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 -. .. "-- + a ' V t + \ AL.COHOL isS6AD, UtitI-AA SO VW *T tb( ISMAUSr ITS 90.,U l"~ 1} kbLJ S t I 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