4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 15, 1999
c E , Ci igttn 3 ttil
The next great holiday: Man Day 19
In case any of you didn't know, this
upcoming Saturday, Oct. 16 is Sweetest
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
daily. letters@umich.edu
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
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HEATHER KAMINS
Editor in Chief
JEFFREY KOSSEFF
DAVID WALLACE
Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion ofthe majority of the
Daily' editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect
the opinion of The Michigan Daily
Day, 1999. First ofa
please explain to ii
"Sweetest Day" is, h
Valentine's Day
(another one of my
frivorites) and where
it originated?
It's bad enough
that we've bas-
tardized the real hol-
idays for the sake of
commercial gain, we
don't really need to
invent another "buy-
it-or-you-don't-love-
me" day.
Sure, there are
countless other
offenders, from
Halloween to Mardi
Gras (although 1 do
enjoy a good pre-Ash
Wednesday sinfest as
all,
le
ow
tk
could someone
what the hell
it differs from
Staying on track?
MSA performs some practical services
Branden
Sanz
everywhere.
It makes sense, if you think about it.
October is a very manly month. First, it's
right in the heart of football season.
Football, the American pastime, that game
of strength. speed, strategy and savage vio-
lence is the very quintessence of testos-
terone. Not a namby-pamby sport like
baseball or basketball, where a simple
combination of knowledge and dexterity
will get you far -- in football you have to
be aggressive; to hit, to get hit, to enjor hit-
ting people. Football is the perfect man
sport and October is the perfect month for
it. (I know I'm going to get it from you
hockey players, ruggers, and wrestlers
here, and deservedly so, but sorry guys -
I'm talking about major sports here).
The next thing about October that makes
it so great is the myriad of opportunities
the fall weather presents for dressing
manly. Let's face it: during Winter and
Spring it's almost impossible to look mas-
culine because you're so damn bundled up
against the snow and rain, respectively. Can
you picture John Wayne with a big, puffy
North Face jacket and knit cap? I thought
not. Summer presents some interesting
opportunities, ranging from the swash-
buckler-esque silk shirt to one of my per-
sonal favorites, the ribbed, cotton tank-top
(affectionately known as the "wife beat-
er").
But for pure, nut-clanking badassedness,
nothing beats Fall haberdashery. Jeans,
flannel shirts, boots - all perfect for Fall
weather - are the fashion embodiment on
male virility. You want to throw on a cow-
boy hat and oilskin duster? No problem in
October. What about the all-black leather
pants and trench coat ensemble a /a "The
Matrix?" In any other season you would
either look like a schoolyard killer or one
99
of those "Magic: the Gathering" knuckle-
heads. but you can get away with it in the
FI all.
Furthermore, the American male's diet
vwas constructed with October in mind.
You're still in shape from the Summer, but
no more beach means no more need for
that six-pack. It's time for steak, pizza,
chili dogs and beer (the cornerstone of any
manly diet) to your cholesterol-ridden
heart's content. Speaking of beer, you
don't think it's called Oktober/est by coin-
cidence do you? Yeah, I know 007 drinks
martinis, and I'd be hard put to disagre9
with someone that told me Bombay
Sapphire Gin was the greatest thing to
come out of England before Elizabeth
Hurley came along. But all the gin and all
the martinis in the world combined don't
contain half the manliness of' one single
bottle of Miller High Life.
The last, but by no means least, impor-
tant reason that October is a perfect tim
for Man Day is the fact that hunting seas6n
starts in October. Aside from being ecolog-
ically vital (I won't go into that debate --
today), hunting is perhaps the most spiritu-
al of all masculine experiences. There is
something amazingly empowering about
putting your own dinner on the table, not to
mention asserting your place in the food
chain as the dominant, primordial beast
that you are. Yu
So this Saturday, you have a choice. You
can give in to the masses, buy some roses
and go out to dinner, but let me clear some-
thing up for you: if she doesn't already
think you love her, this isn't going to co(-
vince her. Instead, give me a call. Let's go
up North. We'll get dirty and smelly. We'll
hunt. We'll watch football. We'll be men.
-- Branden Sanz can be reached over
e-mail at hannerhead(a Umich.edu.
t's easy enough to get burned by the
parking patrol in Ann Arbor. Well, it's
easy enough if you can find a spot in the
first place -- but that's another story alto-
gether. Even the brief stay in a designated
spot or a fleeting moment of parking meter
shortsightedness can leave you out $10-$20
or more if the dreaded city employees have
batteries in their ticket printers. Adding
insult to injury is the fact that tickets had to
be mailed or taken down to city hall in per-
son. That's something that most of the com-
munity and stress-thriving student body just
- edoesn't have time to deal with. The
-Michigan Student Assembly - realizing
that most students don't have the time to
:make the trek down to city hall - recently
announced an effort to make paying city
parking tickets easier.
In conjunction with the city of Ann
Arbor, MSA initiated a program in which
ticket payment can be made in drop boxes at
either the Michigan Union or Pierpont
Commons. Couriers will then take the tick-
ets to the appropriate government office
daily.iThe city's rule of cutting ticket fees by
$5 if the they're received in the next busi-
ness day will still hold true when you drop
off the penalty for your little misdeed in the
new boxes.
Realistic goals like establishing the tick-
et drop-off box should be MSA's primary
focus. Unfortunately pragmatic measures
have been overlooked. Instead of taking a
cue from practical successes like Advice
Online, the Website where students evaluate
courses and instructors and the coursepack
store, MSA sometimes seeks to change
things beyond its control. This attitude has
resulted in few actual benefits for students.
Rather than focus on larger issues
beyond their sphere of control, MSA's goals
should be practical. Voting at meetings on
whether or not MSA should support a larg-
er issue is fine, but should not occupy any
significant portion of time for the body.
The truth is that few people outside of
MSA even know what their student govern-
ment is doing with its time and money. In
addressing this problem, MSA might want
to start with its Website. This might seem
harsh, but when the "true communications
hub for MSA" still contains press releases
from last December, we wonder where
MSA's priorities lie.
Of course, not all of the 'blame should
fall on the shoulders of MSA representa-
tives; students should get involved in stu-
dent government as well. Students should
take the time to discuss issues with repre-
sentatives, many of whom make a sincere
effort to interact with the rest of the student
body. Students should keep abreast of
MSA's activities and vote ineffectual mem-
bers out of office.
MSA does not deserve outright condem-
nation. Judging from its practical successes,
it clearly has the potential to do a great deal
of good for students. But the obvious cycle
of ineptitude on the part of some members
needs to change. Honest, realistic efforts by
students and representatives will surely
result in a more effective student govern-
ment. A focus on immiediate issues may not
manifest itself right away, but representa-
tives can start by shifting concerns away
from impractical matters and back to mean-
ingful challenges in Ann Arbor.
much as the next
guy), but the fact that no one bothers to
camouflage this sham of a "holiday" with
even a pretense of authenticity, as well as
the fact that they managed to schedule it on
a Saturday during football season, really
gets my goat,
So here is what I propose, my disenfran-
chised brethren: Let's start our own holi-
day. Sure, I know it seems difficult, being
as we already have Secretary's Day,
Bastille Day and, of course, International
Women's Day. But fear not, gentle reader,
as I have discovered a holiday we do not
have and, in fact, a holiday we badly need:
Man Day.
That's right, I, Hammerhead, do hearby
decree this Saturday, Oct. 16 to be the First
Annual Man Day, to the triumph of testes
THOMAS KULJURGIS
Promises kept
'U' should remain faithful to Rackham trust
Korean War
massacre accounts
lack credibility
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing in response to Charlie
Revner's letter on the "massacre" of Korean
civilians in the opening days of the Korean
War ("Good and bad are not clear concepts
in war," 10/12/99).
The "slaughter" that he writes so emo-
tionally about has been reported by troops
that viewed the encounter from a distance,
and with few exceptions were not even
involved in the incident The troops vho
were involved in the shooting reported that
they were under sporadic fire, and saw
muzzle flashes from under the bridge. They
returned fire, and there were a total of'
around 25 casualties, some of whom were
indeed civilians, but some of whom were
soldiers dressed as refugees. It was troops
over a quarter mile away who reported see-
ing "hundreds" of bodies under the bridge.
This was not the action of hardened
butchers consumed with "pure hatred and
the feeling of power." but -rather 19 and 20(
year old kids who had been in Korea for less
than two weeks. They weren't trying to ful-
fill some fantasy of power, but rather were
trying to stay alive. From the trenches ot
WWI to the deserts of the Persian Gulf, and
all of the wars in between, young men and
women have been putting their lives on the
line for their country, and for those of us at
home. Take pride in your country and these
brave young people Reyner. and thank those
soldiers, don't ridicule them.
JASON BOURNE
LSA JUNIOR
TYT OF
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P eople tend not to like change. So it is
no great surprise that several student
groups on campus, specifically a capella
music groups such as 58 Greene and
Amaizin' Blue, are upset about the upcom-
ing adjustment of the University facilities
policy involving the Horace H. Rackham
graduate building. What these groups and
other students on campus need to keep in
mind is the historic significance and
opportunity originally promised with the
donation of this building that now, through
the correction of these facility operations,
will be able to exist more accessibly.
Historically, the development of the
Rackham building was proposed to the
Rackham Fund trustees in 1935 by then-
University President Alexander Ruthven
to provide for what he called, "the very
heart of the University." In their decision
to fund a graduate school building, the
trustees specified the building must exist
to enhance graduate student life on cam-
pus.
Arguably one of the most beautiful
buildings on campus, made of Indiana
limestone with, a copper roof, marble stair-
cases and bronze window casings and rail-
ings, the Rackham building has served as a
valuable asset on campus, but often not for
its intended purposes. Due to the wonder-
ful acoustics and seating of the Rackham
Auditorium, as well as easy accessibility
to pianos found throughout the building,
the Rackham building has come to serve as
an ideal location for a capella music
groups on campus to hold their concerts
and events. Unfortunately, this type of stu-
dent activity is now being regulated by the
University due to the lack of graduate stu-
A-"f- ;11"It -14 Alkll, tn c n i O t he
#1
deed of the building.
The building's original trust says that
"among others, there are not to be any wor-
ship services, undergraduate activities or
organizations, groups outside the
University or theatrical performances
using Rackham facilities."
While this has been allowed in the past,
current Rackham Dean Earl Lewis said
there had been confusion about the use of
these facilities. When Rackham adminis-
trators met with University Production
officials last spring, it was concretely
explained that the graduate school is
bound by law to follow the trust to the
building word for word. This has now led
to the Rackham administrators' decision to
restrict its facilities, including the auditori-
um, to graduate student organizations only.
While it may be argued by some cam-
pus organizations, such as the a capella
music groups, that there are not enough
graduate student organizations to use or
have a need to use the Rackham facilities,
this can be changed. Aside from being an
unarguable issue in the eyes of the law, this
clearing of the auditorium schedule and
other Rackham facilities provides a won-
derful opportunity for graduate students to
become more involved. At least it should.
In 1980, the Rackham building was rec-
ognized for its endurance and beauty by
the Building Stone Institute's Tucker
Award. This should serve as a motivating
factor and reminder for all graduate stu-
dents to use these facilities.
With such beautiful resources on cam-
pus dictated directly for their use, graduate
students should take the opportunity to
create more groups on campus and become
involve
became a factor in admissions after 1964.
Universities like Michigan have decided
that they want to extend the opportunity of
a world-class education beyond the highest
bidder. What is wrong with that ? Don't
blame under-represented often times dis-
advantaged socioeconomic groups
because your nation has a shameful, racist
history. Blame those that came before you.
those that created the socialhinjustices our
generation must contend with
ISA KASOGA
LSA JUNIOR
Withdrawing
government funding
is not censorship
Affirmative action
checks American
'aristocracy'
TO THE DAILY:
After many contributions to the always
disputatious arena that is the Daily's editor-
ial page, I thought that I had retired.
However, all the whining and bitching on
the part of the "deserving" students at the
University about affirmative action has
forced me to once again take up the cause of
enlightening America's privileged little
brats. Let me begin by providing the basic
mentality of an affirmative action oppo-'
nent: Those admitted under the racially
influenced aspects of affirmative action
policies do not deserve to be at the
University, but those admitted without the
aid of those policies -or if the affirmative
action did not include race - are deserving.
You claim that the United States is a
meritocracy. You tell us to.look to the 14th
Amendment. I tell you to look to your
nation's history. Are you deserving because
you were born in an affluent family? Are
you deserving because your school district
benefited from a generous property tax
base? Are you deserving because you could
afford a test prep? If you answer "yes" to
.ho- ni;itetinn tan n~ha, snnoart
TO THE DAILY:
The hypocrisy of the Daily editorial
board is unbelievable. Last month, you vio-
lently attacked the Second Amendment, but
now, in a blatant act of self-interest, attempt
to defend the First ("What is art?"
10/12/99). Luckily for your readers, howev-
er, the attempt falls far short of coherent.
The museum in question is funded by
the government. The directors receive their
salaries from the government, not some pri-
vate foundation. It is the right of the gov-
ernment to decide what it will or will not
fund. Is it a First Amendment violation if
PBS airs a special on art and does not
include every artist and type of art in histo-
ry? Of course not. The Equal Time law was
struck down by the Supreme Court during
the Reagan administration. If the govern-
ment decides not to financially support an
institution, it is not censorship. It is censor-
ship only when the government prohibits
the free exhibition of this "art" in a private-
ly funded arena. The First Amendment is
not an issue here, only the ignorance of the
Daily's editorial board. I hope that in the
future you actually research your editorials
before printing them.
MICHAEL BLAINE
LSA JUNIOR
Collapsing in Frieze
the Fall of 1998 where one of my peers col-
lapsed during class. She did suffer injuries
as a result. The fact that two people col-
lapsed in the building may be a coingi-
dence; however, I think it would be' wise fop-
building inspectors to evaluate the safety
the Frieze Building. Perhaps there is a car-
bon monoxide leak. I, too, have felt drowsy
in the Frieze Building, especially on the
Second Floor. While opening the windows
may remedy the situation, it is only a tem-
porary solution for a permanent problem I
hope action is taking to prevent future cel-
lapses.
KATHY LOESBERG
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
'American
standards' are not
above criticism
To THE DAILY:
Mark Powers rushes to judgemei
("Offensive art should not be funded,
10/13/99) and clearly believes that he
speaks on behalf of American society. He
argues that "the so-called artwork in ques-
tion [the Sensations exhibit] is not 'poten-
tially offensive,' it is offensive' Powers
offers only his enlightened opinion as proot
to the objective offensiveness of the exhib-
it, "I think that just about every person Iv-
ing in America would agree that this art-
work is well below (society's standards)."
Though I live in America, I find the ait
gutsy and thought provoking. I wonder if
Powers will react with "utter shock and dis-
belief" when he realizes that in a land of
273,000,000 individuals there is more than
one opinion.
Powers points out that public funding
allows "the artist to make a mockery of
American society." Great! Are Americans
above mockery? Often our paid politicians
are the greatest culprits in making a farce of
this society. Shall we revoke their funding'
The public does that by voting a politician
out of office; the public can remove the
"Sensations" exhibit by not paying the S lO
entrance fee. Apparently American society,
like Powers's opinion, occupies a holy
ground above censure.
Powers, you can dictate my taste in art as