4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, February 19, 1999 U51je idtign nuig 420 Maynard Street HEATHER KAMINS Ann Arbor, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich.edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan 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. I.I Sg ing up Sign language pilot program is a good. start How long should men and women wait for 'Someday?' T he issue is headlined, "Where the Boys well rounded and prepared for anything. We promised land. Aren't." take ancient history courses in the same after- But those years also went to late-night It is not a rebuttal to the Sports Illustrated noon as computer science because we are told soul searchings with friends forged by com- swimsuit issue but the cover story on the ever- that thought patterns of old are still applicable mon experiences, the occasional dressy controversial university rankings issue of U.S. today. We regard the odd story of a zillionaire night out, the freedom of living on our own News and World genius without a college degree as the excep- (with those friends), landing the big job or Report. Published ear- tion to the rule - because the rule is that a opportunity, meeting the world's expert tier this month, the solid education leads to a solid job and a solid who inspires you, getting wrapped up in ngs a a sorce ,life, something that changes your life, working of derision for many This rings particularly true for students in a hard and getting the grade to prove it, or universities and col- professional or graduate school, who retain discovering a new truth. They were filled b0 leges and, yet, the x their amateur status while old roommates and times with the closest friends of our lives; unofficial rule book friends work regular jobs with regular pay- going to parties unlike any we ever will for every high school checks in the regular world. Paychecks, bene- again, winning national championships, junior.(The University fits and weekends off replace new clothes as getting in the car and taking a road trip, of Michigan, inciden- enviable objects. Sure, more time now means working together to achieve change, mak tally, is in a four-way more in the long run - but suddenly the run ing a few forgivable mistakes, falling in and tie for 25th.) looks longer and longer. out of love, doing things on a whim, sleep- The article says the Megf All the while, we wait for Someday. ing in on a weekday, and dodging rules, number of men SChImpf As in, "Someday I'll have time for this." laws and Codes along the way. attending college is }. "Someday I'll have nice things." Or, When Someday is still a time for dreams to slowly declining, u "Someday I won't have to worry about apply- happen - eventually.- noticeably tipping the ing for anything: "Someday I'll be able to The boys who aren't in college miss this gender balance at some smaller schools afford that." And, "Someday I'll leave work at magical chance to have grown-up privileges toward women. The University of North work and just relax at home." without grown-up responsibilities. They miss Carolina at Chapel Hill is 60 percent In many ways, we spend most of our edu- that part of a liberal arts education, all to find female; Seattle Pacific University is 65 per- cation wishing it were over - wishing finals Someday right now. They miss the paradoxi- cent women. were done, wishing it were time to get on that cal chance to live for instant gratification Men, the article says, head for the more spring break plane or wishing itcould be sum- while working for delayed gratification. immediate rewards of the job market. mer already. It is only at the very pinnacle of Someday is a time closely associated with This trend is not as evident at the University wishing to graduate do we look back and the "real world" or "8-5, Monday to Friday." It - the Fall 1997 entering class was 50 percent wonder where the time went. is a time easy to idealize, one that will somte= female - and men outnumber women in Ivy They went to writing term papers while on how have alleviated the problems of nowO League schools. But it points to an emotion a caffeine binge, scrounging money for the while retaining all the privileges. It remains4 many students can identify with, phone bill, complaining about landlords who time in the future. Higher education means working for lie more than politicians, playing the intern- For now there are exams to study for and Someday to come and relying on it being a ship-applications-interview game, taking requirements to fulfill. There are things to better world. It means having the ultimate exams that are tricky and long, walking learn and theorize. There are days to count faith that hard work still means something through snow and rain because there's no down and things still to strive for. substantial. place to park, buying books that were never It's all worth it. Someday. At least that's We sit through classes that have no obvious opened, and dodging rules, laws and codes what they tell me. relation to our planned future because we are along the way. - Megan Schimpf can be reached over told that a liberal arts education will make us All this makes Someday look like the e-mail at mschimpfoiumich.edu. he University community often over- looks hearing impaired students due to the lack of awareness and understanding of this disability. This has been a direct result of the lack of emphasis the University places on teaching students sign language o allow hearing impaired students to com- municate effectively with the rest of the campus community. But in the upcoming fall term, this situation will change when 'he University will begin offering a semes- ter of American Sign Language ina pilot program run through the linguistics depart- ment. This is a step in the right direction for the University in a long overdue process. The University should take advantage of this opportunity and offer the student body ASL as a four-semester class, enabling stu- dents to fulfill their foreign language requirements with ASL. In the past, hearing impaired students eive been forced to use lip reading to understand professors in classes. This is difficult and ineffective. Trying to cope With the pressures in class is already a tough task. It makes it many times more difficult to understand the material through lip reading when a more effective method - sign language - is unavail- able. It has taken such as long time for the University to introduce this pilot program .due to the lack of commitment the University has towards this issue. This idea was first proposed three years ago by LSA junior Rachel Arfa, who is hearing impaired, and LSA senior Ryan Friedrichs, a former Michigan Student Assembly representative. When Arfa was a first-year student, she realized there was no method for students to officially learn sign language at the University. This made it near impossible for students to gain a proper understanding of those with hearing impairments. Thus it limited the communication between hearing impaired students and the rest of the student body. Since the idea was first initiated, the proposal has been welcomed with enthu- siasm by the campus community. But it has taken such a long time due to the lack of commitment from departments. As a result, this idea has been passed back and forth between the linguistics and American culture departments during the last three years even after the LSA dean's office guaranteed money for the program. Hearing impairment has always been a disability that students have overlooked in the past because of the lack of commit- ment from the University. It is now a time for the University administration to act and develop this ASL program from a course that is only offered for one semes- ter into a full four-semester program. The University needs to take this opportunity to increase the understanding and aware- ness of the student body. CHIP CULLEN GRIN DINC T H E IB Rs nSible action MSU Greek system made the right move A simple vote revived the tarnished image of Greek systems nationwide last week. At an emergency late-night meeting of the Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils, representatives from most of the fraternities and sorori- ties at Michigan State University voted almost unanimously to make the Greek system "non-functional" for 30 days. The decision came in the wake of an inves- ,igative report aired by WJBK-TV in Detroit that showed negative footage of fraternity parties and on the same day that :the administration at Dartmouth ollege elicited fervent objections -from students when it announced that Greek organizations there" will become co-ed. Under the moratorium, all official parties, functions and social events will be canceled for 30 days in order to allow frater- nity and sorority members a chance to focus on how to pro- mote their professed values and address the Greek system's problems. An Interfraternity and Panhellenic alcohol task force has been formed and plans to have a functional policy in place by the time this semester ends. The moratorium reflects the Greek system at its best; upholding the values of leadership, responsibility and self-deter- mination that it has always said lie at the heart of Greek life. Hopefully, fraternities and sororities at MSU will take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the "non- functional" period and produce long-term solutions to deal with the shortcomings of the MSU Greek System. In light of the increase in alcohol- induced deaths and date rape in party sit- uations at universities across the country, other beleaguered Greek systems should consider following the example of MSU's fraternities and sororities. Social morato- riums may prove to be the quickest, most effective and easiest ways of confronting the problems facing Greek organizations nationally. If all goes well, the results of the mature independence exhibited by the Greek system at MSU will contrast sharply with those of the heavy-handed reforms handed down by the administra- tion at Dartmouth College towards its own Greek system. The anger of Dartmouth students towards their administration, which has not recanted on a deci- sion that polls say 83 percent of students oppose, is understand- able. Members of Greek organi- zations are all adults and can competently mend their weak- nesses independently, without the imposition of strict and unpopular measures. The vote of the Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils at MSU reflects a positive state of affairs for Greek systems across the coun- try, and simultaneously casts journalists in a poor light. While the emergency meet- ing was not the result of the WJBK-TV report, the story clearly played a large role in triggering the meeting. WJBK's unnec- essary use of an undercover reporter and hidden cameras was both intrusive and unethical. The self-imposed social moratorium on MSU's Greek system is testament to the capacity for responsible independence not only in members of the system itself but also in students as a whole. If fraternity and sorority members use the "non-func- tional" period wisely, it should prove the obvious to University administrators - that students are best governed by them- selves. Diversity advocates do not try to stifle other side TO THE DAILY: Michael Michmerhuizen, in his letter "Diversity advocates should welcome opposing views" (2/16/99), makes the com- pelling case that "diversity" means the allowance of opposing views. He states that Rao's and Vohra's previous letter, which claims to uphold the merits of diversity, is ironically intolerant of an opposing view. There is more to it than meets the eye. His criticism makes sense if you consid- er racial intolerance to be merely "an opposing view." Michmerhuizen's plea for tolerance fails to recognize that Rao and Vohra are confronting intolerance. The orig- inal letter that sparked this chain said that "diversity is not necessary to education," sending the message that "different people need not apply' More importantly, Rao and Vohra never even suggest that Michmerhuizen not voice his opinion, they merely attacked it for what it is: the closed-minded ramblings of an intolerant fool. In only opposing the argu- ment, they never shun his right to be here. I cannot give the original writer who demer- its diversity such credit. His opinion is pure- ly exclusionary. Michmerhuizen, had an excellent and thoughtful critique. Unfortunately, it logi- cally countered no one. Opposing the intol- erance inherent in all anti-affirmative action, anti-civil rights arguments should not be condemned by inapplicable "straw- man" arguments.eRather, they shed light on the sad state of affairs that features people who are not white having to defend their right to equal education. WILL YOUMANS BUSINESS JUNIOR Many educational benefits come from diversity TO THE DAILY: I am writing in response to Chris Georgeandellis's letter "Diversity not cru- cial to education" (2/8/99). It amazes me that after almost four years at this University that Georgeandellis neither understands nor appreciates the value of diversity on our campus. In his letter, Georgeandellis states that "people at the University rarely interact, so let's not pretend that we do." Of course it is a fallacy to believe "merely being in the presence of different looking people makes one's learning experience any different" What does make one's learning experience more rich are meaningful interactions with people different from one's self. The pres- ence of the people of varying backgrounds creates the opportunity for such interac- tions. This is what the Daily meant in its editorial when it underscored the value of diversity in-the classroom. I doubt the edi- torial meant to imply that we learn through osmosis and "ether" We can benefit from our diverse envi- ronment through class discussions, group project assignments, cultural events and in so many other ways. Yes, like Georgeandellis writes, some people do get up, go to class and go home without a single thought about cultural backgrounds. However, if we keep an open mind, listen to each other and once in a while make a contentious effort to learn, we will be enriched by each other. I like to think that the majority of us do these things. On a minimal level of effort, because of our different backgrounds and statuses within D Aet AMD CA?4 Ri S oa 'rtr wr society, even the simplest discussion on a class or just driving fast because it's cool. class topic can introduce you to a unique But most of these individuals fail to take and fresh perspective that, in a homoge- any caution to the fact that people may be neous environment, you would not even crossing the road near a stopped bus. Is get- have considered. ting there five seconds earlier really worth In response to Georgeandellis's attack the risk of serious injury to a fellow class- on cultural/social identity groups, which he mate, or possibly a friend? Please slow calls "cliques," I have this to say: It is per- down. fectly normal forpeople to associate them- To you drivers in a hurry because you're selves with people who have similar back- late: Get up earlier. grounds and interests. Everybody does it. To those of you who think you're hot We feel more comfortable with people in stuff because you can drive fast - Take c the same situation with us. Uniting with look at the poor sap in the mirror. To my people who face the same challenges as us supervisors: Smart weapons ... 'nuffsaid. provides a base of support and empowers To those of you who ride the busses:: us. Just because we put ourselves into these hate to sound condescending, but look groups doesn't mean that we will never both ways before crossing the street, thd interact with people outside these groups. look again. Your tardy classmates are out None of these groups have the stated pur- to get you. pose of self-segregating their members MARC DRAM from the rest of the University community. LSA SEN As I mentioned above, there are so many opportunities for interaction with people who are different from us. I rarely remember most of the factual There are many and theoretical knowledge taught to me in my classes. What has stayed with me and games to play in . always will are the life lessons I've leamned from people of different cultural back- dull classes grounds, physical abilities, and sexual ori- entations, etc. Chris, if you only learn from TO THE DAILY: your professors and GSIs and subscribe to While it's hubris to tinker with excel- the cynical notions of human nature and lence (which James Miller's column usuaIly diversity you outline in your letter, then I is), I had a suggestion of something to d feel sorry for you. You're really missing out. while killing time in classes that his Feb. 17 MICHAEL BURESH column ("Things to do when there isn't any- LSA JUNIOR thing to do") didn't mention. This is a wet- LnwniaAsnJiUaiiNuasiiR i Drivers on North Campus should slow down TO THE DAILY: There is definitely something about North Campus that makes the idiot coeffi- cient double when students decide to drive there. I am justified in making this claim because I spend a lot of time driving around North Campus. Maybe you've seen me dri- ving the Commuter or Bursley/Baits busses. Although my tone may be a bit sarcastic, I am writing to address a serious safety con- cern that exists campus-wide but is espe- cially apparent on North Campus. Why must we speed by busses that are loading and unloading passengers? I have witnessed too many car/pedestrian near-misses because drivers are not paying enough attention to realize that a stopped bus with the four-way flashers on is usually a pretty good sign that there may be pedestrians in the immediate area. The problem is even worse for those who choose to cross the street in front of the bus, where visibility is minimal for oncoming traffic as well as pedestrians. More than anything, North Campus is a haven for speed demons who are late to known iaw schooi game that might 2e adaptable to classes elsewhere as well. . The game is "Gunner Bingo," and it's real simple. Get together with some friends and fill out Bingo boards with the namesof people in your class; normally they should be people you don't like. Every time some- one on your board speaks, cross of their name on your sheet. When you complete a row, column, or diagonal, you can win by getting the floor and then using "Bingo" in whatever you say. There are a lot of variations on this depending on how many times you want to allow people to use the names of par- ticularly avid speakers, whether you want to allow multiple players to list the same gunners, etc. Some fellas at the Law School a few years ago played a high- stakes game with computer-generated boards. (They also substituted various other relatively ridiculous words foi "Bingo," because the B-word, at law schools at least, is a dead giveaway.) This may not be suitable for all classy es but if anyone has one for which it is suited, play in good health. Meanwhilel have to say that I'm grateful that my three years in Ann Arbor coincided with three years of Miller's column; it's been a treat every Wednesday morning. Thank good- ness I don't have to kick around here another year without him to entertain me. EWOT REGENSTElM LAw ScH06L { C,. ist' -.