4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 27, 2002 OP/ED iFbe Sirbigan +L 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND 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 What we are saying is that the Holy Koran has clearly stated that whoever insults the Prophet of Islam, Mohammad, should be killed." - Zamfara, Nigeria State Commissioner of Information Umar Dangaladima Magaji, on the state's recent urging of Muslims to kill Isioma Daniel, whose article stating that Mohammad would likely have married a Miss World contestant sparked riots last week, as quoted by Reuters. SAM BUTLER TE sOASPBox AN MVINCd "k The emerging Students First majority? ZAC PESKOWITZ TuE LoWER FREQUENCIES C apitalizing on gence of a post-industrial worldview, the con- - that could serve to improve the situation subtle yet signif- tinual evolution of the Ann Arbor ideopolis would be the immediate elimination of political icant demo- and, most importantly, an appealing interior parties. Although political parties are the con- graphic trends at the decorating scheme. "I just really like orange," stant subject of criticism for their cynical cen- University, the Students said an unidentified LSA sophomore. Howev- trism, they usually serve as an effective way for First party had a stun- er, continued success of the party is not a voters to filter political information and make ning showing in last given. An RC freshman, who wished to remain their judgment. In the case of student govern- week's Michigan Stu- anonymous, found it difficult to identify with ment, these advantages are less apparent. dent Assembly and LSA the color coordination. "Orange doesn't speak At this point, blame should not be placed on Student Government to my generation," he argued. Rapid changes individual parties, but on the entire party struc- elections. Securing 16 of the 20 open seats in in color preference among younger students ture. Parties serve to reinforce and institutional- the MSA balloting and seven of nine in LSA- could prove to limit the party's appeal in future ize the most irritating and unproductive aspects SG the party delivered a walloping blow to the elections and may leave the door open for a of student government. Each party is its unique last vestiges of Blue Party prestige. grassroots movement to challenge Students subculture with its weird and slightly discon- In its rapid rise to assembly dominance, the First hegemony in the near future. The party certing rituals. Forcing candidates to run as party has transformed itself from a feisty chal- however remains unperturbed by the possibili- independents will obligate them to advance lenger to the Blue Party to the undisputed ty of future discontent. their messages. No one will be able to rely on a champion of University politics. Their strategy To the victors go the spoils. And with coattail effect to gain a seat in one of the is sure to serve as a model to disaffected cam- their victory, Students First executives are assemblies. Candidates will have to shape their pus leaders across the nation. Pundits have certain to usher in a stunning new era of um own agendas and depend on their own skills to already claimed that this Students First victory ... um ... something or other. win election. There are serious drawbacks to will represent a watershed moment in the sto- Something is rotten in the state of student this approach, but the obsequious clubbiness ried history of University student governance. government. From blatant ethnic politicking and corruption that has made these parties more The Students First message rang out like a clar- (see: Blue Party flyers "He's Jewish, She's Ital- problematic than productive. ion call even beyond the hallowed walls of the ian,") to vague and vapid pseudo-agendas cam- The successes that have occurred in MSA University. The party's inclusive message is paigns are dominated by idiocy. I agree with and LSA-SG have been the result of individuals seen by some strategists as a model for broker- the sentiments of the best GSI at the University, showing initiative and not the work of political ing peace in the Middle East. A consensus has who bluntly advised his students at the end of coalitions. The most useful developments, like emerged among experts on the Arab-Israeli the summer, "Stay the fuck out of MSA." He Fall Break, have occurred from hobnobbing conflict that any organization which can suc- was right and this election showed that he is with administrators and not through resolutions. cessfully unite Eric Reichenberger and Brad going to be right for a long time. My vain Student government needs to work to make Sugar on the same ticket can surely reconcile attempt to make some sense out of the Students itself relevant. This is an imposing task that the differences between Prime Minister Sharon First triumph speaks to the gaping void at the will require a synthesis of ideas and dedication and Chairman Arafat. But, Students First is still center of the University's excuse for student from a wide swath of government-oriented stu- committed to focusing on the domestic agenda government. All of the effort and energy put dents. Abolishing parties is the first small step in the approaching months. into late nights spent plotting at the Fishbowl toward fruitful reform. In a power luncheon with anonymous and early mornings chalking campus build up political analysts, the strategists argued that the to nothing more than a fragile whimper. Zac Peskowitz can be reached key to Students First's success was the emer- The one solution - and it's a drastic one atzpeskowi@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Tuesday ad misrepresented integrity that must be met by advertisers in order that the Daily maintain its reputation ATTENTION WRITERS: Wiesel, called into question as a high quality publication. Daily's joutrialistic integrity The misrepresentation of Mr. Wiesel is TIRED OF TURNING IN journalistic misrepresentation of the worst kind. By co-opting Mr. Wiesel's message STELLAR PAPERS NO ONE BUT (that we should not tolerate people being YOUR GSI WILL SEE? TO THE DAILY: unjustly persecuted) to support a cause I am writing in regards to the anti-abor- which many see as seeking to unjustly per- tion insert in the Daily yesterday. The back secute people, the messages of both causes UPSET THAT NOBODY NOTICED of the insert contained a quote from Elie are lost. WHEN YOU USED "PRAXIS" Wiesel talking about the Holocaust. Should the Pro-Life movement have a The quote was supposed to be in sup- voice? Of course. Should they be able to CORRECTLY AT LUNCH? port of the pro-life movement but there misrepresent noted scholars to deliver their was nothing in the quote that referenced message. That is their prerogative. Should THINK ASKING A SERIES OF abortion at all, nor do I think Mr. Wiesel the Daily help in this misrepresentation? intended that meaning. My issue is not so Probably not. If the Daily expects to main- QUESTIONS IN QUICK SUCCESSION much with the organization taking the tain any sort of integrity with its readers, it IS THE EPITOME OF RHETORICAL quote grossly out of context to support should be a little more careful about the LAMENS their movement but rather with the Daily journalistic integrity of everything it prints, printing it. The Daily should not be limited including the ads. in the type of advertising it can run, but I AARON OSTROVSKY DAILY OPINION WANTS YOU. think there should be a level of journalistic Law School VIEWPOINT Indian culture more than dancing girls, rap beats 0 .9i 0 BY SRAVYA CHIRUMAMILLA Maybe it was the PT Cruiser stationed out- side the Michigan Theatre blaring Hindi film songs or the large placards announcing the newest DaimlerChrysler arrivals, but as I entered the 2002 Indian American Students' Association's cultural show, Prathanjali, Satur- day night, I realized I would be leaving the the- atre very frustrated. To IASA's credit, the cultural items in the show itself were better than I expected; the participants' hard work really paid off as the colorful, while unfortu- nately homogeneous, dances were lively crowd-pleasers. IASA's attempts to represent the Indian Americans on this campus, however, were unrepresentative to say the least. One of the many videos the board put on was supposed to show the history of India, yet elements of this video were erroneous. Primari- ly, the video was chronologically out of order and more importantly, it shied away from the most historically relevant events that define present-day India, including but not limited to the India-Pakistan wars, the recent Gujarat riots and the ever-present Kashmir issue. The most disturbing of all were the numer- ous DaimlerChrysler commercials within the rare when you do not hear Dr. Dre's sampling of Lata Mangeshkar's melodies mixed with the crass tenors of Truth Hurts. This "culturally insensitive" and all around awful song is almost acceptable in comparison to Redman's barking in conjunction with Desi (another term for South Asian) music in one of his newest releas- es, "React." Perhaps girls in skimpy clothes and dots on their heads belly dancing (darned if I remember that being an Arabic dance form) shall be India's contributions. In essence, IASA offering the corporations commercial time can be justified considering the logistics and financial burdens of putting on such a large show, especially since the proceeds were being donated to charity. What cannot be explained, however, is the hypocrisy behind IASA's message to bring together the Indian community. Similar to most organizations on campus, IASA offers the platform to promote one's name and image. However, since the cliques within the community are steadfastly held, getting ahead in leadership positions is near impossible, resulting in the same twenty people holding leadership positions in almost all South Asian organizations. In fact, the best videos at the show were not the ones with the "Lassi Man," which showed roaring with laughter until it realized just how accurately the video portrayed the importance of conformity not only in IASA but in the entire Indian American community. The breadth of Indian American organiza- tions is vast and well-represented in organiza- tions such as Association for India's Development and Students Educating and Vol- unteering for Health Awareness, which are stu- dent groups that fundraise and increase awareness about many atrocities, such as the horrendous conditions in Bhopal and about the escalating rates of cancer related deaths due to the rising tobacco use, respectively. IASA offered them a venue to educate the audience through public service announcements at the cultural show, a commendable act since these organizations were able to educate more people. Keeping in mind the necessity of an active Indian American community, IASA should focus its attention and efforts to make its spin- off conference, the South Asian Awareness Network, a success. This conference, which will be held next semester, has the potential to succeed in educating both the South Asian and University community about prevalent South Asian issues. In order to accurately portray the many views that represent South Asia, the Q'A OAT l..ni.A meet +..-.,~~ +to. 1..ua din-. : .: .:: '. . : : :, :. "', : - , :, : , _.- - , : :: : - , , :,. : , . I : -- -l kI