4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 10, 2002 OP/ED " albe lltiguu aft lg 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 " I helped him; he helps me, we love each other." - Florida Governer Jeb Bush as quoted in The New York Times, explaining why President George Bush allowed him an Oval Office signing ceremony for an agreement regarding restoration ofthe Florida Everglades. .. . 1 - r (1L1 tvJ. av)4h ''t Cc 40va e S} tr+s 40 wo.A K -Sa 0 . The shopping news DAVID HORN HORNOGRAPHY H appy Thursday, books. Students have the opportunity to better Our school, which feigns a belief in the mer- everyone. What a gauge the requirements and content of classes its of a liberal arts education, has seemed to me cruel change of may be, determine their affection or disaffection in my three years as an College of Literature, events that has led you into for the professor and the class itself and then Science and the Arts undergraduate to be incon- this classroom this morning. choose whether or not to enroll permanently. siderate of the myriad interests of some stu- A week ago you were From there the professor can go to work with a dents. Organizational studies and recovering from a nasty class of kids who have had every opportunity to interdisciplinary studies are offered, but they are New Year's hangover - bail on him, but have chosen to pursue whichev- a small token for students who, like me, hoped the awful aftertaste of too er subject with eagerness and excitement, to sample from the palette of academic colors. much tequila and too much I would like very much to see a version of There are so many classes I want to learn Tennessee. Today you're dealing with the this "shopping" system implemented at the Uni- about But I have a limited number of hours in fourth day of class. You're in an overcrowded, versity. the day, a limited number of credits per term overheated, entirely uncomfortable room some- I understand that ours is a large, public and a limited number of terms in my four years. where (possibly the MLB). Professor isn't just university and that there are certain constraints I have some classes that are required and the rest going over the syllabus and letting you leave that exist here that do not exist elsewhere. But are ones that I genuinely want to take. Do I sac- like she did on Tuesday - she's teaching. She's surely something can be done to provide stu- rifice my desire to learn for the sake of a less got chalk in her hand. Her notes are prepared. dents with more academic freedom in choos- stressful term or perhaps for a better grade point This is class. You've bought the books, you're ing their classes. average resulting from having to juggle fewer enrolled and there's no going back. As things stand now, students are allowed classes? If that troubling sacrifice is made, how But there ought to be. 20 or so days to settle into their permanent is it made? I'm a curious kid. Class A and class What if you were able to jump ship today or schedule. There is a drop/add deadline and won- B both sounded good. Let me get a real taste of tomorrow or two weeks from now? What if derfully there is a late drop/add deadline (which them before I decide. there were no assignments given by your pro- I have benefited from on two separate occa- A shopping period would be a possible fessors in these first weeks of class? What if sions), both of which are necessary. approach to providing greater freedom to the there was no expectation that you did any read- The problem is that if I am enrolling in a kids who last week were as far (intellectually, ing? Indeed, what if there was no expectation class at the end of January because I found a physically, emotionally) away from school as that you even set foot in any line at any book- class that I had been enrolled in on pre-colonial they could be and are wondering today how store? Peruvian architecture to be, say, over my head, I they ever convinced themselves that they could This version of academia (which is utopian am likely going to be woefully behind in this handle Organic Chemistry or Nietzsche or pre- to the slackers among us) exists in universities new class on global biodiversity. Readings have colonial Peruvian architecture. Throw students a that are not ours. At some schools, most notably been assigned, discussions have been had, lifeline and open up the doors to every class- Yale, students are permitted a "shopping" peri- papers may have been written but for three room as the new semester begins. od of about two weeks, during which they are weeks I had been reading about the Gateway of Oh yeah ... And to my various professors encouraged to attend any and all classes that the Sun at Tiahuanacu, convinced that I could this term - I love you all and I wouldn't dream may pique their various interests. Professors are figure out how Moche architecture differed of going to any class but yours. sympathetic to their students' decision-making from Nazca. I couldn't. I dropped the class. I process and ease into the material without need X number of credits still and have always David Horn can be reached requiring, for instance, the purchase of text- been intrigued by biodiversity. via e-mail athornd@umich.edu V LETTERS TO THE EDITOR W ould Raim w ant his ment isn't killing, but "only" incarcerating Rather, their lives are made strenuous by indefinitely, without trial, orwithou evi- stri&t ahd ppresgive regulatinh9inj e by rights violated? dence? The death or mistreatment of any foreign military. civilian, or any innocent, for any reason, is In fact, just look at the annual human rights still a crime in itself. It does not matter if that reports (see Amnesty International) of these To THE DAILY: person happens to be American, Israeli, Pales- two regions and one would quickly learn why I wonder how adamantly Manish Raiji tinian or Afghan. they breed a small number of terrorists. would defend the elimination or curtailment of In his column, Raiji places the United States individual rights for the "benefit" of the collec- CHRIS FARAH in the same group as oppressive countries with tive if his individual rights were those being Rackham terrible human rights records; countries which sacrificed for our common "good?" deny populations that they occupy their natural Granted, if he were arrested and held indefi- rights to hold a plebiscite to determine their nitely without evidence or public trial, it would - fate. be a real shame, considering we all know he is IndLa, Israel not FADIshmAWI guilty of no wrong. But according to his logic, LSA sophomore hey, if a few eggs have to be cracked to make democraticnatons he letter writer ispoliticalchair ofthe an omelette, so be it. This makes perfect sense Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee until you realize that each of these "eggs" is a To THE DAILY: living, breathing human being. Manish Raiji's column, "Collective safety The hypocrisy of those who argue that gov- trumps individual rights," (1/9/02) can be ernments should be allowed any means of described as nothing more than un-American. Haddad not entitled "defense" - including, we must assume, the What it suggests abridges the most basic funda- . murder of innocent members of the public - in mental rights of all inhabitants of this country. to a c1zens rights order to protect, who else, the public, never As an American, I am particularly offended at ceases to amaze me. Many of the same people the suggestion of removing the Constitution To THE DL: who so rightly condemned the killing of Ameri- from the practices of this country. To suggest After following the story of Rabih Haddad can civilians on Sept. 11 as terrorism, are now that due process of law not be guaranteed is an r ythe fact that peo- the same individuals who say it's OK for us to attack on the foundations of this great nation. ple continueI to reamfer toubled him as a citizen. kill civilians, as long as we're doing it for a Furthermore, Raiji unwittingly places the cobin Horfrt im s a citizen. good reason. And as long as those civilians U.S. in the same group as India and Israel. He Rabi Haddad is not a citizen ohe United aren't American citizens. Although, check that refers to these two countries as democracies, States and is not entitled to all the rights which - Raiji also absurdly claims that it would be which are "plagued by individuals who aren't citizens enjoy. His visa expired, period. fine to murder countless people (necessarily playing by the rules." If Haddad were a citizen he then would be including innocents and civilians) and even Democracies? What democracy exists in entitled to rights which these protesters are Americans, as long as it was done for a good the West Bank? What democracy exists in demanding, but he is not a citizen, he is a man cause, like the Civil War. Kashmir? whoallegedly supports terrorist organizations I thought this war against terrorism was a The roots of these problems are the fact that through his "charity" and remains in the this war against the murdering of innocents and they are not democracies. The indigenous country illegally. civilians. How can we justify using the same inhabitants of these territories do not have their ANDREw DEYOE techniques, even if that means the govern- fundamental right to self-determination. LSA junior V FROM THE UNIVERSITY WIRE What kind of global village? STAFF EDITORIAL a simple yes or no, Congress having surrendered by the Indiana Daily Student its right to add amendments to this legislation. Representative democracy at work - too bad it's The fight against the Fast Track bill itself for corporate interests instead of citizens' interests. changed Dec. 6, when 215 Democrats and But the "compassionate conservatives" and Republicans effectively sold a critical legislative "new Democrats" rally behind the flag of oppor- power to the executive branch. The focus now tunity at home and development abroad. So what falls on Fast Track's results. No one U INDIANA about the most recent exam- doubts that the Senate will give the presi-U N ple of this global develop- dent the authority to negotiate interna- BL OOMING TON ment - NAFTA? confined to the sweatshop districts. Environmen- tal contamination and corresponding public health risks have only increased under NAFTA. Maybe the Bush administration has learned from the dismal destruction wreaked by NAFTA. Nope. The latest proposed international trade agreement, the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas takes NAFTA as its model. Congress set no goals for the talks held last April in Quebec City. Many members of Congress have little to no idea what the agreement entails. Not to worry. tional trade agreements and to draft all impending According to the public interest group Global AW