4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 27, 2000
ite LI~rligutn 1ui4g
Why to stay up all
I t's Thursday, 3 a.m. In your time this col-
Iumn was due yesterday, Thursday, at 2
p.m. In your time it is Friday. I am sleep-
ing. I wrote a column entitled "Why to stay
up all night," but I can't read it yet because
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
EAMILY 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.
I didn't write it yet. Fc
poses, I am talking in
my sleep.
The vampires have
gotten it all wrong.
Being nocturnal has
nothing to do with
renouncing God or
sucking blood. In
fact, there are some
very bizarre people
that will accuse you
of just those crimes,
at high noon, walking
through the Diag.
They taunt with
bright Bible citations
and megaphones.
Avoid these people.
One way to do this is
to stay up all night.
darkness you will not1
all intents and pur-
night
Arbor's premiere restaurant before dawn.
It's inside a trailer that probably tore off the
moon and, after a slight hot disintegration
through the frosting of our atmosphere,
slammed its glowing orange self into the
concrete bedrock of Ashley Street. The
Fleetwood has ever since stood petrified as
an insomniac's haven. They serve good
omelets and coffee, and you can smoke
there - the waitresses smoke there. It's a
great place to write a paper or talk with
friends as you make that final push toward
morning.
Some people may view it a serious detri-
ment of late night that the social fabric
seems to lose its thread. Cliques, posses
and clubs all dispense of their titles as their
individual members disperse among the
city's beds, the communal umbilical cord
temporarily cut. So, excusing parties, most
of the pleasures that nighttime has to offer
are intimate-often isolated - experiences.
Solitude shouldn't scare us, though. At its
best it should make us appreciate the peo-
ple about whom we care.
The value of staying up all night is not to
be found exclusively in the activities you
choose. Nighttime puts limitations on the
places we can go and the people we can
see. Everything is closed and everyone is
asleep. So staying up demands that we
value time differently, or at least as some-
thing that is different from daytime.
So how is it that we assign value to day-
time? It seems to me that we measure in
efficiency, and in the regular highs we*
receive from interactions with other people.
I've got no gripes with that way of doing
things. But when it comes to staying up all
night we are wrestling with a whole new
animal. A darker one. One that doesn't
really know how to tell time and all of
whose friends are on indefinitely long
vacations.
In a way it seems that nighttime demands
an inactivity that will offset the activity of
the day. But you don't need to sleep to be
inactive. You'll notice that if you take a
very long walk, eventually your mind will
kind of empty itself and your steps start to
become smooth and mechanical, as if you
are walking on a conveyer belt. At that
point you really aren't doing anything, so
far as your mind is concerned. You're just
walkin' and the night air is brisk (or maybe
palm tree and ocean salty balmy) and all
the shop window glass shows unlit mer-
chandise that reflects nothing so much as.
the dark.
Why should you stay up all night?
Because maybe when you're turning the
30th corner, preparing to walk up a street
you had never noticed before. you bump
into an old friend and you both smile
knowing how strange it is that you should.
meet here, in this remote corner of town:
now, at this hour of night. And so you go to
the Fleetwood for a cup of coffee.'w
- Patrick Kilev can reached via e-mait
at pkiley@ umich.edu:
Problem needs more attention from all
Patrick
Kiley
1 aki <g ina
my Sleep
Under the cover of
be persecuted on the
While statistics do show that stu-
dent suicides are most likely to
occur around midterms and finals, this
serious and overlooked issue is not
seasonal. At a large, often impersonal
University, it is not hard for people to
slip away from their
classes and friends and suid
into depression. The
third leading cause
among young peopleThNaial'
aged 15-24, suicide TheNational
killed more teenagers
and young adults in
1996 than cancer, heart Nation
disease, AIDS, birth Network:
defects, stroke, pneu-
monia and influenza, Ar
and chronic lung dis- Ozone House
ease combined. Service: {
Experts say the
propagation of certain University o
myths surrounding sui- Center:
cide only helps add to
the problem. One of the most serious
misconceptions is that people who talk
about suicide will not o it. This is not
true! Almost everyone who commits or
attempts suicide has given some clue
or warning. Do not ignore suicide
threats. Statements like "you'll be
sorry when I'm dead," "I can't see any
way out," - no matter how casually or
jokingly said, may indicate serious sui-
cidal feelings.
Another common untruth is that
once a person makes up his mind to
kill himself, nothing can stop him.
Even the most severely depressed per-
son has mixed feelings about death,
10-9
iI
Inc
Y1i
wavering until the very last moment
between wanting to live and wanting to
die. Most suicidal people do not want
death; they want the pain to stop. The
impulse to end it all, however over-
powering, does not last forever.
Perhaps one rea-
eventionson the University
rnation does not acknowl-
edge the pressures
ati rii Hl iron students is
th Crisis Hepline because they fear
199-9999 talking about sui-
cide may give
Hope Line someone the idea.
800-SUICIDE On the contrary,
openly discussing
Aibor: the subject can only
E. Youth & Family help raise awareness
34)662-2222 of warning signs
and thus increase
eIichigan Health prevention efforts.
1) 936-5944 Practical advice
for students
Diag. You will more likely encounter a
homeless person there, who will agree with
everything-you say so long as you jingle
your pockets. Tell him you think God is
dumb and he will testify.
I now suggest that you drag your unholy
soul to the Fleetwood Diner. Most people
already know it, but the Fleetwood is Ann
'It's scary to be on the same side as John Engler.'
-- Chris Kolb, Democratic 53rd District State House candidate,
on his and Gov. John Engler's opposition to Proposal1,
includes listening for remarks their
peers make about suicide, even if they
are done in passing. Caught up in aca-
demic matters and their own personal
troubles, students often fail to notice
when someone around them is suffer-
ing. Simply exhibiting concern for a
pal can be like throwing a lifeline to a
drowning friend.
Just remember, then, that though
suicide may seem like a permanent
solution to a temporar problem to
most, people overwhe med by that
temporary concern exist. Perhaps one
of them talks to you every day. And
maybe you just need to listen up.
Costly care
Students with children need more help
Few experiences are as challenging as
being a parent and few experiences
are as challenging as being a college stu-
dent. Besides the pressure inherent in
being a student parent, many are forced
to deal with the added bur en a paying
for increasingly expensive child care.
The University currently offers students
ychild care through several centers at a
competitive rates. How-
ever, like most services Child Car
m Ann Arbor, even com-
petitive prices in child necessit
care place a great burden"
-on students with chil-fami
dren. The average Uni- fm le
versi hydirected monthly the care
c ost has increased I7
percent over the past two full-time
years while the Con-_'_" _
sumer Price Index
denotes average prices as increasing only
5.1 percent during the past two years and
Ann Arbor wages only increasing 5.6
: percent in the service sector, where most
"- students are employed. A significant gap
is emerging between growth in family
A income compared to the price for an
essential service.
Child care is a necessity for families
in which the caregiver or all caregivers
are employed full time and full time stu-
dents also fall into such a category:
". Because students come from all over the
state and country, the support group nec-
essary for the care of children through
nonprofessional sources is often unavail-
I)
a
able. If the University wishes to create a
healthy living environment for students
with children, it must pursue lowering
the cost for child care.
The administration currently employs
aid programs to help a significant num-
ber of students afford care. However, the
cost is a problem for all, not only the few
who qualify under the Washtenaw Hous-
ing and Urban Devel-
opment guidelines,
which is what deter-
mines eligibility for
receiving child care at
n which reduced costs. All par-
ticipants share the
iver isa stress of the rapidly
increasing price. The
student. articipants should not
___ ge forced to scramble
for extra cash to meet
continuing cost hikes.
The University has an admirable pri-
ority of first aiding those who are unable
to pay for child care. However, the sup-
port base needs to grow and the Univer-
sity should seek out new or expand
existing burden sharing techniques so
students can afford to be full time stu-
dents, concentrating on studies, not
wages.
Just as the University prides itself on
finding adequate resources for all atten-
dees to meet tuition expenses, so too
must it ensure the financial viability of
its students with children, by including
their necessities in covered costs.
Sanz's column
'sexist, rude and
disrespectful'
TO THE DAILY:
Regarding Branden Sanz's column
("Making life just a little bit easier for men"
10/25/00), I do not intend this as an attack
on Sanz's personal character, but as an attack
on the ideas expressed in his column, which
are sexist, rude and disrespectful. I would
like to respond to Sanz's five points on how
to make life easier for men.
It is an inaccurate generalization that all
women beat around the bush and hide their
true feelings. Maybe the women Sanz has
been with tend to do so because they know
that if they do what they feel like doing and
say, cut their hair short, he will remind them
that "short hair is probably going to make
you look fat." Along with stressing how
important it is for girls to have the right hair-
cut, he also implies that it is necessary for
them to be thin in order to meet men. His
theory that a group of friends should leave
behind the "DUFF," or "designated ugly fat
friend," when they go out at night so that
shallow, inconsiderate men can hit on them
without the fear of "ending up with the
DUFF" is clearly discriminatory towards
larger women. He claims that there is a
"proper time to employ the DUFF," as if
friendship between women is conditional
and depends on the chance they have of
scoring.
Sanz contradicts himself when he
explains in the following paragraph how his
good friend, who is fat, does not have a girl-
friend. So he expects women to be open-
hearted to fat men while men refuse to see
beauty in fat women? "Double standard" is
an understatement.
Sanz claims that men want to be gallant.
I propose that he and all men who agree with
his column rethink what it means to be a
gentleman. We can pull out our own chairs,
open doors by ourselves and pay for half of
dinner. What we cannot do alone is create
open, respectful, equality-based relationships
between men and women. That is where we
need the help of all the gentlemen out there.
Cici MALIN
LSA SENIOR
Visiting Spartan was
treated well by
Wolverines
TO THE DAILY:
I read the letter by MSU sophomore
Chris Boyer ("Spartan attends game and
leaves town disgusted" 10/24/00) stating that
he was mistreated while on your campus. I
was surprised to hear that as I was treated
well at the University of Michigan.
My roommate and I ventured onto cam-
pus around 9 a.m. and left around 9 p.m.
With in these hours we were dressed up in
green and white togas expecting to be
doused with anything and everything. We
expected to be booed and sent of campus.
Instead, we were greeted with friendly smiles
and encouraging laughs.
Many of the Michigan students and
extremely surprised that we were greeted on
such good terms. I commend the University
of Michigan family.
ALLYSON WILSON
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY JUNIOR
Basketball team
deserves more fan
support
TO THE DAILY:
I was disheartened, no - embarrassed -
by the lack of fan support at the Maize and
Blue scrimmage last Saturday. How is it that
we can pack 111,000 fans into the Big House,
but can't fill the lower bowl of Crisler Arena?
A good quarter of the fans in the seats were
wearing green and white. What a shame!
For those of us who did manage to take in
the scrimmage, we were treated to a great
show. Afterward, we had the opportunity to
talk with the players.
I can't say enough how impressed I was
with the much-beleaguered men's basketball
team. Coach Brian Ellerbe appears to have
recruited a great group of guys. I was able to
talk with several of the players one-on-one and
all were very eloquent and humble. They
seemed genuinely happy to be interacting with
the fans and were very gracious in signing
autographs and taking pictures. It was a fun
evening and provided fans with a rare opportu-
nity to get glimpses into the real personalities
of the players we watch on the court. Thank
you, Coach Ellerbe, for making this happen.
Like everyone else, I don't know what to
expect of this team with regard to wins and
losses. However, if the scrimmage was any
indication, we can look forward to a season of
quality student-athletes representing our
school well both on and off the court. The
home opener is on Nov. 7 - let's show the
basketball team the support they deserve.
SHERRI SPITZLEY
ALUMNUS
Third party series on
Libertarians was
disappointing
TO THE DAILY:
When the Daily started running the third
parties series I was excited to learn about our
alternatives to the mainstream. I was especially
looking forward to reading a thorough article
detailing the Libertarian platform and the fresh
perspective Libertarianism offers to our stag-
the school vouchers ballot measure.
nating political vista.
Sadly, the article ("Libertarians give voters
alternatives" 10/19/00) lingered on the fact that
Libertarians do not hold many political offices
and are unlikely to attain a representative
majority, rather than offering readers what it
means to be Libertarian. Its more than legaliz-
ing drugs or creating a limited government. It
is the firm belief that we are all capable indi-
viduals and able to run our own lives and
choose what's right for us. America needs to
start placing trust back in the people of the'
country, rather than the select few we deem'
worthy of being in office.
This single belief has been applied to taxes,
welfare, education, gun control, abortion and
immigration, to name a few and has produced
a political platform that we can all be proud to.
stand on. I encourage everyone to think about
who is better suited to run their life, the person
living it or some distant politician? .
DANIEL SMITI+
ENGINEERING SOPHOMORE'
Bush victory will not
be fault of Nader
TO THE DAILY:
Adding to the "wasted vote" discussion:
The fact is that a vote for a third party candi-
date, regardless of their chances of winning, is
not a wasted vote, not only because of the rea-
sons that Manish Raiji give in his 10/24/00
column ("Who is really wasting their vote?"),
but because third party votes can have a signif-
icant impact on government policy.
You only need to look back as far as Ross
Perot's campaign to see the impact of third
parties, even when they do not garner a single
electoral vote. Since that campaign, politicians
have at least acknowledged the faults in our
government that Perot campaigned against.
Thumb through any high school history book
and you will see how third party candidates
have shaped the policy of this country over its
entire existence, regarding everything from
civil rights to big business to government cor-
ruption.
The fact is that if Gore doesn't want to lose.
to Bush, maybe he shouldn't blame Nader, but
instead listen to what Nader is saying. People
are backing this man for a reason. Adapting
some of Nader's ideologies and positions may
get some of those votes back. However, ignor-
ing Nader and what he is saying and instead
banking on the "wasted vote" theory, will all
but ensure Bush's victory in November.
However, if that happens, it is Gore's fault,
not Nader's and definitely not yours or mine
for voting Green.
STEVE SHANNON
ALUMNUS
L owbe ring limits
Drivers need to be more responsible
j n a rare moment of bipartisan poli-
itics, Congress and the President have
established guidelines for national
drunk driving standards. Under the new
guidelines the federal government
would attempt to persuade individual
states to adopt a standard of .08 blood
alcohol content by withholding 2 per-
cent of highway fund-
ing for those states Boththe
that do not adopt the
standard. While ratify- drink and
ing these guidelines is
not mandatory for the to drive
states, it seems
extremely improbable rivilegeS
that any state would P
Afrnrfit nillionn of dol-- . .11 oll-,
Ir
Ikal
izens while also ardently avoiding
impingement upon their rights.
The methodology used to impose
these new more stringent guidelines
must only be utilized with trepidation;
the financial "coercion" of the states by
the federal government should not
dominate the political procedures of
the federal govern-
Iiht toment. Fiscal persua-
sion must only be
the righf utilized when a com-
pelling need for a
national standard
exists, and other pos-
and as sible methods of
implementation prove
acing.
r 'r II9~E1)~
NF-W Yolk.
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