LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 21, 2004 - 5 Discrimination at all costs? SUHAEL MOMIN N ALTERNATIVE SPIN geader questions assertions about admissions data TO THE DAILY: How could we have been so blind? Of course the drop in minority applications is the University's fault ( U' should not be absolved of blame, IW/14/04)! It's now ever so clear. en did it become their job to go door to door begging for minorities to apply? I thought the point of the admissions department was to admit those they felt deserved and desired to be there, not just fill seats. Indeed, there should be a strong presence in as many high schools as possible to ensure that students get the necessary information, but to claim that minorities somehow need extra per- suasion or reassurance that they real- g should give it a shot is laughable. Do people still not realize that the University uses Affirmative Action? That alone should be incentive enough to apply. I had to laugh as the writers mourned the omission of Asian Pacific Americans from any discus- sion of minority enrollment. God forbid we fail to list every single nationality every time minority is mentioned! I can only imagine the irreparable harm that they them- selves have done by leaving out any- one of Arab descent. Do they also not matter in this discussion? Finally, what exactly typifies this supposed unsupportive, unwelcoming climate? Is there some memo I missed? Are whites giving minorities dirty looks? Silently hoping they fail? How about the countless minority-only groups? I'm sure they offer little support or safety. Proof for these completely unsubstantiated claims would be much appreciated. And when did being colorblind become such an evil thing? Many people people have struggled for that very thing (see King, Martin Luther). JEREMY AKINS Rackham resident Bush issued the order, and now his troops have ral- lied. In his State of the Union, Bush shocked many pun- dits and observers by openly endorsing a federal Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Last week, Senate leaders announced plans to con- sider an amendment sponsored by Wayne Allard (R-Colo.): Marriage in the United States shall con- sist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any state, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal inci- dents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman. Proponents claim it is in response to the recent developments in Massachu- setts, where "activist judges" forced the state to grant gay and lesbian couples full marriage rights. While heterosexual mar- riage has not yet weakened and crumbled in Massachusetts, religious and moral conservatives still feel the need to protect the institution of marriage against further encroachment. If they have their way, a federal Constitutional amendment will not only punish people for their lifestyle, but also create a second class of citizens in a land where all people are equal under the law. With recent developments in favor of gay marriage, conservatives have shifted into panic gear. The sudden demand for a federal amendment - which cannot be overruled by anything short of another amendment -highlights a key concern of those opposed to homosexual marriage: They fear Massachusetts is not an anom- aly, but a harbinger. At the federal level, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act already defines marriage as a union between one man anA one woman. This law ensures that other states do not need to honor Massa- chusetts' same-sex marriage license, and exempts the federal government from pro- viding spousal benefits to homosexual couples married under one state's laws. However, this has one critical flaw: it is still subordinate to the Constitution. In Massachusetts, the High Court used the federal separate but equal prece- dent to force the legalization of same-sex marriage. While this ruling was denounced as judicial activism, the deci- sion has cast into doubt the future of the national DOMA and a myriad of similar state laws. Nothing is to stop state courts, and federal courts for that matter, from striking down these statutes on Constitu- tional grounds. If marriage was defined in the Constitution, however, it would be inherently constitutional - "activist judges" could no longer fabricate laws. Unfortunately, this zeal to amend the Constitution seems woefully misguided. The beauty of the document lies in its ability to transcend politics- and the whims of an era. It was designed to sur- vive through time; it was never intended to contain social policy, which tends to vary with the moral climate of the peri- od. Furthermore, the Constitution was meant to secure the rights of the people, not to limit and punish them. If the judicial system, relying on the Constitution, sees it fit to strike down the Defense of Marriage legislation, this should not be interpreted as a sign that the Constitution is flawed or that judges are exceeding their mandate. Rather, pro- ponents of the legislation might consider that the laws they support are themselves problematic. Even though these laws might enjoy wide support, that does not mean they should be protected by incor- poration into the Constitution. Ultimately, the Constitution is not a document to be changed or altered light- ly. Social values and beliefs, which are notoriously unstable, should not be placed in a document which is designed to withstand the test of time. Any initia- tive to alter the Constitution, especially in the name of discrimination, should be viewed with suspicion. The fact that gays and lesbians are already isolated from marriage by a variety of questionable laws and acts is in itself appalling; to insulate these discriminatory laws from judicial review by a Constitutional change is abhorrent. Momin can be reached at smomin@umich.edu. RNC in NYC ELLIOTT MALLEN IRRATIONAL ExUBERANCE LETTERS POLICY The Michigan Daily welcomes letters from all of its readers. Letters rom University students, faculty, staff and administrators will be given priority over others. Letters should include the writer's name, college and school year or other University affiliation. The Daily will not print any letter containing statements that cannot be verified. Letters should be kept to approximately 300 words. The Michigan Daily reserves the right to edit for length, clarity and accuracy. Longer "viewpoints" may be arranged with an editor. Letters will be run accord- ing to order received and the amount of space available. Letters should be sent through e-mail to tothedaily@michigandaily.com or mailed to the Daily at 420 Maynard St. Editors can be reached via e- mail at editpage.editors@umich.edu. Letters e-mailed to the Daily will be *iven priority over those dropped off in person or sent via the U.S. Postal Service. SAM BUTLER 1*E SOA sX j q C From August 29 to September 2, delegates will convene on Madison Square Garden in New York City for the 2004 Republican National Convention. Neither the time nor the place are coincidences. The planners did not randomly choose to push the date of the convention back to Septem- ber, later than any other in modern history. It's a stretch to think that planners just hap- pened to have chosen to hold the conven- tion in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 5 to 1 in a venue blocks away from where the World Trade Center once stood. Bush has been constantly exploiting Sept. 11 for political gains, and the 2004 Republican National Convention will be no exception. The message that a vote for the Democrats is a vote for the terrorists will surely be reinforced, and I'm going there to show that I'm not buying it. I will be going to New York with hundreds of thousands of my closest friends, letting the world know that people are willing to do more to express their disapproval of our current administration than just voting George Bush out of office in November. I am not going to New York to protest our country's millions of Republican vot- ers. The impoverished farmer in Idaho did- n't lie about pre-war intelligence. The 85-year-old Florida retiree didn't torture detainees in Iraq. I'm not protesting my Republican father (whose vote is always cancelled out by my Democrat mother). I am driving to New York a week before class starts to protest the Bush administra- tion. Despite what many people will tell you, not all Republicans are evil people. I would not have protested the 1996 conven- tion that nominated Bob Dole or Bush Srs 1992 re-nomination. I am protesting only a handful of people: George W. Bush and his neoconservative inner circle. The city of New York is doing every- thing in its power to prevent significant protest. The Police and Parks Departments have denied an application for a 250,000- person march by Madison Square Garden and then on to the Great Lawn in Central Park. The reason for the denial is that if it rains before the march, having people walk on the grass will damage it, meaning it might have to be re-sodded. I wasn't aware that our First Amendment rights could be thrown out in order to prevent grass in a public park from being trod upon. The police presence is expected to be massive. There will be 10,000 officers guarding the Garden, all of which will be assigned a handgun, a baton and teargas canisters. Police are being especially secre- tive about their tactics, claiming that more disclosure will only help potential terror- ists. Never mind that the Police Commis- sioner Ray Kelly is involved in three lawsuits regarding unconstitutional police practices. The city also plans to follow the model used by former NYPD Commis- sioner and current Miami police chief John Timoney, whose policy of over- whelming force is considered the Powell Doctrine of domestic dissent. He used 2,500 heavily-armed police officers to lock down the city of Miami during protests opposing the Free Trade Area of the Americas last fall. This is a man who, while decrying violent tactics used by a handful of protesters, actually relishes vio- lence between police and demonstrators. He was quoted in the Miami Herald before any arrests were made in connection to the demonstrations that "If they don't do any- thing by tomorrow night, pardon the expression, but they look like pussies." Two hundred and twenty arrests were made, and many of the charges were immediately thrown out when it became apparent how many of the arrests were made illegally. Police routinely made ille- gal searches and random arrests of people resembling protesters both before and dur- ing the demonstrations, and there are a variety of pending lawsuits against the Miami police department. Similar tactics are expected in New York, and it is a guar- antee that the police will justify them under the guise of terrorism prevention. I am encouraging my fellow students to join me in New York. True, it is a week before class starts. Yes, I understand New York is a long drive to make. I am aware that the NYPD has authorized the use of "Hercules" teams that will patrol the streets with body armor and live-ammo machine guns. It's all worth it. Being at a school like the University, it's easy to for- get that politically active young people are a small minority, and it's important to show that young people are ready to fight the Bush administration on the streets of New York as well as at the ballot box in November. Mallen can be reached at emmallen@umich.edu.