The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 5A
SEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@UMICH.EDU
Carr's coaching
gives hope to future
opponents
TO THE DAILY:
on behalf of the remaining
opponents on Michigan's foot-
ball schedule, please keep Lloyd
Carr as the head coach. It's amaz-
ing how someone can be blessed
with superior talent and still fail
to mold it into a winner year after
year.
John Karas
Marion, N.C.
Carr is a stain upon
a greatprogram
TO THE DAILY:
Let me be among the throngs
to state the obvious: No sensible
personthoughtLloyd Carrshould
have been allowed anywhere
near the football team's sidelines
after the humiliating end of last
season. But apparently Michi-
gan's athletic brain trust thought
Carr could push past that defeat.
And their faith in Carr paid off in
Saturday's debacle against Appa-
lachian State.
Please, in the name of all that
Michigan football used to mean,
rip all traces of maize and blue off
of Carr and get him out of town
and out of the state. Please
Eric Schenk
Alum
Yearly let-down
comes early
this year
TO THE DAILY:
A sports commentator recently
said, "Michigan will not be num-
ber one despite loads of talent and
drive because of the same thing
that has stopped them from being
number one at the end of the
year for nearly ten years - Lloyd
Carr."
Given Saturday's loss to Appa-
lachian State, what can I add? The
only benefit to the loss is that fans
can stop worrying about the team
retaining its ranking because
there is no longer any hope for the
year. Carr must love us and want
to ease our pain as early as pos-
sible.
Lee Delaney
Alum
Parity of college
football can be
ignored no longer
TO THE DAILY:
I sure hope the Daily sports
writer who wrote the column
complaining about Michigan play-
ing Appalachian State (12th game
leaves sour taste to '07 season,
02/19/07) is crying in his dorm
room somewhere. Maybe now
people will wake up and shake off
the ignorance. There really isn't
that much difference between
top Football Championship Series
(formerly Division I-AA) teams
and the high and mighty Bowl
Championship Series (formerly
Division I-A) teams.
I hope you all enjoy the rest of
your season playing for nothing
since you have no playoffs and are
doomed to the Wal-Mart, Pizza
Hut or Sears Bowl.
Chris Butler
The letter writer is a graduate student at
Georgia Southern University.
0 Don'tforget the
many successes of
Carr era
TO THE DAILY:
Regardless of the Universi-
ty's loss to Appalachian State,
I am proud to be a Wolverine.
Let's keep things in perspec-
tive. Since 1996, Lloyd Carr's
entertaining and successful
football team has not only won
113 of the last 149 games (a 75.8
winning percentage), it has
also won five Big Ten titles.
Fans stillhave areasonto cheer
"Hail to the victors valiant."
Carrie Dubin
LSA sophomore
Coach must be
fired now, not later
TO THE DAILY:
I am writing you today as a
proud University alum with
a heavy heart. Although aca-
demics are the University's
highest priority, the football
team is a source of great pride
and respect for our illustrious
institution. Unfortunately, it is
also a source of pride that has
been consistently sullied by
the unacceptably poor perfor-
mance of Lloyd Carr in nearly
all games of importance.
I urge University President
Mary Sue Coleman and the
University Board of Regents
to ask for Carr's resignation. His
lack of passion and drive is evi-
dent in the lack of preparation of
our football team. My patience is
at an end.
I strongly urge that this deci-
sion is not delayed until the end of
the season. Carr is not a Michigan
Man and must be replaced imme-
diately.
Darren Jay Hiliegonds
Alum
Wolverine fans
classy in defeat
TO THE DAILY:
My husband and about 50
other Appalachian State Univer-
sity graduates chartered a bus
to attend the Saturday's football
game. He could not say enough
nice things about Michigan fans.
Everyone was nice to his group
from the beginning and even after
the game.
I was honestly a little nervous
for them since they were probably
only a few thousand ASU fans
among 100,000-plus Michigan
fans, but they had no problems
and had a great time.
Thanks for being such a classy
university, even when your team
doesn't win.
Suzanne Magnus
Raleigh, N.C.
It's tough to be a
Michigan Wolverine
TO THE DAILY:
I grew up in Michigan and have
tried to remain loyal to the maize
and blue. But since the blowout in
the 2002 Citrus Bowl, I've thrown
out my Wolverines hat. Saturday's
embarrassment at the hands of
Appalachian State only makes
things worse.
When will the University wisen
up and fire Lloyd Carr? Please give
me hope that I can be proud to be
from Michigan again.
Tony Gauthier
Erin, Tenn.
Colleges' protest of
boycott questionable
TO THE DAILY:
I am surprised that The Michi-
gan Daily's recent article about
The New York Times ad from uni-
versities across the country that
opposed a boycott of Israeli uni-
versities by the United Kingdom's
University and College Union
(Colleges protestboycottwithnews-
paper ad, 08/13/2007). The article
fails to mention the serious issues
raised by presidents and chancel-
lors of some of the universities
endorsing the American Jewish
Committee ad.
By saying "this statement ... [is
being] applied to their own cam-
puses," the ad states that this is
an official position of the listed
universities. However, they are
endorsing the ad as academics and
private citizens. This means that
by endorsing this position, presi-
dents are likely guilty of violating
the free speech of the students,
staff and faculty at their campus-
es by restraining dissenting view-
points on their campuses.
Further, in calling for a boy-
cott of their own universities, the
endorsers are in violation of their
fiduciary responsibility to their
universities. Presidents of state
universities may certainly not
engage in these types of activities
using the power of their office.
Had the endorsers stated the
opposite position, namely that
support of the boycott was the
official policy oftheir campus, one
could raise similar concerns on
similar grounds.
I am a University of California
alum and a resident and taxpayer
of the state of California. I am
most distressed by the four Uni-
versity of California chancellors
and two California State Univer-
sity presidents endorsing the ad.
Five UC chancellors, 19 CSU pres-
idents and the CSU chancellor did
not endorse the ad.
I plan to file a formal complaint
with the University of California's
Board of Regents against the
endorsing chancellors on the
grounds stated above.
I have also filed requests under
California's open disclosure law
for disclosure of all communica-
tions that the endorsing UC chan-
cellors and CSU presidents have
had regarding the ad and their
endorsement of it. I have also
filed under New York Freedom of
Information law similar requests
with the State University of New
York campuses, whose presidents
endorsed the ad, Depending on
Michigan law, I will look into fil-
ing a similar requestcwith the Uni-
versity of Michigan.
Shankar Ramamoorthy
Albany, Calif
Sting of Saturday's
loss can't be healed
TO THE DAILY:
Like most students, I attended
Saturday's football game. It was
great that something has finally
happened to silence the arrogance
of some of our fans (as if three
losses to Ohio State and three
bowl losses in the past three years
weren't enough).
In my lifetime, I have attended
at least three miraculous games:
one in which the Oakland Univer-
sity Golden Grizzlies basketball
team beat Michigan a few years
ago, one in which the Cleveland
Indians came from 12 runs down
late in a game to defeat the Seattle
Mariners and last year's Detroit
Tigers game in which Magglio
Ordonez hit a home run to send
the Tigers to the World Series.
However, Saturday's game was
the most amazing thing I have
ever seen.
The football team has hit rock
bottom and has become an embar-
rassment to Michigan students,
faculty, staff and alumni. This
game takes away any and all
bragging rights from Michigan
fans. While the football team
has won some national titles,
they have also lost to Appala-
chian State, something nobody
affiliated with the University
in any way, shape or form will
ever be allowed to forget.
Nick Zambardi
LSA senior
Now is the time to
prove your worth
as a Michigan fan
TO THE DAILY:
Hard times have fallen on
Michigan with the tragic loss
to Appalachian State. This
was supposed to be the year.
It is no longer. Saturday's loss
reminds me of other memo-
rable games that I have seen,
including the loss to the Uni-
versity of Colorado on Kordell
Stewart's Hail Mary or the
2000 debacle against North-
western University.
These things happen and
will continue to happen.
However, now is the team's
best test of the character and
also the toughest test for fans
and students. Pull together and
put aside your criticism. There
won't be changes in the next day
or the next four months. The team
needs you now more than ever: Get
together and throw an impromptu
pep rally down at Schembechler
Hall singing "Hail to the Victors"
and showing your support.
History will remember how we
react and how we move on. Let's
help this team roll out 11 victories
in a row and show the world what
we are made of.
Remember, it is still great to be
a Michigan Wolverine.
Steve Mitzel
Alum
Coach's past success
meaningless now
TO THE DAILY:
For those of you who may have
been under a rock or seques-
tered away from civilization this
weekend, the Michigan football
embarrassed the entire Division
I football world by becoming the
first 1A school in history to lose
a football game to a Division IAA
team. Because of this gross neg-
ligence by the coaching staff at
the University, fans of all teams
across the nation have united in
a common voice of ridicule and
harassment of all things relating
to Michigan's football program.
As a loyal disciple of Michigan
football for more than 20 years,
it is difficult to put into words
the utter shock, dismay and dis-
appointment that I felt watching
the game unfold. It was pain-
fully obvious that the team was
ill prepared for the gauntlet
thrown down before them. Not
since the 1998 opener against
Syracuse have I witnessed a
Michigan team that has been
handed its tail on a platter in
the manner like this past week-
end. The common denominator
in both of these games happens
to be the man at the head of the
program, Lloyd Carr.
I began campaigning at the end
of the 2004 season for a change to
take place. The modern era of col-
lege football is upon us, however,
the mighty Wolverines are still-
ing running a program stuck in
the 1980's. The reason for this is
that the leadership at the Univer-
sity is far too loyal to Carr. Sure,
he has done some great things: he
has won close to 76 percent of his
games as head coach; he has won
a national title; he has won sev-
eral Big Ten titles and done some
great work in the community.
The problem is that this is a here-
and-now society that we live in
and in the here and now Carr has
brought only disappointment,
heartbreak and frustration to
Wolverine Nation.
With this being said, I too will
have to take up the same call to
arms that one of my fellow Blue
Crew members has decided to do.
For the rest of the football season
I shall refrain from displaying my
colors, except for the permanent
mark on my leg. I hope forthe best
for the sake of the kids that put
their faith in Carr in the hopes of
bringing another national champi-
onship home to Ann Arbor. I have
already scraped the decal from my
car window and shall remove the
flag from my office when I go into
work today as well.
Damn you, Lloyd Carr.Youhave
once again ruined what should
have been a magical year for those
young men and the magnificent
fans of Michigan football. I hope
that this loss sticks in your gut for
the rest of the season and is the
final straw to make the University
send you packing at the end of the
year.
Jason Hartsook
Orient, Ohio
Putting a crime
into perspective
TO THE DAILY:
As a devout dog lover, my initial
reactions to hearing about Atlanta
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick
killing dogs were disgust and sad-
ness. But as I thought about it, I
wondered, why is it highly pub-
licized when Michael Vick runs
a brutal dog fighting ring but not
when another athlete eats a fac-
tory farmed chicken wing?
I've probably lost a few read-
ers, so allow me to clarify. Unbe-
knownst to many, right now,
thousands of chickens raised in
hellishconditions onfactoryfarms
around the country are being tor-
tured, electrocuted, gutted and
boiled alive. Yet, while America
is outraged at Vick's actions, mil-
lions more chickens (not to men-
tion, cows, pigs, turkeys, etc) will
suffer in anonymity.
By the way, accordingto GoVeg.
com, chickens are more intelli-
gent than dogs. The point is that
although what Vick did is horren-
dous, it doesn't even compare to
the abominable acts of animalcru-
elty and environmental destruc-
tion committed every single day
by American agribusiness.
Julianne Arm jo
Nursingsophomore
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