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 jq¢ SA ~ 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. :Fw _ , , : .£ , >; ;:y > y. a .4: , .. , r .. ' , ~ >.