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4A - The Michigan Daily -Thursday, September 12, 2002
OP/ED
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420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
letters@michigandaily.com
EDITEDAND 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
Tomorrow is
September the 12th.
A milestone is
passed, and a mission
goes on.
- President Bush in his address to the nation
last evening at Ellis Island.
JENNIFER GREENE JENN'S CORNER
-0e N
r
g S
l
=f
g uir els
learn d by
exam PI e .. .
4
14
The morning after
DAVID ENDERS WEIRD SCIENCE
appy Sept. 12. If between cultures and the first and third worlds. Question why these are the people we're trusting
you're reading I woke up this morning with a much different to carry out our domestic "war on terror."
this, it means we realization than a year ago: Things are more the Question why the mainstream American
made it. We're all still same than ever. We have learned nothing in a media resoundingly and unquestioningly accept-
here. Nothing happened year save to bury our heads deeper in the sand. ed the Bush administration's tag of "War on Ter-
yesterday. The "Orange Our resilience in recovering from what happened ror" and then composed theme music to
l :. Terror Alert" kept me can be measured in our increased ability to accompany the words onscreen.
4, from going to class, but ignore; our decreased ability to question. Question why John Ashcroft pushed to suspend
no planes fell from the But what could we question at such a time of a number of civil liberties. Question why it takes a
sky, no jihadeering national unity, a time when more people then court ruling against the federal government to
Arabs martyred themselves in a fiery reprise of ever stand up to put their hands over their hearts ensure deportation hearings for Ann Arbor resi-
... well, I don't have to say it. You know what when some B-list celebrity belts out the national dent Rabih Haddad are open proceedings. Ques-
I'm talking about. anthem prior to a baseball game? tion why there are others like Haddad, who has
Relieved as I am to have avoided immolation Question why the nearly 4,000 Afghan civil- been held at undisclosed locations since December
one more day, I can't help but think back to last ians (the conservative estimate) killed in Opera- for allegedly residing in the United States on an
Sept. 12. It was early in the morning, and I tion Enduring Freedom are rarely, if ever, expired visa. Question why news organizations
couldn't sleep very well. I had driven by the rock mentioned by the American media. There were have been forced to sue the federal government.
earlier the previous day; within hours of the more stories about the battered animals in the Question why despite billing himself during
attacks someone painted the words "Kill Osama Kabul Zoo. (Can you liberate something that is his campaign as the only candidate with business
bin Laden" on the landmark. I decided my sleep- supposed to be caged?) experience, Bush's administration has presided
less night might be best spent covering it with a Question why Europe (and the rest of the over one of the darkest times in the history of the
more moderate message. I was heartened to see world) harbors greater resentment toward the American market. Question why the president's
when I got there that someone had already beat- U.S. a year after the attacks than it did before answer to those problems are stiffer penalties for
en me to it and a giant peace sign covered the them. Question why many countries in the inter- laws that aren't enforced.
hateful epithet. national system are more afraid of the U.S. than Question why so many people and corpora-
I woke up later that morning wondering if the they are of Iraq. tions (from T-shirt vendors in New York to
events of the previous day had really taken place. Question why only a fraction of the people Kmart Corp.) have appropriated what happened a
I woke up knowing things had irrevocably who showed up on the Diag for last night's can- year ago yesterday and used it to their own ends.
changed. Some swore war and swift retribution; dlelight vigil would show up for an anti-war Question yourself if any of this is new infor-
others promised the events would bring a greater protest if the U.S. attacks Iraq. mation. Question me for writing it.
understanding, a national realization of Ameri- Question why a secret service agent investigat- Question everything.
ca's hegemony and what that brings. A turning of ing a Muslim man suspected of carrying fake Happy Sept. 12.
the corner for American foreign policy and a new checks at Detroit Metro Airport wrote anti-Mus-
awareness that what happened was not a freak lim slurs on a prayer calendar found at the man's David Enders can be reached at
accident but precipitated by the growing divide house and received only a six-month suspension. denders@umich.edu.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
4
Daily editorial fails to
condemn the perpetrators
of the Sept. 11 attacks
TO THE DAILY:
As a recent University graduate, I turned
to The Michigan Daily online, on this day of
remembrance, to see what was being said on
campus about the Sept. 11 anniversary. I was
saddened to read your paper's editorial, After
Sept. 11 (09/11/02) due to the complete lack
of any expression of hope, reflection or grief
for the more than 3,000 victims of the
tragedy one year ago. Instead, the Daily
offered a hardened expression of pseudo-sto-
icism by commending the University for its
"cautious resistance far superior to blind
patriotism..." in its efforts to protect civil
liberties.
Indeed, I love the University for the
scope of ideas that its students encompass
and for the degree of intellectual skepticism
and questioning that embody our learning.
Yet with this quality ought to have come
the maturity to stand up - today more than
ever - in defense of the innocent who
were killed and against the hateful rhetoric
that has supported and encouraged these
acts. I too believe in civil liberties because
I believe in freedom and equality. Yet, this
conviction comes from my moral strength
that also forces me to condemn terrorist
acts and join with my fellow Americans in
an expression of anguish. I feel heartened
to see the world joining today with our
country in unity against terror and in
mourning for those who saw its fate.
Unfortunately, The Michigan Daily chose
not to take part in this.
JORDAN NODEL
University alum
Commemorate Sept. 11
with the continuation of
America's war on terrorism
TO THE DAILY:
The United States seems to have been
stuck in a year-long struggle to "remember"
and "pay homage" to the gruesome attacks
on our nation; during this past Saturday's
football game, we were reminded that the
sporting event was "to honor the memory of
those lost" last Sept. 11. Through candle-
light vigils, prayers, songs and stories of
remembrance, we pay our respects to those
"special" weapons pose a continuing threat
to our allies in the region, not the least of
which are Israel, Turkey and the United
Arab Emirates. Furthermore, Hussein is in
constant violation of the cease-fire agree-
ment he signed at the end of the Cold War.
He continues to deny admission to weapons
inspectors, as well as their free-reign to
conduct their business; sustains a build-up
of military forces on the border with Kuwait
and his anti-aircraft weaponry defies the
prescribed "no-fly" zone on a daily basis.
These criteria alone would justify military
action on the part of the United States
alone, if not the rest of the coalition forces
of 1991.
This alone should be enough; without
Sept. 11, this would be a valid argument in
favor of military action against Iraq. But
now things are different; we are at war
against terror and those who sponsor it. Iraq
as a government and Hussein as a dictator,
have openly and admittedly sponsored and
supported terrorist activities across the
globe. This requires little evidence; it is
acknowledged as fact.
A portion of the joint resolution passed
by the U.S. Congress on Sept. 14, 2001
reads as follows: "The president is autho-
rized to use all necessary and appropriate
force against those nations, organizations,
or persons he determines planned, autho-
rized, committed, or aided the terrorist
attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or
harbored such organizations or persons ..."
As reported recently in major media out-
lets such as the International Herald Tri-
bune, operatives of the al-Qaeda network
have had a strong foothold, not to mention
aid and comfort, in Iraq for a long time
indeed It is with the mindset, not of
revenge, but of safety and security, that we
have no choice but to end Hussein's reign
of terror. He is but the next in a long line of
terrorist dictators who, quite simply, have
got to go.
All the football games, free concerts and
renditions of God Bless America "in memo-
ry" will do well to remember those who
died, but let's also remember who made this
day what it is. Let's finish what those ter-
rorists and those who support them started.
Mr. and Mrs. America, let's roll.
RUBEN DURAN
Engineering junior
The Daily's expectations for
University security were
impatient and unrealistic
sity Housing had created a committee to
look into this issue and begin preparing the
residence halls for this change.
Over the summer the residence halls are
used for conferences and summer housing
therefore making it very difficult to accom-
plish this task. Many other questions also
have to be answered before card readers can
be placed on all of the residents' doors as
well. Questions have to be answered con-
cerning the card and pin systems and many
new policies need to be developed on what
students will do if they lose their card and
so on. If these questions are not answered
first, then there will be a great deal of trou-
ble when the card readers are installed.
In conclusion, even though the University
does take a great deal of time to make some
changes this is one which it has been trying
to get done as soon as possible. Time is
needed to plan how this change would take
place or we will have much bigger problems
come when these card readers are installed.
The most important thing to realize is that
residents need to continue to lock their doors
when they are sleeping or out; don't prop
open doors, and also make sure that you
report any suspicious people to the Depart-
ment of Public Safety.
TIM WINSLOW
Engineering senior
President of the Residence Halls Association
University students enjoy
adequate resources for all of
their computing needs
TO THE DAILY:
I'm writing in response to "An empty
Fishbowl?" editorial (09/10/02). Although the
Angell Hall computing site will close at
11:30 p.m. from Sept. 3-14, there are ade-
quate alternatives in place to assure that stu-
dents have access to the computing resources
they may need.
Both the Michigan Union and the
UGLI, which are centrally located, have
computing sites open for extended hours.
The Michigan Union is a 24-hour (key
card) computing lab and Shapiro Library
closes at 5:00 a.m. Between the two facili-
ties, there are 110 machines available
which should be plenty to accommodate
demand. Additionally, over 250 computers
are available in the residence halls in sites
that are accessible to residents 24/7
through key card access.
We use the first two weeks of the semes-
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