4A - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 21, 2001 able Stich igFat jDativ 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily. letters@urnicli.edu A farewell to arms (or, Exit the arena) BRANDEN SANZ DROPPiNGUH THIER H 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 is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthu- siasms, the great devotions, and spends him- self in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achieve- ment; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. " - Theodore Roosevelt I have always loved that quote. Along with "Who Dares, Wins" (which, not coinci- dentally, is tattooed on my back) it probably encapsulates my philosophy on life better than anything else I've ever heard or read. I have always endeavored to be the man in the arena. I think it stems from the fact that so much crap happened to me as a child that I had no control over. I'm sure I somehow came to the determination that I would live my life on my own terms, dependent upon nothing and beholden to no one. I never really wanted to be a public figure - it just sort of happened. I had always been an "action, not words" type, but constant bombardment by a barrage of sanctimonious, uber-liberal drivel prompted me to action and, as I soon learned after arriving at the University, I was fighting in a new battlefield and I needed to adopt new tactics. So, instead of whining amongst my peers, I decided to go out a give myself a voice. I decided to write for the Daily itself, the very bastion of political correctness and monument to shel- tered idealism. What followed was a three-plus year odyssey full of love, hate and hundreds of e- mails. We have been through a lot together, you and I. You have seen me funny, happy, serious, angry and everything in between. You have seen me at the heights of irony and the depths of self-loathing and I feel like many of you know me as well as you could know anyone they've never met. Likewise, I have tried to get to know you as well - a fact that might explain why I have answered every single e-mail (save two) that I have received since I started writing for The MichiganDaily. But it all ends here. As of tomorrow, my employment at the Daily ends - although you couldn't technically call it "employ- ment" as (I'm proud to say) I have never taken a single check. So as I fade back into obscurity, I'd like to leave you with a few thoughts. First and foremost, I don't know what will become of me. The wisest man I have ever known once told me, "There is only one rule for being a man: Whatever comes, face it on your feet." To that end, I have thrown the life/career road map in the trash and am tak- ing life as it comes to me. That's okay - if I die tomorrow I will die a happy man. I have seen and done things that most 40-year-olds have not and have already lived what could be considered a "full" life in my short time on earth. That's as it should be. I have never had an overwhelming desire to be rich - all I wanted was a wife, kids and a house on the beach with a fireplace and a dog. That's it. Not too grandiose, but it would suit me just fine. No, my big desire has always been to experience. To go out and see what things really look and smell and feel like in the first person. Granted, this way of thinking has gotten me into trouble a time or two. I sup- pose I could have avoided the stumbles, the cuts and the bruises (not to mention the bar brawls, arrests and broken bones) if I had chosen the path of least resistance, but that is a course of action I could never bear. My one true fear in life is to live until I'm 100 and then, one day far from now, be sitting on my rocking chair lamenting all the things I never did, never saw and never will. The thought is truly terrifying. So this is it. You may see me around Ann Arbor. And no, the picture looks nothing like me. Just look for the guy sitting quietly in the corner with the furrowed brow and hard. green eyes - that's me. You may see me at Charley's on Thursday nights or at Champi- ons Gym or perhaps at Zydeco Louisiana Kitchen ("cause if you're not sweatin' - you're not eatin'). Perhaps some day youlI see me SCUBA-diving the Great Barrier Reef or standing along the banks of the old Wounded Knee Creek, listening to the ghosts of the Lakota in the wind. Perhaps you'll find me riding a Harley through the Nevada desert or standing at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro,* looking out over the great Sahara and the blue of the Mediterranean beyond. But until that day comes, do me one favor. Find your own arena and place your- self in it. Say "Fuck You!" to all the doubters and naysayers and live your life like you think you should. That, my friends, is what it's all about. Goodbye. Give Branden San feedack at wwwnichigandaily.com/forum or via e-nailat hamrhead umich.edu. Akjust i~n tie or*pr n *c, Hunting saves animals from slow death, is 'way of life' To THE DAILY: Emily Achenbaum's column ("Hunting: Wasteful, cruel and definitely not a sport," 2/19/01) about hunting was incredibly false and offensive to an avid outdoorsman like myself. Hunting is a positive activity and indeed is not a sport. It is a way of life for many of those who live in rural areas. Fur- thermore, I've never hunted in a game park where the animals are fenced in (and know no one who has) as Achenbaum implies most hunters do and I have stitches from getting a fishing hook in my shoulder - something that would deter a fisherman from returning to fish again, according to her column. I am sorry to disappoint every- one who believes that, but my favorite activities are still hunting and fishing. Likewise, I hunt for the meat, not the fur or the antlers. Meat is the only reason I hunt. Until I came to school here I rarely ate any meat except wild game, just the same as anyone would eat beef from a cow. Another reason hunting is positive is because it con- trols the animal population. Currently in Michigan, there are too many deer because of an increased food supply from better farming techniques. Without hunters, car-deer accidents would be an even larger problem than they are now and farmers would have many more of their crops destroyed. Finally, as an example, there are so many deer that even though there is more food during the growing season, many deer still starve to death in the harsh winters of the north because there is less food per ani- mal at this time of year. So, many animals that die in seconds with hunting, would die in many months' without hunting - slowly and painfully from starvation. I hope this gives everyone an intelligent argument in support of hunt- ing. JUSTIN Voss Engineering first-year student Hunting requires skills, should be considered a sport To THE DAILY: Emily Achenbaum's Feb. 19 column ("Hunting: Wasteful, cruel and definitely not a sport," 2/19/01) claims that hunting has no sporting value and yet she spends precisely one paragraph talking about the skills necessary to hunt. First, hunting begins months before any season with hundreds of hours of scouting, equipment preparation and planning, from logistics of the trip to in the field strategy. There is always a very large chance that a hunter may come home empty handed, even -r 1--II.C1 - ..-+. r.. I +1- ,.-+-r {he' n Aror wddIteer1 er9ts* s4 7~~ al4 adX4, C3' t ' 'v - ir Lastly, the fun in hunting comes from the camaraderie and bonds made between the people who hunt. Not from the sacrifice of the animals. JOSEPH MICHALSEN LSA first-year student Students should stand behind Ellerbe TO THE DAILY: This letter is in response to Chris Duprey's column ("Ellerbe's legacy should be loyalty," 2/20/01) regarding Brian Ellerbe. I thought his column made a much needed statement. I think that too often the public, the fans, forget that first and foremost the players on any college sports team are basically "kids" who are doing things that most of us don't have the talent, drive or desire to do. They deserve our respect and loyalty, win or lose. Some goes for college coaches. Yes, it is a chosen profession, but how many other pro- fessions are open to public humiliation. How many of the people heckling, yelling "Fire Ellerbe" are in or will ever be in careers where people can publicly criti- cize them and tell them, their families and the nation that they are doing a lousy job. And Ellerbe is not doing a lousy job, the University is just having a non-winning sea- son. I am sorry, but I can not give much sympathy or gripe about a losing season, as I am recent graduate of Northwestern Uni- versity, or what most people at the Universi- ty probably feel is the joke of the Big Ten in regard to sports. But win or lose, it is impor- tant for every school to stand behind its teams and coaches. EMILY BouCK School of Social Work Recording can work with Napster, profit TO THE DAlLY: After reading David Horn's column about the demise of Napster ("Goodbye, old friend," 2/16/01), I felt compelled to write. The solu- tion to the whole Napster controversy is so easy access to the music we want. Of course, there is the potential for abuse under this sys- tem, such as artists downloading their own songs to generate revenue, mislabeling files,. etc. But the overall idea is sound. Record companies should acknowledge the inevitabil- ity of Internet-distributed music and they must realize that this system of royalties per down- load is obviously'preferable to never-ending legal action against every Napster clone that pops up. BRIAN MADDEN University alumnus Graduate program affirmative action does not make sense To THE DAILY: Why is race considered in college admis- sions decisions at the graduate level? From what I understand, there are race-based admissions at the undergraduate level to account for the potential academic and socioeconomic advantages that some stu-O dents may have over others before college. However, once we are all accepted and have attended a college or university, isn't the "playing field" leveled? How does a majority student have an advantage over a minority student after undergraduate educa- tion? Wouldn't a minority student feel more accomplished if he or she were accepted on his or her merits rather than simply the color of skin? These are open questions to the Uni- versity community that I think should be con- sidered carefully. DANIEL SMITH Engineering sophomore ,w . - - :> :;:;