4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 21, 2000
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Michigan stadium heading for
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.
Necessary action
Protesters' actions in-line with MLK spirit
cow made national news for grazing
in a flooded field two months ago in
Debary. Florida (if you missed the story.
it's probably because you were too busy
stocking up on bottled water for the end of
the world).
People in Debary
were worried that thei
cow was stuck in4
knee;deep water just
off of Interstate 4.
Traffic was backed
up for several miles
as motorists placed
an overwhelming
amount of 911 calls
to the highway patrol
about a "drowning"
cow.
Dispatchers sent Strausz
out a state police a
officer who investi-
gated the scene and d u
determined that the
cow was able to move around and was in
the flooded field on his own free will,
According to the trooper. the cow was offi-
cially "just hungry, not stuck," but the fran-
tic telephone calls kept coming in, and the
traffic jam did not let up.
"It was a real mess," said a spokesman
of the Florida Highway Patrol. "Traffic
was backing up, people were pulling into
the medians. We had to do something to let
people know that the cow was all right, that
he wanted to be there."
So after some careful thought, highway
workers from the Florida Department of
Transportation decided to set up an elec-
tronic sign that flashed the message, "The
Cow is OK" to passing vehicles.
The 91 1 calls let up once the sign was in
place, but the Department of
Transportation was surprised
that the traffic jam did not. Mo
stopping to gawk at the cow a
sure that they were reading tI
rectly. Some were even takir
Two days later, the sign was sti
backing up traffic for milesa
slowed down, looking for the c
long since walked away.
Two years earlier and 1,165
a certain university athletic
began to make extensive reno
certain football stadium. One
renovation process would mv
5,000 new seats, and around
circling the outside of the stal
be a large yellow halo. It wou
the kind of backdrop that s
something like "The Cow is C
across it, but it would instea
like "Hail to the Victors Valian
to the Conquering Heroes"
bright blue lettering.
Trouble would arise at the
1998 season when football
have the audacity to dislike th
would openly criticize it as b
"Tacky." "Garish." "Tastele
They would "absolutely hat
would say that it is "expensive
essary," that it "looks cheap"
"makes the stadium resemble
ment park." For two seasons
would return to the football s
appointed each time to find t
was still there. And its bright
("clearly not maize") would ev
sume their minds long afterI
away from the games.
Both of these stories have
well-intended actions that had
results, and they both end wit
down of signs.
greener pastures
to discover The Florida highway workers put up
torists were their sign intending to aid traffic flow. But
nd to make because it proceeded to spark even more
he sign cor- interest in the cow, the traffic jam
ng pictures. remained - an unanticipated reaction.
ll there, still Two days later, they took down the sign.
as motorists This week in Ahn Arbor has marked the
ow that had beginning of the $100,000 process (includ-
ing patchwork and painting) of de-halo-ing
miles away, Michigan Stadium.
department I have no problem believing that the
vations to a Athletic Department put up the halo with
part of the good intentions. Somebody obviously
olve adding liked it and assumed that we would like it
these seats, too. It was a mistake not to ask us first, but
ium, would even if they had, I'm not sure that we
ld look like would have unanimously decided against
hould have it. Until you see it in person, it's hard to
)K" painted imagine just how gaudy a thick band of
d say things yellow can be.
t" and "Hail The action of putting up the halo has had
in 7.5-foot some clearly unintended results. It has
turned Wolverine fans into harsh design W
start of the critics. It could be responsible for the ath-
fans would letic department's lower-than predicted gift
e halo. They revenue. It has caused the community to be
eing "ugly." confronted with more bad puns involving
ss." "Vile." the word 'halo' than anyone should ever
e" it. They have to hear, and the story of wasted time,
and unnec- money and resources has been told one too
and that it many times (two too many times, you say
an amuse- as you flip to the crossword puzzle).
loyal fans The repercussions of the action were
tadium, dis- contrary to the intent. The oversight that
hat the halo the Athletic Department made was failing
yellow hue to anticipate this. So we are starting again.
vidently con- deconstructing the halo, re-renovating the
they walked stadium. While we're here, still knee-deep
in yellow, we might as well imagine an
to do with electronic sign with a flashing message for
I unintended passing vehicles: The stadium is OK.
:h the taking -- Jennifer Strausz can be reached over
e-mail at jstrausz@umich.edu.
tGIS ITENl ATIV SPEAiN
S eldom do today's University students
possess the courage or will to risk
punishment for voicing their beliefs. But
last Monday, 15 students, despite the pos-
sible consequences of their actions, took
it upon themselves to stand up for some-
thing they believed in.
Directly before Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s
keynote address for the University's 13th
Annual Symposium Commemorating
Martin Luther King Jr., a group of stu-
dents unexpectedly walked on stage and
overtook the podium. The students sur-
rounded one student in a semi-circle as
she spoke to the audience. The woman
reminded- the audience of, among other
things, an important fact: While the
University promotes diversity in ways
such as holding the MLK symposium, its
minority enrollment has dropped signifi-
cantly..
The content of the students' message
carries the most impact. Although the
University tries to deal with minority
issues, it still must be held accountable
when its performance is sub par. The pro-
testers cited a lack of minority faculty and
underfunded and understaffed agencies
set up to assist minority students, as well
as a low retention rate for minority facul-
ty.
The truth is that the administration
could be doing more to support minorities
and defend affirmative action. Whether
they do so voluntary or unknowingly,
many students remain ignorant to the
facts of the lawsuit against the
University's affirmative action policies.
The University attempts to convey its
stance through discussion groups and let-
ters to students, but more needs to be
done than the creation of an open dia-
logue.
There is validity in the protesters'
complaints. If the University believes in
diversity and supports affirmative action,
it sometimes behaves in a way inconsis-
tent with its own philosophy. The
University must make good on its
promise to "shatter barriers and transcend
borders."
The history of discrimination and per-
secution against minorities fades all too
quickly from our memories. The time
-when few, if any, minorities attended the
University is not so far into the distant
past. And, if students continue their apa-
thetic ways, the University could see a
return to this type of campus life in the
future. While the protesters' actions were
impolite, they also addressed an issue that
few others seem willing to undertake.
In a day and age when not even direct
limits on students' voting ability get
much rise out of young adults, both the
protesters' actions and message were
appropriate and correct. Some ques-
tioned the group's untimely and intrusive
nature, but their actions were in line with
the true spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.
Too often, those wishing to portray King
as less of a radical and more as a polite
protester now soften his message. Yet, his
acts of protest were anything but polite.
As his essay "Letter from Birmingham
City Jail" suggests, King worked with an
"unavoidable impatience." It was with
King's character - his intense urgency
- that the group of students demonstrat-
ed their beliefs.
THOMAS KULJUR
Rock the vote
MTV sponsored program promotes turnout
God's opinion on
abortion unclear
TO THE DAILY:
Throughout this past year I have truly
enjoyed reading what Mike Lopez has had
to say. However, it saddens me that one of
his final articles, "The greatest trick the
devil ever pulled..."(1119/00), is probably
one of his most flawed pieces.
Lopez lists some people who he believes
agree with the ideals of pro-lifers, "four are
saints and the other is God." I am not quite
sure how God could be considered a sup-
porter of pro-life when you consider the fol-
lowing:
I. God created everything (Revelation
10:6).
2. Therefore, God created abortion.
Why would God create something that
he now considers evil? He wouldn't. So
what happened? Well, either he messed up
and is an idiot, lie is Satan or simply, God
doesn't considereabortion bad at all. You
decide.
JESSE HERZOG
LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT
Editorial cartoon
misidentified
frate rn i ty
TO THE DAILY:
I would like to make a remark about
the cartoon in today's Daily in which it
states, "I don't see why we can't just have
some Delta Sigs shoot these down." Now,
I don't pretend to know what tihe actual
purpose of the statement was, but it is
clear what most people will associate it
with. To inform all of you, Delta Sig was
not involved, in any way, with the BB gun
shooting. Additionally, Delta Sig has been
exonerated of all hazing allegations. As a
member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity,
I don't see the rationale in dragging our
01
//r I
VIa
With the primary elections for presi-
dential candidates looming, once
again it is time for students to exercise this
country's greatest democratic right: The
right to vote. One might think that the
youngest voters would be among the most
eager to get to the polls, looking to sup-
port the candidates that will change the
future of our country.Yet the 18-25 year
old age bracket, which includes most col-
lege students, is still the smallest segment
of voters going to the polls on election
day. This needs to change.
Although all elections hold impor-
tance, the presidential election is perhaps
the most important. Based on the way that
our country's system of government
works, while there is a balance of power,
the president is easily the most powerful
person in the United States. More signifi-
cantly, the president represents issues that
American voters deem important -
including the issues raised by younger
adults. If we as University students fail to
vote in these elections, we create a way for
politicians to avoid going after issues
especially relevant to us - such as a
greater support for higher education,
affirmative action and improved health
care. If you do not care for the candidates,
vote to send a message that the youth vote
matters. By voting in the 2000 election,
young voters can draw more attention to
youth issues in the future.
Youth Campaign 2000, a grassroots
organization, along with their co-sponsor
, rM TV h, o rrni' A anamnian nt trv and
goal is to increase the youth vote by at
least 10 percent and make voters in the
18-25 yr. old age bracket understand their
votes count. Youth Campaign 2000 has
already planned for an all student run
debate later this year. So far, with only
short notice, nearly all the presidential
candidates have agreed to participate.
MTV, which worked on similar cam-
paigns in 1995 and 1992, has seen what
extra advertising and youth participation
can do. In the past election, turnout for
the 18-25 yr. old age group did increase,
and MTV's support was partly responsi-
ble. MTV is the number one station
watched by youths nationwide, and
because of their constant advertisements
reminding youth to vote, and their extra
effort to make voting an important issue
with young people, they can have a pow-
erful impact. Hopefully, through its
efforts in this year's election with Youth
Campaign 2000, as well as that organiza-
tion's other projects to increase youth vot-
ing, we will have the greatest youth vot-
ing turnout yet.
Do your part to make that happen.
Register to vote here in Ann Arbor, or in
your hometown. Remember that democracy
requires voter participation to work correct-
ly and that voting is not a chore but a privi-
lege. Millions of people around the world
do not have the right to select their leaders
or their government. This is the best oppor-
tunity that young adults around the country
will have to make governmnent pay attention
to issues that affect students. Take advan-
still good name through the mud once
again. Considering that after thorough
investigations by the University as well as
our national fraternity yielded no evi-
dence of hazing, it seems inappropriate
and slanderous to make a comment about
our house. A comment that any reason-
able person would associate with the
recent hazing incident. I certainly think
that a retraction and an apology are in
order.
DAVID S. KOVsKY
LSA SOPHOMORE
Daily shows 'trend
of bad journalism'
TO THE DAILY:
Over tie past two weeks, numerous
articles and a cartoon have been written
about events involving the Delta Sigma
Phi fraternity. When I saw the first article,
my initial reaction was of shock that a
newspaper would so quickly print some-
thing that was blatantly false when they
never made any effort to find out the
truth. When I saw Chip Cullen's political
i
I
(if you can call it that) cartoon, I was
again taken aback. He shows a man taking
down the stadium's controversial halo,
saying "I don't see why we can't just have*
some Delta Sig's shoot these down." I
now realize that the Daily has absolutely
zero integrity.
First of all, Delta Sig never had any
instances involving any sort of gun; that
was another fraternity. Second, the events
involving Delta Sig were dismissed after it
was found out that it was not a hazing inci-
dent. If the Daily is going to try and be
funny while incorrectly using political
humor, at least get your facts right.
More importantly, this negative press
that the Daily has decided to press against
Delta Sig cannot have a good effect, espe-
cially with Rush starting this weekend. I
don't know if the Daily realizes the impact
they can have, but if they do realize this,
and still print such slanderous, misinformed
information, then the Daily has less integri-
ty than I could have ever imagined. I hope
this trend of bad journalism does not con-
tinue to cloud the minds of this University.
I
REID WAINESS
LSA SOPHOMORE
Affirmative action propaganda misses important faCts
R eading the myth v. reality ad
("Advertisement about affirmative
action") in the Jan. 19th issue of the
Daily, I felt compelled for the sake of
public record to respond to the propagan-
da presented in the ad.
As we all know, statistics can be used
in very distorted ways. While it's true that
even using a class based affirmative
action system, minority representation in
California's elite public schools has
dropped, it's also true that such represen-
tation has increased in the last couple of
years. and that the minority drop out rate
has decreased. Such an increase over the
last couple of years means that given the
stimulus of higher admissions standards.
minority students, primarily from privi-
dents not ready to compete at elite col-
leges, considerthe fact that the University
offers a bridge program and tutoring to its
weakest admits precisely because these
students can't compete in college without
a crutch.
Moving on to the lies on the Texas pro-'
gram that admits automatically the top 10
percent of students into its system. First,
these programs do not assume all high
schools are the same: While the top 10
percent from a good high school may
wind up at Austin. the top 10 percent from
a poor high school will probably wind up
at El Paso State.
Second, students at the good schools
are not penalized because there are so
many spots in the Texas system that
mative action program would. Fourt
these programs do rely on segregated hig
schools. "However, given the fact that
nothing is being done to desegregate the
high schools in the status quo, the Texas
program was constructed to serve present
reality. Should it instead be set up to serve
some utopia that doesn't exist? Of course
not.
The bottom line is that minority repre-
sentation in California and Texas school
systems are analogous to what it was wit*
affirmative action. While minority repre-
sentation at elite institutions has
decreased recent trends indicate that such
decreases are temporary.
It is alarmist and irresponsible for the
Office of the VP for Communications to
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