4 - The Michigan Daihy - Friday, March 17, 2000 ~bz irbigun uiI The plight and might of Omer A. Kudat 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's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Nutrition month focuses on student diets 5 14 Monroe St. is my pad, my shack, my humble abode. I share it with 12 other people - all gentlemen, all kings in their own right. We encapsulate the very essence of diversity that the University stands for. We are Americans, Europeans, Asians (a.k.a Yanks, Imperialists and forced laborers, in that order). From McCainian candy- boys to Menshevik e- traders. from nuclear physics buffs to SNRE bottom dogs, and from Sammy Adams ascetics to Blind Pig buddhas, we are the UN poster children of campus. Proud of our eclecti- cism, we are, more Waj importantly, good Syd/d friends. When one falls among our The Karachi ranks, we all of Knma-S r course take heed and try to bail him out. Such is the story of Omer A. Kudat, my friend and fellow of common residence. But sometimes, things work out differently. "Hey Waj, can we talk when you're done with your game?" An unusual anxiety in his voice and I am more than piqued. This bugger usually seconds the motion for bat- tering my Playstation during our house meetings. I was not going to let this one go by. FIFA '00 could go to the gulag. "Sure Oak," I refer to his abbreviation/nickname. "I'm done. Talk on." And so we talked. For Omer's sake, I cannot (and should not) disclose every- thing discussed that night'at 514 Monroe, but the following, printed with his permis- sion, is an attempted conglomeration of his thoughts: "It seems like naivete is over ... I met with my mother over winter break. She said I don't smile anymore, and I said that was because I was not happy. I didn't even know what I was saying at the time, but it's been bothering me since then. And that's the problem. Things are fine and I am not happy ... not unhappy or dissatisfied, but not exactly happy or contented either. I got two A's last term, and I was like 'Now what?' I got the Jeep, and I was slightly stirred. I'm scared. Things are rushing by, but I feel the same. Soon, I'll have a job, where I will work billion-hour weeks for some asskicker computer program. I hope I am happy then, but I am scared that I'll feel the same, that nothing will change. I miss being young. What's the song? When we were young, we were kings." Omer's tirade was more recondite, more human than the print appears. Unfortunate- ly, its true spirit and essence cannot be res- urrected through this edit page echelon. Even more hapless is the fact that though my friend sought my help, he aided me more through his honest self inquiry than I could assist him. Omer's plight made me peer inside that perennial chest of college life. I rummaged through class schedules and loan repay- ments, pass-fail deadlines and job inter- views, football tickets and GPAs, past all of those, looking for the real stuff, the future. And there it was, clad in the form a thousand questions. The queries were the same as anyone else's. Am I getting by, or happy? Driven, or forced? Educated, or@ trained? The answers could have been one, or both, or a myriad options in the middle. The process of questioning was also disturbing. Employing broad rhetoric, we all know that it's a bad, bad world out there. Idealists, reformists or whatever, we are all a protuberance of pragmatists at the end of the day. I have zero doubts when I make the statement that we are all here to build on a future. I also have no qualms (and I know that I generalize) in saying that the term 'future' for many of us has been institutionally and systemati- cally perverted - it is now directly relat- ed to the manifestation of the ideals of dynamic professionalism. It is a hybrid of prime-time airing and coffee-house chat- ter and between neo-capitalists, social Darwinists, quasi-intellectuals and utili- tarian bohemians - a state of being which is also and more commonly referred to as The Suit. The Suit (also accompanied by The Girl- friend, The Car, and The House): The per- fection of the post-graduate, this-is-what-four-years-of-college-taught- me lifestyle. The smart, sharp manners. The clean, focused professionalism. The singularity of purpose. The supreme achievement attitude. All the nice and shiny accoutrements of success (another loosely defined term). All the stock options and the 401k plans. All the essen- tial nutrients for the 21st century American professional. All the things which never mattered. Yes, Omer. I, too, miss being young. - Wa Sved: Old, wrinkled and balding, can be reached via e-mail at wajsyed@umich.edu. T hree a.m. pizzas, chips by the bag, greasy hamburgers, fries, can after caffeine-filled can of sugary soda - sound like a dieter's wish list? Nope, try the normal diet for many University stu- dents on this campus. Despite the current health craze that captured the country's attention and is effecting the lives of peo- ple on this very campus, many students, specifically those living in dorm facili- ties, are left with no option but to eat junk. Due to hectic schedules and the late night tendencies of most here at the Uni- versity, students tend to get hungry at odd hours. Since no dorm cafeterias are open later than 7:30 p.m., and most close at 6:30 p.m., students at the University have no other choice but to eat what is accessible and cheap - and that is junk food. The closest food available to stu- dents outside of the cafeteria is vending machines full of unhealthy and processed food; the only other alternatives are the dorm snack bars filled with greasy options and the Union fast food restau- rants and local late-night delivery ser- vices. Even if students want to buy produce and other healthy foods, aside from small grocery stores like the White Market, there is not much available to them unless they have a car to go to a major grocery store away from campus. There is not much of a selection available for dorm students who would like a nutri- tious diet on a flexible schedule. As March is National Nutrition Month, the University Housing Depart- ment is working to provide students liv- ing in residence halls with information and insight about why it is important to eat healthy. To get most students to appreciate what they are saying, Resi- dence Hall Dining Services first needs to listen to student concerns. For example, if they looked into student eating patterns they would find that numerous students are likely to go to a late dinner before they will ever get up for an early break- fast. If Housing ever hopes for Universityt students to eat healthy, then they need to make more options available to them that work with the average college students' lifestyle. By having even just a few cafeterias on campus open till 9 or 10 p.m. for din- ner, perhaps even one until 12 or 1 a.m., they would be more accommodating to the college lifestyle and provide students with options other than eating unhealthy when they are hungry at night. Other things that could be done to get students to eat healthier are to provide additional healthy food selections and to have more meals available for vegetarian and veg- ans. In making these changes, only then can Housing hope to have students adapt healthier eating habits. THOMAS KULJURGIS TEN.NFVELY SPEAKING 0 UR IJiC NOW OMFItALL-1 Sire1'M GUIY E;;(WiE 04 chmpos. Census sensibility Students should complete census ince 1790, every American house- hold has been required to complete the United States Census. Occurring once every ten years, the Census is used to determine allocation for a wide variety of social programs, including those that affect, all University personnel. The cen- sus is not difficult to complete. Five in every six people will receive a short form, which requires only six to eight questions per person to be completed. In less than ten minutes, students can affect how much money Ann Arbor receives in government aid. Before April 1, each person living off-campus should take the time to fill out the Census. Forms should have arrived already. Two weeks to complete the form is enough time, even -for students and staff with busy schedules. It is worth noting that some households - one in six - will receive a 53-question form, requir- ing detailed information concerning income, education,-marital status, and other categories. If the surveys are not returned, workers from the Census Bureau called enumerators will go door- to-door to help people complete the form. For students currently at the Universi- ty, this year's census will be the first they fill out on their own. The census requires that students living away from home for college be left uncounted by their par- ents. Legally, students must fill out their census - they will not be counted any- where else. But convincing students shouldn't be hard. It is a social responsi- bility, and one that every University stu- dent needs to take the time to complete. Editorial did not justify late term abortions To THE DAILY: In the Daily's editorial "Life Begins at Birth," (3/15/00) you offer a tempting argument. However, while it might be possible to use it to defend some (indeed, most) instances of abortion, it cannot be used to defend very late term abortion: The argument is this: What is morally relevant to the question of abortion is not whether the fetus is a human being, but rather whether it is a person. Since it lacks certain capacities, it cannot be counted as a person: It is not the case that fetuses "are self-aware,sthink ratio- nally, have a moral compass, feel com- plex emotions, communicate, etc." There is, however, a problem facing an argument of this sort, especially when we combine this argument with the view that very late term abortions are morally permissible. Forconsider the fetus one second before birth and the infant one second afterwards. It is implausible that the newborn infant is any more self- aware, able to communicate, etc., than the fetus. So, if the fetus one second before birth is not a person, then neither is the infant one second afterwards. By the lights of this otherwise tempting argument, then, late term abortion is morally permissible only if infanticide is. Since it is, at the very least, controversial that killing newborn infants is morally permissible, we must give up either the offered argument or the claim that late term abortion is morally permissible. STEPHEN MARTIN RACKHAM STUDENT Despite Cowen 'S opinion, sports fans are still out there To THE DAILY: In his March 14th column on sports ("Memories of a fan: Why sports now mean nothing"), Josh Cowen made me frown a bit. I cannot claim that sports is not a business and that there is less loyal- ty and more selfishness than before. I would go so far as to say that the "team" concept that the article equated with the Pistons of the past is a memory as well. My problem with the article is not the truth in it, but the redundancy of the truth. I would love to have my favorite players remain on my favorite team and get paid as much as I do in the process. But this really makes no sense. It may be a shame, but we, as fans, are also part of the reason sports have become what they are. We are the fans that watch Sports- center and pray that Vince Carter neglects a pass to an open teammate and proceeds to glide on his way to an emphatic dunk. We want our home teams to sign popular athletes so we can root for them, instead of having them beat our f t t. 3 i - ....,,. ° . .~..3 A For # Mz4IE c V jPU. 5 v s oT I mow: . _, .... ... Buckl-u blues Seatbelt law could infringe on rights Ann Arbor was one of many cities last Friday to take advantage of a new law allowing police officers to pull over drivers based solely on the fact that they are not wearing a seatbelt. In fact, two cops were assigned to this issue alone, pulling over a fair share of Ann Arbor motorists. While this may seem like police resources poorly allocated, seat belt laws do help save lives. The problem with giving police officers the right to enforce this already existing seat- belt law is that this is an arbitrary and easily disputable legal issue putting the word of police officers against that of motorists. It also gives cops a wedge in the traffic polic- ing enterprise that could lead to greater incidents of abuse of power. This law could increase the incidence of illegal search and seizure. Otherwise law-abiding citizens may be subject to the encroaching hand of the law. Whether this leads to increased searching by police will be largely left up to those cops issuing these tickets and deciding who should be pulled over. While getting pulled over for a seatbelt violation may be just a slight nuisance to some, it is a larger issue to others who see this law as giving police the opportunity to pull over citizens at will. Due to the arbitrary nature of this new law, and because cops have been given the right to selectively pull over.more drivers, it could also increase the incidence of racial profiling. It is well known that minorities are targeted more often by police officers than whites. Unlike pulling over speeders or motorists with broken headlights, this law gives police the right to pull over an even greater pool of dri- vers, increasing the power of prejudiced cops to pull over not only minorities but other suspect vehicles. The ideal solution to this seatbelt prob- lem would be its repeal. While that is prob- ably not an option, the easiest solution is simply to wear your seatbelt. This leaves it up to the cops to respect the boundaries of this law. And while that may not be the best option, we all trust cops, right? Joe Dumars is a great person - fine. I liked the fact that he was a good basket- ball player, but I loved the fact that, even for an athlete, he was a great guy. That is the problem of it all, isn't it? We have a problem with our standards for these ath- letes. We jeer them when they beat their wives and spend months at a time in a Betty Ford clinic, but praise them to no end when they help out one child or defer praise onto their team. It seems that our affinity for praising them for being what all humans ought be, kind, and refusing to forgive them for being what all humans are, humans, is what makes this institution such an easy target for criti- cism. Sports did not change because of money. Sports changed because we forced it to evolve and now the process has made it a monster. Athletes have to compete their entire lives to be success- ful, for that is the credo of our culture. This mentality makes them liable to our dubious expectations and needs. We force these people to do what we pay and pray to see. We spend our money and expect certain things in return, all at the same time the forefront of our psyche ignorantly craves for the "team" and "loyalty." Sports is an evil business because we forced it to become one. But that doesn't mean I am still not a fan. It will take a lot more than money to ruin what sports means to me. CYRUs KHOLDANI LSA SOPHOMORE Coverage of men's and women's sports unequal TO THE DAILY: As fans of athletics, we enjoy reading the sports section of the Daily. Through the course of the year we have noticed a disturbing trend in the coverage of some sports. Most notable is the disparity between the coverage of the men's and women's basketball programs. In a year where our women's team ended their season ranked 22nd in the nation and second in the Big Ten regular se~an uith a bid to- the NCAA Toulrna- hidden in the middle of the sports sec- tion. Men's basketball may be more popu- lar on a nation-wide basis, however the accountability of the Daily is not to the the nation as a whole but rather to the University community. Their responsibil- ity should be to represent the successes of the programs at the University of Michigan. The success of the University of Michigan Women's Basketball Pro- gram merits more respect and coverage than they are receiving. We suggest the Daily re-examine their policies and grant, coverage based on skill and talent, not gender. TOBY SCOTT KINESIOLOGY JUNIOR ANDREA PERAGINE KINESIOLOGY SOPHOMORE Both athletes and non-athletes contribute to 'U' TO THE DAILY: In response to G. J. Zann's March 14th letter concerning student-athletes ("Student-athletes show spirit of 'U'"), I would like to ask this: Who can truly define who is "the heart of Michigan?" Both students and student-athletes con- tribute to and represent our University, with equivalent "heart and soul." I am not disagreeing with the statement that student-athletes "have a passion and feel the spirit of Michigan,' but who is to say that I don't feel that same passion and spirit just because I am not a varsity ath- lete at this institution? Along those same lines, who can say that student-athletes are the only mem- bers of the University community that "bring, sacrifice and make this Universi- ty?" I must admit that there are a large number of students who are not student- athletes that "make this University," and sacrifice just as much time and effort into academics and the multitude of stu- dent organizations on this campus. I am in no way disregarding or belit- tling the student-athlete population; I am aware of their responsibility to their 0 0 0 0 I I i