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