4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 16, 2003 OP/ED Ibzp £tdic&1itg & 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 LOUIE MEIZLISH Editor in Chief AUBREY HENRETTY ZAC PESKOWITZ Editorial Page Editors 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 (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. r,,,.s,^ + Lt 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. I I , - I HEY, CONGRESS! Can I have $87 billion? Hey- vw ' 4 Meow. -wig: t 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. LETTERS POLICY The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from all of its readers. Letters from University students, faculty, staff and administrators will be given priority over others. Letters should include the writer's name, college and school year or other University affiliation. The Daily will not print any 1 14 LS Ut. U1~ UIJ.iV~J~ILY. LU.U.W~WU.