4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 5, 1999
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You can use this column to roll a nice, big fatty
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.
Survey s aySU..
Campus will benefit from student polls
A ffirmative action, drugs and alcohol debate. The cases have the potential of
are among the most hotly debated setting a legal precedent, forever chang-
and discussed issues on the University's ing the way race and gender are factored
campus. Everyone has an opinion, and into university admissions decisions
some people's beliefs are more intense nationwide.
than others. Many people have so many But how do students feel about this?
emotions invested in these issues that it is Individually, many students have let their
difficult to hold a dialogue with someone feelings on affirmative action be known
who holds opposing viewpoints. On many in many ways. The opinions of the cam-
issues, especially affirmative action, dis- pus as a whole, however, will not be
cussions turn into fights, and dialogues known until the Daily's poll is completed.
become name-calling. Two surveys, one It is an effective method of letting the
on affirmative action conducted by The world know the student body's thoughts
Michigan Daily, the Instititute for Social on affirmative action and diversity.
Research and the Department of During the past academic year, the
Communications Studies, and one on University has suffered tragedies due to
alcohol and drugs conducted by the alcohol and drugs. LSA sophomore Chris
University, aim to gain a scientific under- Giacherio died in September from an
standing of the student body's views on overdose of alcohol and cocaine. One
these controversial issues. Students who month later, LSA first-year student
are informed over e-mail that they have Courtney Cantor died from falling out of
been selected to participate in the surveys her sixth-floor window in Mary Markley
should do so, because it is the only way Residence Hall. Traces of the drug
for members of the University communi- gamma hydroxybutyrate and alcohol were
ty and others to understand how students found in her blood.
feel about the issues that shape their lives. By completing the University's student
Numerous forums and debates on life survey, students will provide a big
affirmative action have been held on cam- picture of alcohol and drug use on cam-
pus. Politicians such as former University pus. Many people outside the University
of California Regent Ward Connerly, state have generalizations about drug and alco-
Sen. David Jaye (R-Macomb) and former hol use on campus. This survey is a scien-
state Rep. Ted Wallace (D-Detroit) have tific way to set the record straight.
come to campus to adamantly state, On the University's campus, there are
defend and spread their opinions on affir- more than 35,000 students with greatly
mative action. differing opinions on affirmative action,
As the target of two class-action law- alcohol and drugs. These surveys allow
suits regarding affirmative action in for a more accurate guage of these diverse
admissions that have the potential of opinions, letting the world know how stu-
reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, the dents feel about issues that hit home with
University plays an important role in the them.
Guilty verdi
Medical field should lead assisted suicide issue
T oday, I have decided to forego the usual
social commentary to explore an
important question that affects many stu-
dents at this University: Just what is mari-
juana? Where does it come from? And why
is it Ann Arbor's
biggest cash crop?
Perhaps many of
you are already duly
familiar with the
answers to theset
questions and feel
that this column is
just a big piece of <
wasted newsprint. If
that is the case, do
not feel obligated to
read any further. You S
may instead use this
crisp rectangular Hunter
piece of paper to roll Rol lT, O
yourselves a nice, big theSou
fatty.
But, I am sure that
there are many people like me who are
herbally ignorant and who felt really out-
classed standing amidst all the Jerry
Garcias at Hash Bash last Saturday. Well,
fret no more, friends. I, as a very responsi-
ble journalist, took Hash Bash as an oppor-
tunity to perform deep, exacting research
into the world of marijuana. Then, after eat-
ing a big bag of chips, I constructed this
quick guide to what is known in the popular
lingo as "reefer." This way no one will have
to feel left out next year ...
As it turns out, no one really knows
exactly when marijuana came to the United
States - or rather, no one remembers. All
we really know is that it's been around for
centuries, presumably introduced sometime
in the 1500s by Queen Mary Jane III of
Spain. And though the stuff had already
been used in places like China, India and
Southern Africa for thousands of years,
many people were still largely unaware that
they could smoke the stuff. In fact, very few
people learned this convenient piece of
information until Ben Franklin, always the
innovator, invented the "blunt" almost a
hundred years later.
So Americans - mostly in the agricul-
tural South - continued to farm the stuff
for centuries, because "hemp" had many
other important uses including clothing,
rope, twine, textiles and - I am not making
this up - bird food (which is why to this
day, birds fly South for the Winter). So
important was marijuana to the U.S. econo-
my that, in the early 17th Century,
America's government passed a whole
bunch of laws that required farmers to grow
it. Even people like George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson, when they weren't off
buying those funny white wigs, would grow
marijuana in their own plantations.
Now, although modern cosmopolitan
people take their weed for granted by smok-
ing the stuff away, hundreds of years ago,
people would never even dream of doing
such a thing. This is because for quite a
while, marijuana was legal tender in many
parts of the United States. That is to say it
could be used to pay taxes and to buy things.
Eventually a complex monetary system
grew up around the stuff with prices for all
things quoted in grams. Everyone carried
the stuff-- in their wallets, in their purses,
and in neat little plastic bags. In fact, it was
even quite customary for parents to roll up
their children's lunch money into nice little
cylinders and send them off to school to buy
things in the school cafeteria.
But, this monetary system had to be
quickly abandoned when principals and
teachers -not only bullies - started beat-
ing up students for their lunch money.
This brings us into the 19th Century
when, as medicine advanced, doctors began
to use guanja to treat patients. While
American doctors were very proud of them-
selves for "discovering" this use, people in
Asia and Africa had already been using
medicinal weed for millennia.
In these other continents, marijuana had
limited medicinal purposes. However,
American doctors fought to expand the use
of cannabis to treat a wide variety of ail-
ments including headaches, ear aches,
motion sickness, anemia, diabetes, cancer,
heart disease, gout, psoriasis, angina, bald-
ness, fever, arthritis, backaches, STDs, colds
and, of course, anorexia. Treatments did not
always relieve symptoms, but the patients
would usually get so hungry that they would
forget they were sick to begin with.
One day, after a series of horrible crop
fires in the South, American people learned
that the stuff could be smoked and enjoyed
(Coincidentally, Ann Arbor has founded the
very next day). That is why the government
promptly banned all possession, enjoyment
and mention of marijuana in the 1930s.
Despite this swift, fell action, people
continued to find avenues to express their
love of marijuana and their belief that it
should be allowed in society. Perhaps the
best known example of this activism is
Hanna Barbera's pilot of "Scooby Doo" in
the 1960s. The second most famous, is, of
course, Ann Arbor's annual Hash Bash.
People come from all over - everywhere
between Montana and East Quad - to sit
on the Diag and become part of the long,
illustrious history of American weed. You
see, these are things they don't teach you in
AP History.
- Scott Hunter can be reached over
e-mail at sehunter@umich.edu.
GPRINDING THE .NIB 0
CHIP CULLEN
L ittle more than a week ago, Jack
Kevorkian was convicted in an
Oakland County court of second-degree
murder and delivery of a controlled sub-
stance in connection to the death of Thomas
Youk, a terminally ill man who chose to end
his life with Kevorkian's help. Kevorkian,
with his sensationalistic actions, has again
hurt the issue of assisted suicide. Despite
the negative attention, the rights of the ter-
minally ill should continue to be debated,
and the medical community should take the
lead.
The incident gained national attention
because Kevorkian videotaped himself
administering a lethal combination of drugs
to Youk. The videotape was aired last
November on "60 Minutes;" sparking an
immediate controversey over whether the
producers of the show had gone too far in a
quest for big ratings during sweeps. It also
ignited controversey as the most brazen
challenge to prosecutors Kevorkian had
made. Kevorkian claimed on the show that
he had to force prosecutors to act so that the
issue could be decided.
But this particular case was unlike the
numerous other trials he has faced. First,
Kevorkian had made the videotape and
shown it to a large part of the country.
Second, this case was an incident of
euthanasia rather than assisted suicide.
The distinction may not be immediately
apparent, but it is clear. Euthanasia is mercy
killing, and it constitutes one applying the
means of death to another. Assisted suicide
is the act of providing someone with the
means to kill oneself. On the video,
Kevorkian clearly performs the killing.
The list of complications in this trial is
long. Adding to those aforementioned,
Kevorkian ignored the advice of his lawyers
and chose to represent himself in the trial.
His lack of knowledge in the subject
harmed his argument, as he was only able to
appeal to jurors' emotions. And this method
suffered a serious setback when Youk's rel-
atives were barred from taking the stand to
speak in Kevorkian's defense. In previous
trials, the emotional testimony of the
deceased's relatives likely contributed to
Kevorkian's many acquittals.
To call Kevorkian's actions with Youk
last September murder is troubling.
Kevorkian certainly should not be running
around unregulated as the back alley prac-
tioner of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
But helping people who wish to die should
not fall under the definition of murder.
Kevorkian's actions possibly threaten an
intelligent consideration of the rights of the
terminally ill to choose when to end their
suffering. His theatrics and methods may
bring the topic to the public and captivate
the media, but they have the adverse result
of alienating much of society, including
those who support the right-to-die issue.
The only way for this topic to reach an
intelligent conclusion is for the medical
community to take up the topic. Only those
professionals trained in the ways of medi-
cine operating in regulated environments
can establish a safe system whereby the ter-
minally ill can evaluate their options. For
too long, those in the medical establishment
have been silent, allowing Kevorkian to
make this his personal cause. People should
have the right to determine their own lives,
but Kevorkian's behavior only hurt discus-
sion of the issue.
Calipari would not
help Michigan
basketball
To THE DAILY:
This is a response to Joseph Spak's letter
("An open letter to Tom Goss" 3/30/99).
Spak, I think, is the person who -has been
spreading the rumor of Brian Ellerbe's fir-
ing and his subsequent replacement by John
Calipari. I don't know if he's from Amherst,
but his blind devotion to a coach like
Calipari is misguided at best.
Yes, Michigan basketball is a tradition,
just like every other program we have. And
just like every other program, Michigan
likes to keep it clean. That's why Steve
Fisher was fired. The man was one of the
most successful coaches in basketball, yet
he was given the boot when his program
became more than a little sullied.
Brian Ellerbe may not have been a part
of the Final Four this year, but it's only year
two. Only time will tell. And for those of us
who truly care about Michigan athletics, the
season was not a disappointment. A deplet-
ed team made a fine showing, staying com-
petitive in nearly every game. And the team
as a whole, especially Louis Bullock and
Robbie Reid, won and lost with immense
class. Every program has down years. Duke
and Kentucky have both posted losing sea-
sons in the past 12 years, and yet they've
maintained traditions. So will Michigan.
I don't know why Spak or anyone else
would suggest John Calipari for coach.
Perhaps Spak is unaware of the UMass
scandal, where Marcus Camby admitted
that the program was a sham and was paid
to play there. Calipari didn't leave simply
because the NBA was calling; he left when
the NCAA started calling. He didn't build a
program, he built a team. He's no different
than Bob Huggins at Cincinnati, or Jerry
Tarkanian at UNLVJ
Calipari's failure to win in the NBA with
such a talented team speaks volumes about his
true coaching ability. We don't need a coach
like Calipari any more than our football team
needs a coach like Lou Holtz. Michigan will
win, and we will win without scandals.
Ellerbe has brought in a talented class
for next year, with maybe even more talent
on the way. Only time will tell what hap-
pens, but it's far better for a coach to be let
go for not winning enough than for building
a corrupt program. Spak says to learn from
our mistakes and not repeat them. Hiring
John Calipari would only repeat UMass'
mistake.
MAlT PIZZEDAZ
LSA SENIOR
MSU should teach
students, not
discipline them
To THE DAILY:
So the Michigan State University students
riot and the administration and mayor both
believe that an 'off-campus code' should be
.nc a M aifiiw. ,d Y Vn mn
rP
""
without such minor details. When will admin-
istrators and public officials understand that
universties are here to instruct, not to police?
Throw them in jail, just like anyone else who
starts a riot, just like any other citizen.
TIMOTHY STow
RACKHAM
Michigan Review
ad parody was
bigoted
To THE DAILY:
I am saddened by the fact that The
Michigan Review does not know the dif-
ference between comedy and cruelty.
And despite the foolishness of their April
fools insert, "The Michigan Delay," this
publication should be taken seriously.
While the paper is full of its usual big-
otry, I am particularly concerned about
the advertisement in the April 1 insert,
"BUY ONE, GET 50 FREE."
Perhaps I am missing something
because I don't find it funny that Michigan
apparel is made in sweatshops. Moreover, at
a moment when the University community
needs to be more informed about its eco-
nomic and political relationship to the
world outside Ann Arbor, I am concerned
with what sort of message the Review is
sending to students.
In addition to mocking the recent efforts
of students and activists to win safe and equi-
table standards in the international garment
industry, the ad "BUY ONE, GET 50 FREE"
violently attempts to satirize the poverty of
the people who make the clothing which
Michigan students parade around in.
Thetviolence is the representation of
garment workers' exploitation as laugh-
able and insignificant.
Would The Michigan Review find it
funny if Pinkerton agents and members of
the national guard beat up and murdered
striking workers at the Ford plant? Or do
they find sweatshops laughable because the
workers are often non-whites?
JESSE MCCUNTOCK
RACKHAM
A . . . ._ . -.1
The New York Times and voiced opinions
on the air strikes against Kosovo. The situa-
tion appeared to be rather different from
other instances of U.S. intervention in the
internal affairs of a country. There seemed
to be a trace of legitimacy in the claims that
the NATO and United States had made
regarding the so called "ethnic-cleansing."I
strongly respect the sovereignty of a nation
and I think it is imperative for every nation
or organization to do the same. In essence, I
do not believe that any nation should inter-
fere with the internal affairs of another
country unless there are extreme conditions.
Does the situation in Kosovo warrant inter-
vention? I felt that an answer to this ques-
tion would help me decide the optimal route
to resolution.
That very instant the telephone rang,
and little did I realize that there was a whole
dimension that I had overlooked. The per-
son on the line was my friend; his family
lives in Kosovo and they were housed in a
bomb-shelter. The moment I heard his
voice, a wave of emptiness flushed through
me, much like butterflies in the stomach
before an exam, except this emptiness per-
meated me to greater depths. The thoughts I
had for or against the United States and
NATO hardly seemed to matter anymore.
The incalculable amounts of mental and
emotional pain of the victims and their
loved ones seemed overwhelming com-
pared to any personal opinions I had prior to
the phone call.
If the United States and NATO perceive
themselves to be purveyors of international
justice, then I can do nothing but question
their method of intervention. Can they stand
up with an honest voice and claim that all
peaceful avenues of resolution were
exhausted? Yes, there may have been human
rights violations and unjustified interven-
tions, but couldn't the situation be resolved
with a more humane approach? Nelson
Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi pursued
non-violent methods for years before their
voices were heard.
It baffles me that countries and organi-
zations with power and might are unable to
effectively channel their resources to peace-
fully achieve justice. All I ask for is a little
more respect and concern for human life. In
this regard, I think Russia needs to be com-
mended for its diplomatic efforts. Let me
end this by affirming that I am neither for
nor against the air strikes. I am not
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