4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 12, 1999 aIb £d Oro dl De opresso liber II! Screw your way to 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 Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of'the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. You've got... a problem ITD must avoid future e-mail debacles T his column is dedicah d to the meno- rTofa an/ iln ' met a handful of times, but who. despite his superstardom. a/warvs had a ready smile and an encour- aging wordfr a wide-eyed little boy. To the late, great. i ti Chamberlain. I miss you. pal. We are a society divided. The current, debate on campus " and around the nation on affirma- tive action is just a recent symptom of a problem that has plagued mankind throughout history people like to Branden find excuses to hate Sanz other people. Race, with the possible exception of religion, has been the most common excuse used. People of all nations and demographics practice racial discrimination. Some examples are obvi- ous, such as the idiots that parade around in swastikas and white hoods. Some exam- ples are much more subtle, such as the girl who's crazy about you but won't introduce you 'to her parents because you're not "Jewish enough." Sure, you can cite Kipling's "White Man's Burden," but racism is not - and never has been - simply a case of whites versus non-whites. Nor is this strictly an American problem. The Irish hate the English, the Chinese hate the Japanese and the Algerians hate the French - of course everyone hates the French so I can't really blame them. Israelis and Palestinians continue their national pastime of using each other for target practice. Why does racism happen"? Members of the academic brain-trust have come up with a myriad of theories, everything from "genetic fitness" to "coping mechanisms." I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know what causes racism, but I do know the solution. That's correct -- right here in the Daily I will unveil the first-ever com- prehensive plan to eliminate racism once and for all. Racism is a problem, and you have to treat the problem, not just the symptoms. Things like affirmative action are the leg- islative equivalent of telling President Clinton not to sleep around, giving Nicholas Cage an action-hero role, or a football coach saying he's going to "run the football or die trying." You are simply shoveling shit against the tide. So what to do? How do we get rid of these prejudices? Well, as William the Longshanks once said in The Greatest Movie Ever, "If we can't get them out, we'll breed them out." That's right: breed- ing, people. And I'm not talking about selective breeding here - no, gentle read- er, rather I am talking about unselective breeding. I am calling for an immediate, nation-wide ban on birth control and peo- ple hooking up randomly like Hugh Hefner or Jenna Jamison on aphrodisiacs. We can screw our way to a better society, folks. Let's combine the two favorite college pastimes of campaigning for a better society and casual sex in a marathon exchange of bodily fluids which would do a Kennedy proud. I want white people screwing black people, Arabs screwing THOMAS KULJURGIS a better society Asians. Jews screw ing Catholics. Muslims screwing Protestants, and Yankees screwing Southerners. Hook up with anyone and everyone you see as long as the fall into a category other than your own - the more divergent, the better. If the thought of pre-marital sex offend your delicate sensibilities, no problem. We can bring back polygamy, and we might as well throw in polyandry for good mea- sure. There is some historical precedent for this. One hundred and fifty years ago the different Caucasian segments of America's population were wildly segregated, but over a century of interbreeding has trans- formed these groups into an amalgamation known simply as "white." We just need to take this theory to the next level. The benefits of this would be incalcula- ble. One hundred years from now there would be no such thing as black or white, just the same off-beige color around the globe. You want diversity? Screw diversity, I want unity. No Ebony and Ivory - just people. Trust me, we'll still have more than enough individualism to keep this world the fun, crazy, fucked-up place that it is. There will still be jocks, nerds, preppies, stoners, city-slickers and country bump- kins. We'll just all be able to identify with each other a little bit easier and hate each other a little bit less. So go on - get out there! Men, start spreading your seed. Women, start pump- ing out those babies. The end result will be a glorious thing, and the process of getting there will probably be pretty fun, too. I know Wilt would approve. -- Branden Sanz can be reached over e-mail at hammerhead a umich.edu. 01 S taff and students may have thought they were experiencing a precursor to Y2K when a glitch slowed some e-mail systems to a halt earlier this week. Several servers were backed up, causing panic and confusion for students and staff. The Information Technology Division says the problem has been rectified; yet questions relating to future stability of the e-mail net- work remain. E-mail has quickly become one of the most important and widely used communi- cations mediums at the University. This ubiquity forces us to regard disruptions of the service as something more than a mat- ter of inconvenience. A break in e-mail communication at this level is dangerous and ITD must have contingency plans that work. Things could have been a lot worse. ITD spokesperson Wanda Monroe told the Daily that data never stopped flowing and no messages were lost, with none of the servers actually crashing. The "unusual problem" centered on a specialized server which was scheduled for an update in accordance with ITD's Y2K preparedness strategies. A series of technical issues man- ifested themselves Sunday evening, requir- ing 24-hour work by ITD staff to remedy the problem and improve data flow. According to the ITD spokeswoman, since then several contingency plans and opti- mizations of the network have rendered it about 99.9 percent reliable. She also said we were lucky that no e-mail was lost in this incident. This presents a difficult scenario. It seems obvious that ITD has allocated time and resources to addressing the issues of network vulnerability, overcapacity and server error, yet the problems continue. ITD is quick to respond to incidents, but more should be done to prevent these errors from cropping up and affecting stu- dents. ITD must secure this medium if stu- dents, staff and faculty are to put continued faith in the viability of the network. Faculty use it to communicate on research projects, student groups use it to set meeting times, get assignments and chat with friends; staff uses it for any number of business-related purposes. Simply stated, the community also has become dependent on the medium as an important link to the rest of the world. A chain reaction of lost communication is a serious threat to all aspects of the University and should be addressed. Continued disruption is not a part of every- one else's contingency plan, but maybe it should be. As Y2K approaches, we should take a moment to assess our reliance on technology and realize that it may not always work as expected. We have little choice but to put our trust in ITD to find its own weaknesses. Most of the University community may have put too much faith in e-mail, but ultimately, it us up to ITD to assess the vulnerability of the technology they have implemented and better prepare themselves for potential problems. 0 T[HE OBESITY GENKi Dump the Shah Daily criticized Carter's policy on Iran W hen President Carter assumed office he vowed to doggedly attack viola- tions of human rights wherever they may occur. But throughout his alleged campaign against human rights violations, the President has been very selective about who he criticizes; he has denied the existence of political prisoners in the U.S.; although he has verbally denounced certain offenders of the United Nations code of human rights, many of his policies toward those countries have remained virtually unchanged. Perhaps most disconcerting, however, has been the president's whole-hearted sup- port of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran - a man who has overseen some of the most repugnant and methodological violations of human rights anywhere in the world. In the West, the Shah has generally been considered a democratic modernizer. For years he has been portrayed in the American press and by U.S. leaders as a reformer, popular among his people for distributing land to the poor, and capitalizing on Iran's huge oil reserves to create one of the most stable economies in the Mideast. The most pertinent facts about Iran, however, were never broadcast very loudly: the 60 percent illiteracy rate; the fact that three out of five rural families are either landless or nearly landless; there is only one doctor for about every 3,000 persons. Yet, Iran is one of the world's leading arms importers, second only to East Germany. And most of those arms come from the United States. It was generally said - and believed - that the arms were needed for Iran's exter- nal defense. But events over the past few months have shown that the arms were actu- ally needed for internal defense - to keep the shah in power. The Shah, who enjoys his current posi- tion as a result of an American CIA aided The '70s and '88s See page 12 for more stories overthrow of the constitutionally elected government in 1953, put Iran under military rule this week in order to restore some sem- blance of peace. The shah's opponents, who have been venting their frustration in the streets and have effectively shut down oper- ations in the oil industry, to a large extent are portrayed by the. Shah as religious reac- tionaries who want to return the country to a 14th Century mode of living by the Koran. While the Shah's opposition has a strong religious fiber, many forget the social egal- itarianism which is so much a part of the Islamic religion. Moreover, the National Front, comprised of many western-educated intellectuals, engineers, businesspersons and workers ask only for a return to a con- stitutional democracy. They all have one common goal, however, the end of dictator- ship by the shah. How often have we heard that the goal of U.S. foreign policy has been to make the "world safe for democracy." Clearly, no one can believe that the people of Iran now live in a democracy where the government works to the betterment of all. If we still believe in the basic principles of our foreign policy, we should no longer support the Shah. Eating disorders affect Americans of all shapes and sizes TO THE DAILY: Andy Zimmer wrote, in his letter ("Women need to fight social messages," 11/10/99), "if 'up to 80 percent' of women have some sort of eating disorder, why is America the most overweight nation in the world?" That is not an acceptable leap of logic. All eating disor- ders do not result in body shapes resem- bling "famine victims," as Zimmer put it. Anorexia Nervosa may, but plenty work in other ways. Studies show that those who suffer from bulimia (binging and purging) use it as a tool to maintain weight, not lose it. Other people only binge or overeat. They certainly don't get any thinner. It is relatively true to say that Americans don't know how to eat proper- ly. But it is not only sorority girls and model-types that suffer from eating disor- ders - they affect all shapes and sizes, men and women. DAVID GARCIA SCHOOL OF MUSIC JUNIOR Climate concerns are best addressed voluntarily TO THE DAILY: Unfortunately, one very important detail is missing from Michael Grass's story regarding climate change and the Global Climate Coalition ("OAC Wants 'U' to Divest," 10/29/99). The Global Climate Coalition has been highly effective in promoting a rea- soned, thoughtful and balanced policy approach to addressing concerns about the earth's climate. GCC strongly favor responsible action and, indeed, continues to make constructive proposals on climate issues. Rather than heating up the rhetoric, American business and industry will con- tinue to help lead the way by taking vol- untary actions to cost-effectively address concerns about the climate. Already we have documented progress in energy effi- ciency gains, new technologies and process improvements that have actually reduced or avoided greenhouse gas emis- sions. Given the number of economic, scien- tific and diplomatic uncertainties facing this difficult issue, a common sense, thoughtful response like the ongoing vol- untary approach -- is the most prudent course to follow. GLENN KELLY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GLOBAL CLIMATE COALITION Law helps worst rioters realign their ply carried along in the crowd. You state that "a person pursuing higher education desires to become a productive citizen." Surely you don't think someone tipping over a car and setting it on fire is raising the standard for productive citizenship. Some students attend college without having any academic discipline whatsoev- er. They fail their classes and are often expelled, or they voluntarily leave for a time to get their priorities in order. This law is no different. It basically says that if throwing furniture through windows is on one's priority list, then a little time off may help them reassess things. There is nothing wrong with that. The state is not "forbidding" anyone's educational pur- suits, only delaying them. College is a privilege as well as a right. There are thousands of people who want to attend a school like MSU who won't destroy the campus, and they deserve a spot in place of someone who does. The embarrassment caused by the riots affects all of us. There are people in this country who don't know that Michigan and Michigan State are actually different schools, and MSU's riots don't help that problem at all. It was a black eye for the entire state, and any law that keeps it from happening again is fine. The law is preemptive: it is warning potential violent rioters to prioritize, and if they can't, it gives them a little time off to do so. MATT PIZZEDAZ LSA SENIOR Police should ignore 'minor acts' TO THE DAILY: I am sure that in their dealings with the student population, most police offi- cers are sometimes disappointed withthe lack of respect they receive. These men risk their lives for the well-being of stu- dents, and often are not given proper respect. Largely, this is due to the increas- ing animosity between officers and stu- dents at this school. This is best shown by 1997's Ohio State football game, where many officers assaulted students and tear gassed a confused crowd in the name of the crowd's safety. Further, it is clear that this animosity still exists. shown by such small incidents and ignored the marshmallow. This rule should be applied to many incidents between officer and student, and could easily improve the relations between the two groups. MATTHEW LAPOINTE LSA SENIOR'0' Letter ignored legal precedents set by the Supreme Court TO THE DAILY: In Jodi-Marie Masley's letter to the Daily ("Integration is 'under siege' across the country," 11/5/99) she speaks of a "siege" against "a basic legal standard arising out of the nullification of the American version of apartheid" and pro- ceeds to give examples of the recent dis- mantling of certain desegregation plans. However, her letter does not explain the legal context in which these decisions where made, depriving the reader of the tools necessary to form their own opinion on her statements. I'm sure that as a stu- dent of jurisprudence Masley will agree that precedent is a key factor in legal decisions. Although I have my own opin- ions on her statements, I will devote this letter to giving my fellow readers the legal precedents to make their own deci- sions. First, the Brown v. Board of Education of 1954 decision did not directly call for any of the programs that were implement- ed and subsequently dismantled that ; Masley mentioned. The ruling of this case was simply that de jure segregation (seg- regation mandated by the law) was uncon- stitutional. These programs were created by the district courts as an attempt to rem- edy the damage done during the de jure segregation of the schools via such means as busing, quotas and redistricting. The constitutionality of the first and last was affirmed and the constitutionality of the middle was denied by the Supreme Court in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education in 1971. However, it was held in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg that "Neither school authorities nor dis- trict courts are constitutionally required to make year-by-year adjustments of the racial composition of student bodies once -This editorial originally ran in the Daily on Nov. 12, 1978. I