4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 16, 1999
(ibz Ltdign a-lg
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
Recent case pro
It was once said that women really do have
it all. More specifically, it was said, "On a
Saturday night we can dress however we see
fit" - well, not in Italy. Last Wednesday,
Justice Genitalia Tridickoa, oops, Justice
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.
ves Italians don't
Gennaro Tridico, a
judge from the highest
Italian court of
appeals, The Court of
Castration, I mean,
Cassation, (same
thing) ruled that rape
is impossible when a
woman is wearing
tight jeans; let's repeat
that, rape is impossible
when a woman is
wearing tight jeans.
After the decision, he
was quoted by The
Associated Press as
saying, "I stand by my
actions and am ready
to repeat them."
Art behind bars
Sarah
Lockyer
Locked and
Loaded
Prison art programs offer creative outlet
especially the really tight ones, there is no
way that they can be raped. Wow! The
legislative body of Italy's high court,
which consists of 410 men and 10 (no, I
did not forget another zero) women, have
provided the providers the first ever anti-
rape outfit - tight jeans. We always
knew that high fashion began in Europe,
especially Italy, but this new "outfit"
beats anything that Dolce and Gabana
could have designed. Imagine how safe
and rape-free we will feel when we slip
and tug ourselves into a tight new pair of
jeans. Imagine the advertising cam-
paigns. It could be as big as the anti-fur
ads or even the milk ads - "SAPAC
would rather wear jeans than go naked,"
or "Got jeans?"
The ruling said it is "common knowl-
edge that it's nearly impossible to even
partially remove jeans from a person
without their (consent), since the opera-
tion is already difficult for the wearer."
Operation? We women don't perform
surgery every time we squeeze, suck,
tuck, maneuver and mangle ourselves
into jeans. Yeah, they're tight but let's be
realistic. Further, following the deci-
sion's logic, Lorena Bobitt should be
acquitted. I can't imagine a snip-snip
without help. And no one could be
accused of stealing a chained wallet.
Clearly the muggee would have "con-
sented" because of the difficulty in
removing a wallet that is chained to
someone pants. And does this ruling
apply to gay men, too? I've noticed that
they're even more fashionable than we
women are; I've also noticed how cute
their asses look in good jeans.
Justice Tridico, I can assure you that
jeans can most definitely be removed
do it better
without the help of the wearer - it's
much more fun that way (collaborating
witnesses are available). Italians are
known to be great lovers; I'm sure the
men in Italy are quite capable of remov-
ing a pair of pants.
But more tragically, with this new
designer denim sure-fire anti-rape outfit,
will women ever wear anything else?
Will this decision create a world of
denim-clad clones? Does this mean the
end to fashion and trendiness as we know
it? The end to tight skirts, short shorts,
bathing suits, bikinis and, oh my god, the
ubiquitous black pants? What will
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos do now? Even
more, where will this slippery slope of
rape-proof clothing end? If the justices in
Italy think that ladies' denim dungarees
are tight, they should hang out at Rick's
for a night. Please ladies, an anti-rape
outfit is tempting but let's not forget to
show off our legs, at least once in a
while.
The greatest part about this whole
denim debacle is the reaction from Italian
women. Clearly modern women of intelli-
gence and grace, smarts and sexiness, the
female members of the Italian Lower
Chamber of Parliament protested the rul-
ing by wearing jeans and carrying signs
that said, "Jeans: An alibi for rape." The
daily newspaper, La Republica, ran a
front-page cartoon showing a woman in
jeans hanging on a cross and the female
staff of a morning show on Italian state
radio went to work in jeans. Ah, the irony,
humor and sarcasm of it all -thank god
they don't live in Ann Arbor.
--Sarah Lockyer can be reached at
the nearest Diesel store and over
e-mail at slockyer@umich.edu.
01
0
A mericans tend to group prisoners into
a preconceived notion that they
should live only to suffer for their crimes.
But University Profs. Buzz Alexander and
Janie Paul, the force behind the Fourth
Annual Exhibit of Art by Michigan.
Prisoners, are doing much to change this
view. In an effort to humanize the public
image of the 45,000 Michigan inmates,
Alexander and Paul organized and curate
the display, which is at the Rackham
Galleries until Feb. 24. The exhibit has
numerous benefits for both the prisoners
and society. It is an attempt to break down
barriers and challenge the many negative
stereotypes associated with prisoners, pro-
vide inmates with an opportunity to
express their creativity and even make
money. They have additionally established
a successful program through a University
class that gives students the opportunity to
communicate with and participate in cre-
ative workshops with prisoners from 35
state jails.
Prisoners are sometimes seen as
unworthy of respect and humane treat-
ment. Inmates have little to look forward
to while incarcerated, but creative expres-
sion gives them an outlet for thoughts and
emotions. Art has proven to be useful not
only as an outlet for emotions but as a
form of therapy that helps everyone from
prisoners to eating-disorder sufferers and
survivors of sexual abuse. The penal sys-
tem is designed to not only protect society
from criminals but to help rehabilitate
offenders so that they may successfully
rejoin society. Art programs can help
achieve that goal.
Prison is not a pleasant atmosphere, but
while inmates serve time for crimes they
committed, they should not be disregarded
and treated as outcasts. Through the exhib-
it, art is employed as a method of therapy
and offers inmates the opportunity to illus-
trate their pain and explore cultural and reli-
gious identities. Only three days into the
exhibit, 111 inmates sold nearly half of
their displayed work - proving to skeptics
that many prisoners are remarkably talent-
ed, creative people doing extremely valu-
able work while serving time for their vari-
ous crimes. In the process, previously unde-
veloped or unrecognized talent surfaces -
and self-esteem can follow. This program
can help rehab prisoners, which could help
society by not having repeat offenders.
Pride is not the only reward for the pris-
oners' artistic efforts, as all the proceeds
earned go to the artists. Some feel the
money earned should go towards paying
for jail facilities, as the cost of keeping a
person incarcerated can easily cost upward
of $25,000 a year. But prisoners have a
right to the money they earn just like any-
one else - some might want to send the
money home to their families while they
are unable to provide income.
Furthermore, prisoners would hardly be
inspired to create if they knew the money
made from their work was going to the
very institution withholding them from
society. The self-discovery gained from the
artistic process will lead them in the right
direction for amending the past and work-
ing toward a brighter future.
Needless to say ladies, this is a little scary.
As if we didn't already know, and if
you didn't, well, get a clue, jeans, espe-
cially tight jeans, are oh so trendy right
now. I mean, The Gap sells them, right?
And Donna Karan. And Calvin Klein.
And Banana Republic. And Isaac
Mizrahi, oh wait, he doesn't sell anything
anymore. And Abercrombie, well, maybe
not Abercrombie. But regardless, the
mavens of Macy's and the gurus of Gucci
all agree -tight jeans are this season's
"must have."
So, we American gals should be jealous
of our Italian counterparts. With this
decision, the women of Italy are now even
luckier that those of us who don our
Lucky Brand jeans. While wearing jeans,
THOMAS KULJURGIS
TENTATIVELY SPEAKING
THE
AT
EFECTVERES' CI
UNIVER~SMES.".
B~ANS I NG ALCJOHOL AWAMAESS
Heavy hoaned
Mayor should not appoint school board
A t the end of the American Civil War, in
order to re-organize the South's political
landscape, all elected offices held by
Confederates had to be re-appointed by the
Northern government. Having succeeded
from the union, such a disenfranchisement of
voters' rights to self-government was neces-
sary, but not permanent. Recently, Gov. John
Engler announced his intentions to introduce
similar measures in order to repair Detroit's
aiing public schools. The bill, which has yet
to go through The State Congress, removes
the elected school board members of Detroit
and requires Mayor Dennis Archer to appoint
replacements. The bill's duration will be from
five to seven years. While it is refreshing to
see Engler paying attention to Detroit's trou-
bled schools, this legislation deprives voters
of their right to elect their own public offi-
cials. .
Detroit Public Schools are currently in
dire straights. The school board has created
an immense bureaucracy and considers creat-
ing an excess in the budget its greatest
accomplishment of the past few years.
Meanwhile, facilities are inadequate, build-
ings need repair and books need to be
replaced. In order to realize its goal of
decreased class size, the district will need 25
iew buildings and a faculty twice its current
size. Detroit needs help and direction -
especially financially. But while the city's
school board isn't perfect, the officials were
elected by the citizens of Detroit - and
therefore must be removed from office by the
citizens of Detroit, not Engler. To allow the
state to dispose of democratically elected
officials seriously damages the autonomy of
local government. While it may be argued
that autonomy is saved by that city's mayor
democratic as allowing the president to fire
senators and requiring the governor to select
replacements.
Like every other effort on Engler's part
toward public schools, this takeover is purely
political. His original plan - to hand over
control to the governor's office - was quick-
ly dismissed as another grab for power over
public education. By giving control of Detroit
Public Schools to the mayor, Engler ensures
political fallout goes to Archer while any suc-
cess could be reaped by the state's office.
Also, because control goes to a Democrat,
Engler guarantees bipartisan support for his
bill. Therefore, the only people left out when
deciding the future of urban schools are the
parents and neighbors of the schoolchildren
themselves.
Engler's takeover is not a solution to
Detroit's problems, but an attempt to shake up
the system and jump-start reform. But what
Detroit needs most is not necessarily new
leadership, but widespread community sup-
port. Taking away citizens' right to directly
influence their school board can only decrease
their interest in the school district's future.
Fixing Detroit's public education must begin
with improving the rest of the city.
Depriving citizens of local autonomy is a
bad precedent. If the current school board is
doing a bad job, it's up to the citizens of
Detroit to elect new representatives. To give
the State the ability to overturn an election
would seriously disenfranchise voters in that
locality. Citizens of Detroit should have the
same rights as voters in Ann Arbor,
Bloomfield Hills and East Grand Rapids.
Hopefully, Detroit's school board will take
this threat seriously and begin to perform.
Detroit's public schools need to be fixed now,
Diversity advocates
should welcome
opposing views
TO THE DAILY:
I would like to respond to Anuj Vohra's
and Kumar Rao's letter ("Students must not be
intolerant of diversity,"2/11/99) concerning a
letter ("Diversity not crucial to education,"
2/8/99) written by Chris Georgandellis which
they apparently took exception to. I found it
rather ironic that in a letter championing
diversity the writers then verbally bludgeoned
someone who happened to hold a different
opinion than them. I would think Vohra and
Rao, being advocates of diversity, would wel-
come someone with different views.
Apparently I was wrong.
- They characterize the views of
Georgandellis as "frightening," "frustrat-
ing," "extreme ignorance," "idiocy," "hate-
ful rhetoric." Is it me or is this just silly? He
has a different opinion, he's not the anti-
Christ. What really prompted me to write
was, after their blistering assault, they con-
clude that "we still have a long way to go in
terms of achieving true tolerance in this
University." Yes, I'm sure as any who read
their letter can tell, we do have a long way
to go before achieving tolerance.
MICHAEL MICHMERHUIZEN
SCHOOL OF LAW
Hong Kong's 'Rule
of Law' must be
maintained
TO THE DAILY:
As theAhead of the 300 strong Hong
Kong community on campus, I am writing
in response of the Feb. 9 news article titled
"China assails ruling of immigrants" and
hope to clarify the situation to the members
of our community. Mentioned in the article
was a senior Chinese Government official
lambasting the ruling made by Hong Kong's
highest court - the Court of Final Appeal.
The ruling confirmed the right of entry
for children with Hong Kong residents as
parents, a right enshrined in the constitution
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China,
which is also known as the "Basic Law" (a
constitution, I am ashamed to say, that has
never received the approval from the people
of Hong Kong).
This has triggered the fear of a flood of
young children straining the already stretched
public resources of Hong Kong like schools
and universal health care. Some alarmist sug-
gested as many as 400,000 children are about
to come to Hong Kong, increasing virtually
overnight the population of Hong Kong from
6.6 million people to more than 7 million peo-
ple. Because of this public policy worry, the
central government of China has criticized the
seemingly reckless ruling made by the Court
of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. But these crit-
icisms are now creating another crisis, this
time of the constitutional sort.
The neonle of Hong Kong have enioved
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Gun manufacturers
'not responsible' for
firearm deaths
To THE DAILY:
The Daily's Feb. 9 editorial regarding
the NRA's lobbying against the practice of
cities bringing lawsuits against gun manu-
facturers defends the right of these cities to
have their day in court. However, these
cities do not even deserve a day in court.
Citizens of the United States have the
right to own guns, and therefore gun manu-
facturers have the right to sell them. These
companies cannot be implicated in any
deaths by firearms simply because they do
not pull the trigger. The guns they manufac-
ture are sold, for legitimate purposes like
hunting, law enforcement, and self defense.
If someone independently chooses to use
one of their guns for an illegal act, it is not
because of the manufacturer in any way.
There is simply no reason to take these
companies to court - other than pure,
unadulterated greed.
Lawyers are expensive, and a trial of
this nature (much like - the lawsuits
brought against tobacco companies) takes
a long time to conclude. Most corporate
defendants, when put in such a position,
would rather settle out of court rather
than face the monstrous legal fees. This is
exactly what these cities are hoping for -
more free money. Where is the justice in
that?
What will be the next target?
According to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 42,065
lives were lost in car accidents in 1996.
Are we next going to bring car manufac-
turers to court because so many of their
cars are involved in deadly accidents
(more than guns, I might add)?
Of course not. That would be unpopular.
TOM LITCHFORD
LSA JUNIOR
Review gave away
'Dawson's' plot
people who were equally disappointed. So
please, next time the Daily is going to
write an article about a TV show, don't
give away the ending when the show has-
n't aired yet. It takes away all the fun!
DANIELLE HITCHIN
ENGINEERING SOPHOMORE
0
Diversity more than
just race, gender
To THE DAILY:
In his letter to the Daily ("'U' must
support affirmative action," 2/9/99),
Matthew Murphy presented an argument
in favor of that great ambiguous entity
beloved by the University known as
"diversity." He proposes that a person's
"ethnicity and gender are often somewhat
related to an individual's life experience."
But there are many other components that
must contribute more to an individual's
life experience, such as where they grew:
up, who they associated with and the
character and beliefs of their parents.
It is almost impossible to account for
these factors in the application process,
yet they contribute more to diversity than
a person's skin color or set, of genitals.
Using just skin color (as the University
does) to proclaim one person more diverse
than another (and thus grant them the right
to attend the University) is obviously
flawed and such an obviously erroneous
system should be changed or discontin-
ued.
But how can the admissions system be
changed to reflect all of the myriad compo-
nents that make up a person's diversity, and
how does one decide which bits of diversity
will ensure a student's success at the
University? A middle-class suburbanite has
certainly had a different set of life experi-
ences than a downtown Detroit high school
graduate.
If the University was just dedicated to
its wondrous diversity, it would allow
everyone entrance to its classrooms, but
the University exists for reasons other
than exposing people to diversity. It is an
institution of higher learning, and thus it
should concentrate on bringing in the best
and brightest sidents and eivine them a