! w v lw w w U t W 8 - The Michigan Daily - FooTBALL SATURDAY -. Friday, September 28, 2001 Wee Mitly STREET N What's the role of academia during tm R O ANN ABORMI 48109a dailyleters@umich.edu tim e? 'Death threat' calls on U' to silence student opposition, will ".non-mainstream 9/11 analysis survive in higher education? Friday, September 28, 2001- FOOTBALL SATURDAY - The Michigan Daily - 5B PRELUDE To A GRUDGE MATCH Michig an looks sluggish in 38- wins: GEOFFREY GAGNON EDITED AND MANAGED BY Editor in Chief STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MICHAEL GRASS SINCE 1890 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. MICHAEL GRASS ATX Mlt L E1 RloAl C ampus: you have been T warned. You r. are being watched. And if there are any more anti-war protests, there could be hell to pay - perhaps even with your life. That's according to a threatening let- ter that was forwarded to the Daily fol- lowing last Thursday's anti-war protest. Readers may interpret it as a death threat. The author may have meant it as a joke, but it may very well be serious. Below are portions of the letter, which has not been edited for grammar, spelling or punctuation. Judge for your- self. what does it take for the yellow bastards that your school breedsthe cellow bas- tard war protestorsto realize that this war is a must-must situation!!do then not watch tv?do thev not care of theirfellow americans?do i have to come to your school premises with a bus and pick them up at gunpoint,to load them tip on a bus -to take them to NewYork city myself to open their peabrain eyes so thev can have a closer glimpse into the eves of evil and the depths of hell at ground zeroand make them get on their goddamn hands and kneeshit them in the stomach so thee have to breathe real hard and deepand smell the godawful stench of all the dead americans that were killed by the terrorists that created the CAUSE of this 4AR.whats the matter with those yellow streek up their asses students? ... thee are very lucky that i was 'nt in ann arbor during this protest.sou had better warn vour students NOT TO STAGE ANY MORE PROTESTS AGAINST AMERICANS FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM .believe vou me,it will not end with peace on their side.im a patrioticlaw abiding ,good red blooded anerican citizen and belong to a large and powerfill organization known wtorldtwide. tou could sav we are the US.A.s GHOST battallion.we fight for the red white and blues causes. when the govt. is 100% right, without any shadow of a doubtand when the govt.cant solve the problem withinjust means in the eves of the public,no matter how hard thee trythen we take over the fight of that cetain cause. ... no matter how ruthless our method may bein the eees of all humankind our ends justify the means.we all live by the code "iget cut,my brother bleeds,my brother gets cut,i bleed",in other words if these pea brains dont understand what brother- hood is all about,they are notfit to be an americanor live on my american soil.with this letter they have been WARNED!!!! .what these cowards need is a taste of terrorism i guessin order not to protest our country engaging in war to rid this evil.im ashamed to let my other brothers and sisters from other states know i/live in a state that has a presti- geous school that allows their students to protest against all the dead americans honorfom newYork and washington.if it happens again thee will be dealt with.you can take that to the bank.do they belong to a terrorist organiza- tion???tell them to remember whatpres- ident Bush said about terrorists. "your with us ,or tour against us "and i n organization waves the same flag presi- dent Bush wavesgod bless his sole.these students will be filmed .photos will be madeof them ,the will be followed to their homesand their address' will be recorded.they then will be filed as sus- pects. my organization will not be as lenient with these eellow cowards when the sword of swiftjustice swingsas their parents were when thee were caught doing what the wereforbidden to doas children.these kids need a wake tip call and I hope this warning reaches them to do just that.thank you...... What does a letter like this signify? Obviously, it's primary intention is to scare campus with an ultimate goal of silencing anti-war sentiments among students. If interpreted on a broader level, this letter signals what's happening across the nation - a backlash against alternative unpopular thought in our time of deep crisis. Interestingly enough, a letter like this this has a significant impact on academia. The letter writer asks why the University allows such un-American activities to take place on campus. And when you consider that, one must ques- tion the role of a university during times of war. Some television pundits we've heard the past two weeks contend that during our time of crisis, the nation must restrain itself and censor alternative thought that could be construed as un-American. By doing that, national morale is strong. But if that is taken literally, that means that criticism of American foreign policy and U.S. military actions must be suppressed for the betterment of the homefront. For example, pointing out that two great empires were slaughtered in Afghanistan could become a taboo subject, banished from national discus- sion. In a nutshell, some in this nation right now want nothing more than American flags and "God Bless America." Nobody wants to hear about why the presence of U.S. forces in Pakistan may tear that nation apart. To very patriotic Americans, like many people in this nation, including the writer of the threatening letter, times of national crises call for the country to stand together and place all faith in the government. That's how the United States succeeded in World War II. And some blame the U.S. defeat in Vietnam on the the lack of unity at home. Much of the opposition to that con- flict was fostered on university campus- es nationwide - including here in Ann, Arbor. It wasn't just students yelling and screaming. There was activism in the classroom as well. Whether you interpret that activism as education or anti-war indoctrination, what's discussed in the nation's lecture halls may not always be in sync with the patriotic interests of the nation. But our "New War" is not Vietnam. Will debates in our political science lec- tures or American history discussion sections temper criticism of the govern- ment or delve beneath the surface and analyze the hell out of the United States' role in the world? As seen from last Thursday's anti- war rally, there are people who are dar- ing enough to challenge mainstream American thought and oppose the war. We've seen teach-ins where panelists have indicated that the tragedies of Sept. 11 will force the U.S. to change its glob- al attitude. That's not too comforting to people who only want to see Old Glory and ticker tape parades down Broadway. Just like during the Gulf War, the University is probably not going to take a position on the anti-war/pro-war debate. And for good reason. The role of the University is to provide a forum where ideas can be exchanged and debated. But many ideas that stand in stark contrast to the American national consensus have been attacked so far. Last year, the University came under fire from conservatives across the state for an English course offering titled "How to be Gay." If a political science professor wanted to offer a course titled "Why America is swrong" will the University bow to outside pressure to suppress those views? During the 1950s, the University forced professors suspected to be affili- ated with the Communist Party to resign. Today, the threat isn't the Soviet Union, it's Osama bin Laden and terrorism. But if patriotism subverts academic freedom, then I fear we could be facing a new un- American witchunt. Although it is hard to predict how the national consensus on the coming war will steer higher educa- tion, it's the University's duty to not revisit the days of McCarthyism. Hopefully my fears are unfounded. University President Lee Bollinger, a noted First Amendment scholar asked professors and graduate student instruc- tors to engage their classes in discus- sions about the terrorist attacks in the days following Sept. 11. I hope this will continue. I also hope that' in the uncer- tain days ahead, our society will be able to tolerate views that clash with the mainstream American consensus on the war. Many of the ideas we've heard about pacifism and peace are idealistic and unrealistic, but there are others that are quite rational. On the flip-side, there are other arguments supporting war that are just as rational. If our national consensus moves toward the censorship of academic free- dom, the University must foster an envi- ronment where even the most ridiculous, unpopular ideas are heard loud and clear. Michael Grass can be reached via e-mailat mgrass@timich.edut. By ArunGopal Daily Sports Writer It certainly wasn't pretty, but it still counts as a 'W.' This-oft-used sports axiom is one that the Michigan football team might be ' reciting to itself after last Saturday's less-than-impressive 38-21 victory over Western Michigan. Paced by three touchdowns - two of them rushing - by B.J. Askew, the. Wolverines completed their noncon- ference schedule with a 2-1 record. Still, Saturday's victory left a lot to be desired, a fact Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was all too willing to point out after the game. "If the nonconference schedule is supposed to prepare you for the Big Ten schedule, then we've got a lot of work to do," Carr said. Western Michigan's first posses- sion of the game should have been an indication that this was going to be a bumpy day for the Wolverines. Led by quarterback Jeff Welsh, the Broncos' spread offense caused all -sorts of problems for Michigan's pass defense. Starting at his own 26-yard line, Welsh completed four of five passes for 52 yards as Western Michigan methodically drove into Michigan ter- ritory. But Victor Hobson's sack of " " unbeaten, wins 34-1 CHAMPAIGN (AP) - Each week, Christian Morton predicts he'll score a touchdown. He finally came through against No. 25 Louisville. The Illinois cornerback intercepted two passes, returning the first 33 yards for a score, in the Illini's 34-10 victory over the Cardinals (3-1) last week. "It's my first year at the position but I expect to come out every week and do this," the sophomore said. "I knew it was six." This was a matchup of two of the best quarterbacks in the country - Illinois' Kurt Kittner and Louisville's Dave Ragone. Surprisingly, neither of them dominated the game. The Illini defense took over this game, which will bode well for Illinois in the Big Ten race. Kittner made some solid plays, but he had a couple of poor throws and bad decisions mixed in there. Fortunately for Illinois fans, their defense handled Ragone well after the first quarter and forced five turnovers. Illinois (3-0) forced Louisville into committing five turnovers, repeatedly pressuring Dave Ragone into making Welsh on a third-and-two play from the Michigan 20-yard line - the first of Michigan's seven sacks on the day - forced the Broncos' Robert Menchinger to attempt a 44-yard field goal, which he left a good five yards short., Michigan's offense - which rolled up 472 yards on the day - took advantage of the missed opportunity by driving 73 yards in nine plays. With the ball at Western's 41-yard line, Michigan quarterback John Navarre tossed a screen pass to Askew, who raced untouched down the left sideline-for the touchdown. "You never know exactly what I'm going to do back there," Askew said. "Every time I was out there, they were yelling 'Screen! Screen!', but I was running and the blocking was awe-. some." Michigan extended its lead to 10-0 before Western Michigan got on the board. Following a Michigan punt, Western Michigan tailback Phillip Reed took a handoff on a seemingly simple draw play, cut to his left and rumbled 37 yards. On the next play, Welsh hit wideout Micah Zuhl for a 17-yard touchdown, cutting the Broncos' deficit to 10-7. But the Wolverines snuffed out any possible momentum the Broncos might have had by driving 78 yards in five plays on the ensuing possession. The big play came when Navarre con- nected with Calvin Bell for a 47-yard gain down to the Broncos' 13-yard line. Three plays later, Askew took a sweep around the left end and ran eight yards for his second touchdown, extending Michigan's lead to 17-7. If Western Michigan could've gone into the lockerroom only down 10 at halftime, the Broncos would have been satisfied. But Welsh committed a critical error when he was intercept- ed by Todd Howard at the Michigan 35-yard line with just over a minute to play in the half. Navarre wasted little time capitaliz- ing on the turnover. One the third play of the possession, Navarre lofted a 40-yard bomb to Marquise Walker, who made a fingertip catch in the endzone that broke the Broncos' backs. "I thought the biggest play of the game was Todd Howard's interception before the half," Carr said. "We hit a big play there. John made a great throw, and Marquise caught the ball for a touchdown." Despite holding a 24-7 lead at half- time, Michigan couldn't be too proud of itself. The biggest problem for the Wolverines - one that continued in the second half-- was penalties. Michigan was whistled for 13 penalties in the game, nine in the first half alone. Six of those nine penalties were either offsides or false start vio- lations. "That's ridiculous," Carr said about the penalties. "This is the third game of the year. You should have 13 penal- ties in three games. It's just unaccept- able." With the game essentially over by halftime, the second half was devoid of any drama. The Wolverines and Broncos traded touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters, althopgh Western Michigan's final touchdown came with no time left on the clock and most of the remaining fans itch- ing for the game to end. Illinois jumped all over previously unbeaten Louisville last week and won, 3440. A 'AlOtN 'Cu.IRl'ltER AFRKAN- AE TO THAT, BB, AND t some t ss we i %uZE THAT tsteto i poor throws. The quarterback was sacked three times and finished 22-of- 39 for 309 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. The Illini defense, a major concern heading into the season for coach Ron Turner, held the Cardinals to 338 total yards and all but stopped the Louisville ground game. The Cardinals had 29 rushing yards on 25 carries. Illinois has forced 12 turnovers through three games this season while' turning the ball over only twice on offense. "We stress that a lot. Our defense has done a tremendous job of getting turnovers." Turner said. "Games like this are why I love to coach. This was one of the most fun gams I can remember coaching." The Illini outgained Louisville 504- 338, with.203 of those yards coming on the ground for the team"s best rushing performance this season. Antoineo Harris led Illinois with 102 yards on 22 carries and one touch- down. Kurt Kitner got off to a strong start after an inconsistent game two weeks ago against Northern Illinois. Kittner completed nine of his first 12 passes, se last a 9-yard scoring pass to Carey Davis to put the Illini up 10-7. Illinios then went up 17-7 on Morton"s inter- ception return.