4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 2, 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
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
Vote Power ite
Incumbent and WSU prof. are best combination
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'Zero G and I feel fine!
-Sen. John Glenn, speaking to missiofn control
as he passed over Ha waii on Friday
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ETCTERSTO TE EIETOR
LETTRS TO THE EDITOR
Naming our
buildings:
An excise in
discretion
I mportant people deserve recognition.
This is because there should be some
way to distinguish between truly honor-
able persons and those of us who do
nothing more than make carbon diox-
ide.__ _ _
0
When students hit the polls this week
and vote for two regents, they might
wonder exactly how important the regents
are. The University Board of Regents has a
lot more impact on the student body than
many are aware of - from tuition increas-
es to revamping the Code of Student
Conduct, the regents have their hands in
many aspects of student life. They serve
eight-year terms, during which they can sig-
nificantly shape the University's direction.
Fortunately, this year's four main con-
tenders for the two open spots are all quali-
fied and intelligent candidates. But two
candidates stand out for their background
and strengths: incumbent Phil Power (D-
Ann Arbor) and Wayne State University
Law Prof. Kathy White.
Power exudes energy and tenacity. He is
passionate about the University and makes
his opinions known. When Power talks (or
enthusiastically yells and pounds on the
table), people - be they administrators,
regents or students - listen up. Power has
served on the board for 11 years and has
earned an excellent reputation - and re-
election. Power sees the importance of
expanding the University's technology-
transfer efforts, evidenced by his part in
rewriting a University bylaw to make it eas-
ier for researchers to get their inventions out
into the business world. Doing this, as well
as having a better way to benchmark
University expenses, are two ways, to deter
large tuition increases, Power said in an
endorsement interview with The Michigan
Daily. He says he is interested in keeping
the tuition down because he wants to keep
the University accessible to all types of stu-
dents. He supports affirmative action and
believes the University must vigorously
defend the admissions policies that have
made it possible for a broad cross section of
people to receive a world-class education.
Power's feisty attitude, dedication to
putting students first and breadth of experi-
ence make him a sure-fire choice for regent.
Kathy White, when juxtaposed with Power
and the rest of the board, would bring an
interesting perspective not currently present
to the University's governing body. White is
an eclectic over-achiever: Her resume
includes the positions of law professor,
patent attorney, engineer and captain in the
U.S. Army. Her broad range of experiences
in both the public and private sectors would
bring a lot to the regents' table. Her back-
ground is in academia, not business - set-
ting her apart from other regents and candi-
dates. The Ann Arbor native and Princeton
University graduate knows the value of
diversity in the student body and its faculty.
She is interested in protecting student's
rights and avoiding "knee-jerk" administra-
tive reactions. White is thoughtful and pre-
cise in her ideas. Like the other non-incum-
bents running, White does not have a full
grasp of all the intracacies of the
University's policies, but she does have sev-
eral solid ideas. Like Power, she too empha-
sized the importance of technology transfer
in earning money for the University to keep
tuition costs down. With her background in
patent law, she would be especially well
qualified to help effect new policies in this
area. She also admitted in an endorsement
interview with The Michigan Daily that the
University should review its admission
policies, regardless of the results of the two
pending lawsuits and acknowledges that
"we will have to be more willing to admit
that people don't start off equal."
Republican David Brandon and State
Rep. Jessie Dalman (R-Holland) are
Power and White's two primary oppo-
nents. Brandon was able to attend the
University because of a scholarship he
received - and his education spring-
boarded him to his current position as
president of a multi-million dollar compa-
ny. While a solid candidate, he does not
possess the unique combination of charac-
teristics that White and Power do. While
in many respects an excellent candidate,
Dalman has long been an outspoken oppo-
nent of affirmative action - making her a
threat to the University's tradition and
commitment to diversity. The University
Board of Regents will likely receive two
qualified new members,; but the stand-out
traits and smarts of Power and White make
them the best picks. Vote Phil Power and
Kathy White for University Board of
Regents.
In addition,
society should
always make a
point to honor
important peo-
ple because it
gives the rest of
us something to
strive for - a
reason to put
down our
remote controls
and pretend to
care about
something con-
ScoTT
HUNTER
T'NF Soul
Engler is 'the
best and only
candidate'
TO THE DAILY:
I am wrting in response to
the Oct. 29 editorial "None of
the above." The Daily's editori-
al board is obviously not
versed in the intricacies of
state and local government,
much less politics itself,
While it castigated
Republican governor and
candidate John Engler for his
lack of environmental poli-
cies, his plan for public K-12
education and his apparent
relationship with the
University, it underwrote the
paramount achievement of
his administration in one sen-
tence: that the economic revi-
talization in Michigan was
attributable to the growth in
the national economy. This
argument is extremely faulty.
First, if this were true,
then every state in the union
would benefit inextricably
from the growth in the U.S.
economy. and would be,expe-
riencing record employment
rates, booming growth and
low taxes, as Michigan is.
This is obviously not happen-
ing. The second faulty argu-
ment is that the whole is only
as strong as the sum of its
parts. Michigan's economic
boom has been the direct
result of Engler's tax cuts and
public spending to stimulate
jobs and create a more
dynamic economy. Engler
understands that a stable
economy is imperative before
any other illustrious projects
are undertaken. Too bad more
politicians aren't this smart.
The Daily editorial board
also was at labors to attack
Engler's environmental record
instead of stating what he has
done for the environment.
During his administration
Engler set up the Department
for Environmental Quality and
even elevated the Office of the
Great Lakes to cabinet-level
status. This has allowed the
Department of Natural
Resources to return to its con-
servation roots and provide for
more protection of Michigan's
store of natural resources.
Engler is trying to improve
our school system, and as with
any improvement plan, there
will always be a transition peri-
od. The Daily failed to note
that public school funding
under Engler has gone up by
51 percent and his plans for
improved reading and
increased test scores are also
positive indicators of his plan.
Engler also plans on working
closely with state universities
in the near future. The Daily
editorial board should be
advised that Engler is obvious-
ly the best and only candidate
for governor.
even attended these rallies,
and if she did, if she listened.
I find her completely out of
touch with the very real chal-
lenges facing women today.
Lockyer takes particular
aim at a comment made by
Lara Zador, an LSA junior
and one of the founding
members of the
Undergraduate Women's
Studies Association. During
the NYWDA rally, Zador is
quoted as calling on all
women to "stop drinking Diet
Coke" Lockyer takes this
quote as an example of the
faults that lie within the
women's movement. Why,
she asks, must she give up
Diet Coke to be independent
and powerful?
Lockyer seems clearly
ignorant of the context in
which Zador made her com-
ments. At the rally, Zador
called on women not only to
give up Diet Coke, but also
to "love their hips." Her mes-
sage was fillediwith calls on
women to give up one of the
most dangerous obsessions
facing collegiate women
today: the obsession with
weight and body image.
Is Lockyer aware of the
hundreds of women on this
campus who suffer from
anorexia andabulimia? Every
day, women are turning
themselves inside out to get
rid of a meal, starving them-
selves to shave off pounds.
Does Lockyer support this
self-destructive behavior?
The fact is, most women
don't "choose" to drink Diet
Coke. They feel they "must"
drink Diet Coke to avoid
gaining weight - the great
sin of all sins in our patriar-
chal society, a society which
treats women as the objects
of male sexual desire.
The remainder of
Lockyer's comments do noth-
ing but perpetuate the sexual-
ization and objectification of
women. Her "perks" to being
a woman amount to nothing
more than this. It saddens me
to hear a columnist encourag-
ing women to use tight shirts
and sexy smiles to get what
they want. Why doesn't she
merely say "Women, allow
men to sexualize you?"
And we should never for-
get what the sexualization
and objectification of women
has lead to: date rape, domes-
tic violence, pornography and
other social ills. Lockyer's
column reinforces the culture
ideologies that gave birth to
these oppressions.
GARY BROUHARD
ENGINEERING
GRADUATE STUDENT
MSA debates
opportunity to share our con-
cerns with those who want to
represent us.
The debates have also
allowed the candidates for
office to show students that
they care about our concerns
and points of view. To that
end, I was somewhat offend-
ed at the absence Thursday of
either of the Democrat candi-
dates for the University
Bard of Regents. I under-
stand that both Phil Power -
a long-time member of the
board - and Kathy White -
a candidate that did not even
attend the University - are
very busy people. But a busy
schedule did not stop State
Rep. Jesse Dalman and sever-
al other third-party candi-
dates from attending. Unlike
Power and White, Dalman
and the others made time to
listen to and understand the
concerns of the people whom
they seek to represent and
work with.
The University is known
for students who exercise
their right of free speech and
speak out on the issues that
they care passionately about.
It is sad to realize that two
people wanting to represent
that voice to the world cannot
even take the time out of
their day to listen to what the
student voice has to say.
MATT FoGARTY
LSA SOPHOMORE
Hickey's
commercial
was 'racist'
TO THE DAILY:
With one week toigo
before elections, it's interest-
ing to see the depths to which
some candidates will stoop
when their careers are on the
line. Tom Hickey's
(Republican candidate for
U.S. Congress) final-week
TV commercial is a horrify-
ing example.
The commercial opens
with an image of an angry-
looking young black male
pointing a handgun directly
at the camera and at the
viewer at home. The sinister
voice over soon gets to the
point - Lynn Rivers's record
shows that she is "soft on
crime." The commercial ends
with the same image of the
black man, gun in hand.
In a perfect world, this
commercial would be seen as
so ridiculously racist and
hate-mongering that Hickey
would not get a single vote.
In 1998, can a politician still
get away with equating young
and black with gun-toting
and criminal? This is the
worst kind of negative poli-
tics and has nothing to do
with the candidates or the
issues. Hickey has admittedly
taken his platform straight
from the Republican National
sequential like ridding the world of fur
coats. We all think that if we can just do
something really admirable, we too, will
be officially deemed important. Thenkall
of the common folk will have to gawk at.
our inherent superiority.
To recognize mildly important folk,
no intricate ceremony is necessary.
Usually, a simple "Well done, Ms.
Lewinsky," will more than suffice. In
some instances, we may even be forced
to step up the civility a notch and go
with "We humbly beseech thee, Ms.
Curtin, to allow us to bestow unto you
this token of our veneration."
But when we must pay homage to
thoroughly estimable people, more
elaborate, painstaking formality is 9
called for: We must name something
after them.
Naming things after people is the ulti-
mate honor. When we designate a build-
ing, school or street after a someone, we
effectively grant the person immortality.
Long after s/he is dead and gone, his/her
name will live on emblazoned across
some edifice. Though future generations
will have no idea who the hell Harold T.
Shapiro was, they will always know that
he must have been pretty important
because he had the whole Undergraduate
Library named after him.
Clearly, this form of expressing rever-
ence must have caught on at the
University long ago: The campus is lit-
tered with buildings named after people.
Because some guy was an especially
adroit president, we can all fight over
computers in James B. Angell Hall.
Because another guy was a pretty
bitchin' architecture dean, we take our
economics classes in Emil Lorch Hall.
And who can forget Harlan H.
Hatcher, of graduate library fame?
Then, there were also Horace H.
Rackham, Mary Markley, and Joe Diag
among others - all of whom proved in
some way that they were better than the
average person.
Now despite what it may seem like,
not just any important person can get
their appellation to appear on a building
at Michigan. This school has high stan-
dards. Before anything gets named after
anyone, the potential namesake must
undergo an exacting review, where
highly paid school officials, like LSA's
Vice President for the Naming of
Buildings and Stuff, decide whether
each person merits the honor. (Of
course, anyone can easily bypass the
whole review procedure by writing the
University a fatty check because, of
course, rich equals deserving.)
Now clearly, with such rigorous stan-
dards, there must be some rhyme or rea-
son behind decisions about whether to
grant or deny naming approval for pro-
jects. The University must not only
ensure that the namesake is a sufficient-
ly important person, but also that the
person's conduct is reflective of the
good reputation and high character of
this illustrious institution.
That is why, for similar reasons, some
buildings will never be erected here at
the University:
The Daniel Granger Home For
Exploited and Abused Youth
The Pamela Anderson Institute for
Women's Studies
The Snoop Doggy Dogg Institute
for the Performing Arts
The David Duke Center for African
American Studies
The Carl Cohen Reading Room
But despite the University's generally
exceptional flair for naming -things,
there is, of course, room for improve-
ment. Maybe I'm just being trifling, but
it has always bothered me that the only
people that get big, important things
named after them come from a very,
shall we say "homogenous" group?
Let's just say none of these men had
any trouble getting a seat on a bus in
1954. Nor did they have to burn their
bras to make their accomplishments.
Something must be done to amend
this problem - right now. I want new
naming regulations. I want a couple
more buildings consecrated in the honor
of women and minorities - and not just
Vote nlb for mayor
Ann Arbor deserves new energy and ideas
n a repeat of the Ann Arbor mayoral race
-of two years ago, Republican incumbent
Ingrid Sheldon is once again running
against Democratic candidate Christopher,
Kolb. Although the candidates may be the
same, the outcome should not be - Kolb
should be elected mayor of Ann Arbor.
In the three previous mayoral elections
- including the 1996 race against Kolb -
the Daily has endorsed Mayor Sheldon. But
much has changed in two years. Kolb has
learned how to combine his enthusiasm
with a newfound political sensibility and as
he has matured as a politician, so have the
strength of his ideas.
One issue of particular concern to stu-
dents is the closing of several small busi-
nesses in downtown Ann Arbor such as
Main Street News, Marty's Menswear and
Schoolkidz Records. And while both can-
didates may agree that the proliferation of
national chain stores is hurting the charac-
ter of downtown Ann Arbor, Kolb is the
candidate with. a plan to turn things
around. Kolb wants to establish a real
estate investment trust in which the citi-
zens of Ann Arbor would own shares of the
buildings downtown. Then, the citizens
themselves could choose which businesses
to rent the buildings to. Kolb feels private
University, Kolb plans to seek out the irre-
sponsible landlords and bring the houses up
to code. Furthermore, Kolb intends to
enhance the safety of the off-campus areas
by strengthening the relationship between
the Ann Arbor Police and the University's
Department of Public Safety.
Ingrid Sheldon is not a bad candidate,
nor has she done a poor job in her three
terms as mayor of Ann Arbor. Truthfully,
there are many similarities between the two
candidates, but on some issues, Kolb is the
one who is willing to go the extra mile.
While both candidates agree that traf-
fic and parking are problems in Ann
Arbor, they differ on possible solutions.
Sheldon plans on building a new parking
structure and encouraging alternate forms
of transportation. Kolb, on the other hand,
has a plan to give free bus passes to
employees in the downtown area - a
move that could be less costly than a new
parking structure.
Kolb also seems enthusiastic about a
strong relationship with the University
and its students. Sheldon has certainly
been active at the University over the
years as she has maintained constant con-
tact with the students and the administra-
tion, establishing an "open door" policy
were very
MATTHEW BIENIEK iniiueruiaI
LSA SOPHOMORE
TO THE DAILY:
Kudos to the Michigan
Student Assembly for their
1 a-nr