Monday, August 14, 2000 - The Michigan Daily -5
LETRST TEEDIO
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nv;iyhknuin
l ican n "and thebarguments put
forth by both pro- and anti-
big voucher supporters. While
viewing the list of support-
tl ers of the pro voucher cam-
paign KidsFirstYes!, I
rtion noted the inclusion ofthree
Regents of the University
of Michigan (along with a
to the editor- Regent of Eastern
Old Pretense, Michigan University)
Convention a under the heading of "edu-
(8. 7/2000). cation leaders". It concerns
e is going to me that such endorsements
Republican by regents of public univer-
arty of diver- sities may imply an
they are try- endorsement of their tni-
publicans hadversem e l.fhe h-
th a group of versity as well. If the
male speak- regents wanted to support
tid have been the campaign, they could
their lack of have equally chosen to do
ten they make so under the heading of
to include a "civic leaders" and used
of speakers, their respective corporate
ted. Say what titles as opposed to their
but for the title of regent and involv-
to have an ing the University name. It
eaker is a big would appear that the
University has in place
gain, this safeguards against such
I expected the implied endorsements
give the through the University pol-
a fair shake icy on trademark use in
political campaigns.
MARK WEST However, the Regents of
A LUMNUS the University seem to
have ignored this policy in
favor of using their titles
its and the University name in
support of their personal
perly political beliefs.
. iInformation on the use
heir of Universits name, marks,
seal and images in political
campaigns is ironically
contained within the
regents' own website at:
student in the http: wsswv.umich.edu 're
Ric ation at the gents. trademarks.htm1.
inc ihtn
Seasons in the city
f you're reading this, you're
either here in Ann Arbor far too
early or you've been here in Ann
Arbor far too long (except if you're
reading online, thanks mom). The
truth is, for vast number of stu-
dents who fill their cars to the ceil-
ing and pull out of Ann Arbor the
last week of April each spring, it's
very easy to imagine that the city
fading in the rear-view mirror will
shut down until classes resume in
September - or at least until the
winged helmets take the field a
few days earlier.
Yet the fact remains that each
summer as students leave Ann
Arbor, the city and the campus left
behind are both just beginning to
shake off the numb of winter.
There's no denying that autumn in
Ann Arbor is pleasant, but to those
who see the city in the spring and
summer, it becomes something
very different. The city grows
calmer and quieter and the sub-
tleties that the locals have boasted
of for years become evident. As the
coffee shops empty a bit and the
parking spots open up, Ann Arbor
takes the feel of a smaller commu-
nity in a way that it can't during the
regular school year. Afternoons on
the Diag have a way of drifting
seamlessly into warm evenings in
the Arb in the kind ofway that puts
a premium on
relax at ion.
Gone, for a
season, are
the pressures
of schedules
and demand-
ing class
l o a d s,
replaced by a
more gentile
pace and a GEOFF
more com- G AGNON
fortable way Ar
of life. It's a __ T____
warmer and
happier-feeling place where even a
passerby on the Diag sometimes
looses the customary steely-eyed
stare and glare mentality in favor
of a nod or even (gasp) a smile.
Other types of people become
much more visible as well.
With the wannth of summer,
Ann Arbor becomes the muttering-
man capital of the country as it
seems every third person on the
street is talking to themselves. But
it's a pleasant sort of realization that
as the sea of similar-looking col-
lege kids evaporates for a season,
Ann Arbor's more colorful bunch
of characters become unique fix-
tures on campus. It's not that the
crazily dressed man with the funny
story wasn't always there, its just
that you never had time for him.
The people change with the
pace of life and the look of the
place changes with the weather.
The face of the campus changes
almost as soon as the last winter
term exam is written and leafless
trees and dormant flowers spring to
life from their normal school-year
slumber. Fountains flow, flower
beds bloom and ivy creeps around
quiet buildings in all the pristine
beauty that is reserved for the
pages of University view books.
It's a shame we only get a few
weeks of the same warm weather
treatment each autumn and spring.
Sure, it's easy to see that the
people and the places change a bit,
but what some summer students
might not even admit is that there's
a mental transformation for people
who've spent their summers here.
There's a certain pride that comes
from spending a full calendar year
in Ann Arbor-- a feeling that tells
you that you're not just part of
school, but part of city as well.
Amidst the glare of garbage
and beer bottles and against the
boom of bass lines that returning
students will bring with them, Ann
Arbor will soon make the transition
back into a college town by receiv-
ing an influx of its most prized
commodity: college students.
But when the city sheds the
calmness of a lazy south-east
Michigan summer in favor of the
excitement that comes with the
autumn, remember what a summer
in Ann Arbor meant. Remember
swinging for softballs at an intra-
mural game, or an evening of
touch football in a grassy field.
Remember how the Huron River
feels in July, how blue the sky can
be above the Diag in June and how
green the trees are in August. And
remember that not everyone is as
lucky to have such memories,
memories of a summer in Ann
Arbor.
-Geoff Gagnon can be
reached via e-mail at
ggagnon@mmich.edu.
Gore's mission, if he should choose to accept it...
W ith the Democratic National
Convention getting under
way today in Los Angeles, Vice
President Al Gore is facing his last
chance to strip away the aura of
inevitability that has surrounded
Texas Governor George W Bush
since the end of the primary sea-
son. Gore must realize how diffi-
cult it is to overcome the almost
forgone conclusion status that
Bush's campaign has been able to
generate. After all, he and Bill
Clinton enjoyed such popularity in
1996 and Dole never had a chance.
Gore made the first step toward
reversing his flagging fortunes
with his selection of Connecticut
Senator Joseph Lieberman as his
running mate. Forget all the talk
about whether Liebenian's reli-
gion could turn off some voters.
neigno ng n ution
Eastern Michigan
University. As a student of
educatios I have taken a
keen interest in Proposal 1
MICHAEL DAMRON
STUDENT, EASTERN
MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Gore wasn't going to get the anti-
Semitic vote anyway.
Lieberman's selection was a
great move because by picking
someone at all out of the ordinary,
Gore was able
to generate ;
loads of posi-
tive press cov-
erage for his .
something he
hasn't gotten
in months.
With the
Lie ber m an
selection hog- PETER
ging the head- CUNNIFFE
lines last week <.
and the
Democratic
Convention this week, Gore is get-
ting two solid weeks of attention
and a chance to frame his campaign
issues.
The Democratic convention may
even provide more of'a boost to its
party than did the Republican's
gathering, as the Democrats won't
have to endure constant questions
about the authenticity of their
diversity and party officials will
never have their message thrown
off by having to explain little com-
plications like why delegates are
praying for, rather than listening to,
gay speakers.
Gore has a real chance to change
the dynamics of this race during
his party's convention. While it
will undoubtedly help him, Bush
has always been able to come back
quickly when Gore has shown any
signs of strength in the past.
But with all the attention, Gore
really has the chance to change
what the election is about.
Currently, it's about people being
tired of Clinton. The relatively.con-
tent populace isn't too impressed
with Bush's tax cuts and his policy
priorities aren't really popular or
unpopular, just assumed to be as
good as anybody's. Gore's promise
to continue current policies isn't
exactly catching fire either.
Gore should take this opportuni-
ty to offer challenges to America.
At a time when the government
has more money than ever and
people let out a collective yawn
when offered tax cuts, the United
States has a real chance to take on
some of the long-term, really
tough problems it faces.
One of those problems that's
right up Gore's alley is the environ-
ment. With trillion dollar budget
surpluses on the way, this is the
time to fund research into alterna-
tive forms of energy. Businesses
haven't done much of it because of
the cost, but with government
backing, innovations such as fuel
cells for cars and solar power for
homes could become realities,
instead of ideas buried because of
high research and initial produc-
tion costs. Besides helping to clean
up the environment, this could free
us from dependence on foreign oil
and allow us to act more freely in
international affairs.
Gore should also make a priority
of reforming education in this
country. Forget all the harping
about local control. Local control
is what got our schools into the
mess we're in now. We need
national testing, national standards
and higher salaries to attract better
teachers. We need money to fix
crumbling schools and give kids
more educational resources and
opportunities.
And Gore should also strongly
push for a complete overhaul of the
campaign finance system of this
country, including public financ-
ing of campaigns to get rid of cor-
porate, union and other special
interest group domination, of our
political system.
There are obviously a lot of big
problems we've been letting fester
for too long in this country and
these are only examples of how
Gore could offer the chance for real
change and improvement in this
country. These suggestions and
other big changes to the ways
things are run may seem risky to
politicians, but in this time of plen-
ty, they may be the perfect way for
Gore to set himself apart from
Bush, Clinton and everyone else. I
have no doubt that the country will
be more receptive to taking on its
challenges than listening to Bush's
meaningless platitudes about
"honor and decency."
- Peter Cumnnffe can be reached
sin e-mail at ncunnif aumich.edu.
DAM BRNS rf ISTR'EDSEP I
com
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