I 4C - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fall 2004 UNIVERSITY Harvard prof. links racism, poverty at MLK symposium January 20. 2004 By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Writer FOREL UAEY/Uaily LSA senior Jenny Bouerl and LSA junior Mindy Pickens get down and dirty at the Mudbowl Saturday on the lawn of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Proceeds from the event were donated to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Mudbowl tradition continues October 20, 2003 B1y Kylene Kiang Daily Staff' Writer Members of the Greek community rolled up their sleeves to get down and dirty for the annu- al Mudbowl held Saturday on the lawn of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house. In its 70th year, the Mudbowl has remained one of the Universi- ty's biggest traditions, said SAE president and LSA junior Drew Beres. "I think it's a great tradition. It's one of the biggest events in the Greek community because of the notoriety it gets," he said. The final brackets for the Mudbowl included "It's definite] SAE versus Zeta Beta Tau and Kappa Alpha Theta biggest phiL versus Delta Delta Delta v n for the sorority match. events SAE won the fraternity match 33-12 in a "well- played game from both President, sides," Beres said. The sorority match ended in a hard-fought 6- 6 tie after double overtime. "The entire game was a highlight for me," said Kappa Alpha Theta member and LSA sophomore Hilary Goldin. "I was shivering on the sidelines, but it was well worth it," she said. "One of the nicest parts was that after the game, there wasn't any bad sportsmanship and there was no animosity. It was a lot of fun to be part of something that was really classy," said ax Kappa Alpha Theta member and LSA junior Sara Rapoport. "There were a couple of bumps and bruises - nothing too serious," she added. Before putting their abilities to the test in the mud pit, more than 20 teams vied for a spot in the final four during a series of playoff games held two weeks before the main event. Each team must pay a $150 entrance fee, which is donated to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. "It's definitely our biggest philanthropic event," Beres said. Each year, a large part of SAE's lawn is soaked in water for two weeks before the game. With the aid of a tractor i one of our and a tiller, SAE trans- forms the land into the ithropic infamous mud pit. Beres added that a water truck was called in to douse the field with - Drew Beres 9,000 gallons of water igma Alpha Epsilon before the game. Though most Mudbowl participants had no problem with the mud, some neighbors of the SAE property did not share the same sentiments. "It smelled really bad. You could smell it just walking down the street. It was like playing a game next to a port-a-potty. It was some weird- smelling mud," LSA freshman Brian Perrymen said. - Daily Staff Writer Evan McGarvev con- tributed to this report. Class difference is not just a black- and-white issue, Prof. Lani Guinier of Harvard Law School explained yesterday to an audience of more than 3,000 at Hill Auditorium. Guinier discussed the role of race and poverty as interdepend- ent variables in the fight for equality as the keynote speaker at the 17th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium Memorial Lecture. "Race masks, and it sustains deep flaws in the way our society allocates opportunity and privilege to every- one," she said, pointing to standardized tests and "incarceration instead of education" as examples of how social inequality is not limit- ed to minority groups but affects the majority of Americans across racial lines. "In fact, it is those high-stakes aptitude tests, along with many other ways in which we provide opportunities to those who are already privileged, that has made higher edu- cation in this country a 'gift from the poor to the rich,' " she said, using a phrase she said was coined by Anthony Carnavale, vice-presi- dent of the Educational Testing Service. She added that this "gift" is subsidized by taxpayers and enjoyed by the most affluent, citing Carnavale's research based on a Centu- ry Foundation study. The study found that among the 146 most selective colleges and universities in the country, 74 percent of the students come from the top 25 percent of the highest income bracket, while only 10 percent belong to the bottom half. "It is no accident, therefore, that some of the more wealthy suburbs of Detroit send 50 percent of the graduates from their high schools to the University of Michigan, and yet Dearborn High School, which is work- ing-class, blue-collar white, sends 5 percent of its graduates to the University of Michi- gan," she said. Guinier said there is a need to link class, gender and geography to race in order to create a deeper fundamental understanding of the relationship between race and social inequality. "We are not going to solve the problem of racism in this society if we don't also solve the problems of poverty in this socie- ty," she said. Guinier reviewed the legacy of the Brown v Harvard law Prof. Lani Guinier speaks at the 17th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Symposium yesterday at Hill Auditorium. Board of Education ruling but also criticized the ruling itself. "Brown v. Board of Education in some ways is both part of the solution, but it is also part of the problem," she said, adding that the landmark decision, while providing for the desegregation of public schools and inspiring a generation, only focused on the effects of segregation on black students. "The Supreme Court, under the influence of very well-intentioned racial liberals, focused on segregation and the way in which it damaged, the Court said, the hearts and minds of Negro children," Guinier said. "No doubt segregation was evil. And no doubt seg- regation damaged the hearts and minds of Negro children, but it also damaged the hearts and minds of white children, and Brown was silent on that fact." By ignoring the psychological effect of seg- regation on working-class and poor whites, the Brown ruling facilitated the backlash of many whites against desegregation, Guinier said. Because working-class and poor whites believed segregation was to their benefit, Guinier said, they viewed desegregation as an impediment to their own success and most saw little reason to mobilize with blacks around common economic interests. Vickie Wellman, an Ann Arbor resident, attended the event with her husband Ian Mac- Gregor and her granddaughter Reena Hobrecht, age 4. Wellman said they attend every year to honor and commemorate Dr. King. She said Guinier spoke clearly about class and power issues that go beyond race and empowered the audience to rethink how they live in the world and what they teach their children. "We want to share the load of the work and pass on the torch," Wellman said. "We're leav- ing (our granddaughter's generation) a lot of work to do in this country. We'd better give them some better tools than mainstream tele- vision and newspapers - they're going to have a lot of fixing to do" Engineering senior James McGinnis said he has attended the MLK Symposium for four years to raise his awareness and as part of his commitment to the move- ment for equality. He said he was impressed by Guinier's comments and the depth with which she addressed the topic. "She actually spoke about issues deeper than what affirmative action or civil rights might address, talking about the way socie- ty is structured and that being the reason for the inequality that exists today," McGinnis said. He said he learned more about the need for grass-roots work and finding solutions, instead of patches for current problems. "It's harder work but it has a much bigger long-term impact, and I feel that's what she really spoke about today." He added that the event was worth waking up for and hoped even more people would attend in the future. "We want this (Hill Auditorium) to be too small next year,"he said. -Daily Staff Writers Sarah Roffman and Donn M. Fresard contributed to this report. 4 4 With 'Vagina Monologues,' V-Day highlights violence against women 4 February 16,2004 By Mona Rafeq Daily Staff Writer Red ribbon encircled the Diag and decorated T-shirts fluttered in the wind while a group of students staged the V- Day Rally on Friday afternoon. The rally was organized to kick off the global weekend performanc- es of "The Vagina Monologues," a play written by Eve Ensler about women reclaiming power over their own bodies. LSA senior Jenny Abrams, a V-Day rally organizer, said the purpose of the rally and the play was to inform the pub- lic about violence against women. 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" Vehicle loans, personal loans, home equity loans, and mortgages. that are prevalent in today's society," Abrams said. The rally featured Timothy John- son, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Hospital, as the keynote speaker. He spoke about the state of global health and brutality toward women. In particular, he mentioned female genital mutilation, a practice that is common in parts of Africa. He said it is important to remember that violence against women does not always occur at the hands of men. "There are a lot of societies that involve women against women. Moth- ers, grandmothers and daughters often can act aggressively towards their rel- atives," he said. In addition to student poetry read- ings and cheers like "Barbie" and "Gender Binary," led by a student group called the Radical Cheerlead- ers, the rally also included presenta- tions on each of the organizers' personal "vagina warriors. "Vagina warriors are women from all over the world who are trying to change the system and who are not afraid to be proactive;' Abrams said. The Diag was decked with tables of organizations representing women's issues. Ashwini Hardikar, chair of the Michi- gan Student Assembly's Women's Issues Commission, said the committee felt a need to support the struggle concerning violence against women. "In addition to bringing awareness to the resources that are available for women and (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students, we want to pro- vide a link of unity between different communities on campus," said Hardikar, an RC sophomore. "The Vagina Monologues" was pro- duced and performed in two shows yes- terday by a group of students involved in this year's V-Day Campaign. The show ran for the fourth year in a row at the Power Center.