4 -The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 7, 2001
OP/ED
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Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's
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NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
( ( How can you come in and
say that you are concerned
with the welfare of the mother
when here's a person who is
not of sound mind, who has
been addicted to drugs, and
then is told, 'Okay, we're going
to give you $200 to become
sterile and you can take the
money and buy yourself some
more crack'?"
- Las Vegas NAACP president Gene Collins
in the Nov./Dec. issue of Mother Jones,
commenting on the organization Children
Requiring A Caring Kommunity, which pays
drug addicts $200 to sterilize themselves.
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Are non-relationships the new relationship?
REBECCA ISENBERG ONE TURNTABLE AND A MICROPHONE
O nce upon a time, other. Soon the non-relationship began to esca- high school and when they both were leaving
in a sorority late as they started to learn more and more about for college they decided that breaking up would
house far far each other. They were talking on the phone and probably help them both to grow as individuals.
away, a young columnist chatting it up just like boyfriend and girlfriend. They wanted to turn their hard-core relationship
desperately tried not to But Max was planning on going abroad next into a friendship. This wasn't as easy as it
imitate Carrie Bradshaw, semester so they both knew there was no point sounded. They couldn't help but talk on the
her favorite Sex and the in getting too close and too deep into a relation- phone, become jealous of each other's lives,
City heroine. Week after ship. This seemed like a good idea until it and say "I love you" as they hung up. Yet, they
week she avoided writing became difficult to distinguish where exactly to still denied having a relationship. They had to
about relationships. But as the end of the draw the line with this "relationship." fess up to the truth in order to see the error of
semester rolled around she was faced with too Were they allowed to hook up with other their non- relationship ways.
much material. Too many signs pointing in people? Were they allowed to question each On the other side of town, Alyssa and Jared
the direction of beginning her column like other's whereabouts on the weekend? struggled with an issue of their own. Alyssa
Carrie would. A screen panning across her If they weren't officially going out, the the desperately wanted to get out of her non-rela-
iBook as she typed ... "are non- relationships answer would probably be no. But they both tionship. It had become too much like her rela-
the new relationship?" wanted to ask. Their non-relationship had tionships of the past - routine and lame -
So yes, this columnist gave in. turned into a classic relationship. something she had tried to avoid all along with
Because everywhere I turn these days I Meanwhile, in an afternoon psychology dis- Jared. She was faced with a classic problem:
watch people in non-relationships with their cussion, Casey and Ryan had exchanged inno- How could she break up with someone she
non-significant-others looking pretty relationi- cent flirtations for over a month. Soon their wasn't going out with? She tried "the phase
shippy to me. study sessions had turned into more than a out" - a desperate attempt to nonchalantly
What exactly is the deal? vocabulary review. As things heated up, Casey stop hanging out, calling back, hooking up. But
It seems to me that campus is filled with and Ryan really began to fall hard for each it was too hard. She couldn't do it. Her tactics
couples having non-relationships. The kind of other. Both were coming out of long term rela- that had worked with past boyfriends were fail-
partnership that looks, feels, tastes, and smells tionships and agreed that going out would spoil ing with her non- boyfriend.
just like a real couple but turns out that neither all the fun that they were having just being I've noticed from my extensive research on
person involved wants "a relationship." In theo- "friends with privileges." As the months went these non-relationships that a good idea in theo-
ry this seems like the perfect plan, but eventual- by no one, including themselves, could tell the ry does not always pan out in romantic reality.
ly every non-relationship will face its share of idifference between a normal couple and this Yet, this new take on a relationship is a trend
problems. Just as the following did (names couple. They were going out weren't they? Or spreading like wildfire in the dating, or non-dat-
have been changed, not to protect the innocent, were they? Casey began to feel frustrated by ing, world. If people would stop being so
but to let the cast of characters finally have the their non-relationship, feeling that it either had scared of commitment then relationships would
names they always dreamed of). to move forward or end. Their plan to avoid the finally be accepted again. Sometimes the strug-
Lauren and Max had been set up for Lau- "relationship talk" had failed and they were gle to avoid a relationship at all costs is more
ren's first sorority date party in September. both forced to examine exactly what they want- trouble than admitting to one to begin with.
They had a great time together and really hit it ed out of this non- relationship.
off. In the coming weeks, they would casually Dorielle and Brandon had a different sort of Rebecca Isenberg can be reached
hook up on the weekends when they saw each problem. They had gone out for two years in via e-mail at risen er@umich.edu.
YLETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Unpopular speech
the most important
to defend
TO THE DAILY:
It is a frightening thing when people
demand that editorial cartoons should not
be published if they are not humorous.
I find myself wondering whether Oren
Goldenberg, who wrote criticizing Chip
Cullen's cartoon on the Israel/Palestine
peace process ("Editorial cartoon 'very
offensive,"' 12/06/01), would demand that
that Daily only print columns or editorials
which everyone in the student body agrees
with.
The purpose of an editorial cartoon, as
with any other form of editorial, is not to
cause the reader to laugh, but to convey the
author's opinion on an issue.
Demands that the media avoid commen-
tary which someone might find offensive
are demands which limit the freedom of the
press. Unpopular speech is protected in the
same manner as any other speech, and,
indeed, it is the protection of unpopular
speech which is important for the mainte-
nance of liberty.
RICHARD MURPHY
Engineering senior
Undeserving profit
from affirmative
action policies
TO THE DAILY:
Sheer genius.
I'm not one to praise the Daily editorial
staff often, if ever, but I must say that I am
thoroughly impressed that Manish Raiji had
the guts to stand up and say "affirmative
action is broken" ("The liberal right turn,"
12/05/01). ,
Affirmative action can be a wonderful,
wonderful tool if properly applied. But
when it is used to give affluent minorities
who attended affluent schools extra abili-
ties to get into college, it is ignoring those
who truly need the assistance affirmative
action is intended to provide.
It is also implying that a minority stu-
dent born and raised in Rochester Hills
bring smre iltural diversit than a non-
Honors program suffers
from lack of facilities
To THE DAILY:
We write as two members of the LSA
Committee charged with "rethinking" the
Honors Program to respond to the Daily's
12/04/01 editorial, "Honors overhaul:
Revamping Honors Program will take more
than an espresso bar." One of us is a third-
year Honors student, and the other, a faculty
member who has taught Honors courses and
who chaired the Committee.
The LSA Honors Program has a proud
history, 4nd the Honors staff, faculty, and
students do an excellent job with the
resources they have available. But the reality
is that there are simply not enough small, fac-
ulty-taught seminars for Honors students, not
enough opportunities for advanced work
with professors, and little in the way of spe-
cial programs, events or public spaces
designed to encourage informal intellectual
discussion. The plan to renew the Honors
program addresses these concerns in ways
that have received overwhelmingly positive
responses from the Honors students with
whom we hove spoken.
The Daily objects to plans to build facil-
ities dedicated for Honors program use,
such as seminar, study and meetings rooms
and a commons area for students and facul-
ty. Our discussions with students convince
us that the lack of places where students and
faculty can meet for informal conversation
and study is one of the greatest needs the
Honors Program faces. .
The Honors Program is a "living-learn-
ing community," like the Residential Col-
lege or Lloyd Hall Scholars Program. Resi-
dential College students (residents or not)
have privileged access to RC studios, music
practice rooms, an auditorium and art
gallery, and priority registration for RC
classes. LHSP students have live-in faculty,
dedicated classrooms and lounges, as well
as priority access to programs that bring in
artists and intellectuals to speak and present
research. If you head on over to South
Quad, the current home of the residential
component of the Honors Program, you will
find ... none of this.
Moreover, until last year, Honors Pro-
gram advisers in Angell Hall worked in clos-
et-sized cubicles and the Honors Program
office was not even large enough to hold a
seminar. The office has now moved to a
larger space, but the situation for most Hon-
ors students hasn't changed much. There are
relatively few programs of any kind specifi-
cally offered for. Honors students, no dedi-
cated lounges or study areas in South Quad
or anywhere else, no classrooms or other
types of facilities - in short, nothing that
would suggest that the Honors Program is ,
anything like the vibrant, active living-learn-
ing community many Honors students imag-
ined they were entering when they chose to
come to the University and participate in it.
GWEN ARNOLD
STEPHEN DARWALL
Arnold is an SA junior.
Darwall is a philosophy professor.
le
Cincinnati: Dispatch
from the road
TO THE DAILY:
As I reflect upon my experience yester-
day at the events surrounding the affirma-
tive action trials in Cincinnati, I realize I
lack the vocabulary to sincerely define what
I have witnessed. It seems difficult to find
the language to describe the beauty of
young people learning: The pursuit of jus-
tice, the reconciliation of right and opportu-
nity, and the negotiation of the personal and
the political by attending a rally, a court
proceeding, and a town hall meeting, we
action to capture genuinely the profound
energy of the day.
LEENA SOMAN
LSA senior
The letter writer is an MSA Minority
Affairs Commission co-chair.
LETTERS POLICY
The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from all
of its readers. Letters from University students,
faculty, staff and administrators will be given
priority over others. Letters must include the
writer's name, phone number and school year or
University affiliation. The Daily will not print
any letter that cannot be verified. Ad hominem
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