LTES OTH EDTO
*Nothing wrong
with Napster
TO THE DAILY:
I see nothing wrong with the
use of napster. In fact, many of
the bands I listen to make mp3's
available from their websites and
encourage the user to go buy the
*CD after listening. Personally. I
appreciate being able to listen to
music before I give money to a
record company that fixes their
prices.
Any band" that is only mak-
ing music for the money that it
brings in is not a band that I want
to listen to. Their music is likely
false and influenced by their
greed. Sure, I still buy my favorite
bands' CD's because I know that
they need money. The difference
is that unlike Metallica and Dr.
Dre, who have a lot of money
already, my fav
poor and when o
in fans' basem-
because it make
express their vi
great artists. the
even though it d(
much money.
vorite bands are tions PETA's "admirable" cause.
n tour often sleep I can't think of a worse word
ents. They sing to describe the organization, their
s them happy to tactics, and the entire movement
ews. Like many they represent. Animal rights
y keep doing it activists have attempted to sub-
oesn't make them vert human nutrition by spreading
lies about the safety of consum-
DAN HUERECA ing meat and dairy products and
A JUIRE A continually threaten the medical
LSA JUNIOR well-being of humans through
their threats and attacks on animal
research facilities. PETA is
threat beyond "missing the point."
PETA national director Ingrid
anS Newkirk was quoted just over a
decade ago in an article about
AIDS research, saying "Even if
ked the venom I animal research resulted in a cure
, I enjoyed Geoff for AIDS, wed e against it
in on the People PETA is beyond bizarre, it
Treatment of tests the very limits of sanity.
P ETA a
to hum;
TO THE DAILY:
While it lac
would have liked
Gagnon's colum
for "Ethical"
Animals in the
There was onen
ed his article the
Monday, June 12, 2000 - The Michigan Daily - 5
Smokers beware of an ever-present stare
elieve it or not, someone looks up to me. Daniel is just one of many. My sisters, cousins,
Actually, that should be plural - people look their friends, people I grew up with, all idolize me.
up to me. I'm even someone's hero. Scary thought It's part of the responsibility of being the oldest.
isn't it'? It's the same for all of us. Lots of people who look
But it's a reality. They're watching my every up to us from family to friends to people we've never
move, taking careful mental notes and paying close met but watch what sve do best and admire us for that.
attention to detail. What I do influences them more We are the winners. The successful ones going on
than your average caucasian rapper. to do great things while conquering the
They want to be like Mike or Michelle. world. We are the young adults reaching
look rp to him and pick lip all her little the peak of our coolness. We are the lead-
habits so they can be just as important. ers and the best. People, older and
One of those habits is usually smoking. younger, respect us because ofthat.
Sue. it's cool. but it ropes you in, pimps Our actions have an impact that we can't
vour imoney and leaves you with a fewc fiully comprehend. Look at your own
momentos of that abusive relationship. heroes. I know when I first read
like a cancerous hole in your neck to Hemingway, my favorite writer, I wanted
breathe and talk through. to be cool and drink just like he did.
And there are lots of students who are To say his habit didn't affectime would be
in that sort of relationship with big JON a lie. He's one of the best, and I still want to
tobacco and Jesse Helms. Smoking ZEMKE be like him. I even find myself beginning to
thrives here. and siudents couldn't care I'x M i --imitate my friends at times, even though
less. They brag about the "special bond" t. they're my peers. I still look up to them.
between smokers. And it's because of that I'm a little more
When you brag about that bond, remember a dif- self-aware of what I do around watchful eyes. I don't
ferent bond with your siblings and the little kids drink around my little siblings or even puff on a
from your neighborhood. The ones who worship cigar. Even when I'm with my friends, I stop myself
and want to be just like us. from being too crazy, contrary to other opinions.
Don't deny it, because you live with it just like I And people around here, students or not, should
do, whether we want to realize it or not. When I put more thought into their actions. How many
graduated, my Il-year-old brother heard I was mov- times have you lit up around your little siblings or
ing to DC and asked me when I was leaving. that poor, friendless freshmen? The people who
Jokingly, I told him tomorrow. aren't as cool as us but wish to God they were.
He cried all the way home. Of course smoking is a personal choice, and if
This is the same kid who charges at me for a hug you look at it narrowly the only person you're hurt-
whenever I come home. The one who steals my ing is yourself.
Tigers hat whenever we're together. But if you believe you're only hurting yourself,
tm the man to him. The bad ass big brother, who you're a fool. We can talk someone into taking up
played sports, was popular and has a Tarantinoesque our vices without saying a word, and it's always the
cool about him. At least in his eyes. He emulates me, people who mean the most to tis.
and is growing so fast he is beginning to loom in the -- Jon Zemke can be reached via e-mail at
doorways the way I do, according to my mom. IjAemke@utmich.edu.
June 5 Daily.
nistake that taint-
ough, as he men-
ROBERT SHEREDA
LSA JUNIOR
VIWON
'How to be gay' class
A ttempting to legislatively eradicate freedom of
choice contradicts the very essence of higher
education. Simply calling for an end to the Michigan
House of Representative's witch-hunt against the
University over its allowance of a class on homosex-
uality is not sufficient. This issue is not about
morals, views of homosexuality, or a single class. It
is a deliberate attempt by the State Legislature to
eliminate educational choice at the University.
In the abortion debate, for example, being pro-
choice does not mean pro-abortion. Similarly, sup-
porting the University in its offering of "How to Be
Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation," taught by
Prof. David Halperin, does not mean that one is nec-
essarily pro-homosexuality. Supporting the
University in its offering of such a class helps to
9 defend the value of freedom of choice and expres-
sion. The outcry over the course is only a symptom
of a larger societal problem: intolerance and fear
misdirected into reactionary measures. Attempting
to debate this issue on moral and ethical grounds
misses. the point. This issue is about being pro-
choice.
The ability to peruse a course guide, make a
choice about a class one wishes to take and esent-
ally attend that class is part of the college experience.
9 Offering a diverse set of classes allows the indisid-
debate about choice
ual to choose his or her own educational path. not to
have it dictated. Eliminating that choice by forcing
the University not to offer a class is simply unjust.
Certainly a reason one chooses to attend a pub-
lic, nondenominational, secular institution of higher
learning - a place where church and state are sepa-
rated - is to take classes like the one offered by
Prof Halperin. The Michigan Legislature is holding
the University hostage in its attempt to achieve a
conservative monopoly on public thought by imple-
menting its own standards on otr curriculum.
If one wants to take a class. it is their choice
alone. If the subject matter is not aligied with one's
beliefs, in no way is it indicative of a flawed class or
justification for its not being offered. One of the
most appropriate sayings concerning this issue is
found on a bumper sticker distributed by pro-choice
individuals in the abortion debate. It states. "If you
are against abortion, then don't have one:' Similarly
if one does not like a class' subject matter. or even if
one thinks they would be uncomfortable in it, they
can choose not to take it. I am only asking for a stop
to the continual attempt at legislating choices. No
one is asking anyone to change their beliefs. Simply
permit choice, so others can exercise theirs.
This itepoit it s itritte by LS&A Junior
,Alnes AMc ntlrre-
I 'Rd f it¢L uc*r I ,..: '. :'L * .F= ~ "ha.1R 'S..S
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The adventures of Cancer
y increasingly infrequent trips back to where
I grew tip, the land of houses and... well,
nothing else really, Farmington Hills, are also
becoming increasingly distressing as I get older.
Esery time I showL ip at home, the world I grew up
il looks less and less recognizable.
There are still things I enjoy about being at home.
It's clean, not falling apart and we don't
have to use traffic cones to keep the bath-
room door closed like in the decrepit fire-
trap I dwell in here. But things are chang-
in much faster than I'd like them to at
home. Iii still surprised that my family
has been moving on in life ithout me.
They'se made all kinds of changes to the
house. gone on lots of fun-srunding trips
xx ithout me and m sisters hair is a di- h I
icr int cor. I lxi iii I xxiiithomet I
foind my bedroom filed x ith tbles co
ered with scores of tin plants and uO- CU
rescent plant lihsts abos e them x hich, of
course. prompted the question." Mom
ar 'oo is 'ittt a d'u x ' Thex
turned out to be flowers and part of m ynother's
ongoing metamorphosis into Martha Stewart.
T here are a lot of things I miss about home. but
out of all the friends and family and old CD's, what
I miss most is my dog, Charlie. 've been asking my
parents to let me take him u ith me to school for the
last two years. I don't w sant him permanently. just
f1r a littl while, but they never let me. I've always
felt bad that after liping with the dog for eight years.
i took off and he has no idea where I am or where I
t- for months at a time without seeing him.
Actually. I've been seeing more of the dog recent-
-, but under somewhat stressful circumstances.
ecause my parents are usually pretty busy, Ive had
to take soie turns bringing my aging pooch to his
chemotherapy sessions. This is not a pleasant expe-
rietce. The appointments are all in the middle of the
da in Rochester Hills. Getting there requires trav-
eling on roads that are constantly under-construlc-
Dog
tion and packed with extraordinarily inept drivers.
Then having to listen to Charlie next to me, having
trouble breathing because of swollen lymph nodes,
makes it nearly unbearable.
Even I can remember the days when dogs didn't
get radiation treatments. They got old, got sick and
the treatment was "putting them to sleep." But I now
hear many similar stories from friends
about aging pets. Their pampered, beloved
animals are now getting all sorts of disor-
ders usually associated with elderly
humans. but most of all cancer.
s When my dad first told me about the
whole cancer situation, ie made it sound
like the clg would basically be dead
tomorrow. feI was of the opinion that
hCharlietsiing health was dragging
down hi L uaIity of life to the point where
PETER we iig-hi as well puit hii OUt of his iris-
NIFFE ery. ilaiiig to get used to the idea of my
dog dying i"asn't as it p'xil as I imagined
it would be when I was younger, but still
left me with a lot of ireets about not see-
in his much for the last few years.
Luckily imy motherswasn't listening to my dad and
found all sorts of canine oncolo"ists. Soon she had
the do' deep into a treatment regimen and had me
sitting on the now two-lane Telegraph during rush
hour, beating my head against the steering wheel.
But my little trips to the vet are getting easier. The
dog is doing less wheezing and whining in the car.
He's more active, has started-jumping around and
barking again. So I guess it's all worth it.
And I actually have Cancer Dog (as I've started
calling him) in Ann Arbor now. I decided enough
was enough and seized him a. dramatic pre-dawn
(hey. 8:00 p.m. is before dawn) raid, although I'm
fairly sure my parents will steal him back before
long. Oh wel lithere's always next week's chemo
session.
-iPeter Cuuie ca ie rueached via e-nsail
it pciiritui umich.ediu.
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