4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 7, 2003 able Aftlild-tt at 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 SRAVYA CHIRUMAMILLA Editor in Chief JASON PESICK Editorial Page Editor 4 Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. For those looking for examples of per- sistence paying off, take a glance at the members of Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality. After months cof stalemate at the negotiating table, SOLE has come away with a victory concerning the treatment of employees at the Toledo branch of Morgan Linen Services and a potentially significant new tool for the prevention of such difficulties: the Purchasing Ethics and Policies Task Force. In a contract with the University for years, Morgan had been doing laundry ser- vice for the Martha Cook Building, the Executive Residence of the Business School and the Law School's Lawyer's Club. The trouble with Morgan began in October, when workers at the Toledo division reached out to SOLE to inform them of their poor work environment. According to accounts by Morgan personnel, their low-paying jobs had required them to work in difficult conditions. In addition, the employees stated that Morgan had not provided sick pay or ade- quate raises to coincide with rising insurance SOLE's got soul Coleman must take recommendations seriously costs. Furthermore, Morgan had clamped down on the demands of UNITE! (the work- ers' union), preventing any chance for the betterment of their predicament. Also, employees involved in the union reported being harassed by management. Without delay, SOLE got in contact with officials in hopes ofpressuring the University to discontinue contracts with Morgan and force Morgan to take the rights of its person- nel more seriously. After some positive head- way, such as the creation of an ethical pur- chasing task force by University President Mary Sue Coleman, negotiations between SOLE and the administration came to a standstill in April, when Coleman agreed only not to renew any long-term contracts. This could have allowed the University and Morgan to continue their partnership through short-term agreements. Fortunately, as a result of the relentless demands by SOLE, the University has broken off all con- nections with Morgan. This, in turn, will hopefully force Morgan to create a healthier labor standards policy for its employees. Looking back at the Morgan situation, universities across the nation must realize that the way they spend money has a major societal impact, and thus must spend ethical- ly. If administrations continue to look the other way, searching for low-cost subcon- tracts instead of fit labor environments, then worker rights will continually be jeopar- dized. This is where the new task force comes in, and President Coleman must acknowledge the voice of the task force and do whatever is necessary to improve dire work settings - even if it means dealing with more costly businesses. The task force should not be used as a delay tactic. Much depends on the task force. It is essential to develop a strict code for the University's vendors, so they know what the community expects from them in order to prevent situations like what happened at Morgan. This code should be an evolution of the Worker Rights Consortium the University signed on to years ago, which ensures safety in working conditions for employees of colle- giate apparel companies. It should also be ready not long after the task force is due to make its policy recommendations at the end of the coming fall term. The task force is organizing two public forums regarding the University's purchasing policies. The first meeting will take place Thursday, July 10 from 4-6 p.m. in the Kuenzel Room of the Michigan Union. The second has yet to be announced, but will occur during the fall term. Those planning to participate should contact Patrick Naswell by e-mail at patrickn@umich.edu or via phone at (734) 615-6744. Student participation is vital. Spare compassion? Proposed ordinance too harsh, will prove ineffective School less cool than cash Young athletes should not avoid the classroom 4 One of Ann Arbor's distinguishing features is its accepting and tolerant atmosphere. People from around the state flock here for events such as the Ann Arbor Art Fair, Hash Bash, political rallies and vigils. The city council, however, may take action today that would betray this image by passing an ordinance that would take a harder line against panhandling. It would allow police to arrest "aggressive panhandlers" without a filed complaint. This ordinance may please some members of the business community and some of the city's residents, but this violation of certain citizens' rights is not a solution to the prob- lem of homelessness in Ann Arbor. The city council should reject this ordinance as it is not in accordance with the city's historic values and fails to recognize that no one's rights are less valuable than another's. Already, there are limits as to where panhandlers may and may not stand. Admittedly, the city implemented many of the current restrictions, such as the one stating that panhandling is not allowed within 10 feet of an automated teller machine, with the intention of protecting the safety of other citizens. But the current proposal goes too far. Currently, victims of aggressive panhan- dling have to file a formal complaint with the police department. This can prevent friv- olous accusations from being made. Panhandlers in turn, do not, for the most part, behave violently, in part because of the possibility of having a complaint filed against them. In addition, panhandlers are not inherently dangerous or violent. If passed, the ordinance would allow police to use their own discretion to define "aggressive." Hopefully, the police would utilize this power only against truly violent offenders, but to put such power into their hands would subject panhandlers to poten- tial discriminatory inconsistency. This is why the current system, in which citizens must file a formal complaint, is preferable: It ensures that only panhandlers who truly warrant attention take the brunt of the law. A recent incident of aggressive panhan- dling resulting in the incarceration of one bad apple of the panhandling world, Lamark Curry, has set off a wave of sensationalism about the dangers of panhandlers. Curry was charged and sentenced to prison time for his behavior, which included open intox- ication and public urination. The new ordi- nance comes largely in response to this inci- dent, when in fact, authorities successfully charged Curry for the offending actions, not solely for panhandling. While this example is cited as a reason why the additional pan- handling regulations are necessary, it proves that those same regulations are superfluous. The proposed ordinance also is a suc- cessful or efficient way of dealing with the city's homeless problem. There are measures underway in the area to help the homeless and addicts rehabilitate themselves, includ- ing a new homeless shelter. Rehabilitation and assistance for the homeless is a far more effective and humane way of preventing sit- uations such as the Curry incident. It will also serve a greater good for the city. But in the same vein as supporting their rehabilita- tion, residents should support panhandler's freedoms; they are people who deserve equal rights as does any other citizen. Being a stronghold of progressive thought, Ann Arbor is not a city many would expect to pass such stringent city ordi- nances. Officials should reject this reactive piece of legislation and recognize the rights of all those who call Ann Arbor home. She can drive a ball over 300 yards, has already won an adult tourna- ment, has no intention of playing against other girls - or women for that matter, and get this, she's only 13. He already has a contract with Nike for $1 million, has been training with the U.S. national soccer team and too is only 13 years old. Finally, the saving grace for a Michael Jordan-less NBA market is the 18-year-old high school phenom from Ohio who has already penned a whop- ping $90 million contract with Nike. Who are they? Golfer Michelle Wie, soccer player Freddy Adu and basketball player LeBron James. Besides being young stars, they all have something else in common: They will all likely forgo college. While this is probably not a great societal message and college should be a priority for the nation's youth, there is a double standard in the way observers view the issue. In an age of big money contracts, elaborate marketing schemes and down right shameful exploitation of talent potential, education is often forgotten. For James, college was never more than just media talk for a youngster who was actively scouted for the majority of his high school career. As for soccer's won- der boy from Ghana, Adu, college is not much of a consideration either. By sign- ing a contract with Nike, Adu is ensur- ing that he will not play in college because it violates NCAA rules. How well Wie walks the trail remains to be seen, but we can only imagine. Though basketball players typically get most of the flak for not completing their educational paths, it happens very often in many major sports. In fact, many parents today are grooming their children to be golf's next Tiger Woods or the tennis's next Pete Sampras and certainly the next basketball star Kobe Bryant without including college in their plans, even though most of their children will never achieve the fame and riches that they desire. Though Woods attended Stanford as an econom- ics major, he left early after a string of first place tournament finishes to focus solely on his remarkable game. Bryant was the highly touted high school stu- dent who was going to bring his big- time Philly game to the pros without exploring the option of college. And Sampras didn't even bother finishing high school before he made the jump into the world of professional tennis. If someone hangs a $10 million car- rot in front of a teenager's face and he hasn't tasted of its lucrative nutrients before, then certainly he will be inclined to give it a try. Undoubtedly, there are countless other examples of impoverished youths who have gone professional without a college degree, and sometimes without a high school diploma. Many athletes, from various sports, including tennis star Venus Williams, football player Emmitt Smith and bas- ketball's Vince Carter, have gone back to college and received their degrees. What a powerful statement it was for basketball star Vince Carter to not only finish his education, but to attend the graduation ceremony on the eve of the biggest playoff game of his career. Though it caused a somewhat sour media buzz from basketball fans, some youths surely took note. 4