To the Daily:
As a University alumnus currently living in Massachusetts, I have thoroughly enjoyed the success of Michigan's football team this year. Thanks to Big Ten television contracts, I have been able to watch every game. A significant factor in our success has been the dominating performance of the defense. This impenetrable body has been responsible not only for holding other teams in check, but giving our offense great field position, which they have taken advantage of quite nicely. Something I particularly enjoy are the many times that our defense stuffs a team on third down, and the band begins playing a portion of "Temptation."
A disturbing trend, however, seems to be spreading through the crowd. Many fans are extending their right arms and doing some form of chop to the beat of the music. Rather than emulating the fans at Florida State University, I would encourage the students to close their hands into a fist with the same arm motion as the chop. By this, we show that the Michigan defense has just brought the sledgehammer down on yet another feeble attempt by the opposing team to move the ball down the field. I am sure that there will be plenty of opportunities to put this into action against the nuts at Ohio State University. Remember, it's not a chop, it's a hammer.
Hail to the Victors and Go Blue!
Mike Schultz
University alumnus
To the Daily:
I've quietly sat back and read various articles for and against affirmative action and never intended to get involved, but Kevin Cavalieri's letter ("Affirmative action is 'absurd,'" 11/12/97) touched my last nerve.
Maybe he wouldn't be able to suit up and play with the football team, but I say to him and every other opponent - he should at least be given the chance! Once he gets there, it's up to him to prove that he can cut it. No grades or curriculum is changed or altered for anyone at the University. If students maintain their academic standards once in, then fine, but if they can't, then they should go. But to say you can't even be given the chance is absurd.
We are becoming a worldwide economy and can no longer believe our way is the only way something can be done. If we are to remain the power we are and have to communicate with cultures in business and finance in other parts of the world, how can we succeed if we can't communicate on their level?
Who is to say that their level is lower than ours and has to be raised? Are people afraid that someone knows more than they do or can come up with the better mousetrap, that someone else's knowledge exceeds their own?
When business executives invest, they don't put all their eggs in one basket and believe it's better than all the rest - they diversify and get a little here and a little there to make the end product better. That's exactly what diversity is; we get a little here and a little there and it makes the end product - life, living and knowledge - better.
Dave Stockson
University staff
To the Daily:
I would like to commend Stephanie Love for her review of Saturday's performance ("Operas Reign at the Power Center," 11/18/97). She aptly captured the delightful and compelling qualities of Ravel's work and pointed out the weakness in the staging of the otherwise visually beautiful and musically interesting Stravinsky piece.
What I'm disappointed about is the timing of the review. It's safe to say that no one on campus outside the confines of the School of Music had ever heard of these operas. So who would plan to go? I went because I'm a real fan of opera and I had a friend in the cast. Then I sent my husband the next evening because the performance was so rewardingly entertaining. The Daily could have provided a true service to its readership by squeezing the review into Friday's paper and giving people a chance to be informed about an opportunity they would otherwise miss. Who else but the Daily can make that kind of difference on campus?
Mary Craig
University staff
To the Daily:
Fellow students, please do not be intimidated by the article "'U' forbids rushing the field" (11/18/97). University officials are once again trying to parent us by not allowing us to rush the field if we beat Ohio State. Last time I checked, we were all legal adults and could make our own rational decisions. The concern about our safety would be justified if we played in Wisconsin's stadium (where several students were trampled when they stormed the field several years ago) because their poorly designed stadium has another fence to be scaled to get on to the field once fans leave the stands. Michigan stadium does not have this and chances of injury are minimal to nonexistent.
Instead of employing more officers to keep us off of the field, the University should have people in the aisles to make sure that we rush the field in an orderly manner. I was at the Virginia game in 1995, when Michigan won on a last-second touchdown; students stormed the field then and there were no injuries. I was at the Northwestern game last year and their students stormed the field. Once again, no injuries. When Missouri fans rushed the field after they thought they had beaten Nebraska last week, there were no injuries. Rushing the field is dangerous in stadiums that are designed poorly. Ours is not.
Rushing the field is a time-honored college tradition that we should be able to participate in, especially if we win a game as huge as tomorrow's. Why shouldn't we be able to enjoy this in a safe manner? University officials and police officers are here to serve the student body, not vice versa. They should not be threatening to arrest us.
If the student body wishes to rush the field, they should be able to. Those students who choose not to can remain in the stands. I am not advocating that students rush the field but simply stating that we should be allowed to if we so desire. Go Blue, beat the Buckeyes!
Mike Khomutin
Engineering senior
To the Daily
The concerns well expressed by Edward Chusid ("Campaign 'hoopla' detracts from real issues," 11/18/97) were the exact reasons the Michigan Student Assembly developed its new election information Website. However, its power to eliminate paper waste and return the focus of elections to plans and ideas is contingent on its use. Candidates made Angell Hall an obscene mess this week because they believe it will get them elected. If students visit the Website www.umich.edu/~vote and see which candidates have real projects, which recycle cliches, and which did not even bother to submit goals, we can finally begin to leave the days of the uninformative Angell Hall eyesore behind.
Ryan Friedrichs
LSA junior,
MSA Communications Commission Chair
11-21-97
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