To the Daily:
On behalf of all of my fellow dancers from the University of Michigan Dance Marathon, I would like to say thank you to all of the members of the Central Planning Team, the "moralers" and everyone else who volunteered and supported us. I don't think that you can ever realize exactly how much your smiles, massages and words of encouragement meant to every single one of us and how critical they were in helping us get through this difficult but worthwhile event.
To everyone who participated, I want to say that I am proud to be associated with you. What you have done this weekend was not simply raise $30,000 but lay the foundation for what has the potential to become the largest student-run fundraiser at the University. In time, I'm sure it will far exceed the expectations of the visionaries who created it.
Most important, I would like to thank the families. It is the people who have your tremendous courage, determination and positive outlook on life that make activities and charity fundraisers such as this so worthwhile and necessary in the eyes of those who participate.
James Winschel
LSA senior
To the Daily:
As project co-chair of the Tau Beta Pi Bucket Drive, I would like to respond to Patrick Oh's letter ("Bucket drives are a bad fund-raising tactic," 2/10/98). Our organization has been holding this bucket drive for several years now, and it is our most successful fund-raising project.
Not one nickel of the money we raise goes to our organization since it is illegal to solicit funds for this purpose. But it is legal to solicit for funds if all of the money raised is donated to some charity. In our case, all of the money we raise will be donated to SAFEHouse, a shelter for abused women and children. Every one of the bucket drives on campus is for some charitable organization. You would know this if you took the time to listen to what the people with the buckets are saying.
It is legal to sell items such as bagels and donuts for profit, as is done in Angell Hall and in the EECS Atrium on North Campus. A good chunk of this money goes back to the organization selling the bagels or donuts. Even if all of the profits were donated, a bucket drive would be more successful. Let's do some math. Let's say that the profit from one donut is 15 cents and that 200 donuts are sold in one day. This would raise $30 each day. So over five days, this would be $150. Multiply this by 13 weeks (the number of full weeks of class this semester) and you have $1,950 for one semester of fund-raising. Let's compare this with only two days of a bucket drive. Last semester, Tau Beta Pi raised $1,900 for SAFEHouse.
This semester, Tau Beta Pi is expanding the bucket drive by joining with Eta Kappa Nu in this effort. This will make this semester's bucket drive the most successful ever. No, it is not the most creative method of generating money but because of the generosity of the University community, bucket drives will continue to be successful and will continue to stand on the Diag.
Michael White
Engineering junior
To the Daily:
I want to applaud James Miller for taking a stand for cigarette smokers, a difficult position in this day and age ("Light it up, pass it on and shut up already," 2/11/98). But I think that Miller needs to re-examine his argument. He spent several paragraphs supporting the rights of smokers and then total undermined his position. He was absolutely correct in stating that smoking is legal and that "Puritans" should get off their case.
He finished his argument by stating, "I also support high cigarette taxes and very heavy punishments on companies that break any of the rules regarding the marketing and doctoring of cigarettes." I, too, think that tobacco firms should be punished for marketing to children but cigarette taxes have nothing to do with this. The "Puritans" that Miller berates for trying to force their opinions on smokers are the same people who support cigarette taxes. These taxes have a simple purpose of trying to reduce the number of smokers by raising the cost higher than the demand. The next time that Miller wishes to take up an argument, maybe he should be consistent as to which side he's going to support.
Patrick Elkins
School of Music
To the Daily:
Earlier this month, I wrote a letter to the Daily challenging "right-wingers" to present a rational argument against affirmative action that employed both logic and a sense of this nation's history ("Conservative arguments show fear," 2/5/98). In response, Jim Knapp wrote a letter ("Discrimination is never 'corrective legislation,'" 2/11/98). I have to say that I was extremely disappointed. If he is the best the anti-affirmative action community has to offer, they are in trouble. His letter is saturated with the kind of uninformed, illogical, elitist rhetoric that turns the stomachs of those - of any race - who know even a little about the "real world" outside of the suburbs.
Knapp simply regurgitates the empty arguments that have been fed to him over the years. He tells us that affirmative action "is not corrective legislation; it is reverse discrimination." Keep in mind, he never once offers a solution to the pervasive problem of racial stratification in this country. He offers absolutely no alternative to affirmative action. What he wants is the elimination of those policies that have forcefully integrated arguably the most racist nation in the world. If I understand his rhetoric correctly, we are to embrace a color-blind society and a color-blind admissions process. We all know that whites are disproportionately well-off and minorities are disproportionately impoverished. This was a fact when affirmative action was initiated 30 years ago, and the numbers show that it is even more of a fact today. I have to say that for a group being discriminated against, whites are doing quite well for themselves.
I have a message for those embracing Knapp's position: The United States was founded on racist principles, has always employed them, and is still very much a racist nation. This probably does not affect your lives but it is a fact. The problem of racial stratification cannot be solved without taking race into consideration. To believe so is to deceive oneself.
Isa Kasoga
LSA first-year student
To the Daily:
During the past three basketball games that I've been to that have had the special "Players of the Decade" halftime presentation, I've not known a single player in the show. But the Feb. 11 show had players of the '80s and '90s - specifically, my all-time favorite player, Dugan Fife. I always knew he was a hard-working player, but I didn't know he was such a nice guy. I was so amazed by the noticeable applause and screams that the announcement of his name produced. After the presentation I sought him out for an autograph. By the time I got down to the lower level, to my surprise, a small crowd had gathered. Fife was carrying on a conversation with them asking where they were from and so on. The girls next to me were so anxious and flushed.
As the game wound down and Travis Conlan hit a crucial three-point basket late in the game, I looked down to see Dugan standing and applauding the guy who he lost his starting position to in his senior year. Dugan may not have put up impressive numbers during his career here, but his dedication and winning personality draws admirers of all kinds.
Ha-Hoa Dang
LSA first-year student
02-19-98
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