4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 19, 2000 (1h Stiigun ailg 420 Maynard Street HEATHER KAMINS Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editor in hief daily.letters@umich.edu Et nC f Edited and managed by JEFFREY KOSSEFF students at the b' ' DAVID WALLACE University of Michigan 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. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled... Well, it is almost time for me to leave the pages of the Daily. With qualifying and oral examinations com- ing up, time has suddenly become a pre- cious commodity. This week marks the 26th anniversary of the legalization of abortion in the United States. Multitudes will cele- brate Roe v. Wade throughout the week. On our campus, the pro-choice militia will be' out and about spreading its propa- ganda. They'll be toasting the right to kill. They'll be cele- brating the right to "choose" wrong. If you were pro- life and wanted to Long lines and more IDing students fixes a nonexistent problem Milo Lopez hM , n One set of rules has been held by the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Ghandi, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus. You know these people. Four are saints and the other is God. In a recent national poll, Mother Theresa was named as the most admired figure of the 20th Century. The Mahatma was pretty awe- some and this week, we celebrate King's commitment to life. People like Al Gore, President Clinton, Madonna, Jane Fonda and many other moral philosophers in Hollywood hold the other set of rules. Real model human beings. I've always wanted to be like a movie star. They always seem to have their lives together. I guess all those trips to rehab help out. I don't think I need to highlight the self- lessness and moral character of these misguided ones. Many think that abortion is one of the greatest problems that society faces. More than a problem, I see it as a symp- tom. It is the latest symptom of the dis- ease that threatens to take over all our lives. It is the cough that spreads the virus. The virus is Evil. All around us, evil forces bombard us with negative images of life and society. Gluttony, pride, lust, avarice, wrath, sloth and envy permeate our music, television and read- ing. What do we all want? We want to be big shots. We want to be famous. We want people to think we're cool. We want money. We want nice cars. We want lots of beautiful women. We want to pay back everyone who screwed us. Evil forces -want us to want the best for ourselves. Only in self-centered existence can evil insure that the maximum number of us get screwed. The seven deadly sins are alive and well. Movies are made about them. Jerry Springer celebrates them. You see, in order to convert the pro- choice to the pro-life, the person must forget about himself or herself. The seven deadly sins must be replaced by the seven virtues. A person whose thoughts and actions spring from the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity can do no wrong. From these virtues flow the moral virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. Have you ever heard of these? The number of people who don't recall the seven virtues, but know the vices by heart often surprises me. If as many people attended seminars on virtues as do attend seminars about mak- ing money, I think the world would be a better place. Remember these words of King. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies vio- lence, and toughness multiplies tough- ness in a descending spiral of destruc- tion ... The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihila- tion. -Mike Lopez can be reached over e-mail at manatlarge@umich.edu. TENTATIVELN SPEAKING A recent proposal would require stu- dents to present their M-Card upon entrance to the football stadium. According to Marty Bodnar, the manager for athletic tickets and promotions, the goal of the policy is to get "as many stu- dents into the stadium as possible" and "maintain the community atmosphere of the student section." While foiling scalpers and increasing the student popu- lation within the stadium are both admirable ambitions, checking M-Cards would do more harm than good. The plan to check student IDs at the gate will only make attending football games less convenient. Instead of the simple process of tearing off the ticket stub, long lines will result as students wait to get their IDs checked. Students will have to arrive even earlier than they currently do in order to be in their seats by kickoff. This makes it more difficult for students to get to games on time, especially when there is an early starting time. While it is understandable that the University is trying to keep scalpers out of the student section and increase the concentration of students, part of the enjoyment of the games comes from out- siders being in the student section. If a friend or family member of a University student wants to sit in the student section and watch the game with a University student, they should be allowed to do so. Scalping is an issue, but a larger issue is the right of students to secure tickets for their friends and family. The University need not be concerned with the concentration of students in the student section. The quantity of student season ticket requests continues to be on the rise as more than 22,000 students bought season tickets to the football games last year. Tickets to athletic events are already in high demand; the University does not need to implement an ID checking system to remedy a problem that does not exist. Adding to the futility of an ID check- ing system would be the ease with which it could be circumvented. For example, if a student wanted a family member to sit with them in the student section, they could simply buy that friend or family member a regular ticket and then obtain a student ticket stub once inside the stadi- um to get the family member into the stu- dent section. Many people live by the ideal that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." This is one of those situations. Michigan football games are attended by more people than at any other college or university in the nation. Many students regard football games as one of the greatest aspects of attending the University. Facing unnecessary ID checks and not being able to watch the games with friends or family will only inhibit this enjoyment. explain your position to an abortion rights advocate, how would you do it? How would a pro-choice activist get his or her view accepted by someone who values the right to life? I don't think it can be done. They're like oil and water. Not only don't they mix; they have totally differ- ent chemical compositions. Pro-choice and pro-life are not two sides of the same coin. Conversion from one to the other requires a radical change of world view. It requires the rejection of one set of life rules and adoption of an entirely contra- dictory set. THOMAS KULJURGIS r. ml SITUrTINCG SrAmo IUM. t_C.KXS fIAT *NovE Ut.V,~c~srr-e s-ruMT5rrGET~ GAM'E." _.... _: (JILL E.2ASU RE To EMJO0( 'THE "' ' ALF ASS P 5U4EAft TH P4ALO 41A5 A IFS MWIEUVER... g1 0 Don't harass Military should let homosexuals serve openly L ast week, the British government lift- ed its ban on homosexuals in the mil- itary. This change in policy follows a September ruling from the European Court of Human Rights in favor of four people who were dismissed from the British military because of their sexual orientation. The decision brings Britain in league with the majority of European nations. Previously, Britain had overtly prohibited gays from serving in the mili- tary - unlike the U. S. armed forces, which follow a "don't ask, don't tell" pol- icy. Though it may not be an outright ban on gays in the military, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy still denies gays and les- bians the right to serve their country like any other American citizen. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy for- bids military officials from making inquiries about soldier's sexual orienta- tion, but it also allows them to discharge anyone who openly admits to being homosexual. This is intolerant and a clear violation of civil and human rights. It forces gays and lesbians to choose between serving in the military and freely expressing themselves, a choice no one should have to make - anyone who does declare their homosexuality can be dis- charged. Anyone who is gay and wishes to serve in the military must live in silence and denial. Clearly the "don't ask, don't tell" poli- cy has done little to improve the status of homosexuals in the military. According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a legal watchdog organization, the Pentagon fires three to four people for being lesbian, gay or bisexual every day. In addition, the policy not only forces gays and lesbians to remain in the closet, gay servicemen and women - there have been several cases where members of the armed forces were harassed for their known or suspected sexual predisposition yet would not come forward for fear of being punished under "don't ask, don't tell." This problem only highlights the homophobia inherent in the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Recently, this problem has publicly manifested itself in the trial and conviction of Specialist Justin Fisher who murdered Private First Class Barry Winchell, who was suspected of being gay But for every publicized case of harass- ment motivated by homophobia, there are many more cases that go unnoticed. The SLDN "documented 400 incidents of anti- gay harassment, including death threats and verbal gay-bashing" in 1998 accord- ing to their web page (wwwsldn.org). Those incidents marked a 120 percent increase in harassment from 1997. There is no good reason to prohibit gays and lesbians from serving in the armed forces. Homosexuals have always been active in the military, despite the prohibition. Inappropriate sexual behavior is prohibited by fraternization policies that affect all personnel, and gays and les- bians are not more likely to engage in this type of behavior than anyone else. The belief that gays in the military would make the service less effective is simply homophobic. Sexual orientation is merely one aspect of a person, and has no bearing on the way one would carry out military service. Gays and lesbians are ordinary people and must be granted the same rights as anyone else. The U.S. armed forces should dispense with "don't ask, don't - - Attendees of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture in Hill Auditorium Monday morning were witness to a pre- sentation rich in the ideals of King and inspiring in our dedication to fulfilling his vision. Unfortunately, it only lasted about 5 minutes, and it did not involve the headlining speaker. As Dr. Henry Gates was approaching the podium to begin his address, nearly a dozen stu- dents calmly stepped in and took control of the microphone. There, they articulat- ed a poignant message to the University's guests, faculty and "especially students." The student speaker outlined signifi- cant instances of inequality in the work- ings of the University in order to illus- trate the deeply rooted "borders and bar- riers" still plaguing our everyday lives. She criticized the University's pride in organizing several days worth of passive symposium events while it falters in attempts to actually engage such princi- ples throughout the rest of year. Then, having laid out their statement, the stu- dents quietly and respectfully yielded the podium back to the scheduled program and exited the auditorium. No disruptive chanting, no physical obstruction to the Eflerbe needs to Watching the Michigan Basketball game vs. Illinois on Sunday, I finally realized what it was about coach Ellerbe that bothered me so much: a complete lack of originality. He has some of the best new talent in the NCAA on his team, but he continues to thwart it by keeping gifted players on the bench and playing old school basketball. His players con- stantly try to break out of the mold by excelling at motion and spread offenses with 3-pointers and running jump shots. But then Ellerbe has to substitute in a slower, less talented player that screws everything up. Traylor is gone and so should that style of basketball. No matter how much we pretend, Asselin, Vignier ard Young are not big men. Asselin is no center and I'm reluctant to call any of them power forwards. They consistently don't pro- duce the points we need. Moreover we planned events, no excessive flagrance; just a simple yet powerful statement voiced to a listening crowd. King would have been proud. Despite being inspired by their pre- sentation, I was initially troubled with the fact that they walked out on Gates without listening to what he had come here to say. Sadly though, I soon found myself wishing to have joined them in the admirable protest. In his lecture, Gates unfortunately embodied the objec- tions made by the students and painfully failed to offer any sort of meaningful reflection so desperately called for by this occasion. Sure, I laughed at some humorous accounts of his earlier academic exploits and even got some insight into his out- standing CD-rom, Encarta Africana, and the extensive history behind it. I did not, however, hear Martin Luther King's name beyond a few mentions, and even less did I hear about his vision and what it means for us today. Now, I am not attacking the notability of the issues addressed, nor am I trying to mock the intellectual integrity or ora- torical deftness of the highly respectable change his style On defense the outlook is much worse. Vignier is slow and Asselin is too often found out of position. Someone explain to me how in a 2 - 3 zone Asselin doesn't have 10 defensive rebounds? But he had two and trust me, that is a bad, bad thing. He simply is not strong enough. Even if Asselin was kicked in the teeth while rebounding, he shouldn't drop the ball. Power forwards do not drop the ball and centers certainly should never drop the ball. He needs to quit griping about fouls and be strong with the ball - holding it tight and keeping it above his head. With some work our big men could be infinitely better. Here's the good news: We don't need a true big man. I say we can beat teams without one. No, we don't have a "Fab five," but we sure as heck have a fast five! We can play the run and gun style basketball of the early '90s and Gates. However, I am saying that he should be ashamed to have presented those words under the title "Dr. Martin * Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture" on this holiday. This is a day set aside to cel- ebrate the driving spirit King injected into the Civil Rights Movement and to revitalize our commitment to making continuing strides in the name of equali- ty. Gates's speech is a discouraging reflection of the dangerous comfort seducing much of our nation within these topics. The true nature of this memorial to King lies not in any warm, fuzzy nos-* talgia of past advances, but rather in sounding a call to earnest action in fac- ing the challenges here today. I extend great thanks to the students who faced up to the issues at hand and saved the event from being a complete disappointment. They reminded us that we cannot disregard the distance we have yet to achieve and at the same time, they effectively demonstrated that ample virtue and courage do exist for us to truly realize the dream. - This viewpoint was written by LSA senior Aaron Boyle. of basketball so-called big men for? We've got most of our defensive rebounds from Blanchard at small forward anyway. What are our big men doing for us? Not a whole lot except screwing up the tempo and not being strong with the ball. So let's be originals. Lets try: Blanchard, Smith, Jones, Gaines and Crawford and I say really try. Full court press, run and shoot, dunks, trick passes, the whole works with little to no repri- mand for mistakes, because they will come. Use a light full court press into a loose 2-3 zone with all five players rebounding. Keep Smith and BlanchardO and Jones down low and with our speed we will overcome our lack of height. Play your best players and you'll win more games. Didn't somebody famous once say that? Trust me, Ellerbe, for five minutes 1 I i