4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 11, 1999 c l e 9 titl 41, gtttt ttil 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich.edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan ;., .., f a = r s }} - ' i . < t $ ' x: HEATHER KA MINS Editor in Chief JEFFREY KOSSEFF DAVID WALLACE Editorial Page Editors 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. FROM T HE DAI LY Amk SdworUl $m5.6 Student fees provide valuable campus service A 35-year-old pact only once in a thousand years J2K is now only 50 days away. And its reservations. reunion was cancelled due to lack of intere* hard to forget. Its probably the most But at least we're together. Nearly four y ars They'v e nexer called each other ott their birth- over-hyped event so far. since graduation, we only talk sporadically days. We've never had plans to visit them for Still it's like the prom - sure to be a dis- during the school year. But that's who I want to Thanksgiving. My father never tried to look appointment, but you know you've got to go remember entering the new millennium with. them up when we visited Chicago. because in 30 years I guess you could say it runs in the family. But my father always knew that he'd see your kids are going to My father left his hometown Chicago at the them again. ask whom you were age of 17 to come to the University and never During their senior year of high school. the with. looked back. I've never met any of his high Zeolites promised to meet 35 years later on the This leads me to the': school friends. I've never even heard him tell steps of Chic.go's Museum of Science and current dilemma: stories about those days --that is until recent- Industry on Jan. 1 ,2000 at noon. Where to be at the turn ly, when he started making his Y2K plans. My father remembers hearing that tl of the century. The story goes back 35 years, that part's for museum is opening a time capsule at noon that Since it became sure. The details are now being debated. but it's day. Some of the other members of the group obvious my first plan, a the endpoint that is important, so I'll share the thought the meeting time would be midnig'ht. trip to New Orleans for story I grew up with. My father was part a Each recalls the plan differently. Nonetheless. the Sugar Bowl, would tight knit group of 10 friends who named all but one (whose employer. IBM. is tandat- surely fall through, I've themselves the Zeolites. Although my father ing that he stay on call in Dallas) are returning been on the prowl for a Heather claims he came up with it, how they got that from across the country for this reunion. new destination. Kamins name differs depending on whom you ask. They're not sure what they are going to do. Travel agents are They did the things boys do in high school: They're virtually strangers. who knew each advertising trips on the = i{t play hockey, eat pizza, study and meet girls. other at the age of 17. But they've decided on Concorde for the super amI s Andofcourse, they pledged to stay close. They one thing, a reading of that old play my fat* rich to hit multiple des- hung out during vacation from school. The first wrote in 1965. Aptly, it ends with this ballai tinations at midnight around the world. The summer back after a year at college, my father sung to the tune of "Hey Look Me Over" super brave are heading to the center of the wrote a musical play about the trials of college Four years at Mather action, planning on lining up in Times Square. life. They were close enough that they took it Ended we know. Only Jerusalem and Microsoft seem more seriously and performed it in front of their for- Then off to college most of tis did go. unstable at zero-hundred hours. And the super mer classmates. And in three more years, paranoid have already begun building cabins in And it's difficult to pinpoint when they Well, more or less. Montana and hoarding away packets of hot began to drift apart. What we'll be doing or where we'll be is cocoa to ensure safety. My father hadn't talked to any of them in at anybody's guess. Perhaps what I'll end up doing is what least 20 years. They could be married. Maybe And then we'll all start our life's work - - seems inevitable, a repeat of my recent New they have kids. Maybe one of them still acts Marry and such - - Year's Eves. What usually happens is a group like a kid. He doesn't know if there's a doctor And very likely of my high school friends spend most of the in the group, an accountant or maybe a taxi- We'll all get out of touch day playing phone tag, attempting to come dermist. But let's make an effort to stay together up with a plan. At about 4 p.m., someone Since my father never talks about them I We shouldn't stay apart. gets the brilliant idea that we should all dress assume he doesn't think too much what has Let's finish what we start. up, grab a classy dinner and then hit some happened to them either. Did anyone get sent That's what they're going to do - finish kind of bar-party. After everything else falls to Vietnam? Have they been fulfilled? Do they what they started. Maybe my father will even through, we find ourselves in Windsor. brib- still look the same? write a new song for the occasion. ing bouncers for admittance into festivities All I know is that I have never met them. -- Heather Kumins can se reached oter for which the rest of the free world has made Even the Mather High School 30th year e-mail at h/k(ig mich.edii. W hen University students glance at their tuition bills, they notice a charge for the Michigan Student Assembly. While the $5.69 semesterly fee pales in comparison to the rest of the bill, an impor- tant reason supports the separate charge. It represents the student body's ability to elect student representatives to allocate funding to student groups. The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case Tuesday challenging the legali- ty of such fees and potentially threatening this crucial element of a diverse learning experience. Activity fees are fair, and more importantly, they provide students with dif- ferent and often entertaining learning oppor- tunities, which are a critical part of the aca- demic experience. In Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin v. Scott Southworth, three Wisconsin students sued the university because they didn't want their mandatory activity fees to support political and ideo- logical organizations. Their claim complete- ly ignores a university's core mission - education. And if their logic were applied to every aspect of the University, tuition could not support teaching and research. Every cent of tuition supports ideological causes, either directly or indirectly. That defines academia and sets it apart from all other professions. Every research experi- ment has a conclusion, and every lesson has a point. Some students who pay tuition may disagree with certain points and conclu- sions. But does that entitle them to a pro- rated refund on tuition? No. Divergent views drive academia. If every student agreed with all opinions set forth within the University, nobody would learn much. Disagreements fuel education. Student activity fees are vital to continuing debates outside the classroom. The plaintiffs cited high court rulings that allow union members to request refunds for any portion of their dues used for political contributions. They claim mandatory student activity fees are another form of compelled speech, thus violating their First Amendment rights. Student fees, however, differ from union dues because they support more than one ideology. If you disagree with a group that receives University funding, you can form your own group to espouse your views. "Nobody would identify a student at a university with all the diverse views being espoused," said law Prof. Sheldon Nahmod, of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. The true violation of the First Amendment would occur if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. If the courts barred universities from funding ide- ological and political organizations, they would stifle the voices of thousands of stu- dents. At the University of Michigan, the $5.69 fee translated into funding for more than 218 student groups this semester, ranging from the College Democrats to the intervarsity Christian fellowship to Students for Life. If at least five students are interested in forming a group, they can apply for MSA funding. Furthermore, student activity fees are fair because MSA's funding process is democra- tic. While the vast majority of the student body does not vote in MSA elections, it's designed as a representative democracy. Members of MSA elected to represent the University's schools and colleges make the final appropriations decisions. If the Supreme Court upholds the 7th Circuit Appellate Court's decision in favor of the plaintiffs, the University of Michigan would have a few funding options - none of which match the current MSA system. In the worst-case scenario, the University could eliminate the student activity fee and appropriate money to all student groups through the University's general fund. Even if students were involved in this process, we'd be wary of it. The beauty of the current funding system is it has little to do with administrators. Students are more qualified to make funding decisions than University bureaucrats. The University also could give the stu- dents the option not to pay their activities fee. This is illogical. Most students are on tight budgets, so any tuition decrease would look tempting. Who wouldn't want a reduc- tion in their tuition payments? This would result in a dramatic funding decrease for stu- dent groups. "Isn't a university an open forum for competing ideas?" asked Prof. Davison Douglas, director of the College of William and Mary's Institute of Bill of Rights Law. A ban on mandatory activity funding would forever damage that open forum. The student activities fee is the most just way to fund a diverse range of student activities, because it allows a gov- ernment of elected student representatives to maximize the amount of intellectual debate on campus. i ) t i LETTERS TO T HE E DITOR: KKK should be allowed to hold rallies CHIP CULLEN Reinventing baske tball Sport must become more student friendly TO THE DAILY: Though personally suspicious that the Klan "rallies" in Ann Arbor are meant as provocation exercises to give the KKK the conflict it needs for self promotion, I agree with Pete Doiaoo's Tuesday leer about let- ting the KKK publicly demonstrate and even incite crowds in Ann Arbor ("Ann Arbor should not work to stop KKK from gather- ing"). Why haven't any of the opposition groups realized what a great opportunity it would be to get a temporary street vendor's license and sell pre-filled water (ketchup extra) balloons and fully loaded Super Squirters on KKK day? Think of the effect of mustard or food dye on all those white sheets. The KKK wouldn't like it at all, yet selling condiments and bal- loons (even barbecue sauce in balloons; that's just packaging) must be at least as legal as ral- lying. It would also be much harder to make a case for assault or property destruction against someone throwing food or colored water than using a rock. C'mon people, show some initiative here. RICK FOSTER UNIVERSITY STAFF How can we attain true diversity in the student body? TO THE DAILY: It appears (based on letters submitted to The Michigan Daily) that there is no resis- tance to diversity at the University of Michigan, just as long as diversity does not itclude race. Critics of affirmative action policies that include race argue that it is morally wrong to deny admission to white students who are more qualified as indicated by standardized test scores, grade point averages and so forth. As long as "merit" is the only way to go in admissions, let's try on a truly fair and "diverse" admissions policy that allows: a) admission of applicants who don't come from racially segregated schools; b) admission of applicants who don't come from exclusively wealthy schools; c) admission of applicants who have GPAs between 3.2 and 3.6 (not too high and not too low; d) admission of applicants with SATs between 1150 and 1350 only (again, not too high and not too low; e) 90 percent admission of in-state applicants or 100 percent in-state applicants only (keeps tuition affordable); f) no more than 49 percent males (equiv- alent to overall population profile); g) no greater than 51 percent females (equivalent to overall population profile); h) equal weight for a "diversity plus" such as race or religion or gender or nation- ality (pick one); i) one unequal weighed factor for the poorest in-state applicants (of any race) with the highest scores in the above ranges cited. This seems to be the only way to quell the whining of in-state and out-of-state pri- marily wealthy, race-monotypic, gender- monotypic, income-monotypic, and pheno- type-monotypic challenged critics of affir- mative action. Did I forget moral-monotyp- ic? Is this a fair admissions policy or what? At least as "fair" as the current admissions policy is to "underrepresented" racial minorities. The truly successful know the econom H ave you been to a basketball game at your college? If you're a University of Michigan student, the likely answer is "no." Unlike football and ice hockey, which have a huge impact on social life throughout Ann Arbor, basketball has trouble barely making a dent. As we highlight today on page 4B in the Tipoff '99 section, the Athletic Department must think on its feet and make the sport more student-friendly. Only 944 students purchased season tickets as of press time. This pathetic amount is noth- ing comparedto the days of the Fab Five, when more than 6,000 students applied for tickets. But our basketball team is not the Fab Five any more, and the Athletic Department must realize that. The Ed Martin scandal and last year's 12-19 performance deteriorated the public image of a once great team. The team has great potential this year, with new Coach Brian Ellerbe's first recruiting class. But to showcase the potential, the department must draw students into Crisler Arena. The department should restructure the seat- ing arrangements so more students sit closer to the court. Why should students take the time to attend a basketball game when they probably will have bad seats? By offering basketball tickets free of charge, the department would spark more stu- dent interest. The tiny revenues student ticket sales bring in do not justify the relatively large cost to students. Other universities, including Duke, offer free student tickets and enjoy impressive student turnout while maintaining elite programs. A student-friendly basketball program helps both the student body and the team. Nothing is a better spirit builder than a crowd of screaming students. The Athletic Department must rebuild basketball as a stu- dent sport. It can be done, with some consid- eration of students' needs. 400 hyNoc a NeIp? 'J I ic value of diversity. Just ask Bill Gates or Donald Trump, neither of whom seem to have problems with the inclusion of racial minorities in their phenomenally successful lives. AUDREY JACKSON UNIVERSITY ALUMNA Bicyclists must use common sense To THE DAILY: The article about bikes vs. pedestrians in the Nov. 4 edition of your Weekend, etc. sup- plement contains incorrect and possibly dan- gerous information about the traffic responsi- bilities of bicyclists. The article states that "According to traffic laws, bicyclists must abide by the same rules that are set forth for motor vehicles. They must ride with traffic." This is correct. However, the added clarifi- cation which follows is incorrect: "in the United States that means the left side of the street, where they can see oncoming cars:' In fact, bicyclistsrmust ride on thenright side of the street, with, rather than against traffic. As a publication from AAA Michigan states, motorists don't expect to see other vehicles going in the opposite direction from them. This could lead to accidents. Please use common sense and ride with traffic - it could caus everyone a lot fewer problems. CHERYL WILLIAM ENGINEERING SENIOR Program offers opportunities to study in Japan To THE DAILY: This leter isa followup to Chris Leja's let- ter to the Daily on Nov. 9 ("Working abroad provides valuable experience"). I enjoyed reading Leja's letter about working abroad through programs like IAESTE, ICE and AIESEC. I would like to point out that he omitted mentioning the Japan Technology Management Program. JTMP helps students to obtain paid engineering or business intern- ships in Japan. In addition, the program also offers fellowships to study Japanese at the University of Michigan or in Japan. - I was a participant of an internship obtained through JTMP and a so benefitted from a language study fellowship. Designing part of an integrated circuit at Oki Electric in Tokyo for 8 months last year was a very intense and valuable experience. Information about JTMP can be found at theirWebsite http://si:tumichedtu/-mjtmp/. KIRBY HONG UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS Animals have the right to live without pain0 TO THE DAILY: We would like to start by stating that we do not condone the recent activities of the Animal Liberation Front. While we share their frustration with umsans, and we know how difficult our chosen task of fighting for equal compas- sion for all living beings can be at times, we feel that every violent step forward is in fact a step backward. We would also like to say that the mer- its, usefulness and necessity of many tax- money funded projects in "medical sci- ence," as well as the whole scope of medical research as it stands today can be debated. In spite of this, we do not wish to start a Daily debate, much like last year between former president of the Michigan Animal Rights Society Allison Hess and several other University students. We do want to point out a few disparitm* in the recent editorial "Threat Against Science." The fact that animals were not given "rights" in the Constitution has no bearing against anything, except maybe social secu- rity. I'll give the Daily that. One has to remember that the Constitution did not actually mean all people when it read "We the People." It was meant to include rich, whi* landowning men, not immigrants, slaves, women, political prisoners, etc. Does this mean that the only beings that are entitled to the "right" to a happy, healthy life are the ones that the Constitution is directed towards? This is the "right" animal activists wish to extend to our fellow sentient, feeling ani- mals, no matter their status on the "evolu- tionary ladder." Yes, there is a difference betwe* humans and non-human animals. Obviously non-human animals cannot be given the right to "vote" or to "bear arms," for exam- plc. The difference between non-human ani- mals and humans is that we humans literal- ly hold their happiness and, more or less, their life in our bands. In our view this goes far beyond "adopt- ing a pet." One would think thatrhumans wou naturally extend their greatest compi sion to those beings who are under their mercy, but instead animal rights activists must fight to enlighten people who are ignorant or apathetic to the plight of non- human animals in all aspects of this soci- ety. KRISTIE STOICK LSA JUNIOR RoDOLFO PALP LSA SENIOR JUT l NT - t/CRt47TN A r m