4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday. October 25, 1999 CIie £id$§&ux lai&g Some days of action the rest of the'L 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich. edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan ' d , . ,. .,: Editor in Chief J FiFREY KOSSLF DAV ID WALLAC E Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwi ise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majorI of1 the Daily s editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Survey s ays:Binge Excessive drinking leads to many problems O ince upon a time, the Rex. Jesse Jackson came up uyith an idea to help rally stu- dents around the cause o! aftirmatix e action. One day when students and faculty would storm academia in support of affirmative action to show the world that the policy would not go the way of Elizabeth Dole's presidential campaign quietly. It went off3 with relatively few hitches here, despite some apparent logical flaws, and garnished media attention infre- quentlv rivaled by stu- dent events. And then it hap-. Jack pened again. And Schillaci again. And then the National Young Women s Day of Action taught us about the evils of Diet Coke. This past week brought another group of easily excitable protesters for three different day of action- type events: one about sweatshop labor, one of the plain vanilla affirmative action variety and one concerning police brutality. Students have grown weary of the format, with many responding to each new announcement with, Do we have to care?" in the same tone com- monly reserved for "Is this conna be on the test' ? So let's make a change. We, the apathetic masses. should rise up and have our own days of action that will be well attended and fi. The following are merely a starting point. Feel free to come up with your own and let me know about them. (Note to readers: The following contains tongue-in-cheek remarks and generaliza- tions. Read: ucuim. I understand that this is an unappreciated. misunderstood language dex ice on this campus. but try x'our best.) The National Day of Action tbr "TRL' Loxers - Crowd excerpt:"I wanna vote for the Backstreet Bovs' 'Larger Than Life' because it's a great video and they're really hot. Yeah!!! Woo hoo!!! I love you, Carson!!!- In celebration of MTVs latest let-the- idiot-viewers-pick-what-they-xwatch-for-an- hour show that every student will soon find themselves staring at. dazed after their midterms. hundreds could gather near the Cube (it provides a better photo op than the Diag). Speakers would include former VJ Kennedy. fresh from a fight with her hair brush. covering such important topics as "Keeping good music and music by non- white performers off MTV by mobilizing the suburban teen phone-in voting population" and "'How to keep looking like a frat boy well after your 25th birthday" (the latter, of course. being delivered by Carson Daly). MTV, desperate to fill its time with anything besides "Road Rules" marathons, would broadcast the DoA live and replay it at 5. 8 and I I p.m.'° The National Day of Action for Those Who Overuse the Word "Racism" - Crowd excerpt: "What, you don't care about Mumia Abu-Jamal. the target of a conspiracy to frame him for murder ?You are a racist!!!" Many on this campus throw around the word "racist" like normal people throw around the word "the." It started as a left- ist response to the attack on affirmative action, but it has spread to conservatives calling the University's admissions policy the big 'R' word. This day of action will bring all such persons together for a series of lectures, to be held somewhere far away from the usual paths of most students. f' might enjoy { While this obv iously lacks a mass draw, the real purpose of this DoA is to simply keep the crazies amay from the rest of campus for a day. ) Lecture topics will include "Impoverishing political dis- course by using loaded buzz words to the detriment of all" and "Self-righteousness through demonization." The National Day of Action in Celebration of Sorority Bid Day - Crowd excerpt: "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Like. what house are you in? Oh my God, that's, like, the best house on campus!" Though bid day is a tumultuous time as it is, the new sisters would gather on the Diag to begin forming their bonds early in the day before the evening's events get under- way. Speech topics would include "Capri pants: How, when and why" and "Fooling the bouncer at Rick's." Other activities will include three hours of SUV driving, horn honking and mindless howling out the win- dows in celebration of the bid receipts. Sponsors would include Parliament Cigarettes. Stucchi's and Cava Java. The National Cellular Phone Day of Action - Crowd excerpt not available: inter- cepting cell phone calls is illegal. What better symbol to epitomize our cam- pus than the middle-class status symbol that is the cellular phone. To pay homage to these "fuin toys. users would dial a special toll-free number and listen to a speech entitled. "Misusing communication technology to win friends and influence people"' delivered by a representative of Dale Carnegie. Other activ- ities will include participants screaming into their cell phones while walking across the Diag. - The National Day ofAction in Contempt ofJack Schillaci olgani:ing conm- mittee can he reached otver e-mail at /schilla umich. edit. e he University Substance Abuse Research Center last week released the results of a study investigating the binge-drinking habits of University stu- dents. The results were somewhat alarm- ing: Out of a representative sample of 2,824 students, 45 percent showed charac- teristics of binge drinking, defined by the survey as consuming four or more drinks in a row for women and five or more for men. Reported consequences of frequent binge drinking include missing classes, committing embarrassing acts, getting intorarguments and endangering others by driving while under the influence. But while'this is clearly a dangerous behavior pattern, the University should not contin- ue to deal with the problem in the way it has addressed campus drinking in recent years. Binge drinking has been a hot-button topic on campus for the last year or so. In the wake of several drinking-related deaths at universities around the nation, the University has cracked down on underage alcohol use in an effort to curb binge drinking. Last year, former Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford appointed a task force to deal with the problem. However, the University's tactics have been less than fair - working with the Ann Arbor Police Department to conduct sting operations in establishments serving alcohol and con- sidering alerting parents if students receive an alcohol-related conviction. For the most part, University students are legal adults, who have the right to make their own decisions. It should not be the University's function to conduct a witch hunt. It is also important to note that the sur- vey's definition of binge drinking - and the University's official definition - is somewhat arbitrary. Instead of consider- ing only the number of drinks consumed, an accurate definition would also take into account the drinker's age, weight and other statistics. Under a more precise rule, the problem may not seem as widespread. But no matter the percentage of stu- dents who engage in binge drinking, it cannot be denied that it is a serious prob- lem that endangers both oneself and oth- ers. Although the University's method of combating the problem is misguided, it must still find a way to help put a stop to irresponsible drinking. In light of the findings of the survey, the University would do well to put more of its vast resources into educating students about the dangers of alcohol abuse - for instance, by instituting a program at orien- tation to warn incoming students about the consequences to which excessive drinking can lead. It is the responsibility of students to use caution in their own behavior. Those who choose to drink should be careful to do so responsibly. But at the same time, it is not the University's job to act as a watchdog, monitoring students' behavior. Instead, it should ensure that its students are fully aware of the effects and conse- quences of their own actions. This solu- tion to the problem of binge drinking is far more in keeping with the University's role as an institution of higher learning. THOMAS KULJURGIS I - I Soft on reform Filibuster defeats campaign finance legislation L ast week, in what has become a yearly ritual in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate again defeated a bipartisan cam- paign finance reform bill drafted by Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin. The bill was 'not defeated by lack of majority support. This year, as in past years, the McCain-Feingold legislation drew the support of a majority of senators but was again defeated by a fili- buster led by Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. While the House of Representatives passed a campaign finance bill earlier this year by a wide margin, the Senate again failed to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome McConnell's filibuster. The continued blocking of campaign finance reform by the Senate is an affront to the democratic ideals of this nation and is a clear example of how many lawmakers have become obsessed with raising money. McCain and Feingold did not even try to pass the House's version of the campaign bill, but in an attempt to garner more sup- port, stripped every provision from their original bill except the one banning soft money, which is unregulated large dona- tions to political parties. This move won a few additional votes for the bill, but still not enough. The usual argument used against cam- paign finance reform is that it restricts free- dom of speech. But it is difficult to see how corporations and special interest groups giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to political parties can be construed as speech. It is a blatant form of bribery. Companies do not give money to politicians to exercise free sneech Thev contrihte because it The current campaign finance system is not only a corrupting force on our legisla- tors, but a corrupting force on democracy. When the only way to have one's voice heard is to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars, not many people will be heard. Campaign finance reform is not about abridging free speech, it is about allowing the vast majority of Americans who do not make exorbitant campaign donations to have a voice in their government. To contin- ue to allow this buying of our government by a few big interest groups is a travesty, especially given that a majority in both houses of congress and the overwhelming majority of Americans want to see the cam- paign finance system changed. Our legislators today are spending more and more time raising money and less and less time legislating. Their primary con- cerns are no longer with their constituents, but their contributors. McCain-Feingold was a chance to start bringing this terrible system under control. But a dedicated minority, unfortunately including Michigan Sen. Spencer Abraham, has again derailed this modest proposal. To clean up the system of financing campaigns, lawmakers such as Abraham need to hear from their constituents about the issue. While large amounts of polling data show that a clear majority of Americans favor campaign finance reform, few hold it as a top priority. To end the giv- ing of these vast sums of money, and thus special interest control of our government, people need to contact lawmakers like Abraham and make sure they know this issue is imnortant to them and they will be BAMN's rhetoric doesn't help debate TO THE DAILY: I have to seriously question the student group the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary ( BAMNN)}. After reading the editorial in Thursday's Daily. "Learn Through Action:" I found a few problems wvith the group. First of all. let neestate that an ettrt to increase (ixersitv in the schools is a <-ood idea. But I do not like the concept of by any means necessary. This type of rhetoric should scare people you should almost never do something by any means neces- sary. More frilhtenmie to me, however. were sonie of the comments in the editorial: "If this attack is not met with a powerful. mass defense. America's public schools will be permanently resegregated. This must not be allowved to happen."' There are two things that bother me about this comment. First. it is incorrect to state that without affirmative action our schools vouild be segregated. Segregation. as practiced up to the '60s was a deliberate practice in which black stu- dents were removed from schools. and put in their own separate schools. This obvious- lV would not happen. since without affir- mative action it would be impossible to pull out certain students because the admissions officers wouldn 't know what race they belonged to. This concern. though, is secondary to what really bothered me - the attitude the members of BAMN are sending, wxhich is that they can't succeed without affirmative action. It seems to me that members of BAMN are saying that with- out affirmative action they would not be able to get into schools. If I were a minority student I would really be offended by this comment. I know quite a few minorities students that have no problem succeeding with or with- out affirmative action. I don't like the attitude that prevails from that comment that says segregation would be the result of no affirmative action. They basically are saying that the only reason that minorities are in these schools is because of affirmative action and without it they would not be here (hence the resegregation). That is a terri- ble attitude to take. not to mention being completely untrue. No one is ever going to succeed with that type of outlook. Perhaps the first action BAMN should take is comn- GIVING r TTE 0L COLLEGE TRY Q pletely reevaluating what they are trying to do. then they can worry about what else is necessary. MIKE DAUBER ENGINEERING SENIOR WIC should look at why men buy shirts TO THE DAILY: It is much to my chagrin that I watch the Women's Issues Commission gear up to combat the "heinous problem" of the blue shirts. Unfortunately, most politically mind- ed organizations. now WIC included. are more interested in curing the symptoms of the disease rather than the disease itself. If there is serious problem with men wearing shirts with a particular offensive slogan, then perhaps we should look at why certain men are buying those T-shirts. Perhaps we will find a deeper force at work in our society. If the certain men that bought those shirts were publicly ridiculed and attacked. are they going to suddenly sym- pathize with the issues that face women?. Doubtful. Instead. their attitudes will sur- face in other ways. perhaps even more demeaning or downright spiteful the next time around. WIC could be one of the first groups to do something radical with their political beliefs: educate and attack the problem.not the symp- toms. RYAN TECCO LSA SOPHOMORE Objectification of women isn't funny TO THE DAILY: This is in response to the letter, "T-shirt opponents need, to learn to take a joke" (10!21199). I wonder just how many males, or females for that matter, would agree with Scott Gordon's sentiments. I'd venture to say a good many students who wouldn't wear the shirt themselves do not feel the T- shirt slogan should be that much of an issue. Oh. but it is. In his letter, Gordon made the claim that if the message was reversed so that it was aimed at male first-year students, no one would be upset. He misses the significant fact that it is women, not men, that are objectified in our society. Society sends us the message that thinness is a desired attribute for both women and men, but who suffers more from eating disorders ? Who is bombarded, from magazines to television to movies, with female images that portray thinness to the extreme as the only way a woman can hope to be desir- able? In our society, racism, sexism and var- ious other forms of discrimination are a painful part of our reality. In the least, it would be comforting if these stereotypes were not blatantly adver- tised and therefore encouraged. I'm offend- ed. and I hope that some realize it isn't a very funny joke." and we shouldn't "sit back and laugh" about something that con- tributes to the objectification of women. MICHELE BOURRIE LSA SENIOR SM 0 UROP peer meetings play an important role The staff of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program always welcomes positive publicity and constructive criti- cism. The editorial published on 10/18/99 made some rather uncomplimentary state- ments that we would like to address. We peer advisers feel that the bi-monthly peer group meetings constitute one of the pro- ..._-_.- - .......1-.. The editorial states that meetings are "understructured" and that peer advisors ought not be given "the great autonomy they are now granted" In fact, meetings are highly structured. with peer advisors being required to conduct at least two meetings concerning diversity and research ethics, and their semes- ter long syllabus and bi-monthly meeting mae af- r:- al . - ant it,1CA .xri . th dlude having similar interests. A student who researches the ethics of cloning and a student who actually works on cloning obviously have some underlying similari- ties in the scope of their interests. The suggestions offered to correct these perceived problems are either already uti- lized or counterproductive. Peer advisors nira :vinvtesnrnaccn .-to cn.e t.the. f