4A - Thursday, January 4, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 9 f Mdign a tl Edited and managed by students at the university of Michigan since 1890. 413 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 tothedaily@umich.edu EMILY BEAM DONN M. FRESARD CHRISTOPHER ZBROZEK JEFFREY BLOOMER EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflectthe officialposition of theGDaily's editorialboard. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Ad-missions on hold Court's block of injunction adds to Prop 2 confusion Winter break wasn't particularly relaxing for the Uni- versity's administrators and lawyers. Courtroom wrangling over a federal lawsuit led first to a delay of the implementation of Proposal 2 for the current admissions cycle - and then, on appeal, to the ban's immediate enforcement. Though I'd note that the 's' and 'b' keys aren't all that close to each other, I assume it was just an unfortunate mistake." - A spokesman for Sen. BARACK OBAMA (D-Ill.) referring to CNN's confusion of "Obama" and "Osama" in an advertisement for a special on Osama Bin Laden, as reported yesterday by BBC News. What's a powerful girl to do'? 01 The University has announced it will hold off on making any further admissions deci- sions until Jan. 10 while it evaluates what to do next. The delay is a particularly visible marker of the confusion that leaves a stay of Proposal 2's implementation for the current admissions cycle as the only fair option for implementing the new law. The University needs to exhaust its options for seeking a stay - including considering action in state court - if it is to judge this year's applicants by a uniform set of criteria. Along with Wayne State University and Michigan, State University, the University of Michigan sought an injunction in federal court against Proposal 2 in mid-Decem- ber, citing the difficulty and unfairness of attempting to follow the new law in the middle of an admissions cycle despite ongo- ing uncertainties over the interpretation of the state constitutional amendment. That stay was granted in a federal district court on Dec.19, buta three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked it on Dec. 29. Because Proposal 2 was otherwise sched- uled to go into effect on Dec. 23, it immedi- ately went into effect after that ruling. The ruling by the panel of the 6th Circuit undid a broad agreement reached Dec. 18 between the various parties to Proposal 2 litigation to delay its application to admis- sions and financial aid decisions until July 1, an agreement that led to the ill-fated injunction issued by a federal district court. It is particularly worth noting that Attorney General Mike Cox signed off on the delay. Cox was a vocal supporter of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative and has vowed to defend Proposal 2 in the courts. Even he, however, realizes it would be unjust to apply Proposal 2 in the middle of the admissions cycle. It was left to outside groups, like the Washington-based Center for Individual Rights, to mount the legal challenges that led to the ruling by the panel of the 6th Circuit. In its ruling, the three-judge panel found inadequate grounds to challenge the legality of Proposal 2 under federal law, as the radi- cal civil rights group By Any Means Neces- sary has done, and as such denied that it is appropriate for a federal court to prevent its implementation. While that's bad news for BAMN'slong-shotlawsuit, it doesn't address the valid concerns the state universities brought forward in seeking an injunction. The University's concerns - like the unfairness of judging this year's applicants by two sets of standards and the fact that a ruling by the Michigan Civil Rights Com- mission on the interpretation of Proposal 2 won'tbe available until February - deserve a full hearing. The University sought an injunction in federal court in part because it was already named as a defendant in the BAMN lawsuit. With much of the public deeply hostile to any effort by the Univer- sity to challenge Proposal 2 or to delay its implementation, filing a motion in federal court as part of its defense against a lawsuit filed against it may have seemed politically more palatable than filing an independent motion. With that avenue apparently closed, the University must look hard at seeking an injunction through a separate motion in state court. It can't delay making admis- sions decisions indefinitely, after all, and the other option - hastily pulling togeth- er a revised admissions system partway through the cycle - is unlikely to be fair or painless. T he day after Republicans received their electoral "thumpin'," President Bush tried his hand at a bit of partisan humor: He offered to send Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "the names of some Repub- lican interior decorators who can help her pick out the new drapes in her new offices." While not ar- , career-crusher like Sen. John Kerry's (D- Mass.) botched ; joke about troops 4 in Iraq, most agreed the com- ment was in poor taste. Consid- ering Pelosi is WHITNEY the first female speaker of the DIBO house in a coun- try thathas yetto seea female president or Senate leader, one would think Bush could have come up with classier waycto welcome the woman third in line to the presidency. But at the end of the day, I was too pleased about the thumpin' to be particularly riled. I had almost forgotten about the joke until I opened up this month's issue of Vanity Fair. Inside was an article about America's fallensweetheart,KatieCou- ric. In addition to some astute observa- tions about the CBS Evening News's feeble ratings, there were six small pho- tographs of Couric in different anchor attire, each labeled with cutesy cap- tions like "Sexy-Librarian Katie" and "Desperate Housewives Katie." As I read through the article, I real- ized even the shrewdest comments author James Wolcott made about Couric's journalistic failings were peppered with chauvinististic humor. Wolcott refers to Couric as a "damsel in distress" and calls for "a grown-up" to "step in and play Project Runway headmaster before anyone gets hurt." Wolcott wraps up the piece with an assessment of Couric's identity crisis: "Katie Couric is caught in a tug-of- war between her serious journalistic side and the girlie side that wants to be everybody's darling. It's the girlie side that needs to go." Was Wolcott implying that hard-hit- ting journalism is to man as fluffy jour- nalism isto woman? Would President Bush have com- mented on Dennis Hastert's interior decorating tastes? Would Vanity Fair have obsessed over Bob Shieffer's fall fashion? Of course not. Still, even Couric is second banana to the poster child for feminine scrutiny, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) Endless commentary on her different color pantsuits and on-again-off-again maiden name are all the rage as the 2008 election approaches. CNN even conducted a poll to gauge voters' views on Hillary - based on the inclusion of "Rodham" in her name. From the president's drapery com- ment to the hype over Katie Couric's clothing to the fuss over Clinton's maiden name, it's all embarrassingly obsolete. Sadly, although we'd like to believe otherwise, the stereotype of woman as homemaker/decorator/fash- ion-maven is still alive and well, - even for America's most powerful politicians and journalists. So what is the correct formula for a powerful woman today? Apparently it's not America's sweetheart. But the ambitious careerwoman image hasn't really worked for Clinton either, who is repeatedly accused of being robotic and "hard to get to know." When looking at Couric and Clin- ton, both at the top of their respec- tive games, the plight of the powerful woman becomes clear: Couric shows too much and Clinton shows too little. Couric is too feminine and Clinton isn't feminine enough. Couric has been asked to mask the truth about her girly' self, while Clinton's critics wish she would open up. Image is important for today's powerful women. A recent study by the White House Project found that "Women candidates must avoid appearing too casual or too glamor- ous, as those images undermine their credibilityinvoters' minds." So which do we want, America? The skirt-wear- ing Couric or the pant-suited Clinton? And more importantly, why does it matter? If the American public is going to take issue with these women, at least let it be for competence as opposed to cosmetics. Let's not have the criti- cism undermined by juvenile jeers like "Katie Couric is too girly!" And love her or hate her, there is no denying Clinton did a fine job with her first term as senator. But if you still cringe when her name is tossed out as a potential presidential candidate, at least make sure it's for the right rea- Americans dismiss prominent women for lousy reasons. sons. Be sure that gut-instinct is not just residual resentment thatbHill didn't leave Bill after his rendezvous in the Oval Office. Clinton's choice to "stand by her man" is not indicative of her abil- ity to lead the country, and neither is her choice to wear pantsuits nor keep Rodham in her name - just like Couric's outfits and sweet attitude are not indicative of her journalistic tal- ents. While it may be difficult for the American public to distill legitimate criticism from lingering stereotypes, it's important we ditch the grudge and look at these women for their skills as opposed to their style. Whitney Dibo is a Daily associate editorial page editor. She can be reached at wdibo@umich.edu. ,'*I 0 PATRICK WYCIHOWSKI Iraq is our responsibility The U.S. military is mired in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Casualties are mounting, and we as citizens feel for the families that have lost loved ones.It's a difficult choice to keep those dear to us in harm's way. As the situation in Iraq dete- riorates into mass sectarian strife and national newscasts bicker over whether to label the con- flict a "civil war," those of us at home watching these events unfold are driven to choose between our desire to bring the troops home and to con- tinue our involvement in the area. The mechanistic processes of the war effort are undoubtedly out of our reach. We are sub- ject to the choices of those in the military and within the walls of the Pentagon. Regardless, we do hold sway over this effort with the power of the ballot We must be responsible with the power we have. Americans would be wise to note the recent history of the 20th century - ignoring the overtures of Adolf Hitler and appeasing his subsequent military strikes led to the biggest war the world has seen. In the effort to avoid conflict through appeasement; we only exac- erbated it on a worldwide scale. Those events drove the development of nuclear weaponry, the Cold War, mutually assured destruction and the hodge-podge of alliances that stabilized Ameri- ca on a global scale - until now. We again come to a point where such a critical decision must be made, and the stakes are just as high. Do we leave Iraq under the noble pretense of preserving American lives? In considering this, it is critical that we review the consequence of Iraq falling under the influence of Iran. Who are we - driven by a despotic, Islamic, funda- mentalist who flaunts in his rhetoric his disbelief of the Holocaust - to take him by anything but his word? To do otherwise is beyond gross negli- gence. To do so isto betrayour future generations and force them to deal with an ever-growing threat to the democracies and freedom that have been fought for in the past centuries. We dishonor our ancestors and betray our nation's future by leaving them subject to the historical inertia of our shortsighted, reaction- ary and politically driven decisions to not finish a vital job. If Iran is able to control Iraq, it will become even more difficult to pressure with economic sanctions, and our future options to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons may be limited to drastic, military means. We as a nation are called upon, for our own survival and for the stability of the world, to set aside our prior disagreements in order to stabi- lize this incendiary situation in the Middle East. Our decisions are final, and our generation is not the only one that will have to deal with them. Patrick Wycihowski is ans LSA senior, Marching band's fortitude and dignity worthy ofcommendat ion TO THE DAILY: Like many students here at the University, I have taken great pride in our marching band. They continually rep- resent our school with dignity and respect, and their hard work and commitment is inspiring. This past Tuesday they surpassed themselves yet again. Having woken up early Monday morning to march in the Rose Bowl Parade and subsequently the halftime show, the band members voluntarily chose to forgo their only free day in Los Ange- les. Instead of finally taking a break from practicing and performing and staying in California to enjoy the weather, the band flew back to Michigan to perform at the cere- mony for President Ford. The band again represented our school better than any of us could have asked. So thank you, Michigan Marching Band - you are trulythe leaders and the best. Devin Sullivan Ross School senior New design for North Quad an architectural relief TO THE DAILY: Baseball great Ted Williams offered a two-part for- mula for good hitting: Bat according to your style and wait for the right pitch. All too often the University Board of Regents ignores both pieces of advice when approving building designs. Examples include the Life Sciences Institute and the School of Social Work. How- ever, with North Quad - the proposed dormitory for the northern gateway to Central Campus - they let a bad pitch sail wide of the plate and waited for some- thing they could hit. While the original designs for North Quad seemed to be drawn by architects who had never visited Ann Arbor, the new design feels like home. What a fantastic bookend to match the elegant Weill Hall, the new pub- lic policy building that stands at the southern entrance to campus. These two most impressive structures com- pliment the great Michigan campus buildings from the 1920's and '30s instead of trying to win prizes for their designers with steel and glass contraptions. What a relief! North Quad could have been, and was nearly, a disaster. Now, I look forward to its making a great campus even greater. Scott Kashkin Class of'84 Needless closures of Wolverine Access illogical at best TO THE DAILY: The logic put forth in The Michigan Daily's article on why Wolverine Access closes nightly (Why does Wolver- ine Access close?, 11/02/2006) is ridiculous. Claims that the website must be inaccessible for three hours every night (and more on weekends) so that server mainte- nance and data backups can be performed are simply silly. There is no legitimate technical reason that a website should regularly need that much time for any sort of maintenance or back-ups. Wolverine Access does not have more data than sites like Google, whose search crawler uses more than SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU 850,000 gigabytes of information. It also does not have more personal or financially sensitive information than e-commerce sites like Amazon.com, which store credit card information for each of its tens of thousands of customers. These sites are never closed to back up data or perform back-end maintenance - it is all done while the site is live. The University should have the resources to design its "gateway to administrative systems" website so that back-ups and maintenance can be done while the site is up and running. The fact that the site is inaccessible so often contradicts the University's claim that it gives it students the best. If the site is maintained in-house, I suggest a complete overhaul. If an outside compa- ny is being paid for this, changing companies is the best choice. In either case, the site needs to be avail- able 24/7 (except for scheduled maintenance). It also requires major usability changes. Freshmen don't need backpacking tutorials because the concept of pre-reg- istering for classes is confusing. It's the interface which renders the back button useless, uses confusing terms and links as well as requiring five clicks for a simple operation that frustrates freshmen and seniors alike. Tom Haynes LSA sophomore Michigan man's homage to No. 38 TO THE DAILY: As a Michigan man, I admired Gerald Ford's work ethic and decency. And as a Michigan man, I applaud- ed his self-sacrifice in making tough decisions to help bind our nation's wounds. And most of all, as a Michi- gan man I have been immensely proud of him for his honesty, integrity and courage as he refused to acqui- esce to mass media's wishful rewriting of Michigan football history. He never let himself be baited into taking credit for his All-American teammates' gridiron accomplishments. Fielding Yost, Willie Heston, Adolph 'Germany' Schulz, Harry Kipke, Bennie Oosterbaan, All-American teammates Chuck Bernard, "Whitey" Wistert and Herman Everhardus as well as all the other Michigan greats enshrined in Wolverine Valhalla have surely approved and reserved him a special place among them. J. Charles Bernard, Jr. Class of'62 Viewpoint Policy The Daily welcomes viewpoints from its readers Viewpoints have one or several authors, though prefer- ence will be given to pieces written on behalf of indi- viduals rather than an organization. Editors will run viewpoints according to timeliness, order received and available space. Viewpoints should be no longer than 700 words. The Daily reserves the right to edit for length, clarity and accuracy. Send viewpoint submissions to editpage.editors@ umich.edu, or contact the editors at that address to arrange one in advance. ALEXANDER HONKALA | A-c ..as T C.ia Hl V 48 s-r-osu 0s i~i "-'c 57 A .~ 0 Editorial Board Members: Reggie Brown, Kevin Bunkley, Amanda Burns, Sam Butler, Ben Caleca, Devika Daga, Milly Dick, James David Dickson, Jesse Forester, Gary Graca, Jared Goldberg, Jessi Holler, Rafi Martina, Toby Mitchell, Rajiv Prabhakar, David Russell, Kather- ine Seid, Elizabeth Stanley, Jennifer Sussex, John Stiglich, Neil Tambe, Rachel Wagner.