4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 27, 1999
Ube ditiwutt &ilg
Michael Corleone would have gotten nowhere without papa
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
daily.letters@umich.edu
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
HEATHER KA MINS
Editor in Chief
JEFFREY KOSSEFF
DAVID WALLACE
Editorial Page Editors
H ave you ever seen the teen movie,
"Pump Up the Volume?" It is about a
guy named Hard Harry who has a pirate
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority ofthe
Daily s editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect
the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
radio station. In the
about how being a
because adults make
such incredible
demands of them
and are always
telling the poor,
oppressed teens
what to do. You
know, like doing
homework and being
responsible. When I
watched this movie
as a teenager, I
thought it sucked.
Now that I'm 24, it
still sucks. The
movie seeks to
undermine the
extremely important
concept of respect
for one's elders.
movie, Harry talks
teenager is tough
Investewisely
'U'needs to choose a student-friendly bank
Mike
Lopez
The relationship between parent and
child is the same. In my family, there is no
such thing as not respecting your parents.
Day in and day out, we'd be inundated
with advice and direction. My father was-
n't the Godfather or anything, but I lis-
tened to him like he was because what he
had to say was good stuff. Imagine if
Michael Corleone blew off his old man.
He'd have been sleeping with the fishes.
When I was a kid, my folks would tell me
to drink milk because it would make me
strong. They'd tell me to brush my teeth
after every meal and wash my hands after
going to the bathroom.
They'd tell me to keep my grades up
and respect my elders. (Speaking of wash-
ing hands: Why do so few men wash their.
hands before leaving the restroom? You 95
percent know who you are. Yeah, think.
about that the next time you shake some-
one's hand.)
About a year ago, I asked some
"grown-ups" what their final lesson would
be to a college student. That's right peo-
ple, I've got a few of those precious ker-
nels right here. So, if you ever turned a
deaf ear to the wise words of an adult and
now wish you'd been listening, then here
is some food for your thought. What
would be the big lesson that older folks
wished every kid followed because it
would do us so much good? I got some
interesting answers from all sorts of peo-
ple.
Let's start with the tip from the manag-
er of my alma mater's cafeteria, John
Navvarrete. He said, "Integrity. Be honest.
If you say something, follow through.
Integrity goes to trust. Your word is your
bond. If you are a (person) of your word,
everything else will follow."
Sam Cipolla, a physics professor at
THOMAS KULJURGIS
Creighton said. "Be a student. Don't come
to college for fun. If you're graduating.
keep learning. Keep the frame of mind
that you are always learning."
Thomas /epf. my advisor and physics
professor at Creighton added, "'Take time
along the way to smell the flowers. You
only go through life once. Work hard. Do
your best, but . . if you're married and
raising children, take time to be with the
children. They'll only be around a short
while."
The night librarian, Sinora Garrett, is
known around campus for her kindness.
She told me, "Now that you've succeeded
at following your head, follow your
heart."
My family also gave me some good
insights. First. I start with my father. Pop.
Pop told me, "Attitude is one of the most
important factors in taking you where you
want to go. If you have the right attitude,
you can write your ticket. The sky is the
limit. There are no boundaries. You make
the boundaries."
Translated from the Spanish, my
Catholic Grandma said, "Put your life in
the hands of the three divine people. God,
Son and Holy Spirit and let their light
guide you through the world. Do whatev-
er the Holy Spirit asks you to do and do
not be afraid because the power of God
lies upon you.
Finally, my Mom told me, "Don't lose
your Mom's phone number." Although I
think that my Mom's advice was a hint
that I should call her more, it is still a very
good point to make It kind of goes along
with Dr. Zepf's advice. Spend time with
your parents because they're only around
for a short while.
Mike Lopez can be reached at
mlanallargec'u umich.edi.
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K Tjust don't understand where all these
charges came from,' uttered the con-
fused student waiting on line at National City
Bank on South University Avenue. "See here?
You made more than the allotted number of
withdrawals," replied the annoyed customer
representative, pointing at her account state-
ment. It's no surprise she was exasperated -
there were five other people in line with simi-
lar problems.
This is the time of year when many stu-
dents are getting their credit statements and are
seeing the real world for the first time - a
world of unforeseen charges and bounced
checks. In the mayhem of coming to college,
many students don't have time to shop around
for banks, or toss it off as unimportant. After
all, why should they look? The benevolent
University has already done it for them. The
University has a deal with National City bank.
With this deal, the University distributes pam-
phlets and signs about the bank during
Welcome Week, which encourage student
checking with National City. In addition, the
deal makes it possible for students to use their
M-cards as debit cards, but only with a
National City account. Does this deal really
make the transition to college easier for stu-
dents? Or is this deal unfair and inconsiderate
of students' tight budgets?
Luckily, this deal is soon up for renewal.
The University has not made a decision as to
which bank it will endorse in the coming
years, but it has laid out the format for its deci-
sion: Each bank vying for the University's
business will put out a bid. Although the
amount is undisclosed, the University calls the
bids "highly competitive."
Although it may be good for some, there
ark many reasons to think that National City is
not the best deal for all students. All accounts
geared towards students have some sort of
"monthly maintenance fee." The account used
by most students has a fee of $3 per month,
and one bounced check is $26. This means that
one year of regular account use with a solitary
bounced check will cost the student $62.
Compare this cost with the University of
Michigan Credit Union, where it would only
be $18.
Although it is good for the University to
offer help in finding banks, it could be in the
form of guidance. Students need to take the
initiative to look at the possibilities and com-
pare. This lesson could be learned without
bouncing checks and incurring fees. In fact, if
a student gets his or her statement back the
first month and decides that this account isn't
the best one, he or she has to pay to cancel it.
National City will charge $20 for closing an
account within 180 days of opening.
The University should care less about bids
than quality. This would give area banks the
incentive to have more student-friendly poli-
cies to gain the endorsement.
Even though the University considers the
quality of service in its decision, bidding
excludes a number of banks that will even be
considered because of the high bid price.
Some may have better policies than the cho-
sen bank. The University of Michigan Credit
Union, for example, has many policies that
are enticing for students but go unnoticed.
There are no monthly fees, unlimited use of
ATMs, no charge for teller assistance and
lower fees than National City for just about
everything else. But even the credit union has
drawbacks. It does not have as many campus
ATMs as National City. As the dealing
process stands, it not only deters students
from getting a better deal, but it may end up
hurting them.
Let's face it, old people are smarter
and wiser than we are. They know more
and understand more than we do. One of
the smartest things a young adult can do is
shut up and listen to what they have to say.
Although I'm not quite sure about a good
chunk of our generation, it seems that
most graduate students get this concept.
How could they not? In the classroom, a
book can supply all the information need-
ed to pass. The relationship between advi-
sor and grad student is much different.
Think Plato and Aristotle. Part of a grad
student's job is to follow our advisors
around, hanging on every word, soaking in
all the experience so that one day we too
may enter their ranks. It is a passing of the
torch.
Freedom from pain
Bill would infringe on patients' right to die
C ongress is expected to pass a bill that
will make it harder for terminally ill
patients to die with dignity. The bill, the Pain
Relief Promotion Act, is an amendment to an
existing law on the distribution of controlled
drugs and will prohibit states from legalizing
doctor assisted suicide by placing more
restrictions on the way doctors can prescribe
drugs.
Doctor assisted suicide, or euthanasia,
should be a terminally ill patient's choice
once all hopes of recovery have vanquished.
In a country where life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness have been recognized as
inalienable rights since its creation, it is hyp-
ocritical for the government to infringe on
such rights by defining how they may be
met.
The American Medical Association,
which represents doctors and their treatment
of patients, supports assisted suicides.
Doctors, who see the extreme pain that is
brought on by terminal diseases, want to
make their patients as comfortable as possi-
ble. But after prolonged treatment with no
hope of recovery, if a patient wants to end the
pain they suffer, most doctors want nothing
more than to help.
AMA policy states, "Physicians have an
obligation to relieve pain and suffering and to
promote the dignity and autonomy of dying
patients in their care. This includes providing
effective palliative treatment even though it
may foreseeably hasten death."
While the AMA cannot legally encourage
euthanasia, they do promote a patient's right
to dignity. Though Americans all hold differ-
entt iiwu on the tonic d'ie to their owmn ner-
tors, a profession whose members come from
varying backgrounds with all codes of
morals and ethics, generally support the
patient's right to choose. It is unfortunate that
the legislature does not take professionals'
opinions into account while writing the laws
that will imprison their citizens into unwant-
ed lives of suffering.
There is currently only one state with a
law legalizing assisted suicides. The Oregon
Death With Dignity Act has been in effect
since 1994 and carries numerous safeguards.
These include it only being available to
patients prognosed to live 6 months or less;
plus, there is a 15 day waiting period and
patients are always given the right to rescind
their request.
The Pain Relief Promotion Act, which
will nullify Oregon's law, limits how doctors
may prescribe drugs to their patients as a
method of preventing "accidental" overdos-
ing by doctors potentially trying to circum-
vent the law. Unfortunately, a side-effect will
be doctors under-dosing out of fear of prose-
cution. While this may seem like an absurd
possibility, there is already one such
instance: A doctor in Oregon was disciplined
for giving a dying cancer patient mere
Tylenol to ease his pain.
In a country where the pursuit of happi-
ness is held in such high regard, it is a dis-
honor that the government refuses to pro-
mote its own ideals. Happiness has never
been limited to that in life alone. The AMA
supports the patient's right to choose and
patients want the choice. If a patient being
able to die in dignity honors that patient's
uwishesthen wuho is the gove'rnment to de'nv
Ignore the KKK and
they'll seek
attention elsewhere
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing in response to the Daily's
Oct. 19 editorial "After the trials." Although
I agree with some of the points made, I
think that there are some major flaws in the
editorial, most specifically concerning the
assignment of blame for the incidents of
violence at the two recent KKK rallies.
The editorial maintains that the Klan
"instigated the riot with their speech," and
that the "KKK's rhetoric during such ral-
lies causes violent reactions from anti-
racist demonstrators." I disagree with
these statements, because although the
actions of the riotous protesters may have
been inspired by the words of the Klan, to
say that their speech actually caused the
violence allows the protesters to disavow
responsibility for their actions. It's like
saying, "It's not my fault, I shouldn't be
punished the Klan made me do it."
The editorial talks about how protest-
ers 'threw stones and glass bottles at
police and destroyed the fence (protecting
the hate-mongers.)" Although the words
of the Klan may have been full of anger
and hatred, they made no action on these
feelings. It was the anger and hatred of
the protesters (against the Klan) that
brought them to destructive action, and it
wasn't even destruction of the Klan - it
was against the police. Totally aside from
what the Klan was saying, the violent pro-
testers made a conscious decision to act
violently and destructively. We all have
free choice. They made a free choice. It is
just and necessary that they be held
responsible for their choices.
When we were kids, we all learned
that "sticks and stones may break my
bones, but names will never hurt me." The
speech may have been negative and
unpleasant, but they were only words. We
must not let ourselves forget that, lest we
allow ourselves to excuse violence, in any
form, against anyone. Let me make
myself clear at this moment. I know that
the Klan has, and does, act out violently
and hatefully and discriminately. I don't
support theses actions any more than I
support the violent actions of the protest-
ers. Violence is violence, period. Those
who commit acts of violence must be held
responsible for their actions, regardless of
whom they may be.
I fully support the right to free speech,
no matter how hate-filled or ridiculous
that speech may be. Under the constitu-
tion, the KKK has the absolute right to
preach their views, and if we infringe
upon that, we are only hurting ourselves
because it then becomes more acceptable
to restrict other forms of free speech.
Telling- the Klan "You can't come here
and talk because we disagree with what
you say" is a dangerous, even fascist, line
of thinking, and one that is sure to blow
up in our faces in the fullness of time,
probably just at the time when we have
something important and controversial to
say.
TO4E ATILElI.. EFfrmEIT IAS 14ac,N TD R EFUSE
PLASIX r t' ~Oj4Ca sY tomSIG uc
KKK wouldn't be afforded any amenities
or privileges. The townspeople just plain
didn't show up, and the Klan hasn't been
back since.
While the city of Ann Arbor is hardly
small, and it would be a huge task to
attempt the same trick here, the concept
should not be lost. The Klan has the right to
say whatever it wants? We have the right not
to listen. We have the right not to be there to
hear it. And, if we don't show up to hear
their nonsense, there can hardly be a riot. In
one decisive move, the residents of this
midwestern town sent the Klan packing.
In the last two Klan visits to Ann Arbor,
violence has erupted, and the Klan keeps on
coming back. Which strategy worked, and
which didn't? You be the judge.
JEAN ADAMS
LSA SENIOR
Death penalty not
as unjust as it may
appear
TO THE DAILY:
I would like to respond to the Oct. 20
editorial "Death to the Penalty." The rea-
son that more minorities and people of
low socio-economic status are sentenced
to the death penalty than "upper class
whites" is because they commit more
murders. "Upper class whites" as you
referred to them, are more likely to com-
mit white-collar crimes such as embezzle-
ment, extortion and money laundering.
They are less likely to shoot a conve-
nience store clerk for the $30 in the regis-
ter.
But when white people do commit
murder, they too are sentenced to death -
Ted Bundy, Danny Rawlings and Karla
Faye Tucker to name a few. Also, when
trying to make a point you should look up
the actual statistics; I did. Right now there
are 3,009 people on death row; of these
1,455 (48.4 percent) are white (I'm not
sure how many were upper class), 1,217
(40.4 percent) are black and 233 (7.7 per-
cent) are Latino/a. Adding up the minori-
ty percentages puts them almost dead
being forced to pay with what he so freely
took, now you as a tax payer have to sup-
'port him the rest of his life.
ERIKA ALEA
LSA SENIOR-
Abortion articles
are pro-choice
biased
0,
..
.
.,
TO THE DAILY:
I'll start off by saying I'm not going to
ramble on about how biased your articles
about abortion are, but I do have something
for you to consider. I frequently read about
persons opposed to abortion being called
"anti-choice."
In fact, the article from last Tuesday's
paper titled "Abortion coverage under ques-
tion" states that "...some legislatures feel
that it is a step in the anti-choice direction."
Using this same logic, those who support
the right to choose should be known as
"anti-life," correct? Just think about it.
Hopefully you'll take this into consideration
and realize that not everyone on this cam-
pus is a liberal. I'll leave you with some
words to live by: life. What a beautiful
choice.
AMY OLSZEWSKI
RC JUNIOR
Women: steer clear
of men whose
actions offend you
TO THE DAILY:
While I participated in last Friday's blue
shirt day, I'd like to propose a longer-term,
and possibly more effective, solution to the
sexism displayed by the T-shirts in question
and the guys who were them. I hate to put
the burden on women, because they're not
the ones with the problem in the case, but I
think this solution can only be effectively
implemented by women.
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