4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 22, 2001
(!te idi Fun &dtlg
The Martha Stewart~ administration
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
daily.letters@umich.edu
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
MIKE SPAJIN
Editor in Chief
EMILY ACHENBAUNM
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.
The New York Times - what all papers
aspire to be. Impeccable, professional,
authoritative. I trust the judgment of the
Times. So last week when a front page arti-
cle on Laura Bush lead off with how she
has her Christmas card picked out by Febru-
ary, organizes all her
shoes in color order
and scrubs tile fors
fun, I understood
their editorial deci-
sion. The American
People want to know
what the First Lady is
"really" like..
Two words: Not
Hillary.
Housewife extra-
ordinaire, LauraE
Bush, will spend the Emily
next four years show- Achenbaum
ing women that they ....
can and should be IdI
Martha Stewart. ti r g
Now Martha gets
the "OK" because she has created an eco-
nomic empire so broad it covers television,
magazine racks, fruit baskets - granted it
is an empire of gingerbread cookies and
duvet covers, but it involved business savvy
and creativity just the same. It's slightly
pathetic, yet impressive.
According to the Times, Laura sends
thank you notes within 24 hours of an
event, organizes her personal library
according to the Dewey Decimal system
and doesn't ever leave papers unfiled.
Slightly pathetic, yet impressive.
The Bush administration is well poised
to shape the public image of what a modern
woman should be like. I think they might be
smart enough not to overturn Roe v. Wade
or do anything else that would cause a
major feminist uprising. Why make abor-
tion illegal when you can convince women
that they not only want to keep the baby,
but stay at home and knit booties (which
can be organized in color order)?
Laura is poised to be presented as the
perfect woman, not like Hillary, who surely
doesn't caulk her own bathtub. Nurturing,
non-husband-shadowing. The social climate
in the United States - increasing conserva-
tive and "comfortable" - is not looking for
a ruckus. {
Family values is not about having a
mother who stands on her own. It is about
folding socks (and if you safety-pin pairs
together before putting them in the washer,
you'll never have to waste time matching
again).
A vast right wing conspiracy? I don't
know. We'll have to wait who tries to mute
Hillary.
Mrs. Clinton will, in family tradition,
exploit her Senate seat for all it's worth -
no doubt even trying to steal the spotlight
from the Bush's White House. I wish all the
luck to the boys who try and take her down.
Like Russell Crowe slashing chained tigers
in Gladiator, it will be gleefully sadistic to
watch Hill go in for the kill and swat away
flies with her tail.
But one noisy Hillary isn't a problem if
you can keep other women out of politics.
Florida Secretary of State Katherine "Car-
men Miranda" Harris has left even skirt-
chasing Dems with their pants up - the cit-
rus heiress single-handedly showed the
world what would happen if we lived in that
fantasy parallel universe where women are
in charge.
Women would be in the position to
make decisions on things, like, really big
missiles, only to bat their eyelashes, wiggle
their grapefruits, succumb to pressure and
whole-heartedly screw everything up.
Here in Michigan, Debbie Stabenow's
surprise squashing of the mitten's no. 2
scary fat Republican man, Spence Abra-
ham, lead to a notable amount of national
attention.
The GOP soothed its collective ego and
downed the Amazon rah-rah with some
good ol' boy nah-nah, giving Abraham the
nod for Secretary of Energy, painted to be a
much better gig than being senator. Abra-
ham was a remarkably stellar choice, seeing
how he had previously called for the dis-0
mantling of the department. His appoint-
ment has nothing to do with getting beaten
by a girl.
Mrs. Bush has made it clear she is not
interested in politics or media publicity, and
I give her to the end of the first 100 days
before she caves on that one.
Miss America needs to present a plat-
form before the evening gown competition;
in presidential term time that means Laura's
going to need something she Really
Believes In by spring. As long as it doesn't
take too much time away from the kids.
-Emily Achenbaum can be reached via
e-mail at emilylsa@umich.edu.
U' should not be afraid to confront Nike
hough much can be said about the
lax language used in the University's
contract with Nike, some good can come
if pragmatic approaches are used to keep
the shoe giant's potential sweatshop abus-
es in check.
The problem is that the University
has no idea how to accomplish any
effective means of monitoring Nike.
University President Lee Bollinger
himself said that no one - even Stu-
dents Organizing for Labor and Eco-
nomic Equality, the Collegiate
Licensing Company, the Fair Labor
Association, the Worker Rights Con-
sortium or any other university - has
established even a framework for inves-
tigating human rights violations in
overseas factories. Some scenarios and
plans of action must be considered:
Legal Means
First, when evidence of "plausible
allegations" of abuse surface - as may
be the case in the union busting allega-
tions surfacing in a Mexico factory that
produces Nike gear - legal means
should be pursued.
The University, Bollinger and Athlet-
ic Director Bill Martin should have no
qualms about throwing the University's
legal weight around to force Nike to
make a good faith effort to correct abus-
es.
Because of the nature of the Uni-
versity's contract, this would almost
necessarily entail pursuing a break in
the University's seven-year deal with
Nike.
Public Relations Warfare
If the University is truly committed to
monitoring Nike and listening to its stu-
dents, as Bollinger and Martin claim, stu-
dent solutions should be given University
resources.
An independent organization could
investigate, providing evidence for fur-
ther examination by journalists or human
rights groups, which would create nega-
tive publicity for Nike. Hitting Nike's
bottom line with a swift blow to its public
relations machine may be the best means
of reining in this apparel giant.
Nike's End of the Bargain
Another possible means of monitor-
ing Nike is by examining the company's
efforts to consolidate its overseas work-
force. Martin said the most important
part of the contract is the University's and
Nike's "shared commitment," to provide
basic human rights.
If Nike is truly committed to ending
sweatshop abuses, consolidating its
overseas manufacturing processes,
while avoiding significant job loss, is
necessary - most of Nike's factories
are contracted. One factory could, for
example, produce Nike apparel that
accounts for only five percent of its
total production.
If Nike truly has a "shared commit-
ment" to making its factories accessible
to monitoring organizations, it should
take steps reign in problematic factories
and consolidate its workforce. Steps in
this direction are easily monitored from
afar.
Bollinger and the University should
make concerted efforts to form a dia-
logue between student groups and the
administration to accomplish these ends
- and must do so within a month to
maintain good faith.
'We're not (protesting) for the liberal loss and the
conservative gain, we're doing it for all the
atrocities that happened.'
- Kate Palmer; a first-year student at Ohio Wesleyan College, on why she was
protesting in Washington D.C. during the presidential inauguration.
B ito the r
Lack of mandate requires compromise
promising to lead the nation with
"compassion and character," George
W. Bush became the 43rd President of
the United States on Saturday. Most of
the brouhaha over the election has been
stamped out by the media's constant
insistence that the nation needs to "move
on" and just forget about the theft of the
election. Bush himself will try to paper
over the gaping divisions in public opin-
ion caused by his illegitimate seizure of
the presidency by "getting things done."
The first 100 days in office are always
a crucial period for a new president. By
showing initiative and recognition that
his fraudulent win does not provide him
with a right-wing mandate, Bush can
demonstrate that he recognizes this
nation is a democracy and that he is
responsible to a constituency larger than
the five conservative Supreme Court jus-
tices who stopped an accurate recount in
Florida. Here are a few of the issues he
must begin to address:
Fiscal Responsibility
Bush has called for a $1.3 trillion tax
cut to be paid from the budget surplus
and Congress most likely will pass a tax
cut, though not as large as Bush propos-
es. But Bush must exercise caution in his
spending. His plans to raise defense
spending must be tempered with more
important social concerns such as main-
taining the solvency of social security
and Medicare and the need to pay down
the national debt. During the Clinton
years the stock market surged, but with
of giving up on peace-keeping and insist-
ing on implementing a globally-unpopu-
lar anti-ballistic missile system.
According to his official Website, he
wants to "deal with the challenges of
China and Russia" and advance peace in
the Middle East, specifically in Israel.
Former President Bill Clinton has set a
good example by being active in trying to
improve relations in several troubled
areas of the world and the United States
must continue to be engaged internation-
ally.
The Environment
One of the most constant criticisms of
Bush is that while governor of Texas, he
watched Houston overtake Los Angeles
as the nation's smoggiest city. In addition,
he has turned a blind eye to his big pol-
luting, big contributing, oil industry bud-
dies as Texas became one of the nation's
most polluted states. His choice to head
the Environmental Protection Agency,
Christine Whitman, has come under
attack by concerned environmentalists
over her questionable environmental
record as governor of New Jersey.
Among Bush environmental proposals
are plans to drill for oil in the Alaskan
National Wildlife Refuge and to repeal
recent Clinton initiatives protecting 58.5
million acres of public land from logging.
The United States needs to concentrate
its efforts on energy conservation and
developing alternative fuels, not drilling
for oil in every last protected piece of
public land and chopping down public
Look to British for
good labor standards
To THE DAILY:
I am not a member of Students Organiz-
ing for Labor and Economic Equality. I am
not a big fan of Nike. I am, however, con-
cerned about the University's choice of an
apparel company. Nike seems to be a com-
pany that is more concerned about profit
than their employees well-being, but its big
name University needs a big name equip-
ment company. SOLE wants the University
to drop our deal with Nike, but I have the
solution that works for both parties. What if
there was a company that stood for work-
er's rights and top of the line athletic
equipment? Such a company does exist,
British Knights. Their shoes and apparel
are made by Noblemen for Noblemen and
have Royal quality at a layman's price.
In addition, working with the British will
not only bolster the University's bottomline,
but will increase free trade, lead to world
peace, and probably help the ozone layer.
In terms of labor practice, the workers
at British Knights receive two pounds
above minimum wage, two daily tea
breaks, and three weeks off for Boxing
Day. An employee can not work more than
60 hours or less than 52 hours a week,
which seems extreme, but all time is over-
time. Children can not work ... ever. Senior
citizens can not work during manufactur-
ing, only in shipping and management posi-
tions. Finally, all employees get free shoes
for themselves and their families. For proof
of their athletic dominance look no further
than the success of the co-ed intramural
football semi-finalists Tickles and the All-
Stars, who played the whole season one
man short.
However, the quality of their British
Knights footwear boosted their play and
almost carried them to the title.
Moreover, I happen to know a certain
Michigan linebacker, who wears the num-
ber 62 and plays semi-professional men's
field hockey in the off-season, who wears
British Knights. If his heart runs British
Knight true, then why not the rest of the
maize and blue?
RYAN BOCSKAY
LSA SENIOR
Standardized tests
should be considered
in admissions
TO THE DAILY:
The Daily's editorial "Failing grade"
(1 /19/01)on standardized tests was flawed
in many ways. But I'll focus on just two.
First, the Daily argues that universities
need to "look past standardized tests as a
measure of intelligence."
It is, however,rcompletely false that uni-
versities consider standardized test scores
as measures of intelligence.
Rather, such scores are used as one of
the best available predictors of academic
performance.
Second, the evidence the Daily offers to
support the claim that "there is clear and
conclusive evidence that standardized tests
discriminate against minorities and the
poor," even if true, is insufficient. It is not
enough to point out, for example, that
whites score better than certain racial
groups.
Rather, what must be shown is that stan-
dardized test scores underpredict the per-
formance of students in certain minority
groups - that is, that the students perform
better in college than their scores would
otherwise lead one to predict.
It turns out that in "The Shape of the
River," the leading empirical defense of
race-conscious admissions policies, the
authors, William Bowen and Derek Bok,
examine this precise issue.
The troubling fact they relate is that
black students' SAT scores actually over-
predict their academic performance: "Black
students with the same SAT scores as
whites tend to earn lower grades."
This result is confirmed even after the
authors control for other variables. This
finding, then, would appear to weigh heavi-
ly against the claim that the SAT discrimi-
nates against black students.
In fact, although Bowen and Bok are
strong proponents of affirmative action,
they do recommend that universities con-
tinue to use standardized test scores in
admissions, given the tests' predictive
power.
JUSTIN SHUBOW
RACKHAM
Nike deal is 'win-win'
for 'U' community
TO THE DAILY:
This is in response to Students Organiz-
ing for Labor and Economic Equality and
all other activist groups that are upset with
the Nike contract. The University Athletic
Department is one of the few in the country
that is completely independent of a univer-
sity. What this means is that none of the
students' tuition costs go to the upkeep of
the Athletic Department or any of their
teams. To keep this status, there needs to be
a source of revenue besides the football
team. This leaves the department with two
options.
The first is to sign a contract with an
apparel company, such as Nike, to provide0
team apparel and other necessities.
The second is to eventually lose their sta-
tus of being independent. When this happens,
it is possible we may see an increase in
tuition to support the Athletic Department.
Now how many of you would be out
there protesting after their tuition went up
to support the Athletic Department?
Therefore the most viable option is the
apparel contract with a major company.
Look back at this summer when Nike broke
off negotiations at the thought of a labor
code.
I think it is commendable that six
months later, they sign their first-ever con-
tract with labor stipulations included.
This is a win-win situation for all people
of the University, the Athletic Department
gets their much needed funding and the
members of SOLE get Nike to consent to a
labor code.
JASON MALLORY
ENGINEERING JUNIOR
WeNi's artistic talent,
friendship will be
missed by many
TO THE DAILY:
As members of the American Institute
of Graphic Arts, of which Candy Wei was a
member, we are deeply saddened by her
unexpected death. Candy was an active
contributor to our group and the Art School
community as a whole. Her artwork, talent
and especially her great personality will be
missed.
But more importantly, we'll miss our
friend. 0
As a group, we would like to extend our
condolences to her family, her friends and
anyone who is feeling her loss.
Candy, you will be greatly missed.
MEMBERS OF THE AIGA
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN CHAPTER
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