4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 11, 2000 tbe irb it u ttilg Presidents, deans, advisors and the future of my 'U' 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. Allother articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Missing the mark New Greek measures may be ineffective Several days ago. a fellow Daily columnist implored me not to "write one of those run-of-the-mill sappy, farewell columns." He need not have worried. I have only written four columns in my short stint as a member of the editorial staff. And while I have in abundance the sentiments that mark many other farewells to this university, I will not share them here today. Graduation is not about the past, it is about the future. Therefore, this column is not dedicat- ed to what I have been5 through during my college years, but rather to the future of the University. To comment on Josh the direction in which Cowen this institution is headed, I leave my Er'p'as thoughts to those n entrusted with its course. To University President Lee Bollinger: You have done some wonderful and some pitiful things in three years of leadership. You are now at the crossroads. You must decide whether you want to be a good president or a great one. The difference will be based on your priorities. This university needs your leadership. Do something bold before you leave for the Ivies. To Dean Shirely Newman: One word should be at the top of your list of priorities for your tenure here: Teaching. It is your job to protect those that are here primarily to instruct. You do this with money and incen- tives. If there are none, find them, create them, will them into existence if you have to. Your success will be judged on your actions here. To Gerald Ford: Thank you for being con- cerned about your alma mater. You have done some wonderful things for us and I for one am proud of you. To the LSA Academic Advisors: You are an integral part of the college. Despite the criticism thrown at you from this page two weeks ago, thousands of students know and trust you. You guide them through the labyrinth that is LSA and its procedures. You show your students the multitude of doors open to them, but you have the insight and the restraint to let them walk through it alone. You are doing your job honorably, and I admire you for it. Students cannot succeed without you and the University cannot suc- ceed without students. To the History department: Hire a mili- tary historian. Hire two. Or four. It is beyond my comprehension how such an intellectually vibrant faculty misses a very real fact found in every aspect of our past: Wars move and shake society. Cultures are born, and die, in them. In war we find the most beautiful and terrible impulses of our nature. To study them is to study what it means to be human. It will be fashionable someday to examine wars again, and you better be ready. To the new members of the Michigan Student Assembly: Brain and Andy did a fabulous job this year for one major reason: They had the skill and conviction to use MSA as a forum for defending students rights. Their efforts against state Sen. Mike Roger's (R-Brighton) driver's license-related voting act and for our voting rights are pre- cisely the activities MSA is designed for. No more empty resolutions against sanctions in Iraq, or whatever else makes you feel like senators. To Hideki: You worked hard and you earned your victory. Now you have a more difficult task: Keeping MSA focused on what it CAN do, not what it wants to do. Roger's public act is one of the first and few acts of government we can and should fight. Do not drop the ball. To the students: You have the privilege to be educated at one of the greatest universities in the world. There as no such thing as per- fection, but I believe the University is, despite its faults, getting closer by the day. I am often awed by the accomplishments of its faculty, staff and most importantly, its student body. Each day you wake up for class you should think, if only for a moment, of the good for- tune that brought you here. To the graduates: If there is one word to describe my wish for you, it is excel. Your0 lives are better because of your years here. Be happy, be intellectually and emotionally ful- filled, but do not be settled. Your immense and individual talents have been sharpened by the resources of the institution you are now leaving. Do not let them be dulled by inactivi- ty; there is always more to accomplish. To my fellow Daily columnist: I hope this is not too sappy for you. I only stated the truth. -Josh Cowen would like to thank Bonnie Gold, Brian Allan, Mike Schmick, Dave Yu, Katie Westgate, Tom Appledorn, Mike Hul- swit, Matt Diana, and Kevin Girard for keep- ing him company he can be reached via e-mail atjcowen@umich.edu. GRINDING THE NIB T hey can run to Rick's or the Radi- son, but the Greek system still won't be able to hide their problems with alcohol. The Interfraternity Coun- cil ratified a new Social Environment Management Policy this week, which will shift parties to from fraternity houses to third-party venues, such as bars, restaurant and hotels. The policy follows a national Pan- hellenic Conference proclamation that sororities can not co-sponsor alcoholic events held at fraternity houses. Greek social issues are a puzzle to which there may be no answer, so the council should be at least noted for trying to improve their actions and thus reputa- tion as irresponsible. But this policy will be lifting responsibility and creates loopholes that may allow a more dan- gerous environment to manifest. Because parties will not be held on chapter property, they are not consid- ered "events," and thus are not under the jurisdiction of event parameters specified by the new social policy. Third-party vendors are also not sub- ject to monitoring by the Social Responsibility Committee. While events held on chapter property are checked for SRC violations, third-party venues will be allowed to have previ- ously-excluded items like kegs, party bowls and cups. But the new rules may cause more harm than good because they are not only unregulated but off- campus. Will Greek members find themselves footing a bill to be bussed to every single event to avoid drunk driving or walking home alone? Alcohol is an integral part of not only Greek scene but the college scene, and controlling it is a complicated task. The problem is the over-emphasis of alcohol, rooted in the 21-year-old drinking age in the United States. As a form of rebellion and indepen- dence, young adults have always want- ed what they cannot have - often in excessive amounts. In the United States, the desired object for young adults is alcohol, simply because it is forbidden. The drinking habits of U.S. college students are uniquely Ameri- can. The vast majority of foreign coun- tries not only have a low drinking age, but it is customary for families to drink together at meal times. Alcohol does not have a forbidden mystique. As a result, these countries are not plagued with the rates of alcoholism and binge- drinking that are so common in the U.S.; youth do not turn to alcohol to rebel or prove maturity. Developing a certain degree of acceptance seems to be a better approach than current methods of alco- hol education, or in the case of the new Greek social policy, avoidance. Moving the location of parties or limiting the number of people who can attend should be resulting in the rolling of eyes and smirks. Rules surrounding parties are very hard to enforce, espe- cially when the rules go against a cul- ture that is out of our realm of control. Let's all admit that alcohol is a huge part of the college social scene, Greek or not. Let's admit that it's a rarity to find a dry party and that the vast majority of us are not interested in such an event. Instead of moving parties or banning alcohol from fraternities, Greek houses should up the number of sober monitors at each party and we all should fight for a lowered drinking age. CHIP CULLEN Don't participate in the Naked Mile TO THE DAILY: As the winter term draws to a close, we're once again bracing ourselves for a notorious campus tradition: The Naked Mile. What began as a student expression of the arrival of springtime and freedom from academic responsibilities has grown into something much more unpleasant and frightening. Each year, the number of spectators to this event gets larger. We know from traffic on the Internet that nany of these individu- als do not have healthy intentions toward our students. Participants are exploited in the sale of uncensored videos, photo gal- leries and broadcasts. Despite the attempts of our staff and a core of student volunteers to keep the environment surrounding this event safe, over the years we have had instances of sexual assaults, students who put themselves in danger due to excessive drinking and runners being tripped, grabbed, struck by objects and hit by cars. We have indications from law enforce- ment officials that enforcement will be tightened this year, increasing the proba- bility that participants may be arrested. We arehtold thatithose arrested for inde- cent exposure may in some instances be required by state law to register thereafter as a sex offender. Furthermore, legislation recently passed in Michigan could pre- clude those convicted of riot behavior from attending a public college or univer- sity within the state. Given the role that alcohol consumption plays in creating a dangerous environment, we will have especially strict enforcement of alcohol violations. We want you to understand very clearly the environment we find our- selves in and the risks that you are facing if you choose to participate. We are urg- ing you, out of our deepest concern for your well being, to stay away from this w ."l ., 4',ft ~ ae ~d.D44eQ ~jmAC4 f Rackham restrictions Rackham enforces exclusive use of facilities N ext fall, the Rackham School of Grad- uate Studies will begin cracking down on undergraduate usage of its facilities. In response to complaints by several graduate student organizations, the Rackham Stu- dent Government will now require that groups register with RSG if they intend to use the Rackham building. While enforc- ing limitations on undergraduate usage of Rackham in favor increased graduate stu- dent access to the accommodations is understandable, the school should not completely bar undergraduates from using the facilities. Accordingly the graduate school should consider alternatives, such as petitioning the Rackham Board of Trust to allow undergrads to use Rackham when graduate students are not. The basis behind exclusion of non- graduate students from Rackham stems from the original Rackham Deed of Trust. In this document, it states that the premis- es be used "exclusively to furnish gradu- ate school facilities" for the University. Since its inception, the deed has been reinterpreted to allow undergrads to per- form at Rackham if they belong to a stu- dent group with substantial number of graduate members (roughly 25 percent of the organization). The process allowing students to utilize the facilities had also been further liberalized in the past few years effectively allowing groups not pri- marily composed of graduate students to use the building. But RSG made the process more rigid by changing Rack- ham's Fair Usage Policy last September making it necessary for all student groups to register groups with the Rackham Stu- dent Government if they wish to use the facilities. The policy wasn't so much introduction of a new policy but rather graduate student organizations that felt that they were unable to use the facilities when they wanted to because primarily under- graduate organizations were using the space. While such complaints are valid, as Rackham is intended for graduate student use, undergraduate organizations should be able to use the facilities when graduate students are not. Even though the instances where Rackham remains dormant are rare, in such cases when groups with "substan- tial" graduate student representation are not using the auditorium, undergrads should certainly be allowed to use the facilities. Additionally, it is important to note that even though graduate students do not always compromise 25 percent of the stu- dent groups that currently perform the auditorium, this does not mean that "sub- stantial" numbers of graduate students are not in attendance at those performances. The auditorium and other facilities there were intended for use by the graduate stu- dents; this intention should include view- ing as well as participating in various events held in the building. Reevaluation of the old policy is neces- sary because undergraduates desperately need the facilities when they are not being used. Other venues, such as the Mendelssohn theater and the Power Center are almost always in use, and lack of audi- toriums such as those that exist in Rack- ham, limit the number of student groups that are able to have performances on cam- pus. The original Rackham Deed of Trust can clearly be reinterpreted or rewritten to include provisions for undergraduate use of Rackham when it is not in use by gradu- event and to find other ways to celebrate the end of classes this spring. E. ROYSTER HARPER INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BESS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY Hail, grad student segregation TO THE DAILY: I believe that barring undergraduate stu- dent groups from using Rackham is a neces- sary starting point in a movement that is long overdue. There should be more segregation between undergraduates and grad students. I urge you to take this initiative a few steps further, and consider the following changes. First, quit going to undergraduate bars such as Rick's and Scorekeeper's. It is depressing to see you balding, wiry wind- bags nursing Amstel Lights in a pathetic attempt to relive your undergraduate days. There are worse things than Apaches Please recall that your undergraduate days were spent hiding at the library reading Der- rida, secretly loathing your more socially adept classmates. Second, stop going to the CCRB and the IM Building. I am tired of waiting for a court behind you hopeless stiffs. Bring your sorry games, your creaky joints, your pasty thighs someplace else (attention: The last ten years* have brought remarkable changes in sporting attire; it is no longer possible to wear your high school cross-countryshorts without looking like an jerk). Third, stop attending sporting events. You get all the cheers wrong (if you cheer at all), you wish that everyone would just sit down. Only alumni are fully excused for dressing like idiots and offering tepid support. There must be a filmfest or some performance art going on somewhere, stay away. You are cor- rect in pointing out that grad students are a separate community. I say close yourselves in and run your part of campus like the retirement village you wish it was. Have quiet hours. Wine tasting parties. Shuffle- board. We will all be happier this way. MATTHEW WEILER LSA SENIOR here. Movies, music, hell, "Mr. Ed." Older than me, but no worse for the wear. It gives me a nostalgia that I don't really have any right to, never having experienced that time for myself first-hand, relying only on reruns and reissues and rereleases. But it gives me hope, too. When I'm 91, I'll have more than a lifetime to look back on. I'll -have two, three, four, because history never stops coming at us, because the past is always with us, because art lives on as long as somebody remembers it. I let what is supposed to be mindless entertainment define moments of my life, take- them too seriously. I let obsessions wash over: me, and color my outlook like bloodstains.'- There's always this intangible something that I can't put into words; something that compels- me to stop at the State theatre every week- after class to see "The English Patient," something that forces me to think about "LA Confidential" so much that it seems branded on the backs of my eyelids, something that causes me to buy the "Out of Sight" DVD and repeatedly watch "Gary" and "Celeste" meet, something that sends me to theatres at the far corners of the earth just to see Claudia Wilson smile one more time in "Magnolia." It's a C laire Trevor died over the weekend. There's probably no more than five of you reading this who have any idea who she is, but more likely than not, you've seen her on those black and white, cracklingly old movies that play in the wee hours of the night when you've hit bottom on that essay and find salvation in numb chan- nel-flipping. She was 91, and won an Oscar for her role in "Key Largo," as well as two other nomi- nations. Her best-known movie, though. is none of these: "Stagecoach." Y- Absolutely one of the Erin finest Westerns in the Podolsky history of a tireless, full- of-classics genre, You "Stagecoach" is known nwdy moy. now aday s mostly for launching a young buck who went by the name of Duke to stardom and later icondom. John Wayne had played bit parts in the years leading up to "Stagecoach," an instant classic; often stuck in the less-than- fabulous role of a woman of ill repute who somehow redeems herself (or, oftentimes, doesn't) in the eyes of both the hero and the audience. Trevor did the same in "Stage- coach." Playing Dallas, a prostitute trying to better herself and rise up out of the immoral muck, she is spat upon by those who imagine themselves as better than her. Ringo Kid sees the good in her, protects her and treats her like a lady instead of like dirt, and their romance is what makes "Stagecoach," as so many romances do in so many Westerns, more than just a chase tale of cowboys and Indians. Ninety-one years is a lot of time logged. Age alone pegs Trevor as one of the last of the old guard, a woman who worked completely with the studio contract system and outlived those who signed her to the dotted line. Who's left? Katharine Hepburn, 92, lives in quiet Connecticut, emerging with a press release every year or two to remind us that no, she isn't dead and no, she isn't dying as the press likes to speculate. Billy Wilder, 93, recently humored Cameron Crowe with a series of in- depth interviews, which Crowe published as "Conversations With Wilder." Elia Kazan, Bob Hope.