4A - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 31, 2001 e lCirt a ttn ttilg 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily. letters@umnich.edu All I ever needed to know (Ilearned on '80s radios BRANDEN SANZ DROPPING THE HAMME EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 GEOFFREY GAGNON Editor in Chief 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. t seems there comes a time in everyone's young life when they start listening to music. Soon after, usually between the ages of ten and 15, we actually become aware of what we are listening to. It seems that those early years set the groundwork for what will later become our "taste" in music. My musically-fundamental years came between 1985 and 1993. For over half a glori- ous decade I could turn on the radio and get pumped to the testosto-rock of Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Motley Crue, groove to the old-school gangsta' rap of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, revel in the haunting power ballads of Heart, Poison and Winger. Then Nirvana came along and radio just went to shit. Years of angst-ridden grunge soured me on FM radio and I retreated in to my CD collection. But guess what? The '80s are back, people. Take a look around and you'll see jean jackets and hoop earrings galore. Next thing you know, we're going to back to the good old days of 0- Rings, Spandex and crimped hair (don't forget the Aqua Net.) Yeah, baby! I can't wait. Given this certitude, I figured it was time to come up with a little list. I'm sure you have all seen that "Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in kindergarten" thing, right? Personal- ly, I think that's bull. I learned more from music in the late '80s and early '90s than I ever did in kindergarten. Therefore, I respectfully submit this list of life's little lessons, all of which can be found on a cheesy '80s station near you. . The Lesson: Do unto others. The Source: "Round and Round," by Ratt. Yeah, I know all about the Golden Rule, but never was it so poignantly expressed as by Steven Pearcy and the rest of the boys from Ratt. "Round and round -- what comes around goes around. I'll tell you why!" If that doesn't get you psyched to do a good deed, I don't know what will. The Lesson: Be Tolerant of Others. The Source: "People are People," by Depeche Mode. I could have used a line from "Personal Jesus" here, but I think this song begs the "Why can't we just get along" question as well as any source I can think of. The Lesson: Know Survival Techniques. The Source: "Stand," by REM. "If you are confused, check with the sun. Carry a compass to help you along." You can be sure these guys would do okay on "Survivor II." The Lesson: STD Awareness. The Source: "Love is a Social Disease," by Bon Jovi. Forget about sex ed, people. I got a head-start on my education by listening to this tune from Slippery When Wet. The Lesson: Social Activism. The Source:*"Fight for Your Right (to Party)," by the Beastie Boys. There comes a time in everyone's life when they discover that there are certain inalienable rights you have to stand up for. Thank you Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D. s The Lesson: Size Does Matter. The Source: "Everything Counts," by Depeche Mode. Sorry, I couldn't resist. But why else would they say "Everything counts - in large amounts?" r The Lesson: Realpolitik is True. The Source: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," by Tears for Fears. Long before I ever heard of Organski, the haunting vocals of Roland Orzabal informed me that people are selfish and states always seek to maximize power. * The Lesson: Family Values. The Source: "Home Sweet Home," by Mot- ley Crue. Even tough guys can have "hearts of gold" and "romantic dreams." The Republicans can talk about family values until they are blue in the face but anyone familiar with this land- mark power ballad can give you the lowdown. The Lesson: Aussies Are Fuckin' Weird. The Source: "Land Down Under," by Men at Work. What the hell is a vegemite sandwic1 anyway? The Lesson: Temper Your Expectations. The Source: "Every Rose Has It's Thorn," by Poison. (C'mon sing with me!!) "Just like every night has it's dawn. Just like every cow- boy sings a sad, sad song." I became a cynic at a young age, due in large part to Bret Michaels telling me not to get my hopes up too high. The Lesson: Violence is Bad. The Source: "Today Was a Good Day," by Ice Cube. When a bad mamma-jamma like i Cube tells you he's happy because he didn have to use his AK, you better take heed, peo- ple. The Lesson: Cops Don't Get Paid Squat. The Source: "Empire," by Queensryche. "In the fiscal year 1986-87, the state and federal governments spent a combined total of 60.6 million on law enforcement. Law enforcement accounted for only 6 percent of federal spend- ing. By way of comparison, the federal govern- ment spent 24 million more on spa exploration and 43 times more on national defense than on law enforcement." Not a good career choice, folks. The Lesson: It's Okay To Be Gay. The Source: "Wit' Dre Day," by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. I don't care what the church says, if a guy as cool as Snoop Dogg can come out of the closet with a blatant admission of homosexuality ("With my nutz on your ton- sils...") then it's okay by me. You go, Snoop! Branden Sanz column runs on Wednesdays. iW can be reached at the next Warrant concert near you or via e-mail at hamrhead@umich.edu. HID SON, GRAT6AME. BUT WOE VM FROM, E DO TH4N66 DIFFEPE'TLY VOYD "VE W E N ELECTP tED * UNTIL NOV &LOED F%0 ' 'Honorable' women put 'dreams aside' to rear children TO THE DAILY: In response to Gina Hamadey's column ("Housewives and other misconceptions," 1/30/01), I would like to ask where all these "just want to have kids" women are hiding? This is probably the most honorable thing that a woman can do - make the loving sacrifice of her time and energy toward her children and to put her dreams aside so that the children grow up in a home with emotional care and support. Women such as these should be commended and take pride in the fact that they are providing a priceless service that cannot be obtained else- where: A mother's undivided love and attention. Unselfish people, men and women both, must exist at this university somewhere. Perhaps they do a good job staying quiet, so they aren't looked down upon by their peers who have so- called "higher" expectations. Maybe men who share these dreams are afraid to speak up, because they are liable to get slapped in the face for being "sexist." My best guess is that these people are just working quietly in the back- ground, the same way loving parents have been doing for years, without their past-due credit. BRETT LANTZ LSA sophomore International law can help Palestinians To THE DAILY: As International Law Prof. Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois wrote, "As a condition for its admission to the United Nations, Israel formally agreed to accept General Assembly Resolution 181 (II) (1947) (partition/Jerusalem trusteeship) and General Assembly Resolution cr x L, RAY L.JS TH1IE U14E.. t> -... Illw "- .... / w .: tjfff / i r 4MM 194 (III) (1948) (Palestinian right of return), inter alia." He stated that Israel's violation of these conditions makes its membership in the UN null and void. The point is that with this as well as other international institutions, the mechanisms for delivering justice to the Palestinian people already exist at the international level. Ameri- can insistence on mediating through the facade of an "honest broker" has been detrimental and rendered these mechanisms powerless. Ameri- can bias is too strong to invest legitimacy in its enforcement of international law. For example, American institutions of power have a collec- tive memory and experience that more closely matches the Israeli Jewish history of settlement and domination of a God-given "new frontier." American power elites cannot possibly under- stand the sufferings of the Palestinian people. Only through an international commission, with full support from the United States, repre- senting a pluralism of cultures, experiences and interests, will we see the implementation of international law and something closer to jus- tice. We cannot expect the United States to play an impartial judge, but we can ask her to sup- port the decision of the jury. WILL YOUMANS Alumnus Bollinger coverage not good for 'U' To THE DAILY: I can't get over the attention that the Daily has given to University President Lee Bollinger being courted by another school., How can the Daily think that it's something to brag about that Bollinger's going to ditch us for a "better" school? The Daily makes it sound so impressive that he's being all coy about what he would do if he were in the position to choose. If he'* leaving the University for Harvard or any other school, that's not something that we should advertise. How often do you hear people going around, bragging "Hey, Becky just told me she heard that Dan was thinking about break- ing up with me for Sarah! Can you believe it? Sarah! How flattering!" That doesn't happen, but the Daily is making us as a University seem like we're doing the same thing becaus Bollinger is going to go and as a student, that's not cool. BRIDGETT MAMOLA LSA sophomore It is not too late for 'U' to have a strong labor code VIEWPOINT Students have denounced the University's $28 million, exclusive supply and licensing contract with Nike and more crucially Nike's violation of the contract's labor standards in Atlixco de Puebla, Mexico the same day Nike signed it. 800 workers who make Michigan-Nike sweatshirts went on strike Jan. 9 to protest Nike's contractor's refusal to recognize the workers' independent union. Two days later riot police attacked innocent workers, including pregnant women, hospitalized 15 people and detained two union leaders. When the workers tried to return days later, the company locked out 300 workers who participated in the strike and another 300 have yet to return due to fear. It was an insult to these workers and the University community when University Presi- dnt V e nlinaor annnuniA nn ian 1 6that reported was far worse than anything we had thought - company management admitted to hitting workers with hammers and screw- drivers, employing 13 year-old girls, serving rancid meat to the workers, suppressing the strike and going back on an agreement to allow the workers to return. Without immediate action to allow the workers to return to their jobs and educate the community, the WRC report concluded, irreparable harm will be done to the workers and labor rights in Puebla. The University's advisory committee backed this fundamental assertion on Friday. For two weeks, college and university stu- dents nationwide have demanded that their presidents tell Nike to ensure all the violations are rectified immediately. Purdue's President said before the delegation occurred that any verified violations would represent a breech of their code of conduct. In addition, the Michigan Student Assemblv recently voted 26-3 to While SOLE would like to see more specifcity in a recommendation this week based on then WRC's advisement, this letter is a good first step by Bollinger. The true value of the lett will be realized once the workers all return the factories and are allowed to have a free and fair union election. Despite doing the right thing yesterday, we cannot overlook Bollinger's gross defiance of public accountability, misleading statements to the press and rejection of the advisory commit- tees' recommendations. In March 1999, amidst a student sit-in Bollinger told The New York Times he had adopted a strong code of conduc then for two years he reneged on that statemen For two years, two committees wrote a strong "UM code" and revised it. But Bollinger never intended on writing the committee's strong code into contracts and instead chose to negotiate a weaker "Collegiate Licensing Com- pany" code in the Nike contract, preemptively reiectinu an advisorv committee's recommen-