4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 2, 2002
OP/ED
Ulb e ffiicbigu + izig
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Editor in Chief
JOHANNA HANINK
Editorial Page Editor
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's
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necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
Use common
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like it's coming, go
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or somewhere, but get
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- Slidell, LA Mayor Ben Morris
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9
Liberals just don't want to have fun
ZAC PESKOWITZ TiHEI LoWER FREQUENCIES
he Nation is no it's a siege mentality or perhaps something For a local example, look at the Metro-
longer worth more fundamental. Times' weekly columnist Jack Lessenber-
reading. The On the Right a different story is playing ry. In his column "United States of
venerable Manhattan out: Reason, the National Review and The Imperialism" Lessenberry attacks President
weekly lost its voice of Weekly Standard are three ideologically- Bush with monikers from "shrub" to
dissent last week as driven papers that have more compelling "George the lesser" to the Dowdism "W"
Christopher Hitchens writers than their stale liberal counterparts. - no criticism is taboo. Sadaam Hussein,
decided that his col- Libertarians are always a fun-loving and however, is simply "Sadaam." Hussein
umn would not be a unpredictable lot, but to see the prudish seems like a good target for jokes to me.
part of The Nation any National Review featuring the boisterous There has to be something amusing that
longer. For those who still enjoy getting Jonah Goldberg and The Weekly Standard, rhymes with Baathist or maybe there's a
their commentary on The Nation's trade- ventriloquist for American imperialists, joke in Hussein's rejection from the Bagh-
mark butcher paper, the departure of running uproarious cultural commentaries dad Military Academy in 1957.
Hitchens leaves the magazine lacking its is shocking. A vibrant debate taking place All of this is not meant to say that if I
most jarring figure. among conservative circles, a debate was forced to choose between a weekend
While Hitchens refusal to accept the between neoconservatives, isolationists and at a Southern Baptist convention and a
politically fashionable redeemed him from theocrats. This is the grist mill for a contro- week with the chattering classes on The
the failures that mark his colleagues, it is versy, contempt and ultimately a sense of Nation's Seminar Cruise later this month, I
Hitchens' humor that makes him great. The fallibility that results in humor. would be obliged to accompany Katrina
devilish wit of Hitchens, a man willing to The liberal establishment, however, does vanden Heuvel and her ilk. I am only to
call the Catholic Church "a protection rack- not enjoy a similar situation. Discussing this assume the writers of The Nation eat better
et for child rapists" (thanks to Esquire " question with a friend, I was told that liber- and their music is probably better than syn-
Woomer for that choice quote) stood out on als aren't intentionally inflammatory. That's copated banjos.
The Nation's dour pages. probably right, but a less flattering way of But there is hope. The Washington
The Nation's most amusing cover in saying the same thing is that liberals fear to Monthly and Slate are at the vanguard of a
recent memory was the Alfred E. Neuman offend. Personally, I think this situation is new liberal journalism. Journalism that
portrait of presidential candidate Bush the result of how we define the relationship rejects piety and seeks to probe contradic-
wearing a button on his lapel with the between the individual and the group and tions. Yes, I sound like an overzealous car
imperative "Worry." Gallows humor, the how we too often fail to make a distinction salesman, but it's true. Robert Wright and
last outlet of the defeated, is the extent of between the two. The blame lies with the Mickey Kaus offer stunning arguments in
what The Nation can muster for levity. bastard trinity of postmodern liberalism: support of globalization and social equality
This dryness and insufferable gravitas is Identity politics, multiculturalism and polit- respectively. They are moderates, but they
not limited to one particular leftist journal. ical correctness. The refusal to challenge offer a lesson for the radically inclined.
The assortment of embittered pamphleteers, individuals for fear of offending the group. Radicals need to start slaying their own
budding polemicists and harried academics The refusal to characterize individuals for sacred cows posthaste.
that make up the liberal rag industry dis- fear of offending the group. The refusal to
play a chronic inability to exercise their speak truths for fear of alienating the group. Zac Peskowitz can be reached
humor nodules. Why the solemnity? Maybe These rules are accepted by too many. at zpeskowi@umich.edu.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Residents of Ann Arbor, taining their yards or homes. The fact hand basket, in fact I don't think this
that this is a fraternity house does not Stephen knows Christ and so I write this
Sigma Chi should be grant immunity from city ordinances and letter with the risk of his telling me that I
standards. will burn in hell's "fiiirrrrree"
ashamed of trashy yards t I'm asking the brothers of Sigma Chi P.S. Thank you to the two guys who
to take some pride in their house, in our upstaged this nutcase and provided
university and in our city. I'm asking for amusement and distraction on the steps of
To THE DAILY: them to show respect for their fellow stu- the grad. They were hilarious and more
A walk down State St. takes you past dents and residents of Ann Arbor. A little memorable than St. Stephen's fire-and-
some of the University's finest land- care and a little upkeep go a long way in brimstone misguided nonsense.
marks: Angell Hall, the Union, the Law making our city a better place. RACHEL JACOBS
Quad - and then the Sigma Chi fraterni- JENNIFER WAGNER LSA junior
ty house. The lawn, littered with trash, Engineering sophomore
cups from a semester's worth of parties,
couches, mattresses and other assorted
junk stands in stark contrast to the STILL SENDiNG LETTERS TO THE
immaculate grounds of the Michigan Preaching man in Diag not EDITOR '0 daity.letters?
Union next door. .h.
As a resident of West Quad, I walk representatve of Chrstians
between Sigma Chi and the Union several THAT's SO TWO YEARS AGO.
times each day. I have to walk past the
broken windows patched with pillows and To THE DAILY:
the dumpster buried in a pile of trash. I I would like to apologize for the man BE HEARD SEND VIEWPOINTS
once saw two of the members using snow on the Diag Monday that I'm sure many AND LETtERS TO
shovels to push the garbage around, but of you saw. Although I am in no way per-
that was the only hint of maintenance I sonally responsible, I was saddened by letters@miciLgandaily.com.
have ever witnessed. I am offended by the this mans actions in the name of Chris-
disrespect shown by the members of this tianity. While I found him somewhat IT'S HIP
fraternity. amusing, I also found him very offensive
I think of the campus tours given to - especially regarding other religions and
-prospective students and their parents. women. People walking to class do not ir's STYLISH.
What must they think when they see the deserve to be assaulted by one man's
trash dump in the midst of our campus? ignorance and downright rude claims.
What kind of an image does that portray? Please don't let Stephen or whatever IT'S A FUNCIONA
I also wonder why the city has not he calls himself represent all Christians. I E-MAIL ADDRESS.
taken action in this case. Residents of know many Christians on this campus that
Ann Arbor can be ticketed for not main- won't tell you you're going to hell in a
VIEWPOINT
Go Greek with pride
0
0
0
BY SUSAN LUTH
Over the years I have witnessed The
Daily's harsh editorials condemning
Greeks for every effort they have ever
made to better their reputation on campus.
It wasn't until Monday's editorial, (Go
Greek with caution) that I realized just how
utterly biased and unprofessional the Daily
really is.
I, myself, am not a member of the
Greek community, but many of my friends
are. Of those friends, the majority are in
fraternities across campus. Two are presi-
dents of their respective fraternities.
To see an article that says my friends
ihg about a system that has created and
maintained a Social Responsibility Com-
mittee comprised of Greek members. This
committee makes one visit (if not more) to
fraternities each time they host a party to
make sure they are following guidelines
set forth by the Interfraternity Council.
And yes, they do enforce it. I have wit-
nessed parties be shut down and seen fra-
ternities be suspended if they fail to adhere
to the rules.
The very, people you make out to be
careless alcoholics do everything from
hosting educational seminars for the cam-
pus community to traveling across North
America for international meetings that
indeed tragic, they are irrelevant to your
point. Neither were the direct results of
Greek irresponsibility. If anything, both
deaths can be blamed on the irresponsibili-
ty of the individuals themselves. Today's
Greek system cannot be blamed for a girl
who fell out her dorm window four years
ago or a man who does drugs in his free
time, totally independent of any open
social event.
I find it absolutely appalling that The
Daily would use the deaths of these two
people to bolster their personal animosity
towards the Greek system.
This is journalism at its worst. If the
Daily would push past its bias and lack of
Ii