IA - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 7, 1999
Gbe Bihigrban Oatig
The 'U' Lazy pmfessors, cute women and loud politics *
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
f the University offered a degree in
chutzpah, Dave and Geoff would have
been graduated with highest distinction.
State Sen. David Jaye and Geoffrey
Fieger, who respectively earned Michigan
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the
Dailys editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect
the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
degrees in public pol-
icy and theater, have
the loudest mouths in
state politics. As we
recover from
Homecoming - a
time to recognize the
University's vast pool
of alumni - we
should take a look at
these two fiery
Wolverines.
Forget about a top-
notch education and
football games. Of all
the benefits available
at the University,
"relationships with
smart and cute
The other First Amendment
Tolerance is key in religious discussions
Jeffrey
Kosseff
Sweet
New Style
Fieger's Republican counterpart. Jaye (R-
Washington Twp.), spent his time at the
University as a closet conservative.
"I would only push my conservative
agenda so far, because there are a number
of professors who would take it out on you
in grades." said Jaye, who obviously still
has hostility toward University professors.
Jaye spearheaded the infamously misdi-
rected affirmative action lawsuit against the
College of Literature, Science and the Arts,
as well as a movement to prevent English
classes from teaching drama in prisons.
And Jaye's view on University professors
hasn't changed since his time as a student.
"The University of Michigan needs to
start getting the professors' fannies back
into the classroom instead of having these
teaching assistants who can't speak
English," Jaye said.
I don't know about you, but I've had plenty
of extraordinary professors. Many of them are
world-renowned for their research - some-
thing that prevents them from teaching 30
hours a week, as Jaye proposed.
Luckily, we have the state Constitution,
which prevents dense legislators from control-
ling state universities and ruining our fine
school.
Jaye, a former Bursley Residence Hall
dish washer, also holds great animosity
toward University students.
"I was a scrappy underdog," Jaye declared.
"I saw these silk-stocking rich kids having the
better equipment, the fancier cars, stealing our
girls and wearing fancy clothes. The moral
bankruptcy breaks my heart."
Hmmm, wouldn't those "rich kids" be
helped the most by a victory in the affirma-
tive action lawsuit?
According to Jaye, economic status has
nothing to do with race.
"When I saw a number of wealthy
minorities getting a free ride, I made a com-
mitment that if I was ever in a position to
get rid of affirmative action, I would do it;'
he said.
At this point in the interview, I felt
embarrassed to be pursuing the same mas-
ters degree that Jaye attained.
While Jaye hasn't ruled out a run for the
University Board of Regents after he leaves
the Senate, Fieger said he would better
serve his alma mater with another run for
governor. If elected to the state's top seat,
Fieger said, he'd provide "ultra-adequate"
University funding. Unlike many nim-wit-
ted state legislators, Fieger understands the
financial needs of a top research university.
When I suggested to Jaye that the state
give fatter higher education appropriations,
he called me a "crybaby."
"Why doesn't the University start pulling
in its belt?" he asked.
It's tough to pull in your belt when you're
spending millions of dollars defending your
admissions policies in a lawsuit that Jaye
encouraged.
Despite their political differences, Fieger
and Jaye share a mutual admiration for their
noisy tendencies.
Jaye on Fieger: "Although I disagree with
his issues, I greatly admire his showman-
ship and enthusiasm."
Fieger on Jaye: "It's difficult to conceive
that somebody can be that close-minded
after attending the University of Michigan.
But I like him personally. He's outspoken. I
can't criticize that. In many ways, he's sim-
ilar to myself, but not philosophically."
Fieger couldn't stop there.
"He's probably less outspoken than I
am," he said.
Do 1 sense hot air envy?
- Jeffrey Kosseff can be reached over
e-mail atjkosseffdumich.edu.*
GINDliNc THE N IB
Today, the Daily continues its three-part
series on religion on campus.
Composed of a staggering mix of races, eth-
nicities, cultures and religions, the student
body is a microcosm. As should be expect-
ed in such a setting, where people of differ-
ent backgrounds are thrown together, ten-
sions arise on occasion over differences
between students. A common source of
such tension - both on campus and world-
wide - is religion. One of the greatest
strengths of the University is its diversity.
The wide range of beliefs is a tremendous
learning opportunity. Tolerance of often
contradictory faiths is vital.
College life is not easy. Many students
find themselves away from home for the
first time. Some students will be exposed to
new ideas about religion for the first time.
The culture shock of being suddenly thrown
into a society with so many different ideas
and beliefs can be difficult. It is critical that
students embrace this diversity through
education.
Education is the primary function of
this institution; the University's ability to
teach is aided by the diverse nature of its
students. The University offers many
courses that educate students about reli-
gions and their histories -- whether they
be in the art history, great books, classic
civilization or religion programs - just
to name a few.
Exposed to new ideas and new beliefs,
students are opened up to a great deal of
knowledge that they would otherwise never
have had a chance to appreciate. But some
times, this diversity of beliefs is misused.
Recent examples of religious intolerance
include swastikas drawn in residence halls.
Acts like these are reprehensible and
impede productive interfaith dialogue.
Students should not only respect students
who are religious - they should respect
those who aren't. Many students who come
from strongly religious backgrounds might
be shocked to encounter students who are
atheistic or agnostic. It is important to
respect the right of people not to have reli-
gion, as guaranteed in the Constitution. Too
often, stigmas are attached to a religious
belief or a lack thereof.
It is not necessary for all students to
explore a new religion or spiritual group -
or any at all. But students must tolerate each
others' beliefs, even if they do not agree
with them. Respect is a two-way street; if
you fail to respect your neighbors' choices
and beliefs, they will not respect yours.
Religion is an incredibly sensitive sub-
ject - one that is difficult to fully address
in an editorial. Unlike racial issues -
where the answers to conflict are clearer,
religious disputes are more difficult to
understand and resolve. Religion involves
faith - something that goes beyond scien-
tific reasoning for some people. But in a
learning environment like the University, a
variety of faiths can be educational.
Students must approach religious discus-
sions with a willingness to respect the views
of others.
women" were the most important to Fieger.
But those relationships hampered the
unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate's
University experience. For most of his time
at the University, Fieger had a "domestic
relationship" with a dental hygiene student,
living on Pauline Boulevard and Seventh
Avenue.
"I didn't go to the bars much," Fieger
said. "I really didn't do too much."
Things certainly have changed. I expect-
ed Fieger - the same person who called
Gov. John Engler "fat" and "semi-retarded"
during the 1998 campaign - to have held
daily toga parties. But his idea of a fun time
was having coffee and sandwiches at the
Blind Pig.
I guess you can't judge a bag of hot air by
its bag.
CHIP CULLEN
____________U_______V__________.
Strive for equality
Proposal would help remedy SAT bias
or years, the Scholastic Aptitude Test
has struck fear in the hearts of col-
ege-bound high school students. Many
have felt pressured because their scores
on a four-hour standardized test could
decide whether they are admitted to their
university of choice. But the test has a
plethora of faults and biases toward
wealthy, non-minority students. A recent
proposal would help reduce these biases
against poor people and minorities.
The Educational Testing Service is
exploring a system that would use 14 cri-
teria, such as household income and race,
to predict a student's score. This system
would recognize "strivers" who scored
higher than ETS's predictions would indi-
cate. While the system is a major step
forward, there are still many problems
associated with the SAT.
The striver system will take into con-
sideration many factors that affect how
well a person scores on the SAT. Some of
the most important factors are education-
al background, social pressures and
money. A student who grows up in hous-
ing projects with limited educational
opportunities cannot be expected to score
as well as a prep school student who can
afford private tutoring. By making admis-
sions decision solely based on grades and
SAT scores, many other factors are not
taken into account. The 14-criteria system
will consider such factors as family back-
ground, access to computers and other
variables that could affect scores. This
will make the analysis of scores more
accurate.
For this system to be effective, the
"striver" denotation must be acknowl-
A rA lrb .a mi ,cinnc nrffrwc Chnnl .
tion in the admission process, could use
the striver system to judge students more
equally. A student who overcame a great
deal of adversity to score well on the tests
has a great deal of potential for future
learning.
Excellence has a way of repeating
itself, and this student is likely to exceed
expectations again in college classrooms.
The admissions officers should be more
impressed by this sort of a student than
someone who has more opportunities but
merely meets the expectations put before
them.
Diversity will enhance everyone's
learning experience. And the striver sys-
tem is a viable way to attain a diverse
campus - especially during a time when
affirmative action admissions policies are
being challenged nationwide and in Ann
Arbor.
Inevitably, this system will will not
ensure that every applicant gets admitted
when they "deserve" to. But it will help
simplify the near impossible job of pre-
dicting educational and civil talents and
potential. The SATs should be replaced by
examinations of others factors that better
represent an applicant and what they
could offer a university. Personal essays,
community service and extracurricular
activities are all areas that deal with the
positive values an applicant possesses.
Because even though overachievers may
not test as well, these measurements are
the strongest indication of how well an
applicant will take advantage of a school's
resources and participate in the communi-
ty. These are all attributes that a score,
GPA or class ranking cannot possibly
detect ut if we're stuck with the SATs.
Article didn't
mention Commission
candidate
To THE DAILY:
I am writing in response to the Oct. 5
article entitled "City Expects Low Turnout
for Local Elections." The Daily committed
a serious oversight when you left out the
race for the County Commission seat which
represents downtown Ann Arbor, including
the vast majority of student housing.
Several weeks ago, the Daily ran a story
about Jeff Irwin, an LSA student recently
appointed to fill this seat which was vacat-
ed by Dave Montforton last June. It is
important that we as members of this uni-
versity not forget Irwin's candidacy just as
the real election draws near.
KATHRYN LooMIS
LSA SENIOR
Cheer already
belongs to the
Wolverines
To THE DAILY:
Are you kidding me? An "informational
session" on the Diag? Does it really matter
where the chant comes from? The point of
the matter is that it is visually stunning to
anyone looking at the student section,
whether you're cheering for the first down
signal or signaling that you want to split the
opponents' heads down the middle. We are
supporting the same team! "Take this cheer
and make it ours?" It's already ours! If
you're a "true Michigan fan" you are out
there at the games yelling, screaming and
motivating our team to win. We've won
Rose Bowls with this cheer, we've won at
least one National Championship with this
cheer (I say one because I don't know if it
pre-dates '97 that much). And you know
what? 'We're winning now too!
I say forget about this argument. This is
a moot point and the team gets hurt by dis-
sension in the fans. Go out and be part of
the Michigan tradition that is winning foot-
ball games and intimidating the heck out of
the opposing team and their fans. We show
up 111,000 strong for every game. We
should be blowing the other team out of the
stadium because of the cheering! I'll be out
there. Hooray Michigan! Go Blue!
ROB ELIZONDO
ENGINEERING JUNIOR
MSU alumnus: U'
students should
guard campus
TO THE DAILY:
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I acknowledge this as part of the rivalry
that has built up over the decades. As a
Michigan State alumnus and the great-
nephew of Leonard Jungwirth, who con-
structed the "Sparty" sculpture on
MSU's campus, I spent a few nights with
Sparty in the week building up to game
when I was in college.
This has become part of the game
between these two fine schools.
Next year some of your students
should thinkaabout bringing your books
out to the Diag or wherever else and
making sure that these things don't hap-
pen again. This is where true school spir-
it comes from and will be something
they will remember for the rest of their
lives.
To all the first-year students at the
University of Michigan, welcome to the
rivalry and may it never die.
JOHN JUNGWIRTH
MSU ALUMNUS
Key shaking is
overused at football
games
TO THE DAILY:
While I simply refuse to be drawn
into the To-chop-or-not-to-chop debate, I
would like to comment on a different
disturbing trend taking place in the stu-
dent section at Michigan football games.
James Cotton made reference to the
trend in his Oct. 4 letter when he men-
tioned the "tradition" of shaking our
keys on opponents' third down plays
("First down chant is a new Michigan
tradition," 10/4/99).
When this tradition first began sever-
al years ago, the keys were shaken to sig-
nify very important, or key plays.
It is true that the keys were often
shaken on opponents' third downs, but
never until the play was crucial (such as
late in the game when Michigan needed
the defensive stop).
The key shaking can now be seen the
Wolverines to make a key play.
Bi LURIA*0
LSA SENIOR
Reader explains the
divine right of
operating systems
TO THE DAILY:
Recently one of my friends, a com-
puter wizard, paid me a visit. As we were
talking I mentioned having recently
installed Windows 98 on my PC and that
I am very happy with this operating sys-
tem.
I also showed him the Windows 98
CD, to my surprise he threw it into my
microwave oven and turned it on.
Instantly I got very upset, because the
CD had become precious to me, but hA
said, "Do not worry, it is unharmed."
After a few minutes he took the CD
out, gave it to me and said, "Take a close
look at it."
To my surprise the CD was quite cold
to hold and it seemed to be heavier than
before.
At first I could not see anything, but
then on the inner edge of the central hole
I saw an inscription - an inscription
finer than anything I have ever seer.
before.
The inscription shone piercingly bright,
and yet remote, as if out of a great depth:
4F6E65204F5320746F2072756C65207
468656D20616C6C2C204F6E65204F532
0746
F2066696E64207468656D2CDA4F6E
65204F5320746F206272696E6720746865
61320
616C6C20616E6420696E2074686520
6461726B6E6573732062696E642074680
56D
"I cannot understand the fiery letters," I
said.
"No," he said, "but I can. The letters are
Hex, of an ancient mode, but the language is
that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here.
But in common English this is what it
tflue~.--rssi
Ucca - bt~
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