4 - The Schillaci/Lockyer Daily - Friday, January 29, 1999 ! C'rtt gtttt ttilg o i 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 ofthe Daily v editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. FROM THE DAILY Endangered divrieti 'U' must continue fight for affrative action h perhaps nothing has dominated campus r discussion more than the debate over affirmative action. Admissions based on racial preference and the support and dissent surrounding it have led to two lawsuits against the University. The plaintiffs, represented by the Center for Individual Rights, sued both the University's College of Literature Science and Arts and the Law School for the use of what they claimed to be unfair and unlawful admis- . sions practices. While the University has been disrupted with numerous days of action, the debate should continue. Affirmative action at the University should be supported and the lawsuits eventually should be defeated. The use of affirmative action at the University does nothing to harm the student body, but instead, enhances it. Using race as a factor in admissions decisions creates an 'atmosphere of diversity and difference. Students from all walks of life and differing cultural and ethnic backgrounds receive a chance to interact with one another and be part of a student body that can boast to be representative of a broad spectrum of humanity. The University administration, led by pres- ident Lee Bollinger, has counteracted the fight against affirmative action every step of the way. But another battle has just begun. Ward Connerly, a former regent for the University of California system and a main proponent of California's Proposition 209, which ended the use of racial preferences throughout the state, has mentioned a partnership with state Sen. David Jaye (R-Macomb). Together they would attempt to push a bal- lot proposal that would place the issue of affir- mative action into the hands of Michigan citi- zens. A ballot initiative worked within the state of California and affected the university Senate should end t has been one year, one week and one day since the American public first heard about President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky the former White House intern. Twelve months of national turmoil and televi- sion specials such as "The President Under Fire" have aired across the country and had many families sitting in from of their televi- sion sets. The scandal has the makings of a great made-for-TV movie or tabloid expose: "Extra-marital sex, a zealot hot on the trail of a non sequitor, a public figure in disgrace, a betrayal, a quiet younger mistress who hides from the cameras and a public uproar." Time and again, the scandal has turned into a battle over partisan politics - leaving the greater social and constitutional issues out in the cold. In Wednesday's vote on a motion to dis- miss the impeachment charges, Republicans managed a 56-44 victory with only one Democrat, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), joining the majority. But this small margin will be insufficient to fulfill the two-thirds majority required by the U.S. Constitution for conviction and removal of the president. The Republicans' efforts to get witnesses deposed before the Senate is, in all likelihood, simply a means to delay the inevitable and further hurt the president's image and reputation. Given the havoc the issue has wreaked over the past year, not to mention the damage done to Republicans' public opinion polls, the Senate should put an end to the impeachment pro- ceedings post haste. Clinton's deceitful conduct during the aftermath of his affair with Monica Lewinsky was a poor way to handle the situation. He was not forthright with the American people. His conduct during a deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case was disingenu- nn thn.+khui -- nrm+ i+ mPC-.c the, It-1 n ii system there, Michigan works differently. The University's autonomous relationship with the state could mean that a state ballot would not affect admissions policies. In order to affect the University and its authority over admis- sions, the Michigan state constitution would have to be amended. While the battle over affirmative action escalates toward a possible vote in November 2000, students and activists need to remain determined. The University, both students and administrators, has put forth massive efforts in support of affirmative action and this should continue. Educational forums, discussions and debates are all imperative as this issue of preferences intensifies. The CIR is attempting to target college stu- dents through campus papers and spread their initiative to stop what they claim to be "unlawful" admissions practices. The adver- tisements, titled "Guilty by admission," have run in more than 10 university newspapers including those at Duke University, Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh. In this nationwide attempt to introduce students to the alleged unconstitutionality of affirma- tive action, CIR's strategy could backfire. Complaints have intensified at almost all of the newspapers that ran the ad, placing CIR on the defensive. To quell apathy and intensify the fight for affirmative action, students and policy makers need to vocalize the importance of affirmative action. This issue could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court and a decision to protect a mechanism to help promote access to high- er education. Diversity in higher education should be protected, and those most affected by it - the students -- should fight with the University to continue the practice of affirma- tive action. e yet? impeachment trial threshold of perjury is highly questionable. In addition, the House's charge that the president obstructed justice by trying to conceal the affair is equally without base. Congress's Republican leadership has been using the impeachment issue as a means to dress up a political move in a coat of righteousness. It is time for the politics of personal destruction to end and the nation to return to business with a strong leadership. Clinton's State of the Union address, delivered a week and a half ago, showed the vision and hope that Clinton still holds and the promise his presidency could still deliv- er on. His ideas, while not all great, reflect- ed goals of providing for the welfare of Americans, ensuring Social Security to all senior citizens and improving public and private education nationwide. Clinton is by no means done with his term, but his accomplishments and even his future goals will always be tainted by further Republican rancor and the House's historic impeach- ment. But that should be punishment enough for an extra-marital affair and a weak attempt to conceal it from his wife, his family and the nation. Public punishment and national embar- rassment have already been part of Clinton's tenure. Congress has fallen into the depths of partisanship and public servants across the nation have seen their life's work devalued by the heavyweights in Washington, D.C. It is time for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist to return to his familiar chambers at the Supreme Court building and leave the unfamiliar territory of the Capitol building. Clinton has erred and payed the consequences - the nation now needs to rebuild and face the oncoming years of the 71 t Cpntirv, SENIORS BID7 It was worth it. All of it. At 4:30 in the morning when the pages wouldn't print and the computers wouldn't work and things that should have been chiming and humming were squaking and quacking, it was worth it. When people were yelling at us and we were yelling at each other, it was worth it. When there were protesters out- side (and inside), when no one would call us back, when the ad lines were wrong, it was worth it. When we made something so hard look so easy, it was worth it. In my early days at 420 Maynard St., I used to wonder what made people come back here day after day. And now, 3 1/2 years later, I know. We got to put out a newspa- per. LAURIE MAYK EDITOR IN CHIEF A printed shout goes to my colleagues from the past 3 1/2 years. From my Rat Pack glory days up to the present, your smarts, tenacity and decency earned awe and respect. You made this a trip worth taking. I hope to always have such devoted cowork- ers and inspired friends. JEFF ELDRIDGE COLUMNIST FORMER NEWS EDITOR To my family for giving me a taste for blood, To my mother, for being the saint Nixon thought his mother was, To all the members of Carlito's Social Club, past and present, and to AME for Fats Waller and "Cool Hand-Luke." JAMES MILLER COLUMNIST ARTS WRITER As Daily photographers for the last four years, we have collec- tively published more than 900 images, stemming from more than 54,000 pictures that were taken but did not make the cut. We have traveled to 17 different states, log- ging more than 60,000 miles (that's enough to circumnavigate the globe about 2 12 times). While doing this we have had two cars towed, $7,000 of camera gear stolen, been maced and teargassed a handful of times, assaulted three times, missed two flights, man- aged not to spend a night in jail and still made deadline every time. WARREN ZINN MARGARET MYERS DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY I will forever remember the Daily, if only for giving me the opportunity to connect deeply, erotically, laughably with a far- away woman named Koko, who helped me see that the faked orgasms of two people can amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Thank you, Michigan Daily and Koko, wherever you are, for not stomach-assing my college career. BRYAN LARK FORMER ARTS EDITOR My fondest memory of the Daily is from before I ever set foot inside 420 Maynard. While reading the crime notes on a bus ride from Bursley, I decided I wanted to write for the Daily, but figured I'd never be up to it. Little did I know that a year and a half later, I'd be getting kicked out of a drag version of the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City for being a Daily reporter. Or that one story would snowball into three beats, dozens of story conferences, 133 page one layouts and relationships that can't be described in words or numbers. Not a week goes by when that freeze frame of the bus- ride doesn't flash through my mind - a reminder that all great things start small. JANET ADAMY MANAGING NEWS EDITOR I came to college planning to spend four years on tuition, books, rent and school supplies. I expected to pay attention in class, THE DAILY FAREWELL ending road trip marked my col- lege. Cars and bars, deadlines and headlines, beers and cheers, nights and sights, sun and sand remain my college. Birthdays at the ESPYs, Thanksgivings on Waikiki, and New Year's in Orlando will forev- er highlight my college. For four years, The Michigan Daily was my college. Just as I planned. MARK SNYDER SPORTS EDITOR I cannot honestly say that I loved every single waking second of it. The truth is, there was too much - way too much - for everything to have gone perfectly. I know - I remember distinctly - there were hours that were tor- ture, and days that I hated. So why, now that it's over, am I so sad to see it end? I wouldn't trade my time at The Daily for anything in the world. JIM RosE MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR One of my best Daily memo- ries is when I discovered that my phone number and a detailed nar- rative concerning myself and an imaginary partner had been scrawled onto the wall of a loo in Mason Hall. It seems that a dis- gruntled actor hadn't entirelys appreciated my critical theories of his performance and decided upon this paramount method of revenge. What made the action so complete is that someone actually rang me and inquired of the con- tortionist abilities concocted by the amateur scribe. When I finally realized that the heavy breathing on the line wouldn't amount to anything more than a nuisance, I hung up. Later on, I came to dis- cover that the owner of those heavy, seething breaths was none other than Editorial Page Editor Jack Schillaci. CHRISTOPHER TKACZYK ARTS EDITOR To MY COLLEAGUES: How can I ever thank you for listening to me shout the details of my personal life for hours on end?! What I hope I've taught you (that everything has the potential to be cute) can't compare to the things I've learned over produc- tion shift dinners - including the lesson that birth control takes up a deceiving chunk of money. Breaking stories at 12:30 a.m., Postscript errors, unretured calls and hours of laughing: I've loved (almost) every minute. Here's hoping I can always be so lucky. ERIN HOLMES NEWS EDITOR Four years ago, I came into the Daily to merely drop off a film review. Now, when it's time to leave, I realize how much more there is to this place than comput- ers and deadlines. Between the anxiety and the stress shared with- in the building, there were also late night trips to Alpha, the movies and other unique estab- lishments that generated incredi- ble laughter and amazingly good friends. Because of these experi- ences and these people, the Daily will hold a treasured place in my memory forever. KRISnN LONG ARTS EDITOR Family-style dinners, giggling through story conference, playing with layouts, pasting pages, crashed servers, sharing stories with reporters who became trust- ed friends ... even leaving the building at 4am. knowing I'd return in five hours. The sacrifices and endless hours were worth the rewards and lessons learned. No one memory can express what the Daily and the people there have come to mean to me over the past 2 1/2 years. As I leave this incredible experience, a small part of me will remain as a faded whisper among the ghosts of Dailys past. Because it's the common exper- ence through a 108-year history that makes this place so special for those lucky enough to take part. Thanks for the memories and joking around. Somehow though, we always made sure to finish up in time to go home and catch SportsCenter - the 2 a.m. edi- tion. In the end, it was always fun. PRANAY REDDY SPORTS EDITOR Working for the Daily wasn't a day at the beach, even when I was lying on my back in the soft sands of Maui back in November. When I think of all the sleep I've lost, opportunities I've missed, friends I couldn't keep in touch with during the arduous hours I was helping put together a newspaper, I wonder: Why on earth did I subject myself to this? But if I had the chance, I'd do it all over again. From staying up until 6 a.m. to put together a spe- cial section to taking three modes of transportation to get to Boston for the hockey championship last April - it was all worth it. Most importantly, I've met friends that I will never forget and I hope who will never forget me and the time we spent together during these years. For that, I would have subjected myself to anything. SHARAT RAJU SPORTS EDITOR I was never even close to being a major part of the Daily's 108 years of tradition. But I loved every minute that I had the privi- lege to spend in this ridiculous house of idiocy. From the yelling and the laughing to the cama- raderie and friendships, from showing up on Sunday mornings wasted to missing Friday meet- ings, from inciting feminist riots to insulting all the men on cam- pus, from barely learning Quark to making someone else do all of my work, I have realized one very important thing - I'm in love with my editor. SARAH LOCKYER ASSOCIATE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR COLUMNIST Not all of my best friends work for The Michigan Daily. All of my favorite college moments have not taken place between the bricked and wooden walls of 420 Maynard Street. Not all of the best work I have produced in the last four years has been at or for our newspaper. But looking back at eight semesters, I can count on one hand the number of times being at the Daily or thinking about the Daily didn't consume every waking second of my life, and I can remember even fewer times when I did not love what I was doing or thinking about. The Daily is not the only thing in my life - it's just the most important. For those curious, I can sum up my four years at the University in three words: The Michigan Daily. WILL WEISSERT WEEKEND, ETC. EDITOR 'FORMER NEWS EDITOR We photogs have our own lit- tle family: We make lots of noise and try to get each other to do our chores for us and eat everyone else's food and argue over who gets to stay up all night and some- times we get yelled at but in the end we always play nice. When I laugh over a suggestive reference to photo equipment and cry over destroyed film and scream over broken computers and feel my fingers tremble as they try to work the camera in the freezing cold and drive ridiculous distances to obscure destinations to shoot the Spice Girls and find joy in the fact that, I have enough batteries and I bounce my flash oh-so right to make the perfect image, it's then that I realize what true love is. ADRIANA YUGOVICH ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR REPORTER GOES MAD Ex-Daily staff reporter Jason Stoffer was arrested for inciting a riot yesterday in the Student Publications Building, Department of Public Safety reports state. Police said he allegedly told the younger reporters what "really" goes on in Looking back on the year that " made sex and booze mortal sins W hen I wake up Friday morning, there will be something different about me. A giant weight will have been lifted off of my chest. Numerous hours of freetime will have materialized imy schedule. Checking my e- mail will become some- thing I enjoy doing rather than something that I dread. Yes indeed, Friday is the day that I leave the Daily, at least until my next SCHILLACI column runs. GODNl6'l T I entered the T r"yl%' Y}I.; Daily for the first time two days before classes began my freshman year. I met a tall guy whose name rhymed with mine who claimed to be the editor. I attended my first meeting later that week and was immediately hooked. I learned to e what I did here in this playgroun of journalistic idealism. Writing about right and wrong, making big decisions that are traditionally reserved only for "real" journalists, I began to understand the world around me better; in fact, I understood myself better. As I stand graduating from this posi- tion that only a hundred or so have been lucky enough to fill, I, as outgoing edi- tors are prone to do, look back at the year that was. I am not the type that - ally waxes nostalgic or philosophica , so if my digression makes you fel like you're watching Barbara Streisand, I apologize. I was lucky - I got to lead during the year when oral sex became an impeach- able offense. A midterm election year with a crazy lawyer running against an established (read: crusty) state politi- cian. The year the University saw huge lawsuits brought by begru~d white kids, several "days of action" and the rise of the alcohol thought police. And as a sophomore-come-junior taking the reigns usually handed to those a year ahead of me, I got to expe- rience them through a different - and perhaps more naive - lense. As I am leaving this position with a year and a half left before graduation, I still have plenty of time to search for a defining moment or theme for my years ae University, though I doubt one better or more suitable than the Daily will come along. And unlike the last two juniors to leave this job, I will not use my editor- ship as a springboard to launch myself into MSA candidacy (I'm sure those in 3909 Michigan Union are breathing a sigh of relief; sorry Flint, sorry Sam). I can recount my favorite mom s: From the time I had to yell at Geo y Fieger to listening to a ranting and rav- ing woman who insisted that I was a Nazi. From the time I fell out of my chair and landed on my head to the day the locked-out Detroit News and Free Press workers protested in the Daily's lobby, interrupting my viewing of "Law & Order." From the numerous times I've been told to "Focus Schillaci!!!" to watching the spawn of Satan tjn red at edit board. It hasn't all been that fun, but u take the good with the bad, and there's a lot more of the former than of thlatter. Those who have come before me have helped shape my editorship. From Adrienne, I learned to defend my beliefs with the drive of an apocalyptic preach- er. From Zack, I learned to temper that energy with pragmatism. From Erin, I learned to take it all in stride - to be strong willed and speak my mind e remaining well-grounded. The Daily is enmeshed in the tradi- tions it embodies. For better or-worse, this editorial page and this paper are as much a product of 108 years of thought, wisdom and experience as they are of the work of the occupants of 420 Maynard Street. The editorial precedents set by the activist editor- ship of the '60s and the conservative regime of the '80s still both reverber- ate within the four corners of*is page. But it goes beyond just what some- one wrote or thoughth30 years ago. We've learned from the mistakes of our predecessors, just as our succes- sors will learn from ours. We see the remnants of their work - both in the hard-bound volumes of papers 'from their era and in the physical remiains in this building that hasn't ,relly changed much in the time since i s constructed. As I concluded my last meeting on Tuesday, I felt truly humbled .y the experience I had just completedA feel- ing of nostalgia came over me asI gazed at the bound volumes lining the walls, I I