4 -The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 31, 2003 OP/ED U* iod 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com NOTABLE QUOTABLE SAM BUTLER Tt wSOAPBOX 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. It appears to be an unusual set of Halloween circumstances. ^e~ W~ J ~r 40 x ll v V - U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer, about a weapons scare that shut down the Capitol building Thursday as reported on CNN.com. ' "r i Y 't . i ... { r '' i i ' [111\\\ \ o " e a p' h J' -' Hungry for understanding SRAVYA CHIRUMAMILLA WEAVING THE HANDBASKET ntering Angell fasts throughout my experimentation phas- you too have been fasting and offer you a Hall, I thread my es, I did not expect this to be a particularly date or other fruit to break the fast. way through the difficult feat. In order to include others in the event, clusters of people, past Those whose stomachs grumble mid- the Muslim Students Association organized the ever-inviting candy class understand the importance of and the a fast-a-thon last year for non-Muslim stu- vending machines and urgency one feels for lunch. While most dents. Those who pledged to not eat during to my classes. The most people observe Ramadan for deeply reli- one day were able to raise money from local difficult part of the gious beliefs, I wanted to experience the businesses to help those in need. A friend of now-routine journey up hunger. mine joined wholeheartedly as it was a to the third floor is This option is not available for millions noble way to raise funds. He didn't realize, restraining myself from of people worldwide. Not only' was I able to however, that for him to gain from the expe- reaching for the water fountain. It is neither choose this, but I was also able to do no rience, he would have to give up smoking the lack of projection of the water, which my hard labor, instead limiting the extent of my the daily quota of cigarettes. He obliged and paranoia deems can spread meningococcal activity to sitting at a computer or in class. after a few hours of not smoking, under- bacteria nor the water temperature, which In fact, what I have tried over the past three stood both his dependence on the habit and could breed legionella bacteria, that prevents years is nothing like what Muslims in that smoking is an immense privilege. me from taking a sip. It is the fifth day of Indonesia are going through, as it is the The reason I fast is simple: It offers me Ramadan and I have decided to fast from early summer months for them. The days an understanding of what other people must sunrise to sunset for a month this year. are much longer, the heat is more unbear- be going through. People live without food Since I wasn't raised with the tenet that able and the thirst must be infinitely greater. or water for days while doing strenuous curiosity killed the cat, I try novel and often There are of course many other times activity for the better part of the day. uncharacteristic things. Though not a reli- during the year I could embark on this When we are nurtured within the leisures gious person myself, I have experimented mission to greater understanding. I have of Ann Arbor, we ignore that our actions with aspects of some religions. limited it to a month because at present I have a direct affect on many others' lives. When I was younger, I would choose am not determined enough to try it for Not until we are aware of the hunger our- something important to give up for Lent. To much longer. What I gain from. the month selves will we have any inclinations to my mother's chagrin, I usually became a will hopefully make me aware of my change the current situation. vegetarian for 40 days. Cooking for me actions throughout the year. All too often, when we get a bite to eat became particularly unpleasant for her since Another, more selfish reason I choose to from Mr. Spot's or get a free slice of pizza within my picky consumption habits lies an participate during this particular month is on the Diag, we fail to realize just how aversion of most vegetables. because of the established community lucky we are. I am lucky enough to want In a quest to try something else once I around the event. For every night of to experience hunger. I can state and do came to college, I joined my Muslim friends Ramadan, someone usually organizes a what millions can not dream of: I can in their observance of Ramadan. From sun- large dinner to break the fast, known as an choose not to eat. rise to sunset, I would not eat, drink water ifthar. Even if you're just walking down the or any other substance and learned through- street around this time, it is common for Chirumamilla can be reached out the process. As I have done my share of someone in the community to recognize that atschiruma@umich.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I Edwards relevant, presents 'clearest alternative' to Bush To THE DAILY: Jason Pesick is wrong to mischaracterize John Edwards's candidacy for president as "inconsistent" and "nonsensical," Edwards style can't hide lack of substance (10/29/03). Edwards' message has been clear since he first announced his candidacy in January: He believes that America works best when it works for all of us. Edwards's priorities - rewarding work and cre- ating opportunity - are the most rational, fun- damental values espoused by any candidate seeking the White House in 2004. I was fortunate enough to join Edwards on the campaign trail this weekend as he met with churchgoers and union leaders in Detroit. Far from "not clicking with voters," Edwards devel- oped an instant rapport with members of UNITE and Service Employees International Union Local 79, all of whom enthusiastically supported his real solutions for the problems facing our nation. Edwards's unique proposals to provide every American child with health insurance as a birthright, cover the first year of college stu- dents' tuition and take back our civil liberties from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft are resonating with voters across the country. Contrary to Pesick's assertion that Edwards's candidacy is "tanking," Edwards is enjoying overwhelming support from voters in key prima- ry states who recognize Edwards as the clearest alternative to George W. Bush. Recent polls show Edwards gaining ground in Iowa and New Hampshire while leading the potentially decisive South Carolina primary by double digits. Edwards will be a president who not only represents the interests of working- and middle- class Americans but also inspires and empowers young people to achieve. And after four years of Bush, isn't that what this country really needs? JEREMY KRESS Business school junior Chair, Students for John Edwards A2 built to attract homeless, student nawve about situation To THE DAILY: I must first apologize, as I would be the "paramedic" in the picture, All in a Days Work (10/21/03). I am in actuality a Depart- ment of Public Safety Officer in its hospital division. I didn't bother to inform you of this oversight because I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Unfortunately while reading the him a penny. Yes, me and the rest of the good taxpayers of Ann Arbor picked up the tab. Unfortunately, Danny and several of his com- panions are well known to me and the rest of my fellow officers. Danny and his friends believe that alcohol and drugs are more important than food, shelter, bathing and underwear. Several nights my colleges and I have literally fought with the highly intoxi- cated members of his clan - I guess this is how they show their appreciation for close to $2,000 worth of medical care received at no cost to them. Perhaps all the times they defe- cate and urinate their pants or projectile vomit is just a sign of affection towards our emer- gency room staff. I see that Peterson is a student. Well here's a lesson your parents don't have to pay for. I have years of experience in hospital operations as well as law enforcement, so I believe I speak from knowledge gained over these years. Guys like Danny are not from here. They flock here because the "benefits" of being homeless are lucrative, such as sev- eral free food kitchens, University students naive enough to believe that the money they give them actually goes to food and not liquor, and of course, free health care - the prover- bial "If you build it they will come" syn- drome. Well, nobody builds it better than Ann Arbor. I don't want to belittle Peterson's argu- ment, but lets face it, the propaganda that has been force fed to young impressionable minds by an institution with an agenda that includes socialized medicine will only be extracted from you when you actually get out into the real world and get your "real" education. As for Danny, I know him and his friends well, I wonder how well Peterson knows them. If she'd like to find out, I suggest she go and visit them. They live under the bridge that I'm standing in front of in the picture. I recom- mend Peterson go there in the daytime and not by herself. These, of course, are my opinions and not that of University hospital or DPS. As for the smirk on my face and the "horns" on my head, well, I never said I was an angel. OFFICER TROY SCHUH Department of Public Safety, Hospital division Greenbelt will make housing inaccessible, buildings rise To THE DAILY: Jack Zuckerman's letter regarding Proposal B was uninformed on several counts, (Ann A..,. ..,; ..1,, .'.,+, ,, -1 ,,, Yorker imagination. As a matter of historical fact, Central Park has been a model that city planners have followed for over 100 years. New York prides itself very much on its green spaces within a dynamic city environment. What is certain is that Proposal B will hurt opportunities to build more housing in Ann Arbor, and that rents within the greenbelt will go up. Lots within the belt will be further subdivid- ed, and building height will increase. Fewer Uni- versity, Pfizer, and other employees of local industry will be able to afford to live near their jobs, and traffic on U.S.-23 and Interstate-94 will worsen as a result - as will air quality. The real goal of Proposal B is to keep affluent Ann Arbor for the affluent and to extend the city's reach outside the city limits. The debate on Proposal B seems to be large- ly emotive. Economic and historical models are more effective tools of analysis than misin- formed, romantic appeals about Sunday strolls in the park. Zuckerman's letter only added to mis- information based on erroneous assumptions. DANIEL ROTHsCHImD School ofPublic Policy Greenbelt not without faults, should still vote for Prop. B To THE DAILY: I am writing in response to a letter from Jack Zuckerman in regard to Proposal B, which eval- uated Mayor John Hieftje's Greenbelt plan in rather simplistic terms, (Ann Arbor residents should vote 'yes' on Proposal B, 10/28/03). I agree that Proposal B will have a generally positive effect on the preservation of open space, but it has many shortcomings. The very process through which it reached the ballot, without any input from the city's professional planning staff, for instance, is questionable. The amount of land that can be preserved, the characteristics of the parcels that would be included, and neigh- boring townships' commitment to cooperation are all unknown. What is known, is that despite the termi- nology, a "green patchwork" rather than a continuous "Greenbelt" is all that can result from this plan, as so much of the land sur- rounding Ann Arbor is already developed. In the end, Proposal B's effect on sprawl will be limited without a more comprehensive growth-management program in cooperation with surrounding municipalities that would place an emphasis on redeveloping and infill- ing existing developed areas, directing green- field development to areas directly proximate to to Ann Arbor and other local cities and designing mixed-use, higher-density neigh- . i