4- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 10, 2001
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420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
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The 1st annual 'Truth Manifesto'
DUSTIN J, SEIBERT THE MANIFESTO
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-
in always pondering
something. Be it life,
death, or something
in-between that doesn't
really matter much in the
. grand scheme of things,
thoughts constantly race
across my dome-piece at
the speed of life. My per-
sonality requires me to find
some form of an outlet for
my feelings, and since the Department of Pub-
lic Safety and the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment apparently have something against
random, gratuitous violence, my mixture of
anger, humor and introspectiveness was direct-
ed toward something more constructive ... and
so it went that through the pen, The Manifesto
was born.
As readers should well know by now, I can
take a given topic and expound on it forever and
a day. However, there are a number of asser-
tions that only need a sentence or two to effec-
tively get the point across ... these are the ones
that we often think but don't say. These are the
ones that some people just don't get, yet should
often go without saying. Now I don't have a god
complex (contrary to popular belief), and I don't
think that my word is necessarily the end-all, be-
all ... though I do stand strongly behind the fol-
lowing tidbits of knowledge. Buckle up, and be
prepared to let the truth set you free...
There is far too much wasted talent in the
world. So many people (see: engineering stu-
dents) are in a pursuit for the almighty dollar,
and general happiness seems to be a willing
sacrifice. How many people do you know that
are completely unhappy with their job? If you
don't even attempt to make a living with what
you love, then you are missing the big picture
... Why is it that when someone accomplishes
something positive, it is God's doing; yet when
someone does wrong, it's their fault? ... Gay
bashing makes about as much sense as racial
bigotry - they may as well be one in the same
... Large women who wear spandex, belly
shirts, short skirts and navel rings - you're
playin' yourselves ...
People who say honesty is the best policy
are 40-year-olds managing the chicken nugget
station at Wendy's. A little shadiness is very
necessary in order to make it in this world ...
Eminem is a coward at heart - he only dogs
on white rappers and boy bands because he
knows better ... Calling a black woman a bitch
- very bad idea ... Bisexuals are simply
greedy - they just find a hole and jump on in!
... All your base are belong to Manifesto ...
Praying to pass an exam won't help an ounce
-you best open up a damn book and make an
actual attempt at studying something ... Watch
out for that person that you call friend -- they
may well have an ulterior motive. Only a small
handful of people in life will have that unyield-
ing loyalty for you. Recognize and cherish
them, for you will find little of more impor-
tance ...
The utter shock of many people about these
recent school mass-shootings is beyond me.
Folks can't seem to believe that they occur in
quiet, rural Podunk, Pa. That foolishness simply
does not go down in the urban schools. Maybe
they should rethink where they put those metal
detectors ... People get way too goddamned
offended over such trivial things, like curse
words and insignificant shit like that. Redirect
your energy towards things that actually mean
something to someone ... People pull the "race
card" when it's unwarranted entirely too much.
Sometimes you just need to except responsibili-
ty for your own and save the drama for ya
mama ... For everything that they do to try to
kill Napster and other file-trading programs,
there will always be some pimply-faced, Drag-
onball t-shirt wearing engineering student with
nothing else better to do that will always be one
step ahead of them on the come up ...
People put far more weight into physical
appearances than they care to admit. Fellas,
don't get it twisted: That dashing personality
means nothing if you resemble the male cast
members of The Sopranos. Most people that
say that they work out to make themselves feel
better are usually lying to you and playing
themselves - think of the once-busted people
you know whose personalities changed for the
worse once they found a little vanity ...
Money can't buy happiness? Pish-tos*
Money can't buy certain happiness, but look at
all these jolly-ass rich people with smiles on
their faces ... On that note, isn't money the real
issue in life? I mean, what are most of us at this
university to accomplish? Isn't cash the source
of almost all of the complications of the world?
Imagine if you won some insane amount of
money in the lottery - couldn't you see all of
your problems wasting away in the blink of an
eye? ... A friend told me this recently: "Con-
nections are more important than any grade y
will ever receive at this school." Can I get
amen? ... Finally, I know you all have heard
this before, but some people fail to realize it:
Women love it as much as we fellas do; we just
seem to go about getting it much more reckless-
ly than the fairer sex. Go figure.
There is so much more I wish to assert, but I
only have -so much space, and much of what I
have to say leaves excessive room for misinter-
pretation from a printed page (refer to my
"being offended" point) So I shall leave you
the 2001-2002 school year, wishing all the beTs
in finals and future ventures. I'd hate to con-
clude on the ghetto tip, but I have to show one
love to all the readers of The Manifesto before
and during my time with the Daily, one love to
the departing seniors, and a loud, hearty "Deal
With It" to those who hate on what I do here.
I'll be back next year to bless you with more of
that real ... my word.
- Knowledge Eternal.
This is Dustin J Seibert's last colur
for the semester. Give himfeedback at
www.michigandaily.comlforum or
via e-mail at dseibertaumich.edu.
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Athletes shouldn't
have early class
registration times
TO THE DAILY:
The University has shown us again that ath-
letics and athletes take precedence over tuition-
paying students. First, student ticket prices for
football games are hoisted by $4 to help finance
the struggling and inept athletic department.
Now we get word that athletes are getting early
registration times. And you thought affirmative
action was a race and ethnicity thing. In yet
another clever ploy by the University to screw
over the average student, we now must wait
patiently while classes fill up with overworked
student-athletes while they arrange their class
schedules to coincide with their practice sched-
ules. Those poor athletes. First off, if an athlete
has problems making practices because of class
conflicts, there are several easy ways to deal
with the problem: Change the practice time,
drop the class, or drop out of the sport. It is very
simple.
There are plenty of students who have activ-
ities that conflict with classes and they deal with
it instead of whining to Athletic Director Bill
Martin. Furthermore, if the Athletic Department
is really looking to save money and help the ath-
letes, why not cut a few programs?
Perhaps perennial losers, such as softball,
volleyball, water polo and underwater basket
weaving. That way these poor, overworked stu-
dent athletes can concentrate on their studies
and the rest of us don't have to take in the nose
with the football tickets. The reason that this
University exists is not for athletics, it is for the
education of all students. If these athletes and
athletic programs are incapable of making the
grade, then solve the problem responsibly
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instead of punishing the average student.
JAY SCHAFER
Engineering sophomore
Place people over 'U'
investment profits
TO THE DAILY:
Frank Giancola brings up an interesting
point in the April 4 issue of the Daily ("Princi-
ple behind Burma divestment is unrealistic") in
his response to Dan Shoup's viewpoint ("Uni-
versity's investments in Burma send anti-
humanitarian message," 3/26/01). I agree that
responsible investing should also consider the
effects that their demands will have on their
own financial security. It seems that nowadays
it is difficult to find a company that is not
invested in a nation controlled by a government
performing less than par when it comes to its
moral responsibilities. The argument could also
be made that such foreign investment actually
provides an economic resource to a nation that
was previously unavailable; money that is
potentially used for education, health care, =
to increase the general standard of living.
Under the present regime in Burma, howev-
er, this could never be possible. The hold that
the regime has is so repressive and powerful
that all benefits go to support the authorities
and are lost to the people. Even the democrati-
cally elected leader and Nobel Peace Prize win-
ner, Aung San Suu Kyi, who, after the election,
was later placed under house arrest, has specifi-
cally asked foreign investment not to come to
Burma until democracy does. Human rights
abuses in this nation are so severe that the d -
sion should be a no-brainer. I think most of thY
University would agree with me when I say
that our policies should be concerned with peo-
ple, not profits. Maybe the most striking state-
ment comes from Business Week: "Burma
should not be open for business until it grants
its citizens the most basic human freedoms." Is
this the kind of issue that the University is will-
ing to turn a blind eye to?
BEN HAYf
SNREjuni
What FTAA media coverage may confirm
NICK WOOMER BACK TO THE WOOM
When it comes to
his profession,
Mike Wallace,
of "60 Minutes" fame, is a
hopeless romantic.
When Wallace, a Uni-
versity alumnus, had lunch
with several Daily editors
almost two weeks ago, he
admonished those of us
who were not planning on becoming profession-
al journalists. According to Wallace, we were
giving up on the chance to literally "write histo-
ry" by opting for careers in other fields; we were
tuning our backs on a profession that, by defini-
tion, aims to discover and publish (or broadcast)
the truth.
As Wallace laid into us, I kept wondering
"does this guy ever watch TV? How naive can
you get?" Ten to 15 minute "60 Minutes" pieces
are hardly the model for broadcast journalism
these days - instead people need their "news"
quick and easy CNN Headline News- and "The
O'Reilly Factor"-style.
Lately, this phenomenon has probably manifest-
ed itself most clearly in stories and pieces about
demonstrations by fair trade activists in Seattle,
Prague and Davos, Switzerland.
In his frivolous piece for May's issue of
Vanity Fair about the World Economic Forum
held earlier this year in Davos, James Atlas
casually noted that: "Mindful of the previous
year's unrest and freaked-out by the anti-global-
ists said to be streaming toward Davos from
every corner of Europe and the Free World, the
Swiss government had banned all protests from
the forum, imposing a virtual state of martial
law." The piece may have been for an entertain-
ment magazine, but one still has to wonder
about the strength of a prevailing ideology that
tolerates a "virtual state of martial law" imposed
to prevent the freedom of expression.
Not convinced? Luckily, you don't have to
take my word for it -P all you have to do is wait
ten days to observe media complacency for
yourself.
From April 20 to April 22, throngs of high-
level negotiators from 34 nations will converge
City unless someone commits an act of vio-
lence. When a handful of anarchists in Seattle
broke a Starbucks window, every journalist
included it in his or her story while hundreds of
non-violent demonstrators were being brutalized
by police; when half of the people at W's ina*
guration were there to peacefully protest his ille-
gitimate presidency, they got about as much
coverage as the "Black Tie and Big Boots"
inaugural ball.
Prediction two: What little coverage there
is of the protests in Quebec City will be focused
on the fact that the protesters are against "free
trade" with an emphasis on the word "free."
With the possible exception of rank-and-file
labor activists, they will be portrayed as a mo
ley coalition of out-of-touch freaks who can
accept basic economic truths. The "experts" will
assure us that privatization and free trade are the
only answer to today's "changing economy" -
as if there is some sort of consensus among
economists that this is the case (which there is
not).
There is absolutely no way media outlets
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