Page 4- The Michigan Daily- Monday, April 8, 1991
420 Maynard Street \, ANDREW K. GOTITESMAN
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 - Editor in Chief
Edited and Managed STEPHEN HENDERSON
by Students at the DANIEL POUX
University of Michigan = Opinion Editors
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board.
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
."".{..1.r.1...J.1,..1{..1.{. ."r* :r. ": *:.,:
i.>
IC 4 O1
f .,
-4'r
or, 1_
Back to
'U' students should gra
C ommencement at the
University of Michi-
gan had traditionally been ,/
held at Michigan Stadium
- for everybody. But last
winter term, the adminis- 1
tration changed all of that
because of the excessive f
rowdiness of students at past
ceremonies. When Presi-
dent Duderstadt spoke at
the winter term 1989 corn-
mencement, students chose
to throw beach balls, drink
champagne and converse
loudly -with their friends
instead of listening to the
speech.
So, last year, the admin- Students si
istration decided it would LSA comme
be best to divide the ceremonies; each i
college at the University had its own co
ment.
But this year, students will once again
excitement of graduating in the stadium
President George Bush will be the keynot
the administration has decided to once
have commencement in the stadium- w
one.
While this is not a permanent mov
individual school will still have its ownc
this year, and next year there will proba
"mass" graduation - students should
ward to this year's events, and the admi
should consider renewing the traditiona
graduation.
For 115 years, University graduatior
fies have been held together. Admitte
have been incidents of excessive boist
among students throughout the years.
the stadium!
duate in 'The Big House' every year
perfectly natural forseniors
to be a little rowdy; after
all, you only graduate from
°-'college once. And com-
mencement may be the last
time students see many of
their college comrades.
Being a little overzealous is
certainly warranted.
Besides, most of the
speakers who have been
heckled in the past have
been rather boring.
Lawarence Kasdan, an en-
gaging speaker, was not
rudely interrupted last year
at LSA commencement. If
JOSE JUAREZIall the administration invites
ng "The Victors" during last year's boring speakers, it should
ncement ceremonies. expect bored reactions from
ndividual students.
)mmence- President Bush, although not an engaging
speaker like Kasdan, does have the distinction of
enjoy the being president. The majority of graduates may
. Because actually want to hear what he has to say, particu-
.e speaker, larly after the Persian Gulf War. And even if they
again to don't, that is also acceptable. After all, commence-
ith every- ment is the last hoorah for University students, and
if they wish to indulge themselves in a little uppity
e - each behavior, that is their prerogative.
ceremony Graduation is primarily for the graduates -not
bly be no administrators, keynote speakers or anyone else.
look for- And to prove that the focus is indeed the students,
nistration the University should concede to the wishes of the
l stadium student body. Many students know people in other
schools at the University, and look forward to
a ceremo- graduating with them. The administration should
dly, there grant seniors this last pleasure, and put graduation
erousness back in the stadium - permanently.
But it is
t:".Vh"::J:hW.tiYa".41111YhYSLY^A1:Lh1Y.YAY.4"."14Y.t114Y.'{"V 1Y.W. .Y.YhVAW.}YAY.1V."Jh4114L11Y.Y".1'h:Y.V.Y.ILLM1I:W.LY.Wht".V."i4Y.".1VN.1" V "" "" ". . . . f ..... . ... ................. ......... .......
.}} t.ht.}..44 Jh.1A......1 J.L J...h .................. :.t'::::::::: f."."J ".:.....-
':"}}:}:4 :f:':":'}}:iti':L':v::":"}: N.4YJJJ.Vf.Y.Wf:' ""}.4YJ.YJ:: """fr h..... :fi."
:.'::.V ".":a ..... ........... .................... ......L.YAIY: JJ:.VJh .....L JJ:: r..t .......a. .r.............,................,...V:.V: f::....... ".............,..
.............:.... f....... f.... ff. JJJ ".VJ ;..,.JJ.... f..VJ.Vf.: J: '.L":hi...J...................::.V:J.Y.................................:..........1...1 :..aJ::............t................... "......
}:f:"}:Jf}::J ":.: ::: ^JJ:.V ":: ': ' tit:'::: 4tV " " " " " " " .4J
A. . ..i .....4 .1
.rt 1.
"........ f ....................a.:. f:.Y.YJ. J:::: "::: J: JJ.:V.YJ.}Y.:'ffhy .........
::'::{i" : :'.}}::VJai"::Jf}:{.:i{r}::"..":':'}}}::'ih ":"-L ..lJ' {'
J .1.
. yf:'}::;}:' ":a::':"::'::r: ::14VAi":.4".1Y.V:.VJ:: J:::: f:: J:: J: JJ: JJJ.V.'J.
'11 ti: f 4
..V .
:": :::::.°.: :.. . L
..1 Y.. ha.V..... V.... h.. L
L':':"}:i" :itiV}:::1V:: J.:Y: J: Y::J"": J:'V : }:1 ..ti:" "J.1
JJ ....hVJ: JJJ "J J. .......... '.4V .:.
. ..Ltl'::: J " " " " J}:tif}:Y}:"::!"::':"} L Yr1L :4V.:"J.4VJ.1'h:V ":" J}" " " "
}:1VJ JJ ..4...... . h.
EMU
Harassment policy poses new threats to students' private lives
MSA is a waste
To the Daily:
For my first two years at this
University, I have remained quiet
about my perceptions of the
Michigan Student Assembly. I
can no longer hide my contempt,
distrust, and dislike for this nearly
worthless organization.
Though part of my tuition
goes to this student body, I see
this money going to no worth-
while cause.
Two recent cases-in-point:
thanks to Jennifer Van Valey and
the rest of "our" MSA, we as
students will pay $450 to partially
compensate Todd Ochoa's legal
fees for "chalking." This resolu-
tion was sponsored by Rackham
Rep. Jeff Hinte in an effort to
"stress the importance of protect-
ing students' freedom of expres-
sion." This action repulses me!
Do Hinte and the rest of the MSA
actually believe that scrawling
slogans all over University
property with ugly chalk consti-
tutes freedom of expression?
Ochoa's actions represent
vandalism that should be pun-
ished, not freedom of expression!
Second, what is MSA trying to
accomplish with its worthless
resolutions regarding issues such
as the Persian Gulf War Effort?
As a student organization, MSA
should deal with issues that are
pertinent to the students, not
attempt to meddle in federal
government.
I hope that in the future,
regardless of who is running it,
this assembly will concentrate on
realistic goals that are beneficial
to the University community,
instead of continuing to waste its
time and my money!
Roger Martin
LSA sophomore
Picture was
in poor taste
To the Daily:
The inclusion of the photo-
graph with the article concerning
last Thursday evening's accident
("Woman killed during hit and
run accident," 4/4/91) displays a
degree of negligence and callous-
uoes noL want to sena
U.S. soldiers to die in
an Iraqi civil war. I
would agree with him if
it were not for one
small fact. This is not a
spontaneous civil war.
Bush himself pushed to
get it going.
In January, he
authorized the CIA to
begin transmitting
messages to Kurds
encouraging them to
revolt. In Febuary,
Bush publically told the
Iraqis to "take matters
into their own hands to
force Saddam Hussein
the dictator to step
aside." When the
ground war started, so
did the rebellion.
Realize that the
Kurds must fear
Saddam Hussein. After
0I
Bush encouraged war
To the Daily: . 0
President Bush has
said that the Kurdish
rebels should "get rid of
Saddam Hussein on
their own." He said he
rind. nant t d cc~nnA N
A Kurdish girl and her grandmother take
refuge from the Iraqi Civil War in Turkey.
tudents at Eastern Michigan University (EMU)
will now have more to worry about than good
grades, college loans and summer jobs. They now
must also watch what they say for fear of falling
prey to that university's new discriminatory ha-
rassment policy.
The EMU Board of Regents - in the footsteps
of many universities across the country - insti-
tuted the policy in late March, which will augment
the university's code of conduct.
Not surprisingly, EMU's stated purpose for the
policy is an "educational environment free from
harassment, humiliation and intimidation..." But
much like the efforts of our own administration to
ease racial tensions through speech regulations,
EMU's attempts are misguided, and will accom-
plish little in the way of increased racial harmony
on campus.
Because students are prevented from speaking
discriminatory statements does not mean they will
not be thinking them. Speech codes don't change
people's minds, and therefore have a minimal
effect on race dynamics.
The only way to truly address racial tensions on
campus is through education and increased efforts
to achieve multiculturalism in the entire university
community - something few universities have
realized as of yet. Intense recruitment of ethnic
minorities on the part of the administration, changes
in curricula to provide a more multi-cultural per-
spective and increased efforts at integration on the
part of the student body are all measures EMU -
and all universities - must take to effectively
combat racial tensions.
But perhaps even more disturbing than the
potential ineffectiveness of EMU's harassment
policy is the extent to which it furthers that
university's encroachment upon students' non-
academic lives. The speech code is an addition to
the EMU code of non-academic conduct, which
enables the university to academically sanction
students for actions outside the classroom. Thus, a
student caught drinking or violating other univer-
sity policies in the residence halls or on other
university property could be put on academic
probation - or even expelled.
EMU - like many other universities - has
adopted a paternalistic attitude toward its students
by attempting to regulate their non-academic lives
in this way, and has over-stepped its bounds as an
institution of higher learning.
Universities exist to educate students, not to
police them or hold them to certain legal standards.
The laws of this country fulfill that aim, and are not
in need of augmentation by learning institutions. If
students break laws, they should be held accountable
to the laws of the land, not to the regents of a
university and their bogus policies.
EMU's new harassment policy falls far short of
its desired goal of curbing harassment, and -
maybe more importantly - it furthers that
university's prying into its students'non-academic
lives. Clearly, it is not a policy which will benefit
that community in any way.
If EMU wants to create a less hostile educa-
tional environment, it will commit itself to real
programs aimed at increased multiculturalism. And
if it wants to fulfill its primary responsibility as an
American university-the education ofits students
- it will stick to that goal and stay out of students'
private lives.
all, they are the people Saddam
gassed in 1988. Now, a powerful
country at war with Saddam calls
on them to rise against him. A
ground war starts, and Saddam's
Republican Guard is to busy
fighting the Allied Forces to deal
with any rebels starting trouble.
The moment came, and the
Kurdish rebels seized it. A short
couple of days later, the Allied
forces call a cease fire and pull
back. The Kurds are left to the
mercy of Saddam and his guards.
And Bush sits in the oval office,
and won't do anything.
President Bush encouraged
this rebellion. Now that he does
not really need it, because
victory has come for allied
troops, he is turning his back on
them. He should finish what he
started, and end the bloodshed.
John Rybock
Engineering
first-year student
ness such that I am embarrassed
to consider myself a reader of the
Daily.
Does the Daily have any sense
of decency whatsoever? The
presence of the photograph
displays an appalling lack of
regard for the deceased, as well as
the victim's family and friends.
The motives for such a
insensitive act must be purely
sensational: due to the quality of
the picture, only a white sheet was
visible. It is sorry to see a
publication which has such an
obvious responsibility in the way
it presents the news be lowered to
the standards of a cheap tabloid.
Stephen Meyer
Engineering
first-year student
V.1": hV.".W.4":.4':J: '.V:.V:.S':.:'1::: '."rJ.+il.4" .1VJr.".:': JJJrrlJ.4"."~.":.VI:: rJr S'.'l: "y;.;.'. . .r.1.
Y YLY'SV.V.V:.Vh4"+i':.V "": J.V.V:. SV"SJ.Vr~: 'J.4":."J "lJt.4V:l:lr:: '.V::::.V 4'rl:. ".S'a. .. ................
LY:::. ".:{'}:": SSV ".V:.:":, S': ~i:::.S'::::: " ". r. }:":':"l~}:i':':{{':{i':"ii{':':':
". ~f.V' lV.. 4 ~ ': !l:::1"r ":.% :.{"." VY. S"! "r .VJ. .. hS': r4':.: ::.h":.V::::::";.;";' .
:.S", .5.
ti t :r. a.... ": r..
}:V}:Jr:':. J.1":+". L" S 4444"::1.4V.:V:::.".S'.SV.4 4"r".:":.4':::.:4VJ.1Vl.LY":::.4'.;.;. ::;: : }}:',{ :'} :;}: "}: ti':':':'}::"::
:{V} Y
."W: : }:{ti{+':V:."l."Jl.h..Jl:{":}:":n:'}.V::V: ":"}:{"J.4 t:{"}:"}:"}:":' 4"} }} } "lJ. V 1::::.":.V: rV.':::.'.V:: l.Vl: i ::.V:.V:::.V: 'l:} %:%: :" r ::%% :% } }}::%%:% : %:%:
4'J: '."1'.S".": ~:.4'.S :':::.4":.4":: ! . L":.".4V:.4":. S"::.":.V:.'::."::.:Y:.':: i
. .:}}:":414{: }:1 . .l.".., .."".... "........ "...........
..1{'}:':'}:{':{"}:{"::{":":":':.4".SLr:.r: l::.Lr::::.Vi f:::: i::::::: J:.4V.':':L4'::':": Jl::':''!.S " .1 ...............
4
Hey'. e get soe service?
The Daily encourages responses from its readers. Letters should be
150 words or less and include the author's name, year in school,
and phone number. They can be mailed to The Michigan Daily, 420
Maynard, Ann Arbor, 48109, or they can be sent via MTS to "The
Michigan Daily." The Daily reserves the right to edit letters for
style and space.
An open letter to University Presi-
dent James Duderstadt:
In my tenure as President of
Rackham Student Government
(RSG), I have been accused, by you
and your
band of re-
gents, of
"1I a c k i n g
social
graces," be-
ing "out of .4.I
line" and
having a by
"confused
agenda." Tracy
S imul-r
taneously, Ore
you have ,_
refused to
meet with me, as well as other stu-
dents who have legitimate gripes
with the way you, as president, run
this institution.
When I was six, my mother,
-nnt;er m to aves "a,,.,al ,rranpc 11
ing a passive girl, being a graceful
girl, being a submissive girl. You,
in your actions toward women who
don't "behave" as you would like to
think a "lady" should act, have
demonstrated your desire to keep
women girls; to keep them passive,
submissive, quiet, and most of all in
your power.
There is one thing that I did
learn from Miss Bessie that I do
think is quite appropriate at this
time, however. She taught me that if
you don't like the service at a res-
taurant, bring it to the attention of
the Maitre d'. Jim, as you and some
of your administration have already
said, I, as a student, am considered
a consumer. If that is the case, then
you Jim, are nothing more than a
Maitre d'. Considering this, I would
like you to hear loud and clear that
there are many of us trying to get
across to you that WE DON'T LIKE
THE SERVICE!!!!
Tn vnnr .tnnrenc nrjeciAnt vr
squeaky wheel") this establishment
continues to fester with serious is-
sues of racism, sexism,
homophobia, classism, ageism,
ableism, etc. It has begun to smell
around here, Jim. It smells like
cockroaches and rat droppings.
I, as a woman, have tried to tell
you that there are many women on
this campus who don't like the
"service" around here. Because I
don't approach you demonstrating
the social graces of a lady (quiet,
submissive, passive, docile, meek),
you don't feel that you have the
responsibility to listen. What you
seemingly fail to understand is that
if women remained quiet, submis-
sive, passive, docile, meek little
ladies, we wouldn't even be ap-
proaching you.
In the past three years, the closest
opportunity that you have allowed
me to speak with you has been five
minutes with your voicebox Shirley
C1.grksnn_ Vet you sav that you
Nuts and Bolts
AND WNAWRE;7I5TS.
40% "'4
IYcnJNG- P'OPLECONE o-r
I N NOM82S.Tmr~y SMnt.E
I HOIE , iTH' 7INK HM' (
I 1OU&4 ;f -rNHAWS L
LtC I lrUJjo +?SYOU
"- CRISP.f-
by Judd Winick
AAAAAAAAI
a