4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 29, 2001 ale firtjcbtqat,:4Dt(tlv 420 Ma YNR STREET ANN Aj icm , MI 48109 daily.lc etters@umich. edut So, another NFL season is in the books MIKE SPAHN PRAY FOR RAIN '71 EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THF UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 GEOFFREY GAGNON Editor in (hief MICHAEL GRASS NICHOLAS WOOMER Editorial Page Editors 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 U nfortunately, I'm writing this column without the benefit of knowing who won this year's Super Bowl. But to me, it doesn't really matter. I long for the days ofGreen Bay Packer triumphs in the big game, but those days are gone for now. Even the days of consistent playoff births are gone, so who am I to talk about winning the big one? This game, this biggest of all games in fact, has deteriorated, in my mind. More people tune in for the commercials than anything else and each year the game gets a little more boring. Aerosmith and 'N Sync at half time? You've got to be kidding. No Bud Bowl? Please, that was the best partr of the early '90s. Sure there have been a few good matchups - last year was a good game, I guess, but who really cared about the teams. The Rams and the transported Titans? Two teams in new cities with no history. I certainly had no reason to watch. And now we've even got the Ravens in the game. The Ravens? I mean really, a team that moved from Cleveland and then proceeded to name itself after an Edgar Allen Poe poem? That's ridiculous. And on top of that, what about the fans? In both Cleveland and Houston, the fans must be steaming. Their team leaves, much to their dismay and then less than to years later, it's Super Bowl time. That must be terri- ble. Money wins out over loyalty and the entire professional sports arena is indicted. And now those fans must not only watch a Super Bowl contender, but also replacement teams that surely stink and will continue to stink for quite some time. Don't get me wrong; I was not always so cynical. I used to look forward to football games like they were weekly Christmas morn- ings. I wore my John Elway jersey in the face of criticism each season, only to see dynasties like the '49ers and the Cowboys rip my heart out. I prayed for Jim Kelly to get even one ring, only to see wide-right kill my hopes. But in the end, I stayed the course and even- tually got what I wanted - the Packers, my team, won the big one. And I was in high school trying to win the big one myself. For me the big one was just that - one. Any one. See, my school didn't have the best team. Check that - we stunk. For years. Seven years, to be exact. Entering my senior year, we hadn't won a game in 63 tries. That's a drought if I've ever heard of one. But, just as I would have hoped, we turned the streak around. Headlines in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the day after our first game of my, senior season read, "The streak is over." We shut out an inferior squad 14-0 one August night and like that, we were heroes. It was as if we'd won the Super Bowl, as fans stormed the field and TV cameras searched for the captains and our coach. And all this for a seemingly insignificant feat - we won one game. We didn't have huge goals, huge TV con- tracts or even huge stakes in the game. We just loved to play and our fans tumed out to see us play. Win or lose - and it was usually lose - we had an enthusiastic crowd of supporters willing to go to the mat for us. And when we won the big one - our first game in more than five years, our fans were there supporting us. Now that's what sports are all about. A corporatized synergy of sport and advertising will never compare to the raw, base emotion of winning a high school game that so many people care about. Even the 1997 Packers Super Bowl win cannot compare to the joy that beset the Shorewood Greyhounds and their fans that warm August night when the streak ended. And never will the NFL be able to capture that emotion if it keeps.catering to corporate sponsors and other big-money clients, rather than to the fans. I'm going to watch the Super Bowl and I'll even enjoy it. The commercials should be funny and I guarantee I'll be sick of Survivor promos by the end. But I'll have a good time, I'm sure. However, never will the emotion of the Super Bowl compare to the sim- ple joy of a Friday night under the lights, where football - and sports in general - is pure. The point of sports is to.unite and entertain and unfortunately professional sports lost that along the way. With money guiding decision-making,. we'll never be able to truly enjoy the games as we did in high school. Just remember, 0-63, and the fans still came. Would that happen in the NFL? Or would the team be off to Las Vegas with a name change and a new logo? It just doesui't seem worth it. Mike Spahn really isn't that cynical, but ifou have a good high school sports story, he'dive to hear it and maybe even write about it. His column runs every other Monday. E-mail him at mspahn@umich.edu. 1I want to say to him 'please stay." -.Religion and English Prof. Ralph Williams on the possibility of University President Lee Bollinger leaving the University if Harvard University offers him its top position. 'Vagina Monologues' raises awareness TO THE DAILY: It seems necessary to reply to Rob Shere- da's letter ("MSA was 'petty and political,' not empowering" 1/25/01) not only because it rep- resents a totally misinformed viewpoint, but also because it seems that Shereda gets a kick out of tearing down those who are actually out there trying to make a difference and someone needs to call him on that one. The aim of the "Vagina Monologues" as part of the 2001 Col- lege Initiative is to raise awareness about and to try to bring an end to violence against women. However, domestic violence is not the only kind of violence against women. To say that SAFEhouse is the only organi- zation that supports women who are victims of violence is to be exceedingly ignorant. What Shereda seems to be missing, however, is that there is no argument here. We all agree that SAFEhouse is an amazing organization and that is why it will receive half of the proceeds from the "Vagina Monologues." We have cho- sen to donate to Planned Parenthood because it is anything but a "faceless" organization. If you want to see the faces of Planned Parenthood simply look at the women of this university. If you think Planned Parenthood hasn't touched the life of a woman you know, then you're fooling yourself. As for the statement that Planned Parent- hood forces "women to fork over large sums of cash" (Rob, did you happen to know that Planned Parenthood provides free medical services to women?) Yes, Planned Parent- hood does provide abortions but it also pro- vides contraceptives, HIV testing, sexually transmitted disease testing, pelvic exams pre-natal care, vasectomies, infertility care and tubal sterilizations (try visiting www.plannedparenthood.com to attempt to sound more intelligent next time). The decision has been made to donate money to the "Ann Arbor women who real- ly need it" - all the women who need it, not just those affected by domestic violence. Shereda may have' called the Michigan Stu- dent, Assembly "petty and political," but I see his letter as far more political than the actions of such MSA members as Commu- nications Chair Matt Nolan, who was able to look past politics to see the greater issue. Nolan has my greatest respect for stand- ing up and supporting women while people like Sherada choose to mock him rather than display the same strength of character. KAREN SOULES LSA junior The letter writer is the director of the Vagina Monologues. FOX PROUDLY PRESENTS A GROUP OF MEN PUT IN A TROPICAL PARIDISE WHERE THEY WILL BE TEMPTED TO CHEAT ON THEIR GIRLFRIENDS... ts ISN'T THAT WHERE WE WENT LAST YEAR FOR SPRING BREAK? - 0 + Ann Arbor life imitates bad TV S Daily mislead readers about Code TO THE DAILY: As director of the Office of Student Con- flict Resolution, I would like to respond to the Daily's editorial ("Fight the Code," 1/12/01). Reasonable people may disagree about whether there should be a Code of Student Conduct. However, given that there is a code in place that University students agreed to abide by, it's important for all within our commu- nity to have factually correct information about it. Some of the facts in the Daily's edi- torial are incorrect. First, the conflict resolution procedures are readily available from OSCR; they may be found in the University Policies Hand- book for Students, and are accessible via the Internet at http://www.umich.edu/-oscr/. We invited the Daily to send representa- tives to our resolution board training session held on Jan. 13, a forum where its staff could ask questions about code procedures. I'm sorry that no one from the Daily staff chose to attend. The editorial states that students "... are denied legal consultation for the Conflict Resolution procedure." In fact, students charged under the Code are permitted to consult with an attorney at any point during the conflict resolution process, including the disciplinary hearing. You write "... the Code of Student Con- duct considers itself competent in determin- ing guilt and innocence in legal matters." The Code is an educational tool designed to respond to specifically identified behavior that is inconsistent with the values of the University community. It is not designed to, nor does it, determine whether someone is innocent or guilty of violating civil or crimi- nal laws. The Daily also states that students are "... required to keep (themselves) free from rumors, speculations and contact with law enforcement officials ..." The Code process is triggered only by a written complaint by a student, a member of the faculty or a staff member. The Code was developed with student input. The amendment proposals submitted by the Michigan Student Assembly have been undergoing a careful review by the Stu- dent Relations Advisory Committee and Uni- versity President Lee Bollinger. We anticipate implementing any changes accepted by the president' in the 2001-2002 academic year. I encourage debate about the Code; how- ever, it's very important that the debate be based on accurate facts. KEITH ELKIN Elkin is the director of the University's Ofice of Student Conflict Resolution. } Palestinians on verge of missing peace opportunity VIEWPOINT The conflict is intense. The propaganda runs wild. All the reports are biased. As an American college student, I face the diffi- cult task of sorting through this mess of opposing images and propaganda to find some element of truth. Recently, it has become increasingly clear that Israel wants and is prepared to make huge sacrifices for peace. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the Palestinians. Former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba the United Nations Partition Plan of 1948, which called for two separate independent states in British mandatory Palestine. Instead of working with Israel to ensure peaceful coexistence, six Arab dountries invaded the new state with the goal of "dri- ving Israel into the sea." This hatred of Israel did not stop in 1948. It seems as though this was just a starting point for a hatred that would grow so intense that one questions whether or not future generations of Palestinians would be able to abide by a peace agree- ment; or, whether this hatred is simply a and not "martyrdom." The latest missed opportunity occurred just months ago at Camp David, when PLO Chairman Yassir Arafat maintained his "all or nothing" stance on several key issues. The only solution to the current conflict is some sort of a peace agreement. Yet, it is impossible to negotiate for peace without compromise..Israel has con- tinually ;demonstrated its willingness to make sweeping and painful compromises, even on the holy city of Jerusalem. The Palestinians have not. Right now, as negotiations are underway in Taba, 1.