4A - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 19, 2005

OPINION


ke !rM

JASON Z. PESICK
Editor in Chief

SUHAEL MOMIN
SAM SINGER
Editorial Page Editors

ALIsoN Go
Managing Editor

EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890
420 MAYNARD STREET
ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com

NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
4 4
No one is
allowed at our
barbecues unless
they are an NRA
member."
- Gun rights advocate and former
rockstar Ted Nugent, speaking at the
National Rifle Association's annual
convention last Saturday, as reported
yesterday by The Associated Press.

ALEXANDER HONKALA LEMMING PA\RADE
I call i (C CPOSS t OA+Oe
ENVIkON/\ENTALISA


A Tuesday in September
DANIEL ADAMS HORSESJOES AND HAND GRENADES
Isuspect that most That day, in that time, a hope, a glimmer, the old America, magnified and embraced
who graduate from a prayer for the future of America sparked with renewed enthusiasm. The hate. The
the University in me a patriotism that I have never before intolerance. The mob mentality. It's the old
struggle to contextual- and will likely never again experience. Few meanness, repackaged for the 21st century
ize their four-year expe- seniors could forget the first home football as a war on a shapeless, sinister, inhuman
rience - to mark time game following the attacks - the eerie enemy. A war on terror? If it were only
in a way that will con- quiet of over 100,000 people solemnly that.
nect their first day on remembering those who had perished. For Looking back, my four years here is a
campus to their last. the first time in years, I had reason to sing story of a hope lost - an allegiance made
The seniors leaving the national anthem as I once had: loudly, temporary by the actions of my government
in two weeks might not remember their first proudly, reverently at the thought of a new in a pivotal hour. Where I once sang "The
day, but they sure as hell remember their America. Star Spangled Banner" out of love, it is now
fifth. Soon thereafter, I stopped singing the the shame and humiliation for the sins of
Most recall exactly where they were that national anthem and I stopped believing my country that have me silenced.
morning when they heard the news. Got out in a new America. It might have been the But I am no cynic. As I once believed in
of the shower and found a roommate cry- events of March 21, 2003, when warplanes the greatness of America, I now believe in
ing. Walked to class and found it empty. and cruise missiles emblazoned with the other things.
For me, it was a slow walk down a hallway flag of my nation butchered civilian and I believe in the greatness of men.
in the Business School, interrupted by an soldier alike in Baghdad. Or the early I believe not in the righteousness of a
image that will haunt me for the rest of my morning hours of Nov. 3, 2004, when 11 nation, but in the righteousness of human
life. states wrote into law the homophobia and ity - regardless of border or belief.
Every generation has a moment. Pearl intolerance of an ignorant, hateful major- I believe in unconditional pity for those
Harbor. The Kennedy assassination. Ours ity. Or the images of U.S. servicemen and in despair; unconditional charity for those
came at 8:45 a.m. on a sunny Tuesday women, brutalizing Iraqi captives at Abu in need.
morning in September: "U.S. Attacked: Ghraib. Or just this Sunday, when Pfc. Ste- I believe that there is right and wrong in
Hijacked Jets Destroy Twin Towers and Hit ven F. Sirko became only the latest Ameri- this world, and I believe that this genera-
Pentagon in Day of Terror." can boy to be swallowed up by the old myth tion, my generation, has in front of it the
I remember running back to my dorm of war: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. same choice that has faced all those who
room in West Quad. I ran to avoid the stares It is sweet and right to die for your coun- came before us: Can we tell the difference?
of those ignorant to what had happened. I try. I look forward to discovering how we
ran, because it seemed at the time the only My reverence for this nation, choral answer that question.
alternative to crawling on my hands and or otherwise, is not based on the illusory Thank you.
knees. tales of its past, but rather the reality of
We were told that the world had changed. the present. Presently? This is not a new Adams can be reached at
We were told that America had changed. America, so much as it is the worst parts of dnadams@umich.edu.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Re on oher sbtaes pvi exact sanie languge as the MCkI, Te our universities anid other state insiiuiiois
MCRIarm aLgps to a precipitous drop in minority enroll- BAMN contends that they should not.
ment at the top universities in the state, Ben Royal
The University of California at Berkeley Rackham
To THE DAILY: and University of California at Los Ange- Kate Stenvig
In yesterday's Daily, Carl Cohen (MCRI les. Minority enrollment has not recovered Rackham
upholds true goals of affirmative action, since. MCRI can only have the same effect Monica Smith
04/18/2005) failed to address the main of narrowing educational opportunities LSA sophomore
points of contention about the Michigan and resources for black and other minority The letter writers are all members of BAMN.
"Civil Rights" Initiative that BAMN raised students in Michigan, leading to more seg-
in an earlier letter (MCRI proponents not regation and more racial inequality here.
telling the truth about its effects, 04/14/2005). Cohen further tries to mislead the stu-k#
If, as Cohen asserts, MCRI means "positive dents on this campus by asserting that affir-
steps to ensure that all persons of all races mative action for black and other minority
are treated equally," why then are there students is nothing more than "racial prefer- E T
Michigan chapters of the Ku Klux Klan (an ences." In reality, however, the actual racial
organization notorious for racist brutality preferences that occur in this society oper-
and segregationist stands) supporting the ate against the interests of black and other
initiative? Regarding Cohen's assertion that minority students. Even with affirmative ' ''
"no progress is made by calling one's oppo- action in place, the percentage of black stu-
nents liars," why did he fail to address the dents in this year's incoming class was only oIN THE SUMM
results of BAMN's survey which so far has one third of what it should be according to
found that more than 98 percent of Detroit state demographics. Only 5.9 percent of the EDTO AL STAFF
voters who signed MCRI's petitions did so freshman class is black compared to the
only because they were misled by MCRI's college-aged population of the state which
signature gatherers? Some of those same sig- is about 18 percent black. Clearly, there is
nature gatherers have also signed affidavits no "preference" operating in favor of black
saying they never would have participated students. R AD MCHGNAY. M
in MCRI's effort if they too had not been The question that MCRI poses to our
deceived about the intentions and effects state in general, and to our campus in
that the MCRI will have on our state. particular, is the following: Should Ward
The fact of the matter is that Proposition Connerly and his Michigan followers (like
209, the anti-affirmative action proposal Cohen) get away with deceiving the people
that passed in California in 1996 with the of Michigan in the name of resegregating
VIEWPOINT
Coke on trial

BY JORY HEARST, KRISTIN PURDY, ILAN BRAND-
VAIN, PETER WOIwODE AND SAM WOLL
The campaign to purge this campus of
unethical corporations rolls on. Students
are closer than ever to pushing our Univer-
sity to cut our contract with Coca-Cola.
Because recent progress of the campaign
has been quiet, many people have come up
to members of the Coke Coalition asking if
the $1.3 million contract the University has
with Coca-Cola has been cut. The answer is
a resounding "NO! - not yet."
On April 25, the University will hold

ed cases of kidnapping, violence against
union-members' families, death-threats and
torture, which were committed by paramil-
itary forces in Colombia at Coca-Cola bot-
tling plants. In India, Coke's bottling plants
have been accused of contributing to severe
water shortages, water pollution, and haz-
ardous disposal of solid waste. Rulings by
the Indian court system have temporarily
shut Coke plants down due to the growing
anger at Coca-Cola by local communities.
We've heard this all before.
The Coke Coalition now consists of 20
student organizations. We welcome our

union with a membership of 20. It refuses
to allow independent investigations, but
laud those done by the for-profit Cal Safety
Compliance Corporation. Lori Billingsley,
issues director and media relations chair
for Coke, has just resigned for "personal
reasons." In India, Colombia and across the
world, the demonstrations continue.
The hearing is set for April 25, at 3:30
p.m. in the Anderson Room of the Union.
It is open to the public, and we encourage
students who would like their University to
live up to its moral and ethical obligations
to its students, employees and contract

I