A- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 17, 2000
Gl be irihigrn t ail
"Without your health, you have nothing'"... Uh-oh
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
daily.letters@umich.edu
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
MIKE SPAHN
Editor in Chief
EMILY ACHENBAUM
Editorial Page Editor
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the
Daily' editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect
the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
' meal program doesn't suit student needs
H ave 1Ibecome revolting? I own a dozen
skirts and endless hair products, but
write this wearing sweats with my hair in
something that originally resembled a
ponytail - yesterday. I subscribe to Fitness
magazine, which
mocks me upon
arrival every month.
I recently looked
at some photos of
myself at age 17:
Long and lean, clean-
skinned and rosy-
cheeked. Memories
can rushing back:
Horsebackriding sev-
eral times a week.,
dance lessons, hiking E
- all for fun - plus Emily
working out to stay in Achenbaum
shape. I ate veggies, . ,
pasta and chicken.
Drinking alcohol was V > ' :
minimal. Diet coke
and Wendy's were not part of my life. Oh,
what have I done to myself. That's right - I
went to college.
At age 17, I thought of myself as normal
- nothing exceptional. At 21, I think my
level of health four years ago was, in fact,
exceptional.
Just how unhealthy am I, I wondered. I
decided to take a personal inventory. I have
no idea if my vision is good or not since I
haven't taken my current pair of contacts out
in a month. I hear this is unhealthy, but it's.
like having perfect vision - I wake up and I
can see. No spending money on solution, no
digging a stubborn contact out of a cranky
eye with uncoordinated hands in the wee
hours of the morning. I smoke things that are
burnable, drink things that are liquid, itch
things that need scratching - and if it bleeds,
hey, at least the itching has stopped. The only
green things I eat come in the form of green
M'n'Ms and spearmint gum. Oh wait, there
are limes in my gin and tonics. I'm not
alarmed by any of this.
Go ahead and try to frown - and tell me
you don't do the same stuff. I exercise ... a
little. I don't do any real drugs - but I'd be
willing to try whatever the architects who
masterminded East Hall's layout must have
been snorting. It's a fact of life: As college
students, we enter school looking and feeling
like I8-year-olds, but leave four years later
with bodies that have aged at least a decade.
And we embrace it - because it's just too
much fun being completely irresponsible
with our bodies for a few years.
But I decided I should at least attempt to
make a few changes. Where to start - less
drinking? No. More exercise? Ha, As I
munched on a bag of Ruffles - something I
wouldn't have touched in my high school days
- something dawned on me: Fruits, vegeta-
bles, vitamins, minerals and water. When was
the last time I'd touched any of those?
Out of curiosity, I kept a food log:
9 a.m.: Donut from group raising money
in Angell Hall.
II a.m.: Chips and Diet Coke from
vending machine.
2 p.m.: Two slices of cheese pizza from
Domino's. I eat while walking.
2:30-6 p.m.: Two more Diet Cokes,
frosted animal cookies.
6 p.m.: Subway veggie sandwich for
dinner. With mayonnaise ... and cheese.
9 p.m.: Frosted animal cookie crumbs,
double cappuccino with six (OK, seven)
Sweet 'n' Low packets and a bit of skim
milk.
II p.m.: Parmesan bread sticks with
ranch dip.
1 a.m.: Snapple and pretzels.
I wish I could say I embellished this list
for the sake of my column. This is the diet of
a 15-year- old boy Eating two billion calories
a day with white Subway "lettuce" as my
D iscussion of University dorm food often
makes students lose their appetite. The
food choice for lunch is always a tough deci-
sion: "Do I want greasy chicken covered in
cheese or dry turkey covered in cheese?" But
food quality is not the only problem with the
meal plan provided by University housing.
There are a variety of problems ranging from
the time meals is served to the inability to use
meal credit money at other food establish-
ments.
What college student lives and functions on
the time schedule of the working-world John
Doe? College students stay up until 2 a.m. on
a regular basis - but cafeterias start serving
dinner at 5:30 pm. The University has imposed
this ridiculous time schedule on the students
living in the residence halls which does not
match college lifestyles. Only the students in
ROTC are up early enough to get breakfast in
the cafeteria - more power to them, but early
rising is not the norm.
Students will suffer many consequences for
not being aware of cafeteria time. If students
come one minute late to any meal they must
suffer the loss of not eating. The times for
meals are strictly enforced. Students who miss
the mealtime slot are left to truck to the other
side of campus, for a late dinner at West Quad.
Why is it that dinner is not served on Sunday?
Does the University feel that students are not
hungry on Sunday?
It is the monopoly on the campus meal plan
that gives the students so few options on where
and what to eat. The standard 13 meals given
to the students are only applicable at other res-
ident halls. Students should have the option to
take the money spent on a meal and buy a sub
or pizza, which would reduce the stress of
making the mealtime slots offered by the cafe-
teria.
Food and eating should not have to be an
effort or a priority at the University - and we
are paying far too much for the quality of ser-
vice we are receiving. Students suffer enough
from the pressures of homework and exams.
The additional burden of making mealtimes
and eating on an out-of-touch regimented
schedule only adds to the inconvenience of
life.
only vegetable, I should be a size 18, not 8.
Weekend or bar nights were even more
alarming - add four or five gin and tonics
plus a 2 a.m. Panchero's run to the above.'
Maybe I should alter my habits, but my brief
worrying melted away when I realized there
is no need to fight being a college student as_ b
long as I'm living in Ann Arbor.
Being skinny is damn expensive: A
large salad at Amer's is nearly $5. We al
know how much food you can purchase at
Taco Bell for that same amount. There's
really no choice to be made. And working at
the Daily begs arteries to be clogged -
we're up until 2 in the morning finishing ;'
the paper, Tios' delivers, and to my
willpower's horror, the Campus Donut Cafe
will be opening soon just half a block away"
Someone in city zoning must have tipped
them off that being near the Daily - and a
hike from those houses on the hill - was'"
just the place to be.
I take an odd joy in abusing my health.
Although I'm not in 17-year-old form, I can
eat what I please and not gain mich weight,
I can smoke and still run two miles if I want
to, I can drink all I want and know I won't
puke or feel very hungover the next morn'-
ing. That's just the way my body works.,
Sure, such habits will bite you back in the
long run, but I am also gleefully naive (or
deeply in denial) about my future- after
all, once I'm out of college, I will no longer'
behave like this. I do aspire to be healthy'
and radiant again, but I have the rest of my
life to do that, and there's no reason to start
now if I'm going to do it after graduation-
Until the government starts adding vitamins
to beer the way they do to breakfast cereal,
I'll be reveling in my calcium deficiency.
You're only in college once.
- Emilv Achenbaum would like to
apologize to her parents for the content of 1
this column. She can be reached via
e-mail at emilvlsa@umich.edu'
G RINDING THE NB-
CHIP CULLEN
LGBT pride stays
strong in face of
harassment
Dorm doom
Housing must alert residents of construction
T he loud eruptions of drills and banging
hammers, racks of equipment laying all
over and electrical workers strewn every-
where - sounds like a normal construction
site right? Nope, try the eighth floor of South
Quad.
Surprised? So were the residents that live
there. Students who live there, while given no
notice as to why or when this electrical work
was going to take place, are now awakened to
the sounds of shaking doors and loud explo-
sions of noise as the electric company puts in
new wiring in South Quad. One South Quad
official when asked about the construction
simply stated that the company was, "putting
in new lighting for the halls so that it would
be safer and more lit for the residents." This
is something that the residents as paying ten-
ants of that building should lawfully have
been informed of. ,
While residents can appreciate the effort
to improve their living facilities, at the same
time, they would like the courtesy of being
informed of these plans ahead of time. The
University Housing mission statement clear-
ly states that, "Through partnership with oth-
ers we provide quality programs, services and
facilities for those we serve in a caring,
responsible, and cost effective manner." Not
informing your residents when work is going
to be done to their building, such as the new
lighting on the eighth floor or the painting'
that is preventing use of the first few stair-
wells in South Quad, is hardly responsible or
caring toward the residents of these facilities.
The least that University Housing should
have sent out a notice about the work to resi-
dents. This is common courtesy and, in an
apartment building would be illegal not to
inform your residents of. Students of this
University are paying a lot of money to live in
the dorm facilities and are also expected to
live up to the rules and commitments of their
lease by University Housing. The least that
the University could do is to live up to the
same standards.
TO THE DAILY:
As Queer Visibility Week kicks off I
hear the question once again, what is this
gay pride thing all about'? Why should
homosexuals openly celebrate being proud
of their sexuality. After all, everyone is a
sexual being, and do heterosexuals go
around displaying their pride? Mom and
dad, dear friends. I'm heterosexual and
proud of it!
True, this sounds strange but only
because there is no need for comments like
this. What is different for gays are the over-
whelming adversities they confront.
Overcoming these barriers to be oneself is
certainly an accomplishment worth being
proud of. Imagine growing up in a society
founded on many customs, rituals and
expectations that do not apply to you and
that even hinder your growth. It is never
easy recognizing your incompatibility with
a predetermined path. Instead of blindly
accepting the "norms" that do not address
everyone's needs, open gays struggle for
respect and recognition in this society for
what they are.
Compare this to the students who's par-
ents pressure them to become a money
making doctor even though they have no
interest or affinity for that profession. You
will find they are proud when they go on to
be happy and successful after deviating
from expectations in order to pursue a
career that they are passionate about. So if
you see me wearing a rainbow ribbon, sup-
porting LGBT events in the diag or march-
ing in a parade, realize that my pride is
stemming from the fact that in the face of
harassment, scorn, discrimination, humilia-
tion and ostracization, I had the character
and strength to be true to myself and lead
the way for others to do the same. My pride
is no idle display.
TOM SLAZINSKI
ARCHITECTURE JUNIOR
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'U' wimped out of
Kickoff Classic
TO THE DAILY:
As a Michigan alumnus living in Virginia
Tech country I simply had to speak out con-
cerning the embarrassing decision of Coach
Carr to turn down the opportunity to play the
"Hokies" in the Kickoff Classic. All season
long I told the Tech faithful that while they
were a good little team, being champions of
the "Big LEAST" didn't come close to com-
peting in the Big Ten. So by a strange turn of
events the opportunity arose for Michigan to
put-up or shut-up in the Kickoff Classic and
instead we ran like a scalded cat. How humil-
iating. Mighty Michigan cowering from the
"Hokies." So the steady diet of crow I've had
for the past couple weeks caused me to
respond.
The Daily or Detroit News articles said
one of the primary purposes to play the
Kickoff Classic was to get Michigan some
exposure in the East Coast press. Hopefully,
this would translate into greater respect when
it came time for these sportswriters and coach-
es to cast their polling ballots. This was sound
reasoning since I can attest that the Big Ten
does not garner a lot of respect from the east
coast newspapers. It is still viewed as a big,
slow, Neanderthal conference that always gets
outclassed when they play outside the
Midwest. Now this attitude has been com-
pounded by the decision to turn tail and run
from Virginia Tech. As far as east coast papers
are concerned Michigan is already 0- 1 for the
2000 season and we lost BIG!
I read all of the whining reasons about how
you don't get Brownie points for playing a
tough schedule so we need to go the
"Bowden-esque" route of feasting on pansies
and and cream-puffs 'til the Penn State game.
What I can't understand is how Michigan
expects to foster respect from east coast
sportswriters and coaches by playing teams
like Rice and Bowling Green. The decision to
reject the Kickoff Classic may seem reason-
able and logical from the maize-and-blue
banks of the Huron River; but from a vantage
point in the heart of "Hokie-land" a couple
miles from the Atlantic, it seems completely
gutless. In the papers and talk shows around
here the opinion is that Michigan lost to
Virginia Tech in their first meeting. And in
case you hadn't heard, Georgia Tech gladly'
accepted the opportunity to play a pre-season
game against the Hokies. Go Blue!
RON RAYMER
UNIVERSITY ALUM
Smoking gun
Smell of pot not should not warrant search
Last Thursday, the Michigan Supreme
Court ruled that a police officer's recog-
nition of marijuana odor warrants a vehicle
search. This ruling overturned a precedent-set-
ting 1997 case that determined marijuana
smoke, or the scent of unburned marijuana
leaves, was not enough to merit further inspec-
tion. This statute provided guidance in several
legal battles involving marijuana possession.
But the problem here is not the legality of mar-
ijuana - it is the potential for officers to over-
step their bounds.
A "qualified police officer" is a term that
this law has rendered quite ambiguous;
apparently, a police officer's own testimony is
the only way to determine if a particular
smell is marijuana or not. This ruling allows
the police to search vehicles much more lib-
erally,. bringing to mind some alarming hypo-
thetical situations. For example, suppose a
"qualified police officer" determines that
there is a marijuana-type odor in the parking
lot of a rock concert. The smoke's pervasive
smell could be emanating from any number
juana and such a smell is present, then a
search or seizure on any car in the lot would
be legal. Many innocents would be at risk of
an unwarranted search.
Determining the smell of a smoke-based
substance is not as reliable as the smell of other
substances that warrant vehicle searches, such
as alcohol. In the case of alcohol, the police
officer has many other determinants of proba-
ble cause to search a vehicle, such as breatha-
lyzer and sobriety tests - and officers cannot
search a car unless they see alcohol in plain
sight or find after testing that the driver is
drunk. There is no such current on-the-spot
test for marijuana. Suspecting that someone is
affected by marijuana does not compare to an
alcohol breath-test in determining probable
cause.
Michigan's judicial branch should have
been more careful in giving police officers
such broad leeway in vehicle searches. In a
court of law, and officer's vouching of "mari-
juana odor" will certainly be valued more than
the defendant's denial, right or wrong.
J..n ,e e y%* c~~ n" r_-- -ir1ir. c4 ..- *.. v h. .
Fifty Ways to Use
(Sung to the tune of Paul Simon's Fifty
Ways to Leave a Lover)
Te problem is all up on floor seven, they
said to me
a Tower
There's no flag flving
atop the Union,
I can see
Here are some sug-
gestions as y'all
struggle vigorously
There must be, 50
wavy to use a tower
You 'll say it's not my
business to get
involved
Charge, like, $7.50
Do it for the University, Lee
Integrity in our diversity
Don't make a "cultural study space," Ace
Thats an utter waste, Grace
But Michigamua can meet
some other place
Michigamua, it seems, has done this
school quite a service
But they're making activists all
a little nervous
They've offended Native Americans like
diet offends Rick Majerus
(damn! That's a stretch, but it's better than
Mike Jarvis)
Let's think of,
other ways to use the tower
Some other way to use the tower
So here's what you do, Sue
Give the room back to the school, Raul
It s an interesting choice, Joyce
Let's see how this plays out
In my personal view, Stu
This matter calls for more review
The floor can be a symbol for maize and
blue, Drew
It represents the height of this U
Something special should go
on that top floor
Something we all appreciate and cherish
even more
Than this exclusive club, which while
good, has a closed door
There must be, 50 ways to use that tower
David
Mnrn
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