To the Daily:
I am writing to express my dismay over the horrible behavior of many of the fans at the Michigan hockey game on March 14. No one could accuse us of winning with grace!
I have never been so embarrassed to call myself a Wolverine as I was at this game. At any given hockey game, there are many examples to illustrate my point such as "they still suck" or the utterly stupid litany that follows "C-Ya." But I have never been so angry at this behavior as I was after March 14.
I believe it is safe to say that most of the blame for this falls on the students sitting on the east sideline. In addition to the "normal" rudeness, these students had the extreme bad grace and audacity to start a cheer that rhymes with "Luck the Irish." Then, to make it worse, many people decided it was necessary to punctuate the win by throwing cups at the Notre Dame players after the game.
To anyone who participated in this ridiculous display: How dare you malign our school in such a rude and uncalled-for manner?
Anytime you are at a sporting event, you become a representative of our school to the outside world. We have a great tradition of excellence in academics and athletics, but we fall woefully short in terms of sportsmanship.
While our team members were playing their hearts out to bring credit to our school and win for us, these "fans" were doing their best to discredit us. What do you think those visitors from Notre Dame are going to tell everyone on their campus about us? It won't be complimentary, I assure you.
Please remember that being the "Leaders and Best" means more than just winning a game or even a national title. It is also your responsibility to improve the image of our school at every opportunity. Show some class! Please think before you shoot off your mouths in the future!
Carrie Lewis
University alumnus
To the Daily:
I think Ward Connerly is dead wrong when he calls for opposing affirmative action as a way to end racism in our society. Connerly's claim that affirmative action advances race at the expense of merit is misguided and even hypocritical. It assumes that standardized test scores, GPAs and other numerical measures are objective measures of merit, and it ignores both the historical and on-going discrimination that blacks, latinos and other minorities face, especially in the all-important area of pre-college education.
As a white student from a middle-class background, I have benefited from a series of privileges, including education, that I find it all-too-easy not to acknowledge. Because I recognize that my academic achievements are strongly rooted in my privileged status from the moment of my birth as a white child, I don't accept that test scores "objectively" measure my worth as a student here.
Thankfully, the University recognizes that as well and doesn't put all of its eggs in the basket of admission test scores and GPAs. Nonetheless, with such a large applicant pool, these scores must play a partial role in admissions. I believe that U of M recognizes that discrimination, not lack of merit, is why blacks and other minorities at all class levels have across-the-board lower test scores than white students, and this is why the University permits a lower cut-off rate for minority applicants. Like any other public policy, this one is imperfect, but opposing it will not end racism.
Diahanna Lynch
School of Public Health
To the Daily:
Could the Daily please stop printing the affirmative action letters?
The "debate" on affirmative action has essentially turned into a shouting match between two groups of people who are so far apart on the political spectrum that neither can hear the other group, but they are sure of their correctness.
Amol Parulekar
Engineering junior
To the Daily:
On behalf of Michigan's quiz bowl team, I would like to thank the Daily for its coverage of our recent success. The Daily's article ("'U' quiz bowl team victorious at regionals, advances to nationals," 3/9/98) was welcomed recognition for a program that has been very successful throughout the academic year.
We would like to add that the article neglected to mention team member Ravin Garg and coach Michelle Lalonde. Garg's breadth of knowledge and Lalonde's timely advice were integral parts of our victory. Their involvement will be crucial in our efforts to win the national championship in April, and we wanted to make sure their contribution was not overlooked.
Once again, we would like to thank the Daily for their current and continuing support.
Duncan Robinson
Engineering junior
To the Daily:
We would like to challenge the validity of Scott Bullock's arguments in response to the letter "Day of action did not make sense" (3/10/98). First, he tries to explain that he did not understand the methods used by affirmative action supporters during the National Day of Action - but this day was a perfect forum to express the support from the students. We constantly show support for all sports, but how many students show support for the admissions policies that allow all of them to have national-champion sports teams. He also stated that the day of action's organizers were "... holding rap concerts under the guise of rallies." This statement is both incorrect and misleading. Not only was Bullock mistaken to the lyrics of the cheer, but he was also not aware of the historical significance of group cheering. I am sure that he knows the Michigan fight song, "The Victors!" The purpose of group cheering and chanting is to show group unity for a specific entity. To inform Bullock, the cheer went as follows: "Hey! Ho! Affirmative action will not go!" It would be beneficial to be correct on facts before you criticize.
The National Day of Action was proposed by the respectable Jesse Jackson and recognized by institutions across the country. The day was not implemented to purposely conflict with the University's midterm schedule. How selfish is the idea that a national day would center around students' midterms? Is not a national issue more important than one's personal education? Is not the education of the future of millions of people more important than one's midterm? On a holistic level (where Bullock failed to think), affirmative action has great implications beyond that single day. We are protesting to give educational opportunities to future children. If Bullock would have put aside his selfish and egotistical attitude for one hour and attended the rally, he would have heard high school students pleading to have a chance to attend college and succeed in life. Yet I saw countless college students ignoring this national issue. The students of the University need to realize that we are all affected by affirmative action. It is a fact that white women have benefited the most from affirmative action. This is not a white-and-black issue, but a societal issue.
Mr. Bullock, you need to educate yourself before you attack the actions of others on campus. Get the facts, and then you may attempt to give a valid argument.
Finally, we would like to praise the courageous students who attended the rally with dignity. We were proud to be a part of an event that is trying to preserve a commodity that has advanced society in a positive direction.
Brandon Ruffin
LSA sophomore
Jaime Lester
LSA sophomore
03-24-98
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