4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 11, 1999
Ott 3itiaig a t&iIg
Achtung baby! We've got a long way
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
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.
Take note
Services may encourage cutting class
We'll start in the middle, which is to
say the present.
I'm not beginning with any big topic
today. I've never been one of those people
who can come up to you and start a conver-
sation. If you can do
that, that's fine, but
its never comfortable
for me even in the
most appropriate set-
tings. I can be leav-
ing Michigan
Stadium after a big
win, just another
body in the herd, and
the fan next to me -
pride bursting from
the seams of the
sweater he's obvious- David
ly worn to every Wallace
game for the past E
four years - might
pull something out of Maynard St
the air.
Him: "Man, AT, I've never seen him run
like that. That touchdown in the third quar-
ter, he must have broken at least four tack-
les. Awesome, baby!"
Me: "Yeah, that was great. The team
looks like a legitimate contender this year.
It's gonna be a fun season. (I smile politely.)
I'm going over here now."
Maybe I'm the one who's maladjusted,
but are you more inclined to listen to some-
one you know or someone sitting next to
you on the bus to North Campus? Right. All
my conversations begin with, "Hi, I'm
Dave." That's why I'm starting with an
introduction - this column is as much for
me as it is for you.
So now we'll go back to the beginning.
Starting a column is a daunting task.
You've got to be comfortable with putting
your ideas in front of a large group of peo-
ple. The Daily's market research estimates
that almost 40,000 people look through the
paper each day. There's a lot to consider
before going in front of a group that size,
both small and large issues.
It's a nervous kind of fun. One of the lit-
tle tasks is to honor tradition and select a
name for your column. I went through a lot of
ideas to replace Catcher in the Wry, which
was the moniker I used last summer. There
was the creative Mich-ellaneous, the her-
itage-referencing The Finnish Line and the
inflammatory Go Ahead, Write Letters.
Mich-ellaneous was just too cute, so it had to
go. My Finnish heritage comes from my
grandmother, so I didn't want everyone going
"Wallace? That's not Finnish" or "Learn to
spell, moron." Plus, I'd have to deal with the
Finnish Anti-defamation League, and they'd
kill me in a ski-by shooting. I love Go Ahead,
Write Letters, but I didn't want to cop that
attitude to start (Lockyer, if you want it, it's
yours). And Catcher got the ax because it has
a whole shot-John-Lennon connotation I
want to avoid.
Exile just worked. It references a great
album by the Rolling Stones while simulta-
neously paying tribute to the time my col-
leagues and I put in at the Daily. The light
turns green for this one.
But some of the bigger issues are more
nerve-wracking than fun. Forty thousand
people bring backgrounds, personalities
and ideas too numerous to count. As a
columnist, I want to relate to as many read-
ers as possible - does our diversity pre-
clude such a thing? I don't think it has to.
Campus diversity is only a strength if it
shows us how we're interrelated in a bigger
picture that we all influence and care about.
If it separates us, it does us no good.
I think more of us are working for the
to go together
nobler goal. Even if we're not close on a
more specialized level, we've got our com-
mon experiences. Being a University stu-
dent gives us a good start. Sports, the arts
- these are all things that help people con-
nect. I value the uniqueness of your life not
to say that I know what's it's like, but I think
a lot of what I feel runs through you too.
Let's jump forward to the end of this col-
umn. Yeah, I mean that in more than one way.
I'm never going to begin with a big,
important topic, stand on top of a crate and
beat my chest. Nor will I craft an exquisite-
ly structured argumentative essay. That's
just not my style. A quote 1 have attributed
to Arthur Miller says "He who understands
everything about his subject cannot write it.
I write as much to discover as I do to
explain." This is a profound theory, and I
ascribe to it - particularly as a student.
Likely, you and I are both students.
Neither one of us knows much more than
the other. For me, writing has always been a
way to explore things I didn't understand, or
to deal with things that were overwhelming.
As humans, we're all searching for tran-
scendence, even if it arrives for only fleet-
ing moments. If we get a moment of tran-
scendence, that's great. That's what we all
want. Maybe We'll get more and maybe we
won't get any. That's OK too. I'll be per-
fectly happy if I only relieve the boredom
you feel in the five minutes before your
chem class. If nothing else, we'll have a
great time on the quest, and the quest can be
just as fulfilling as its resolution.
So I'm just asking you to read. I will
always put up something I feel is worthwhile
for you. We've got a long way to go together,
we'll have fun, it will be interesting and we
might even enrich each other.
- David Wallace can be reached over
e-mail at davidmw &umich.edu.
TENTAT VLYX SPEAiNG
01
f there's an easier way to do something,
most people will take it. In the United
States, the weight-loss industry makes
billions of dollars a year on Americans
who are willing to exchange their money
for powders and potions that offer the
promise of weight-loss without diet or
exercise. Most people do not like hard
work. Being a University student is also
hard work: professors assign a ton of
reading, another paper always seems to be
due, attendance is taken at those pesky
one-and-a-half hour, 9 a.m. classes.
Several services have popped up to help
make the learning process easier by pro-
viding students with notes from several
University classes. The newest of these
services, Versity.com, is the first service
to not only offer notes online, but for free.
Learning is a complex process, and edu-
cation cannot be bought - it is earned.
Students, or their parents, fork over
tens of thousands of dollars for a
University education. But getting an edu-
cation is not as simple as sending in
tuition checks. It requires a lot of dedica-
tion, energy and discipline by students.
Paying $25 for a semester's worth of
notes, or looking up notes on the Web for
free, encourages some students to use
these services instead of attending lec-
tpres. The notes are not supplementary or
extra information - they are exactly
what a student would receive if they had
gone to class themselves. While these
note-taking services may have "helpful"
intentions - or are just capitalizing on
some students' laziness - students inter-
ested in using the services should proceed
with caution.
For starters, there is no way to guaran-
tee the information offered by these ser-
vices is complete - or even accurate.
Note-taking services are in no way moni-
tored by professors; some professors have
openly spoken out against them.
Professors do not lecture simply to relay
facts - they ideally give an engaging,
thought-provoking presentation of ideas
and facts. Another person's notes are sim-
ply no substitute for attending class.
Using note-taking services, rather than
attending lectures, compromises a stu-
dent's education and academic integrity.
Going to lecture is not just about getting
the notes or finding out what is on the
midterm. It is the only way to understand
the anecdotes professors sprinkle in their
lectures - and the only way to hear the
ideas of other classmates.
Receiving a University education is
multi-faceted - not only attending lec-
tures, but developing personal, subjective
note-taking skills, deciding what infor-
mation is valuable and analyzing it.
Analytical skills cannot be taught or
bought, they are learned. Relying on note-
taking services not only dramatically sim-
plifies education, but denies students the
larger base a college education can offer.
While grades are important, they are only
a small part of an academic experience
and their importance is short-lived. A few
years after graduation, many students
find that prospective employers are not
interested in their G.P.A. But the skills
obtained by fully participating in one's
own education are priceless.
THOMAS KULJURGIS
INSIDE
UN W EAOARTERS.".
The final decisom
Clinton should not be removed from office
If all goes according to plan, the Senate
will vote on the two articles of
impeachment against President Clinton by
5 p.m. today. The vote will bring an end to
a debacle that has lasted far too long.
After evaluating the evidence against the
president, the Senate should see that the
case is very thin and in no way encom-
passes "high Crimes and Misdemeanors"
as envisioned by the framers of the
Constitution.
The Senate trial has now lasted more than
a month, and no persuasive new evidence
has come to light that could possibly change
the opinions of Senators favoring acquittal.
That the proceedings have progressed to this
point is a tragedy for the country.
Tainted from the beginning, the entire
matter comes down to a simple indiscre-
tion on the part of the president.
Republicans seized on Clinton's exposed
personal life to mount a campaign to oust
him from office. With Independent
Counsel Kenneth Starr's lascivious report
in hand, House Republicans created four
thin articles of impeachment, of which
they were only able to pass two.
Clinton's moral character, or lack there-
of, is not a sufficient ground to remove
him from the presidency. His personal life
does not impact his ability to run the coun-
try. While his extramarital actions could
have a serious affect on his marriage, it
hardly has anything to do with anyone out-
side of his family.
The case against Clinton is thin at best.
iiii ii
Whether or hot he committed perjury
hinges on complex legal definitions that
raise as many questions as it answers.
Clinton's evasive testimony and manipula-
tion of language do not translate directly to
perjury. For Clinton to have committed
perjury, he would have to given testimony
that was outright dishonest -not the legal
wrangling in which he engaged.
The other article of impeachment
charges him with obstruction of justice.
The debate over this topic is similarly
ambiguous. There is no direct connection
showing the president to have manipulated
the testimony of any witnesses.
The proceedings up to this point have
been marked by partisan politicking. The
impeachment vote offers senators a final
opportunity to show the country that divi-
sions between the parties can be overcome
to arrive at a just conclusion. Unlike in the
House vote, Senate policy does not
require senators to only vote as a jury, but
to act as judges with all the personal dis-
cretion that implies. Sen. James Jeffords
(R-Vt.) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.)
both indicated yesterday that they would
vote against both articles of impeachment,
while Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V)
announced earlier this week he would
have a hard time acquitting Clinton.
Perhaps the Senate can achieve a bilateral
agreement and end this foul chapter in the
nation's history. Republicans and
Democrats should both vote in support of
the Clinton presidency.
DPS officers
helped protect
marchers
TO THE DAILY:
I just want to take a moment to say thank
you to Department of Public Safety officers
Richard Zavala and Christian Carelli. These
officers were present during the entirety of
the Glow in the Dark Queer Pride March.
The march started off on a short route but
stretched on for about an hour! Officers
hung close as some people shouted homo-
hate epithets from cars or while walking by.
They also paid close attention as some-
one confronted a group of marchers to
inform them that they were sinful and
would burn in Hell for their "sins." There is
little doubt that most violent, physical
attacks against queer people are prefaced by
verbal attacks. The presence of these police
officers perhaps clarified these boundaries.
Protection from this sort of ignorance and
hate is vitally important. Hatred against
queer people is virulently alive as made
obvious by the assaults against Matthew
Shepard and Leonard "Lynn" Vines. Thanks
to these DPS officers, marchers could feel a
bit safer while using their First Amendment
right to free speech and making themselves
a bit more visible on campus.
Congratulations also to the queer and allied
marchers who shouted, laughed and slipped
around on the icy sidewalks together. How
about next year?
CARLA PFEFFER
LSA SENIOR
ITD access should
be a 'right' for all
students
TO THE DAILY:
Recently, I and numerous others to be sure
received the following e-mail from the
Information Technology Division: "Access to
information technology is a privilege, not a
right.
"Using the resources inappropriately can
result in loss of access to the University of
Michigan computing environment. If you vio-
late policy in this manner again your account
will be suspended."
Y think the University is basically saying
you better pay this fee but you do not have a
"right" to the services you get. Those services
are a "privilege"'
So, if ITD is not a "right" that we pay for
and possibly take student loans to pay for, I
was wondering if it is a "privilege" we can opt
out of and thus save money on our ITD fees.
We should have that right! To be honest, I
would much rather use America Online or
Mindspring and to hell with the wonderful
printing privileges.
CARLOS HERNANDE FORD
MEDICAL SCHOOL
~. . . .
WE: MUSS COMIRwuE f119
SANCIOtIS ON TMN
K 4 .-
observe the extreme ignorance, no, idiocy,
presented in Chris Georgandellis's letter,
"Diversity not crucial to education."
Georgandellis states it is wrong to think that
anything can be learned by "merely being in
the presence of 'different looking' people."
It is first of all important for Georgandellis
to realize that diversity is not defined sim-
ply by people who look different than he.
Diversity is defined by differences in reli-
gion, race, sexual preference and ideology.
His hateful rhetoric about those "different
looking" people who form a "clique" rein-
forces the point that we still have a long way
to go in terms of achieving true tolerance in
this University.
Sadly, in one sense, Georgandellis is cor-
rect. If he just sits in his classroom and
stares ahead, counting the days until he
receives his diploma, he won't learn a thing.
But a University education is, in addition to
textbook learning, supposed to foster a sense
of community and interaction within its stu-
dents. That the only cultural group
Georgandellis sees himself involved in con-
sists of people "so wrapped up in themselves
that they don't interact with people of their
own culture" is simply a manifestation of his
ignorance (social incompetence?) and not at
all representative of the University as a
whole. The University's first ever pan-ethnic
culture show, Encompass, for example, sold
out Michigan Theater. Its audience entailed
a mix of people of different races and back-
grounds interested in experiencing and
understanding a culture different from their
own. These people, Chris, were in fact learn-
ing much more than any GSI is going to
teach you. In attending events at the Martin
Luther King Symposium the last two years,
the largest symposium in the country and
one facilitated by this University's continued
commitment to diversity, we again saw a
variety of different faces, not just a group of
people excited to be part of a "clique." As
for Georgandellis's attack on culturally
active student groups, we can only reinforce
the ideals of these groups: to heighten a
sense of identity and strengthen the link to
their heritage; links Georgandellis apparent-
ly would love to see dissolve into his so-
called "American culturepot." It is sad to
see someone not take advantage of this
University's and almost all of its students'
pledge to awareness and diversity. Without a
Mongeau unfairly
stereotyped College
Republicans
TO THE DAILY:
Farah Mongeau's response to my
observations of the AAASJ-College
Republican debate ("AAASJ challenges
affirmative action opponents," 2/8/99)
seemed rather hostile and defensive. The
tone of the letter seemed to be that
AAASJ is right, and no other group could
conceivably have a different opinion on
affirmative action. If they do oppose
AAASJ's views then they are challenged
to have to justify their views in a debate.
Mongeau claims my assertions that the
two orators for AAASJ in the original
debate did have Ph.Ds and performed
extensive research on the issue were false.
These two facts were brought up in the
debate.
She is also incorrect to assume that the
connection between Ward Connerly's
appearance last year had anything to due
with the College Republicans. The only
link was that past CR President Nicholas
Kirk organized it through a different,
unaffiliated organization, Students For
America.
Mongeau uses a stereotype that all
Republicans share the same view on affir-
mative action. This is simply not the case.
Like any other segment of society, there
are many opinions on a given issue.
Furthermore, Mongeau makes an assump-
tion on my views, even though I never
mentioned what those views were on
affirmative action in my original letter.
She wants to challenge me to a debate,
and she doesn't even know what side I'm
on.
What side are you on Ms. Mongeau? I
thought stereotypes were only something
that Republicans stereotypically used to
marginalize groups they didn't like?
AAASJ needs a foil to make them-
selves look like the white knight of affir-
mative action.
They need a group like the CRs to play
Darth Vader to their Luke Skywalker.
Mongeau's letter showed her true colors
by trying to goad Republicans and all
nennI who may have a different oninion
PEClPWA THAT IT 'bIVtS
LI TIMG ThosS ACTI MS...
(\ ~1I
*1
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SEN. CARL LEVIN
E-mail:
senator@levin.senate.gov
Phone:
SEN. SPENCER ABRAHAM
E-mail:
michigan@abraham.senate.gov
Phone:
I