4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 G14bE wjbrIi u34ailg Hammerhead's obligatory sex column (winter edition) 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. Students should join D.C. protests O ne part of college life that I've noticed that is relatively constant is the Get- Together. While similar to a party, the Get- Together (also known as Having People Over) differs in a few notable respects. First, there are generally less people at a Get- Together; anywhere from five to 15 is the standard amount. Any more than that and it tends to turn into an according-to-H oyle k party. The second fac- tor is that people actu- ally talk to each other at a Get-Together. z While you may hear Brittney Spears in the background, you are usually spared the Branden booming "phat beats," SanZ table-dancing, and D keg-stands that charac- terize a true party. Hammer Get-Togethers hap- pen for a variety of reasons and vary in type and temperament. Sometimes the focus is a sporting event, sometimes a game of cards and sometimes just for the sake of intelligent (if alcohol-addled) conversation. However, one thing I've noticed time and time again is that no matter what direction the conversation starts out in, a co-ed Get-Together always comes back to one topic - sex. Don't ask me why it happens. I sure as hell never instigate it, but it always seems to come up, sometimes in ways that are unbelievably random. Here's an example: Me: "Wow! That Baltimore defense is tough." John: "I spent two weeks with my cousin in Baltimore last summer." Me: "What was it like?" Dan: "Hey John, wasn't Baltimore where you hooked up with that stewardess?" John: (Blushing) "Uhhh, yeah." Janet: "You hooked up with a stew- ardess?!" Dan: "Yeah he did. Best blow-job of your life - isn't that what you told me?" John: (Now beet-red) "Uhhhh, well ..." Mike: "Really? Wow. (Wistfully) You know, I've never really had a good blow- job." Nichole: "You haven't? Why not?" Mike: "Well, you see..." Okay, I'm sure you get the point. We can all see where this conversation is going and I'm quite certain that the vast majority of you out there have been privy to more than one random sex conversation during your time here. Personally, I have dozens of these under my belt and I've come up with a few observa- tions over the years. Observation number one: The whole stud/slut double-standard is bullshit. I am certainly not the first to make this observa- tion and I won't be the last. Everyone seems to agree that the double-standard is unfair, yet most guys (and many girls) still judge people by it. Okay, so if a guy goes out and sleeps around, his buddies call him a "stud." Some girls may consider him "sketchy," but many will write it off to typical guy behav- ior, rather than a deficiency of character. On the other hand, if a girl does the same thing, all of a sudden she's "dirty" or a "slut?" Hogwash. This argument is old and tired, but I have a new common-sense twist for you. Guys, would you honestly rather have a virgin? Not a chance in hell. Maybe when I was 17, but I just don't have the patience anymore. I per- sonally think any guy over 20 that has a vir- gin-fixation has got some serious self-esteem issues, sort of a "climb the mountain and make my mark" mentality. Observation number two: Referral S works. What do I mean by Referral Sex? Well, it's pretty simple. You see guys, women talk about sex. They talk about it a lot - down to little intimate details no guy would ever dream of sharing with his best buddy. Chances are, for every girl you've slept with, her little circle of friends knows things about you that would mortify you if you were aware of them. Furthermore, women seem to have this gossip network t rivals the National Security Agency in it s ability to disseminate information. But there is an upside to this as well. Case in point: A couple of years ago, a good friend of mine was dating this girl he worked with. About a month after they had broken up, he runs into his ex-girlfriend's roommate at a bar. The first words out of her mouth (and yes, I know this for a fact because I was there) were: "Are you really as good as says you are?" Three days later she spends the night at his place. Guys, this in not an isolated incident. I'0 seen it happen numerous occasions through the years. Accept the fact that women are going to tell each other everything about your bedroom habits and use this to your advan- tage. Rock her world. Hopefully, you two will stay together forever, but real life doesn't always work that way and it's good to have a Plan B. If things go bad later, chances are you're already a shoo-in with one of t members of her network. This column is dedicated to Oso and the rest of the Hammerhead Fan Club - Univer- sity of Minnesota Law School Chapter. Thanks for the support, guys. - Branden Sanz has sworn an vow of celibacy and will soon bejoining a monastery. Until then he can be reached at hamrhead@umich.edu. R ecounts were demanded, the Supreme Court ruled and the elec- tion was decided - George W Bush will be our 43rd President. This fact is not only an insult to the majority of Ameri- cans who placed their vote for Al Gore, but also an insult to the Presidential Office itself. George W Bush does not deserve to be the leader of the free world. However, because the election has been decided is no reason for the voice of opposition against Bush to become silent. The inauguration on Saturday is the perfect opportunity for the American people to make their voice heard once tions. Bush's platform alone, according to the popular vote, was enough to convince the majority of the American people that he is not the most qualified man for the job. His platform was also enough to convince 93 percent of Black voters to vote for Gore. The systematic disenfran- chisement of the Black and Hispanic vote in Florida indicates that Bush does not have the support of large groups of Americans behind him. It also indicates there was enough wrong with his plat- form and political record to discourage minority voters from supporting him, a more and reiterate that they do not sup- HOW YOU CAN port a President who JOIN THE PROTESTS has an inadequate WHEN: Saturday, 11.30 a.m. political record and WHERE: West Front, U.S, Capitol,, "won" the election Washington, D.C. through highly ques- Protesters will gather at two tionable means. primary sites in Washington, D.C. Members of the at 10.am. Saturday University communi- 2 Dupont Circle, Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues ty should go to Wash- MCo :Red ne to l>upnt Circle station.. ington, D.C. to protest 1 Fredom Plaza, Pennsylvania Ave. NW the inauguration of a at 14th street NW. Mhe Rgdfarange, Blue lines to Metro man who has said that center station. he believes that the NREMEMBERPolice will only allow hand- foundation of peace is made signs up to 3x20 feet held by stiecs up to 3/4 of are inch thick; there will be a strong military, who numerous checkpoints, so get there early has a minimal knowl- and watch what you are carrying. edge of American for- pxOrTT INFOIRMATAo eign relations and has http://www.inaugurauction.org been quoted saying http://www.democracynerch.org "there ought to be http://www.votermarch.crg limits to freedom" in http://www.#acenterorg fact that should also discourage white vot- ers from supporting his administration. Bush's cabinet picks have done noth- ing but to confirm many of the fears of those who voted against him. Many Republicans are opposed to the Attor- ney General pick of former Missouri Sen- ator John Ashcroft, who opposed racial desegregation in the 1970s. Although for- mer Labor Depart- ment pick, Linda Chavez, withdrew herself from consider- ation of the position, 'This is a very good deal financially for the athletic department.' - University President Lee Bollinger on the University's decision to sign a seven-year licensing and supply contract with Nike, which has been accused of violating its workers' human rights. reference to a Website opposing his cam- paign. Bush's record as governor of Texas especially in regards to his unmerciful sponsorship of the death penalty and abominable educational policy is unac- ceptable. Bush has and probably will continue to oppose civil rights, including same-sex marriages and the expansion of hate crimes laws. Not only does he fall far short of reasonable expectations in terms of basic human rights, his environ- mental record is equally if not more abhorrent. The hypocrisy of promising environmental preservation while at the same time remaining an adamant oppo- nent of the Kyoto global warming agree- ment and supporter of the drilling for oil in the the Alaskan wilderness is enough grounds for any environmentally con- scious citizen to doubt Bush's qualifica- the fact that Bush considered a longtime opponent of minimum wage, as Secre- tary of Labor is a testimony to his poor judgment. Gale Norton, Bush's choice for Secretary of the Interior, has a history of putting private property concerns ahead of the environment and faces opposition from a coalition of environ- mental organizations, including well- respected groups such as the League of Conservation'Voters and the Sierra Club. Social protest can be a powerful vehi- cle of change. Members of the Universi- ty community should do whatever they can to attend the inauguration and voice their opposition to our next President. Anyone who can provide transportation should be willing to take others to exer- cise their right to peaceful demonstration and to witness and voice their opposition to what will surely be an historic event. BAMN leaders divide students in support of affirmative action TO THE DAILY: On Martin Luther King Day, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary held a rally in attempt to gain sup- port for affirmative action. At the rally, the Black Student Union, with support from other groups, marched in chanting, "Our issue, our voice, our struggle," and they were later given a chance to speak at the rally. They urged that students see that the issue is important and that support for affirmative action exists beyond BAMN's militant and often ignorant views. BAMN has monopolized the issue for too long. Their militancy and immature behavior discredits the affirmative action constituency. Furthermore, the idea of "our issue, our strug- gle" is valid when BAMN is represented by Luke Massie, who is not, in any way, a part of the University community. The issue of affirmative action affects all of us. "It is not simply a black and white issue," Diego Bernal, a graduate student and Michigan Student Assembly representative, explained on behalf of the BSU. This is an issue that deserves to be voiced by more than just a group of militants led by someone who has nothing to do with our community. BAMN's behavior, their refusal to hear other views and their sketchy affiliation with groups like the Revolutionary Workers League is counter-productive and insulting to the entire University community, especially to those who care about affirmative action. The BSU sends an important message about out this issue has been exploited so that an outside group can stand on a soapbox proclaiming that anything that stands in BAMN's way is a part of some racist conspiracy. This is a mes- sage that people are going to remember far past MLK Day and the trial. It is a message that BAMN is not going to be able to ignore, and it will be hard for them to use the hack- neyed excuse of "because you're a racist" against the BSU. ARI PAUL RC FIRST-YEAR STUDENT Business School did not respect King's legacy during event TO THE DAILY: Our country was blessed to have such a thoughtful and eloquent spokesman for free- dom and equality in the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our country also chose to recognize its appreciation for its good fortune by dedicat- ing a day to remember the contribution King made to our society and the University took part in this by sponsoring various speakers, performances and other events. Two such events stand out as polar opposites of the potential for such a day to enrich the student 1,a-- A-I ..t. presented a bland and insipid performance, which bordered on insulting in its shallowness. After opening with a jazz ensemble, the show went on to present the "Business and Finance Diversity Choir" singing songs about love and justice that would have been simplistic for a grammar school assembly, let alone a perfor- mance sponsored by an esteemed university. King is not remarkable for being a support- er values such as love and justice. The fact that they are "universal" by definition states that a supporter of such values is not, by virtue of that belief alone, remarkable. King is remarkable because he worked his whole life to identify those in society who were disadvantaged and mistreated despite such universal values and to work with them and for them in helping to correct society's failure to implement its values. As Dyson said in his remarkable speech, King challenged America's sense of complacency with how it was living up to its professed morals. The only thing in the Business and Finance Convo- cation that could have possibly been inspiring and relevant to the true activist spirit of King was the performance of a gospel ensemble. Unfortunately, this was relegated to the foyer after the real performance to serve as background music for those enjoying the buf- fet. If the Business school is serious about hon- oring the memory of King, it must go beyond sponsoring performances which endorse such cutting edge concepts as "freedom is a good thing" and present those which truly challenge or provoke in the audience a sense of desire to follow King's path towards social equity. Oth- erwise, it should stick just to providing the buffet for events that do - at least this is something it is good at. DAVID KATZ SNRE GRADUATE STUDENT Affirmative action corrects secondary education inequality To THE DAILY: In the wake of the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I believe that the stale- mated and often heated debate on the topic of affirmative action in Higher Education, needs resolution. However such a solution is not easy to come by. In order to appease opponents on both sides of the issue, a comprehensive solu- tion (i.e. not just siding with one group or the other) needs to be promoted. It is my opinion that, though I believe the use of race in admis- sions is unfair to all those who apply to institution (I, on my own application, chow "Other" and wrote "human"), it is necessary until pro-active changes are made to pre-uni- versity education. There are many studies that show that sec- ondary schools in lower-income areas, which, happen to often encompass a greater number of non-white members, are doing a less than esteemable job of preparing their students to have a respectable chance at getting admitted to an institution of higher education. By the time a student is applying to college, it is t late for him or her to make up the effects o less than stellar secondary education. A call for widespread change in high school and ele- mentary education is in order. Herein, the playing field is leveled before the student reaches post-secondary education and then higher education institutions are free to look at a student's merits free of any sort of bias, effectively making the collegiate admissions process equitable for all who choose to apply In short, the use of race in admissio though ultimately biased, is wholly necessary until we can be assured that students who apply to this university are all given a fair start to begin with. Once the aforementioned hap- pens, such policies will not be needed. JEREMY PETERS LSA JUNIOR Woomer attacked capitalism, America TO THE DAILY: The column by Nick Woomer, "Don't cut taxes, give everyone an unconditional income," (1/16/01) is by far the most farcical piece of idealism I have ever encountered 'ir the Daily or anywhere else for that matter How can the Daily print such a clearly sard ic attack on capitalism and America itself? The proposal of an unconditional income for all is worse than socialism in that socialists at least expect their citizens to work. Consider this: In the history of the world there has only been one country that is both truly a republic and capitalist. That country is America and in our short history we have become the only remaining superpower. I bor- rowed this idea from "The Virtue of Selfish- ness" by Ayn Rand. If you need more convincing then I would highly recomme* this book as a starting place. RYAN WENDLANDT ALUMNUS Infarmation cartel Media mergers need more scrutiny Edmund Burke called the media the "fourth estate"- equating it to a branch of government, wielding its own political power. Indeed, objective news- paper and television coverage of politics and current events are considered crucial to democracy. Good government requires diversity of opinion and an informed electorate. Since media plays such a criti- cal role in our democratic process, it's in the best interest of government to main- tain a diversity of opinion and prevent media corporations from becoming too large. Although the Federal Communica- tions Commission currently enforces rules to prevent media monopolies, recent events have brought to light the possibility of media abuses. Because media companies have shown that their coverage of the news can be clouded by the interests of the corporations that con- A__f AS -__ 1 _ ~ "114- --_ ,. x 1_ increase this size cap. A number of examples of corporate influence have appeared in recent years. One example is some newspapers' treat- ment of the free airtime for political can- didates. The Los Angeles Times, which owns no television stations, wrote an edi- torial in support of the free airtime pro- posals. The Chicago Tribune, owned by the Tribune Company, which owns 19 television stations, wrote "It might be good if candidates didn't have to raise and spend so much money to finance broadcast ads. In that case, let Congress provide public funds to subsidize cam- paigns." Unknown to most people, and unmentioned in these editorials is the small fact that six media companies spent a total $11 million to defeat a dozen cam- paign finance bills mandating free air- time from 1996 to 1998. It is clearly in CHIP CULLEN GRINDING THE NIB