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12B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magaie - Thursday, March 14, 2002
CUBA
Continued from Page 3B
could do; it beat the imperialists. When
Cuba won, it became a light of truth."
But at what cost?
"We have education. We have health
care. We have infrastructure, we have a
government that meets our basic needs.
But we don't have freedom. We don't have
rights."
A telling symbol of Cuban society is at
the University of Havana - where a mili-
_tary tank sits on the lawn in front of the law
school. Legal process, protected by force.
The Revolution and its social contract has
been protected by military law - even
though that often means that Cuban citi-
zens get their civil liberties stepped on.
"Castro can't be sure who to trust, he can't
know who loves him and who is in the
CIA. So we all get treated like we are sus-
picious," said the musician, taking a
moment to look over his shoulder to make
sure no one is listening.
"The Buena Vista Social Club was a
fluke," he said, referring to the world
famous Cuban jazz group. "There is a lot
of good music in Cuba, but most of it does-
n't get off this island; we aren't allowed to
go on tours and make a name for our-
selves." This younger generation has a
love-hate relationship with America.
"This,"he said, motioning again to the
omnipresent guards, "is in place because of
America. But that doesn't mean that I
wouldn't love to move to America. In
America, a lot more is possible."
The rift between tourist Cuba and
Cuban Cuba is not the only one in the
country; there is also a rift between the
older generation, which still walks about
sporting old T-shirts of Che Guevara, and
the new generation, who gazes longingly to
the north. There is desire in Cuba for all the
forbidden things that tourists enjoy in Cuba
and all the forbidden freedoms they enjoy
at home. The Revolution may be plastered
on billboards and painted on walls, but it
does not burn as brightly in the hearts of
the new generation.
"It's too hard; there's no way to
organize, no way to get something like
that started," he said when asked about
the prospect of a second Revolution,
one that fulfills the desires of the peo-
ple. But it was at this point that the con-
versation turned hesitant; talk of anoth-
er anti-government behavior is far from
acceptable. The realization that he was
speaking to reporters became too
much; he became wildly agitated, offer-
ing to pay in order to make sure that we
did not print his name, where we found
him, what he looked like. The fear in
his eyes was palpable. "If you write my
name, I disappear. They come for me
when no one is looking, they take me
away," he said, mimicking handcuffs
being placed around his wrists. "I'm
never heard from again."
Cuba is confused and it is confus-
ing. Its politics, culture and emotions
are wrapped up in a cacophany of dis-
parate voices. 70 year olds look back
at glory days, 30 year olds look for-
ward at a possibly hopeful futures, 14-
year-old girls look lifelessly at the
tourists as they offer themselves for a
$70 night.
The Michigan Daily - Weekend agzne
NCA a bigis a favorite student
By Arun Gopal
Daily Sports Editor
Organ Recital - 8pm
Lenten Choral Vespers - 9pm
Friday, March 15
Organists: Timothy Tikker
and Thomas Strode
Choir: Vox
First Presbyterian Church
1432 Washtenaw
MANISH RAIJI/Daily
El Che, caricaturized
>is your
Tuesday night's Siena-Alcorn
State contest may not have meant
much to the average person, but to
fans of college basketball, it could
mean only one thing - the start of
the NCAA Tournament.
Aside from the Super Bowl, the
NCAA Tournament may be one of
the biggest betting bonanzas.of the
year. From coast to coast, countless
people (whether they are students
or professionals) enter gambling
pools related to the Big Dance.
Often, for just a few dollars, peo-
ple can submit multiple brackets in
the hopes that they might get lucky,
win a tournament pool and reap a
large financial reward at the end.
There are also numerous free pools
available online (at websites ,like
ESPN.com or CNNSI.com), so it is
entirely possible to take part in
"March Madness" without spend-
ing a dime.
The practice of betting on the
NCAA Tournament isn't some-
thing that is restricted to the col-
lege-age crowd. Many people get
involved in NCAA Tournament
gambling at a very young age.
"I've been involved with tourna-
ment pools for about eight years,"
A look at the
underside of U of M
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LSA senior Robert Clubb said.
"It's something I've always enjoyed
doing."
Picking the winners of the indi-
vidual games has always ' been a
hotly-contested issue. There are
those who believe that a lot of skill
is necessary to pick the winners.
That may be true to an extent, but
Clubb holds a much more realistic
view.
"A lot of it is luck," he said. "You
could watch every single game dur-
ing the year and still do horribly in
a pool."
Although it is by no means a
requirement, a lot of people choose
to enter an NCAA Tournament
pool with a group of friends. Aside
from the obvious benefit of taking
your friends' money, entering a
pool with people you know can just
make the whole experience more
enjoyable for everybody.
"I. think most people do it with
their friends or with their work,"
LSA senior Michael Fine said. "If
you throw in a little bit of money,
you could make a lot."
It probably does not come as
much of a surprise that numerous
students are interested in basket-
ball betting pools. But, what might
come as a little bit of a shock is the
fact that grown-ups can get
involved in NCAA Tournament
gambling, too.
Biology prof. Ken Balazovich
said when he worked at the
University Medical School several
years ago, some people he knew
"had a very large pool. They would
hand out a sheet and collect $20
per person. There were a large
number of people who would par-
ticipate, probably 75 to 100 people
that would particpate in that pool."
Balazovich's situation was a lit-
tle different from what students
face. While the average student
may see a gambling pool as a clear
chance to make a few extra bucks
while watching obscene amounts
of basketball, Balazovich had a dif-
ferent theory for why the particular
See GAMBLING, Page 16B
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Another way to make some money.
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x see your campus travel agency
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VACATIONS , 18-35 year olm
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