4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 13, 1999 atle atchtputtl aadlj Win or lose, lawsuits provide students with rare gift 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. Sell out Ann Arbor losing charm to corporations It started at New Student Orientation. In the "Diversity" portion of orienta- tion exercises, we were forced to sit in a circle and list the benefits of living and learning in an educational community. It continued with course distribution requirements - to graduate each stu- dent must take one course that fulfills as Race and Ethnicity requirement. These small steps: originally were intended to educate the student body and establish common understanding. Heather But it was obvious Kamins that these modest u efforts would not do much to unify a Kea ins community made up of many shades and many sets of beliefs. And if it had not been for two fateful lawsuits filed in the fall of 1997, thou- sands of students would have graduated with only a superficial notion of how race and ethnicity really continue to impact personal and professional rela- tionships. The lawsuits have afforded us, as stu- dents, the chance to confront each other, challenge views on race and affirmative action and learn through experience instead of dictated policy. Although the two lawsuits attacking the University's use of race in its admis- sion processes have the potential to put a great strain on the school's financial and academic resources, in some ways they are a rare gift the University will give currently enrolled students. Of course, the University wants to win the lawsuits. But from the beginning, administrators have claimed a second purpose. "It is important for us to remember we are an academic institution," University Provost Nancy Cantor said yesterday. "This is an opportunity to become aware and self-conscious of what it means to live in a multicultural society. To think about how we relate to each other and cross boundaries. "I want the University to use this opportunity besides the public debate to really get to the core of a liberal educa- tion," she said. Administrators and students alike have acknowledged the opportunity that exists here. As students of science, law, literature and history, we can take advantage of being here at this crucial time - in the crucible where the future of affirmative action will be decided. As students of society, we are privi- leged to participate in what surely will be one of the 21st Century's great experi- ments. It is likely that these cases will travel to the U.S. Supreme Court and be the landmark decision on the future of affir- mative action in the nation. And everyone in the University com- munity - Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative - is taking part. Some may say that certain very vocal organizations have been given too much attention and space to express their views. Some may say students at the University have become apathetic and unemotional. But there has been a secret, more pow- erful force at work that has had a far greater influence than the colorful protests and activist literature. It has invaded bars and coffee houses, infected athletes and fraternities. It's become part of lunch, part of class and its effects will last. Although it often seems that as stu- dents at the University, we are bombard- ed with words like diversity and multi- culturalism, it is this debate that will help prepare us for professional situations. The lessons we learn in impromptu * debates with friends and classmates about the pros and cons of affirmative action far outweigh the value of Race and Ethnicity classes. Cantor said that when she travels around the nation, speaking to alumni groups, it is apparent that the most recent alumni are very engaged in these issues. "It is a direct effect of coming of age in this period," Cantor said. The issues are hard to talk about. Even harder to come to agreement over. University departments have attempted to encourage discussions with forums, speeches and town meetings. The 13th Annual MLK Day Symposium, one of the largest MLK events in the nation, is scheduled for Monday and should help to continue the dialogue. But I fear that such events are not enough. I hope the University will continue its efforts not just to defend itself in court, but to fulfill its paramount mission -- teach its students. Just by being here, though, we are learning. - Heather Kamins can be reached via e-mail at hbk@umich.edu. GRINDING THE NIB * O ne of Ann Arbor's greatest charms is the wonderful little independent shops, restaurants and coffee bars that stretch for blocks around the University. Creating a personal atmosphere that is arguably unlike any other college town across the country, small chains and fam- ily owned businesses such as Afternoon Delight and Cava Java allow this University to offer a unique city person- ality for its students. This is a personality that we as stu- dents of this University should continue to support - not the impersonal big chain corporations that continue moving to Ann Arbor. A prime example of this is the recent addition of Starbucks Coffee Corp. to State Street. Starbucks, established as the, "premier purvey of the finest coffee in the world," has conveniently chosen to locate in one of the prime coffee bar areas of campus. Small and regional businesses will now have to fight harder to succeed against this huge corporation. Found in countries worldwide such as Japan, China and Kuwait, Starbucks has more than 2,200 current stores internationally. What once started as a nice family owned small business in Seattle, Wash., in 1971, has now exploded into a multi- million dollar corporation. Starbucks now not only sells drinks, they sell cloth- ing, ice cream, music and brewing equip- ment. They now own the popular coffee bar tea Tazo Tea Company, have their own mail order catalog, a partnership with American Airlines and fines restaurants across the world and a cultural literary magazine entitled "Joe," with Time Inc.'s Custom Publications Division. Starbucks is not the first to break into town. In recent years Ann Arbor has seen the close of Schoolkids' Records due to competition from Tower Records and even Borders, which interestingly enough, was once a cozy bookstore founded in Ann Arbor. Big chain stores take away business from the local and small chain business- es that give Ann Arbor character. Unable to compare to corporate money, mer- chandise or widespread customer sales, small local and regional businesses find it difficult to survive. Personally invested in their compa- nies, local and regional businesses have a large personal risk at stake in the loss or success of their store. As impersonal corporations move into Ann Arbor, these small businesses must work harder to try and pull in commerce and compete with the prices of these cor- porations. They should provide excellent person- al service, maintain their small town charm and look to meet the needs of local customers the best that they can. By choosing to support these person- alized local and regional stores over the big chain corporations, we can not only help these small businesses stay alive but also keep up the charm of this University town. CHIP CULLEN Shattenng the ceiling Survey highlights room for improvement The University has long worked with the city of Ann Arbor to make it a safe, healthy and prosperous environment for students. This month, Ladies Home Journal gave the community some feed- back on its efforts to improve it by rank- ing it as the second-best city in the coun- try for women to live. While the report touched on some trivial subjects - such as how Ann Arbor's weather affects one's hair -.- it touched on several important areas where the city deserved praise and others where it needs improvement. Ladies Home Journal readers ranked crime as the most important factor in choosing the best city for women. Ann Arbor received a score of 90 (out of 100) in the survey. But despite the magazine's kind treatment, there are still major safe- ty problems. Many off-campus parts of town, home to many students, have poor or seeming- ly non-existent lighting. This creates a potentially unsafe situation, especially for women alone after dusk. The University must work with the city to bring adequate lighting to these trouble spots. The city ranked high in education, both for the University and for Ann Arbor's successful public school system. Education has long been an integral part of this city and will continue to be. But the University needs more women on the administration and female professors. While women are prominent in Ann Arbor's political scene, the University is unbalanced. Ann Arbor rank highest among the top 1 Ladies' Home Journal cities for the role that women play in local politics. The success of women in Ann Arbor elec- tions, including those of state and federal representatives, is a testament to how far this city has come in the area of gender equality. But we must point out there has yet to be a female University president. Finally, this city was called a "Health-Care Haven" for its successful medical school and hospitals, leading other top 10 towns by a large margin. Health issues concern- ing University women - such as eating disorders and binge drinking - were overlooked and are of concern. There is no doubt that Ann Arbor's lib- eral, well-educated population makes it a great place for women in particular to flourish. But the magazine unfortunately focused on issues that seem to counteract equality of the sexes. Out of eight sub- jects, "Lifestyle" was weighted second- most heavily. Ann Arbor received a score of only 44 in part because, according to Ladies Home Journal, the Michigan weather was not conducive to hair and skin. Having such a factor rated with education, jobs, health-care, child care, amount of women in power and the strength of the local economy in choosing the best cities for women is demeaning.Hopefully, Ladies Home Journal's research on the nation's best cities for women will re-ignite inter- est in women's issues. Despite Ann Arbor's high ranking - and some of the magazine's questionable categories - there is still much to accomplish in Ann Arbor within the realm of women's issues. Applied physics laboratory is not a federal facility To THE DAILY: I was interested to read your story on the latest National Science Foundation report on the R&D expenditures of the nation's research universities ("U. Michigan leads nation in research spending with $500 million," Jan. 5). I readily acknowledge that the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory is something of a special case. Arguments are made both ways as to whether its spending should count toward the university's totals in the NSF rankings. But notice that I said "the Johns Hopkins University's," not, as your story did, "the federal government's Applied Physics Laboratory." APL is not a federal facility. It is a division of The Johns Hopkins University, co-equal to our School of Medicine, our School of Arts and Sciences and the university's six other divi- sions. The lab's director reports to the pres- ident of the university, not to any federal official. While various federal agencies (including the Defense Department, NASA and the departments of Transportation, Energy and Treasury) sponsor most of APL's work, other APL sponsors include state agencies and increasingly, private industry. The lab's scientists and engineers also collaborate with researchers from other Hopkins divisions, and other universities, on projects from biomedical devices to astronomy satellites and deep space probes. More about APL and its valuable research and development work can be found at wwwjhuapl.edu/. DENNIS O'SHEA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY M LK Day rally offers chance to support equality TO THE DAILY: There is going to be a rally and march held not only in tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King and his struggle for equality, but also in defense of affirmative action, integration and quality, integrated K-12 education. Since the attack on affirmative took place, we have seen the percentage of underrepresented minorities fall from 15 percent to 11.3 per- cent at the University. The repeal of affirma- tive action in California resulted in a recent UC Berkeley freshmen class of 3,500 stu- dents, 98 of whom were African-American. By participating, you will be taking a stand against the racism, discrimination and inequality that pervade our society. I urge you to gather at South University Ave. and Forest Ave. at noon. on Monday Jan. 17, to take this stand. DAVID LEMPERT LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT something, since there was no rebuttal to their statements on this specific subject, only applause of approval from the audi- ence. The rhetoric in particular which per- sonally attacked me, other members of my family, close friends of mine and people all across this campus and beyond was their blatant disgracing of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. People like me were cited for demoraliz- ing our nation's military and for destroying the moral fabric of America. I never knew I possessed such power. Excuse me, though, for being who I am. Pardon me for living my life as best I know how and in the most loving manner I know. Please don't be offended by my presence, and my choice to be the person God made me. What I heard was bigotry. Bigotry is defined as stubborn and complete intoler- ance of any creed, belief, race or opinion that differs from one's own. Yeah, I looked that one up. Does no one else see that in these men running for the top spot in this country? In a nation made up of all kinds of peo- ple, where we constantly declare our toler- ance of and openness to all sorts of people, we sure have little difficulty allowing big- otry to take the spotlight. It did tonight at this debate. And not only that, but people applauded quite vigorously with their approval of this bigotry! I suppose that, by being a gay man, I am destroying the moral fabric of this nation. Little did Itknow. It is my hope that we are somehow able to move beyond this pathetic rhetoric which spits in the face of Jesus' teachings (oh yes, it does) and incites all kinds of further repercussions played out against LGBT people. We ought to be better then that. I sure hope we are. In the mean- time, don't mind me as I continue to wreak havoc on the moral fabric of America. It's a lot of fun. LUKE KuPP LSA SENIOR Decision to check student ID's is ridiculous um. Students do not miss games because some mean non-students steal their tickets. Some students choose to sell their tickets because they cannot attend individual games or they give the tickets to other stu- dents who have friends and family visiting from out of town. Prohibiting this practice just doesn't make any sense. And it sure as heck will do nothing to "preserve the integrity of the stu- dent section." Furthermore, the additional check to get into the student sections will increase the amount of time required to enter the stadium to unacceptable levels. The current student section situation is more than satisfactory to the wide majority of students sitting there. In fact, if it wasn't for those people who come to the games 30 minutes late and insist on sitting in their exact seats, the student section would be perfect. Let's keep it that way. BRENT LURIA LSA SENIOR ID policy does not belong in the Big House To THE DAILY: What is this dung about checking ID's at football games to see whether if the tick- et holders are students or not? Despite what Athletic Tickets and Promotions manager Marty Bodnar says, the student section does not lack "atmosphere." There would be more "atmosphere" at the games if the Victors Club corpses between the 40-yard lines would get off their asses once in a while and cheer. If there is a legitimate con- cern about who uses what tickets, then shouldn't Bodnar and his friends at the Department of Pepper Spray be checking to make sure that only alumni and registered season ticket holders are admitted, too? Oh, I forgot. That's where the cash comes from. Maybe that's why they get to have nice lit- tle cocktail parties on the Crisler Arena parking lot, but (God forbid) if a student wants to sit next to his or her friends. This is simply about control. If the ush- ers, DPS and the University keep harassing students at the stadium, fine. But that does- n't create atmosphere. It creates hostility Pc1"W~1'VI yCYAPT vo~tA COLLEGE SrUPDEI- GIM 3 oyfR6Etir1D K AMPTI% IREAirvP -01 I" IPA 1. .ae c it.r@ w tcG4ss. __