4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 16, 2003
OP/ED
Ibzp £tdic&1itg &
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LOUIE MEIZLISH
Editor in Chief
AUBREY HENRETTY
ZAC PESKOWITZ
Editorial Page Editors
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NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
(Cambodians)
don't have wine,
but poor people can
enjoy their dog
meat with palm
juice wine."
- Phnom Penh City Gov. Kep Chuktema,
encouraging fellow Cambodians to eat
dog meat in order to decrease the
number of strays, as quoted by Reuters.
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No.
STEVE COTNER AND JOEL HOARD OPERATION PUSSYCAT
Hey, Dad, can I have
$87 billion?
Hey, Laura, do you got $87 billion?
No.
Ask your
Dad.
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HEY, CONGRESS! Can I have $87 billion?
Hey-
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Meow.
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Rushing by, too cool for a root beer float
JESS PISKOR JOIN THE PISKOR
ou'd think root
beer floats
would be some-
thing we could all agree
upon. After a hot stress-
ful day of classes imag-
ine resting with a cool,
frosty mug, filled up
with quality root beer
and topped off with a
healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream.
And what could possibly be nicer than a
root beer float? A free root beer float, of
course. It was the second day of classes and
we decided to celebrate with floats. And why
not buy a little extra and offer them to people
passing by our house? Might as well try to
spread some good cheer.
And it was a fair success. We set up a
little table and about eight of us, guys and
girls alike, milled about on the
sidewalk. Many of our friends came over
and shared an afternoon. As people walked
by, we'd ask them in a genial way if they
wanted a root beer float. No strings
attached. No quartersheets to read, surveys
to fill out, rallies to attend or credit cards
to apply for. Students stopped, said hello
and walked away with a float. People were
often a little apprehensive at first, but in
the end, we had plenty of happy people and
three empty gallons of root beer.
One thing was a little odd though. For all
the random people who stopped, not one
was a female. For two hours we passed out
float after float and not one woman we
didn't know took one. Now, don't get me
wrong, the rejection didn't really bother us.
We weren't particularly disappointed that
these women didn't want our floats.
It wasn't that we were turned down, it was
who turned us down and the way they did
it that was disturbing. Here is a sample dia-
logue between my housemate Ian and a
typical woman:
IAN: "Hello, would you like..."
TYPICAL WOMAN: "No thanks"
(Glares through sunglasses).
I: "...a free root beer float?"
TW: (Digs into Prada Bag, pulls out
Nokia)
I: "No strings attached."
TW: (Flips silver braceleted hand dis-
dainfully)
What was so disheartening were their
attitudes of indifference and haughtiness
and their immediate dismissal of any offer,
whatsoever. We could have been giving
out $10 bills and the answer would still
have been a firm no. And to top it off,
often as they passed by, they looked at us,
seemingly with pity, as though our efforts
were pathetically cute, in that high-school-
nerd-asking-out-the-prom-queen sort of
way. With every action, they conveyed the
idea that they were too cool for root beer
floats, as if to say "can't you see how lame
you are compared to us?"
Now, I know some of you are thinking
that girls shouldn't be accepting drinks from
strange guys. Yet I hardly think.guys and
girls giving out floats, pouring root beer
directly from a bottle during a summer day
on a busy sidewalk in a friendly neighbor-
hood is at all sketchy. Maybe women should
worry at a frat party, but Forest Court?
Last night, the quiet of my street was
upset by the piercing cries of "woot" emanat-
ing from the rush activities of thenearby
sororities. Their squeals of acceptance sound-
ed so happy. Here, no doubt, freshmen were
meeting their potential sisters.
A wonderful few years await them, filled
with anxiously waiting to be accepted as
pledges and then finally sisters. Parties with the
rival fraternity. Having your sisters there to hold
back your hair. Trips to the Somerset Mall,
where you can try out the latest summer fash-
ions. Sharing secrets about cute boys and crush-
es. Comparing the size of your boyfriends'
sport-utility vehicles. A veritable teen girl squad
of fun and meaningful interaction.
But freshmen, be sure of what you are
getting into. College is about new experi-
ences, new friends, new ways of thinking.
Sorority life isn't anything new - it's an
extension of high school ruled by the
princesses of cool. Sororities are billed as an
easy way to make friends, but the friends
made are the same ones that no doubt readily
acquiesce to the demands of their fraternity
counterparts, who actually wear shirts like
the one I saw at Festifall proclaiming that
"We like 'em shaved."
There is a direct link between the aura of
cool that is imparted on young women by
the girls at sororities and the attitudes we
saw at our float table. Much like the mili-
tary, sororities break down individual
women and then remake them into girls
with the proper shape and attitude.
It wasn't a disappointment to me that no
girls took our floats. I will, however, conde-
scend to say I was disappointed for the girls,
who were so caught up in being cool that
they were incapable of enjoying a float and
could only give a dismissive laugh at our
offer. It must really suck being that cool.
Piskor can be reached
atjpiskor@umich.edu.
A
I
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Michigan fans show lack of
class at Saturday's game
To THE DAILY:
I just returned from what was supposed
to be a fun weekend at the University, to
watch the Notre Dame vs. Michigan foot-
ball game. As a 2003 graduate of Notre
Dame and an avid college football fan, I've
visited my share of college football towns
to watch the Irish football team. I've
endured and handed out my share of good-
natured harassment and ridicule, sat
through my share of humbling games, and
seen the "Rudy Sucks" T-shirt at every col-
lege town I've ever been to. However,
nothing that I've seen or experienced at any
other college could have prepared me for
what I would experience this past weekend
in Ann Arbor. Being from Michigan, I've
been surrounded by Michigan football my
entire life - the Big Ten titles, the national
championship and the victories over the
Buckeyes and Spartans. I know Michigan
fans don't like the Fighting Irish, but that's
college football - the rivalries are deep
and heated. I've experienced it at Nebraska,
Michigan State, Florida State and Mary-
land. Fortunately, I've also experienced
unknown Michigan State fans inviting me
to their tailgates for food and drinks, and
Nebraska fans offering an extra rain parka
when the weather started getting bad. At
Michigan, my experiences were slightly
different. I experienced constant taunts,
from grown men and students alike, of
"Fuck the Irish!" and two different male
students getting in my girlfriend's face
because she was wearing a Notre Dame
shirt. One group of students tried their
hardest to hit my girlfriend with water bal-
loons. I witnessed one classy Michigan stu-
dent spitting on my brother as he was
minding his own business, walking to the
game. Hail to the victors. I experienced
another Michigan student trying to push my
brother to the ground as we were walking
to the stadium. Hail to the conquering.
heroes. Best of all, I witnessed the entire,
University student body, in front of 90,000
other Michigan fans and families, chant
°'T nh rihl a nil Bia ai+ to ;-hia
ness how a group of classy, yet diehard,
college football fans and students act dur-
ing a football weekend, take some tips, and
we'll see you again Sept. 10, 2005.'
BRANDON GRimFTH
Alum, University of Notre Dame
Student spirit a nice change
from silence of the past
To THE DAILY:
Michigan Stadium's fans have histori-
cally been dubbed the quietest 110,000
people in the country. Having frequented
many football games in my tenure here
(some while in the marching band), I have
often found this to be the truth. However,
this past Saturday was the polar opposite,
and I commend the student section for its
terrific spirit and intense volume.
First of all, the Maize Out worked spec-
tacularly, and I have had several people tell
me that it looked amazing on TV. Someone
was definitely onto something when they
designed the.maize shirts for this year.
Secondly, I applaud the fans' support of
the team, particularly the student section.
Every time the defense took the field, the
crowd erupted and forced Notre Dame to
take timeouts early. Because I am in the
drumline, I was wearing earplugs, and sev-
eral times throughout the game, the volume
was almost too much for even me. That
enthusiasm fed the players with energy and
aided in the rout.
Finally, I would also like to cheer the
fact that despite the inevitable outcome of a
Michigan victory, nearly the entire student
section remained in the stadium to watch
the game's finish. Toward the end of last
week's game against Houston, hardly any
seats were filled, but this week, the student
section was maize from start to finish.
Bravo!
I sincerely hope that this support for our
team will remain, in good times and in bad.
The path to a national championship hap-
pens one game at a time, and we need to
help our team achieve the goal that all
Maize and Blue faithful desire so dearly.
Kvl.n nn he+nnc wan mrk s-n On,,hi
by a Michigan football team in six years.
That was the best home game I have
attended since the 800th win versus Wis-
consin in 2000.
However, while I am extremely proud
that our student fans were very loud in sup-
porting our team, I wish that we could
show more class and represent the Univer-
sity the way it deserves to be represented.
It seemed the game wouldn't go on for
more than five minutes before there was a
loud "Fuck the Irish!" chant. This makes us
look bad as University students and really
doesn't accomplish anything.
It's one thing when someone will
scream and yell profanities at the other
team; it's something totally different when
an entire section does it in unison. I'll
never forget how turned off I was at the
1999 Syracuse-Michigan game when the
Syracuse students chanted "Fuck you,
Michigan!" in the closing seconds of a
Michigan victory, and I could hear it loud
and clear across the Carrier Dome.
Cheer for our team and against the other
team as loud as you want, but please try to
represent the University in a classy way
and keep it clean.
PETER LUND
LSA senior
WAWT TO JOIN OUR TEAM.
DON'T KNOW HOW?
COME TO THE LAST
MASS MEETING,
THURSDAY AT 7 P.M.
AT 42O MAYAR ST.
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