4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 14, 1998
420 Maynard StreetL
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 LA
Edited and managed by E
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
A secretcode
Act could end the 'U"s secrecy
'We will remain ready to take military action if
Mr. Milosevic fails to make good on
his commitments this time.'
- President Bill Clinton speaking about the
urgency of the situation in the Balkans
KAAMRAN HAFEEZ
As IT HAPPENS
After years of operating almost in
complete secrecy, the Code of
Student Conduct is finally exposed. With
the recent passage of the Higher
Education Act, no longer does the
University's disciplinary Code have a
legal excuse for passing judgement away
from the eyes of the public. But this
amendment to the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act may affect cam-
pus life much more than students would
wish.
Until this amendment was passed, the
Code functioned virtually unchecked by
the public. Students or administrators
could file a complaint under the Code,
thus instigating a full investigation. The
Code acts as an internal discipline system
that can enact punishments as severe as
expulsion from the University. But it is vir-
tually impossible to make sure the Code is
doing its job well and passing fair judge-
ment when its decisions are kept entirely
private. With secret proceedings and deci-
sions, precedents are never made, thus
starting each case with a clean slate and
giving overwhelming power to the faculty
and administrators adjudicating the matter.
Every once in a while, another story of
the Code's failure to pass proper judge-
ment would surface. But any action to
prevent this from happening again is
inhibited by the inability of case-by-case
reviews to cite past proceedings. The new
amendment to FERPA allows the
University to release the information
about cases involving the Code, therefore
making it possible to check the collegiate
court system.
But it is difficult to decide precisely
how much this could damage students'
privacy. One part of the bill allows the
University to call the parents of under-
graduates who are caught drinking. This
is definitely a violation of students' priva-
cy. There is no reason to contact former
guardians because of the behavior of
adults. But in cases of violent crimes such
as rape and assault, the outcome of these
cases should be available to the public.
The survivor of such crimes deserves to
know that justice has been done while the
campus community must be shown that
such behavior is not acceptable and will
be punished.
A Code that functions in total secrecy
has the power to pass any type of judgement
it wishes. As the veil that has covered the
Code is lifted, students will finally be able
to see how well it can work. If there are any
mistakes in Code judgements, they can now
be pointed out and fixed. Whether or not
there has been any bad decisions made by
the Code in the past, the FERPA amend-
ment is a step toward ensuring there will be
no more.
For now, the University is ambiguous
about the affects that this bill will have on
campus, with administrators and spokes-
people speaking only about the pending
discussions regarding this amendment.
But with the Code up for review at the
end of this semester, the new light shown
on its proceedings will certainly influence
how the Code functions in the future.
The University should choose to use
this amendment to check the Code and
not to invade the privacy of students. The
ability to release names or contact
guardians does not mean that the
University should no longer protect the
privacy of its students. Rather, the amend-
ment is best suited as a check on the Codej
of Student Conduct.
It it '1
WE N T."
IMT RECENTLY( HE'S
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Public commitment
Communities should increase involvement
T his year, the Ann Arbor Public Schools
are facing several major issues, including
high school overcrowding, budget cuts and a
search for a new superintendent. The public
school district was criticized by many citizens
last year when they were left out of the deci-
sion-making process of an elementary school
redistricting plan.
Parents and residents who feel they are
not involved in public school decisions
their tax dollars support - and about
schools their children attend - is an all-
too-common occurrence. Some people
feel alienated or intimidated by education-
al jargon while others do not feel welcome
or see how they can make a difference.
Community interaction in the public
school system must be more meaningful
than buying cookies at school fundraisers.
According to Gail Braverman, the com-
munications director for the Michigan
Association of School Boards, the number
of married couples without children now
exceeds the number of couples with chil-
dren. Fewer people have school-age chil-
dren and therefore, lack a vested interest in
public education, making it more difficult
to pass important public education issues.
But all Ann Arbor residents pay school
taxes and are thus indirectly supporting
every course of action the school board
takes.
Paying school taxes likens residents to
shareholders of a company; they should
have a sincere interest in its success to bet-
ter the product - their children's education.
Braverman led a school board session last
week on increasing support for public edu-
cation. He said a growing number of people
are becoming disenfranchised by public
schools.
Braverman advised the board to develop
a plan for improving communication and
involving the community in school deci-
sions - a step in the right direction,
although a little too late. School boards are
elected by the community; thus, they
should be acting in the public's best interest.
The board has assigned some trustees to a
subcommittee on communication. One of
the tests of the district's emphasis on public
participation will be the "High School
Futures 2000" project. The district is form-
ing a 35-member committee to study ways
to relieve high school overcrowding and
update the curriculum.
Trustee Nicholas Roumel said some
people think the committee's six slots
reserved for parents and residents are not
enough. Ann Arbor high schools are over-
crowded and some students turn to area
alternatives, like private, religious or char-
ter schools for more personal attention.
Sending students to other schools, however,
does not resolve the problems with Ann
Arbor's Pioneer and Huron High Schools.
The committee should try to find a bal-
ance that will allow it to involve as many
people as possible and make decisions
expediently. Parents should be aware of
how their involvement in the public school
system not only helps their children, but
improves Ann Arbor's reputation and cre-
ates a standard for other school districts to
follow. Residents must not lose sight of
how important a public school system is
and they should be involved. It is impor-
tant that the public know that it has an
impact on decisions for their public
schools. In a city that is home to a highly
regarded public universities, nothing less
should be expected.
Hate-filled
crimes must
be stopped
To THE DAILY:
It saddens me to learn of
the brutal of Mark Shepard,
a student at the University
of Wyoming. Mark was pis-
tol-whipped and then tied to
a wooden fence and left to
die. I am almost confident
that if this story were heard
about 30 years ago, we
would have automatically
thought we were in the days
of Jim Crow and this savage
murder was the result of
skin color. But this is 1998
and the same ideologies -
those being political and
religious - that institution-
alized hatred-filled and
heinous crimes against
blacks and other racial
minorities are now the tools
of choice that are institu-
tionalizing the same crimes
against sexual minorities in
this country.
We are no longer dealing
with lynchings on account
of skin color but because of
sexual and emotional pref-
erence. The same wooden
artifact that Mark Shepard
was tied to and left to die, is
the same wood that was
placed against the backs of
many African Americans. It
is the same wood from
which many African
Americans were hung just
because they loved interra-
cially and just because of
who they were. I am sure
that it is the same wood the
lifeless body of the African
American Texan passed as it
was dragged behind a
motorist's pick up truck.
When will we, as a com-
munity, wake up and see the
continuation of these same
injustices, just in different
forms? It is time to put aside
those things that set us apart
and make us different and
embrace them. Those will be
the only fabrics to hold us
together as a people and a
country. If we let our differ-
ences tear us apart, then the
same individuals that perse-
cuted racial minorities in the
name of religion and other
ideologies, will surely be
back. When looking at the
attack on affirmative action
and lack of services being
provided to underrepresented
racial and sexual minorities,
it is obvious that they are
already here. Do you hear
them knocking? I do.
It frightens me because I
have always said that I
would never wave the rain-
bow flag, a flag symbolic to
most homosexuals. Today I
realize that if I choose not to
wave that flag, then possibly
no one else will. It is time
we all wave a flag, regard-
less of the color or print. It
is time to say "no" to human
persecution, be it physical or
mental. So when you see
those signs about the trans-
forming of homosexualsto
heterosexuals. ust take a
moment to reflect on how
easy it will be to transform
the mind of self.
KENNETH JONES
LSA SENIOR
Power out
showed
incompetence
To THE DAILY:
This letter is written to
thank the University mainte-
nance people for responding
so quickly to the power fail-
ure in Bursley Hall on Oct. 7.
Losing power at 11I p.m.
is nothing major, of course.
It's not like anyone was
working on their EECS 280
programming assignment
right then. We were all just
about ready to fall asleep,
naturally. It's not like it was
about 100 degrees in our
rooms because our fans
weren't working. We didn't
really want to use our com-
puters, TVs, microwaves,
stereos or cordless phones
that late at night. So thank
you for waiting until lI a.m.
the next morning to switch
the circuit breaker to give our
power back. We all slept so
well last night without any
fans cooling us down. I'm
glad that the RAs, RDs and
dorm security don't have
keys to the circuit breaker
panels. It's good to know that
we have such efficient people
assisting us when our fine
buildings break down.
MICHAEL PROSZKOW
JOHN MCMAHON
ENGINEERING SOPHOMORES
Tickets are a
way to make
a 'fast buck'
To THE DAILY:
As a first-year graduate
student and an avid college
hockey fan, I was appalled to
learn of the adjusted price
increase for regular season
hockey tickets effective this
season.
For four years I was fortu-
nate enough to attend St.
Lawrence University, a pri-
vate liberal arts school in
northern New York. Although
very small in student enroll-
ment when compared to the
University, SLU has a
Division I hockey program in
the Eastern Collegiate
Athletic Conference. For
years, the Conference has not
contained the power house
teams often associated with
the Central Collegiate
Hockey Association or the
Western Collegiate Hockey
Association, but has still
managed to remain quite
competitive in the college
hockey circuit (sending three
of the 12 teams in the NCAA
tournament). During my first
three years at SLU the price
of a regular season student
ticket was a mere $2. At the
commencement of my senior
year, SLU's president made
the decision to do away with
charging any student admis-
sion to regular season hockey
games. Granted, SLU did not
win the national champi-
onship two out of the last
three years, but they were
runners up for the 1989 sea-
son. Remarkably, the cost of
student tickets remained just
$2 for the following seven
seasons until its eventual dis-
missal entirely.
My point being thus: If
SLU, with a student popula-
tion of 2,000 and an arena
seating capacity of less than
half that of Michigan's, is
capable of supporting a com-
petitive hockey program, why
does the University feel the
need to excessively inflate
ticket prices for an already
ample-funded program with a
much larger fanfare?
This perplexing question
has unfortunately lead to my
inability to attend any
Michigan hockey games this
year (quite disappointing,
considering I was greatly
looking forward to doing so).
I hope in future situations,
the Athletic Department takes
the students into greater con-
sideration before attempting
to make a fast buck.
KEVIN SCHNEIDER
RACft*AM
Daily staff
should take a
trip to North
Campus
To THE DAILY:
The University has both a
College of Architecture and
Urban Planning and a School
of Art and Design. For seven,
count 'em, seven years now, I
have watched the Daily screw
up that simple fact. In the
Oct..7 paper, the Daily cited
a quote to "Nathan Tracer,
Art and Architecture
Michigan Student Assembly
Representative:'~
We are two separate edu-
cational entities!
Just because the two
schools share a building
doesn't mean they're the
same body. That would be
like me writing this letter to
the "Michiganensian Daily
Gargoyle" just because
they're all in the publications
building. The Daily needs to
get some poster boards and
write on them in big black
marker that Art and
Architecture are two separate
entities.
You'd think that 108 years
of editorial freedom would
have been enough time to
send somebody to North
Campus to figure it out.
JOSH KEOUGH
NATHAN TRACER
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
Graduate school
essay questions *
in a perfect world
S eniors have a talent for self-obses-
sion. We wax poetic about ye olde
alma mater. We bore everyone to tears
with tales of woe from the job market
and graduate school. We are the baby
boomers of the undergraduate system
because we are only
dimly aware that
there are other peo-
ple who exist on
this campus too.
And we have no
regard for their *a
importance.
Narcissism hav-
ing being explained,
with a nice ablative,
let's talk for a
minute about grad- ILLEP
uate school applica- 1-1I
tions.
This is the time
of year when the mad rush to apply
begins. Most of us have had four years
to forget how stupid and irritating is it to
apply for anything, especially in an aca-
demic context.
The questions are so bad. Does any-
one really have a "moment that chang*
your life?" Bear in mind that the admi-
sions board doesn't want hear dhe
"threesome" story that you keep boring
your housemates with. Writing a thre
to four page essay on "my philosophy of
community service" is nothing you do
for fun either.
So I was thinking the whole process
would be so much better if they would
just ask the right questions instead of
those Pollyanna, first-date cow chips.
® Business school: Do you likO
money? I mean, really, really like
money? Does the thought of a six-fig-
ure salary give you an erection (or
equivalent response)? Does your dreatn
living room consist of $3,000 worth bf
stereo equipment with two Celine Dion
albums and a copy of every Disney
soundtrack? Would you describe yor-
self in 20 years as powerful, sterile and
tasteless? Good. We thought so.'Mv
to the next question.
Essay question: You are the manager
of a sheet metal stamping plant. One of
your best customers has just placed a
huge order. In order to fill it in 'tim,
you'll have to force your employees o
work unpaid overtime and remove the
safety devices from the plant machney
which, while increasing productivity,
will almost certainly cause seeral
worker deaths. If you fill the quota you
will receive a bonus. Question: Whm
do you hide the bodies? What -color
Range Rover?
S Law school: Do you like money,
but still like to feel like a Soldier of the
People? Do you own a "casual" pairof
wingtips? Have you been on the Siud nt
Council since kindergarten? Do yu
evaluate people on the basis of thei-
erence letters they can write for y ?
Would you be happy continuing to ro
the country from the inside out?
Essay question: Goethe's "Faust" is
about a man who sells his soul toithe
Devil for a period of unlimited powi.
Why is everyone so down on the guy
Women's Studies: Doe tle
thought of someone, somewhereZ a-
ing fun that you don't approve of' dit
you crazy? Do you think writing papers
with titles such as "Lacan, Freud and
Derrida: Modes of Thought and
Metaphors of the Body" will en
spousal abuse? Does Woody Allen't*
masculinity frighten you? Can you'bbst
balls with the power of your minds .
Essay questions: Detail your planTdr
mass, forced sperm collection and
wholesale, subsequent execution. Men
in zoos: Why or why not?
Computer science: Have you given
up on sex completely? Is your skin so
white that your roommate can read-by it
at night? Have you ever told a compu
er-illiterate friend or relative that you'
dating this nice girl named Laura Croft?
Essay question: Have you ever kissed
a girl? What was it like? Please?
Environmental Studies/Natural
Resource Management: Ffffffft. Dude,
where's the lighter?
Essay question: Don't you, like;hate
it, when, you're, like, talking abut
recycling or some shit like that apd
someone's all, like, "Dude, like, what
are you? Some kind of hippie?" Tha
like, totally gets me bumithin
Seriously.
0 Medical school: How would like
all the fun of necrophilia with the
respectability of a professional career?
Were "fun" and "free time" just annoy-
ances that you can do without? ..
Essay question: Overachieving- A
way of life, or a hobby to annoy your
friends?
® Social Sciences: Could you go1
whole day without jargon? How about a
half? Do you think the world should be
free of sharp edges and bad luck? Try the
social sciences. We have all the fun of dry
theory and truncated sentences without
the pesky verifiable, useful answers that
the hard sciences are obsessed with.
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