4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 8, 2002
OP/ED
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NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
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It can be better than this; start a 'U' tradition today
JEREMY W. PETERS DON'T MAKE M COME BACK THERE
"
et's face it. We
have a terribly dis-
jointed student body.
I suppose this is some-
what inevitable when
22,000 undergraduates are
spread out over a 2,500
acre campus, but the social
environment here is far too
out-of-control.
The social segmentation all begins within
the first few weeks of freshman year when
5,000 impressionable 18 year olds make an
attempt to branch out. The problem is, most
of the time "branching out" never happens.
We instead seek out friends who, more often
than not, are carbon copies of ourselves. This
is a natural reaction - one you can't fault
people for - but the result is a campus that
looks a lot like the opening ceremony of the
Olympics with undistinguishable like-
dressed, like-sounding figures parading
around in packs.
For my take on how to fix this, read on.
But first, here is a brief overview of the vari-
ous social cliques on campus.
First, and most infamous of all, is the
group that confined themselves primarily to
the rear of Mary Markley Residence Hall
their freshman year, venturing out only to eat
at Mr. Greek's Coney Island or party at
meticulously selected frats. By day, the
males can be seen strutting around the Diag
with their fitted baseball hats resting slightly
off center and backwards, just above their
receding hairlines. The females, complete
with bandanna-like headbands and cell
phones that apparently only ring when they
are in the library or in class, can be identified
as the hyper ones who come to exam review
sessions loaded with questions that make you
shake your head in disbelief.
Second is one of two subgroups of in-
state students that make out-of-state kids
sneer. The most obvious members of this
contingency hail from the more affluent sec-
tions of the Great Lakes State (Birmingham,
Bloomfield, et al.) and will tell you at orien-
tation that they came to Michigan - which
was not their first choice, of course -
because they plan on going to the B-school.
This is the only way to save face after the Ivy
League rejections start to pile up.
The third group (also part of the in-state
category) is those with whom the haughty in-
staters generally don't associate. They rarely
own an article of clothing that isn't from
Abercrombie or American Eagle and consid-
er Ann Arbor to be a "big city." They come
from towns with strange names like Gaylord
and Climax. Sometimes they don't even ven-
ture outside their social circles from high
school. (Kids from Traverse City are a good
example of this.) Often, their first Friday
evening that doesn't involve a high school
football game and a 7-Eleven occurs once
they get here.
Then there are the various foreign student
groupings. The Indian "mafia," as they like
to be called, the Hello Kitty pencil case-tot-
ing Asian kids who occupy the third and
fourth floors of the UGLi and European
undergrads who are all at least 26 upon enter-
ing their freshman year. I haven't run across
many Canadians yet and I'm thankful for
that.
I propose a solution to end this quasi seg-
regation. It won't solve the problem but will
help to alleviate it.
In an act of general benevolence, I suggest
that seniors reach out to the freshman by pay-
ing a gift-bearing visit to their old dorm room.
It's quite simple, really. On a night of
your choosing, seniors, go to your fresh-
man-year dorm room and greet the present
residents with some snacks and a case of
beer. (For those of you who don't drink, a
large pizza will suffice.) Then just sit and
talk. Share any memorable experiences you
cherish from your college career and let the
freshmen know that what they're about to
go through for the next three or four years
will be a trial-by-fire venture that, more
likely than not, will turn them into a person
remarkably larger than the person they are
now. Let them know that college is the one
time in their lives that petty worries need
not burden their thoughts. Let them know
that now is the time to live it up.
So if my little proposal is taken seriously
and seniors actually do make an effort to
truly branch out, this campus won't be the
type of place where you put your head down
when passing someone from an old class
who you just don't feel like acknowledging.
0
0
Jeremy W Peters can be reached
atjwpeters@umich.edu.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Granholm offers a new
vision for state of Michigan
TO THE DAILY:
We are writing because the University com-
munity should know about gubernatorial candi-
date Jennifer Granholm and the program this
Sunday in the Anderson Room of the Michigan
Union at 7:30 presented by the College Democ-
rats and Students for Granhohn.
Jennifer Granholn offers Michigan a reason
to believe in government again. To the students
of this University, she offers an invitation to be
active. For too long, people - especially stu-
dents - have felt disconnected from their gov-
ernment. The time has come for that to change.
Granholm understands what issues are
important and knows how get Michigan's
goals accomplished. Her accomplishments
stand not only as a testament to what she is
capable of but also let us know the kind of
Michigan we can look forward to. As a
woman, a wife and a mother of three,
Granholm would have a different prespective
as Michigan's first female governor.
Jennifer Granholm takes an aggressive
stance on environmental issues. During her
tenure as Attorney General, she has led crack-
downs on polluters and prosecuted more envi-
ronmental crimes than anyone in the state's
history. In addition, Jennifer created the state's
first full-time environmental crimes prosecutor.
Finally, her vocal opposition to slant drilling in
the Great Lakes is a clear example of her com-
mitment to Michigan's natural environment.
If elected, she will appoint a cabinet that
reflects all the people of Michigan and will
embrace diversity in government. She realizes
that we do not want a Michigan that limits itself
with political labels.
Granholm also has a passion for community
service and children. That is why she teamed up
Isaiah Thomas and Michigan First Lady
Michelle Engler in the 2000 Mentoring Initia-
tive. This program brought children who had
previous run-ins with the law together with
community mentors. She also is deeply con-
cerned about our cities' health and if elected will
lead the fight to revitalize Detroit and other suf-
fering areas.
The College Democrats and Students for
Granholm invite you to see for yourself why
Jennifer Granholm is best qualified to be Michi-
gan's next governor. In addition to sharing her
vision of Michigan's future, she also wants to
hear from you. Please join us and share your
vision of Michigan with the woman we believe
will be Michigan's next governor. .
REBECCA PERRING
LSA junior
PAUL SPURGEON
of what lies at the root of the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict: A failure on the part of both
sides to even attempt to see and understand
things from the other side's point of view.
From a Palestinian perspective, their request
that Palestinians "learn to compromise" is both
comical and tragic. Palestinians have led a com-
promised existence ever since the beginning of
the Zionist movement, which so arrogantly
ignored and denied the native Palestinian pres-
ence on their land.
Livshiz and Woll turn to history to present
examples of how downright disagreeable Pales-
tinians have been for the past 70 years or so, but
don't detail why Palestinians have had so many
objections to Israeli or Unted Nations-proposed
"compromises," or what those objections are. In
1947, for example, Palestinians were asked to
give over half of Palestine to the Zionist move-
ment, for the creation of Israel. Palestinians
refused this offer. What's the big deal? Livshiz
and Woll imply, Why can't Palestinians just be
good sports and compromise?
The fact is, the land set aside for Israel by
the United Nations in 1947 contained a slight
majority of Jewish residents, most of whom
were relatively recent immigrants. In addition,
Jewish-owned land constituted a small minority
of the designated state of Israel.
Can you think of any reasonable population
on the face of the earth who would so willingly
"compromise" their own rights as to sign away
their own land to a recent immigrant popula-
tion? Certainly, Israel itself is not so generous.
The Israeli government refuses to allow the
right of return to Palestinian refugees (a right
granted by international law), a group of people
indigenous to the land that Israel has shut them
out from.
Israeli military force has compelled Pales-
tinians for years to accept these kinds of "com-
promises." There is an Israel. There is no
Palestine. And now Livshiz and Woll demand
even more? What more is there to give? Israel
wants more Palestinian land? Israel wants Pales-
tinians to deny their right to return to their
homes? These are not compromises. These are
simply further demands for Palestinians to give
up fundamental rights that all people deserve.
CHRIS FARAH
Rackham
GEO is unreasonable; GIs
only out for more money
TO THE DAILY:
This letter is in response to the Cut class (Just
this once) editorial in yesterday's Daily.
As a current graduate student and former
undergraduate student (who was here when the
would kill to have that. But they still want more.
They want to eliminate the English Lan-
guage Institute test for international GSIs. Are
you kidding? Speaking from experience, if the
international GSIs in the classes now are the
ones that passed the test, it would be next to
impossible to understand someone who failed it.
GEO will also harm the undergraduates that
they supposedly are trying to improve the edu-
cational experiences of.
GEO is unreasonable. While I do support the
need for better training and a better hiring poli-
cy, I do not agree with most of the platform.
Thus, I do not support GEO.
GEO should stand for: Greedy, embarrass-
ing and overpaid.
KELLY PIERCE
Rackahm
GEO unwilling to negotiate;
GSIs should be thankful
TO THE DAILY:
GEO has a few very solid points that must
be resolved in this negotiation with the Univer-
sity. However, this strike is not about any of
those issues. GEO claims that the University is
unwilling to negotiate. Of course, by saying
"negotiate," they really mean succumb to all of
GEO's demands. GSIs get a full tuition waver
and a generous stipend and when it all boils
down to it, this strike is really over money.
The real problem with GEO is that because
there is so much turnover in GEO membership
from year to year, no GSI feels connected to the
old contract. GSIs get a great deal. In fact, as a
graduate student, I'd love to be a scab for any
course that would take me. Give me the tuition
waver. Unlike GEO, I won't demand the con-
struction of a 24-hour child care facility or a
pay increase rate higher than the faculty. I'd
even be willing to take the English Proficiency
exam, unlike GEO. I'd just be really happy I
got such a sweet deal.
Students, do not support the GEO walkout.
They are being just as unwilling to negotiate as
the University. Do not listen to their rhetoric.
Undergraduate students deserve better.
JOSH BENNINGHOFF
Public Policy
LETTERS POLICY
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