4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 16, 2001
U~bi EtIigan ttatilg
420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
daily letters@umich.edu
Fun and friendship forever treasured
MiKE SPAHN PRAY FOR RAIN
9
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.
"So Igot that goingfor
me, which is nice.,,
- Carl Spackler
knew a little bit about
college when I came
here four years ago.
Classes, parties, friends,
midterms, papers, opportu-
nity, freedom. I knew all
were in my future.
What I didn't know was what would rise to
the top as the most important piece of my col-
lege career. I didn't know what, when I wrote an
epigraph of some sort, would be the centerpiece.
I didn't know what, when I told my children
about college, would be the first memory to
bring a smile to my face.
With two short weeks left in my undergrad-
uate career, the answer to those questions is
clear: More than class, more than studying,
more than craziness, I'll remember fondly the
relationships I've built, the people I've met and
the friends I've made. Those pieces of my col-
lege career will never fade, and for that I'm
grateful.
Four years ago my parents dropped me at
Bursley Residence Hall, and left for good. I
knew no one. I sat in my room for a few hours
after bidding them adieu and wondered -
aloud for a few moments - what I had gotten
myself into. "I could be drinking a beer with my
high school fiends in Madison, Wis., right
now," I thought to myself.
I got a little scared.
But then, by chance, I heard a person across
the hall was a Chicago Bears fan, and what's
more, the Bears were playing my beloved Green
Bay Packers three days hence.
An opportunity.
I still can't believe that the first friendship I
built in college began with me trash talking a
guy I didn't know, about football, music and
golf. Even more unbelievable is the fact that I
still am, and forever will be, friends with that
Bears fan and putting competitor.
And as I met more and more of the 7th
Doug crew, I knew I would be alright, but
underestimated how great I had it. From putting
in the hallway (I still have the cup, B) to late
night pizza calls (Jet's with ranch, E?) to intense
matches of Bond instead of class (Miller, Bay-
watch, Cous ... I'm leaving too many people
out), I hit the big time when it came to hallway
fun -- and that was without even leaving out
exiled position on North Campus.
From North Campus I moved to South U.
- but those who knew me best knew I really
moved to the Student Publications Building.
There I met a host of people who will forever
impact my life, one who always challenged me
to be better than I thought I could ever be.
Thanks.
But at the same time it was the people out-
side the building who I owe a debt of gratitude
to. As I slaved, they never gave up on me. Bro-
ken plans, late arrivals and days away never
impacted our friendships. And when it came
time to sack up with six other guys for the home
stretch of my college career, I lucked out again.
Despite huge responsibilities and long hours, I
was never abandoned.
The boys of 1024 Pack (B, Cups, Jimmy,
Casey, Dr. G and Kilch) are known to many.
From White Russians to early morning golf to a
beer and BBQ on our porch, I couldn't ask for a
better group of people to hang out with. Things
could have gone much differently for me.
A centerpiece to this coagulation of friend-
ships came about a few years ago on the Univer-
sity of Michigan Golf Course. A chance cross-
ing of three woods gave birth to an outing that
brought together some pf the best people I've
ever met. The Spahn-Hayden Invitational
always was, and will be, an excuse for Brian
and I to pull together all of the great people we
know. I'm glad some people think it's about 0
golf, partying and hanging out (which, I guess, it
is) but I always knew it would be a selfish
attempt to see my friends and have a good time.
From Scratch hitting the Bear in the back to
having the cops put an end to the largest beer
bong this side of the Mississippi, the memories
are unforgettable. And for those of you who
haven't participated, just look for someone
wearing the t-shirt, and they'll tell you about it.
I'm already looking forward to next year ...
I've been trying to figure out why I have the
friends that I do right now. We don't have the@
same career goals. We don't all act the same.
We don't value the same things the same way.
But recently, I figured it out: They stuck with
me through thick and thin, even when they had
no reason to. And we always had a good time.
That's the true test of friendship.
When I think about it all in the end, I won't
worry about being far apart after graduation or
the inevitable infrequency of meetings. I'll just
think of the Big Lebowski and birthdays, golf
and games of Yahtzee, Simon's and singing
"Piano Man," and my smile will return.
"If you will it, it is no dream."
This is Mike Spahn's last column for
The Michigan Daily. He'd like to thank all those
who in uenced him on his journey through jour-
nalism (Heather, Josh, all of daily2@k an everyone
in between). E-mail him at mspahn@umich.edu.
'I'm sure the University would deny it until they're
caught with their pants down.'
- University alumnus and former president of
Students for a Democratic Society Al Haber last week on whether
the University would admit DPS officers are infiltrating student groups.
Daily neglected to
announce Greek
Week winners
To THE DAILY:
I'm just writing to let everyone know that
Team 4, which consists of Theta Xi and
Alpha Delta Pi, kicked some ass and won
Greek Week.
Apparently, the Daily seems to think that
this is not worthy of their precious paper
space. But I'm going to keep this short and
sweet. To sum things up, way to go Team 4,
nice job Theta Xi, and the Alpha Delta Pi's,
especially the girls of variety, are hot.
CHRIS SUNDELL
LSA sophomore
The letter writer is a member of
the Theta Xi fraternity.
Race does not
belong in 'U'
admissions policy
To THE DAILY:
The news article, "Acting Affirmatively"
in the April 13 edition of the Daily strength-
ened my position against affirmative action.
In today's society a person's environment
plays a greater role in determining intelli-
gence than race. I believe that race does not
make a person inherently disadvantaged. By
using race-based affirmative action it makes
the assumption that minorities are inherently
less intelligent than whites. If there is an
inherent disadvantage I would like to know
what gene is the "stupid" gene.
With the high school that Jen Fish profiled,
Cass Technical, the location of the school
impacted the level of education given, not the
fact that 91.3 percent of the students were
black. There was inferior equipment compared
to other high schools and this put all students
at a disadvantage, not just minorities. The
problems that the school faces are not racial
but rather economical. What makes the white
students more educated than the minorities
that attend the same high school? They were
each presented with the same situation. Why
then does the University give preference to
ARE YOU RUNNING THE
NAKED MILE THIS YEAR?
I'D HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE
ABOUT IT, AND THEY
WOULD THINK I WAS A
P ERVERT
,crr
I WAS GOING TO UNTIL I
FOUND OUT I COULD GET
ARRESTED AND CHARGED
WITH A SEX CRIME
SO THIS YEAR I'M JUST
GOING TO VIDEO TAPE
...
..
10
U U U N
one race over the other?
I am sympathetic to all minorities in the
inner cities across America, but not only
minority students live in poor neighborhoods.
Affirmative action should be based on eco-
nomic factors. This would benefit all students
who grow up in an educational environment
that lead to disadvantage school districts. In
many poor neighborhoods the educational
systems put' students in a disadvantage, not
race! When our University finally realizes
this, hopefully there will be less protesting
and more integration.
BECKY NUGENT
LSA first-year student
Life Science Initiative
is too narrow
TO THE DAILY:
As many students are aware, the University
has been constructing new buildings and taking
bold research initiatives focusing on various
aspects of the life sciences. In my opinion, this
can be a brave and valuable supplement to our
University. I fear however that the entire Life
Science Initiative is going to focus entirely
upon bio-medicine, molecular biology, neuro-
science and genetics. In other words, the parts
of biology that will net the University the most
research money. True life sciences go far
beyond these small aspects. It extends into the
evolution of life, the behavior of organisms, the
interactions between different organisms, the
impacts that humans have on these interactions,
and very complex systems of adaptation, ecolo-
gy and evolution. Right now, there is minimal
research on these aspects while an overwhehn-
ingly vast majority of the research dollars go
towards bio-medicine. Let's at least be honest,
and if focusing on the life sciences, let's actual-
ly research all parts of the life sciences. Rather
than sacrificing scientific integrity, let's
embrace the field that we claim to study. Other-
wise, we should just call this new institute "The
Biomedical Science Initiative."
THOMAS AMBROSE
LSA junior
Daily discriminated against Muslim students
VIEWPOINT
Last Monday, a group of more than 100 spe
Muslim, Christian and Jewish students gath- na
ered on the Diag to commemorate the 1948 lu
massacre of a Palestinian village named Deir to,
Yassin. The Michigan Daily was informed of en
the event by both a press release and many ing
phone calls. The Daily's managing news edi-
tor, Nick Bunkley, chose not to send a news ha
reporter to the event. After many participants me
approached a Daily employee who had come da
to cover the event, she quickly informed the
them that she was only a photographer, and he
that she was only taking pictures for "future cle
reference." The clear implication was that sta
there would be no account of the event in the th
paper the next day. "B
About 35 students from the Muslim Stu- ian
d the wrong number. He asked again to be
t in, being told this time that no such thing
ould happen. He then asked to whom he was
eaking, at which time he was given a false
me, and then finally told that he was "out of
ck." Finally, after about 15 minutes of trying
enter the building, the two Daily staffers
tered the building as an employee was exit-
It is important to note that the crowd that
d come to the building consisted equally of
en and women, with the men being mostly
rk-skinned and wearing beards, while all of
e women, except for two, were wearing
adcovers. The group was Muslim. This was
ear. After entering the building, the two
affers questioned a photographer as to why
ey were not let in. She responded by yelling,
3ecause there are ... there are ... um ... Christ-
n protesters trying to get in!" There is no
building three times. Each time he called, he
received no answer. After talking to us for
about half an hour, he invited us into the build-
ing, and offered to get a news reporter to speak
to us. He apologized to us and was honest and
open in fielding the many questions we had.
He told us that our method of informing the
Daily of our event by submitting press releases
and calling the paper was the best we could
have done, and that it was important for stu-
dents to come to the paper and voice their con-
cerns. At around 11 p.m., after talking to a
news reporter, we quietly left the building and 0
went home.
I am saddened, as a member of this com-
munity, that the Daily news staff, and the
editors of the news staff in particular, found
it unnecessary to cover our event. It seems
clear to me that a well-documented village
massacre in which more than 250 people