0 4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 8, 2001 OP/ED ate lNtirbigau Dil,, 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 daily.letters@umich.edu __ _ _. 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. NOTABLE QUOTABLE '(America is terrified from north to south, east to west, and we thank God for that. Today, America is tasting what Muslims have tasted for decades." - Osama bin Ladin, in a pre-taped response to the American attacks on Afghanistan, broadcasted via the Qatari news service Al Jezera. 1 Mr?eiLrt bey~ brantk MOO__ - o ,X 1P .. M : f , ' -u s ' <. A, z1. x.,. 3t s . ':gam . f' 3 0 Steer, bold mariner, on! or, no mis dia de Columbus. JOHANNA HANINK PARLANCE OF OUR TIMES T oday at the Uni- versity of Con- necticut, classes are cancelled for the "Fall Recess." This means that the majority of my friends are still sleeping right now. Only this weekend did I realize the reason that they didn't have to set their alarm clocks last night - today we, as a nation (are supposed to, at least) celebrate the 509th anniversary of Columbus sailing the ocean (blue) and "discovering" Ameri- ca. If you're reading this publication, chances are that you've made it past your fifth-grade teacher's October lesson plans and could readily correct anyone misin- formed enough to think that Columbus set out to show the world that it wasn't flat. And at this point, we're all sick of the countless reminders that Columbus in no sense of the word discovered America. But there is more to the myth of Colum- bus than simple geometry or general knowl- edge can account for. Christopher Columbus, a slave trader even before his famous trans-Atlantic voyage, bears much of the responsibility (an understatement) for the systematic genocide of the indigenous populations of the Caribbean. Again, most of us know this or, even if we don't buy into it, have been exposed to the idea. Which means that I can pass over the statistics and would only be wasting space to write that under Columbus' administration of the Caribbean islands, more than eight million native people were killed, five million within the first three years. And perhaps it doesn't bear mentioning that torture, rape and enslave- ment became the modus operandi in the New World in no small part due to the unutterable mores of one individual. But it is worth noting that Columbus' style - his importation of the encomienda tributary labor, i.e. slave, system from Spain and his exportation of slave labor back to Spain (as well as from Africa to the Caribbean) - set and justified the devastating precedent for bru- tality and slaughter in the Americas; a prece- dent which Ieft the Western Hemisphere, after only a few centuries, over 100 million people smaller. So today the protests, the biggest of which will be in Colorado, will pass by with a headline in The New York Times and a sound byte on National Public Radio. And perhaps there will be a network news spe- cial, where a member of the American Indi- an Movement will face off with a wrinkled white man that counters humanitarian argu- ments with cries of "revisionist," declaring that political correctness has once again gone too far. But what's more frightening than that scenario is that the protests may go by unnoticed. In the midst of our new war on terrorism (yes, it had to be mentioned), the rights of American Indians might not be the sexiest cause to pick up. For the mainstream media, issues of activism go in and out of style as shares are calculated and ratings give the orders. And Columbus Day doesn't really bother most people - especially those who get a few more hours of sleep on its account. For most of the University community, that our Sept. 29 football opponent, the University of Illinois, is still represented by the "Fight- ing Illini," and mascotted by "Chief' Illni- . wek, detracted nothing from another Wolverine victory. We need to be bothered that we're not bothered. The blind celebration of Colum- bus Day - the songs and plays and art pro- jects that accompany it in elementary schools across the country - falls under the category of big problems with a fast fix. Like the Confederate flag that still flies in South Carolina (also a cause that seems to have gone out of fashion), a simple action would make so many thousands feel more at home in the United States. Considering the history, it's the least we can do. And while we wonder why, if it is so con- troversial, if it is so hurtful to some, there is not as much media-grabbing resistance to Colum- bus Day as we might think there would be, we have to factor in that unfortunate human ten- dency to only devote ourselves and become impassioned about issues that affect us in the most direct of ways. And in asking why the voice is so small, why there are so few of us that are affected directly enough to take action, we can only find ourselves having come full circle to why Columbus Day needs to go. Johanna Hanink can be reached via e-mail atjhanink@umich.edu. Y LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 0 0 Y IN PASSING BRAY V. WILSON ON WJR For those who may have been listening to WJR AM 760, you heard a debate on the David Neuman Show Friday night between two out- spoken University students: LSA sophomore Jackie Bray of the Alliance for Peace and Justice and LSA junior James Justin Wilson, former Michigan Student Assembly Peace and Justice Commission chairman and member of the Young Americans for Freedom. The topic? (This isn't hard to guess.) None other than the new war, peace activism and and the conflict's consequences. For most of the 45-minute debate, Wilson essentially stayed silent while Neuman grilled Bray about peace activism and issues surrounding alternatives to armed intervention in Afghanistan. Bray stood her ground and came out the victor in this par- ticular fight. Why? It wasn't necessarily based on Bray's rhetoric or the strength of her argument - it was based on the fact that Bray surprised everyone. When Neuman introduced Bray as a "peace activist," the common conception of a spineless "wishy-washy/why can't we all just get along" type of activist was automatically pinned on her. But in her first answer, Bray laid out her beliefs which surprised many, including Neu- man. Bray called for some type of international response rather than sitting back and doing noth- ing. Another misconception of peace activists is that they believe the U.S. undoubtedly deserved the horrors of Sept. 11. Bray clearly deconstruct- ed this saying that she and many of her fellow activists believe the U.S. in no way deserved to be attacked. While Wilson was silent for much of the show, Bray laid out interesting points that haven't been heard in the mainstram media. Bray recognized that Osama bin Laden wants the U.S. to attack to destabilize the Mus- lim world and therefore spark a "clash of civi- lizations" as Bray put it. (A good point, but of course, Neuman cut her off at that instant before she could elaborate further.) Bray urged caution as we enter the new war, because U.S. actions in the near future could initiate a very ugly conflict between the West and the Muslim world - a good point that hasn't been aired in the main- stream media too often. Bray took a different approach and surprised everyone, painting a different picture of the peace movement. But I'm sure that is a concept many of WJR's listeners had difficulty under- standing. When someone bases an argument only on buzzwords and catch phrases that every- one has heard over and over again in the media, it's not very interesting or compelling. Wilson didn't contribute much more to the conversation beyond the obvious arguments. Perhaps that's why Neuman payed more attention to Bray and why Wilson was mostly silent on the other line. - Michael Grass NEGOTIA IONS WITH TERROR: NOT AN OPTION Yesterday, President George W. Bush started a "war" that we have been expecting. The days ahead will undoubtedly see peace activists advo- cating that the U.S. stop shooting and starts talk- ing. While negotiations are normally the preferable option, Americans should ask whether or not negotiations are advisable under these particular circumstances. The Taliban is a authoritarian regime which supports terror attacks in the United States, Rus- sia, Israel and numerous other places. Unlike mainstream Islam, the Taliban's version of Islamic fundamentalism is similar to Nazi ideol- ogy in that it is based on notions of superiority and the hatred of all who are different from them. These beliefs have no place in the modern world. History demonstrates that negotiations with people driven by this type of hate are futile. Like the Munich agreement of 1938, such nego- tiations are likely to result in more violence and more deaths. - David Livshiz In Passing views are those of individual members of the Daily 's editorial board, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of The Michigan Daily. So, L Columbia? Been there. Done that. To THE DAILY: Of course I wish President Bollinger well and congratulate my alma mater, Columbia, on the wit and wisdom of its choice of a new leader. After all, one of the reasons I came to Michigan this year was that Lee Bollinger is president. How can I begrudge my old school seeking the best? But even though he received his law degree in Morningside Heights, I thought it might be worthwhile for one Columbian to remind another about life on the Upper West Side -just in case he forgot. 1. If you think parking is bad in Ann Arbor, forget the Heights. Broadway? River- side Drive? Impossible. As for the side streets, every other Columbia faculty member is trolling them, too. Even College Walk, one of the grandest entrances to any campus in the country, is wall-to-wall cars. And don't expect special favors. I once watched the Emperor of Japan's limousine waved away by a Columbia guard. 2. Nicer house? True, you can't beat Columbia's President's House for space. It's one of the last free-standing mansions left in Manhattan, and designed by McKim, Mead and White to boot. But as Mike Sovern, one of your predecessors, discovered, the neighbor- hood is so boring that it was better to keep his place on the East Side, a mile away but eons beyond 116th Street in prestige, amenities and access to big donors. And I understand that the ghost of Dwight Eisenhower, who never liked being Columbia's president (it was easier win- ning World War II), haunts the place. 3. And as for the prices! Dinner for two at a so-so Midtown restaurant: 300 bucks! Monthly charges for indoor parking (if you can find it): So high that some people ask if they can sleep in their cars! Housing (because you won't want the President's House): $5 million-plus for a Park Avenue apartment with a dining room big enough to invite a trustee and his wife over for a meal! 4. Fewer pesky undergraduates? Granted, there are only about 3,000 of them at Colum- bia, a fraction of the number at Michigan, but what they lack in quantity, they more than make up in whining entitlement (as in they all ee is leaving 0. 9* FILE PMUIU Lee Bollinger, the University of Michigan's 12th president and soon to be Columbia University's 19th president. serenely confident of their place in the world and consequently gentle and high-minded. Well, don't confuse Columbia for Dartmouth. In a city full of billionaires, power brokers and celebrities, university types fall near the- bottom of the social pyramid. Stand clear of any New Yorker denied a table at Elaine's, which at Columbia is just about everyone. 7. And yes, Columbia's graduate student assistants are organizing. President Bollinger, may your ship sail happily east and may alma mater envelope you in her warm embrace. Just keep your eyes open. (And while you're at it, please look into the situation at the Columbia Club on 43rd Street. Sharing a house with Prince- ton is tacky.) RoY STRICKLAND The letter writer is the director of the master of urban design program at the University's A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. president who can specifically relate to the problems, needs, strides and successes of minorities. The University needs a minority president. Brown University has a new African American female president and has experi- enced great success already less than a year into her term. Bowling Green State Universi- ty, a MAC school, has experienced such great success under its African American leader that the Board of Trustees have given him a raise more than two times already. It's time the University does what it does best, and set a precedent for the rest of the country to fol- low. The University is doing so in its pending affirmative action cases, it has done so with its Life Sciences Initiative. It's time to do it up top. With the anticipated absence of current University President Lee Bollinger next year, the Board of Regents will be meeting time and time again to seek a great replacement for an unfortunate loss.