4 -- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 23, 2001 ~be Miwtg] cit Lost majors, lost tiaras 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Ml 48109 daily.letters@umich.edu Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan : -3 ;> n r f '2 . _. F ..... MIKE SPAIIN 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. irst organizational studies and now social anthropology - are they going to get rid of the English major now too? Yes, I am bitter because someone in that ugly orange building just decided that it would be a good idea to discontinue my major. Those tricky bastards. If they're going to, discontinue an entire major, shouldn't they at least send out somer mass e-mail so the peo- r pie who have been tak- ing those classes since a' fricking freshman year y can go ahead and declare it? It seemed tor me at orientation there was no sort of pressure Erin to go about declaring a MCQUinn major - but that is just W a giant scam so they Plyng can eliminate them all. Words I can see the pattern here. The University is systematically elimi- nating all the concentrations so that every- one will be a homogenous engineering mass. I thought we were sooooo diverse. Oh yeah, the University wants diversity when it's convenient. But not when it interferes with them being able to take in more money. Think about it - what is more diverse than a student body that is free to study and major in anything they want? Isn't that the epitome of diversity? A graduating class specializing in everything from mechanical engineering to zoology. We can have any rally we want on the Diag, yet we cannot be a diverse student body in choosing our majors. Or maybe it's the fact that the University can suck an extra year of tuition out of us if they discontinue our majors. Now, I will probably be here for an extra year. That means that all of my classes that I'd been taking for (or rather paying for) social anthropology will serve me absolutely no purpose. That's just super. Maybe I'm just bitter because now I'll have to be a fifth-year senior. I will not let some freak in the administration suck another year out of my life. True, they said I could do some fruity "independent study" junk - but who the hell pays the kind of money that we pay and doesn't even come out with a real degree? This sucks. This sucks just about as bad as the kleptos who frequent frat parties. I am really sick of getting stuff stolen. Who's really taking this stuff? I bet you I know who it is - it's that same person who is taking all the majors. I bet you there's some big cellar in the LSA Building marked storage room B where there are piles and piles of North Faces and pea coats - and two big poster boards that say "Org. Studies" and "Social Anthropology." My tiara is probably down there too. I let my friend borrow it for her birthday. She left it in some kid's room and some drunk sketchball took it home. That's real cool. Now what the hell are you going to do with a tiara? Did you think about that before you took it? I bet not. I bet it was real funny to see a tiara in some guy's room after drinking a whole case of Schlitz. Well now I'm pissed and I want it back. I feel like everyone has had something stolen at a party. Maybe I was just brou up right, but I would never consider ju t snatching someone else's jacket. That's someone else's winter coat, buddy. That's someone else's tiara. Just don't take it. If you want you can look at it real close, go ahead, sniff it - try it on, just don't take it home with you. Do you steal stuff from your grandma's closet too? Or does it make it OK because you can't actually see who owns the jacket. It's not a faceless crime. When you take the jacket, someone else has to walk ho freezing. That's not cool. So here we go, in conclusion - by the year 2014, the only majors that will be left will be Ojibwa and Accounting. There's some freak named Milton in the basement of the LSA Building who is wearing your North Face and my tiara. And the same person who is discontinu- ing the majors is responsible for this entire article - as they have pissed me off o again. 0 - Erin McQuinn can be reached via e-mail at emcquinn@umich.edu. 'U' should make counciling easier to get F or many, the opportunity to attend the University means freedom from home, the beginning of life in the real world and the setting for many important life decisions. However, unexpectedly, the new setting some- times brings with it a change in atmos- phere that many students are not prepared to handle on their own. Stu- dents at this age face many problems in their lives outside of7NUMBERS academia. Catalyzing OUNSEUN ANr this, the high level of SEvicEs:76-83 competition at the Uni- T NNATIONAL versity is the cause of HELLI-SOO many long nights, NATIONAL1HO+ failed exams and 1-800-SUICIDE stress. All of this can OZONE HoUSEI11I lead to great mental FAMILY SERVI: anguish that requires UNIVERSrTY o an outlet. While many CENT iR 936-59( students can handle - this on their own, others require the help of friends, or others that will listen to them and advise them. The Universi- ty is obliged to do as much as it can to keep the student body mentally healthy. Improvement needs to begin with the University's Counseling and Psycho- logical Services. Although the University does pro- vide Emergency and Crisis Counseling, most students in need of help are not prepared to admit that their situation is an emergency. They are then forced to make an appointment with a psycholo- gist or psychiatrist. This path is a has- sle fraught with paperwork and scheduling difficulties. A great number of needy students do not go through all of this bureaucracy and push their problems to the side. The result can be devastating. The third leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 24 is suicide. The problem needs more attention from all. Many times, suicides can be prevented if those who commit it received help from friends and family. Some of the major warning signs are changes in behavior, personality, sleep patterns, and in eating habits. Further- more, there is a lack of interest in friends, feelings of overwhelming guilt, shame and self-hatred. Experts say the propagation of cer- tain myths surrounding suicide only helps add to the problem. One of the most serious misconceptions is that TO KNOW people who talk about suicide will not do it. But, almost everyone !T~H CRusIs who commits or 99-9999 attempts suicide has _JNETwC)RK: given some clue or warning. Another com- , YouTr & mon falsehood is that 62-2222 once a person makes CHIGAN HEALTh up his or her mind to ? commit suicide, noth- ing can stop him. Even the most severely depressed person has mixed feelings about death, wavering until the very last moment between wanting to live and wanting to die. Per- haps one reason the University does not acknowledge the pressures on stu- dents as much as it does is because it fears addressing suicide might give someone the idea. On the contrary, openly discussing the subject can only help raise awareness of warning signs and thus increase prevention efforts. One may believe that the recent sui- cide by an Art and Design student liv- ing in Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall may have been prevented had the Uni- versity provided a better outlet for the students contemplating suicide. This death needs to serve as a signal to the University that help is not adequately reaching those in dire straits, on the verge of ending their life. Preventing suicide and dealing with other psychological issues is difficult. By redoubling its efforts, counseling services can be more accessible to all students who truly need help. Students need to fill courtroom in support of affirmative action TO THE DAILY: After three years of building, today we finally get our day in court. Today, we begin to put racism and sexism in this nation on trial. Today, we begin to break down the racist lie of black inferiority put out by the Center for Indi- vidual Rights and the right-wing of this country. Today the voice of the students, the voice of the new mass militant integrated youth-led Civil Rights Movement will electrify the Detroit federal court house! Today and tomor- row, myself and Erika Dowdell will be testify- ing to the social and educational inequality that is the every day reality of black people in this nation and why there is a profound need for affirmative action. Despite the three years of being leaders in this new movement for the defense of affirma- tive action, despite our fight to become inter- venors in the lawsuit and even despite our intensive legal preparation over the last few months our testimony will mean nothing if the courtroom is not filled to capacity with black, Latino, Native American, Asian American and progressive white students from the University! The strength of our legal defense and our ability to represent the new movement through our testimony will be completely determined by the participation of the movement in the court- room. We already know that CIR will be objecting to our testimony. Their objections will happen far less if sitting behind them is a crowd of peo- ple who are making clear that they will not be resegregated. We already know that the judge has limited the amount of time for our case. His restrictions will be far less enforced if sitting in his gallery are black students demand- ing that he not deny them the opportunity to attend the University Law School. We have taken the movement to the streets on Days of Action, and during Martin Luther King Day marches. It is now time to let Judge Bernard Friedman know that the movement has come to him. He has to feel accountable to the pro-affir- mative action students of the University and of this nation. We have always known that we are not going to win these cases simply by having a good) legal case or simply by having the best witnesses. We understand that a new civil rights move- 'I think it's important that we bridge the athletic campus with the academic campus.' - University Athletic Director Bill Martin speaking at yesterday faculty Senate Assembly meeting. THOMAS KULJURGIS TENTATIVELY SPEAKING o- A NEW SfTDY SA COLLEGE YOUR DAP S 1 F10ME. FRESMK ARE STYING HE TMANKS Y) FOR WdASPM LESS THA E\ER SEFORE. HITSr 01 4OEY 0* ''AtS'ArfoM L2 V/1, ( At eay Varying state rules lead to abuse of system ment will decide the question of black equality and integration in this country. It is time for the court to meet the movement and for the move- ment to move the court in the right direction. The University's case thus far has absolute- ly been a disgrace to the defense of affirmative action. You definitely do not get the sense that the University is defending you. All of their witnesses have testified that with a "race-blind" admission system the number of minority stu- dents will drop. At the same time they have their admission witnesses saying that race is not a big deal in reviewing files and that is hardly a major factor that is even distinguishable from playing the tuba. That is exactly why students had to inter- vene in the case. We have to defend affirmative action on the bases of using race to offset racism and as a way to further integration because the University will not say it! My testimony will be nothing if it is given to an empty courtroom. We must fill the court- room starting especially today and tomorrow when our case begins. There will be transporta- tion leaving from the Michigan Union at 7 a.m. every morning and cars coming back to Ann Arbor as needed. Your participation in the movement is needed now! T he adoption system in the United States has come under fire because of a current international dispute between two families vying for custody over six- month old twin girls. After spending two months living with the one family in Cali- fornia, these girls were taken to Wales to live with a family who paid the same adoption facilitator more money for them. And while one may think adoption regulations would limit price bargaining over newborns, varying state adoption rules leave loopholes where situations like this most recent highly publicized adoption squabble. The issue not only raises questions about the practice of advertising children but whether the 50 different sets of rules should meet some kind of national uniform standard. After seeing a posting on the Internet about the twin girls, the Allen family agreed to pay $6,000 immediately and the remaining $2,500 over time. Fearful that she wouldn't receive the remaining $2,500, the adoption facilitator made arrangements to give the children to the Kilshaws family of Wales, who offered almost double the amount. The Kilshaws then went to Arkansas with the birth mother, who used an aunt's address to claim residence there, and began adop- tion proceedings. Granted, this case is one of fraud on the facilitator's part, but it calls into question the lack of uniformity between states' adoption laws. In California, switching adoptive parents is legal, for 90 days after the babies are placed in a home. In addition, there is nothing ille- gal about paying an unlicensed broker to handle the placement. In other states, the use of a facilitator is illegal, while in others still it is only legal to use licensed facilitators. With no consistency, situa- tions like this can occur and it is the children who will likely suffer. The idea of baby selling is a revolting one, yet it happens everyday through newspaper ads and Internet postings. Children are being treated as merchandise, rather than people. This nation would benefit greatly from uniform adoption standards. Adop- tion must not turn into a flea market. This most recent case indicates it very well may be turing into one. University does note need Rick Pitino TO THE DAILY: Wake up S. Brandon Coan and the rest of the naive fans out there ("Bring Pitino to the University," 1/19/00). Rick Pitino is not com- ing to the University! No matter how many of those stupid Pitino faces you can make, he is still not coming here. What makes you think that he is going to be as good as he was MO the University of Kentucky? Remember, he promised to take the Celtics to the playoffs, with several of his same Kentucky players on the roster and didn't come close. Also, we don't need Piti- no for recruiting. The last three years have brought excellent talent to this university and it is only getting better when JaQuan Hart and Dommanic Ingerson come to Ann Arbor next year. We don't need Pitino, him go out west. Instead of just picking e first name in the headlines, we should stay closer to home and find someone in the area, preferably a Cazzie Russell or even a George Gervin. JASON ROOVER LSA JUNIOR freedom pregnant woman are explicitly connect the question is whether or not the wonAi has the right to control her own body and avoid nine-months of hormonal hell. In the case of pregnancy, a woman's rights super- sede the rights of the fetus. Clearly this is a hotly contested line of reasoning. One can rationalize the decision to end the life of a fetus in any manner they would like and while I personally find any of the excuses to be profoundly selfish, tb is the nature of this nation. The entire foundation of this government rested on the involvement of combating spe- cial interests that would be forced through necessity to compromise. The compromise was made, 28 years ago. Bush, in his uncompromising inability to rl-1ii~i. tha~t hip -,heltered lifehn-c given him AGNES ALEoBUA LSA SOPHOMORE The first day: An attack on 28 years of esterday was the 28th birthday of arguably the most well-known Supreme Court case of our time. It is a birthday that consistently brings controversy and inflamed emotions. It is a birthday that has never passed by without cries of protest and cries of support. It is the birthday of a case that guarantees the rights of women to negate the birthdays of their potential off- spring. Jan. 22, 1973. For me, it was not one of Manish1 family planning groups. Happy Birthday. Apparently, a group of old, fat, white men who can't sustain an erection long enough to impregnate a woman in the first place are now allowed to mandate when a woman must give birth. Laura Bush - the remarkably uninter- esting, remarkably docile, remarkably proto- typical 1950s housewife - fumbled around and found her own voice, stating a while back that Roe v. Wade should not be over- turned. Apparently she's not willing to stick up for women in general by convincing her dim-witted other half of the importance of this case. I should offer a brief segue at this point; I am morally opposed to abortion. I'm JASON POLAN U M*M4