4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 21 1999 420 Maynard Street HEATHER KASIlN Ann Arbor. MI 48109 Editor in Chief daily letters@umich.edu° Edited and managed by JEFFREY KOsSEF[ students at the DAVID WALLACE University of Michigan Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majorit of the Dailv's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Dailv. A history of the world in 10 and a half crime notes Money matters MSA investigates possible wrongdoing L ast week's meeting of the Michigan Student Assembly unleashed yet another controversy surrounding. the assembly's internal workings. This time, the debate centers around the appearance of the statement "Run with the Defend Affirmative Action Party in the Michigan Student Assembly Elections - November" in an issue of the Activist Newsletter, a publication printed by the Summer Student Assembly. DAAP members have since apologized for printing the statement. MSA is debat- ing whether or not to form an committee to investigate any possible breach of ethics by the DAAP. The assembly must make an effort to seek out and deal with any possible wrongdoing, because such activities ultimately go against what MSA should stand for. In itself, the cause of supporting affir- mative action is a worthy one. A diverse student body is essential in making the University a place where students learn not only in classrooms, but from their peers. In California; where proposition 209 removed affirmative action from con- sideration in admissions, the populations of minority students showed dramatic declines in following years. Attacks launched against the University's admissions policies in the last two years make it clear that affirmative action is a cause that needs the support of students, faculty and administrators alike. The DAAP's commitment to diversity is admirable, but the statement appearing in the Activist Newsletter did not merely express support for affirmative action; rather, it was a campaign slogan. Regardless of the cause, campaign lit- erature is not an ethical use of MSA's funds. Members of MSA are elected to represent the student body: much of the assembly's funding comes from fees paid by each student as part of their tuition. For any part of the assembly to use MSA's - and therefore the students' - money to finance campaign resources constitutes a breach of ethics. After all, MSA represen- tatives should use MSA's money to serve the interests of the students who elected them, not to serve any one party or orga- nization. In addition, not only has the cause of affirmative action been extremely contro- versial, but many of the particular state- ments and positions of the DAAP are not supported by considerable numbers of MSA's constituents, even those who favor affirmative action. The alleged misconduct of the DAAP demonstrates a possible low level of integrity that should not be tolerated at the college level. The rightness of the DAAP's cause should not mitigate the conse- quences of its actions if the investigation yields evidence of wrongdoing. Student government representatives must hold to certain standards; no politician should use funding from their constituents to finance a campaign. And even though the reten- tion of affirmative action is an important cause, using MSA's resources as a soap- box for a specific party platform is a mis- guided, unethical action. Th other day I tound nyself sandig around the Daily with nothing to do. Vs often happens when the situation a'ises. I thought. 'Daxe. let's do s ome rummagiu.n Generally. I only do 1uch exploration when I'mi over at a friends house and said triend is in the bathroom. But; since pressing matters that day were the equi alent of in the bathroom. I had a look around. Now I know I have Vour cuIosItV piqued. You trust my in estiga- tive joturnaist s instincts. You're sax- ing, "Dave. give ne e David the dirt on the secrets Wallace you found. I want to know that the business staff sells ads at gun- point. I want to know which three stories are made up everyday. I need to know how much to write the check for so the photos don't run." Well. I don't have any of those answers. I spent hours without finding one opportunity for blackmail. so I 'm dropping journalism and trying out with the CIA. But enough of this: there is one interesting piece of information. The Daily is old. Not just the "one hundred eight years of editorial freedom" old. Really old. Forgotten-about old. I was in the basement leaning against the wall reading some old Dailys when the bricks gave way beneath my shoulder. I fell into some long walled-up catacombs beneath the Student Publications Building. After tripping over Fortunato's remains. I discovered volume after volume of Dailys stretching back until they met time on the horizon. Looking through them, a lot changed over the eons. But I was shocked to see that one part of the paper has always been around: crime notes. What follows are some choice cuts. Thieving couple thrown out of garden \ naked man and woman were reported stealine tfait t'rom a garden n which the. were lip ML at about 3 pm. Frida\ atiernoon. Dlepartmient of Public Sa'et \ re port indica te the )arden's O ner sOOnl disco ered the pair and escorted them fiom the premises. The Owner declined to press charges. sa ing he would handle the matter internallx. Man dies at Greek-sponsored event DPS officers responded to a call late ye- terdax evening that a 70-year-old philosoph. instructor passed out after drinking a lethal amount of hemlock. Witnesses insisted the man. who previously had been convicted of corrupting youth and religious heresy. drank the hemlock intending to kill himself. despite the onlookers' attempts to dissuade him. 1 he witnesses were questioned and released. * Elephants loosed on countryside A North' African man led an army of men and elephants through the Roman country- side. sacking much of it. According to DPS reports. the man gained access through an open passageway in the Alps. Once inside, he cunningly outwitted attempts to stop him. DPS handed the investigation ox er to Roman authorities. The man remains at large. Teenage radical captured A teenager instrumental in the restoration of the French crown was taken into custody yesterday. English allies turned the young woman over to DPS officers. reports say. She was charged with witchcraft, heresy and wearing men's clothes. DPS officials said she would be burned at the stake. * Priest vandalizes church door A priest in Wittenberg defaced a church door early Thursday with 95 criticisms of the church's practices. He was not immediately taken into custody. DPS officers on the scene did not expect the protest to have any lasting effects, and said the investigation should result in a run-of-the-mill excommunication. U' Rowdy Boston youths make 24 million cups of tea DPS responded to a call Dec. 16 that about 150 men poorly disguised as Indians boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and dumped the East India (ompamn 's tea ox erboard. Alcohol ma haxe been inxolxed n Ithe stunt as DPS reports sax Sam Adams was found among the perpetrators. * French celebrt tound dead in bathtub Jean Paul \larat, a leader of the rex olution. was found dead earl,, lnda in his hath. Artist Jacques Louis David was called in to docu- ment the crime scene. At this time. CPS has no leads. * Mexicans resolve national debt DPS is in' estigating a scuflle between local Mexicans and an army of French debt collec- 0 tors. The in.lestigation is progressing slowly. as DPS was informed days after the event happened and cannot vet nail dow n an exact date for what has come to be known as "Cinco de Mayo." French authorities promised this would be their last embarrassing defeat for the next 150 years. 0 Iceberg flees scene of boating accident DPS officers responded to a call shortly before midnight on Apr. 14 that an iceberg collided with a ship in the North Atlantic. The iceberg fled the scene following the accident and remains at large. DPS is said to be wad- ing through three hours of material gathered on the incident. Republican denies wrongdoing DPS officers are investigating a possible connection between a break-in at a Washington hotel and government officials. Witnesses reported seeing a large five o'clock shadow in the area. A report was filed. And there we have it. I guess history is a long line of crimes that changed the world. Now here's a look at a crime note from the near future. * Columnist flogged in Dennison A 21-year-old was assaulted by an angry mob Tuesday evening. According to DPS reports. numerous history professors, Daily colleagues. friends of the writer and author Julian Barnes dealt the young man his come- uppance for insolence and impersonating a clever person. David Willace can he reached over e-mail at davidmrw ulf'ich.edu. A L0K BACK *I MATT WIMSATT a :_ Color TV? New network shows neglect minorities P roducers creating new fall shows seek an original premise, witty writ- ers, a talented, appealing cast and innova- tive directors. But one element they do not look for is talented minority actors to portray important characters. The enter- tainment industry is booming with movies and shows stressing realism and drama to viewers. But somewhere along the line Hollywood eliminated the idea of portraying positive minority lead charac- ters. Among the four major television net- works - ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC - there are 26 primetime shows premiering this fall. Not one features a Latino/a actor playing a lead role. Latino/as portrayed in shows typically have been limited to roles of criminals, gangsters, street smart, urban characters or immigrant farmers donning thick accents and traditional Mexican garb. In response, the leaders of 10 Latino/a organizations around the country, includ- ing the National Council of La Raza, a national Latino/a advocacy group, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, urged Latino/as to shut off their television sets for the week of September 12. Members of La Raza decided to stage the protest at their annual convention last July. The NAACP similarly introduced a boycott, responding to the lack of black characters on programs this fall. Already, some networks added minority characters to a few new shows. But including a token minority cast member - as has been Hollywood's practice - hardly achieves realism on television. According to La Raza, Latino/as make up 11 percent of the U.S. population but less than 2 percent of the characters on primetime television. They are the fasted growing sector of the United States, not to mention the majority of television- watchers. But segments of the entertain- ment industry are slow to catch up. The music industry currently brims with bi-lingual, mainstream Latino/a per- formers. Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, ' Shakira and Jennifer Lopez all enjoy strong media exposure. These artists are in demand and con- tributing to the country's pop-culture industry. Television should follow the music industry's lead and give Latino/a performers the opportunity to bring their talents to the larger American audience. Television shows set in diverse, urban cities portray a mere fraction of the minority populations they should to achieve realistic representations. NBC's hit show "Friends;" set in New York City, does not regularly feature a non-white character. Shows choosing not to portray Latino/as and other minorities holding jobs as doctors, lawyers, dentists, writers and more, fuel stereotypes. Such neglect and lack of representation is a form of racism in disguise. This boycott should not only raise con- sciousness about the lack of positive, realistic representations of Latino/as, but also raise awareness of the struggle for minority representation in general. Television shows claiming to portray people in realistic situations should take note of the country's diversity. It is simply unrealistic and insulting to portray any portion of America's towns and cities without including Latino/as. Further gun restrictions could not prevent tragedy TO THE DAILY: In a student-run newspaper such as the Daily, an unrealistic and ultra-liberal view- point is to be expected. Students of today and indeed. of all times. are blessed with an over abundance of idealism. Too bad as time goes by that this idealism all too often erodes to cynicism. What I cannot understand is the students of this University are among the smartest in the nation, if not the world. yet the student edi- tors of the Daily insist on proving that they enjoy exercising their idealism more than their realism. It seems that we have entered an age where journalists insist on presenting us with opinion while ignoring any and all "inconve- nient" facts. But. I digress. The reason for this letter is to question the contents of the 10th paragraph in the editorial entitled "Find the Real Cause" (9/16/99). This paragraph essentially asserts that the Columbine tragedy would not have happened if Congress would stand up to the National Rifle Association and make it more difficult to own guns. Now, perhaps I'm missing some- thing, but it is already against the law for minors to purchase or own any kind of rifle. pistol or shotgun. What. exactly, is this editor- ial trying to say? That my inalienable right to keep and to bear arms had something to do with the Columbine tragedy? What nonsense. Alas, this paragraph exposes the true intent of this article. Aimless, pointless, fact- less but trendy whining. Am I surprised? No, not at all - some of America's most notable journalists have paved the way. What needs to be done in this country is the enforcement of existent laws. Why not be up in arms over the fact that there is no enforcement of the exist- ing gun laws? What of the Brady laws? The Second Amendment most clearly states that, "a well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." I see no ambiguity in this simple sentence. Where's-the problem? The Daily is willing to support Dominick's in the case of a minor in possession of alcohol, but not my right to defend myself, my family and my property. Where are the Daily's prior- ities? I believe that underage drinking has killed far more people than children with weapons. DONALD WITKOWSKI UNIVERSITY STAFF Nuclear reactor's benefits outweigh dan gers TO THE DAILY: I think it is a shame that most environ- that research on the effects of radiation on human tissue and bone structure is being done. This research has given us new methods of treating and diagnosing cancer, and several other bone and ligament maladies. It is true that accidents such as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island were disastrous and cause, and continue to cause, "birth defects, cancers and death." What is our alternative? Coal? If one wants to speak of something causing millions of birth defects, incidents of cancer, deaths and pollution of water. air, soils and wildlife, we need to look to a more dan- gerous foe. Our current means of creating power are obscene! Nuclear power is an easy scapegoat for people who feel threatened by technology. What then is the solution to the problem of power? One cannot just complain about some- thing without coming up with a viable alter- native. Nuclear power is a viable alternative to coal. It is cleaner and more cost effective. There are many important issues that need consideration when dealing with nuclear power, but the fact remains that the benefits of the reactor are great. If I had the choice to live next to a nuclear reactor or a coal furnace, I would choose the nuclear reactor without hes- itation. It is important that one understands radiation before making such judgments. JOHN TROMBLEY ENGINEERING JUNIOR T-shirt degraded women TO THE DAILY: Normally, I am definitely not the type to knock things I do not know. Although I have never been a huge fan of the Greek system. I have not really had anything against it. I actu- ally know quite a few people in the system and consider them to be some absolutely wonder- ful people. How could a system that attracts Such great people be so terrible, right? Well, that question was answered on a walk home from the Michigan-Rice game. I noticed a few boys wearing the same shirt, so I took the time to read what it said; and absurd behavior that gives the greek sys- tem a bad name. What I also cannot believe is, that the head of the Greek system was unaware of this T-shirt. The message they are sending: hell with bettering society, let's con- tribute to its destruction. To the silly boys who were so proudly showing off their lack of intelligence and tact: use the University as a attempt to educate yourselves. To the editors, hopefully your position in the media will bring to light the fact that the number of young females affected by eating disorders will not decrease if males continueW to be narrow-minded and superficial about the way women "should" be. The fact that these boys were part of the greek system reflects its crooked values and is indicative of its shameless behavior. Their behavior should cause potential members of the greek system to question whether or not it is worthy to be a part of this system. CHRISTINA KHOURY LSA SENIOR SIMI DHAWAN LSA SENIOR WCBN plays to all musical interests TO THE DAILY: This letter is in response to the attack onV WCBN ("U' radiostation needs complete makeover,"9/15/99). If you listen to WCBN for more than five minutes, you'll quickly see that it plays every kind of music known to man. Mike Kegler's statement that they only play "obscure jazz, rockabilly and God knows what else" is absurd. In fact, their "Jazz til noon" program plays mostly jazz that is very well known. The "Go cat Go, the rockabilly show" is one of many programs, and it only airs once per week for an hour. One can hear all kinds of indie rock on "Radio ping pong," and listen to your favorite old country and folk tunes on "the down home show." You can also hear anything else you wish. The programming is tremen- JC 9