4 -- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 9, 1999 JIbe d~i§un ?Dadg And the Academy Award goes 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 daily letters@umich. edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan HEATHER KAMINS Editor in Chief JEFFREY KOSSEFF DAVID WALLACE Editorial Page Editors O urs ianation ofawards particuarl for the performing arts. We've got the Golden Globes, the Emmys. the Blockbuster Awards, the Grammys. the TV Guide Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards, the VH 1 Fashion Awards and my personal favorite, the 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 Academy Awards, whose nominees were announced today. The Oscars are probably among the most presti- gious of the bunch, though they're just as likely as the others to give popularity and box office returns weight they don't deserve. How else could "Titanic"'s seplast year be explained? But there's always been something miss- ing in the line up for that night in March. Step into tesolu Chicano/a History Week celebrates culture Siam It to the Left Bst ueoperson holdng sevred appendage: "Saving Private Ryan" - Nothing like a man walking around holding his detached, blood-gushing arm to really get me in the movie-watching mood. I think it was shortly after this scene that I left to go throw up. Best attempt to meld male camaraderie theme with glitzy British sitcom: "Hurlyburly" - Though I realize I am defi- nitely in the minority in this view, I still think this movie is, in many ways, a male film ver- sion of the BBC's "Absolutely Fabulous."' You've got the story of an "adequate" friend- ship between two characters (in Kevin Spacey's words) mixed with a couple dozen lines of cocaine, excessive drinking, smoking, an oversexed live-in Anna Paquin and a nude performance artist with a balloon (see below). Patsy and Edina would be proud. Best film a genre will likely ever pro- duce: "Shakespeare In Love" Far, far, far bet- ter than your average Tom-Hanks-loves-Meg- Ryan-but-can't-deal-with-it romantic come- dy, "Shakespeare" is alone in the genre as the type of movie that doesn't incite one to grab for the nearest garbage can, barf bag or other vomit receptacle. Most overly gratuitous, self-serving ref- erence to the size of star's anatomy: "Buffalo 66" -As if it weren't bad enough that we had to look at the dirty mess that is Vincent Gallo and try to figure out why the hell Christina Ricci would ever fall in love with him, we get subjected to the wake of his Oedipal complex. And what do you know, as the screenwriter, he got to make the decision to include those lines himself. Worst use of Sandra Bullock: "Hope Floats" - OK, she should not be in a roman- tic comedy. Ever. She is living proof that every ugly man, woman and child will some- day be in a multi-million dollar movie. She needs to rte.'Nuff said.0 Best use of Meg Ryan: "Hurlyburly"- For once, she's not doing the dupe-who-falls- in-love routine. Instead, she plays a small role as a woman who gets paid to dance around naked with a red balloon (of course they never show said act) and occasionally takes time out to use large amounts of cocaine. Most over-analysis by 20-somethings: "The Last Days of Disco" -- This movie would have been a million times better if the@ characters would have just shut up once in a while. I know that their near obsessive-com- pulsive discussions were kind of the point, but after all, it was only disco. Perhaps it would mean more to me had I lived in the '70s, but I didn't, and listening to a handful of whiny lit- tle dips discuss how disco could never die did- n't exactly drive a point home. Most Redundant Theme in the '99 Movie Theatre: "War is hell" - Why, thank you Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Malick, I haven't seen "Platoon" in 10 years. The excitemen4@ over the fact that these men's films, particu- larly "Ryan" portrayed the "real" World War II, as opposed to the glamorized version, was lost on me. 1 don't know why, but I never thought that the WWII was fun in comparison to Vietnam. This last one isn't really a category, just a suggestion: Former Best Actor who should have his award revoked for recent performances : Jon Voight - The fact that he got second billing under James Van Der Beek in "Varsity Blues" is bad enough, but add performances in such cinematic masterpieces as "Enemy of the State""The Rainmaker" and "Anaconda" and you have a formula that makes his perfor- mance in "Coming Home" almost impossible to remember. - Jack Schillaci can be reached over e-mail atjschilla@umich.edu. A LOOK BACK D uring the month of February, many groups on campus will take the time to celebrate the diverse cultures and back- grounds to which University students belong. One of these cultural celebrations is Chicano/a History Week, which began Jan. 30 and will continue through this Friday. The fes- tivities include an art exhibit, theatrical and dance performances, a cultural dinner and other Chkicna 1 presentations of Upcomir Chicano/a culture. The goal is to give students -- r aiis whether of Chicano/a "by Chicauola ar1 background or not -- a Trwttet Housi chance to immerse them- Feb. 14, 'spons< selves in American University Mexican- culture.. students ence of students at the University. By coming into contact with other cul- tures, students may gain insight and ideas that they may not have encountered in a more homogeneous community. Events such as Chicano/a History Week help to educate students about other cultures, and demonstrate why diversity is so important to the University -- it fur- tory Wieek Kthers education in a way a ~Events 'classroom setting may not be able to accomplish. fatUring Work The celebration of ts. Chicano/a History Week is odythrOUgh being organized by La Voz i4 by' La VOZ Mexicana and Alianza, two campus groups for nm Art LbUnge~ Latino/a students. They y I 3 p)Onsred deserve to be commended for their fine work in set- Hood"ting up events. Their efforts ,Feb. 12, to organize a celebration of Chicano/a culture are prov- a Loya ing to be quite successful. angIk L* VidR" Chicano/a History K, F~eb. 13 ~ Week is one of the many ................... cultural events occurring on campus at this time. The organizers of these events have put together an excellent celebration of Chicano/a heritage and its contribution to American culture. University students of all backgrounds should take advantage of the chance to learn about Chicano/a culture. Experiencing anoth- er culture may help people understand why diversity is so crucial to the University com- munity. They have categories for best this and best that, but they often miss the things that really make a movie great or just horrific. And so, dear Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, I submit the following suggestions for new categories for this year's Oscars, along with who I think deserves the golden statuette. Most repulsive use of middle-aged back- hair: Robin Williams in "Patch Adams" - I mean, come on. As if it weren't bad enough that this film's producers wanted us to buy that Monica Potter would actually fall in love with Robin Williams, they had to expose us to the latter's butt. (I know it was based on a true story, but for some reason I think that the directors took a little cinematic license with this couple.) MATT WIMSATT should take advantage of 1Dy Alai1za. the opportunity to learn "JeISu Ia thk from these events. East QWad Ai The University prides 6:30 pi.. itself on its diverse stu- .' toryteller O] dent body. The events of "DaICkIngfTl Chicano/a History Week Eas QI1ad A give students of 7P. Chicano/a descent a won- derful opportunity to share their culture with their fellow students, and offer other students the chance to experience different cultures. At a time when the University's affirma- tive action policy, which helps to ensure a multicultural student body, is under siege, it is important to demonstrate the ways that diver- sity enriches the campus. Diversity on campus contributes greatly to the educational experi- NRA0 lbyists cannot stop lawsuits SeX, offenders' names should be To THE DAILY: I am writing in response to the Feb. 5 editorial "Caught in a Web - State police should not list sex offenders." avMaking a listp of s ofendefrs'hnames ideas I've heard in a long time. The Daily writes, "If there is a problem with the process of rehabilitation, then it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that it is corrected." Although inmates should be rehabilitated when they are released from prison, it is hardly the fault of the penal system if sex offenders have not responded to treatment and therapy. The sad fact is that these people cannot be rehabili- tated, and no amount of government inter- The editorial also says that sex offenders "have paid their debt to society and are enti- tled to live in privacy." Well, I say that theirs is a debt that can never be repaid. These people steal children's innocence, their sense of security and their ability to trust others. The damage they inflict can take sur- vivors a lifetime to repair. And what justice do the survivors receive? The offender spends a few years in jail and then returns to his or her life, while the survivor must carry permanent scars. Given the choice between defending the privacy of a convicted sex offender, or pro- tecting a child from emotionally and psy- chologically scarring abuse, I'll choose the child every time. MEGAN HOMAN LASOPHOMOR E ( z I. IT AM - 1 I ii- Several U.S. cities are suing gun manufac- Sturers nationwide for the health care costs resulting from gun violence. Six cities - Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta, Boston, Bridgeport, Conn. and the Miami-Dade County government of Florida - have already filed suits, eliciting fear on the part of gnmakers and incurring the wrath of the National Rtifle Association. The NRA, always quick to oppose any hint of anti-gun senti- ment - from mandatory waiting periods to assault weapons bans --have begun lobbying from Washington D.C. to various state capi- tals, in an effort to restrict lawsuits against gun manufacturers before they get to the courts. Such lawsuits, coming on the heels of recent success in similar cases brought against tobacco companies, aim to ease the financial burdens of cities racked with deaths and injuries caused by guns. The NRA is attempting to use its consider- able political clout to deny these cities their day in court. In an article in the Washington Post, NRA's Chief Lobbyist Jay Baker called the lawsuits "a back-door effort at gun-con- trol." Implicit in this statement is not only the highly questionable notion that gun-control is somehow under-handed and oppressive, but that these lawsuits impede on the rights of gun manufacturers. The reality is that the cities fil- ing these suits are trying to hold gun makers responsible for the death and destruction that are directly caused by their products. While the NRA's attempts to influence federal legis- lators to prhibit these lawsuits have not been very effective, their success at the state level has been. Legislation is now being developed in Louisiana that would require cities to get state approval before filing lawsuits against gun manufacturers. The law is expected to pass cial told the Washington Post, "basically everyone (in the state Legislature) except those representing an inner-city area ... would vote for it." Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster's press secretary echoed similar sentiments: "he believes thiat these lawsuits against gun manu- facturers ... are unfair." NRA lobbyists plan to have similar legislation introduced into 26 more state Houses by the end of the year. What the NRA and state governments such as Louisiana seem not to acknowledge is that it is the role of the courts, not legislatures, to decide whether such litigation is fair or not. If gun makers are truly the victims of unreason- able litigation, then they will be vindicated by the courts. Any attempt to deny a fair hearing to a city on this matter is a blatant subversion of the judicial process and a surrender to spe- cial interest groups like the NRA. If tobacco companies can be held respon- sible for the health costs that result from their products, then gun manufacturers ought to be as well. In 1992, the national cost of firearm injuries in direct medical expenses was esti- mated at $3 billion. Gun violence has accounted for approximately 34,000 deaths and more than 70,000 injuries in the United States every year since 1989. All of this amounts to higher health care costs and lost tax revenues to cities throughout the country While the NRA would like to make these law- suits into an issue about freedom and rights, the fact remains that the cities filing lawsuits are concerned primarily with public health costs and it is precisely the compensation for these costs that they are seeking from gun manufacturers. While it is uncertain how these cases will be decided, one thing is clear: cities should be able to take gun makers to task for the destruction that their products cause - and the NRA has no right to stop Ticket in crease which we will probably be asked to pay yet again. REBECCA FERRE~L- U NIVER SITY A LUMNUS 'U' must sup port To THE DAILY: To those who do not support affirmative action, I would like to present an argument in favor of it that has been underempha- sized, particularly in the pages of the Daily. I believe that diversity is important, not just in terms of ethnicity, but in terms of background, aspirations, ways of thinking and general perspective on the world. Diversity is what makes life interesting. Like the University, I value diversity. waAffirmative actiontreprent a prncipled University is diverse, at least ethnically and on the basis of gender. Let's face it, ethnicity and gender are often somewhat related to an indi- Affirmative action ensures that University admissions decisions involve some kind of standard (based on merit) other than that which can be inferred (with varying levels of success) just from an individual's ethnicity or gender. If we do away with affirmative action, we are forced to conclude either that diversity is not really all that important or that diversity should be the only criteria for admission. Affirmative action gives us the freedom to retain all of the ideals of a diverse, merit-based institution of higher learning. As one of the great public universities of the world, the University paves the way for the success or failure of social programs and ideologies such as affirmative action. it is our responsibility as members of the University, to present a well- reasoned justification for our decision to stand behind affirmative action. MATTHEW MURPHY LSA SOPHOMORE G EO editorial increases substantially above 2.5 percent in all three years: * 4.6 percent in 1998 * 3.1 percent in 1996 _ Please understand that the 1996 "dea provides GEO members with an increase equal to the average increase for regular tenured and tenure track LSA faculty. The 2.5 percent serves only as a minimum in the event that the faculty increase is small. The University believed this to be a ben- eficial salary increase agreement in 1996 which provided the members of GEO with the potential of increasing their salaries at the highest possible rate. The 1/22/99 Daily headline, '"U' faculty get highest 98-9k salary increase," would lead one to belie you also believe that to be true. DANIEL GAMBLE A SSOCIAT E DI RECTOR A CA DEMIC H UMAN R ESOURCES Lockyer' column* was 'insensitive To THE DAILY: After reading last Tuesday's column by Sarah Lockyer, I was truly disappointed not only by the veiled, disgusting anti-Semitic ref- erence in the piece, but by the insensitivity and journalistic recklessness displayed by the Daily editorial staff in allowing the piece to go to press. In an effort to be humorous (givi*. Lockyer the benefit of the doubt), Lockyer made a patently offensive reference to Jewish women. While I presume she was attempting to be humorous, in actuality she fostered ignorant religious intolerance. Lockyer has proven herself to be depthless in the past, but by making the sweeping reference to Jewish women, she has reached new levels of bigotry. Lockyer, if you think attempting to hid- any religious, racial or ethnic slur with$ some weakly thought out acronym is fool- ing anyone, I can assure you that all you accomplished was to show your true nar- row-mindedness. The Daily editorial staff is equally to blame for promoting such religious bias. is 'gouging' To THE DAILY: I am writing to express my disgust with Tom Goss's decision to increase the already outrageously high ticket prices by 30 per- cent. The University Athletic Department decided that in order to stay current and look every bit of the football powerhouse they are, they would install the huge elec- tronic scoreboards at Michigan Stadium. This "state of the art" addition was sup- posed to not only bring enjoyment to the fans, but revenue to the department. To that end, the decision was made to use an Athletic Department surplus just so this kind of gouging wouldn't be necessary. Now, less than a year later, Goss has decid- ed the best way to recoup money for the ath- letic slush fund is by scraping more money out of the alumni pockets - what they were sup- posedly trying to prevent last year. I'm sure that most people, if polled before the installation of the scoreboards, would have been perfectly happy to keep the score- boards that were in place and keep ticket prices down. The Athletic Department says