4 -The Michigan Daily -Thursday, November 17, 2000 &be £id}igutt aily Fair? Fair? Who's the Nihilist Here? 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 Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Cleaner bus U' should pursue pollution reduction n the last few days, a few friends of mine have asked what my column was going to be about, and I've told them that I was probably going to address the current elec- tion crisis. That topic was about as popular as a rug burn, but I'm confidently forging ahead. My friends' consternation is unfortunately, I fear, typical of the way most Americans feel. It would be great trouble if this Consti- tutional process were rushed in the same manner as the nation- al media has tried to rush through every- thing else. EveryoneD needs to relax, be David patient and let our Horn great Democratic - process exorcise the mistakes that the good people of West Palm Beach County, Florida, have made. Should those dopes in West Palm be per- mitted to revote? Absolutely not. Come on, now. Florida state law says that the mark for the candidate must be to the right of the candidate's name, and this was not the case on the ballots in West Palm County. But the law in Florida - and everywhere else - states that if there are concerns from the voters regarding the ballot, they are to be addressed before the election, not after- wards. The ballot was available for every- one to see, and no opposition was voiced. There is a reason that the law is structured in this manner - we can't declare electoral hijinks post-election, forcing the nation into an unfair and misguided circus of recounts and legal technicalities. I want nothing more than for Al Gore to be President. But that's not going to happen. It's a tough pill to swallow, really, because as much respect as I have for the electoral system, it's hard to shake the fact that 200,000 more people in this country wanted him to be president than the other guy. Cap- tain W. Everyone should be able to accept the irrelevance of the popular vote, though. The one bit of election knowledge our sixth grade social studies teachers try to force upon us is that winning the popular vote isn't worth a Confederate nickel. But the kicker of all this is that it seems that more Floridians - perhaps as many as 1,600 - wanted Gore to be their next President. Is it unfair for Gore to be deprived the votes of those who mistakenly voted for Buchanan? Sort of. Is it unfair for Bush to be bamboo- zled out of this victory in the Florida state courts and U.S. district courts? Yes. It is excruciatingly difficult for me to admit that? Goodness yes. This issue of fairness goes beyond the middle school electionesque quality that this election has suffered from since day one. The two political progenies just can't seem to understand that this election isn't about spin. As if the campaign didn't prove that Gore and Bush are to sides of the same coin, the two smug, cocky politicians both attempt to spin a victory out of this mess. The election needs to be settled expediently,. but not at the expense of accuracy. Speaking of accuracy, let's remind our- selves of the nationally televised election night fiasco. I don't think we could be any less impressed by the national television news media. CNN, NBC and the rest were a disgrace to professional journalism. All the infographics and spinning 3-D Capitols couldn't save Tim Russert at 4 a.m. He was spewing whatever half-ass thought popped into his head, having counted on goi home hours ago. The premature declaratio (declarations, actually) of Florida wasn' particularly impressive either. Ironically the news outfits that restrained from givin Florida to Gore at noon, or whatever, ended up looking the best. Why is our country s hell-bent on settling matters hastily? Gover nor Bush - this issue of the presidency is too important to pressure your opponent into conceding the victory to you. T country can learn a great lesson in the Democratic process, but not if you convinc them that they're not interested, and all the are concerned about is the final result. Th process is more important in this case, think. We have a process, and we have no choice but to trust it. This has the potential to be one of the most inspiring and invigo rating events in this country's recent apa thetic electoral history. Let us sit back, relax, and enjoy the structured pseudo Democracy that we've created settle the d pute. In any other country, there would be civil war, and with each negative statemen from the Democratic or Republican cam we inch closer to anger and mistrust. Al you did what you could, but the gods ar not smiling on your goofy Tennessee back country face this November. You must hav made more deals with the Devil than W, i that's possible, and as easily as you can sa "Red Sox," the tides of history have unfa' ly turned against you. You're the Fra Grimes to W.'s Homer, and the only way for you to truly take solace when this whole charade is over is to behave as the gentle man that you claim to be, hope that some- how our legal and electoral system find yo to be the winner, and realize that, win o lose, not everything always comes up "Al." - David Horn can be reached via e-mai at hornd@umich.edu. C hoosing which new buses to pur- chase shouldn't be a difficult decision. Cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Syracuse and San Diego have all committed to replacing their existing diesel fleets with natural gas buses. Yet the University contin- ues to haggle, indecisive over whether to follow their lead or invest in yet more dirty diesel technology. We believe they should make the clear choice, the clean choice and opt for natural gas. For the first time in years, the Univer- sity is in the process of replacing its entire fleet of almost 40 buses. The few that they've ordered so far have unfortu- nately all been diesel. Diesel_ Switchingi gas buses, our environi from pollut our climate greenhouse Air Quality Management District, for example, calculated the cancer risk due to diesel particulates as a whop- ping 71 percent of the total cancer risk in the greater Los Angeles area. As if this weren't enough to conclude that diesel engines are a hopelessly dirty technology, the EPA links their exhaust to disproportionate emissions of greenhouse gasses, heavy particu- late matter and ozone-forming com- pounds. Fortunately, an to natural alternative exists. proteCtS Natural gas buses have been on the mar- iment ket for more than a decade and they now Ion and account for more than 1 in 5 new bus orders. The U.S. Department gases. of Energy says that their rates of pollution are so low that when they displace a regular diesel bus the equivalent of 33 passenger cars have been removed from our freeways. And although there are start-up costs associated with switching to natural gas, these are offset by lower fuel costs and the reduced maintenance of using a high- er-octane fuel. Switching to natural gas buses pro- tects our environment from pollution, our climate from greenhouse gases and our bodies from debilitating dis- eases. There is only one clear choice. We urge the University to replace the rest of its fleet with cleaner, safer, saner natural gas buses. exhaust is a virtual encyclopedia of the most toxic compounds on the planet. According to the state of Califor- nia, of the 188 air pollutants the Envi- ronmental Protection Agency has designated as toxic at least 41 are pre- sent in diesel exhaust. The effects of these toxins on the human body can be gruesome, ranging from blood dis- orders to reproductive problems to immune system failure. And at least half the listed air toxins are known or suspected carcinogens. Just how many people are mauled by these contami- nants every year isn't certain, but there are indications. The South Coast HLet us vote Hurdles to student voting unfair _ With the still-unresolved presi- dential election threatening to continue for several more days or weeks, a great deal of attention has been paid to all aspects of the voting process. While the national election is certainly foremost in the public con- sciousness, some of the state elections have also cast an unflattering light on what happens at the polls. Last week, state Sen. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) -: was elected to fill the open congres- sional seat of Rep. Debbie Stabenow, who is moving on to the U.S. Senate. However, Rogers' election may have been made possible by a bill he him- self sponsored - a bill which makes voting unnecessarily difficult for stu- dents. This law, which went into effect last April, requires citizens to register to vote at the same address given on their driver's license. Although the official rationale behind this law is the prevention of voter fraud, the law primarily affects students, who now have to either change their driver's license or vote in their hometown. It also fails to take into account the unique situation of college students, who move frequently and should not have to register a temporary address as a permanent one in order to have a voice in government. As a significant portion of stu- dents are first-time voters who are prohibited from voting by absentee ballot and it is not always possible for them to go home to vote, so many simply do not bother. And because Rogers' district includes the Democ- ratic-leaning Michigan State Univer- sity campus, a lower student turnout is advantageous to him in particular and to conservative candidates in gen- eral. Low voter turnout is a persistent problem - when the numbers approach 50 percent of the popula- tion, it's called a high turnout. And young people are particularly likely to stay away from the polls. Students should be encouraged to exercise one of their most important rights, not faced with unfair obstacles such as Rogers' law. Socioeconomics, not race, should be focus of admissions policy TO THE DAILY: The Daily's editorial regarding affirma- tive action on Nov. 16 ("Diversity under attack") states: "The admissions policies of the University as they currently exist may not be perfect, but they are as fair and effective as anyone knows how to .make them and are vastly preferable to many other systems." I beg to differ. Each of the arguments advanced in the editorial in defense of affirmative action policies centers on socioeconomic factors, rather than race. To assume that all minori- ties are socioeconomically disadvantaged is a misnomer, to say the least. If we are truly committed to equality in this country, we should focus our progressive efforts on addressing the overarching socioeconomic factors involved, not just the racial factors. Affirmative action should be retooled and redefined as a program focused on addressing the original reasons such poli- cies were enacted: To address the genera- tion-to-generation persistence of poverty and class divisions. This is the real issue, and your editorial agrees when you state that "The richest kids get the best schools and the most opportunities and the poorest kids get the poorest schools and are shut out of almost every educational opportunity available." I couldn't make the point any better myself. The problem isn't the divide between black and white, it's the divide between rich and poor. That's not to say that racism is not a problem. It still is. But we can't solve that problem by emphasiz- ing our differences or creating policies that benefit only one group of poor people. Change affirmative action to include all people who have real socioeconomic disad- vantages and you've created a policy that is both fair and effective, a policy that levels the playing field for those people who have historically been "shut out of almost every educational opportunity available." In short, it is vastly preferable to help all peo- ple who are socioeconomically disadvan- taged, rather than to leave behind the poor people of majority and over-represented minority groups. Our mutual desire for a just and inclu- sive society demands no less. l 1 l 1 t 1 c c c t i 'Republicans pick bad judges because they're incompetent. Democrats pick bad judges deliberately.' - University of Texas Law Professor Lino Graglia on the makeup of the Supreme Court. out for a while. Take five." But the workers better method in closing the academic g aren't to blame. This campus is a ghost between under-represented minorities and town during the summer. Why couldn't this their academic peers. project have been started then? It is sad to Yesterday's editorial "Diversity under imagine those fences up in the Diag for the attack," stresses the importance of diversity, next three years. Trudging everyday but the arguments that should strengthen the through the mud field that used to be thick stance of affirmative action supporters only green shaded grass and into an overcrowd- work to point out the weaknesses of the cur- ed (due to construction renovations) Alca- rent system. Yes, the University takes into traz Hall. It would seem there could have account the reputation of an applicant's been alternative time schedules for this high school and the strength of the curricu- massive renovation, now not being that lum and the editorial singled this out. Hog time. ever, affirmative action is unfair in assuming that all minorities come from JOHN LAMB underprivileged school districts and there- LSA JUNIOR fore deserve extra points to make up for the inconsistencies in public education. If lows economic status is such a disadvantage to Hockey games also potential college students, then why isn't there another scale of judgment that gives shown on W OLV extra points in college admissions to stu- dents who come from families in financj need? TO THE DAILY: I know plenty of minority students who In Wednesday's sports section it was come from school districts with much more mentioned that a select number of Michigan affluence then the school system I attended, Hockey games would be televised by Fox and yet they receive the same kind-of Sports Detroit, as if it were the only oppor- "help" that minorities from less affluent tunity to see them play on television ("M schools receive. hockey to be televised nine times"). Helping students from lower econom'ic Actually, WOLV, the student-run televi- classes gain admission to institutions of sion station on campus, has broadcast 85 higher learning will help raise people out of percent of Michigan Hockey home games on their lower socioeconomic class since "the TV for the past 3 years. Students in the resi- poorest kids get the poorest schools and dence halls can turn to channel 52 on shut out of almost every educational oppr UMTV and off-campus students can turn to tunity available." What about the poor Cau- channel 22 on MediaOne. WOLV's broad- casian, Asian, Indian or any other person casts can also be seen on the web at who is discriminated against based on www.mgoblue.com (there is a link to the wealth? There are plenty of people who live webcast on the hockey homepage). And in poverty that are not minorities and yet check out the schedule on the hockey page these same people receive no compensation to see which games WOLV will be covering for their high school's poor content of cur- in the future. WOLV will be-broadcasting riculum. both games this weekend, so tune in and Go This type of economic action would still Blue! boost minority enrollment, as the editor MICHAEL SALMONOWICZ also points out that "most minority appcft GENERAL MANAGER, WOLV Am I against affirmative action? Yes, I am. LSA SENIOR Does this make me a bigot or racist? No it doesn't. Is diversity a positive and indispen- sible factor in this University? You bet it is. Diversity possible Until a better policy is provided, affirmative action may be the best remedy for these without race-based described inequalities amongst racial groups. affirmative action In the long run however, affirmative action needs to be amended so that it longer discriminates but rather empowers TO THE DAILY: those who really need the help. BY JASON POLAN 'M." s1 f ri m, OA * ToAl'S r4 -r .~ S 7E f AIFr 1 I I Affirmative action remains a vital ingre- dient in making the University of Michigan a great school and yet I wonder if there is a PETER BALDWIN ALUMNUS rDANE BARNES STEVE WARNICK LSA SOPHOMORE DiSTURBED SLEEP a - - Winter renovations are often disruptive to students TO THE DAILY: i j } 3 :} 3 i / ki1 I j '". ,, "..i.e. S . i . w....... 1"