4A -- The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 22, 2003 OP/ED I ftb £ wditn tad 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 opinio 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 He can save this goddam nation from self-destruction." - Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N. Y) on Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark, in this week's Time magazine. SAM BUTLER CLAsSiC SOAPBOX . ay BAG64b, ° at, st . ems'd b .t~nCGTL= - 'Members-only' diversity JOHANNA HANINK PARLANCE OF OUR TIMES n the early weeks of last year's boycott against The Michi- gan Daily, the organizers of the boycott logically held many meetings with ,z interested members of the University communi- ty to discuss the .issues surrounding the boycott. However, one of these meetings, scheduled to take place in a Univer- sity residence hall, was designated as a "minorities only" meeting; in other words, whites were not welcome. I'm not sure how the meeting worked - I have a friend who looks "white" enough, but her grandmother is Lebanese. Would she have been allowed into the meeting? I know another person - again, unequivocally "white"-look- ing, but he had enough American Indian in his blood to claim minority status on graduate school applications - although only at some schools, not all. Would he have been turned away at the door? Would the organizers have demanded a certificate of tribal affiliation? When I first read the e-mail announcing the meeting, it evinced a visceral reaction in me - how, on University property, could a meeting take place at which the organizers could say, in no subtle words, "no whites allowed?" Is this what multiculturalism means at this Universi- ty? Even though I was in a position of leader- ship at the Daily during the boycott - and thus was supposed to keep my mouth shut - I was outraged enough to write to the hall direc- tor (twice) of the residence hall which allowed (in that it did not prohibit) that meeting to pro- ceed. I received no response. Why not market the meeting as targeted at minority communities? Caucasians surely would not have turned out en masse, and those that would have attended most likely would not have been members of The Michigan Review -they probably would have been more than sympathetic to the boycotters' cause. So what were the leaders of these commu- nities so afraid of? Would white people neces- sarily have caused problems, and would the students of color all necessarily have agreed with - and kept secret from the Daily staff - everything that went on? (They certainly did not.) Was this compatible with University phi- losophy and policy, and if not, why was it OK? This kind of situation pops up every once in a while, and when it does it usually sparks a few debates, enrages a few students, and is soon forgotten. A friend of mine who graduat- ed last year had tried - with the utmost sin- cerity - to join HEADS, a black male student group at the University. Not being a black male, he was turned away, no question. Student groups who exclude others based entirely on those others' non-minori- ty statuses may have a sound justification; if there is, I would be very interested to hear it. The University tolerates this, even if the argument it makes in favor of this behavior is an argument from silence. As a white-as-white-can-be student who can date her European ancestors' arrival in the Unit- ed States to the 1690s, it is admittedly diffi- cult sometimes - and very probably impossible - to always fully understand what is at stake in students of color's issues. This doesn't mean that I don't want to or don't try - I want an explanation. If you have one, please send it. Exclusion, as easy as it might be, is not the way to build a comfortable diversity at this University. Right now, this ideal that only exists in small pockets of University life, but where it exists, it's a wonderful thing. Last year I read of a University student, quoted in The Washington Post ("At U-Michigan, Minority Students Find Access - and Sense of Isolation," 04/01/03) who complained of the absolute ignorance that white students display when-it comes to minority issues. She was shocked and insulted that a white student had asked her how she styled her hair. It's very likely that this student asked her in a less than sensitive way, but at the same time, are we supposed to come to the University knowing everything? Where I live, at Telluride House, there exists one of the most comfortably diverse and amazing- ly engaged communities on this campus. Every year, each student is expected to pre- pare a one-hour "pubspeak" about any topic that they wish to speak on. Two years ago, a black student presented to the group about African-American hairstyles and hair care. In situations like that, when we acknowledge our ignorance and someone steps up to help eradicate it, the goal of a diverse learning environment is most suc- cessfully realized. The impetus behind this column was the story coming out of California that a student from Oakley wishes to begin a Caucasian club - and so far, she's collected about 250 sup- portive signatures. According to The Associat- ed Press, this girl, who promises that all people will be welcome to attend, said that she and her friends feel "slighted" by the presence of other minority student clubs. There's somewhat of a natural reaction behind this idea - in talking about the "minorities-only" meeting, it followed to question whether the University would have allowed a "non-minorities-only" meeting. But it's an instinct that should be suppressed: This isn't the path toward the kind of diversi- ty objective that the University claimed throughout the course of the affirmative action case. The proper response is not to feel offended and strike back - it is to strive for inclusiveness even when it is uncomfortable, and to be willing to teach others even when the lesson seems obvious. Hanink can be reached at jhanink@umich.edu: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Recruits must be responsi- ble if they want to compete as Michigan athletes To THE DAILY: The name "Michigan" does not stand only for athletic excellence (Informal rules do not deter recruits from drinking, 09/16/03). First and foremost, it represents a great acad- emic institution that has an amazing athletic department and both operate according to the mission of being "leaders and the best." When high school athletes are recruited by the different Michigan coaches, they are not recruited just because of their athletic skills. It takes much more than that to be a success- ful Michigan student athlete. You need to be a team player; you need to be self driven and achievement oriented, you need to be ready to work extremely hard both in the classroom and on the field and you need to realize that you are a part of a program that is greater than anything you have done before. There are exactly two purposes for com- ing on an official recruiting trip: first, so the high school seniors can get to know this pro- gram better and decide whether or not they would be happy here, and second, so that the team can decide whether or not a recruit has what it takes to fit in here and make a differ- ence. Recruits have 48 hours on campus according to National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. During that time, they go to a couple of classes, they get a campus tour, they meet with the head coach, they meet with the academic advisor, often they meet with an administrator, they watch the team practices, they work out (during a sepa- rate time), they take part in team functions and they go to an athletic event. All of these activities are designed to give the recruits a feel for what Michigan is about - to learn how demanding this program is, but also to get to know the amazing teams and student athletes we have here. Given all this infor- mation, now the recruits can make a much more educated decision whether or not they would like to attend the University., On the other hand, this is virtually the only opportunity for the team to get to know the recruits and make sure that indeed they moul fi wll into thie nrnorm nTe o sntq sibility to make sure they come back home safely. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden for a student-host to consume alcohol. The only restriction on recruits is the law, as the vast majority of them are not 21 yet. It is not the team's responsibility to preach to the recruits about alcohol consumption; our responsibili- ty is to create an environment in which they would not feel pressured to do anything against their will. This is another opportunity to learn about the recruits and their social conduct. Recruits that come on a trip just to party are probably not going to be successful here. The official visit is a great opportunity for the recruits to both be impressed and impress - be impressed by everything that Michigan has to offer and impress the teams and coaches so when signing day comes around, Michigan will still be interested in them. MAYA MANDEL Engineering senior Women's swimming and diving Notre Dame fans as bad, if not worse, than Michigan's To THE DAILY: In response to the article from the Notre Dame grad the other day, (Michigan fans show lack of class at Saturday's game, 09/16/03), I would like to add that the atmosphere at Notre Dame is quite identical to the one here in Ann Arbor. As a resident of northern Indiana, I have been to my share of Notre Dame athletic events. I recall one time, about three to five years ago, when I attend- ed a basketball game where Notre Dame was hosting the University of Connecticut. Khalid El-Amin was the point guard at the time, and everytime he touched the ball, the students would chant "bastard child" to the tune of us chanting "Houston's better" at last Saturday's rout over Notre Dame. If my memory serves me correctly, the student sec- tion was given a warning and Notre Dame was penalized with a technical foul. There- fore, instead of this grad challenging us to experience the same type of atmosphere in South Bend, he should get over his bitterness from the loss and face the fact that college sports fans are known for expressing their dislike for the other team. 09/18/03). Allowing the free exchange of tickets on the open market benefits everyone, from financially strapped students to remi- niscent alumni. Cracking down on ticket scalping, and requiring validation are barri- ers to trade which actually increase the price of tickets and reduce benefits for everyone. The University taught me that. STEVEN STARNES Alum "WHEN YOU COME TO A ORK IN THE ROAD ... TAKE 'T. 'IT AIN T OVER TIL IT'S OVER. rs DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN." "NEVER ANSWER AI4 ANONYMOUS *ETTER." (NOTE: TH E DAILY DOES ftOT PRINT ANONYMOUS LETTERS) YOGHSMS ARE GREAT. SO IS THE DAILY. STOP BY 4Z0 MAYNARD FOR SOME FUN TlMES. 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 letter containing statements that cannot be veri- fied.