4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 6, 2000 ahle lC'rt i ttit ttil Attention activists: Radicalism frightens people off 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 ACHENBAUM Editorial Page Editor 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. A s if walking to class in the rain, at nine - (is that 0900 in the morning?), to fail a quiz, in a class I hate, after staying up until five studying for it, without downing any breakfast, and an entire day of classes ahead of me, and, I don't know, a hole in my sock, isn't bad enough, I see a 20 foot scaffold and surrounding fenceP has been erected in the middle of the Diag, displaying pictures of the Holocaust and° black lynchings beside pictures of miscarried and aborted fetuses. Could I have been more repulsed? No. David Could that have been Horn any more distracting? Hr No. Did I pass my :...... p..y quiz? Uh, no. It's all about not accepting responsibility for my failures, and I blame the extremist pro-lifers, the Genocide Awareness Project, for mine. I blame them for a lot more than my biolo- gy quiz though. I blame them for spurring an abortion debate on this campus that is not focussed on the appropriate issues. Their tac- tics were rash and inappropriate, and the sen- sationalism displayed on the Diag early last week did nothing but turn people - both pro-choice and pro-life - off. They didn't win any favor among the former group. The last thing pro-choicers want to see is what was on those posters, but people are not so simple as to be guilt-tripped into changing their mind on an issue as complicated as abortion. I'm not pro-life, but if I were I'd be frus- trated and disappointed with extremists like the G.A.P. in the Diag. There are plenty of valid, intelligent points on the side of pro- life, but none were being presented last week. Their radicalism frightens people off and makes what should be an intellectually and morally charged debate an emotional one. The greatest challenge our society has faced in determining a collective morality cannot be reduced to a guilt-trip. It requires sensibility and open-mindedness from both sides of the debate. As a Jew, I also have a beef with the Holo- caust = abortion argument. After a brief chat with one of the gentleman handing out litera- ture from behind the G.A.P. fence, I was able to discern the correlation that they see, mis- guided and offensive as it may be. Their argument is that just as the Holocaust was a period of genocide, courtesy of a culture that had no respect for human life you see where they're going. The images strewn across those fences and on the scaffold of blacks being lynched in the South could not have been more inappropriate. The worst thing that anyone involved in a debate like abortion can fail to do is to rec- ognize the merits of his or her opposition'se argument. Where one person sees an act as being fundamentally evil, the other does not, and both need to be respectful of that. The other issue I have a problem with is that something - anything - as large and overwhelming as that would be allowed in the Diag. Student groups like K-Grams or BAMN or IFC or whoever get, like, a booth. The Genocide Awareness Project is allowed to occupy the entire area of the Diag, whiche besides slowing foot traffic en route to class- es was a noisy and visually unappealing nui- sance - sound and sight pollution at its worst. I'm all about freedom of expression, but there is a medium that should have been reached that would have kept all parties rela- tively happy. That the G.A.P. need to rely on their size rather than the strength of their message is an indication that their message isn't at all worthwhile. Abortion is our great moral test. We are failing because of our failure to communi* cate thoughtfully, openly and maturely. Biology was my great academic test.I. failed it because what was going on in the 3 Diag last week was ridiculous and I have a tough time getting pictures of miscarried fetuses out of my mind. The next time I have an early test in Angell Hall, I'm avoiding the Diag and going around the side Oh, crap Nevermind. More scaffolding. - David Horn can be reached va e-mail at hornd Eeumich.edu DARE proven to be ineffective Some Metro Detroit schools are ditching Drug Awareness and Resistance Education (DARE). Why? Because DARE doesn't keep kids off drugs. Begun by officer Darryl Gates of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1983, the DARE program has expand- ed to thousands of schools in all 50 states. According to DARE's own fig- ures, it currently reaches more than 30 million mostl fifth-grade students annually. Indeed, in most communi- ties the DARE program is wildly pop- ular with police, students and parents alike. Even President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno have both spoken in sup- port of DARE. There's The centra one problem. DARE doesn't work. message Q While the program is almost certainly is inherent - effective in giving fifth-graders a posi- tive impression of police officers and offers some useful information about the nature of the drugs themselves, the central message of DARE, zero tolerance, is inherently flawed. In a variety of studies, none could prove that DARE successfully reduces drug use among its graduates. The Detroit News study corroborates a large body of evidence suggesting DARE has no impact on drug use. The largest of these studies, conducted jointly by the U.S. Justice Department and the pres- tigious Research Triangle Institute concluded that DARE appears to have "a limited to essentially nonexistent effect" on drug use. The program fails because of an inherently flawed message to kids. DARE teaches zero use - that any alcohol, drug or tobacco use leads to addiction. Scientists have suggested a variety of reasons why this policy Good Samaritan la W ould you ignore terrified pleas and watch a person being bru- tally knifed to death without trying to help? Its horrifying to imagine that people could be that apathetic to a crisis, but that's exactly what hap- pened just after 3 a.m. in Queens, New York City, on March 13, 1964. According to the police report, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was stabbed to death over a period of 35 minutes - with 38 people watching the cruelty. By the time a neighbor finally called the police - who arrived within two minutes - it was too late for Genovese who had died just inside the front door of a nearby apartment as she was trying to escape. What does this infamous case have to do with us in Ann Arbor? After all, the Kitty Genovese murder took place 30T years a o and hun- dreds of miles awa. bstandee Theissue has recent y s d leapt into the forefront behn of Michigan news Chang with a tragic murder q u-fx - strikinly similar to qUICK-iX t that ofGenovese. Kevin Heisinger was beaten to death in the restroom of a Kalamazoo bus station after attending orientation at the University's School of Social Work. Five people were within earshot of the attack and heard Heisinger's pleas for help but did not notify the authorities. One man found him unconscious and another saw Heisinger lying in a pool of blood. Both simply walked away. It took a nine-year-old boy to notify authori- ties at the terminal. In spite of the public outrage, no legal action was brought against the bystanders to the murder. Currently, there is no federal law requiring citi- zens to render aid, however a number of states have passed various forms of Good Samaritan laws that prosecu- tors can use to take action against witnesses who fail to report a serious assault. This debacle has prompted two i i fails, but some fault the simple fact that despite the program's best inten- tions, most students will inevitably experiment with drugs - either alco- hol, cigarettes or marijuana. Some argue that when this experimentation doesn't lead to the hopeless addiction portrayed by the DARE materials, the students disregard the entire message. Others have gone so far as to suggest that this blanket treatment of all drugs might actually increase drug use by de-emphasizing the more accurate portrayal of hard drugs, encouraging experimentation in a so-called boomerang effect. For its ineffectiveness, DARE con- sumes an impressive I amount of tax money. i Because it is funded )f DARE through a variety of sources and largely de- ly flawed centralized, it is impos- sible to determine exactly how much money goes into DARE pro grams nationwide. Glenn Levant, the DARE executive director, claims the program consumes more than $750 million per year from both public and private sources. Although coorations provide a large portion of DARE 's funding, tax- payers are ultimately providing much of its funding through federal pro- grams, such as the "Drug-Free Schools" program or the Safe and Drug Free School Act, local governments or through police departments. Should DARE be abolished? No. Programs that place uniformed police officers in schools and offer objective and realistic information about drugs have a positive, concrete effect. DARE should reassess its message as it has been proven to be ineffective and federal, state and local authorities should make an effort to spend tax dollars on effective programs. ed help tws wrong answer state legislators, Dale Shugars (R- Portage) and Jerry Vander Roest (R- Galesburg) to draft legislation that would require people witnessing someone gravely injured to immedi- ately call the police. This type of Good Samaritan law has already been passed in California and Minnesota. In fact, Michigan already has two "Good Samaritan" laws which grant immunity from civil damages to med- ical personnel at an emergency site and require certain professionals to report abuse or neglect of seniors or children. According to a report in the Kalamazoo Gazette, this new mea- sure is being introduced in Michigan because: "Senator Shugars was very upset at the lack of compassion to an individual who was being physically abused and ended up being mur- dered." Sof Althou the pub- lic and poiticians are swon1't understandably s'Paled at the ad byaIeisinger murder, d by creating a law to -%! coerce citizens into action isn't the answer The reason people often don't get involved in violent crimes that they witness is because of reasonable fears of being harmed themselves, a reac- tion that is result of basic human psy- chology that cannot be legislated away. As much as we may want peo- ple to jump to the aid of those in dan- ger, requiring people to behave contrary to their normal human instincts in dangerous situations is unwarranted and unlikely to be effec- tive in any case. At the trial of Winston Mosely, Kitty Genovese's killer, her sister Susan Wakeman said, "We don't blame the people who were there that night and might have heard her cry- ing. Only one person killed my sis- ter." And anyone in Heisinger's shoes would have wanted someone to get involved, but legislating behavior will not be effective and is not the answer. Daily was right about presidential debate TO THE DAILY: I'd like to congratulate the Daily on its accurate coverage ("Candidates clash," 10/4/00) of the presidential debates. Although many of the Daily's articles are very one-sided, I thought this coverage was very unbiased. I have to admit I was slightly annoyed with Reid Wainess' letter ("Which presi- dential debate was the Daily watching?" 10/5/00) responding to the Daily's coverage of the debates. Obviously Wainess went into watching the debates just looking for things they could trash on Bush about. He chose to see only what he wanted to see. While I agree that Bush stumbled over his words a few times and that the "Mediscare" thing was pretty stupid, I also happen to think that Gore gave an equally, if not more immature presentation. Take for example the fact that Gore was constantly interrupt- ing the mediator for one more word and the plethora of audible sighs coming from Gore almost every time Bush spoke. Whether you favor Gore or you favor Bush, you have to admit that was very immature and rude. Another comment about Wainess' let- ter: Clearly Bush does not favor the rich. If Bush became president he would give everyone a tax break. Gore may have been correct in saying that 50 percent of the money from the tax break would go to the wealthiest one percent, but that is only because the wealthiest one percent pays 50 percent of the taxes. The fact is that under the Bush tax reform. 6 million families will no longer pay any federal income tax and no one will pay more than one third of their income in taxes. I'm not trying to say that either Bush's or Gore's tax reform is better than the other. I am simply just trying to clear a few things up. And I hope that any undecided voters out there will take the time to do their homework and to look at the facts with a completely unbiased approach. NATE LEE ENGINEERING SENIOR 'U' is not anti-Native American or racist TO THE DAILY: Regarding the Oct. 5th letter by Cameron Shultz ("Administration still giving privieges to Michigamua"): How is this campus so anti- Native American? How is this move promot- ing any kind of oppression? I am yet to see anyone crusading against Native Americans or protesting their presence on campus. Shultz talks about privileges afforded Michigamua, but what about those given to the Students of Color Coalition? Where else can you have the privilege to break into someone else's office, steal their possessions and not be arrested? Yes, the objects were Native American. But can an Egyptian steal your beer because his ancestors had it before you? Can Amish peo- ple steal antique desks because it looks like their own? Doesn't make sense, does it? Secondly, have you looked at where this "elite campus space" is? Beside the railroad on this campus and you'll find that they're not the racists you thing they are. BEN BAJCZ ENGINEERING SENIOR Slain students not connected to 'U' TO THE DAILY: I would like to clarify two points made in Thursday's article ("Congress confronts study abroad safety," 105 00) discussing Wednes- day's House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on study abroad safety. The Daily, in referring to the tragic murders earlier this year of two young women in Costa Rica, identifies one of them, Emily Howell. as "a study abroad student through Antioch College." In fact, Howell was no longer affiliated with the Anti- och program at the time of her death, having chosen to stay on independently in Costa Rica. The Daily identifies the other student, Emily Eagen, as "connected to the University because she was a non-degree student." In fact, my comment to the Daily, when asked about the reaction to Eagen's murder, was that "some people mistakenly connected her to the University because she was from Ann Arbor." These are minor corrections to an otherwise useful report on the various efforts of universi- ty and government officials to ensure the well- being of students attending overseas programs, and do nothing to lessen the horror and sad- ness we all have felt over the slayings. JORDAN POLLACK ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS Sanz's column was 'sans facts' TO THE DAILY: As a resident of the puritanically "simple place" of Whitmore Lake, I take great exception to the comments made by Branden Sanz in his column, "Witches and warlocks? Ban this, biyaaatch!" (10/4/00) with regard to our school book banning situation. Sanz stated that the good citizens of this commu- nity took steps to have the books "Of Mice and Men" and the Harry Potter series banned. But according to Glenn Bachmann, the superintendent of schools here in Whitmore Lake (whom I spoke with yesterday), the good citizens is one citizen, one parent, who objects to these particular books. The school not only carries the books referenced by Sanz in the libraries, but also teaches the Steinbeck classic "Of Mice and Men" as a part of the curriculum. As a matter of fact, I DANE BARNES the district has a committee designed specifi- cally to address parental concerns over edu- cational materials used in the district. So I have two questions to ask: Who is Sanz's editor and why didn't they check the facts? And can we look forward to next Wednesday's contribution by Sanz to be also "sans" facts? MARK PERREAULT@ COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING STAFF Details left out of outsourcing article TO THE DAILY: We were disappointed with the coverage in the Daily's Oct. 2nd article ("Outsourced@ jobs spark questions"). We feel that our objections to the University's actions were. not clearly related by the article, and Chris- tos Michalakis' letter to the editor ("SOLE protesters ignore middle class students' needs," 10/4/00) seems to be evidence of confusion directly related to this lack of clar- ity. In addition, the article omits the impor- tant fact that the union - the American Federation of State, County and Municipal0 Employees, Local 1583 - has undertaken a legal challenge to the University in this mat- ter - it is not simply an issue of SOLE find- ing the administration of University Hospital to be abstractly unfair or undermining work- ers' rights. This omission (the union was not even named) and the lack of a statement from the union's leaders or members leaves the Daily's readers with an incomplete pic- ture of this situation. The fact that new jobs were found for the workers displaced by Aramark is irrelevant from our point of view. The overall picture is what is important: Workers have beenr brought in to do essentially the same wok for less pay, benefits (worth thousands of dollars) and job security in spite of the Uni- versity's contract with AFSCME and repre- sents a reversal of over 30 years of precedent. Hospital administrators conterd that this extraordinary step was needed to reduce expenses, but documents obtained by Michael Dover through a Freedom of Infor* mation Act request cast serious doubt on this claim, as does a cursory look at the Hospi- tal's financial statements - a fact mentioned in the Daily's editorial from July 17th ("Not a temporary fix"). This is also an issue of basic fairness related to the question of what kind of socj- ety we want to live in: Why should cafeteria workers lose benefits and work for $2 anr hour less when hospital administrators receive annual raises of tens of thousands o dollars each? . SCOTT BURKHARDT SOLE MEMBER 'Your time is up. Go now. Don't wait until there has been more death and destruction.' - British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a statement to Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. 1/ M v 9 S7,L.RBED SL~EEP- { ,u:, 5 .v.. J '' f . i # .. . :: 4 ",,.7 2{ :. , :' . :x.s.:^'. . """wok"" {. z, wx< I C {, . Iib I it I