4- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 18, 2006

OPINION


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COLIN DALY "fill

DoNN M. FRESARD
Editor in Chief

EMILY BEAM
CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK
Editorial Page Editors

ASHLEY DINGES
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
' ' If you're thinking
about leaving at some
time in the future, now
would be a good time
to do it."
- New White House chief of staff Josh Bolton,
addressing staff at a meeting yesterday morn-
ing, as reported yesterday on CNN.com.
UNEMPLOYED mIS SUMMER?
HANG Ou Wr 4 DARIY OPMwN.
E-MA sYi@AuaPALY.co


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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All
other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their author.


A letter to Ms. Jordan
DAVID BETTS h P lNTIFICAIONS

ear Ms. Jordan,
The first
time I looked
at you I knew I wasn't
in high school any-
more. You were too
beautiful; your pres-
ence was too great. I'll
never forget the first
time our eyes met: You
flashed a smile as I left
the CCRB during the summer before my fresh-
man year. At the time, I had no idea that a look
like that was an invitation to say hi. When we
finally did speak, you were incredibly sweet.
Not once did you give the impression that you
wanted to get rid of me, and that meant a lot.
When we first started hanging out, you were
way too cool. As my freshman year officially
began, you seemed to know I wasn't ready to
settle down. You were fine with me going new
places, meeting new people and leaving you
some weekends to explore what campus had to
offer. I needed to get out and experiment with
life, though sometimes I wonder if it was my
youthful curiosity that prevented us from ever
being in a real, long-term relationship.
Your patience and encouragement over the
past four years have allowed me to grow so
much. You introduced me to so many new peo-
ple; you showed me how talented I was; you
helped me to find my passions. That I aspire
to be a writer is in no small measure due to
you. You know how much time I have spent
sitting alone in an empty corner of the world,
scribbling away. Now you know that my scrib-
bling was due, in part, to you understanding
and appreciating my quasi-philosophical ram-
blings.
Not only did you encourage me to write, but
you also provided me with constant subject

matter. I have tried - and thus far failed - to
describe your beauty, I have explored the role
of friends in my life, and I have contemplated
the best way to deal with the emotions of a
woman. You helped me discover how cathar-
tic writing could be - not to mention helping
me to become comfortable using words like
cathartic.
Ms. Jordan, I must confess that I have
motives for writing this other than praise. I'm
concerned about you - I have been for the last
few months now. I have discussed some of this
with you in person, but there is more I need to
get off my chest. You are not the same as you
once were.
I know after graduation we are both mov-
ing on in life: I'm going back home to live
with my family and contemplate the universe;
you are staying here on campus and assuming
more responsibility with the University. As I
leave campus, another anonymous ex-under-
grad, you may become one of the most promi-
nent faces of the institution. You are about to
go through a transformation process that will
make you the envy of your peers. I'm happy for
you, but I'm also concerned.
I'm concerned with the company you keep.
The new people you run with are extremely self-
interested; they hang with you because of what
they may gain. Many of them are power-hungry
gossips, trampling on the feelings of people you
have known for years. I see you try to be sym-
pathetic to those friends you have hurt, but you
come off insensitive and cold. Under the guise
of ending this phase of your life right, you are
losing some of the charm of old.
It's true that there will always be people
you don't get along with, but now it's differ-
ent than before. You are much more likely to
talk behind somebody's back. You seem to rel-
ish chastising people for no apparent reason.

You're not Bobby Knight; you're not the type
to criticize with the goal of inspiring improve-
ment.
The change in your character is one of the
reasons I am around so little these days. Now
I hang with you more out of obligation than
anything else. Since you've been so good to
me throughout college, I feel almost required
to try to help you out. Interestingly enough, I
spend a lot of time consoling those individuals
you have hurt.
Maybe it's my fault you have acted so harsh-
ly recently. Perhaps I should have been more
proactive in confronting the behaviors I didn't
like, perhaps I should have been more emo-
tionally invested in you, perhaps I should have
stopped associating with you altogether.
I could sit here for hours and mull over
how things could have been different, but that
wouldn't be productive. Kicking myself about
past hypothetical situations has become one
of my best time-wasting mechanisms. It's far
too easy to transition from legitimately trying
to learn from prior situations to worthlessly
ruminating over all the could'ves, would'ves,
should'ves.
It was with you that I discovered Ben Folds
Five. Right now I can't help but think of their
song "Smoke." Hopefully our memories do not
end up as those in the song: thrown in the fire,
only to be found as smoke traveling through
the air. If our memories do become smoke, it'll
be your fault. Despite how little I can stand you
right now, I'll always cherish our memories.
Actually, after this college thing is all over for
me, I hope to see you again someday. I wish
you nothing but success in your new life. I'll
miss you, Mosher Jordan Hall.
Betts can be reached at
djmbetts@umich.edu.
Send all letters to the editor to
tot hedaily ~michigandaily. corn.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


M-agination film only
manages to disappoint
To THE DAILY:
This past Thursday night, M-agination
Films brought the campus community togeth-
er in hopes of celebrating artistic expression
at the University. It is with great regret, how-
ever, that this letter is written not to applaud
the efforts of the students who put this show
on, but rather to express sincere disappoint-
ment.
The short film titled "Junctions of Fury"
depicted a patriotic American pursuing and
killing terrorists in the name of the United
States. To the disbelief of many in the audi-
ence, the terrorists wore white towels around
their heads. It is a shame that the University
Activities Center, which presented the short
films, would promote the insular view that
killing "towel heads" is comical or even sym-
bolic of the war on terror. The towels allude
to an unnecessary stereotype that encourages
racial insensitivity towards Arabs. This depic-
tion is hurtful and painful to this community
due to recent scrutiny post-Sept. 11. Arabs
at the University find themselves struggling
to defend an often misrepresented culture.
This short film further assailed this culture
by falsely depicting Arabs as anti-American,
thus perpetuating another destructive stereo-
type.
In the future, it may be in the best interest
of M-agination Films, the University Activi-
ties Center and the Arabs on campus if a con-
scious effort were made to avoid alienating
anyone at a University-sponsored event.
Sirene Abou-Chakra
LSA junior
The letter writer is a member of the Arab
Student Association's executive board and is
writing on behalf of the organization.
A2 community unites to fight
abuse of restaurant workers
To THE DAILY:
More than 120 students and community
m-marcr -nty n - etl Ato hear the ctrtta-

the faces of the immigrants when I take a pic-
ture - they probably have never seen a flash
before." In December, Tucker cut his finger
while working and received 10 stitches for it.
However, he never received any compensa-
tion.
Add to all this to the fact that many workers
in Ann Arbor's restaurants receive four dollars
an hour or less - below the minimum wage.
This is not to say the actual minimum wage is
just - it is not - but it is at least the law.
Our right, as patrons, is to know whether the
food we buy is safe and whether those who pre-
pare and serve it are treated fairly. We demand
our right. In fact, more than a thousand of us so
far have pledged that we will patronize restau-
rants that embrace safe and fair employment
and we will avoid restaurants that do not. And
we are just beginning.
We, the Restaurant Workplace Project of
Ann Arbor, are a coalition of students, res-
taurant workers, progressive owners and the
broader community. Together, we call upon all
of Ann Arbor's restaurants to race not to the
bottom, but to the top.
Dae Keun Andres Kwon
LSA senior
The letter writer is a founding member of the
Restaurant Workplace Project of Ann Arbor
and a former Daily reporter.
'Being privileged does not
make one guilty'
TO THE DAILY:
I truly empathize with Mara Gay and find
it disgusting that someone on our campus
would think that the situation at Duke is any
sort of humorous matter (Duke and Michi-
gan, 04/17/06). Gay correctly highlights that
prejudice and privilege are not limited to cer-
tain sections of America but do in fact exist
nationwide. These issues, however, will not
simply vanish even if charges are brought and
a conviction is obtained. Deeper institutional
problems exist in this country that need fur-
ther examination if any sort of progress is to
be made.
T rscipA. in the cme villana nd attended 1el-

ed diversity that I could not find near home.
Now, I may never know for certain what
happened that night at Duke, but I do know this
- being privileged does not make one guilty
of a crime. To assume that all 46 of the white
team members are equally as involved as Gay
implies only perpetuates the notion of prejudg-
ment, which she claims to want to eliminate.
To eradicate prejudice, a truly noble goal, we
must continue to subscribe to the conviction
that we are all innocent until proven guilty.
Rob Ungar
LSA junior
Flood fiend: Fess up - or
you will feel guilty forever
To THE DAILY:
As a resident of West Quad's Wenley House,
I would like to thank the housing staff for all
that they have done for us. The flood could not
have come at a worse time, but all the support
we have received has lightened the burden. Our
instructors also deserve our thanks because
they have been extremely understanding and
helpful.
On the other hand, I urge whoever caused the
flood to admit it. In the short term you may save
some money, but by not coming forward you
clearly have no character, something with which
you will have to deal the rest of your life.
Andrew Bracken
LSA sophomore
Big House should consider
alternative expansion
To THE DAILY:
I want to state how greatly I am opposed
to private luxury boxes at the Big House. It is
bad enough that Athletic Director Bill Mar-
tin has made it nearly impossible for us to
afford Michigan football tickets now with his
"donate or don't come to our games" plan, but
now I realize that I can no longer afford to
take my kids to the Big House to see a foot-
ball game. Obtaining tickets is now reserved
for the wealthy and corporations. I graduated
frnm the Universitv of Michigan-Dearborn in

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