4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 20, 2005

OPINION


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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
The cardinals
have elected me,
a simple, humble
worker in God's
vineyard.
- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany,
now Pope Benedict XVI, upon appearing in
a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square
after being elected to inherit St. Peter's
throne, as reported yesterday by CNN.com.

SAM BUTLER ThE. S: ,'t x

M

Ideological diversity: why not?
DAN SHUSTER THE AkST RI GHTWIN CONSPIRACY.

ecently, a study
sponsored by the
Randolph Orga-
nization discovered that
72 percent of Ameri-
can professors identify
themselves as liberal,
while only 15 percent
align themselves with
conservatives. Addition-
ally, 50 percent vote Democratic, with only
11 percent voting Republican. This study
has officially confirmed what we already
know: There is a paucity of conservative
thought on American campuses. As a result,
conservatives have pressured universities to
hire more diverse faculties. Liberals, on the
other hand, fearing the poisoning of their
left-wing utopia, have opposed the idea of
ideological diversity. Even our very own
Michigan Daily has stated in a recent edi-
torial: "Attaining perfect ideological bal-
ance in the classroom is neither practical
nor desirable" (From the Daily: Stop talking
about 'bias', 04/11/2005). Furthermore, the
Daily opines, "As long as the University
has a free marketplace of ideas, and intel-
lectual freedom is not stifled, the liberal
bias of many of its professors should not
be a matter of concern." Why isn't ideo-
logical balance desirable? How can a "free
marketplace of ideas" function without the
existence of a dialogue between opposing
viewpoints? And isn't it a bit hypocritical
that the liberals are speaking out against
ideological diversity while touting the

necessity of racial diversity on campus?
Diversity should not be categorized or sub-
divided, but, by definition, should be all
inclusive. Either you support diversity of
all types, or you aren't really supporting
diversity at all.
So why is racial diversity desirable, but
not ideological diversity? As expressed in the
Daily, this overwhelming bias in the class-
room is necessary and beneficial, because for
conservative students "exposure to alterna-
tive ideologies can only strengthen their own
arguments." Face it: We all know that this
is code for "let's set those misguided con-
servatives straight." The only arguments that
I feel need strengthening are those of liber-
als. True ideological diversity on campus is
necessary to foster a meaningful exchange
of ideas, allowing for all viewpoints to be
heard and for the student to make informed
political decisions. Our campus is severely
deficient in its exposure to conservative
thought; there is a mournful lack of conser-
vative professors and conservative speakers
at the University. There is no lack of Bush-
bashing professors on campus or speakers
like the truth-twisting Michael "Moore-on."
The left-wing monopoly on America's edu-
cational institutions must be disrupted in
order to create a true "open marketplace of
ideas," instead of the squelching of opposing
points of view.
The University clearly supports racial
diversity as a means to achieve a multiplicity
of background, experience and culture here
on campus. No doubt, racial diversity is ben-

eficial and desirable, but is it being used as a
proxy for ideological diversity? This situation
engenders a campus inhabited by a racially
diverse group of "robots," nodding their heads
mindlessly to liberal rhetoric. Racial diversity
cannot be used as a substitute for ideological
diversity; both are necessary to stimulate us
as free-thinking students.
How do we effectively achieve diver-
sity? According to the Daily, "the Univer-
sity should hire on the basis of competence
and expertise ... regardless of their politi-
cal leanings." True enough, preference pro-
grams to hire professors should not be used,
as they are discriminatory: "Sorry, we can't
hire you, you're too liberal," or "you're a
Democrat," or "too Jewish." By extension, if
preference programs should not be used to
hire University faculty, likewise, they should
not be used to admit students. I have already
demonstrated that preference programs
involving race do not promote racial diversi-
ty (Support the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative,
03/23/2005). Likewise, preference programs
involving ideology will not promote ideo-
logical diversity. The experience and qual-
ity of the professor should take precedence
over his political beliefs. The University
must therefore actively seek out qualified
and experienced conservative professors in
a broad outreach program - exactly what is
being done, successfully, with minorities in
states that banned racial preferences.
Shuster can be reached
at dshuster@umich.edu.

It

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editorial irresponsible,
marijuana is dangerous
TO THE DAILY:
The editorial published in Monday's edition of
the Daily (Smokin' out the dealers, 04/18/2005) is in
many ways misleading and inaccurate. First of all,
claiming that there is "no conclusive medical evi-
dence finding serious hazards related to marijuana
use" is downright ludicrous. Mountains of studies
and medical experiments have found numerous
serious health hazards that marijuana can lead
to. A Harvard University study, readily found at
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99/majuana/
Health_1html, lists some of the various detrimen-
tal effects of marijuana. These include: "bronchial
illnesses, pulmonary infections, degeneration of
the respiratory and immune systems and several
mental disorders, such as acute toxic psychosis,
panic attacks (one of the very conditions it is being
used experimentally to treat), flashbacks, delu-
sions, depersonalization, hallucinations, paranoia,
depression and uncontrollable aggressiveness.
Marijuana has long been known to trigger attacks
of mental illness, such as bipolar (manic-depres-
sive) psychosis and schizophrenia. (Emphasis
added)" In fact, the Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the
American Psychiatric Association, has an entire
section devoted to disorders caused by marijuana.
Even if a person is ignorant enough to look past all
of this, any fool can see that the effects of smok-
ing marijuana are at least as bad as smoking ciga-
rettes. These would then include several types of
cancers, which - call me crazy - I think are
very serious.
Furthermore, minimizing the work done by
authorities to get this clearly dangerous drug
off the street is also very irresponsible. While I
enjoyed your economic analysis and know that
much of it is true, we must face the fact that this
drug is now available, and its use needs to be cur-
tailed in order to prevent the serious illnesses list-
ed above. Finally, it is surprising that the writers of
this piece would call out the police for "wasting"
time looking for drugs and not finding the perpe-
trators of certain robberies. Besides the fact that
narcotics and robbery divisions of a police force
are separate and should not in such a way be com-
pared; this point is defeated by the fact that drugs
are involved in a large percentage of such crimes.
It truly saddens me that such an irresponsible,
inaccurate and misinformed editorial could have
found its way onto the pages of the Daily. Editors
would be well advised to keep in mind that living

in a community where this article will find much
support is no excuse for ignoring its falsehood.
Imran Syed
LSA freshman
University doesn't need any
more princesses
To THE DAILY:
I'm writing to address the prospect of a Univer-
sity princess, as put forth by Beth Montgomery's
rather curious letter to the editor (Letter writer
wants to be the University princess, 04/18/2005).
While young Miss Montgomery's aspirations to
royalty are understandable, the "moderately attrac-
tive" Wolverine princess misses a central point:
Rather than there being too little royalty here at the
University, we at the University already have more
self-appointed princesses than we know what to do
with! With so many princesses, how could we pos-
sibly pay homage to them all? Probably the very last
thing we need in Ann Arbor is more aristocracy!
But I do commend the letter writer for the honesty
and bravery to put into writing what many women
have already concluded privately!
Dave Sackett
LSA senior

VIEWPOINT
Society, my ass and me

By BRIAN KELLY
I caught my friend coveting my ass the other
day. Well, I should say former friend. Ever since I
heard him ask where women came from if Adam
and Eve had no daughters, we are no longer on
speaking terms.
Two days ago, I was riding down State Street
on my ass, a healthy mule I had gotten as part
of a trade for some barrels of wheat and an old
tractor of mine that needed repairs. I passed
my friend, my face stony, staring straight
ahead, but my curiosity got the better of me.
When I turned to look at him, he was gaping
at my ass - I mean, gaping. Mouth open, eyes
bulging, the whole works. He looked as if he
had never seen such an ass before. I admit it
is in good shape. I have it do stretches and at
least four hours of manual labor every day,

car all the way to the station.
Fast-forward to a couple of weeks later, Case
Number 73-45 in the Washtenaw County Court,
Judge Mann Attson presiding.
The prosecutor began: "Gentlemen and non-
menstruating ladies of the jury (At this, a middle-
aged woman with puffy brown hair promptly and
embarrassedly stood and left..), we are here today
to decide whether the defendant, Walter Arndt, did
knowingly and excessively covet the victim's ass
in public, in full view of women and children, and
with total disregard to the Ten Laws of the Land."
The bailiff now swore my friend in.
"Do you agree to tell the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I do," said my friend. My ass, he did!
The prosecutor began. "Are you familiar with
the Ten Laws of the Land?"
"I only recognize one law of the land," said

"Madness! I will wipe my client's ass with your
Constitution! Furthermore, who is being prohib-
ited from free exercise? We encourage religion
of all kinds, as long as they are based on the Ten
Laws of the Land."
"Exactly!" cried my friend. "No one's exercis-
ing anything. You can't-"
"I believe someone is exercising their right to
make a public jackass of himself!" said the pros-
ecutor with a grin. "And furthermore, speaking of
jackasses, did you covet this man's ass?"
"I may have," said my friend with shame.
"What need do we have of this trial? Hang this
man!" cried the prosecutor.
I walked to the hanging, choosing to leave my
ass at home - it was worn out from a long day of
rigorous pounding. I felt that some justice had been
served, even though the prosecution had neglected
to bring up all of the evidence I had collected on

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