4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 8, 2000
tje £irbidtu &ilg
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 MIKE SPAHN
daily.letters@umich.edu Editor in Chief
Edited and managed by EMILY ACHENBAUM
studets at the gEditorial Page Editor
University of Michigan
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.
Welcomed
Shorter move-in week will prevent boredom
W elcome Week, the gap between move in
and the beginning of classes, gives stu-
dents an opportunity to adapt to their new sur-
roundings without the added burden of study-
ing. Next year, incoming students will have
one less day to situate themselves.
Responding to student concerns that Move-In
Week was too long, the Office of New
Student Programs and University Housing
wisely decided to shorten it.
A full week for move-in was a longer peri-
od than new students needed to acquaint
themselves with Ann Arbor. Having already
been exposed to the campus during orienta-
tion, students did not need an extra week to
repeatthe process.
What did new students do to kill the extra
time? The University wanted to involve first-
year students in social activities to make them"
feel more at home. There certainly were some
good programs such as Maize Craze and
Artscapade/Escapade which effectively
accomplished this goal.
But few programs were this successful.
The problem was not with the structure of
these individual activities, but rather in the
sheer number and repetitiveness of the events.
Contrary to popular belief, there was a limit to
the amount of pizza and Coke a student could
consume in a few days. Sick of such pro-
grams, students were left to wait anxiously for
the first day of school.
With the massive amount of extra time,
students inevitably got themselves into trou-
ble. They embarked upon their own orienta-
tion to University life. Some acquainted them-
selves with the Ann Arbor Police Department
or DPS, earning MIP or UIP citations. The
less fortunate got a tour of the University hos-
pital. Ironically, in an effort to give students
more time to adjust to university life, the
longer Move-In week actually introduced
them to a lifestyle that was very unlike a typ-
ical college day.
The new shorter week should help to alle-
viate some of these problems. With less idle
time, next year's first-year students will final-
ly feel more "welcome" than bored.
Disillusionment, participation and the purpose ofvoting
am often asked, as a result of the work I sion they make, every problem they attempt money, and good money brings power.
I do, why I believe young people do not to solve, every goal they dare to establish. Americans are told, in the form of news
vote, or participate in any large numbers The young know of the multitude of updates and analysis, who is politically in
with the civic events around us. I have given opinions, concerns, ideas and necessities this vogue, and which issues are important. To
many answers, since many are true. I am diverse country holds. If ours were simply the young, this only aids the ignorance of
likewise asked why not addressed, it would be possible to cling those who purport our representation. We
they should vote, or to an ideology. We would convince ourselves see good men and women - our men and
participate at all. And that our representative, and those attempting women- battered and destroyed by an.
the answer here is to represent us, had so many interests to information giant. Furthermore, real ideas
close to my heart. The attend to, that our own were factored in to the and real solutions are abandoned because
following thoughts common good; not solved, perhaps, in the they do not fit into a news segment or a
attempt to answer manner we might choose, but addressed in sound bite. No, real hopes swell and multi-
both. Welcome to my the least. If we managed to convince our- ply. They cannot be confined to a television
column. selves as such, we might even participate. set or a hard drive. They burst bandwidth of
Writing as the We might even vote. But we do not, in large all diameters, and satellites cannot transmit
Federalist, No. 10, numbers, do either. And we, do not because them. The information highway was built for
James Madison we are betrayed. And we are betrayed not today's young: a path to a great future. We do
described the imper-Josh simply because we are unheard, but because not want it.
fect nature of his new we are not even asked. This is why we do not And so we do not vote, and it is a shame.
g o v e r n m e n t: Cowen vote. For voting, while the first course of change
"Complaints are E The young see voting as a payment. To us abandoned by the cynic, is also the last
everywhere heard Em hs s it is our charge to those who might govern. stronghold for what we crave. Voting is not a
from our most consid- Mi We expect something in return: considera- charge or a payment, it is not a favor or a
erate and virtuous cit- tion, gratitude in the form of attention. We donation. It is not always the means of
izens ... that the public good is disregarded have our particular concerns: salaries, educa- accomplishment, but it is always an act of
in the conflicts of rival parties, and that mea- tion, in recent years gender and race equali- pure participation. Oliver Wendell Holmes
sures are too often decided, not according to ty, AIDS and the environment. These are said "it is required of a man that he should
the rules of justice and the rights of the important to us because they will each effect share the action and passion of his time at
minor party, but by the superior force of an our daily lives when today's leaders live no peril of being judged not to have lived."
interested and overbearing majority." longer. Our government has specialists, task This, in the end, is what we want:To par-
Madison might well have been comment- forces, even whole departments dedicated to ticipate in something real; to take part in a
ing on the current political scene. Two vehi- these issues because they overlap with the great event large and infinite. We want to
cles of public manipulation, political oppor- concerns of an average citizen. Their impor- change the world but we want others to want
tunism and media influence, have distorted tance to young people is incidental. Since we it too. A vote expresses this. A vote says that
the democratic process in the pursuit of their see voting as a payment, and since we do not the problems we face are ours as they are
respective interests: Victory and audience. feel compensated, we feel robbed. Our issues yours, that success is a banquet to nourish us
Of the various social groups divided along have been stolen to finance electoral victory. all, and that we will never cease to progress-
traditional lines-ethnic, gender, age-young We tell ourselves to live and learn, and we as individuals and as peoples-no matter how
people are most injured by this. The state of lock our doors. We feel like victims assigned abandoned we are today. A vote hopes,
public affairs is, after all, a direct link to the random numbers, statistics-incidental. dreams, believes and expects. A vote does
future. When our government fails to If our disillusionment is the result of a not cure disease, end hunger, bring races
address the concerns of its people today, it theft, today's media are those assigned to together, or end war. But it promises that
attenuates this link by creating uncertainty bring justice. Reporters, commentators, ana- someday humanity will.
and disillusionment. The young, scarred by lysts, affiliates and corporations have not So vote.
this betrayal, will feel its sting in the years to only failed in this task, but have conspired in - Josh Cowen can be reached via
come. It will inflict itself upon every deci- the cover-up. Good stories bring good e-mail at jcowen@umich.edu.
ETER T CHIP CULLEN GRNOiNJ T HENIB
WLETTER'SiCAI.TMO
Fight for your right
ACLU's party handbook a necessity for all
I n an effort to inform students of their rights
while having a good time, the University
branch of the American Civil Liberties Union
recently published "House Party Handbook:
IKnow Your Rights." This informational
l'ochure covers topics such as "how to keep
the cops away" from festivities, "how to han-
dle [them]" if they show up, and "how to
a.void getting caught for doing illegal things."
If even comes complete with cutout signs that
students can post to prevent unauthorized
entry by civilians and officers alike.
The ACLU should be applauded for its
efforts to educate the student population.
Such knowledge will help guard against stu-
dents unwittingly forfeiting their right to pri-
vacy. Not many people know that police offi-
cers often do not have jurisdiction to enter a
party. They are only allowed to enter a build-
ing in three circumstances: If they have a
search or arrest warrant, if there is a 'real
emergency' inside the house (e.g.: if they
hear a cry for help), or if the resident allows
them inside. The Ann Arbor police often
trick students into incorrectly believing that
they are allowed inside. In such cases the
spirit of the constitutionally protected right
to privacy is violated, even if the letter of the
law is not.
It is important to note, however, that in no
way does the ACLU encourage illegal behav-
ior. The handbook specifically states the best
way to avoid getting caught for illegal activity
is to not commit such crimes in the first place.
It recommends checking ID's and warns
against selling alcohol. The handbook aims to
prevent students from unintentionally break-
ing laws they do not understand, not to teach
students how to commit crimes without get-
ting caught.
By writing about this issue, the ACLU
addressed an extremely relevant topic to stu-
dents' daily lives. Even though the handbook
may not address typical civil rights issues, it
does inform students of valuable civil liberties
here on campus.
Kosseff is 'raving
lunatic'
TO THE DAILY:
How did a raving lunatic like Jeffrey
Kosseff("Racism doesn't always hide behind a
white hood," Feb. 7) get hired by the Daily? I
thought the Daily was supposed to be repre-
sentative of the University students. not of
some left-wing psychobabble propaganda
machine. Apparently, the Daily feels it's neces-
sary to not only jump on the ultra-liberal high
horse, but to beat it when it's already dead.
To quote Kosseff: "CIR, like all affirma-
tive action opponents, promotes a racist agen-
da." Statements like these make Kosseff a
danger to society, not to mention himself,
Using his own line of thinking, this makes
him more of a threat than the KKK. What I am
trying to say, Kosseff comes across as a brain-
dead machine Kosseff makes no coherent
points in his article, and he just doses his cred-
ibility with that idiotic, immaterial statement.
My advice for the Daily: Screen your writers
before they plan on taking on the KKK.
NIKHIL KUMAR
LSA SENIOR
Affirmative action
is not perfect
TO THE DAILY:
In response to Jeffrey Kosseff's Feb. 7
column ("Racism doesn't always hide
behind a white hood"): To state that all
opponents of affirmative action are racist is
extreme and damaging rhetoric that, in this
PC climate, strong-arms dissenting opin-
ions into silence and halts any potential
intellectual discourse.
But I will not be strong-armed into
silence. Kosseff's logic is bankrupt. He con-
cedes that affirmative action may discrimi-
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nate on the basis of race. He justifies this
by stating that "everybody's doing it," the
politicians, the police, our professors. Just
because others do something that is harmful
does not make it OK. I tried Kosseff's logic
on my parents many a Friday night back in
high school, and they didn't buy it then, and
I don't buy it now.
Moreover, his argument left me wonder-
ing: If affirmative action opponents are
racist on the grounds that they promote dis-
crimination, aren't affirmative action pro-
ponents just as racist? So now everybody's
racist. Are we happy now? His logic gets his
argument, as well as a discussion on affir-
mative action, absolutely nowhere.
In addition, in his article, he states that
Abraham Lincoln "won." He may have won,
but not a battle for the African-Americans in
this country. Lincoln did not free the slaves.
Read the Emancipation Proclamation. Sure, it
declares a bunch of slaves free, except in cer-
tain counties already under Union control.
So. this "Great Emancipator" was saying to
the fighting South, albeit in the finesprint, "if
you surrender, you will be able to keep your
slaves." He was more concerned with keeping
the Union together than freeing people; his:
proclamation was political, not philosophical.
Back to the topic of affirmative action:,
Affirmative action is not a bad thing, and I'm
glad Kosseff admits it's not perfect. It harms
as well as helps. Many people say it gives
undeserving minorities the right to waltz into
the University and sets them up to fail.
Well, everyone is deserving of the best
education possible, and anyone with half a
brain who's not on drugs could get through
this university if they attend class and do the
work (most people I know do drugs, skip
class, and still do fine). To be sure, benefi-
ciaries of affirmative action succeed at the
big "U," and Kosseff himself proves that
there are a lot of stupid white guys. But, we
should all give a moment of silent reflection
and remember the victims of affirmative
action: Those unfortunate white kids from
the Detroit suburbs and who end up having
to go to MSU. Now that's a tragedy.
M. HOPE ALLEN
LSA SENIOR
Movers and shakers
Dance Marathoners break records with style
etting an example for philanthropic
campaigns at the University, more than
200 students and faculty stayed on their feet
for thirty hours to benefit children's hospi-
tals at the third annual Dance Marathon.
Culminating a year of effort on behalf of
this weekend's event, 206 dancers helped
earn $107,340 for child rehabilitation pro-
grams at Ann Arbor's C.S. Mott Children's
Hospital and Royal Oak's William
Beaumont Hospital.
These dancers were only part of a cam-
pus-wide endeavor that included well over
1,000 University affiliates. Although
around 30 universities across the country
participate in similar events, the efforts of
dancers, organizers, morale officers, spon-
sors and other key contributors throughout
the year should be congratulated for creat-
ing the most successful Dance Marathon at
the University so far.
The Dance Marathon was successful not
just in raising more than $100,000 for the
first time in its history at the University, but
also for bringing together a diverse group of
University affiliates and increasing aware-
health care by allowing students to meet
those affected by their efforts. Many of the
families who will benefit from the money
raised this weekend were present to show
their appreciation and offer personal
accounts of how important the efforts of
Dance Marathon have been to them.
Children were able to participate in games
and other events during the 30 hour period
including dancing and wheel chair basket-
ball.
Formerly associated with the Children's
Miracle Network - to which most Dance
Marathons around the country affiliate with
- the University's program decided to
break their ties with this national organiza-
tion in order to direct their funds at improv-
ing local child health facilities like C.S.
Mott and William Beaumont. Their success
is incredibly important in supporting vari-
ous physical and occupational rehabilitation
efforts that are usually not covered by insur-
ance. Everyone who contributed this year to
the Dance Marathon should be congratulat-
ed for working towards providing essential
health care procedures to families that oth-
Regis Philbin, I accept you as my lord and savior
Forgive me, Charles Van Doren, for I
have sinned. It has been 14 days since
my last confession and in that time I have
seen 27 game shows on television. On any
given night, I watch (insert game show
here) with host (insert cheesy septuagenari-
an here) on (insert net-
work here.) I have even
resorted to taping
"Twenty One" since it
airs at the same time as
"Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?"
On the plus side,
I've figured out why
they call it the idiot
box: There are idiots on
it, but I'm also an idiot
for watching.
I sit there and feel
superior because I
know what my final
answer is before Reege
the idiots on the television. I can't turn it off
because then I lapse back into my little life
with my little activities and my little
thoughts. In that painful hour of trivia
mania, I have something to live for:
Superiority.
A few years ago a poll was conducted of
Howard Stern listeners; I don't have the
exact statistics, but the conclusion was that
Howard Stern haters listened to the disc
jockey for far longer than those who actual-
ly liked him. The same principle is at work
with the game shows and I. Most of you
probably root for the good guy to "feel the
need for greed" and walk home with the big
bucks. I'd rather see them go home empty-
handed so I can laugh at them.
Part of the problem is the circus-like
spectacle that has sprung up around these
shows. Late last week, I was horrified to
discover I had absolutely no idea which
game show I was watching. The dizzyingly
mechanized camera moves swooping down,
pop culture card as well. I suspect that all of
these shows are engaging in some gladia-
tor-like competition whose main tenet can
only be described as "survival of the dumb-
est." My horror at seeing a round of
"Jeopardy!" that contained category titles
all relating to Madonna was mitigated only
by the fact that I knew every answer and the
poor contestants, rich with encyclopedic
knowledge but woefully uninformed about
such activities as vogueing, crashed and
burned.
The saving grace in all this madness
comes from a man whose show isn't even
on network television, but on Comedy
Central. "Win Ben Stein's Money" remains
one of the most innovative shows, game
show format or not, on TV today. Stein is
deliciously droll, but never hokey or
smarmy. He, co-host Jimmy Kimmel and
his contestants aren't competing for the
million dollar payout. There isn't thirty sec-
onds of forced suspense while the host dra-
Erin
Podolsky
You will
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