people on my Spring Break." But people have actually been known enjoy ASB. Yeah, you might get your hands dirty or mess up your natty little Patagonia, but it could wind up being a cool way to use up seven days. Now, before you sit back and believe everything I say, I should let you know that I am no objective observer; I'm prob ably just a little biased. I'm with a service organization and last year, I went on ASB. I'll tell you the truth: When I first signed up, I had visions of going to somewhere cool like New York or Arizona to work. And even though I faithfully filled out the form requesting to go somewhere cool, things went awry, really awry, and I was banished to the butt-crack of Kentucky, imprisoned in the mountains for seven days in the actual birthplace of the Beverl Hillbillies. (Moral: Don't get lured in b6 dreams of going to New York or Chicago ... it's all a big trap, I tell you!) Kentucky, dammit! Now as a Northerner, I've got to admit that I have been told most of my life to make fun of people from the South (I know what you're thinking, and yes, we do consider Kentucky the South ... hell, we consider lower Indiana the South.). I'm sure all my fellow Yankees knov exactly what I'm talking about; it's kind of an old tradition that has developed here in the North. For some reason or another, we've developed a superiority complex about our sector of the country. Consequently, many of us have a few too many prejudices about people Southerners. For instance: When a Northerner hears a drawl, he immediately thinks "Oh yeah, that's a Grand Wizard if I ever saw one." Or he thinks, "Nope, thi guy's definitely not too bright ... I'l have to speak really slow." The Southerners have always been that branch of the family that we have tried to keep under wraps so that they don't embarrass us in front of all our stuck-up Yankee friends. They have always been that set of people that we have looked down upon and laughed at because we they remind us so much of Jed Clampett But the good part about doing ASB is that you get a chance to actually interact with all the people for whom you work and learn what they're really like. Just look what a sensitive, open-minded per- son the week turned me into. Even though the area I stayed certainly had its fair share of Jed Clampetts. I learned Southerners