4- The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 3, 1995 Ule frttiiun &atlg 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI1 .,....,,,.-I Street 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in chief JULIE BECKER JAMES M. NAsu Editorial Page Editors The 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. s araining chips CEO contract talks show hopeful signs C iting excessive workloads, inadequate compensation and unclear hiring prac- tices, members of the Graduate Employees :Organization held a rally Tuesday on the ^Diag to show the University that their up- 'oming contract demands are to be taken seriously. The GEO, the University's union ofteach- . ing assistants and other graduate employees, has laid down its demands for a new contract to replace the current three-year agreement, which expires Feb. 1. The demands include a lighter workload, a pay increase, a written ,hiring policy, an increase in minority TAs, improving training for TAs, limiting class ,sizes and improving benefits. These requests arejustified, and there is no legitimate reason the majority of them should be denied. As their rally demonstrated, many Uni- versity graduate employees are disgruntled with how they are treated under the current contract. And they have a right to be. Many of these students - who are working to put themselves through graduate school - are ,"burdened by unexpectedly high workloads and do not receive sufficient compensation -on which to live, attend school and often . support a family. In addition, the current 'hiring practices for TAs are fuzzy at best - {a written policy is sorely needed to let gradu- ate students know what standards they will " be required to meet as instructors. Meeting GEO's demands would benefit not only its members, but also the under-, graduates they teach. For one, if TA training were to improve, the quality of education bestowed on each undergraduate would rise Save Amenica orpi as well. Another demand that would improve the learning environment is a limit on class sizes - quality of education at the Univer- sity would improve if TAs were able to give more attention to each student. If TAs had a lighter workload, they would be able to focus more on each class, which would in turn make them better teachers. In the coming months, the University will have a chance to prove its commitment to TAs and to undergraduate education. A 12- member negotiation team elected by GEO is meeting with University officials periodi- cally to work out details of a new contract. In the past, the University has been less than open-minded during the discussions, focus- ing on money and bureaucracy rather than instruction and education. Doing this again would be a mistake. In the worst-case sce- nario, the University would lose its TAs to a strike, bringing disastrous consequences. Discussions between the two parties have started off on the right foot - both negotiat- ing teams have only positive comments so far. Good faith on both sides is essential to crafting an agreement beneficial to GEO. TAs are a vital reason why the University runs as smoothly as it does. If not for the discussion sections taught by these graduate students, undergraduates would be perpetu- ally lost on much of the material covered in lectures. While University professors are nationally recognized as researchers, many of them leave much of the actual instruction to TAs. These assistants are an essential part of a University education, and deserve to be recognized as such. S ega. Let's get it out of the way right here, right at the very start. Sega is the problem. Sega and Nintendo, and Quentin Tarantino, and the NBA, and Green Day, and those silly boy-meets-girl shows on MTV. These are the problems. These are why we - speaking in the angst-ridden, Generation-X collective "we" usually reserved for beautiful people on meaningless TV shows with clever one- word names or zip codes - we are referred to as the Slacker Generation. These are rea- sons potential employers call us unmoti- vated. These are why there isn't much pro- test on the Diag anymore. Sure, there's a little token protest every now and then, between 12 and 1 on every third Thursday. Every once in a while, some- one stands on a bench and yells about how the administration is repressing the student body - who really don't care as long as the International Finance grades are curved - or how the capitalist pigs are using psycho- logical warfare to stop the mobilization of the masses-who really just want good jobs and an occasional dish of fettucine alfredo - or how Romans killed Christ and so the Christians should retaliate right now by per- secuting all those with last names like "Antonucci" and "Spicolli." How often is the protester a student? Answer: not very. Usually it's some older, balding guy with a midlife crisis and a mission. Like Preacher Mike, who seems to think that pierced ears cause all the hatred in the world. You get your ear piercedyou immediately become a Nazi. It's that simple. Or like this guy Robert Stamm, who was standing on a bench last week, holding forth on the dangers of Judaism and caffeine ad- diction. choiesofa ge His most profound points? "All feminists - including that witch Hillary Clinton -should shut their mouths," he advised an amused but unwilling-to-be- come-involved crowd. "Bill Clinton should tell her to get back in the kitchen where she belongs." I guess he doesn't realize that the kitchen access is a privilege reserved for those who can cook. I severely doubt whether either Bill or Hillary belongs in the kitchen. Yale Law School grads cannot cook. They can revitalize the economy; they cannot cook, not even macaroni and cheese. "Break your Snoop Doggy Dogg CDs; melt your Van Halen albums," Stamm shouted. Sound advice - at least the part about Van Halen. The point is this: Except for that tiny minority of students who think that being part of MSA counts as protest, student activ- ism is dead. It breathed its dying gasp like this: Guy in flannel shirt: "Dude, the Repub- licans are taking away our medical care, cutting down our forests and building air- craft carriers. And the Democrats can't even spell 'fiscal responsibility,' much less make it a priority. We should do something about it, like organize a rally or a letter-writing campaign." The response, to add a touch of realism, differs by flannel pattern. Guy in nice J. Crew flannel: "That'd be cool to stop the powermongers in Congress and save America from becoming a mar- ginal player in an increasingly globalized economy, but we have a two-way tonight with my favorite sorority. We've got to pre- party, so there's no way we can stop Newt Gingrich today." Or ... Guy in a slightly less nice Eddie 7 Sega2i !erntlon Bauer flannel: "That'd be cool to stop the powermongers in Congress and save America from becoming a marginal player in an increasingly globalizedeconomy. Let's do it, but only after we play Sega for a long, long time." Or... Guy in a ratty flannel handed down from an older brother about three years be- fore flannels were in vogue: "That'd be cool to stop the powermongers in Congress and save America from becoming a marginal player in an increasingly globalized economy. Let's organize a populist militia, get some unnecessarily large guns, and make life safe for camouflage-wearing, shotgun- toting, white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant males with American flag tattoos, provincial atti- tudes and very small vocabularies." That's why we don't care about the code. They want to take away our freedoms, we want to watch TV. As long as section Xl, paragraph 3 of the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilties doesn't contain an explicit prohibition of watching "Friends," we don't care if we're denied our constitu- tional rights. As long as we can get a good cafe au lait at our coffee shop of choice, we don't care if MSA is forcing a not-very-well-thought-out medical care plan on us. As long as Tshimanga Biakabutuka gains 212 yards and beats those patsies up in East Lansing with a couple long touchdown runs, we could care less if Bosnian peace talks produce a result. Geez, we can spell "Biakabutuka," but can we identify Slovenia on a map? Slovenia - is that where Quentin Tarantino is filming his next flick? Or is that the new NHL expansion team? I don't re- member. - Brent McIntosh can be reached over e-mail at mctosh@umich.edu. JIM LASSER HOW? WELL, I Qo NATIVE 10% AFR ICAN SHARP AS TOAST NOTABLE QOTAI /m AMERICAN*** QCN 80'- ENCL15H... Death with dignity Assisted suicide should be legalized, regulated 1if. S0f }1 I, 'A fool's brain digests philosophy Into folly, science Into superstition and art into pedantry. Hence university education.' - George Bernard Shaw ive years after beginning his crusade for doctor-assisted suicide, Dr. Jack Kevorkian has finally garnered some official support from the medical community. On Monday, a group of four medical-doctors and a psychiatrist - known as the Physicians for Mercy - stepped forward, calling for the establishment of standards for doctor-assisted suicide. Monday's events were a major step in helping to legitimize a process designed to ease human suffering - a process that has long been forced underground by paternalis- tic legislation. The stand taken by Physicians for Mercy lends a stamp of legitimacy to an issue trivialized by posturing on both sides. The controversial nature ofdoctor-assisted suicide is rooted in the history of the Ameri- can medical system and the public's beliefs on medicine. The American Medical Asso- ciation has always stood firm in its stance that the main role of doctors is to save lives, while those in favor of medically assisted suicide believe the primary role of doctors is to ease human suffering. While the goal of preserving lives is a valiant one, ending suf- fering is often a more humane decision. The current health-care system prohibits a dying person in excruciating pain from ending his or her own life. Even "living wills" - in which people can express the desire to be mercifully taken off life support if they become permanently dependent on it -- remain controversial. Yet the right to life includes the right to end it, and the govern- ment should not interfere in this decision. Laws against doctor-assisted suicide have failed to prevent its occurrence. Assisted- suicide procedures have been pushed under- HOW TO CONTACT THEM ground, allowing for abuse of the system due to lack of regulation. Without firm guide- lines and official hospital procedures, as- sisted suicide remains highly dangerous. Hy- pothetically, a doctor could murder a patient under the guise of assisted suicide. For this reason, the Physicians for Mercy's call to establish standards is a badly needed step in the right direction. The establishment of standard guidelines for doctor-assisted suicide will both safeguard the interests of patients and help lessen the burden on doc- tors who must face the ethical dilemma of how best to help their patients. The prohibition of doctor-assisted suicide makes as little sense financially as it does morally. As patients seek assisted suicide as a refuge from pain and suffering, forced care of these patients is imposing costs on an already overburdened health care system. It is impossible to put a price tag on a human life - but if patients themselves wish to end their suffering, denying them the opportu- nity to do so is counterproductive. Although this small group of Michigan doctors' announcement is important, it is only a preliminary lunge in a long uphill battle. Assisted suicide remains illegal both in Michigan and in the United States. Much like abortion before Roe v. Wade, suicides assisted by physicians have been forced un- derground and are consequently both more difficult to obtain and more dangerous. The standardization and legitimization of doctor- assisted suicide will help serve patients, doc- tors and the entire health care system, allow- ing people to exercise the ultimate personal choice over their lives. LETTFERS Farrakhan no good for black community To the Daily: Letter writer Denise R. James ("Daily cartoon belittles unity at D.C. march," 10/26/95) takes is- sue with a cartoon depicting Louis Farrakhan as a devil. I, however, believe that the cartoon was right on target. To even have Far- rakhan's name in the same letter as Martin Luther King Jr.'s to me drags the dreams and work of King through the mud. IfJames thinks that Farrakhan, a failed calypso singer, wants to advance Dr. King's effortsto have one unified country of individu- als in a colorless society, she is sadly mistaken. All one has to do is listen to Farrakhan's call at his march for a separate "black" po- litical party, to have blacks shop only at black businesses, etc. This is the worst kind of separatist rhetoric, and it belongs in the same trash can as the rantings of David Duke and others of his kind. To say that the message of the march still has validity in spite of Farrakhan is like saying that Duke had good points while run- ning for governor of Louisiana. Both men have bitter, racist, big- oted pasts that should disqualify them from leading anybody. I believe that the black com- munity has been the victim of one of the great hoodwinks ofhistory. from the march to clean house and take care of the kids. I felt this idiotic statement demeaned all of the capable, intelligent black women in this country, and I am shocked that they stood still for it meekly, like a bunch of sheep. In my opinion, the media should increase its coverage of Farrakhan, so that the entire coun- try can see what a dangerous fool he is. Douglas Hester Medical Center SA PA C story informative To the Daily: Thank you for the coverage of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center's (SAPAC) ninth annual Speak Out ("Survi- vors 'Speak Out' about sexual assault," 10/25/95). We appreci- ate your efforts to inform our com- munity about an event that is of- ten inspiring, enlightening and empowering for survivors of sexual violence. The number of people in attendance certainly indicates that the event is very important to the University com- munity. Although a quote was incor- rectly attributedto our director, Debi Cain (the reporter has al- ready called to apologize), we feel the article reflected the em- powerment many survivors feel as a result of speaking out about their experiences. We know each Affirmative action critics misinformed To the Daily: Are you kidding me? Mr. Heeres ("Affirmative action pro- grams are another form of rac- ism," 10/23/95) actually believes his opinion that affirmative ac- tion is "a matter that many are silent on"? Come on. After work- ing this past summer as a diver- sity facilitatorat Orientation, there is one thing I heard from students almost every day: Affirmative action is a form of reverse dis- crimination. I can remember a time when I, a white man, whined about re- verse discrimination. Now I am sick of hearing about it. I did something that very few white people seem interested in doing: I educated myself about racism. What a concept! I actually read dozens of theories and articles dealing with racism and oppres- sion. I also had many extensive conversations with minority stu- dents and gained some under- standing as to where they're com- ing from. For several reasons, I now believe that there is no such thing as reverse discrimination. But that'sjust my educated opin- ion that would take up far too much space here to explain. Until people educate them- selves by stepping out of their own little worlds and get a clue as tn what real discrimination is I implicitly misrepresenting the predominant position historically held by Asian American activist groups and individuals regarding access to higher education. While white conservatives since the late 1 979s have continually baited Asian Americans tojoin theiranti- affirmative action camp (under the banner of "equal opportu- nity"), the principal grievance held by Asian Americans con- cerning higher education has steadfastly been their unfairtreat- ment vis-a-vis whites - not Af- rican Americans, Latina/os, or Native Americans. There has been and continues to be a tacit ceiling imposed on the number of Asian Americans admitted to some col- leges and universities, even when their qualifications exceed those of their white counterparts. Hence, while we Asian Ameri- cans should continue to actively oppose racial discrimination, our activism should be aimed at the right target rather than naively pitting ourselves against other minority groups and undermin- ing all progressive efforts in the process. Moon-Ke Jung Rackham student President Bill Clinton