4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 27, 2000
~e irbctlan D IUti
A big Spam sandwich (hold the mustard please)
0
.. .. ,, .
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
dailyletters@umich.edu
i
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinio
the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and c
necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan 1
MIKE SPAHN
Editor in Chief
diLY ACHENBAUM
torial Page Editor
n of the majority of
cartoons do not
Daily.
FROM THE DAIL
Taking the powerbc
The Board of Regents needs a student seat
A n issue that has been discussed direct representation on the board,
on campus for some time may especially considering that some of
come under discussion again with the regents have not always had a
this year's regental election. connection to the University prior to
This November, the names of two their election. A student regent would
University students, LSA senior Scott certainly be more in tune with the
Trudeau and University of Michigan concerns of the student body.
at Flint student Nick Waun, will be One argument that has been
on the ballot for the bbrought up against
University Board of MSA's influence at having a student
Re ents, Green and regent is that it
Re form Party tickets the highest levels would be a conflict
respectively, of interest.
This is definitely an of the Univesityi s After all, Univer-
admirable e ftort, sit y faculty are not
despite the barriers t debatable. allowed to servenon
being elected that any the board. However,
student running for a Students need a their situation is
position as a member slightly different
of a third party may direct stake in the from that of stu-
encounter. In fact, the dents. For one thing,
Michigan Student board. faculty is paid by the
Assembly has been University, whereas
working to add a student regent to the students are not. Also, the faculty has
board for a long time, but to no avail. other avenues of influencing the run-
These two campaigns highlight ning of the University, while the stu-
the need for a student regent as a per- dent body is limited to MSA.
manent position on the board. While Although it is responsible for
it is possible for students to run for many positive actions, the Michigan
the position under the current sys- Student Assembly's influence at the
tem, the cost and effort of the elec- highest levels of the University is
tion process makes it particularly debatable.
difficult for them to do so, to say The establishment of a student
nothing of being elected while run- regent would give the student body a
ning against people who are more direct line to the board in a way that
ex erienced. And since the concerns MSA cannot provide.
of students are inseparably linked Even without a student regent, it
with the proceedings of the board, it is important that University students
is necessary for the students to have take an active interest in the proceed-
an official representative. ings of the regents - attending
The Board of Regents is ultimately meetings and making their voices
responsible for everything that hap- heard. Until the students have an
pens at the University. Consequently, official representative on the Board
their decisions affect the lives of stu-. of Regents, students must try to
dents most strongly. So it is a grave influence the board in the only ways
omission that the students have no they can.
Nap it up
'U' is right to 'wait and see' on Napster
Tt's not over 'till it's over - and Internet service where one can obtain
Napster is still technically legal, so and trade MP3's. Unless artists and
the University rightly decided not to record labels change their business
ban student use of the controversial models to suit emerging technologies,
Internet service last Friday. they are sure to lose profits. Even if
The University, as well as the Un- the courts eventually rule against
versity of California at Berkeley, Napster, there will be a host of other
have gone against the programs to fill fans'
grain, as many univer- Even if the courts demand for free (or
sities nationwide have at least very cheap)
bann thwestern Uni- entually rule music on demand.
bNnethwergramn e Many of these
versity is the most visi- against Napster, "ialternate Na sters"
ble institution to forbid i like Gnutel fa and
student use of the pro- there will be other Freenet are de-cen-
gram, due to band- tralized, meaning
width problems. But programs to fill that there is no one
because of the Univer- single site to sue or
sity's sophisticated fans' demand for any one individual or
technology system, group that could be
bandwidth is not an free music held liable for any
issue. profit losses.
The issue placed in Banning Napster
the University's hands was not one of now for reasons other than bandwidth
copyright law - that is for the overload would reflect poorly on the
courts. The University's decision University, especially if the courts
hinged upon allowing students to use later decide that the site may stay
Napster until the courts rule on its open.
legality. It is great to see the Univer- Putting up a firewall now would
sity not ump the gun and rule before probably be futile anyway, not to
an actual verdict is handed down. mention that banning students from a
Dr. Dre and Metallica lead artists site every other demographic of the
who feel that only paying customers population can reach would be utterly
should be able to listen to their songs. arbitrary.
Non-copyrighted material such as Until the controversial copyright
recordings of class lectures a ppears issues surrounding Napster are thor-
along side other material on Napster oughly settled in the courts, the Uni-
and other MP3 sites. Some artists versity should continue to let
cannot acknowledge that technology students access the service. Who
will inevitably change the face of knows which way will the courts will
music distribution and marketing. rule - best to enjoy Napster while
Napster is not the only site or we still have it.
S o there I was. It was Monday afternoon and
I was done with classes and already been to
the gym. I had about two hours to check my e-
mail and crank out my column so I could get
home, put on my bear-paw slippers, snuggle up
with my woobie and
enjoy a quiet evening of
watching the Colts and <
Jaguars battle it out on
Monday Night Football.
But it was not to be. I:
jumped on to Mulberry a
and bam! No, not
BAMN (which I also
find quite offensive) but
bam! I opened up my
in-box to find 141 mes-
sages, 97 of them new.
The unthinkable had Branden
happened. I had just SanZ
been Spammed.
Turns out some jack- (I Tpping the
ass from a particular (mem.
cell phone company
had sent out a mass e-
mail to a number of University students, myself
included. That would have been irritating
enough, but then I discovered that a number of
my fellow students (and some faculty) had
decided to respond and inform the sender that
they wished to be taken off the list. And
respond they did- to everyone.
So I had to sit there and go through all 97
responses, sorting the wheat from the chaff (by
the way, kudos to the English professor who
demonstrated his eloquence and poignant mas-
tery of the language with the phrase "take me
off the fitcking list!") in a process that was akin
to watching "Survivor' or masturbating with a
Brillo pad - slightly amusing but mostly
painful. There were a few voices of reason,
people telling other people to stop replying and
such, but most of the Spammers just plunged
on ahead like lemmings, sending out wave after
wave of messages titled "Take me off the list"
with nary a thought nor care. By the time I was
finished my whole train of thought about this
week's column, which was to be on banned
books or something similar, I was off track,
running late and feeling quite cantankerous.
Look, people. Unless you are a freshman
(excuse me - freshperson) you have no
excuse for this. There is a little prompt that
requires you to decide whether to respond to
all, or to the sender only. Contrary to popu-
lar belief, that prompt has a function beyond
netting some Silicon Valley techno-nerd bil-
lions of dollars. So, for the love of God -
use it! Please do not send me loads mes-
sages that not only do not pertain to me, but
that I find inane because I don't know the
sender, the recipient or the background of
the conversation.
Small-scale Spamming happens all to often,
usually right after someone sends out a mass e-
mail about a party. It seems there are always
five to ten people who have to reply to all with
either the quotidian "Remove me from the list,"
or with personal drivel that I could care less
about. Kristin, I don't care if you are bringing
Mike and Amy with you, or just Amy. Jennifer,
I could give a shit less whether you are going to
wear brown, ochre, sorrel, dun or sienna lip-
stick. And neither does anyone else on the list,
except for that single person you should have
replied to. Dumbass.
I'll admit that Spamming does have its place.
You want to get back at someone? Spam
away. The GSI who failed you? That O-So-
Smart bastard who keeps screwing up the
curve for everyone in Organic Chemistry? The
catty little bitch who stole your boyfriend? Feel
free to layeth the Spam down. Just leave me out
of it.
Spamming should be a cold and calculated
decision, never something done by accident -
much like running a marathon, skipping class
or eating a real Spam sandwich. I know people
who love nothing better than the taste of a fried
Spam sandwich, served with mustard and pep-
per on toasted rye (I think Zingerman's serves a
twelve-dollar version of this, although they call
it "organically-grown Spam" or "free-range
Spam" or something) but even those twisted
individuals have to be in a certain mind-set to
look at slab of gelatinous meat-product goo
and think "Yummy!"
On that note, the whole concept of Spam is
one I find rather intriguing and mysterious. I
realize the "-am" part comes from the fact that
it's supposed to taste like ham. And maybe in
some strange parallel universe it does. But
what about the "Sp-"? What the hell is that all
about? The word itself rolls off the tongue so
easily it has an almost mystic quality to it, to
the point that I find myself wanting to slip it
into conversation whenever possible.
We already use "Spam" as a verb, but what
about as a noun - in other than the obvious
sense? How about a musical group called
"Sam, the Spam, and the Fellows" or even
"The Spamstreet Boys?" A Japanese anime
cartoon titled "Spamball Z"? A new political
party: Spam - By Any Means Necessary!
You can even use it as an epithet: "What the
Spam are you doing?!" Sounds pretty vile,
doesn't it?
. In summation, Spam has plenty of things
going for it. To Spam, or not to Spam? That is
the question. Just leave my in-box out of it. Oh,
and hold the mustard please...
--Branden Sanz can be reached via e-mail
at hamrhead@umich.edu.
5 ,. ,5 taa.~u~
1I can't say I'm disappointed either way, but I was
expecting that there might be a little more violence in
the protest.'
- Rev. Jim Kusher of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, whose group helped to
bring the Genocide Awareness Project to the Diag.
0
uonTeaerate Tlag
can be offensive
To THE DAILY:
Before Frederick Dery ("Confederate flag
opponents need a history lesson," 9/25/00)
questions the Daily editorial staff's historical
acumen, he should be cautious in resorting to
the refrain that pro-Confederate flag individu-
als have sung for decades. Undoubtedly, the
Confederate flag represented and continues to
represent a general pride in one's region and
state that is not issue-specific as well as a
strong southern tradition is recognized and
respected by the rest of the United States. And
if there could have been another symbol to rep-
resent the less savory parts of the American
south's heritage, I would advocate the flying of
the Confederate flag this very day.
However, when Dery claims that the south
fought for "state's rights," the question that
must follow is, "a state's right to what?" A
reduction of export tariffs on southern agricul-
tural goods? Yes. The debatable right of a
group or state to secede from a larger one if it
so desires? Perhaps. Most palpably among all
Americans, the right to enslave another human
being for. at the very least, economic reasons?
Unfortunately. And so in the conflict over,
among others things, the issue of slavery, the
venerable symbol of the south was sullied by
the men and the ideals that fought under it.
I would not readily advocate the incrimina-
tion Confederate flag's display, as has been
done with another detestable symbol in Ger-
many, the swastika.
As the current debacle in the Diag reminds
us. our First Amendment rights are as strong as
ever. The swastika is over 3,000 years old and
was predominantly a symbol of sun, good luck,
and strength until its adoption by the Nazis in
1920. And yet few hesitate to upbraid anyone
who displays or promotes its display currently.
That is because we are able to weigh the good
associations of a symbol with the bad and
make our decision about how to consider it
accordingly. I would agree that many brave
Confederate men who fought in the Civil War
did not own slaves. However, I would contend
that while they weren't necessarily part of the
problem, they did nothing to stop it (if they
were opposed to slavery, as Dery seems to
imply) and thus should not be considered in the
discussion we are having.
To the majority of Americans, the Confed-
erate flag represents a pernicious regime that
forced men and women into bondage per its
own economic advantage. While we would do
well to eliminate all vestiges of such a shame-
ful time in our history, we can begin by con-
demning the use of the Confederate flag as a
present day symbol of American government.
COLIN SEALS
LSA SOPHOMORE
First Amendment
cannot be misused
TO THE DAILY:
Mike Spahn's column ("Abortion
activists display an intent to provoke, not
debate," 9/25/00) made the astute observa-
tion that the Center for Bioethical Reform's
display of aborted fetuses juxtaposed with
horrible images of genocide created an emo-
tional, knee-jerk response instead of true
debate. However, although Spahn acknowl-
edged the Center possesses a legal right to
conduct their activities, he incorrectly
labeled the center's actions a "gross display
of First Amendment rights."
The American Civil Liberties Union
believes there are no misuses of an individ-
ual's First Amendment rights. Every con-
ceivable conviction, idea and opinion must
be expressed, heard and considered for full
and robust debate to exist. No matter
grotesque, no matter how vile, no matter
how inappropriate, all speech must be toler-
ated.
Some students even expressed an interest
in shutting down the event. The University
cannot and should not regulate the content of
activities conducted in or around the Diag
area. The University's policy toward sched-
uled use of the University designated out-
door common areas explicitly states its
procedures and restrictions do not intend to
"impinge upon the rights of members of the
University community to express their
beliefs and voice their grievances." The poli-
cy also recognizes "expression of diverse
points of view is of the highest importance,
not only for those who espouse a cause or
position and then defend it, but also for
those who hear and pass judgement on that
defense."
There is no question the Diag represents
this University's quintessential "public
forum." which should afford it even more
protection from those seeking to stifle free
speech. If the Center for Bioethical Reform's
display stops because of prevailing public
opinion, it would create an atmosphere con-
ducive to shutting down other controversial
exhibits - including but not limited to the
infamous Hash Bash.
A situation like this presents a difficult
problem for the ACLU. Our passion for
defending the First Amendment clashes with
our interest in defending the reproductive
rights of woman. However, the Center for
Bioethical Reform's exhibit cannot change
the current precedent of the United States
Supreme Court. As U.S. Supreme Court Jus-
tice Harry Blackmun stated in Thornburgh ti
American College of Obstetricians & Gyne-
cologists (1986), "Few decisions are more
personal and intimate, more properly private,
or more basic to individual dignity and
autonomy, than a woman's decision whether
to end her pregnancy. A woman's right to
make that choice freely is fundamental."
JIM SECRETO
UNIVERSITY CHAPTER CO-PRESIDENT
Deadline reform in
LSA is underway
TO THE DAILY:
The arguments presented in the Daily's
editorial regarding the college of Literature,
Science and the Arts' Pass/Fail and Drop/Add
deadlines that support the extension of these
deadlines are both logical and justified ("Dead-
lines too early," 9/25/00). As the article noted,
students sometimes only attend three or four
classes before they have to decide whether to
drop the course or take it Pass/Fail. To give stu-
dents a few extra class days makes sense.
What the editorial fails to note is that this is
neither a new problem nor a problem that is not
being addressed. The LSA student government
took up the issue of Pass/Fail and Drop/Add
deadlines last year and conducted formal and
informal research into how widespread the
concern about the deadlines is among LSA stu-
dents, the administration's justification for the
current deadlines and what would be required
to extend those deadlines. We found that many
students do want to see the deadlines changed
- in one survey of LSA students, roughly 72
percent of respondents favored reforming the
current deadlines. Such a high percentage is
clearly a mandate for LSA's student govern-
ment and we plan to continue to push for
extended deadlines in the coming term.
While the editorial's advocacy for students
is commendable, it was irresponsible of the
Daily not to let LSA students know what action
is already being taken on the issue and what
they can do to help solve the problem. If you
are concerned about the Pass/Fail and
Drop/Add deadlines in LSA or any other acad-
emic issue, come to a meeting of LSA Student
Government (7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 2nd floor of
the LSA Building) and help make a difference.
GWEN ARNOLD
LSA STUDENT GOVERNMENT ACADEMIC
RELATIONS OFFICER
0
Daily editorial page
was not 'objective'
TO THE DAILY:
I am very disappointed in the manner in
which you conducted your newspaper in
regards to the pro-life demonstration put on by
the Center for Bioethical Reform.
You have only published pro-choice articles
that are void of facts. I thought that both sides
of the debate would be presented in the Daily
but I was wrong. I thought that good journal-
ism presented multiple, if not objective, articles
about the issues.
In particular, an article written by Editor in
Chief Mike Spahn ("Abortion activists display
an intent to provoke, not debate") and a politi-
cal cartoon by Dane Barnes that appeared in
the Sept. 25 edition are nothing more than pro-
choice propaganda. What ever happened to
editorial freedom and good journalism?
TIMOTHY STOUT
LSA SOPHOMORE
THO
IP1
wxip+a ~ t rw H ma' O o\\rur~c
I S E , ..71 5
MAS KULJURGIS T ENT2Y1-V.,Y SPEAKING
Darmn kteriet., c I
taa
afi
7G
-
.