4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 15, 1999 (fie 13tfd ortjcl#ottt, g A week of self indulgence with Georgia on my mind 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. Cdisis averted GEO settlement benefits all students A hh, Spring Break. A time of huge importance to the average college stu- dent. We work, plan, shuffle and prioritize sometimes up to a year in advance to get the most out of this week. Papers are turned in, midterms are done with and it is time to get away. Some students go home for break. Kick back, hang out with the family, talk to old friends, eat some real food for a change (because you can only subsist on Top Ramen } and Labatt's for so long) and generally do nothing but relax. Branden Others use this week Sanz as the perfect oppor- D tuniy to go some- place warm and teHm r sunny, where the phrases "sleet," "wind-chill factor" and "snowmobile accident" are heard about as often as "Muslim keg party." A few of us do nothing and just stick around Ann Arbor, a category that I fell into myself this year for a number of reasons. At first I was kind of depressed about this, but this week has turned out absolutely wonder- ful. It was nice to spend a week without any of the worries that make being a college stu- dent so exciting. I'm not talking about late-night, caffeine- buzzed study sessions, putting up with the irritating know-it-all in your history class, schmoozing your GSI to get a better partici- pation grade or any of that stuff. I mean the little things. Hectic work schedules, scram- bling to find a parking spot, financial wor- ries, housemate woes and all sorts of other things that are byproducts of the pursuit of higher education can really wear you down. I never realized how much fun it can be to just work, eat, sleep, hit the gym and basi- cally do my best three-toed sloth imitation for a whole week. No waiting for hours to get a computer in Angell Hall; no Diag preach- ers telling me why I was going to Hell (as if I didn't already know); no housemates steal- ing my milk; no one from the Coalition To Irritate As Many People As Much As Possible By Any Means Necessary or other such group accosting me or any of the vari- ous other things that manage to annoy me on a regular basis. It was actually nice to not read the Daily (or any other newspaper) for a change. Granted, I like to stay up on current events as much as the next guy, but I can only read so many articles trying to explain why our bas- ketball team is getting slaughtered or how I have been oppressing someone for years without ever knowing it. It was great to not have to pretend that I give a rat's ass about Monicagate, the AIDS rate in Zaire or any- thing else that is absolutely meaningless in my life. So how did I get stuck in here for break? Well, the answer to that is twofold. The first part was the fact that my finances were not exactly overflowing (actually, I was dirt poor). I suppose I could have begged, bor- rowed, put my car in hock or somehow else managed to pay for a trip, but then factor two - conscious choice - kicked in. The thought of going to Florida or Mexico and sucking up UV rays and tequila in approximately equal proportions sounded pretty appealing at first, but then I really considered it. Did the thought of going out partying and seeing the same uncoordinated white girls with fake tans that I can see every week at Rick's, watching as they try (unsuc- cessfully) to shake their booties to salsafied beats and rubbing up on a bunch of Lorenzo Lamas clones named "Chaz" with long, oily hair (those of you who have been to Ft. Lauderdale, you know what I'm talking about) tickle my fancy? No, not really. That's just not my idea of a fun getaway. I want hordes of people of every type imaginable getting stewed and writhing about in orgiastic frenzy. I want to see white people, black people, college stu- dents, soldiers, sailors, stock brokers, house- wives and every other demographic conceiv- able in a raging, blowout drunkfest the likes of which would make Caligula blush and Dionysus smile. Now, Mardi Gras or Carnival would cer- tainly fit this bill. However, the fascists that put our schedules together (I suspect Maureen Hartford had a hand in it) always manage to schedule midterms the week of pre-Lent fes- tivities, so what's a poor guy to do? Take heart, gentle reader, there is a solution. You see, there is a little city down on the coast of Georgia named Savannah yes, the very same Savannah of Johnny Mercer and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" fame that throws the second-largest St. Patrick's Day festival in the nation every year. And, as someone who used to live in Savannah, I can tell you that it is CRAZY. We're talking a landscape of beaches, palm trees, magnolias and Spanish moss invaded by 400,000 hammered yahoos of all makes in models with bars that stay open until 4 a.m. and no open-container laws. Now that is what I call a fun getaway. So don't cry for me, Ann Arbor. No I did- n't go anywhere for spring break, but this weekend-when you're back at the daily grind wearing scarves and ski jackets, I'll be in shorts and Tevas, swimming in a sea of green beer. Erin Go Bragh, - Branden Sanz can be reached over e-mail at hammerhead@umich.edu. 0 T he threat of indefinitely disrupting undergraduate education no longer looms over Ann Arbor. After months of negotiations with stubborn University offi- cials, the Graduate Employees Organization agreed to a new three-year contract. While the wage increases in the new contract are significantly lower than those GEO origi- nally requested, the avoidance of a strike will benefit everyone. GEO, Nyhich represents more than 1,600 Graduate Student Instructors and employees, originally asked for a 37-percent wage increase. The University's negotiating team deemed that request unreasonable, and GEO lowered its proposal to 27 percent, nine per- cent and six percent over the past few months. During that time, the stalwart University kept its proposed increase at 2.5 percent, or the average faculty salary increase. GEO leaders rightfully claimed that it would be difficult to live in Ann Arbor with a 2.5-percent annual salary increase, because the city has an extraordinarily high cost of living. Rent in Ann Arbor often con- sumes much more than half of graduate stu- dents' salaries. The initial 37 percent increase would have brought graduate stu- dents' salaries closer to a living wage. But the University remained unwavering throughout the entire process. Paying graduate students a reasonable salary is in everyone's best interests - including the administration. Top-notch grad- uate students will be reluctant to attend a uni- versity that underpays its students. Academia is a competitive field - the reputations of programs often rest upon the quality of their graduate students. The University, by attempting to stunt salary growth, is damag- ing the quality of academic programs. During the negotiations, the University's unwillingness to compromise has been incredibly detrimental to undergraduate edu- cation. While GEO made many concessions, the University didn't budge. This forced GEO to hold a one-and-a-half-day walkout last week, cancelling many classes Wednesday and Thursday. GEO members did not want to walk out, but it was the only way to send a strong message to the University. The University should not have allowed the process to reach the point of a walkout. University negotiators should have known a walkout was inevitable without conces- sions. The administration demonstrated it is more concerned with protecting its money than saving undergraduate education. The settlement includes minimum salary increases of 4.5 percent in the first year, 3.5 percent in the second year and 2.5 percent in the third year. This will allow salaries to meet inflation increases, but not much more. These increases will not have much impact on the standard of living for the University's gradu- ate students. GEO, however, must be com- mended for being reasonable and willing to compromise. Unlike the University adminis- tration, GEO bargaining team members real- ized the danger of interrupting undergraduate education. The graduate students' contract will expire in three years. Hopefully, University officials will be more sympathetic to the needs of graduate students and the educa- tion of undergraduate students. Pushing GEO to the brink of striking is a sloppy and unacceptable way of negotiating. 01 Captain should not be accountable for deaths I just read the Daily's editorial entitled, "Flying Blind" (3/9/99) and cannot help but throw in my two cents. This article, like many others, asserts that justice was robbed and that the military jury "looked after one of its own.' The Daily states that the United States made a mistake by not holding Captain James Ashby accountable for his actions. Let me offer an alternative view- point. I think Ashby should not be held accountable. To blame Ashby is simply scapegoating, like finding someone guilty of a murder because it is convenient. Everyone feels better when they can point fingers and say, "Yes, he did it!" We think, "If we punish the person or put him or her in jail, the act will not happen again because we have gotten rid of the problem." This is a naive and simplistic view. I also believe in this case it is wrong. In the field of human factors, scientists and engineers don't simply stop when the cause of an accident is attributed to "human error." They ask "Why?" "Why did the individual act in the way he or she did?" "Did the person have all of the information and tools necessary to make correct deci- sions?" "Did he or she receive sufficient training?" "Was he or she given any misin- formation?" "Was he or she working under stress or under extremely high (or low) workload?" All of these factors contribute to correct and incorrect decisions. I believe there were many factors that contributed to the unfortunate and tragic death of those 20 skiers in Cavalese, Italy, last year. First, Captain Ashby and his crew were not prop- erly prepared for this mission. Specifically, they were not given maps that indicated the gondola cables that were strung out in that valley. Their map was outdated and provid- ed incorrect information on which basis Ashby made incorrect decisions. Second, the aircraft Ashby was flying was not fully functioning. Specifically, the altimeter appeared to be malfunctioning and did not provide consistent, accurate readings. Without this information, the pilot resorted to other cues to provide- altitude informa- tion, specifically he used the natural land- scape of the valley to give an indication as to where he was. But Ashby was given mis- information from a visual illusion. This illusion did not provide Ashby with the nec- essary information and feedback to make an accurate assessient as to how low he was flying at the critical moment. Some reports also indicate that Ashby had his eyes off the forward view seconds before the crash'in order to look at the map which was strapped to his navigator's leg, next to him. Thus, in short, there were mul- tiple factors that contributed to the acci- dent. To say that Ashby was simply flying too low and too fast is too easy of an expla- MATT WIMSATT nation and does not provide solutions. Consider this: The U.S. military is to blame. But don't just stop at blame. Blame doesn't prevent accidents. Remedy the problem - change military procedures, for example. Make sure that pilots are provid- ed with up-to-date maps and specific infor- mation regarding outlawed altitudes and speeds. Even go so far as to explain why there are limits (it may help pilots remem- ber why they should or should not do some- thing). Make sure that aircraft are also properly functioning (a la altimeter). When a motorist runs out of gas due to a faulty gas gauge, do you blame the motorist? There are probably several other proce- dures that could be improved to increase the safety of military training flights, but that is for another time. It was tragic what happened in Cavalese, Italy, a year ago. But don't blame the pilot. Think harder. Think further. What can be done to ensure that this type of accident does not happen again? What information did the pilot need (but did not have or was misguided) in order to have avoided the cable in the first place? When you have determined this, you are on your way to ensuring that the accident does not happen again. - This viewpoint was written by University alumnus Stephen Reinach, who can be reached over e-mail at sreinach@foster-miller com. Remnant of racism Alabama must remove unjust law 0 The old South has been fading away steadily, but reformers in Alabama are still struggling to erase the last overt ves- tiges of segregation and racial intolerance from the legal books. The Alabama House of Representatives is prepared to vote on a bill that would strike wording from the state's constitution prohibiting interracial marriages. If the bill passes, it will move on to the state senate and then finally go on to a statewide vote for final approval, since the bill would amend Alabama's constitution. If the measure is passed, Alabama will no longer be the only state in the union that continues to have such a law. While the vote has no real legal impact - interracial marriages have been permis- sible throughout the United States since the Supreme Court struck down Virginia's pro- hibition of them in 1967 - formal removal of the law would certainly have symbolic significance. The amendment's future looks secure. Polls indicate wide support for the amend- ment, with 63 percent of the those respond- ing favoring a lift on the ban, 26 percent opposing it and 10 percent unsure or giving no reply. Only last year a similar proposal died in committee. The reception of the measure by both lawmakers and the public can be viewed as both a reflection of the extent of the impact the civil rights move- ment has made - or as a prime example of just how hard ingrained traditions die. But what is certain is that some sort of progress towards narrowing the racial divide has been made. Despite the abundance of racism both bla- effects may actually come out of a referendum validating interracial marriage; nevertheless, events such as this are still historical mile- stones in the sense that they prove progres- siveness has won its victories in the south. The importance of symbolic gestures should not be ignored. But it is consider- ably worse to naively give such actions more than they are due. Racial tension remains sadly ever present throughout the United States. Removing a law will not close the racial rifts torn open by the recent dragging murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas, or the death of Amadou Diallo, who was unarmed and shot at 41 times by police officers in New York City. Clearly, there remains a lot of room for improvement. Reactions to the bill certainly give insight into how far American attitudes have come in recent decades - and how much farther they still have to go. If polls are correct, 26 percent of Alabama, hardly a negligible number of people, still oppose interracial marriage. But some progress is being made. Perhaps ten or possibly even five years ago putting a proposal like the one now before Alabama's House of Representatives would have been out of the question. At the turn of the millennium, every state's formal validation of a right that should always have been recognized is cause to feel a little bittersweet. Official approval of interracial marriage is both an important stride towards racial tolerance and simultaneously discouraging. The belatedness of the proposed bill serves as a reminder of the drlur aocpntanic of A LoOK BACK IFS is a reliable way to store files To THE DAILY: ITD made a very wise decision in upgrading the computers in Angell Hall to Macs without floppy disk drives. This will be a blessing in disguise to students who are complaining about the lack of disk drives. The undeniable fact is that floppy disks are very unreliable. Countless students have lost hours of work because they only saved to a disk, only to find the disk damaged and unreadable. ITD is making efforts to edu- cate students about using their IFS space. Students may not think they like the change, but by learning to save to a reli- able place (IFS), students will experience muchrless data loss and heartache in the long run. CASEY HOYE LSA SENIOR Groesbeck had an extraordinary 'love of life' To THE DAILY: Chris Groesbeck was an extraordinar- ily unique and kind person. He was a true 4