4 - Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4
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- Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman, speaking yesterday on CBS's "The Early Show," upon hearing
that O.J. Simpson was arrested on Sunday for a robbery at a Las Vegas hotel.
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IMRAN SYED JEFFREY BLOOMER
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR
KARL STAMPFL
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Rushing into trouble
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles
and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
THE
Big Ten blackout
Big Ten Network, Comcast leave fans hanging
While it isn't as big a topic of conversation as this week's
Michigan-Penn State game, the Comcast-Big Ten
Network battle brewing in Ann Arbor and around the
country is something that should concern Wolverine fans just as
much. In what has taken the form of a juvenile catfight, Comcast
- the largest cable provider in Ann Arbor and southeast Michi-
gan - is still wrestling with the BTN over just how the chan-
nel should be included in Comcast's lineup. As both companies
condemn the other and a resolution seems impossible, Michigan
fans, especially the residents of Ann Arbor most closely tied to the
n Sunday morning, still clad in
summer attire despite temper-
atures below 60 degrees, girls
lined up outside
the Greek house of
their choice, mark-
ing the start of the
Panhellenic Asso-l
ciation's recruit-
ment as well as the
end of tranquil-
ity in the freshman
dorms. Everyone THERESA
wants to know: Are KENNELLY
you rushing?
Judging by the
assemblies of young girls and boys
outside the Greek houses on Hill and
Washtenaw, it's clear that fall has
begun in Ann Arbor. Freshmen will
flocktothe area forthe nexttwoweeks
to participate in Fall Rush, or what is
known in the non-Greek community
as hell on earth.
The freshmen that are rushing will
go through the motions like all fra-
ternity brothers and sorority sisters
have done before them - mixers, open
houses, preference parties, schmooz-
ing and maybe even an unsanctioned
keg race or two. Their determination,
persistence, communication skills and
wardrobe will be tested, and they will
find out at the end of the month if they
passed the tests.
Before most of these students write
their first college term paper, they will
be choosing a letter and changing their
lives (or so the Greek system's 2007 T-
shirt reads). And fhe next four years of
their lives thereby will be determined
in these first four weeks of college.
Scary.
Maybe it's all the brain cells they
lost during Welcome Week or maybe
their parents convinced them with
fraternity tales of yesteryear, but year
after year, freshman fall for Greek life
en masse. In fact, recruitment num-
bers have improved significantly in the
past couple of years after more than a
decade of decline. This fact is not sur-
prising given the heightened exclusivi-
ty of Greeks - meaning you can't party
with them unless you're one of them.
However, considering the problems
Greeks have run into in recent years,
it's a little odd that they continue to
thrive on campus.
Since I came to the University in
fall 2004, two fraternities and one
sorority have been kicked off campus,
another fraternity lost recognition
from its national organization and a
fourth was expelled from the Interfra-
ternity Council - the governing body
for most fraternities on campus, which
has autonomy from the University.
According to the IFC, four more fra-
ternity chapters are currently facing
social probation and countless others
have received disciplinary measures
either from the IFC or their national
organization. Sororities have received
less negative attention, but Panhel
- the governing body for sororities -
has dealt with hazing issues in recent
years. Because of measures taken by
these governingcouncils, rush has also
become a "dry" time for Greeks and
social committees have cracked down
on house partying.
Butnoneofthis isstoppingthefresh-
men from gathering at the Greek hous-
es this month. The reality is, IFC and
Panhel initiatives and punishments
are not keeping Greeks from display-
ing their partying personality to big
audiences or curtailing their drinking.
It's like the governing councils are the
angry parents of a bunch of problemat-
ic teenagers who won't stop acting up
no matter what their parents say.
There is clearly a disconnect
between what the IFC and Panhel see
the Greeks as and what the fraternity
and sorority members see themselves
as. It's confusing why the IFC is try-
ing to pass itself off as an organization
that clearly none of its affiliated frater-
nity houses want to emulate, (which
accordingto its website, is an organiza-
tion with "an unwavering commitment
to excellence"). Sf the IFC can't realize
that its 30 fraternities are a little bit
more into binge drinking than philan-
thropy, I encourage its board members
to witness the drunken mess on display
every Saturday on State and Hoover.
Every time I witness that madhouse
on football Saturdays, I laugh at the
fact that the IFC is trying to pass itself
off as student organization dedicated
to service and leadership. Sure, most
of these kids are just acting like regu-
lar college kids. The problem is they're
doing it under the banner of their fra-
ternity letters or while wearing the
shirt "Choose a Letter, Change your
Life." That's the slogan of an organi-
zation whose mission is to empower
students to "conduct themselves with
integrity and in accordance withsound
value." Since when is a beer slip-n-slide
an opportunity to conduct oneself with
integrity?
The disengagement between what
Greeks claim to be and what they actu-
ally act like is the exact reason why so
many Greeks get in trouble and receive
bad press. In reality, it is a partying,
social community that's lying about its
Greeks must change
their ways before they
can 'change lives.
primary commitment to leadership and
service. Until Greeks drop the whole
public relations spielthat IFC and Pan-
hel promote and the governing bodies
stop denying the reality of fraternity
and sorority life, Greek life is going to
continue to get eaten up.
Until Greek houses and members
comply with the rules and social
responsibilities that the govern-
ing councils boast and actually dis-
play themselves with the integrity
the Office of Greek Life supposedly
empowers people with, rush ought to
be pushedback. Freshmen should have
the opportunity to see the true world
of Greek life and know the potential of
getting in trouble before they rush.
But if you're a freshman so con-
vinced by Greeks' demeanor in these
first two weeks of school that you want
to rush, shoot me an e-mail. I can think
of several things you can do to change
your life other than choosing some
Greek letters.
Theresa Kennelly isan associate
editorial page editor. She can be
reached at thenelly@umich.edu.
I
team, continue to be on the losing end.
The points of conflict between Comcast price fo
and the BTN stem from the fact that the net- is a dire
work wants a $1.10 per-subscriber fee from haps its
Comcast. With that stipulation, Comcast This
is only willing to include the network on Switchi
its special sports tier package, not its basic cast w
cable package. The BTN claims this will pre- BTN's
vent many fans from watching their favorite comple
college teams in actionbecause not everyone only ot
subscribes to Comcast's add-on sports pack- provide
age. Other cable companies, like AT&T and and has
DirecTV, have agreed to the steep terms of lucrativ
the BTN, thereby bringing Michigan sports solution
to people in all parts of the country. Ironi- Prior
cally enough, as long as there is no deal with Comcas
Comcast, most of Ann Arbor is blacked-out Chicag(
of any game the BTN carries. want to
While the BTN claims to have the of peop
schools' and fans' best interests at heart, it are mo
has been unwilling to relent whatsoever in ball ent
its negotiations with Comcast. Big Ten con- Ann Ar
ference Commissioner Jim Delaney said have w
last month: "It was our goal to take what Making
we had, make it national, grow it locally was th
and to expand to opportunities not only for from it
our football teams but other sports as well." Ten, th
But if that's the ultimate goal, the BTN sure en to le
has an interesting way of going about it. ibility t
The network mayhave a rightto charge any Even
ST T E TR SEND LETT]
Maize is the way toTgohat The I
way togo at tine con
/ llh bcreated
home footbaligames Under t
arly deb
TO THE DAILY: inflamm
I am happy with the football team's victory Middle
on Saturday, but I am very disappointed in the require:
lack of participation in the Maize Out. The stu- Finkelst
dent section at least should go all out in maize and hat
shirts. I understand that you love your blue on any
jersey, but you should understand that you less an
have four other games to wear it to. The cheer- Grantin
leaders wear maize uniforms, the band wears wrong
maize hats, the pom-pons are maize, so why are no
can't we wear maize shirts? Our tickets desig- S applau
nate Maize out days way in advance (and an hate-mo
e-mail is sent out), so you should know how to
dress. The season ticket shirt is a good option. Zachar'
Next week, we get another chance to do a LSA fres
true Maize Out. This is fair warning: If you
don't have a maize shirt (or warm enough h
maize shirt), go to Steve and Barry's right Shah
now and get one. On Saturday we face Penn
State, a team famous for its complete White Cam
Out at home games. Let's show them that the
Big House can bleed maize. TO THE
Shak
Laura Zeligman ingstud
LSA senior a wond
For yea:
, , . . Ann Ar
Finkelstein, anti-semitic his feat
was luc
prof should not get tenure of his g
with hi
TO THE DAILY: getting
In a brave and commendable act by DePaul His a
University, Dr. Norman Finkelstein, author of be 100.
the anti-Semitic screeds, "Beyond Chutzpah" It will l
and "The Holocaust Industry," was recently rants. G
denied tenure as a political science professor. enjoy yo
Throughout Finkelstein's career in academia ing you
he has continued to cross the lines of civility,
professionalism and decency. Larry S
Having taught at several colleges through- The letter
out New York prior to his career at DePaul,
Finkelstein, according to a Guardian article
by Dr. Alan Dershowitz, has been described Best
by his colleagues as "incompetent," showing
signs of "mental instability" and of display- and
ing "abuse" toward students of political per-
suasions differing from his. "The Holocaust TO THE
Industry" was described, according to Der- As af
showitz, by New York Times book reviewer Michigt
and world renowned expert on genocide, have co
Omar Bartov, as "a novel variation on the coach L
anti-Semitic forgery ... brimming with indif- They
ference to historical facts, inner contradic-
tions, strident politics, indecent, juvenile, Lee Ne
self-righteous, arrogant and stupid." Alum
r the services, but when such a price
ct conflict with its stated goals, per-
time to stop being stubborn.
leaves fans in a bit of a dilemma:
ng from an equally stubborn Com-
ould essentially be justifying the
stance. But given Comeast's near-
te cable monopoly in Ann Arbor, the
her option is switching to a satellite
r. That move entails increased costs
sles at the very least. With the two
e companies refusing to play nice, a
isn't likely this season.
to the Appalachian State game, a
st representative was quoted in the
o Tribune as saying, "Who would
watch that game?" In a town full
le who bleed maize and blue, there
re than enough such people. Foot-
husiasts subscribing to Comcast in
bor and around the country would
anted to watch the historic upset.
such games available to everyone
e entire point of the BTN. Yet, far
ncreasing the visibility of the Big
e network and this squabble threat-
ave Wolverine sports with less vis-
han ever.
right here in Ann Arbor.
ERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
legitimate issue of the Israel-Pales-
flict is lost in the straw man scenario
by Finkelstein's vituperative work.
he guise of intellectualism and schol-
'ate, Finkelstein preaches radical and
satory polemics of anti-Semitism. The
Eastern conflict is a difficult one that
s care, caution and tact, all of which
tein refuses to employ. Demagogues
e-mongers like Finkelstein are a stain
employer that gives them work, no
institution like DePaul University.
g Finkelstein tenure would send the
message to "scholars" like him, who
nore than wolves in sheep's clothing.
:d DePaul University for denying this
nger's request for tenure.
y Goldsmith
hman
ey Jake, guitarist and
us mainstay, mourned
DAILY:
ey Jake recently passed away. Incom-
ents who didn'tknowhimhave missed
erful person and University mainstay.
rs and years he walked the streets of
bor carrying his guitar and wearing
hered hat. I met him a few times and
ky enough to get an autographed CD
uitar music. I also had a photo taken
m. I last saw him on Fletcher Street
into a cab last spring.
ge was officially 82 but he claimed to
Main Street was his usual hang-out.
ook empty without him by the restau-
od bless you, Shakey, and may God
ur music as much as we enjoyed hav-
around.
krdla
r writer is aUniversity bus driver.
is yet to come for Carr
the Wolverines
DAILY:
'ormer University student and a devout
an football fan, I just want to say that I
mplete confidence in this year's team,
loyd Carr and his staff.
will prevail.
ugent
I
I
KATHERINE BERWEZOWSKYEZW
Economics for the rest of us
I
When Apple dropped the price
of its iPhone by $200 last week, the
enormous public outcry that ensued
caused the company to release a pub-
lic apology. As if the apology wasn't
good enough, Apple is also offer-
ing customers who purchased the
product at its original price a $100
credit. Many consumers have trou-
ble wrapping their heads around this
price drop; to them, it's completely
arbitrary and unfair. Basic econom-
ics, however, would beg to differ. It
makes perfect sense for a .company
to encourage more demand by low-
ering the price. Unfortunately, too
few people have an adequate enough
background of these principles to
understand why the price dropped,
so instead they turn to outrage.
The same lack of understanding is
present here at the University. While
Economics 101 and 102 - micro
and macroeconomics, respectively
- usually have full enrollment, these
classes cater to a specific type of stu-
dent. As a requirement for Business
School applicants, these classes have
become a battleground for future
CEOs. They are also favorites of
some engineering students. So what
about the rest of us, the many liberal
arts students who struggle to figure
out the tip at a restaurant? Perhaps
the University should create a class
to educate us as well.
There are many aspects ofEcon101
and 102 that appear daunting enough
to prevent average University stu-
dents from taking them. The reputa-
tions of these classes are intimidating
for the student who has not taken
anything math-related since high
school. In a class with fiercely com-
petitive B-School applicants, there is
also the problem of the grade distri-
bution mandated by the Economics
Department. Because these classes
are graded on a curve, the incentive
to learn more about economics isn't
so enticing, considering the GPA hit
that might be involved.
There are many reasons for people
without specific goals in business
or economics fields to take an econ
course or two. For example, in my
History 318 class last week, the pro-
fessor referenced common principles
of capitalism but had to explain the
basics of supply, demand, capital
and labor. His (correct) assump-
tion was that many of his students
had not taken economics.'Although
the course is not required for LSA.
students, except for economics con-
centrators, the material and basic
principles are important.
Consider political science classes
that blend basic economic principles
into their discussion. To compensate
for a lack of economic knowledge in
my Political Science 160 two years
ago, there was an out-of-class session
to explain the basics. This was nec-
essary because the material would
otherwise be too complicated for
some students. Economics and polit-
ical science principles work interde-
pendently, but any political science
student can graduate from the Uni-
versity without having a true survey
of economics.
The University should offer an
economics course geared more
toward LSA students majoring in
fields like history and political sci-
ence. These students would benefit
from a course that works on a more
theoretical level. This type of course
should use material more relevant to
politics and history.
For those students who thorough-
ly enjoy economics and don't have
problems with either Econ 101 or 102,
then this proposition may seem irrel-
evant. However, there are a legiti-
mate amount of University students
who are afraid of economics - to
their detriment. An understanding
of economics basics is something any
person should be able to attain at the
university level without fear of their
.grades suffering or intense competi-
tion. The fact that some professors
are having to give side lessons in eco-
nomics is proof that there is a need
not being met.
While the outrage overtheiPhone's
price drop showed that major por-
tions of America do not understand
basic supply and demand, there is no
reason why University of Michigan
students should be part of that unin-
formed group.
Katherine Berezowskyj
is an LSA senior.
WYMAN KHUU
1Q
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4
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