Monday. June 7. 1999 - The Michigan Daily - 5
LETTFRS TO TH EDITOR
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omen's
progress is
sluggish
TO THE DAILY:
1, like Emily Achenbaum
("Social gains for women are far
too slow" 6/1/99), was disillu-
oned by Self magazine's
4pdate on women's political and
social "gains" in the past twenty
years.
What I wonder is if the edi-
tors at Se/f realize that it is not
encouraging for those of us who
are soon to face the uncertainties
of life after graduation when
women arc making only 74.1
cents for every man's dollar.
And while the profession I
intend to pursue doesn't include
* glass ceiling, I still find it
unfortunate that qualified, intel-
ligent women have to fight hard-
er and longer to attain the rank
and prestige that this country
values in its leaders.
I suspect that it will take
fewer than two decades of per-
sistence for the numbers to show
that dollar for dollar, women and
.ten are equal.
However, how long will it be
before the subtle forms of sex-
ism Achenbaum mentions (feel-
ing unsafe while walking alone
at night etc.) have disappeared?
BECKY KATZMAN
LSA SENIOR
,Bakke did not
an race in
admissions
TO THE DAILY:
It is very interesting that
the Center for Individual
Rights is asking for summary
judgment on the lawsuit
*gainst the University regard-
tng its admissions policies.
The relevant judicial precedent
for this case is the Supreme
Court's decision in Regents of
the University of Calfornia .
Bakke.
But it is highly unclear that
Justice Powell's opinion should
be seen as the opinion of the
Court, nor is it clear that his
opinion should be considered
as binding upon later suits,
such as the current one against
the University.
Powell's opinion did not
represent, as a whole, the opin-
ion of the majority, or even a
plurality, of the Court. While
groups of the other eight jus-
tices agreed with Powell on
some issues, none of the jus-
tices concurred with his entire
opinion. The four justices who
upheld the University of
California's program found
that its dual track system was
constitutional under the
Fourteenth Amendment's
Equal Protection Clause, and
therefore also decided that uni-
versities are justified in using
race' as a criterion in admis-
sions.
The four justices who ruled
against the University of
California did so on statutory
grounds relating to the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. They did
not reach their decision based
on the Equal Ptotection
Clause. Powell rejected
California's quota system, but
did not enjoin the University
from using race in admissions.
His decision was based both
on the Civil Rights Act and the
Equal Protection Clause.
Tothis extent, as far as tte
Constitution of the United
States is concerned, the
Supreme Court's ruling was 5-
0 in favor of the use of race in
admissions. Furthermore, even
if the CIR's tenuous claim that
the University's program-is a
de facto dual track system
(because it allegedly puts only
whites on the wait list) is true,
it is important to realize that
Justice Powell was the only
member of the Court in Bakke
to declare that such a program
violates the Constitution.
Essentially, opponents of
affirmative action need to
understand that Bakke did not
condemn affirmative action
policies on a constitutional
basis as much as those oppo-
nents may like to believe.
ANDREW MATHEWS
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
Ellerbe must
think for the
long term
TO THE DAILY:
With all the talk and focus on
the Michigan men's basketball
team and Coach Brian Ellerbe,
an important point is being over-
looked. Ellerbe's goal should not
be to only build a successful, but
also consistent program.
With the recruiting class that
he has coming in, he is being
very obtuse and not looking very
far into the future.
While the team may have
success for a few years, he is
falling into the same trap that for-
mer coach Steve Fisher made. As
much as I was a Fisher supporter,
he decimated class structure.
While the Fab Five was
remarkable, it has all but deci-
mated the team. By using five or
six scholarships in one year, it
leaves the next few classes with
limited talent. The Fab Five and
the class of Maurice Taylor has
proven that.
Add unexpected departures
due to transfers or discipline, and
the team has little talent before
they can reload.
Coach Ellerbe should take a
few of those scholarships out of
his hand and put them in his
pocket for another season, to
bring class balance to the pro-
gram.
Besides, the next few seasons
are when the better high school
players will be graduating, lead
by Lansing's Marcus Taylor. A
program needs to have a good
balance of quality upper and
lower classmen to be successful.
Coach Ellerbe is looking at
tomorrow; he should look at both
tomorrow and next week.
JEFFREY GOFF
UNIVERSITY ALUMNUS
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A simple solution to a deadly problem
N icholas Seitz was one of more than 10,000 will not violate their sacred rights. Besides, my
people who will be killed this year by the First Amendment rights allow me to write
misinterpretation of the Second Amendment. whatever I want.
Firearms have claimed the lives of four Banning bullets does not prevent anyone
people in Ann Arbor over the past eight from bearing and keeping arms. They just can't
months. shoot anyone with them.
Seitz wasn't looking for trouble - he was Under my plan, people would have all the
at a party with friends. But the guns they want, but they just couldn't
wrong person had a gun at the wrong put bullets in them. They could polish
time, and now he's dead. their guns, keep them in mahogany
If guns were illegal, this would cases and play a game of cops and rob-
not have happened. Period. I don't bers.
want to hear any twisted philosophy They could use their guns to hold
that says otherwise. flowers. They could use them for jug-
If Seitz and other partygoers had gling practice. They could melt them
guns for "self defense," many more down and create jewelry or pans. Most
lives would have been taken. After importantly, they could bear them.
Littleton and so many similar But they couldn't kill anyone with
tragedies, we can no longer ignore EFFREY their precious weapons, because bul-
the plague of guns in America. OSSEFF lets would no longer exist.
But we face the problem of the SET"'r NE1W This law would rid our country of
Second Amendment, which guaran- 'TY1E the hundreds of thousands of cowards
tees "the right of the people to keep who wield a gun in one hand and
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." shield themselves with the Constitution in their
Being linguistically cautious, I interpret other hand. Gun advocates must stop coating
this as allowing the possession of weapons. our country's most precious document with
It makes neither murder, assault nor armed blood.
robbery legal. These acts are unlawful and not I admit that my plan would not end all
protected under the Second Amendment. homicide in the country. There are other dead-
The Second Amendment does not guaran- ly weapons.
tee the right to shoot and murder someone. But it's much harder to stab someone than
Thus, I have a modest proposal that will shoot them with a semi-automatic rifle from
make our country safer while staying within 100 feet away. Murder will always happen, but
constitutional boundaries. banning bullets would be an effective way to
I propose an immediate ban on the produc- reduce it.
tion and usage of bullets. Any violation would My proposal is a picky word-for-word
carry a minimum of 10 years in prison. interpretation of the Second Amendment. But
I can see the National Rifle Association what makes it any different from the NRA's
wackos getting hot and bothered by this sug- argument?
gestion. How dare I infringe their rights. - Jeffrey Kosseff can be reached over
But I'm pretty confident that my proposal e-mail at jkosseff@itmich.edu.
"Why don't you grow up and act your age?"
O ne of my favorite activities as a fourth Watching television is all about suspending
grader was looking up obscene words in disbelief and allowing yourself to be shocked
the dictionary with my friends. It probably every time an unrealistic or predictable event
shouldn't have been as amusing as it was, but occurs.
reading the official definition of the "f" word I'd much rather be immature than incapable
always made us laugh. of allowing myself to dumb down and enjoy a
In eighth grade my best friend and I could television show intended to appeal to the lowest
spend hours after school making common denominator.
prank phone calls to crotchety old Being mature just isn't all it's
ladies and professional businesses for cracked up to be. In my past job expe-
fun. riences, for example, the people who
I guess you could say I've never are the most mature tend to be the
really acted my age. Mentally, I'm at most uptight.
least four or five years behind my bio- This summer I'm working at a gro-
logical age. cery store. Fortunately most of my col-
In less than two months, I'll be leagues realize how unimportant our
twenty years old and I still buy half jobs are in the grand scheme of things,
my clothes and most of my shoes in so no one takes work too seriously.
the little kids' department. In my spare AMY But every once in a while there's
time I play video games, skateboard BARBER someone in a frenzy because the carts
and wrestle with my friends. BARlBER 's were not gathered properly or a work-
Occasionally I still make prank phone C T er's shorts aren't regulation length.
calls. Granted, if I show up for work an
. Fortunately, most of my friends are as hour late or short change someone at the regis-
immature as I am. We listen to Hanson, play ter, my bosses should be upset. But if I bag
frisbee and, most importantly, watch Dawson's someone's chicken in paper instead of plastic, is
Creek together. it really something worth losing a year of your
As you can imagine, we get made fun of fre- life over?
quently. People always like to point out to me I sure as hell don't care if someone bags my
how silly and unrealistic Dawson's Creek is. As chicken in paper instead of plastic. But there are-
if I don't know already. customers who realize that if the chicken is
In one family on the show, the mother went wrapped in plastic, it will stay colder for the
insane, the father moved out, the oldest son five minute ride home.
died, the other son came out of the closet and Which brings me back to the point that I
the only daughter started losing her mind all in don't ever want to be mature. I don't want to
one season. care how my groceries are bagged or ifa televi-
I know this isn't realistic. But that's why it's sion show is classy enough to enjoy.
television. It's not supposed to be real life. If I'm perfectly happy being twelve. And I
someone were to record a year's worth of my hope I never grow up.
family's life and try to make a program out of it, - Amy, Barber can he reached over
it would be an abominable failure. e-mail at abarber dinmich.edu.
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