4A -The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 29, 2004
OPINION
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STUDENTS AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
SINCE 1890
JORDAN SCHRADER
Editor in Chief
JASON Z. PESICK
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
We realize that
Bush is the enemy of
God, the enemy of
Islam and Muslims.
America declared
war on God."
- Abdel Aziz Rantissi, the new leader of
the Islamic group Hamas, in a speech on
Sunday to 5,000 spectators at the Islamic
University in Gaza City, as reported
yesterday by The Washington Post.
SAM BUTLER CLASSIC SOAPBOX
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M c.ngc-
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- a T
Why are they even trying?
ZAC PESKOWITZ Tim LOWER FREQUENCIES
possibly apoc- gie's existence is justified by its plasma tel- all this hubbub for a relatively insignifi-
ryphal story evisions, XBox gaming consoles and DVD cant fundraiser?
about the presi- players. To date, Reggie has made appear- Bringing us to the strange case of Sen.
dential campaign of ances at a NASCAR race in Atlanta and John Kerry. The junior senator from Mass-
William Henry Harrison MTV's TRL - a two-fer that puts even the achusetts recently took some time off from
holds that his Whig sup- most impressive of pop stars to shame. The the pressures of the campaign to recharge
porters drummed up sup- chairman of the RNC, lobbyist extraordi- in the alpine splendor of Sun Valley, Idaho,
port for Harrison by naire Ed Gillespie, has now joined the likes where the senator and his wife maintain a
rolling an enormous ball of all sorts of rappers he has never heard of quaint 19.5 room home. Kerry valiantly
of tin and paper through to appear on the popular program. chose to do double duty, turning his vaca-
the country. It is a testament to the monoto- The Democrats have shied away from tion into a photo op. Photographs of Kerry
ny of American life in the 1840s that a this type of gargantuan effort this year, but posed awkwardly over a Burton snowboard
massive sphere rolling through the streets they refuse to be outdone in their courtship graced the papers the next day. It's surpris-
would generate a thrill among voters. This of the hipster vote. Following the Democ- ing that Kerry's media team would suggest
makeshift sphere emblazoned with pro- rats' National Unity Dinner on Thursday that this aspiring populist should play u.p
Whig slogans proved to be a successful evening in Washington, the party shifted to his ties to the piles of gold doubloons and
ploy for the Harrison campaign and even Dream nightclub where the glitterati could precious stones that he and his wife main-
made its mark on the American vocabulary. converse with the politerati on the future tain jointly. The allure of showing Kerry's
Hence the expression "keep the ball of the alternative minimum tax, the mili- eXtreme side must have been too promis-
rolling." It's impossible to attribute Harri- tary basing policy in Central Asia and ing to pass up. The youth of America
son's electoral victory to this piece of male hair care products. In an appearance would finally see the differences between
proto-political innovation - Harrison's at Dream last year, Bill Clinton made his George W. Bush and John Kerry boiled
campaign also recognized the possibilities grand entrance to the lyrics of 50 Cent's down to their essentials: a drab-brush
of giving out free samples of whiskey to "In Da Club," an uncomfortable juxtaposi- clearin' dolt versus a Technicolor snow-
potential supporters, an astute decision that tion for the former commander in chief. boarder who can hit the half pipe with the
reveals a highly sophisticated understand- But he proudly suffered the slings and best of them.
ing of the American electorate - but the arrows of irony in return for the opportuni- Unfortunately for Kerry, the smiling pic-
ball stunt would be copied innumerable ty to drum up donations for the good of his tures of him swooshing down the slopes
times in coming elections. party. While the ebullient Clinton makes, were accompanied with less flattering news-
Both the Republican National Commit- for a natural fit, to force the octogenarian paper copy. Kerry spent much of his trip
tee and the Democratic National Commit- Jimmy Carter to run with the clubbing down the slopes falling on his back and was
tee have made great hay out of their efforts crowd seems marginally sadistic. The last the victim of a nasty collision between him-
to appeal to voters with a series of gim- time Carter had anything to do with a self and a Secret Service agent. An ugly
micks that are the direct descendent of nightclub, his chief of staff, Hamilton Jor- incident to which the cocksure Kerry
Harrison's effort. The Republicans' have dan, was fending off false allegations that responded, "I don't fall down. That son of a
employed Reggie the Registration Rig for he had sniffed cocaine at Studio 54. Why bitch ran into me." Another reminder of how
the 2004 presidential election. Reggie, as relive these dark days? The Dream event uncool the preening politics of cool can be.
he is fondly called by the RNC, ostensibly netted a mere $250,000 in donations for
exists for the purpose of registering 3 mil- the Dems, a figure which President Bush Peskowitz can be reached at
lion voters before Nov. 2. This is a lie. Reg- can reap in an afternoon in Topeka. Why zpeskowi@umich.edu.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
0
0N
Society does not accept or
celebrate obesity
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing in response to Sowmya
Krishnamurthy's last column (Some food
for thought, 03/26/04) While I agree with
the author's opinions on the seriousness of
the obesity epidemic and the need to
approach this problem in a new way, I find
serious alarms in her suggestions that
"society has given the obese the right to be
victimized." She suggested that the
mantra of "beauty comes in all sizes no
matter what" is a thinly veiled excuse to
perpetuate obesity.
Speaking as in individual who is classi-
fied as "obese," I prickle at the notion that
society accepts and celebrates my weight
problem. I would invite Krishnamurthy to
put on her "fat hat" for a moment and
rethink her position. Especially for young
girls, being overweight causes deeply pow-
erful self-esteem problems that can trans-
late into other more immediately
threatening destructive behavior. Being
teased for being larger - from being
called "Hungry Hippo" as a child to "Dee-
Bo" as a young adult - did not help me or
any other obese person want to lose
weight. In fact, it made me feel completely
horrible about my physical appearance and
subsequent worth as a human being. Yet
the teasing seems to align itself with the
author's insistence of a sense of "tough
love" for the fatties. I can think of few
instances where bullying or "demanding"
individual responsibility for a weight
problem has truly inspired an overweight
person to lose weight. That "tough love"
attitude only perpetuates that which it
hopes to destroy; by making an overweight
person feel disgusting and disgraceful for
his health problems, you make him feel
like less than a person - food often
becomes a double-edged solace.
Instead, more people should focus on
making the obese population feel validated
by showing them they are beautiful and
desirable, no matter what YM or Seventeen
magazine say. The obese population can
only attempt to change their health prob-
lems beginning from a base of encourage-
ment and renewed self-esteem. Learning to
truly feel nd ahoiut myself and my size
some obese people out there who are try-
ing to change their health, but are still big,
beautiful and loving it.
KELLY ANDREA SHEARD
LSA sophomore
Sexual message, not
politics, result in bans
TO THE DAILY:
I'd like to respond to Sravya Chiru-
mamilla's column (Where is my freedom of
expression?, 03/24/04) regarding the Par-
ents Television Council's attempts to "con-
trol what you know." My first comment is
that Brent Bozell is not trying to control
knowledge; he is trying to encourage peo-
ple to decide how they get this knowledge.
Secondly, I enjoy the songs that were
banned, but the graphic content of the
music videos is just not necessary to get
the message across, as there are other
videos that portray fruitless love where the
singer is wearing more than glitter. I do
wonder why MTV pulled Incubus's song
because that does seem to be a move to
suppress a political view, but please
explain how Maroon 5's graphic nudity is
a political statement. Also, Howard Stern
was not removed from the air because of
his political messages, but rather because
of his sexual references.
At what point do music videos and talk
shows become too explicit to be broadcast,
then? There is a fine line between pornog-
raphy and "artistic expression." It is diffi-
cult to decide what is clean enough, which
is why I advocate that guidelines be writ-
ten with clear lists and references to
banned content. While the parents are par-
tially responsible for controlling their kids,
parents are not omnipresent, and the media
should be kept responsible for what is
being broadcast.
Additionally, please explain how Stern
and these music videos are "youth pro-
grams." What important information do
they provide for 13-year olds?
Finally, I'd like to thank Chirumamilla
for her column, because I am now a PTC
member.
LAUREN MONTGOMERY
LSA junior
course, important to determining what our
professions are, but we need groups to
educate us about the world. I did not come
to the University to strictly learn about
what is taught in my classroom. I came
here to get a better understanding of the
world. I'm not active in most groups on
campus, nor do I support most of them,
but I believe they should receive the
money I pay so, that I may have the oppor-
tunity to learn from them. My money is
for my higher education, which transcends
the boundaries of my syllabuses. I do not
agree with Davis when she says, "These
groups are wrong." They are not wrong,
but there for our benefit. They provide the
same education that I might take from her
group as well. Would she like it if I said
that Young Americans for Freedom is
wrong?
I fully support all groups that provide me
with a better understanding and more knowl-
edge, whether or not I agree with their
beliefs. I hope in her last year, Davis may
gain some useful knowledge to make up for
her three years wasted here.
JEREMY CURTIS
LSA sophomore
Tom Cruise wore 'tighty-
whities,' not boxers
TO THE DAILY:
In the March 24 paper, you had a pic-
ture of someone impersonating Tom
Cruise from the movie "Risky Business"
on your cover. I am outraged that your
paper would put such a poor imperson-
ation picture on your cover. Throughout
my four years at the University, I have
faithfully read your paper almost every
day because of the quality material you put
out. But 113 years of editorial freedom is
no excuse for that picture. The imperson-
ator had on a tie, an unbuttoned shirt and
was wearing boxers. In "Risky Business,"
Tom Cruise had no tie, his shirt was but-
toned and was wearing "tighty-whities,"
not boxers. In the future please show better
judgment when choosing cover pictures.
PAUL BATKINS
Engineering junior
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