r. 4A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 18, 2002 OP/ED 0 G~hbe ffikb4tu &zitlu 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 JON SCHWARTZ Editor in Chief JOHANNA HANINK Editorial Page Editor 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 "The worst horror movie you ve ever seen - imagine that 10 times worse. - The local coroner in the town of Noble, Georgia, as quoted by the BBC on the sight of the dozens of decomposed bodies, some years old, behind the crematorium operated by Ray Brent Marsh, who told the police that the incinerator hadn't been working for years. THOMAS KULJURGIS TENTATIVELY SPEAKING t' TKMPE TELLra. IN F OM*T> 80 OV A 'RECKO1TIA& T4 , A1SOME) oy O D MlE.A jDbwFI Fri TETAT 9 19L &IXT i~co~Aatp HEor WHA si SOME %M~'E FALL A%-t&- S I t A~s 1 I V, 40 Sports, Part I: Question why you care JOHANNA HANINK PARLANCE OF OUR TIMES BC's ratings have in Connecticut their whole lives, and I feel admit it, the tandem-team of intellectual taken a dive over safe in the assumption that most of their ability and athletic exceptionality that goes the last few years parents did not hail to these midwest alma into a sport like football is striking. as the network has man- maters. Sports also have the power to bring aged to botch the gold- So why do people favor certain sports people together. They serve as a valid cul- mine Thursday night that teams over others with essentially no foun- tural institution arguably as much (though I it once had on its hands. dation for their choices? Why was I don't personally agree) as some of the Fine "I always had rooted brought up to root de facto for whichever Arts. But what I question is why people for NBC," said a friend team was playing against the Yankees? devote so much brain-space to a reality that of mine. "It's like AT&T Where does the personal investment in doesn't exist beyond their television sets - for some reason I always wanted their players I don't know, who live in a city and has no worth beyond the immediacy of commercials to be better than MCI's." that I don't live in, come from? the combination of game-time and the Of course, being an intelligent person, The huge emotional interests that peo- playing field. Why is what happens in a he recognized that these preference-deci- ple place in sports is merely a reflection of rink or on the court more important that sions were completely arbitrary. But most a hugely pervasive societal feature that one happens on the senate floor or in the of us can identify with them. For no real very few, unfortunately, seems to find dis- courtroom? reason, I've always wanted Visa to do bet- turbing (as I do) or even a bit unsettling. It's something I've noticed for a while ter than American Express. Bad Volkswag- I identify with team loyalty. I have - and everyone else probably has, too. on advertisements disappoint me, as if I teams that I care about and root for and fol- People whose level of intellectual inquiry were expecting better things out of a com- low and get angry over. And I think that's or enthusiasm you would normally write pany in which I have no personal invest- OK - but what's not okay is that as a off as being slim to nil come out of ment. Internet Explorer and Netscape society we fail to realize that when it nowhere with the boggling amount of eso- Navigator, for my limited purposes, might comes down to it, sports don't matter. terica they can juggle when it comes to as well be the same web browser, but given On Feb. 13 the New York Times ran a sports statistics. Batting averages, yards a choice, I'll always go for the blue 'e' front page article, "Inquiry started on figure rushed, points scored, no matter the team, swirling in the upper-right corner of my skate judging," about the whole Russia- no matter the decade, people have the computer screen. Canada figure skating scandal of the millen- capacity to blow you away with sports triv- And as much as I'll be hated for saying nium. The opening of the trial of Slobodan ia. And information surely does not get it, it's the same thing with sports. Milosevic managed to make page A8. more trivial. There's nothing like Michigan football, Now, admittedly, nobody cares about This all used to seem to be one of those right? The University of Michigan is the figure skating when it's not the winter of clear cut cases of if-only-you-could-use- most profitable athletic-apparel licenser of every fourth year, just like nobody cares your-powers-for-good. any college or university in the United about gymnastics when it's not the summer It may be clear-cut. But there's a lot States. In countries all over the world, peo- of every fourth year. But somehow, a fig- more to it than that simple observation. ple think that "Michigan" is a brand. ure skating controversy landed a prime And it has to do with corporations, adver- Shirts, hats, jackets, whatever - the 'M' is piece of real estate on the cover of the tising, media, the government, and diver- everywhere. "agenda-setting" New York Times and the sion of the masses. In my next column, I'll I remember from as early as my middle trial of a war criminal seemed to barely lay it all out. school years that the little boys around me make the paper at all. Until then, sports lovers, feel free to would be wearing athletic clothing, essen- Sports and athletic ability more general- late me. tially advertising for teams to which they ly do have their place. Mens sana in corpore had no connection. Michigan and Notre sano, etc. etc. The Spartan ideal, the Athen- This is the first ofa two-partseries. Johanna Dame everywhere. All these kids had lived ian gymnasium. And as-much as Ihate to -Haninkcabereached atjhanink@umiehedu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Reader challenges Peters to make friends with older classmates, their children TO THE DAILY: While I recognize the fact that Jeremy Peters' column, Under suspicion: You may be on this list (2/15/02), was intended to be humorous and entertaining, I found it crude, offensive, and a misrepresentation of the University. First, he makes barbs toward students who ask questions in class as if we are not at this institution to learn. And how can one learn if he/she does not understand the material? And usually, if one person has a question, several other people have that same question but are afraid or unwilling to ask for fear of attack by people just like Peters. I think people who ask questions in lecture should be commended for being brave and placing themselves on the line. , This act of commendation should further be extended to another group of people Peters chose to attack: People older than the "typical" age of college students. An educa- tional system that attacks instead of embraces all communities is elitist and contributes to social inequalities. Therefore, all types of people should be accepted and able to thrive on this campus. You hear a lot about diversi- ty on this campus and it should be pointed out that race is not the only factor in deter- mining diversity. We should open our arms to people older than ourselves, to people of different religions, sexualities, classes, etc. By exposing the whole campus population to a more diverse educational environment, we all learn new perspectives. Furthermore, "that 45-year-old woman" who brought her 10-year-old to class probably didn't have the opportunity to attend college like the rest of us in her early 20s. Or perhaps she is going back to college to further her edu- cation. Regardless, nobody has the right to ask her or anybody else different than "us" to not attend classes solely based on one's individual perceptions. How are you to know and assume intentions and backgrounds without actually taking the time to get to know that person? I challenge Peters to get to know that 45- year-old woman with the 10-year-old child in his next class. Maybe you will learn that as stu- dents we all have a common goal regardless of are is evident throughout the whole column. I would however, like to address his com- ment about being noisy in the residence halls. As a member of ResStaff, we are asked to uphold certain community living standards to insure a safe and comfortable environment for all on the floor and as a resident, you have that same right and responsibility to do the same. So I commend Peters for asking the MPA to turn her music down, but at the same time, his complaint about being "busted for partying on a Friday night" is not valid. Distractions such as noise and alcohol are disruptive regardless of when they occur and furthermore, "party- ing" can and does make others uncomfortable in that community. Perhaps someone does not drink or had a family member killed due to an alcohol-related incident and thus your actions unknowingly made that person uncomfortable. In conclusion, I would ask that Peters think about respecting our fellow students by not making judgments about any person unless he has taken the opportunity to acknowledge his privileges while at the same time taken the opportunity to get to know the people he criti- cizes. If he does, then he has truly learned something; which is our common goal here at the University. DAVID KING LSA junior 'Hackneyed insults,' 'quasi-jokes' don't make Peters cool, funny TO THE DAILY: I am writing in response to Jeremy W. Peters' column Under suspicion: You may be on this list (2/15/02). I am a member of the Greek system, work with WOLV-TV, and have female friends who Peters would call "heavy- set" - so I have every reason to be offended by his column's blatant insults and un-tactful remarks. However, the real reason that I have been motivated to write this letter is that Peters has deeply offended my sense of humor. As I began to read the column last Friday, I guessed early on that due to the banal content and total lack of anything meaningful to say, Peters' aim must have been humor. But unfor- tunately, all I could find were shallow, mostly obvious observations about campus life, mixed you can feel "above it all" doesn't make you cool (or funny), either. In Peters' last paragraph, he attacks the people who ride the elevator up to the second floor in the residence halls. Who wouldn't agree that's stupid? But simply saying as much would expose the fact that Peters has nothing original to say with this article, so instead he takes the opportunity to make an extremely mean-spirited attack on "heavy-set girls." I seem to remember this type of humor - from third grade. Finally, my favorite on Peters' numbered list: "Don't think you're a journalist just because you work for WOLV-TV." I could spend time explaining how well WOLV-TV does based on the amount of time that it has been in existence and the resources it has to work with. However, there's really no point because Peters' statement (which he deemed so clever as to not require any explanation) implies that he himself is a journalist. To me this assertion is laughable. In a section of the paper where other writers have debated the merits of affirmative action or the war in Afghanistan, Peters has graced us with a pathetic attempt at humor which ends up as nothing more than a list of people on campus that he dislikes. Now I may be wrong, but it seems to me that this is Peters' first column in the Op/Ed section. I sincerely hope that is not the case, because if he has been slaving away at the lower levels of the Daily for years, only to finally get his chance at "prime-time" and put his name above this trash, I fear for where his "journalistic" career is headed. Why did I spend the time to write this let- ter? Why can't I "take a joke"? A "joke" requires humor. Without humor, it's just an insult. ANDY GOSSARD LSA sophomore 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 should include the writer's name, college and school year or other University affiliation. The Daily will not print any letter containing statements that cannot be veri- fied. - , - , A