4'- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 6, 2000 Uwe 3icigw ai 9g 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich. edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan MIKE SPAHN Editor in Chief EMILY ACIIENBAUM Editorial Page Editor 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. More athletes should be graduating Safety or freedom? 'm glad I live in a country where some- one can drink themselves to death on their 21st birthday. Now, take just a second to review that sentence and evaluate. Go on --- probe it, dissect it, interpret it and read between the lines. What did you_ come up with? The tragic death of Engineering sopho- more Byung Soo Kim last month onlyi served to further illu- minate the presence of a problem that. exists throughout col- lege campuses across the nation. Young people are drinking Branden too much too often and something must Sanz be done about it. g That, at least, seems to be the common Y perception. I'm sure that within the next few months the county, the state and perhaps even the University officials will all sit down and pick each other's brains. They will ask themselves, "How did this happen?" More importantly, they will ask, "How do we stop it from hap- pening again?" So what will they do? My guess is they quickly pass a bevy of new laws that will be as equally ineffective as the ones we have in place right now. Why not? It gives the bureaucrats something to do to prove how invaluable they are to the well-being of cat- tle like you and I that can't think for our- selves. In addition, it gives the police more tickets to write which will produce for rev- enue for the government. I mean, it's not like the cops are really busy or anything right now, you know. What I am referring to here is the ram- pant confusion among Americans that pro- vides fuel for the legislative juggernaut our You can't have both government has become. Are we pro-free- dom? Sure we are. We believe in freedom of the press. We believe in a woman's right to choose whether to abort or not to abort. We believe that people who are 18 and can vote or go to war should be able do drink alcohol or dance nude if they want to. Why? Well, because they are adults and should be able to make their own choices. Duh! But what happens to "freedom" when it's value is placed against something equally intangible? What about safety? We can eas- ily say that it's not "safe" for 18 year-olds to drink alcohol or that abortion is not a "safe" practice. We can equally say that it is not "safe" for people aged 18-20 to dance in the buff or for people to own handguns. Wait a second here! Didn't we just say that we were adults and we should be able to make our own choices? I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that drank before their 21st birthday without ever seeing any ill effects. I am also positive that there are plenty of good, honest, hardworking women that have used exotic dancing as a means to pay their way through school or to support their child after that shitbag of a husband walked out on them. And I am equally cer- tain that there are plenty of people out there that own handguns that are responsible owners and will never shoot their neighbor in a quarrel over a parking space or care- lessly leave their gun out so their elemen- tary-school children can have an accident which makes front-page headlines across the nation. So where do we draw the line between freedom and safety? That, my friends, is the question that has mystified governments and citizens alike since we emerged from the "Divine-will" age of emperors and god- kings. It is not a simple question of choosing between anarchy and totalitarianism. Obvi- ously, we Americans believe we must have some freedom - hence the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But we obviously believe we must have some safety as well - hence the concept of "laws" and the cre- ation of a police force. But the problem lies with the fact that the two things mix like a Star Trek convention and a Sigma Kappa date party. They are mutually exclusive in that, if you desire more freedom, you must. be prepared to give up some safety and visa-versa. So ask yourselves this: Would you like to live in an Old West-type anything goes atmosphere where you have legal drugs,O legal alcohol, legal abortions, legal hand- guns and pretty much legal everything else? Or would you rather live in a Big Brother- type environment with no drugs, no alcohol,. no tobacco, no firearms, no abortion, no pornography and cameras watching your every move to insure that you go to work, go shopping and go home without violating. the law like the proper mindless automaton that you are? I don't know about you, but I'll take the former any day and twice on Sunday. Free-@ dom has it's price, to be sure. We are legal- ly allowed to ingest chemicals that can kill us. That freedom of speech we treasure allows people like the KKK to spread their ignorant vitriol as well. Sometimes we don't feel safe walking the street. We are told that such things as automobiles, firearms and alcohol can kill us if we don't respect them, yet still, some of us refuse to give these things the respect they are due.@ And some of us will die as a result. Sad and tragic? Yes, but it's Darwinism at it's finest. So stop and think next time you propose to "Ban _ " Once we ban-______,what's next? Where does it end? Doesn't it feel good ti live some place that permits it's citizens the freedom of something so offensive others feel they need a law to get rid of it? I sure- do. Last week, the National Collegiate Athletic Association published a report that slam-dunked the University's graduation rates for athletes. Of the ntale basketball players who enrolled from the fall of 1990 to the fall of 1993, only 17 percent graduated within six fears; of the football players who were &Erolled over the same period, only 41 percent graduated. Overall, the gradua- tion rate for athletes was 68 percent compared to Many ath 83 percent university- have cho wide. While the graduation reason, I rate for male basketball track tot players leaves much to be desired, many of different these athletes have cho-s sen, with reason, to fol- low a track totally Universit different from most stu- dents at the University. Imagine you are a basketball star and recruiter offers you a contract for a few million dollars. Unless you have the intellectual perse- verance of the old Greek philosophers, you'll take the money and pursue your life-long love. And with rare excep- tions, you will never return to complete your degree. For these students, the University should develop a long-distance learning program. Duke University has created such a program for athletes and their basketball team stands as a monument to the unity of athletics and academics. Besides leaving for the pros, many athletes transfer to other schools in order to increase their playing time. h1 'C to This problem presents many more diffi- culties than the matter of players enter- ing the draft, because, according to University associate athletic director Warde Manuel, it reflects a highly focused culture within college basket- ball: If an incipient basketball star thinks he can catch a scout's eye on another team, he'll transfer. To combat this problem, the Athletic Department should letesestablish some screen- len, with ing process to ensure that athletes who D fOllOW a come to the University intend to graduate from the University. from mOSt Although some sports at the serve as career spring- boards, the University . is an academic institu- tion first. The Athletic Department should make athletes' aca- demic experience as rewarding as possi- ble. The athletic program already provides an array of support services to help athletes with their academic pur- suits: Manuel oversees the Academic Success Program for athletes and Ath- letic Director Bill Martin is pushing to build an academic support facility. The University's 68 percent overall graduation rate for athletes is well over the NCAA graduation rate of 56 per- cent. While other schools might be comfortable with meeting the NCAA rate, the University has an academic reputation to maintain and defend. The Athletic Department is wise in setting goals for improvement. Branden San- can be reached via e mail at hamrheadWumich.edu, 'I 'Every once in a while someone asks me, 'Doesn't this. degrade you?' It degrades me no more than it does these men who are here.' - Eastern Michigan University student and Deja Vu dancer 'Sabrina.' commenting on career-related self-esteem. S" A dre a0 m not realized Desegregation initiatives are still needed Nearly 40 years after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s plea for equality in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va. still feels as if segregation is a rele- vant issue in the South. On November 30, the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals overturned a lower court rul- ing that would have ended three decades of court ordered desegregation in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district in North Carolina. In doing so, the court is alleging that without its intervention schools will return to their pre-civil rights movement racial makeup. Since 1969, the Charlotte-Mecklen- burg school district has been ordered to bus children to schools outside of their neighborhoods in order to achieve a racial balance. Last year, U.S. District Jqdge Robert B. Potter ruled that the school district had achieved this balance and that it was unnecessary to continue with the court ordered bussing. Yet, in a 2-1 ruling, the 4th Circuit held that racial imbalance still exists in school locations, transportation policies and student achievement levels. It is this last catego- ry that especially needs to be alleviated. This practice of de facto segregation has suppressed blacks and kept many from achieving the same success as whites. Schools in black neighborhoods are often of lower quality than schools in white areas and do not give students the proper preparation they would need for either college or a high-paying job out of high school. It is unfortunate that at the dawn of a new millennium, a court still feels the necessity to enforce desegregation laws in schools. Yet, based upon the backlash toward this ruling by several white par- ents, it is clear that our society is still resistant to genuine racial equality. These parents complain that their children are bussed to poorer schools that are in predominately black neigh- borhoods. Yet, if race were no longer used as a factor in assigning schools, about half the children in the district would end up in single-race schools. Sta- tistics show that blacks have a lower graduation rate and thus fewer go on to receive a higher education. Perhaps if the district would create a more uniform standard for their schools, children would all receive the same quality of education. This ruling is a victory for black Americans, as well as the children who attend schools in this area. Diversity is a necessary part of education. Children should not be isolated from other races. Racism is a learned trait that can be avoided through education and desegre- gated socialization. There is no valida- tion for white parents to claim that their children deserve a better education than black children. Besides, this segregation could never substitute for the tolerance and understanding that children gain through diversity. Bussing is not the ideal answer. Ideal- ly, neighborhoods would be racially mixed and schools would be equal in quality. In 1963, King dreamt of a world in which people are not judged by the color of their skin, in 2000 it seems as if this dream has yet to be fully realized. It an 18 year-old can strip, then an 18 year- old can drink To THE DAILY: Bravo to the Daily for its editorial "Not the state's place" (12/4/00). The Daily is damn right it's not the state's place to tell people what they can and cannot do once they are legally adults! I propose that the Daily write another editor- ial. The drinking age should be 18, not 21! How dare the government not let us drink once we are legally adults! They let us smoke at 18! Why not drink?! "A person becomes the sole proprietor of his or her body when he or she becomes an adult." Well then every 18 year old adult should have the right to fill their bodies with alcohol! Do you sense any sarcasm here? JOHN KORSAKAS RACKHAM Taxpayers should not have to subsidize student loans TO THE DAILY: We shouldn't deceive ourselves into think- ing that the federal student loan program is as high-minded as the Daily suggests. In insisting the federal government is justified in using tax- payer dollars to take over the student loan mar- ket, the Daily's Dec. 5 editorial ("Bank robbery") regarding commercial banks' law- suits against the Department of Education suf- fers from two critical oversights. First, the continued insistence of the Depart- ment of Education to offer loans to bad credit risks at below-market rates may serve the self- interest of the legions of students who take advantage of them, but that doesn't justify the intervention of the federal government into the commercial lending market. The bottom line is that the federal government doesn't belong in that business. It's using the power of taxpayer- subsidized lending to carve out a niche in a business where it doesn't have to play by the same rules as its competitors. When companies do that, we excoriate them, rightly, for abusing their market position to the detriment of consumers. When govern- ment does it, we should excoriate them for that same abuse. The federal government is crafting a loan enterprise using taxpayer dollars to subsi- dize its attempt to grab market share. Student loans are an important part of our educational system. Second, the federal student loan program constitutes one of the single largest wealth transfers from poorer taxpayers to students from middle income families. -While a sizable portion of middle-income students go to college with the aid of the student loan program, far fewer the federal government, especially when our degrees are financed by the labors of working class taxpayers who didn't have that- same opportunity. It's our responsibility to shoulder the burden of paying for our own educations, even if that requires paying a fair market rate, rather than asking the less fortunate to do so on our behalf. PETER BALDWIN BUSINESS SCHOOL Attacks on the living wage should cease To THE DAILY: The Daily's editorial board should receive great praise for articulating its support for work- ers who would benefit from local living wage resolutions across the state of Michigan ("War over wages," 12/4/00). People often confuse the concept of a "minimum wage" law and a "liv- ing wage" law. The former is a floor at or above which all employers must pay all employees in the area of jurisdiction. The latter is a floor that applies (in most cases) only to the workers employed through city contracts and/or the city's public services itself. Dozens of cities and counties across the nation including Baltimore, Los Angeles and Detroit have passed living wage resolutions that require all city contractors to pay their workers a non-poverty wage. A "living wage" always reflects a careful analysis of the cost of living and in virtually all cases the implementation of a living wage reso- lution has not significantly increased the budget of the aforementioned cities. Proponents call it a "living wage," but really it means that anyone employed via city contracts will not receive less than a non-poverty wage - in Ann Arbor that would be $&00 plus health care or $10.00 with- out health care. The concept of the living wage resolution and the living wage movement is that our public institutions, including public univer- sities, should not pay their workers a poverty wage, either directly or indirectly. Despite an unprecedented peacetime economic expansion in the 1990s, there are still 35 million Ameri- cans living in poverty and the number of work- ing poor has continued to grow. The real value or purchasing power of the federal minimum wage has fallen more than 31 percent since 1968. While some states such as California have raised their state minimum wages above the federal level, most states have chosen not to mandate livable wages. The Republican-dominated Michigan state House recently voted to usurp the power of "minimum wage" setting from local authorities. This decision is troubling because it steals the authority of municipalities to decide what'type of jobs its city should promote - poverty or non-poverty jobs. The law not only sets a bad precedent for taking away local authority over local issues, it also contradicts the status quo of the current federal and state system where states are allowed to set their own minimum wages above the federally mandated level. While the" law conceptually and in effect will limit the*- minimum wage setting behavior of local gov- ernments, attorneys from the Ann Arbor Living Wage Coalition have articulated that legally "living wage" resolutions might not be affected by the State House's legislation. However, even if the legislation does not preclude living wage resolutions, the Republicans in this state are* clearly attacking the women and men who work hard for the cities and counties across the state, from administrative assistants to janitors. Stu- dents Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality will continue to work with local and national coalitions to promote the rights of all workers, including a living wage or workers' basic needs. SOLE invites students to join us in standing in coalition with workers, labor and religious organizations to promote workers' rights and stop this systematic attack on Michi- gan workers and citizens. PETER ROMER-FRIEDMAN RC SENIOR ANN ARBOR LIVING WAGE COALITION' THINK YOU'D MAKE A GOOD COLUMNIST? DOES THE 'U' COMMUNITY NEED TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY? LEARN WHAT DESTINY MAY HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU. E-MAIL MIKE AT mgrass@umich.edu OR NICK AT nwoonier@umich.edu FOR INFO ON HOW TO APPLY. r CHIP CULLEN GRINDING THEi [B kh4e H oliday Th F IfMI, sea5Ofl.' - A. f,... LII(, IV ~1 ~AWO I I I