4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 26, 1995 cube £irtjbijwu lg t JEAN TWENGE THE ERASABLE PEN 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan t .1 MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in Chief JULIE BECKER JAMES M. NASH Editorial Page Editors Dogs humpbzg cars and other thin'gs censors won 't let you see Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Extra month for old code not such a bad idea t was almost anticlimatic, considering the bumpy process of revising the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Last week, the University Board of Regents de- cided to extend to November the deadline for adopting a new code. While the current code but a code that encompasses the ideas and desires of the students. As Regent Philip Power (D-Ann Arbor) stated, the October deadline has served its purpose - spurring progress. And limited progress has been made, but an effective After you awaken from your drunken stupor, the truth comes out: Turning 21 is the biggest bummer in the world. The problem is, you have no cool birth- days left. At 16, you get to drive. At 17, you get into R-rated movies. At 18 you're a legal adult and can vote, get drafted and enter contests to win things like power boats and trips to Aruba. Nineteen is kinda nothing, at 20 you're no longer a teen-ager, and at 21 it's Miller Time. So what's next? In this youth- oriented society, who actually wants to turn 30? Unless you're really excited about your car insurance going down after you turn 25, turning 21 is the end of the line. Turning 25 means that the insurance com- panies are now convinced that you're past the stage of doing Really Stupid Stuff, like racing your friends around curvy suburban streets or jumping the car over cliffs ("But officer, they did it on The Dukes of Hazzard ... "). That's the real bummer here: The world is done protecting you, and you're on your own. People are actually expecting you not to act stupid. That's what these milestone birthdays really are: the world protecting you less and less, and trusting you more and more, whether you deserve it or not. When you've reached this stage and look back, sometimes it's amazing to realizejusthowmuch you weren't allowed to do and see when you were younger. Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, tele- vision producers were convinced that just about anything would warp children's minds and turn them into sex-crazed little beasts. On older TV shows, married couples - even married couples with children - were shown sleeping in separate single beds. The K-Mart in TV land, apparently, didn't carry queen-size sheets. Presumably seeing two people in bed together would let kids know too much about where babies come from. Movies shown on TV are one of the most blatant and annoying examples of the puri- tan sensibility of whoever runs TV stations. A few weeks ago Thelma and Louise, one of my favorite movies, made its premiere on network television. Between the cuts and the dubbed language, it was barely recogniz- able. I had this vision of someone sitting in a recording booth saying "shoot" and "freakin"'over andover. (My favorite, how- ever, was "Judas Priest" instead of "Jesus Christ." What's with this heavy-metal band reference?) The sad part was how much the movie lost in the translation. Harvey Keitel no longer uttered one of the movie's best lines (he tells Brad Pitt that if he doesn't cooper- ate, "I'll be all over you like a fly on shit for the rest of your natural life.") In the original version, the rapist says "Suck my cock" right before Louise blows him away; here, he says "Clean my clock." That's about when I gave up. Censorship and puritan morals raise their ugly heads in newspapers as well. Cartoon- ist Gary Larson, who drew The Far Side, was not allowed to draw an outhouse in his cartoon panel until 1984. Anything vaguely scatological was usually questioned. In an- other cartoon, Larson got in trouble because a dog appears to be copulating with a car (Larson claims it looks that way only be- cause he drew in the bump of the transmis- sion case, but several newspapers threat- ened to yank the strip entirely. "Please tell me that this dog isn't doing to this car what the entire staff believes it is doing to this car," wrote one newspaper editor.) This example points to the subjective and hypocritical nature of much censorship. Thinking that a dog can hump a car requires a certain amount of amorous imagination, otherwise known as a dirty mind. Especially in this case, the sexual connotation was more in the reader's mind than in the original cartoon. Then there's also the interesting fact that censors get to watch all of the censored material themselves -the arbiters of the community's morals, in other words, see more profanity and pornography than anyone else. As the Church Lady would say, "How conveeenient." All of these safeguards are intended to protect children, and it's odd to think back to a time when you couldn't go to an R movie, when four-letter words actually carried im- pact, and when sexuality was a mysterious thing. After you don't have any cool birthdays left, however, a lot of censorship seems silly and misplaced. Most of us will probably persist in that belief until we have our own children to protect. At least then we'll be able to enjoy their cool birthdays. - Jean Twenge can be reached over e- mail atjeant@umich.edu. should be swept from campus as soon as pos- sible, the extra month for rewriting the docu- Jwriti~#g ment is a good idea. Heeding the advice of Michigan Student Assembly President Flint Wainess, the re- gents quietly gave the Division of Student Affairs an extra month to smooth out the code draft. Wainess, marking the first time a student representative has addressed the regents as a regular part of the meeting agenda, noted that much remains to be done in rewriting the code. He correctly emphasized student feedback and stressed the need for students to see drafts before the code is finalized. The regents have made it clear to Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford that a code written without student input would be unacceptable. To that end, a student workgroup last summer solicited opinions from students on the shape of the new code. But the workgroup's methods were fatally flawed, reducing the component ofstudent input to little more than lip service. The work group should capitalize on this extension not only to create a code that is "a little more eloquent" in Hartford's words, the. 4 proposal will not be possible until the stu- dents have a chance to comment on a draft of the document. It is true that Student Affairs of- ficials have dragged their feet on replacing the old code, but one month is worth the wait if the final product proves durable and work- able. It is time to lift the veil of secrecy sur- rounding the code draft. A student review of the proposal will give students the opportu- nity to voice their opinions about what the code should and should not encompass. It will give a much-needed foundation for stu- dent feedback an essential ingredient to drafting a code that will affect the lives of everyone on campus. If the new code is to be student-friendly, it must be a product of student critique and feedback. The best way for this to happen is for drafts of the proposal to be seen by stu- dents - and a forum set up for student critiques to be incorporated - before it is presented to the regents. In the absence of such feedback the rights and responsibilities of students will once again be in peril. MArr WIMsArr MOOKiE' S DILEMMA E...: " i ~ VEGoT1 .'71 NOTABLE QUOTABLE 'I'm still a stranger to the e- mail system. I sit there sometimes and say, "It's time to beam me up". -State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-South Lyon) Wild paitch State shouldn't dump funds into new ballpark The city of Detroit and Gov. John Engler, without the consent of the Legislature, are pinning the hopes of Detroit's economic revival on a new Tiger Stadium. While well- intentioned, the state is wrongly giving money to Detroit to help a business, not a city. Public support is growing for a new Tiger Stadium away from Michigan and Trumbull. Aside from the nostalgic reasons for preserv- ing the venerable ballpark, the proposal for a new stadium doesn't float. Rather than in- vest in the infrastructure of the city, the $35 million from the city of Detroit and $55 million from the state will be used to enhance the area immediately surrounding the new stadium site in Foxtown -a dubious invest- ment at best. It has never been proven that new stadi- ums are saviors to communities. The success story of Camden Yards in Baltimore repre- sents a neighborhood revitalized before the stadium was even proposed - one that al- ready had a booming economy 365 days a year. Likewise, Denver's new stadium, Coors Field, is surrounded by an already vibrant area with a strong team and fan support currently unparalleled in the league. The proposed plan for Tiger Stadium fails to recognize Detroit is lacking in both these areas. Urban renewal comes before stadi- ums, not the other way around. According to the Tigers report, the new stadium would need to draw 3 million fans a year to even turn a profit. But no team in baseball has approached even 2 million fans this year. That the Tigers couldn't fill halfthe stands last week to see the shortstop and How TO CONTACT THEM second-baseman tandem of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker play their final home game together is testimony to waning fan support. They are not about to sell out a new stadium for more than 60 of the 81 games just because the Tigers now play near Fox Theater. There is no long-term growth if the novelty ofa new stadium wears off in a few years and the state gains nothing in return. Mike Ilitch, owner of the Tigers, has had the opportunity to revitalize the neighbor- hood surrounding the current Tiger Stadium. He has failed to do so. With his gleaming new stadium rising around Foxtown, what will happen to the old neighborhood? The sta- dium will get torn down and the surrounding community will deteriorate even further. It is ironic that the money being used by the state was generated by gambling rev- enues, because the state is taking a high- stakes gamble with the proposed plan. Base- ball is a summer sport only, and thus the economic surge is limited to that season. America's pastime is losing much of its fan appeal and attendance is plummeting across the board. Furthermore, in the recent strike owners and players alike demonstrated a callous disregard for fans and the communi- ties dependent on baseball. With all baseball's labor problems and shaky popularity, it is hard to pin economic growth on the stability of restaurants, taverns and sporting stores dependent on its popular- ity in the summer to carry them through the year. The future is all the new Tiger Stadium has right now, and baseball's future is anybody's guess. DISSENTING OPINION Stadium key to Detroit's economic future By Jeffrey Keating, Keren Kay Hahn and Naraj Kinatra It looks like the Tigers are buying a new den. Out ofan agree- ment between the city ofaDetroit, the state and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, plans to build a new sta- dium in downtown Detroit have received the go-ahead. The new stadium, to be located adjacent to Ilitch's "Foxtown" theater dis- trict, is part of Ilitch's ongoing "resuscitation" project for down- town Detroit. The new stadium is a good deal for the citizens of Detroit and vital to the survival of the downtown area. Ilitch is in the business of making money and is losing Dissenting opinions represent a minority of the Daily editorial board and do not reflect the opinion of the Daily. LETTERS Republicans hostile to student aid To the Daily: On the student aid issue, the difference between the Demo- cratic and the Republican parties is easy to understand. Democrats want to strengthen America by increasing the amount of money available for student loans. Re- publican extremists want to give a $20,000 tax break to the wealthi- est 1 percent of Americans by gutting education and student sup- port programs. It is that simple. Just take a money on the old stadium. While one can sympathize with the nos- talgia of playing in the old sta- dium, that does not translate into profits. By forcing the Tigers to continue to play in the old sta- dium to remain downtown, there was danger Ilitch would leave Detroit. That would be fatal to one of Detroit's last enduring tra- ditions. Thankfully, Iitch iscom- mitted to boosting profits with- out leaving the city. By the Tigers remaining downtown with a new stadium, both parties can benefit equally: Ilitch will return to profit and the city will keep the Tigers while gaining an important urban renewal project. The Tigers organization is promising to put up or raise the $135-155 million required for the actual construction of the ballpark, with the city and state help educate disadvantaged chil- dren. Ifthe current GOP budget is enacted, 50,000 children will lose the ability to receive help from Head Start. Also, the Republicans want to cut 23 million students from the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Pro- gram. Apparently, the Radical Right thinks that criminals should be able to get assault weapons, but that children should not be able to live in a safe, drug free environment. But wait, the Republicans are not done feasting on what's left of America's student body. Now, they are after you, your friends and all college students. Under the radical and heart- funds going toward infrastructure improvements and land acquisi- tion. The agreement greatly sur- passes the private contributions made in the most recent baseball stadium projectsmore than three times the private contribution made in the projects in Cleve- land, Colorado, Chicago, Balti- more and Texas. Cleveland re- lied on 73 percent public financ- ing to build its new ballpark. The Tigers agreement is far more gen- erous to the taxpayers of Detroit. They end up footing only 15 per- cent of the total stadium cost. Because the funds are coming from gambling profits (through the Strategic Fund) no state tax- payer support is required. The old stadium is discon- nected from other areas of vital- ity in the city. Moving Tiger Sta- dium in proximity to an area that to accumulate immediately. Also, students will have to start paying loans off immediately after gradu- ation. At the University, thousands of students need loans and grants to stay in school. It is clear that at least some of these people will have to drop out due to the Re- publican changes. The Republicans are hoping that America's students will roll over and play dead. They are hoping that students are too con- cerned with other things to notice that we are being attacked. We must show them that they are wrong. There is something you can do. Call 1-800-574-4AID. Just has the Fox Theater, Greektown, Trappers Alley and the mobility of the People Mover will central- ize downtown nightlife attrac- tions. Creating one strong enter- tainment district is more conve- nient and beneficial than continu- ing disconnected islands within a sea of decay. A vital city center acts as a magnet to draw visitors, conventions and much-needed dollars. This investment in hope will serve as a catalyst to lure new business and industry - which will benefit the city as a whole. The citizens of Detroit and the state taxpayers are getting a good deal. The public's $90 million investment to bolster "Foxtown" is one they can't afford to miss. Ilitch is an enabler. This opportu- nity can provide the needed push for Detroit to recapture the lost glory of its downtown. It's time to plant a tree To the Daily: I am writing in response to Nadir Alt-Laoussine's letter of 9/ 21/95 ("U' vegetation shouldn't suffer early demise"). It seems the intent of my letter was not clear. I do not support or disap- prove of this tree being cut down. I do not have adequate informa- tion to make such a judgment. I object when plants are treated as equal to humans. This is not to say the death of a tree is unimpor- tant, but it is never as important as the death of a person. Ac fnr . in,,.nrirc+nniimnanof University Regent Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor) University Regent Philip Power (D-Ann Arbor)